Brazil Sponsor Tour 2012: Part 5, An epic conclusion

After my two and a half days in Fortaleza I felt like I had a full vacation. I mean, what more did I need after seeing my precious Brazilian sister? But the trip was only half over! We flew south to Sao Paulo to repeat what we did in Fortaleza there. (Just as a little side note, Sao Paulo is the 5th largest city in the world with a lovely 20 million people living there).

For our first full day there we visited a center in Sao Paulo and spent the morning playing and doing crafts with the children of that project.

(Note the little girl on the left. I visited her home later in the day).

Then we went on home visits in the slums of Sao Paulo where these children live. The slums here were different in that the home were stacked on top of each other up and down hillsides with narrow, steep paths to get to the homes. When it rains there is nothing stopping water from coming into the homes. There were similarities like the raw sewage, stray animals, terrible smell, and incredibly small homes.

The home I visited houses at least six people and was about the size (if not smaller) of my college dorm room. The mother and father live with at least four of their kids (they have six and I don't remember if they all still live there). The youngest three are in the project and two have sponsors. The mother told us that she doesn't feel safe there but they have no where else to go. All of their clothes were piled up in the bedroom to dry out because they're all damp from rain. The back wall of the kitchen was entirely covered in black mold from the rain. Their bathroom is a tiny space off of the kitchen. The kids sleep in a small room in the very back of the house that is also used for storage that the mother built herself because there simply was not enough room. Electricity is too expensive so they have exposed wires and have created their own electric systems to they have power (which is illegal).

Again, we were not allowed to take pictures within the slums but I got some pictures of what they're like from the bus area. They stretch on for miles. 

After lunch we drove to the country office in Campinas to learn more about Compassion Brazil.
The countryside to get there was beautiful.

 While at the country office we learned about the behind the scenes work of Compassion Brazil, got to see where all of the letters come in and get distributed and meet some of the amazing country staff. We were shown a video about a new area of Brazil that Compassion Brazil is working in called Codo. One of our translators, Ana, created the video and it was heartbreaking. I don't remember all of the statistics but girls start having children there when they are pretty young, many have multiple miscarriages, the infant mortality rate is very high, and the village is completely cut off from the rest of Brazil. There are no major roads getting in or out of it. The poverty there is on par with Haiti or parts of Africa. We also learned that next year Brazil will be getting a Child Survival Program and the work will begin in Codo which is very exciting!

That night we went to a pizzeria in Campinas. Prior to this trip I didn't think of pizza when I thought of Brazil but apparently a lot of Italians have settled in Sao Paulo and its surrounding areas. Many Brazilians think their pizza is better than the Italians. I've never had real Italian pizza but I will say that Brazilian pizza was pretty darn good. And then there was the dessert pizza. I absolutely love bananas and I'm mildly addicted to chocolate this joint had banana pizza and chocolate pizza. Bam.

It was seriously fantastic. Definitely up there with the best things I've ever eaten.

The following day some people went to the second fun day (for those that sponsor children in the southern part of Brazil). The rest of us went to the soccer museum because soccer is basically religion in Brazil.

Even though I'm not a huge soccer person I thought the museum was cool and I definitely learned some stuff. For example, most bars/restaurants do not allow people to wear soccer (football) jerseys because when people see rival jerseys it frequently causes fights. In Brazil the teams are also connected with the social classes so games get very heated. Not only is it a battle of the teams but in many ways its a battle of the classes.

The museum is actually a stadium (games are still played there sometimes) and it was the sight of the 1954 World Cup. Brazil was in the final game and lost. Brazilians were so upset about this that many committed suicide after the game by jumping off of the top of the stadium.

As a whole, the entire experience was everything I wanted it to be and more. It was a perfect week and I would go back and do it again in a heartbeat (if only I had the money...) :) I plan to go back someday hopefully with my parents or with another sponsor tour to see Isadora again and say hello to Lorenna and see more of this beautiful country.

Brazil Sponsor Tour 2012: Part 4, The day I met Isadora

Where my story left off I had finished my first full day in Fortaleza, had met a plethora of really cute kids, saw an example of the work Compassion does, and saw first hand what poverty is like in Brazil. Where we pick up the story is on my second full day in Fortaleza, the big day. The day I met my Brazilian sister, Isadora.

The previous night our trip leader talked to us about what this day would entail and tried to bring us all down to earth a little. As much as we all wanted a movie moment where we see our kid and they see us and we run to each other in slow motion and we hug and fireworks erupt in the sky and sparkles rain down on us and rainbows shoot across the sky, it just might not happen. Many of the kids had to travel pretty far to come see us. It may be their first time on a plane, first time leaving their town or village, first time being away from home, stuff like that so they could be very shy or scared. She stressed that it's great to be excited, but to try and give our children grace and ourselves grace.

The meeting took place in a park called EcoPoint and we took a bus there. For our short drive I clutched my backpack of gifts for Isadora and prayed that she wouldn't be too shy and that we would have a fun day together. Our bus pulled up and my heart was racing.

I could see some of the kids assembling inside and we all walked in at our own pace. The kids were lined up with signs saying our names for ease of finding each other, with our individual interpreters and the family member or teacher that came with the child.

I walked in, grinning, anxious, and so so so excited. My eyes scanned the line of kids and I picked out Isadora. I walked towards her and she saw me. Her face lit up and she ran to me and gave me a huge hug. For real. There were no fireworks, sparkles, or rainbows, but it felt like a movie moment to me.

Isadora came with her grandmother and a teacher from her project. My interpreter for the day was the fantastic Lorenna (who I continue to talk to because she is a lovely person).

After the introductions we created a plan for the day. The park had a zoo, horseback riding, soccer, volleyball, swimming, face painting, and plenty of space to walk around and play. Naturally we did everything. All day long I could not stop thanking God for Isadora and how prefect she is. I could not have asked for a better day.

This is what it looks like when your dreams come true:

We had the best day I could have ever asked for in a million years times a million. We had so much fun together and got the opportunity to talk to each other and ask questions. She was able to use some of the English she knows and I was able to use some of the Portuguese I know and we even taught each other some new words throughout the day!

About a half hour before it was time to leave I gave her a new backpack full of gifts.

I put things in each pocket so she would have lots to look for. She was pretty excited :)

In addition to the new backpack for school, I gave her a big notebook for school/journaling, a binder with page protectors so she has a safe place to put her letters from me, a photo album with pictures of my family in it which she can add to with the pictures I send her (so she feels like she's a part of my family), a recorder with a fingering chart (because I'm a musician and those things ruled when I was  a kid), some of my old Barbies (because she loves them!), a stuffed animal that I knit myself, a Simpson College t-shirt (gotta represent!), a new brush, stuff for her hair, necklaces, toothbrushes for her and her family, and other fun things to play with.

She gave me gifts too. She wrote a letter for me expressing how excited she was to be able to meet me (which Lorenna helped translate). Even though I told her in her birthday card that I was going to come meet her, she was not notified about it until about a week before. They do this in case something happens with the sponsor and the sponsor ends up not being able to come and because the kids often become so excited that they don't eat or sleep. Isadora told me that she had trouble sleeping the night before because she was so excited. (I was in the same boat).

Saying goodbye at the end of the day was extremely hard. I knew it would be, but she started to get upset when she realized that it was time to part ways which made me sad. She asked when I was going to come back and Lorenna and I agreed that, God-willing, I will return before she graduates which made her happy.

I'm not going to lie though, I had to hold back the tears when we said our final goodbye because I didn't want to make her upset but I cried on my way back to the bus and when I had to say goodbye to Lorenna. It was somewhat comforting in my heart to know that I will return, hopefully sooner rather than later and that God-wiling, I will find a way to get there again.

Facebook status that night: Perfect day with Isadora, my beautiful Brazilian sister. She is so so so precious and beautiful. Wow what a day. Hugs and smiles and pictures and swimming and horseback riding and soccer and volleyball and the zoo and face painting and gifts and learning languages. Everything I have ever dreamed of and so much more :)

Brazil Sponsor Tour 2012: Part 3, A day in Fortaleza

The story continues with my first full day in Fortaleza. On this day we visited one of the projects here to learn about the work they do and spend time with the kids! It was a great day! When we arrived at the center on our bus the kids were lined up inside waiting for us. So cute!

They had a processional for as as we walked inside their project. They sang, played instruments, clapped and cheered for us. Some even shook our hands or gave us high fives.

  The children went back to their classrooms and we went into the chapel to learn about their project. This is the amazing husband/wife team that runs the project.

They became so emotional talking about the project because they serve about 400 children and only 15 do not have sponsors. We were the first Compassion sponsor group to visit their project. They explained to us the challenges these kids face and how thankful they are to have us supporting them. One thing that I thought was very inspiring about the project was that many of the workers do so voluntarily and are not paid. It was clear how much love they have for their children at this center. It was amazing.

After the preliminary presentation we visited some of the kids in their classrooms and played in the courtyard after we ate lunch. (PS the pineapple in Brazil is AMAZING!) Some people brought small gifts like stickers, bouncy balls, frisbees, soccer balls, and balloons and the kids had a great time!

We joined the kids back in the chapel and sat with them while we enjoyed an afternoon presentation. Each age group of kids (youngest, middle, and oldest) did a dance/skit for us which was very cool!

We met some of the older kids at the project. They were very inquisitive. The little kids were just excited to have us there and wanted to play, but the older kids asked more questions (with the help of translators) and were very nice.

Then we left the project to visit some homes in the area. We visited two homes (side-by-side) in the slums a couple of blocks away from the project. The first home we visited houses six people (both parents and four children, including a newborn). The younger boy goes to the project and has a sponsor in France I believe. He showed us some of the letters he has received.

The home next door houses five or seven people (a mother and either four or six of her children, she has six but I don't remember if all of them live with her). Her husband abandoned her when she was pregnant with her last child but left her with enough money to purchase her house.

The homes are small, about the size of my college dorm room. There are two rooms. In the first house there was one mattress for the family and a crib for the baby and the second house has one small bed for the mother and hammocks for the children. I don't remember seeing much for a kitchen. The homes are literally right next to each other so you can hear everything going on in the home next to yours.

We were not allowed to take pictures in the slums because it would attract too much attention but the following pictures were taken outside the front door of the two homes we visited looking down the street to the right and left and then at the two homes (we were in the blue/green on and the cream one to the right). The community knew we were coming so they cleaned up some of the garbage before we got there but there was still quite a bit of garbage, it smelled bad, and there was a small "stream" of water and probably sewage running through the street in some areas.

Upon arriving back at the project we said our goodbyes to the kids and took a group picture before heading back to our hotel to prepare for the next day (meeting our sponsored children!!!) This girl was very sad to see us go and cried when it was time to leave.

Facebook status that night: Unforgetable day in Fortaleza, Brazil meeting the amazing children and staff of one of the projects here. It's hot, but the children are cute, the people wonderful, and the pineapple is so so sweet :)