Good morning, and Happy Mother's day.

Yes, they celebrate Mother's day down here.  It is called Dia da Mãe.

Today will be a family event when a number of the older COL kids return to visit their "family".

Backing up now.  
Ross, Jean and I were able to finish the sanding and painting of the doors and windows of the 2 houses that we were requested to do, as well as one other house that needed some touching up.  It was a great feeling of accomplishment.
Friday evening we had planned a Parent's dinner party.  So for most of Friday afternoon we were preparing for that,  This year the theme was Gaúcho.  Julio (one of  the house fathers.) made a traditional dish called Carreteira.  A mixture of rice, salted beef, bacon and Italian sausage and seasonings.  Served with feijão (beans), orange slices, lettuce, tomato, pãozinho.  It was enjoyed by all.
Then came the dessert that Ross made.  It was a traditional Canadian dessert of apple crisp and ice cream.  It was interesting to see the brazilians lining up to taste it.  They would take a little bit and return to the table to try it.  The next thing we knew they were practically running up to get a second helping.  All of the house mothers were asking for the recipe for the crisp.
When we talked to the house mother in house 6, we commented that the dinner was very tasty,  Her response was that the dinner was good but the dessert was better.
Ross will be busy Monday  and Tuesday, making an apple crisp for each of the houses.
Jean and Jim made up some games for the house parents.  I was the MC for the evening.  It was a lot of fun and a chance for the houseparents just to relax and converse.  Which is a rare opportunity for them as they are normally trying to control, feed and care for 10 children.

Saturday was a down time day.  However, we did take a personal shopping day,  We took our 4 children and Bruninha clothes shopping in downtown Campo Bom.  Maybe it was not the best choice of days as it was the day before Mother's day and the stores were packed.  Oh well, we did accomplish the task without injury.

After we got back we prepared ourselves (read, nap)  for the evening out at the pizzaria.  We were able to take our sponsored children for a dinner out (which we paid for) as well as the driver and his wife.

This coming week we will be spending time with the families and getting to know them more personally.  And become more knowledgeable about the ministry and the challenges that the staff face.



We also will be preparing for our departure from here.  One more week for our ministry time.