Saturday - July 25

The last few days went by so quickly, but we are still going to tell you about them, so stay tuned!

Our bags finally arrived Friday night!!!! So, on Saturday morning we returned to the homes we had visited on Thursday/Friday to give candy and gifts to the children and families. We gave out another food box while we were out, and it turned out that the family was connected to another needy family that we had helped earlier, so it worked out well. The children really loved the flags, toy cars, bracelets, candy, and leis.

That afternoon we met up with our Brazilian friends and walked to the beach. We swam, ate popsicles (banana, avocado, corn, and tapioca flavored...) and eventually we played soccer.

Playing soccer on the beach...

 After mass, there was another dance. Aside from dancing with our new friends, we danced with some of the little girls and boys. It was a beautifully freeing experience to just be together and dance with the entire church community. It is something that we don't have in Vermont. It seems that when mass ends, it is easy to just rush home, but the community dances that we went to brought the community together and were eye-opening to us. Anna Burke pointed out that it is interesting to visit another culture, and to see how they approach their religion differently from the way we approach it, even though we have the same faith. It is good to experience different cultures so that we can make changes in our own lives. We can attempt to bring the passion, love, and community that we experienced in the Brazilian church to our parishes in Vermont.

Afterward the dance, we went to get Acai. It is similar to ice cream, but it is made with the Acai berry. In addition, sauces (like chocolate, strawberry, and honey) , fruits, and crunchy foods (such as granola, corn flakes, and nuts) are put on top.