Day 3: A Child's Smile Is the Same In Any Language

After being absconded by a band of Brazilian pirates for the past day (aka technical difficulties with the computer lab) -- we are finally back on line! Yesterday was an amazing day with the children from the community who performed for us an array of musical numbers -- from our National Anthem, to Eric Clapton's "Tears from Heaven" to several Brazilian folk songs. Leah, the music teacher with the program, clearly has been hard at work helping the children to prepare sung music, handbells, recorders, and dancing for our arrival -- check out the sample below on the video. Their joy was a beautiful sight to behold. Many of the children enjoyed teaching us their names and simple expressions in their language. Then, Teca took the opportunity to teach the children about the different countries of origin our team members come from -- Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Sierra Leone. She introduced us and then asked us to share how to say "hello" in our native tongue and then the children repeated each salutation with vigor. These children are beautiful and it is hard to imagine that without the Shade & Fresh Water Project, they would be selling drugs, panhandling, or worse. Regardless of where you make your home on this fine planet, there is no doubt in my mind that a child's smile is the same in any language. My heart is encouraged to know these children are given a fighting chance to actually have a childhood. After much laughter and singing and dancing, the children headed to school by 11:00 am and we reminded them we'd see them again on Saturday for the Vacation Bible School program we'll be hosting.

Our group then headed back to work on scraping, priming, and painting the dormitories and the main building. We are making good progress and I am hopeful that by week's end we will be ready to come home and paint our own church's exterior! After lunch in the afternoon, the center hosts a group of senior citizens for fellowship and various programs. This week, our group was the program. Once again, Teca took the opportunity to introduce our very diverse team. I am proud to come from such a unique congregation. Apparently, of the approximately 16 teams the project hosts each year -- our diversity is quite something. We then sang our "theme song" Deus Tao Bom, which was followed by a rousing version of "How Great Thou Art" in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Amstelina took the lead and brought the house down with her pipes. I was reminded just how powerful music is to touch the deepest part of our souls as there wasn't a dry eye in the room. We noticed that the group was almost enitrely women and Teca shared that many are widows who prior to becoming involved in the program were completely isolated from others. 5 years ago when they started the program almost all of the women were on anti-depressants, but now only a handful -- just from the simple act of being part of a community that loves them and knows their names. Hope bubbles over.