Oi family for the last time,
My last day here has been amazing just like the other forty. My day started early due to the fire in the slums. Some of you may have seen from my Facebook posts but for those of you who haven't there was a huge fire in the slums yesterday. We recieved the final count and over one hundred families lost their homes and everything they own. Eight of our children were amongst those families. Thankfully no one was injured. The last fire of this size happened in 2008 and many of those families still haven't recovered and are still homeless, so many prayers are needed. This morning started with a trip to the church where we loaded dozens of bags full of donated clothes, shoes, and basic necessities into the car where we took them to the Kid's Place to be distributed to the families of the eight children who were in the fire. There we sorted everything and made piles so the mothers could easily go through and grab what they needed. Also we put together food care packages to give to the mothers of our children. After our families go through the donated items the rest will be donated to the shelter lodging the other victims. Hearing about the fire, I was a little bit numb. I was just going through the motions trying to help wherever I could. Then I went into the main room where I saw two of little boys who are in my class, Kyle and Victor, shirtless covered in ash while their mother sorted through some clothes for then. I went over and greet them by putting my hand on their heads and they did the same to me with adorable smiles. They take my hands and we begin playing a hand game that I taught them that I learned in Mexico, which they absolutely love. It became real for me in that moment. I know these little boys. I've played with them, comforted them, talked with them. I can't imagine how scared they must have been to see their home go up in flames along with all of their neighbors. They already didn't have much and even that was taken away. I helped to get them bathed and in new clothes and then we played with puzzles for a while. As Victor and I were working on a puzzle, Eliane came up and tapped me on the back and motioned for me to come with her. I follow her outside where all of the kids are standing waiting for me to arrive. They are holding three signs: one had orange handprints on it with "I love you" written on the top, and the other two were heart shaped that said "Sarah, you are special" and "We will miss you" in Portuguese signed by all my babies. They start singing a song to me and I just busted into tears. At the end they all say "I love you!" and run and tackle me in one giant group hug. It was the best send off anyone could have asked for. After Kid's Place I went to Starla's house and she took me to another set of slums where we were able to hand out the baby clothes that I brought. I was able to make 20 bags, each complete with 5 onsies, 5 cloth diapers, and 5 blankets. We were able to hand out six bags today to 5 pregnant women and one with a three month old baby. They are going back tomorrow to see if they can hand out more. It was a perfect way to end the day.
My time here has been something truly extraordinary. I've learned so much about this culture, myself, and God. He has been here with me through it all guiding me through different experiences that have shaped and molded me into a stronger Christian and a stronger missionary. I still have so much to learn and a long way to go but Brazil and what I learned here will forever be in my heart. I want to thank everyone who made it possible for me to come. I can't tell you what it means to know such love and support and I'm just so grateful to all of you for allowing me to have six weeks to share all that love and support with my babies here. I can't wait to be home yet it breaks my heart to leave. I only ask you continue to keep the children and their families, the tias, and everyone who works with these kids in your prayers. I'm going to include some pictures from my send off below. God Bless you guys! I should see you soon! It has been the trip of a lifetime.
My giant goodbye group hug! And yes, we all ended up on the ground.
Abraços e Beijos,
Sarah
