Announcements
Sorry for not uploading this newsletter for several months. I was very busy and eventually completely forgot, but I hope to bring this newsletter back. Expect one every month!
Culture
A fun cultural fact is that Brazilians call their friend’s parents, Uncle (Tio) and Aunt (Tia). Good luck finding out who their actual relatives are.
Funny story: We were at the pool one day and one of Naomi’s friends was trying to ask my Dad something. She was saying, “Tio,” but my dad didn’t know she was trying to get his attention. Finally my Mom told him that she was trying to talk to him. Later he said that he had heard them say Tio several times but thought they had been talking to someone else. Literally ignoring them!
Interesting Facts
Soccer is everything here. I haven't met one Brazilian who doesn't like soccer. One of their favorite questions to ask is, "What is your favorite soccer team?” If it isn’t their team, there's a small chance they’ll be your friend. Unless your American, then they’ll try to persuade you to become a fan of their team.
Top moments of the past 6-7 months
(What am I thinking? This meme is over.)
Our grandparents from my Mom’s side of the family came to visit in September, we had a great revival with many visitors.
Getting hugged by this wave!
We had a church baptism. Three people were baptized, including Naomi!
My Mom’s birthday in January. Pastor Rocky and his wife Ingrid Colona came down from Curitiba to celebrate because it was Mrs. Ingrid’s birthday as well.
Naomi’s D.I.Y. neon, glow in the dark, laser gun birthday party (in our church).
Everyone has been improving in their language abilities.
Going to Balneario Camboriu for Thanksgiving. We celebrated it with the Colona’s. We went as a family to the beach, visited an aquarium, and rode electric scooters around the city. It was an amazing experience.
Later, me and Dad went by ourselves and rode a zipline. We waited in a line for an hour to ride it (Totally worth it, it had an amazing view of the beach and went over a forest.) We also rode a Ferris Wheel at the height of 269 feet. That’s almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty from the ground to the torch! The Ferris Wheel had an incredible view of the ocean and the beach. My Dad thought it would be a good idea to shake the cart the entire time.
The power was out in our church one Sunday morning so we had a big church picnic at a park. It was an amazing fellowship and lasted roughly 5 hours!
We expanded and renovated our church. The sanctuary and the nursery are now twice the size.
In December we finished our first school year! We passed all of our classes with no problem. Instead of going to summer school if you don’t pass all of your classes. Here you just have to stay an extra week after the school year is over.
Prof. Letícia
Prof. Marla
Prof. Michelle
“Coach”
We had a challenge we started a few months ago. Whoever found a car with a license plate that had their initials on it won $5. Recently our car started having clutch problems so we had to get a rental car. They ended up giving my dad a car that had FWL on its license plate. What a way to win!
We went to the Argentinian Conference in October. We had a great time there. My Dad gave a testimony in 3 languages. English, Portuguese and Spanish!
We visited Hemerocalis Gardens. My mom wanted to visit here for so long. We all enjoyed the scenery and also fed the fish. They felt like vacuum cleaners cleaning the food off your hands.
Joanna learned how to ride a bike with no training-wheels.
