I finished my report cards Thursday. We are half way through the first semester. Time has gone by very quickly and very slowly all at the same time. Quickly because I can't believe that the first quarter is already over and slowly because the weather never changes so I can't mark the passing of time by the temperature getting colder.
Last Sunday there was an event here in Belem called Cirio. Cirio is a Brazilian Catholic (however it really is idolatry not Catholic) event that takes place on the second Sunday in October. During Cirio people come to pay tribute to a statue of the Virgin Mary or "Our Lady of Nazareth". People will carry models of things they want and some even crawl for miles on their hands and knees as a sort of penance so that Mary will grant their request. At the peak of the festival there is a procession lead by the stand which carries the statue and trailed by a large rope. People believe that if they can help carry the rope then Mary will give them a special blessing for the following year.
This week we only had school on Monday and Tuesday because it was the end of the quarter. It was so nice to have a few days off even though I didn't do a whole lot. We did get a couple of good game nights in at the Kennedy's house. And Saturday Andy Kennedy took us up in his plane. He has a small 4 seater that he built last time they were in the States. I got a couple of pictures of the school and in one of them you can see my apartment.
Please continue to pray for visa situations. There are 7 of us here on tourist visas and 2 still in the States waiting on a work visa. The lady who was teaching 3rd grade had to go back to the States to finish chemo. We are waiting on a 3rd grade teacher. Also we desperately need people to teach ESL, because we have several students who don't speak English well, much less read and write well enough to succeed.
