What's Next?

My first goal as a Maryknoll Lay Missioner is done.  I have finished language school.  I have a piece of paper that says I have been trained in Portuguese.  I am thinking about carrying it around with me so the next time someone does not understand what I am saying I can show them my certificate (the reality is that will be tomorrow when someone does not understand my Portuguese).

So what is next for me?  Right now I am in Joao Passoa, Brazil which is in the North.  We are visiting one of the Maryknoll Sister's home.  It is a wonderful home within walking distance to the beach.  It is winter now so it is not hot but it is warm.  Today we had a lot of clouds, nonetheless, it is wonderful to be here.  We will be taking a break after a lot of hard work this year and visiting the ministry of the Sisters.

On June 3rd I will return to Sao Paulo.  The plan for now is that we will continue our orientation by living with Brazilians, learning more about ministry opportunities, and working on our Portuguese.  One way that I will do this is by volunteering in a few ministries.  What we have planned now is that I will accompany a social worker who works with young, single mothers on Monday, on Wed I will visit the woman's Prison with another Lay Missioner to work with woman over the age of 55, and one other day a week I will visit a homeless center.

I am planning on living with another Lay Missioner.  We think we will find an apartment around August. Until then I will continue to move around to other Lay Missioner homes and live with Brazilians to understand the language and culture better.  I will not lie, moving a lot is a challenging experience but also a rewarding one.  The generosity of all those to open their homes to us is overwhelming.  I am grateful to all of those who offer me the gift of hospitality.

So that is what is next for me (at least today, things change from day to day but that is the plan for now). My next plan is to go to bed so I can be ready to go the beach at 6:30AM tomorrow.  I know some of you might have your mouths open right now because you cannot believe that I will be up that early.  But for the beach in Brazil I will get my......out of bed.  Boa Noite.

My fellow language school students from all over the world