Newsletter 1

Hello Friends and Family, If you are receiving this email I thought you would like to be includedin updates from my upcoming mission trip to Brazil. If you don't want to be receiving these updates, would rather I send them to another emailaddress, or know someone else who would like to be included; please reply to this letter with that information. I will be flying to Rio from Houston on August 18th and arriving on the 19th. I will be there for four months with three other interns and 5 permanent residents. I will know more specifically what I will be doingonce I get there and start getting involved. I do know that I will be inlanguage classes and will be working some with street kids, some with homelessmen, some with orphans, and some with establishing a new shelter for pregnantor street momthers with new-borns. I also know that I will be playing lotsof soccer, reading lots of books, living in less than comfortableconditions, and learning what it means to love people who smell, are strung out on drugs, or are otherwise different from those I generally hang out with. If you are on this list than you are important to me. I want you to know what I'm going through and I want to know what is happening in your lifeas well while I'm away. So when you receive my emails maybe you will wantto pray for our group and the people I tell stories about and then maybeyou will want to send me an email describing your day at work/school/vacation/whatever is going on with you. I'd reallyappreciate that. Also, I just received an update on how much money I have raised so farwhich amounts to $2350. This internship requires that I raise $4800. Thatmeans that as of today I am still short $2550. That's a lot of money and Itrust that it will all come in eventually. Unfortunately I have to have $3000to get on the plane. If you have not donated and you wanted to please takethis as a reminder and send it in as soon as you can. If you have already supported financially you can pray that the rest of the needed supportcomes in and talk to people who like to support these kinds of NGOs/missions. Attached is the support card that needs to be sent in with your checks. Remember, do not write my name anywhere on the check. It needs to bemade out to Word Made Flesh. On the support card you can write to apply thefunds to staff member Me (Jennifer Pare). If you are wondering how you can find out more about what I will bedoing in Brazil and who I will be working for OR if you misplaced the letter Isent out back in June explaining everything, I'm attaching a basic form ofthe initial support letter as well. If you still want more information orare really bored while surfing the web sometime check out wordmadeflesh.organd read the stories about others serving around the world. OK-enough talk about money. While I'm away I will also be updating myblogs. On blogger.com I will be writing book reviews on the reading I will bedoing while in Rio and perhaps some other reflections as well. My blog namethere is: jen-unconventionalwisdom.blogspot.com You do not need a blog of yourown to view it. I will also be updating my xanga, probably less frequently, about more day to day occurrences. My blog name there is zhinifo. Ithink you have to have a registered blog with xanga to view that one but Icould be wrong. I think that is all the pre-field updates I have to give. I'll beleaving Chicagoland on the 16th to drive to Lubbock where I will store my carwhile gone. So think of me on the 16-17. It's a 20 hour drive, alone.Otherwise expect to receive the first real newsletter towards the end of themonth. I plan to send them out every couple of weeks. There is a chance I may get some photos sent out as well. The plan with pictures is to take a couple disposables and mail them home as I use them up. Hopefully my parentswill be able to scan and send out the good ones and then I'll write aboutwhat they are after they get sent out. If you have any other suggestions or thoughts or support or anything else, you know what to do! I love you all (y'all),Jen Pare