newsletter 2

Oi from Rio
If this is your first email from me then know from this point forward you will be on my newsletter recipient list and you can read the first newsletter archieved at my blog: jen-unconventionalwisdom.blogspot.com. A copy of all my newsletters will be archieved there under the tag: Rio Servant Team.

A quick thanks to all of you who contributed financially to making this opportunity possible for me. Expect a real mailed thank you at some point hopefully in the near future but I'm still trying to figure out the postal service here.

I've been in Rio for 6 days now. The flight was uneventful. I met 3 of the four other interns in Houston. Heather is from Mississippi and is a nurse. Lisa is from Seatle and has worked in youth ministry. David is from Virginia and just graduated from Wake Forest with degrees in Political Science and Spanish. He also already knows Portuguese which is a really big help to the rest of us. Every evening we have Portuguese lessons from a woman who is a friend of WMF staff Jenna. We live in the favela Jacarexinho, Ben's bungalow floors 2-4. The women reside on the fourth floor and the men on the third. There are generally two rooms per floor. It is a really fantastic place to live. I spend lots of time on the porch off the 4th floor reading, praying, and studying the language.

A couple nights ago a friend of Ben's from Colorado visited and we all climbed to the roof where the kids fly kites and we viewed the stars and Christ the Redeemer statue. While we were up there we saw a blindingly bright shooting star. We spent the next couple hours in conversation while eating bread and mangos.

Traditional breakfast is coffee and bread (so much for quitting coffee for a while). Lunch comes around 2 or 3 and is the largest meal. Snack at 6 and supper at 9 or 10. Rice and beans are common for lunch and supper but also include other options including beef or chicken, some pasta, fruit and veggies. The food is good but I'm hungry a lot.

Tuesday we went to the Orphanage. It is a house and shop overseen by one old woman and 15 kids ranging from 2-16ish. We had lots of fun playing with the children. This afternoon we will go downtown for our first time and next week we will go to the missionaries of Charity home.

We are still waiting for the fourth intern to join us but he was declined VISA on his frist application and still waiting to hear back from his second attempt. Please pray for his situation.

Otherwise we are well and adjusting to our new home. We stay inside a lot while getting to know each other, learning the rules of the culture and neighborhood, and the language.

Thanks for reading. I hope you are all well. Blessings to you. If you want to brighten our day and send a letter or American junk food (cookies, peanut butter, that sort of thing) our P.O. box is:
Ben Miller (Jen Pare)
Caixa Postal 24103
AC Tijuca
Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20550-970
Brasil
and write Air Mail on the envelope for speedier delivery!

love to you all!
Jen