Hello, My Name Is...Part 2

It’s here! Part 2 of the people in my life. Well, it's actually more like Part 1 of Part 2. It's a really long list, so I thought I'd break it up to make your reading a little more pleasureable. I've included half of the list here (A-I). Since you’ve already met a few of my readers, it’s time for you to meet my Brasilian family. I don’t know what I would’ve done without them. They have blessed me more than I can describe and have given me lots of laughs and good memories, not to mention all of the fun Portuguese words they taught me. Meu amigo doido, they are great! :D

Andressa Signoretti
The first person on the list (because it’s in alphabetical order) is Andressa. She is the daughter of Roberto and Marisa, one of the missionary couples at the church. Your first impression of her is of a girl who is very confident, talkative, and outgoing. And she certainly is all of those things. But she’s also pretty shy, a lot like me actually. Andressa grew up speaking English, so she speaks it almost fluently. When she speaks to me or Cris, she speaks a little of both languages, just whatever word is easier to say. She studies Physical Therapy at the federal university, and at times has been my chiropractor and masseuse. And she’s good at it!

Bob
His name is actually Sergio, but most people call him Bob. The first time I came here in 2007, he was our guide. We were with him all the time. This time around he’s been a little more busy since starting college and getting a great internship. We share a love for coffee, and I have some good memories of our times at Sao Braz. He speaks English super well, and can sing (without looking at the lyrics) almost any praise and worship song. Thanks to Bob refusing to speak to me in English, I learned Portuguese much faster!

Bragas
Osmildo, Marta, Catherine, and Jonathan make up the Braga family, one of the missionary families at the Comunidade de Cristo church. They are originally from Fortaleza, a city about 6 hours north of Natal. They came to Natal in 2006 to work with the church. Osmildo just bought a new car, something he’s been dreaming about for a while, and is in hog heaven. He preaches at the church and just loves to talk about Jesus! Marta is Osmildo’s wife. She is very passionate when it comes to the church. She helps to teach the women’s class and has tried to start a women’s small group program. She also has several individual Bible studies throughout the week. Marta is learning English and uses it with me when she can. It’s so cute! This is one couple dedicated to God and His work in this city.

Caio
When I think about Caio, two things come to mind: faith and energy. Caio is one of the most faithful guys I know here. He always has a comment about a devo, a sermon, or anything to do with the Bible. His conversation is always very spiritual. For the last few months, we’ve made a monthly trip to McDonald’s for breakfast. The first time we went, we got cards that we could stamp and get a free breakfast after the fourth stamp. Of course, we had to get that free breakfast, so we’ve been going back ever since. It’ll be ours this weekend! I have really enjoyed our time together and our conversations at the 3rd table back on the first row at McDonald’s. Caio is also the most energetic person I know here. He’s like a little kid, (almost) always bouncing off the walls. Thankfully, he has his girlfriend, Rejane, to keep him in check.

Carol Lima
Carol is one of the sweetest people I know here. She is engaged to Diogo and will hopefully be married before the year is over. Last fall she graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the federal university. If you saw pictures of a really fancy me in a red dress, those were taken at her graduation party, which is a bigger deal here than the graduation itself. I got to know Carol pretty well when we were prayer partners in January and February. I really enjoy talking to and praying with her. She definitely has the gift of encouragement.

Catherine Braga
Catherine is the daughter of Osmildo and Marta, one of the missionary couples at the church. She is a physical therapy student at a private university here and is currently dating Talis. Catherine and Andressa are best friends and are absolutely hilarious together.

Cris Carpenter
My roomie and fellow former LST intern. Poor thing. She had to put up with living with me for a year. For those of you who have lived with me, you know how I am cleaning, especially doing the dishes (right Charity?). Thankfully, she was very patient. Her LST internship ended in February, and she is now back in Natal as a full-time missionary. Cris has a great sense of humor and has given me some good laughs. She introduced me to Obama, PostSecret, Lissa shoe stores, insights into Brazilian culture, MANY Portuguese words, and lots and lots of other things I can’t think of right now. Thank you Cris for all of that, for wanting to move, and for buying a car.

Edvan and Karol Morreira
This couple moved from a city a few states away a little over a year ago so Edvan could study for a doctorate in Physics (yeah, wow!) at the federal university. Karol now studies Elementary Education, called Pedogogia here, at the same university. They are expecting their first baby in November. I’m hoping for a girl! Edvan and Karol are both very faithful and active in the church. Edvan helps lead the young people’s group and sometimes preaches. I am going to miss the both of them a lot!

Fernanda Fernandes
Fefa is a hoot. I love her to death. Hanging out with her is never, ever dull. She is very talkative and absolutely hilarious. For the longest time, and sometimes still, I couldn’t for the life of me understand a word she said. She uses a lot of slang and talks about 100 mph. But she is a sweetheart. She has encouraged me so much here. Her faith is steadfast and deep, and it is very easy to see how much she loves God. She is just finishing her first year at the federal university where she
studies nursing. I know God is going to use her to do great and amazing things!

Heloise
Another sweetheart. Heloise is still in high school and gave her life to Jesus last February after a long time of studying with Marta. She and I were prayer partners for a week right before the Youth Impact. Her first time praying out loud in front of another person was with me. How special to part of that moment! It was good for her too, because she was praying with someone who probably wasn’t going to understand more than 50% of what she said. I’ll miss seeing her pretty face and getting a hug from her at the cultos on Sunday.

Isabel
Bel is the coolest 11 year old girl I know! We have spent many afternoons together at the church. When my readers didn’t show up, she was there to hang out. We played a lot of Speed, and she usually beat me. She is also the person who taught me most of the Portuguese I know. I would practice with her in the afternoons at the church. If she started laughing, I knew I had made a mistake. If not, I knew I said it correctly. She still enjoys laughing at me when I make Portuguese mistakes. No matter how hard I try, she will not speak English to me, even though I know she knows how. Bel is one of the people I will miss most from here.

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about my Brazilian family. The rest of the list (J-T) is coming soon! I was going to put pictures up on Facebook, but I can barely keep my eyes open. I'll include the link to the pictures in my next post. Just something else for you to look forward to. :)