Kid's Day!

October in Porto Alegre is a really great time! The weather starts warming up as we get into Spring. Flowers of purple, red, yellow and blue bloom from various trees throughout the city. It is a lovely time.

One of the things that makes October great in Brazil is Kid's Day. Children are really appreciated in Brazil. So, there is a special holiday designated to honor them. It usually falls on a Thursday in the middle of the month. On this day the children of Brazil don't go to school. They go to parties and are showered with gifts! It is like having their birthdays and Christmas all on one day! Needless to say, they really enjoy it.

It just so happens that the street that our church building is on closes down for a "block party" the Sunday before Kid's Day. This "block party" is called Criança na Avenida (literally translated: children in the street). When I say that the street is closed down I mean that no cars are allowed to drive down it. The street is full of pedestrianswalking from storefront to storefront and from activity to activity. Different groups and business owners have food stands out and games for the children to play. For the last 2 years we have made and sold Entreviero sandwiches (a mixed meat sandwich - very yummy!) and have all kinds of activities for passers-by. We sell the sandwiches to raise money for our Carnival Retreat. This helps us off-set some of the costs. Inside our building we have different games and a karaoke setup with Brazilian and American songs. The karaoke can be really funny sometimes! There is also a parade that goes down the street twice during the day. There is a small marching band and several different groups seeking exposure in the community. I think I saw the Lion's Club! We have built Noah's Ark for the last 3 years. It has been a huge way for us to be seen.

The greatest thing about the "block party" is the exposure. For the last 3 years we have had approximately 2,000 people come into or up to our building on this day. We hope and pray that our good attitudes and loving spirits touched people who came by this last Sunday.

This is me managing the selling of our sandwiches, drinks and cake. My first customer of the day!

Our member, Lauro Lima, is the master chef behind the wonderful Entreviero sandwiches.

This is our Noah's Ark float going down the street in the parade. If you look closely you can see some of our kids dressed up like animals. In this picture we have some ladybugs and a couple of lions.

This was Elisa's first parade - she was a bunny rabbit! You can see a picture of her on our other blog: www.terrysinbrazil.blogspot.com

We set tables and chairs up in front of our building for people to sit and relax and enjoy their food. Here you can see Jennifer eating a sandwich and visiting with some of our friends.

Jennifer and Elisa walked around and visited with people most of the day while I worked the cash register. It was a really fun day!