Horses for Orphans, Brazil - Day 12

Today there will be a flurry of activity from morning till night. We are up early, and there is an excited atmosphere as we plan our activities for the day. A group of students from a church ministry school are coming to visit us. They will join us for 'God Time', which we will have in the disabled people's house because they like the singing. And later there will be a demonstration of horsemanship from the boys. And an opportunity for the church students to try doing some Horse Agility. Followed by swimming at the waterfall. A very full day.

At 09h30 we go across to the house where we are greeted with enthusiasm by everyone there. The church group is slightly late, and we have begun our worship when they arrive. They join us and it is beautiful to hear their voices, singing in Brazilian, while we sing in English.

It is wonderful finally to spend time with my friend Fabio Lopes. Fabio teaches English. We have been Facebook friends for more than a year, ever since he helped me with the translating of the H-Factor Journals from English to Portugese. We have had some great chats about England and English Literature. Face to face we enjoy chatting just as much. With enthusiasm we plan what we will do when he visits us in the UK next year. For example, visiting Jane Austin's house is definitely on Fabio's 'To Do' list, and his eyes light up when I tell him that she is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

At lunch time everyone goes off to have lunch, and I go back to our house for a cup of coffee and for what I hope will be a quiet moment. My heart is very full, and as an introvert I look for quiet 'recharge' spaces in the midst of all the interactions. These are hard to find here at Betel - we are so busy, and there are always children hoping to connect with us. This time I sit down on the bench and take one sip of coffee, at which point Ingela comes past, sees me and asks if I could please go down to the arena and build the Horse Agility course, because she is worried that we are going to run out of time for all the things we plan to do this afternoon. Aah..... Oh well, this is what I came to Brazil for!

Soon the boys arrive to collect their horses. They are smartly dressed for this occasion, and they spend extra time preparing their horses too.

While they practise, Ingela explains True Connection to the students, pointing out various things the boys are doing. The festive atmosphere increases as the boys begin their demonstrations. There is a lot of clapping as they show off what they can do with their equine partners. It is just wonderful to see them all in action, and my already full heart begins to overflow with pride and joy. It ends up being a little hard to see them sometimes, through my blurry eyes. Aurimar riding perfect circles at a relaxed trot, Rogerio jumping his horse in and out of the arena, Douglas and Palomina demonstrating TC at liberty, Fabricio actually smiling as he leads his horse over the Horse Agility obstacles, Welliton showing beautiful hindquarter and forequarter yields, Hudson - with his strong sense of humour - posing for the camera, Reginaldo helping the younger children with their tasks.... So quickly these have become 'my' children too.

After the demonstration the students join us in the arena, and the boys teach them how to lead their horses over the Horse Agility obstacles. This is such a lot of fun, and it is special to see how competent the boys are at teaching. Some of the students get to ride as well. During a lull in the action, Aurimar gives Kate a short riding lesson. Lucky girl!

Then we tidy up quickly, change, and head off to the waterfall. It is very hot, and it is a delight to submerge ourselves in the cool water. The children are much more exuberant than the adults. They amuse themselves by jumping off the rocks into the water. Kate and Julie join them, and I watch with a degree of uneasiness which I keep firmly to myself. It looks a bit dangerous, but they are having a lot of fun. And their Brazilian companions think they are just amazing - in their conservative society girls don't often get to do such adventurous things.

Suddenly we realise the time. Supper will be served in 10 minutes! Ingela calls the children together and they race off back to Betel. It is a 20 minute run! Mel and I wait with the church group and we return at a more leisurely pace. Which means that we miss supper, and have precisely 5 minutes in which change out of our swimming costumes and gather our English class resources. It is a mad rush, and we are rather relieved when no children come for English due to a miscommunciation about the plans for the evening. Some of the children do arrive for Movie night, and so Mel and I get busy making popcorn and serving cool-drink.

Later, much later, we make up for our missed supper with fried eggs and bread-rolls.