Intercultural choices when cultures colide…

October 13, 2009 Dear family and friends, Yesterday, October 12, was a really weird intercultural day.  In America, it was Columbus Day.  In Canada, it was Thanksgiving Day.  In Brazil, it was two holidays:  Children’s Day and Nossa Senhora da Aparecida, day of the patron saint of Brazil.  So what did the Flurry clan do?  We (a bunch of Americans) went to celebrate Thanksgiving with our Canadian friends (thanks Juanita for all the wonderful food) while taking presents for all the kids to celebrate Children’s Day.  This year I get to double dip into Thanksgiving!!! PACA has started well – 350 students, which means full enrollment with a growing waiting list for each grade.  While the school is generous in giving financial aid to the community (especially with the dollar getting weaker every month), we are financially very stable.  Despite a very competitive market (over 6 English schools), God has indeed blessed the school with a good reputation and with parents who honor their tuition payments.  Next year is the school’s 50th anniversary and Kevin is part of the committee planning several events throughout the year.  This semester is planting seeds and getting things ready for next year’s celebration of God’s faithfulness to the school’s history and future. Ysabel is celebrating her 10th month.  She’s got five teeth, enjoys climbing the stairs, spends time cooking with mom, loves to eat bread (she’s a Flurry), smiles when playing with her brother, and crawls around the house like a turbo jet.  She’s quite bossy at such a young age, especially when she wants bread or to take shower.  She’s been sleeping for a good solid 10-12 hours a day, plus taking two naps.  She eats and sleeps really well.  Currently, she’s fighting a cold and mild cough, but it could be another tooth getting ready to come in. Samuel is now an 8 year old 2nd grader.  Belgian waffles and macaroni ‘n cheese are his favorite foods.  It’s a fight to keep a balance between getting him to read or playing Nintendo DS (thanks Auntie).  During the week, he would rather sleep until 7:15 am.  But during the weekends, loves to wake up at 6:00 am to go play.  He enjoys playing knock-out basketball, especially if he can beat his dad.  He’s very competitive and wants to win (got that from his mom). He’s got two great teachers this year:  Ms. Claryssa Tomaz and Mrs. Ana Lúcia Soldi.  Ms. Tomaz (on the right below) is his English Language & Arts, Bible, Social Studies, Reading teacher.  She’s a Brazilian missionary kid (mk) who grew up in Romania but graduated from college in the USA with a elementary childhood teaching degree.  This is her second year at PACA. She’s young and all the boys in her class have a crush on her.  Samuel loves to read and is coming along just fine in Math. Mrs. Ana Lúcia Soldi (on the left above) is in her 9th year at PACA, teaching 2nd grade Portuguese Language & Arts, Brazilian History, and Brazilian Geography.  She’s got several degrees in the area of education and child psychology.  She just went on one of her first mission trips with her church group and loved the experience of sharing the gospel door-to-door.  Mrs. Soldi is one of the most dynamic and demanding teachers we have, yet kids seem to love her so much (it’s the parents who moan and groan under the homework assignments).  Samuel is improving his Portguese.    I’m amazed at how much he knows considering the low amount of exposure to the language. Vanessa’s currently fighting a nasty cold that has been hanging on to her for the last 8 days.  Since we’ve had two cases of pneumonia and a few cases of swine flu, we are keeping an eye on her.  She needs rest, which is hard to get being a mother of a very active 10 month old girl.  Her children’s church program keeps growing, needing more volunteers to handle all the kids, but making the program so much stronger with all those young kids under nine.  Currently, if you add both children’s services, they are hosting around 50 kids per Sunday. Some prayer requests for this next month: •    Carlos Soldi- employment: this is Mrs. Ana Lúcia’s husband, who just lost his job after working 27 years with Fujitsu.  In Brazil, it’s very tough for executives over 40 to get another steady job.  Companies tend to bet on younger candidates who are willing to make less and work lots of longer hours.  Pray for quick employment. •    Vanessa’s health – getting over her cold: she needs rest but can’t seem to find time to quiet down. •    Kevin’s job – Walkathon 2009:  our goal this year is to raise about $180,000 to improve school technology (projectors, smart boards, and 60 new computers), but as you know it’s a tough year for fundraising due to global economic uncertainties. •    Financial support – Currently the dollar is losing value here in Brazil, increasing our cost of living.  We used to make due with $1,000 a month, now we need about $1.600 a month to make ends meet.  Pray that God would bring along new monthly financial supporters. •    2 PACA teachers are fighting pneumonia – they need a quick recovery. •    3 PACA teachers are pregnant – pray for healthy pregnancies, protection from the swine flu, and provision for all their needs. Thank you for being part of our ministry team – through your prayers and friendship.  Partnering with us, you are investing into God’s Kingdom at PACA (www.paca.com.br).  Pray over the school and over us.  And please let us know how we can pray for you. With lots of Amor, The Flurrys – Kevin, Vanessa, Samuel and Ysabel ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… We love to stay in touch with you.  Our home skype address is Vanessa.flurry and our home phone number is 323.230.7325.  Vanessa’s email is Vanessa.flurry@gmail.comand she can be found occasionally on Facebook.   My SKYPE address is Kevin Bruce Flurry, my personal email is Kevin.flurry@gmail.com, and my work email is Kevin.flurry@paca.com.br.  I sometimes find time to get on Facebook. If you are lead to support us prayerfully or financially, we are grateful for your prayer and financial support. Prayer is needed as we seek to stay focused on following Jesus direction for the school, to develop relationships with friends, to raise a family, and to expand God’s Kingdom here in Sao Paulo. Financial support is needed so we can focus on our ministry at PACA and not have to be anxious over money. God has been faithful to provide for our needs and has blessed us so much, using many friends like you on this journey. We desire to be a blessing to each person God allows our lives to touch. From students at school  - to the little kid who comes begging for food at our door – to our neighbor next door. Financial support is processed by the PACA ALUMNI FOUNDATION (http://www.paca.com.br/?page=thefoundation), a non-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization dedicated to linking resources to develop the school’s future. Their mission to advance the educational and spiritual excellence of Pan American Christian Academy by linking financial and gifts-in-kind resources, enabling PACA to develop into a leading international Christian school. Every gift is tax-deductible. Become a financial partner – make a secure online gift today towards our ministry through NetworkforGood.org by clicking here.  Or if you want to download a form to give by check, click here to print one out.

Advertisement