You probably remember Ina and her son Fabio. I wrote about her tragic but inspiring story here.
This woman, whose family is marked by a rare, hereditary Huntington’s disease, has already sent three of her loved ones to Heaven; her father-in-law, her husband, and her daughter.
The woman that God used to give herself to others, to take care of them, and to stand by their side, had to give herself one more time.
The news
The charity that we started at Operando to collect enough money for Fabio’s wheelchair was in full swing.
Two Brazilian volunteers, who know Ina well, took a lead and began looking for opportunities to buy such a wheelchair that would suit Fabio best.
The news that Fabio was taken to the hospital put a hold on this search. A few days ago, Lucas, the missionary told us that Fabio too said his goodbye forever.
He found his peace
A large group of people, Ina’s friends and relatives, were gathered at the funeral parlor. We too were stunned seeing how much Fabio’s death affected his mother. You never get used to seeing death.
We felt moved and relieved seeing Fabio in an open casket, lying there peaceful and even with a faint smile on his face.
We thought about how it was seeing him in pain and tossing and turning on the mattress. He came to the finish line, he fought his battle and now he’s with God for eternity.
This is a mixture of joy and sadness that’s hard to describe. Ina will finally be able to rest and take care of herself.
She has a lot of friends from near and far and even you who prayed for her or gave money for her touched her in your own way. There will be no lack in support.
Others need help too
We will meet with Ina in days to follow and ask her about her needs. From the amount of money we gather, we will give her an amount that we can afford. Remember, we are collecting money for another wheelchair.
I wrote about young Gilbert who has been chained to bed since childhood because of meningitis here.
His mother struggles too since she has no income and no financial support from the state. She could only dream about a wheelchair, but we know that this dream will come true soon with your help!
English lessons
Otherwise, our work is not just visiting poor families. A few weeks ago, we also started teaching English, just like we did in almost all the communities and missions we visited last year in Asia.
Languages are hard
I’ll be completely honest. If I thought that Asians are difficult to teach foreign languages, let me tell you that we are struggling in Brazil much more than in for example Laos or Vietnam.
Thank God we both speak Italian and some Spanish, so we can communicate to some extent.
It’s not that people are unable to learn or they lack the gift for learning foreign languages. They don’t like English, it’s foreign and some even despise it.
What surprises me the most is some teenager who struggles to say an English word and at the same time states they’ve been learning English for six years.
Of course they’re not lying. English is a part of the curriculum, but the problem is in the quality, control and intensity of teaching. Most of the Brazilians are aware that they should be able to speak at least some English but if they don’t get an external incentive, like in school, they will never learn on their own.
No classes
Just one example. Before the beginning of our course we talked to a group of people who wanted to join us and a girl told us that they had English classes at school, but the English teacher left months ago. Since then there haven’t been any English classes.
Lucas’s experience
When we presented Lucas with the idea of English classes he initially didn’t show excessive optimism.
He too stated such project years ago but quit after a year due to lack of time and also because there weren’t a lot of people attending the classes.
There was probably nothing wrong with Lucas’s classes but the Brazilians are known for being very impressed, but when the passion is gone and one needs to show some persistence, many give up and quit.
I don’t need to emphasize that there are only a few who are ready to do something extra beside the classroom.
They like to attend classes
Anyway, Father Lucas announced the news about the classes in those closest communities led by the Xaverian missionaries, and people responded well.
After three weeks, there are two groups of nine people, children and adults and even elderly, that attend the classes every Saturday at 4 PM.
Over time, we decided that Silva would teach a group with children, so adults would have their own program, and their children their own. It’s much more effective!
I’m just sorry that we will only be here until the end of July, and we can only hope that someone will continue with our work.
Action continues
Finally, a word about our current charity campaign. Due to Fabio’s death, Ina will not need a wheelchair, but she will certainly need money to repair her house, including money for food, as she lost her pension because of death of her son.
In addition, we continue to collect the money for Zuldio and Gilbert, and at the same time for all other poor families who struggled from month to month and often do not have enough money for even three meals a day.
