Brechó

In the youth group, we spend a lot of time planning and coming up with all sorts of ideas about what we want to do, how we want to do it, and when we should do it.  We don't always end up being able to follow through do busy schedules.  But, sometimes, we come up with an idea quite unrelated to our previous plans, it serendipitously fits in well with our over all goals and manage to pull it off in a few weeks.  This, is what happened with our tag sale.

For a while we had been attempting to plan a big event in the neighborhood where we want to rebuild the old community center in an effort to get to know the neighborhood.  It hadn't been working out.  At the same time we had been also trying to complete several smaller projects.  One meeting, we ended up marrying a small project with a larger one with the end product being a tag sale in the community center neighborhood (Montanha Russa).  We decided that the tag sale would give us a presence, opportunity to get to know people, and the opportunity to interview them about what they were wanting in the community center (if anything).  Within two weeks we were organized and on our way to Montanha Russa to set up shop.

Now, this tag sale was not just any tag sale.  It was a mobile tag sale and our chariot was the church's combi, which is a 1960's fifteen passenger van.  I suggested that we paint it to look either like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo or with some '60s flower power.  It truly is a fabulous vehicle.  We bounced along feeling every pot hole but thoroughly enjoying each jolt and slide.  I think I giggled the entire way.  We arrived to this more rural neighborhood and were enjoying a beautiful spring day as we set up and waited for our potential clients:

We waited.....



and waited......



and waited.....




Finally we got some visitors!

Unfortunately, they were in a hurry to get home and didn't stay long enough to buy anything.  So, we decided that since we were there, we should at least try to interview the neighbors.  So, the group held down the fort as I walked across the street to see who would be interested.  I ended up in what the family called their "condominium." One family (brothers and sisters) all lived in three different houses all behind the same protective gate.  The were kind enough to allow me to stumble through Portuguese to ask them questions about how they saw their community and what they thought of reactivating the community center.  I came back with the interview sheets full of wonderful insights, suggestions and contacts.  The group was relieved as they thought that I might have been invited to stay for dinner and that they would have to wait for me.  We relaxed for a little while longer, sipping yerba mate and throwing around all sorts of ideas.  The afternoon culminated in a visit to the other neighbor's sheep "Treasure" and with a nice leisurely stroll to the city reservoir.

Moving forward, we will meet again to evaluate our efforts and continue towards our goal!