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| Professora Vera's family was very welcoming! |
Professora Vera asked me if I would like to attend mass with her and her
family today at a farm where her brother Joaquim is currently living.
It is a farm for people recovering from drug and alcohol abuse that is
run by a Catholic charity. It is private but functions on donations and
patients there pay according to the means of their family, which results
in a large range of payments per month. The patients here have a strict
schedule, structured to give them the best recovery possible. For the
first six months of residency on the farm, the patients are not allowed
to leave the property except for doctors appointments for which they are
accompanied by a staff member. The final three months of their stay
(the patients generally stay for nine months) the patients are allowed
to visit their family's house on Sundays but have a curfew that must be
respected. It was really great for me to learn about the availability of
this type of treatment. I really enjoyed getting to know Professora
Vera's family as well and seeing so many new things on the farm!
However, in case you thought it was a good idea, it really is a TERRIBLE
idea to step on a fire ant hill! Thirty-three bites later I would
suggest watching where you step!
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| Fire ants are not so friendly...I won't post a picture of the bites, but believe me they were painful! |
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| This is a part of the farm, but really I just love this picture :) |
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| It really was a hike up the hill to the chapel! |
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| I got to meet Professora Vera's mother. She is a very sweet woman who loves Our Lady of Fatima. This statue of Our Lady of Fatima is one in the chapel at the farm where her son is staying. |
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| Professora Vera and I were not expecting the small oranges we picked to be so sour, but it was pretty funny to see each others faces! |
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| Joaquim showed me sugar cane that the people grow on the farm. |
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| He chopped down some for me with a machete and the peeled it so that I could taste it raw. It is like wood with a sugary milk inside! Strange, but delicious. |
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| This city, Neropolis, was on the way to the farm. We stopped to see the great monument of Our Lady at the entrance of the city. |
