Hello Everyone,
SO yesterday i was walking through my PEPE area at 6.50am wearing shorts, t-shirts and sunglasses! It was a hot day, but it got me thinking. I haven't really written anything about PEPE yet, so here you are.
So for me PEPE started on the 7th Febuary, I am working in a PEPE in Aracangy, in a poorer area of Sao Luis in Marnahoa Brazil. I work with a women from my church named Rachael, who is definitely the most comitted women i know. One of the days it was raining so heavily that i couldn't sleep it kept me awake, and Rachael still went to PEPE to teach the 8 kids that turned up despite the weather! As she walks through the PEPE area everyone seems to know who she is, no matter what state the people there are in she will always say good morning, and smile at them, showing God's love in that place! She is an inspiration for all of us!
In our PEPE at the moment we have 16 kids most of whom are aged 4 years old, we have 2 that are 5, and one that is 6 (she has already completed PEPE once, but she doens't want to go to school so is doing it for a third year).
A usual day a PEPE will include:
5.55 Leave the house,
6.15 (ish) Get the bus,
6.45 Get of the bus,
7.00 Arrive at the PEPE,
7.05 having unlocked all the doors and windows we organise the room for the lesson, and prepare any activities that we are doing on that day.
7.30 The kids start to arrive, slowly but surely they all potter into the room, some more enthusiastic than others, we occassionally have a screaming child who doens't want to leave their mummy.
8.00 The PEPE starts, we sing some songs and make sure the kids are awake. And learn the day of the week for that day.
8.15 Drink of water, and toilet break.
8.25 The whole class sit round in a circle learning together as a class, as Rachael teaches them.
8.55 The kids go and sit down at their tables and get ready to do an individual activity.
9.00 We start the individual activity, usually involving colouring, or cutting and sticking.
9.45 We tidy up the room, and make sure that each child has their name on their work.
9.55.10 It is play time, so that the kids can release some of the energy that they have built up over the last 2 hours, and they get to run around, or play with tea sets.
10.20 The kids wash their hands, ready for lunch.
10.25 It is prayer time before lunch.
10.30 Lunch time
10.45 Brushing teeth.
10.50 quick notice from Rachael, and possibly and song.
11.00 Parents collect their Children.
11.15/30 Rachael and I leave the PEPE and get the bus home.
It is very tiring work that we do but it is very worth it and all of the children go home smiling and happy! It is amazing work. And bringing the message of God's love for the kids, at the same time as teaching them to read, write, and do maths, as well as hygeine. At the moment and theme for lessons is Indentinty, and so we are doing hand prints, heights, feet prints and other things like this to help the chrildren learn about them selves.
The kids might not come from Christian backgrounds and so might not know Jesus when they come into the church building, but we aim to teach them a little bit about Jesus each day. And we pray with them daily as well. The pastor of the church also does visits to the families of the PEPE children to talk to the parents about Jesus and his love for them. It is a hard ministry as the parents could potentially be involved in drugs, or alcohol, but they do an amazing job!
PEPE is now running in 15 countries and doing amazing work with the children who go there, the churches also run other projects that help the local community, for those who are homeless or can't afford food. It is an amazing ministry here in Brazil and in the other countries as well.
Thank you,
God Bless,
Deus Abenço
Ben
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