What a country!
At times you realize that you are in an underdeveloped country, at other times you see affluence that rivals some of the best neighborhoods in the United States. Sao Paulo is a city of contrasts, beautiful landscapes in the middle of the ghetto (favella). Amazing wildlife, trees, flowers, and plentiful fruit trees remind you of the Garden of Eden - as you glance away, however, you will likely en
counter trash piles and homeless vagrants - reminding you of the fall of man. In Sao Paulo you have the well educated and the illiterate, the well stocked super market and the outdoor market complete with dogs and other varmints. Only half of the homes in this city of 22 million are plumbed with running water and toilets. The other half finds shelter in clay bricks or cardboard. Brazil is a country of the haves and the have-nots, the very rich and the very poor, with few in between.
Driving in Brazil
NASCAR drivers would find the streets of Sao Paulo a challenge. Aggressive/defensive drivin
g may be the best way to describe the survival skill required. Para means “stop” in Portuguese. However, red octagonal signs with PARA on them mean nothing to a Paulista. Streets signs are full with first, middle, last and maiden names and the street names change for no apparent reason, there is no warning before four lanes become two, and streets run at all angles…except North, South, East and West. Red lights are obeyed only when a crash is inevitable. Right-of-way is determined by the one who honks and gets their bumper into the intersection first. Motorcyclists are the UPS deliver
y system of Sao Paulo. They whiz by between the cars using white lines as their lane. (Please be warned that you may interfere with the flow of traffic if you rest your elbow out your car window – obstructing a passing motorcyclist.) Overfilled busses are the king of the road - merging and stopping at their whim. Speed bumps calm your car’s speedometer as radar guns calm them in Enid, fourteen speed bumps in the twelve blocks on our way to school. Pedestrians have no rights and the flashing lights on emergency vehicles are always on. Maybe the most impressive stat on the streets of Sao Paulo is the number of cars unscathed after a trip to the market.
Tell us about PACA
Pan American Christian Academy, commonly known as PACA, is a nondenominational, college-preparatory, Christian, American School located in Sao Paulo, the fourth largest city in the world. Sao Paulo is the business, industrial, and cultural center of South America. The school
services children of missionaries, diplomats, business and professional families with a dual curriculum program - American and Brazilian. The walled 7 ½ acre campus and facilities, place PACA in a class with the best international schools in South America. The well staffed maintenance crew provides excellent care of 22 classrooms, science laboratory, library, media center, computer center, learning lab, gymnasium, regulation-size athletic field, outside courts, cafeteria, playgrounds and a 25 meter swimming pool. The student – faculty ratio is approximately 10:1.
How does PACA make a difference in the community?
The PACA community is dedicated to making a difference in this country of contrasts and streets of challenge. Last Saturday the ABA House hosted a futsol (indoor soccer) tournament at PACA as a fundraiser for their ministry to street children. A couple weeks ago about 65 PACA students and teachers worked in four orphanages and one favella sharing the love of the Lord with the children and people. Timmy and I enjoyed the day playing and working with 15 disabled children at an orphanage down the street from PACA. We painted shirts, kicked a flattened soccer ball, and got wet laughing at a water balloon fight. About one month ago PACA hosted 500 Christian school teachers and administrators from ten different states across Brazil for a two day ACSI teacher conference (Association of Christian Schools International).
What is the make up of the student body at PACA?
PACA services 331 students in grades pre-K thru 12. 83 of these students, or 25%, are children of Christian workers in Sao Paulo. 35 of these 83 students are from North America. Within our student body we have 103 North Americans, 88 Brazilians, 89 Koreans, 15 Chinese, 10 Japanese and the remainder from other points around the globe. PACA is truly an international school with all but a few students fluent in two or more languages.
What kind of students do you have at PACA?
The students at PACA see their education as a way to better themselves and the world. The students challenge each other to excel and are dedicated to learning. PACA students score well above average on their SAT, ACT and AP tests. Out of 35 AP tests taken last spring 60% were fours and fives (a 5 is the highest score possible). 98% of PACA graduates enroll in colleges and universities in the U.S. and around the world. After substituting in a Bible class yesterday two junior girls made it a point to thank me for challenging their minds and teaching them some truths of Scripture.
Are PACA students perfect?
But, the PACA students are not perfect. The lure of sex, alcohol, drugs, pornography can be overwhelming in any culture. The need to fit in and be accepted is as strong here as it is in any other school I have experienced. In my short tenure as middle school and high school principal I have already had to flex my authority and discipline a number of students. But even this is an opportunity to show love for these students and their families. Just last week I had to discipline a group of 14-15 year old students for purchasing Schmirnoff Ice from down at the local bakery. 25% of the PACA student body is composed of students from non-Christian homes - intentionally. These students come to us from the international scene, they may be Brazilian, American, or Korean but they all have the same selfish desires that we all inherited from the Deceiver. The PACA prayer and challenge is to direct each student to Christ and then pray that whole families will follow. This may be PACA’s most critical and effective impact.
Tell us about the PACA faculty and staff
The dedication and professionalism of the PACA faculty and staff is inspiring. There is a genuine concern for each member of the PACA community from student to staff member. Upon arrival I was invited to a Wednesday night Bible study that many of the male faculty members not only attend but cherish. Faculty members challenge each other with accountability groups, prayer partners and encourage each other with inspiring devotionals each Tuesday morning. Friday mornings the faculty looks forward to convening in the music room to sing praise and worship to our Lord. We all realize that we are on the battle front, desperately needing the wisdom of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not hard to remember to pray.
What have been some of the challenges and thrills?
Our move to Brazil has been full of challenges and thrills. We have been embarrassed with our lack of language while purchasing clean water, lost for four hours downtown while trying to find the gym where Timmy’s team was playing basketball, frustrated when our debit card would not be accepted at a local merchant, been the victim of cold showers, ate a candle light dinner with Jason and Andrea when our electricity was turned off by the local power company, frightened by incidents of robberies and kidnappings, and many other episodes too numerous to mention. During this same time however, we have been ministered to by the PACA community, and thrilled with the opportunities to help change a little portion of the world.
Timmy, Denice and I would like to thank you for all your generous support. We thank those who are helping to take care of our girls back in the states, those who are praying for us, and those who have given financially. You are very special to us.
At times you realize that you are in an underdeveloped country, at other times you see affluence that rivals some of the best neighborhoods in the United States. Sao Paulo is a city of contrasts, beautiful landscapes in the middle of the ghetto (favella). Amazing wildlife, trees, flowers, and plentiful fruit trees remind you of the Garden of Eden - as you glance away, however, you will likely en
counter trash piles and homeless vagrants - reminding you of the fall of man. In Sao Paulo you have the well educated and the illiterate, the well stocked super market and the outdoor market complete with dogs and other varmints. Only half of the homes in this city of 22 million are plumbed with running water and toilets. The other half finds shelter in clay bricks or cardboard. Brazil is a country of the haves and the have-nots, the very rich and the very poor, with few in between.Driving in Brazil
NASCAR drivers would find the streets of Sao Paulo a challenge. Aggressive/defensive drivin
g may be the best way to describe the survival skill required. Para means “stop” in Portuguese. However, red octagonal signs with PARA on them mean nothing to a Paulista. Streets signs are full with first, middle, last and maiden names and the street names change for no apparent reason, there is no warning before four lanes become two, and streets run at all angles…except North, South, East and West. Red lights are obeyed only when a crash is inevitable. Right-of-way is determined by the one who honks and gets their bumper into the intersection first. Motorcyclists are the UPS deliver
y system of Sao Paulo. They whiz by between the cars using white lines as their lane. (Please be warned that you may interfere with the flow of traffic if you rest your elbow out your car window – obstructing a passing motorcyclist.) Overfilled busses are the king of the road - merging and stopping at their whim. Speed bumps calm your car’s speedometer as radar guns calm them in Enid, fourteen speed bumps in the twelve blocks on our way to school. Pedestrians have no rights and the flashing lights on emergency vehicles are always on. Maybe the most impressive stat on the streets of Sao Paulo is the number of cars unscathed after a trip to the market.Tell us about PACA
Pan American Christian Academy, commonly known as PACA, is a nondenominational, college-preparatory, Christian, American School located in Sao Paulo, the fourth largest city in the world. Sao Paulo is the business, industrial, and cultural center of South America. The school
services children of missionaries, diplomats, business and professional families with a dual curriculum program - American and Brazilian. The walled 7 ½ acre campus and facilities, place PACA in a class with the best international schools in South America. The well staffed maintenance crew provides excellent care of 22 classrooms, science laboratory, library, media center, computer center, learning lab, gymnasium, regulation-size athletic field, outside courts, cafeteria, playgrounds and a 25 meter swimming pool. The student – faculty ratio is approximately 10:1.How does PACA make a difference in the community?
The PACA community is dedicated to making a difference in this country of contrasts and streets of challenge. Last Saturday the ABA House hosted a futsol (indoor soccer) tournament at PACA as a fundraiser for their ministry to street children. A couple weeks ago about 65 PACA students and teachers worked in four orphanages and one favella sharing the love of the Lord with the children and people. Timmy and I enjoyed the day playing and working with 15 disabled children at an orphanage down the street from PACA. We painted shirts, kicked a flattened soccer ball, and got wet laughing at a water balloon fight. About one month ago PACA hosted 500 Christian school teachers and administrators from ten different states across Brazil for a two day ACSI teacher conference (Association of Christian Schools International).
What is the make up of the student body at PACA?
PACA services 331 students in grades pre-K thru 12. 83 of these students, or 25%, are children of Christian workers in Sao Paulo. 35 of these 83 students are from North America. Within our student body we have 103 North Americans, 88 Brazilians, 89 Koreans, 15 Chinese, 10 Japanese and the remainder from other points around the globe. PACA is truly an international school with all but a few students fluent in two or more languages.
What kind of students do you have at PACA?
The students at PACA see their education as a way to better themselves and the world. The students challenge each other to excel and are dedicated to learning. PACA students score well above average on their SAT, ACT and AP tests. Out of 35 AP tests taken last spring 60% were fours and fives (a 5 is the highest score possible). 98% of PACA graduates enroll in colleges and universities in the U.S. and around the world. After substituting in a Bible class yesterday two junior girls made it a point to thank me for challenging their minds and teaching them some truths of Scripture.
Are PACA students perfect?
But, the PACA students are not perfect. The lure of sex, alcohol, drugs, pornography can be overwhelming in any culture. The need to fit in and be accepted is as strong here as it is in any other school I have experienced. In my short tenure as middle school and high school principal I have already had to flex my authority and discipline a number of students. But even this is an opportunity to show love for these students and their families. Just last week I had to discipline a group of 14-15 year old students for purchasing Schmirnoff Ice from down at the local bakery. 25% of the PACA student body is composed of students from non-Christian homes - intentionally. These students come to us from the international scene, they may be Brazilian, American, or Korean but they all have the same selfish desires that we all inherited from the Deceiver. The PACA prayer and challenge is to direct each student to Christ and then pray that whole families will follow. This may be PACA’s most critical and effective impact.
Tell us about the PACA faculty and staff
The dedication and professionalism of the PACA faculty and staff is inspiring. There is a genuine concern for each member of the PACA community from student to staff member. Upon arrival I was invited to a Wednesday night Bible study that many of the male faculty members not only attend but cherish. Faculty members challenge each other with accountability groups, prayer partners and encourage each other with inspiring devotionals each Tuesday morning. Friday mornings the faculty looks forward to convening in the music room to sing praise and worship to our Lord. We all realize that we are on the battle front, desperately needing the wisdom of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not hard to remember to pray.
What have been some of the challenges and thrills?
Our move to Brazil has been full of challenges and thrills. We have been embarrassed with our lack of language while purchasing clean water, lost for four hours downtown while trying to find the gym where Timmy’s team was playing basketball, frustrated when our debit card would not be accepted at a local merchant, been the victim of cold showers, ate a candle light dinner with Jason and Andrea when our electricity was turned off by the local power company, frightened by incidents of robberies and kidnappings, and many other episodes too numerous to mention. During this same time however, we have been ministered to by the PACA community, and thrilled with the opportunities to help change a little portion of the world.
Timmy, Denice and I would like to thank you for all your generous support. We thank those who are helping to take care of our girls back in the states, those who are praying for us, and those who have given financially. You are very special to us.
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