"And we've heard this story all our lives. Still we feel the pain of the crucified. And the end still comes as a surprise."-Ben Shive (songwriter)
 
Dear Alumni,
 
     “Haven’t you heard the news?” Two thousand years ago two disappointed men said this to a stranger who joined them on their journey away from Jerusalem.  They told the stranger about how Jesus, a man who held such promise to be the king and savior of Israel, had just been killed on a cross.  The stranger listened to them and began to tell them a story.  He used their sacred scriptures to explain how the savior they were looking for was a servant who would die and through death triumph over evil, suffering, and death.  The men listened intently and invited the stranger to stop with them for dinner.  As the stranger broke bread, they recognized Him for the first time.  It was the man Jesus, who had died in Jerusalem just days before! When Jesus left them, the two men ran back to Jerusalem to find Jesus’ followers and ask, “Have you heard the news?  Jesus is alive!”   
     
     In the year 2019, like those two men walking from Jerusalem we often look at our daily life, ourselves, our communities, governments, the world around us, and wonder how anyone can see good news. Evil reigns; self-interest wins; nature is broken; our friends and family suffer; our future is bleak.  The man who held such promise died on a cross.... “Haven’t you heard the news?” we might repeat to anyone who would say otherwise. 
     
     For many who have grown up going to church, a Christian school, or who’ve heard Christian friends and family talk, we’ve heard the ‘good news’ so many times.  Jesus is alive. He died to pay for our sins, so that we can have life with God.  Jesus is the most powerful, most loving, and most accessible person we can know.  And yet, somehow, we don’t ‘hear’ this story as good news. We hear it as old news. Or we don’t actually hear it at all.  It’s the nice story that ‘Christian people’ believe.  The too-good-to-be-true story that we aren’t quite sure we believe. Is it good news?
     
     C.S. Lewis’ mission in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” was to give us a new way to “hear” and understand the story of the gospel. He took a story many thought they knew, and through the imaginative world he created, he challenged his readers to see the story in a new light. In the same way, we hope you might think about this story in a fresh way tonight.  Maybe you’ve heard this story your whole life, and maybe you haven’t. Is it really good news or a story you take for granted?
     
​     In the year 2019, a stranger walks up to us, asks why we are so discouraged, and if we have ears to listen and eyes to see, begins to speak to us saying “I am the resurrection and the life...”
 
     Have you heard the news?
                                                                                    -Jeremy Davis

P.S. To see photos of the event, please visit PACA’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/PACA.School/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10157225136376234

Have you heard about the new designed classrooms being built at PACA?  We hired the architecture firm, Sete-Cinco Arquitetura, to create a new learning environment based upon modern classroom research. These new classrooms will allow students like you to learn by coming together to share, collaborate and create. Find out how you can be a significant part of this project at https://www.paca.com.br/alumni-campaign.html.

Dear Alumnus,


Throughout the years of PACA going to sports tournaments or games, whether it was at Rancho Ranieri, Paiol, NR or another school, we always have a greater purpose than just playing sports. We are going for a chance to represent God’s Kingdom. 


At this year’s Big 8 Tournament, eight schools and over 450 varsity student athletes were present at this semester’s soccer and basketball tournament.  PACA took close to 60 athletes this year to play against ASA, Chapel, EAB, EAC, EARJ, Graded and OLM. The Big 8 is a week-long tournament with 2 games played every day. The first 3 days were dedicated to soccer.  The last 3 days were dedicated to basketball and cheerleading.


Considering the size of our student body, we are blessed by God to have such dedicated athletes and coaches who trained hard and represented the name “Warrior” with pride. PACA placed 3rd in overall competition with 1st Place in Girls’ Basketball, 3rd Place in Boys’ Basketball, 3rd Place in Boys’ Soccer and 7th Place in Girls’ Soccer. 


Our athletes and coaches show great school spirit at each game by cheering each team (PACAlândia! PACAlândia!). We share meals together and even have study hall together.  We encourage our students through devotions and singing together. I encouraged our students to glorify God by playing with excellence, giving their best within the rules, respecting the referees and treating each other with respect and honor. 


I believe this helps us fulfill our mission of “impacting their world through Christ.” It is encouraging to see our students connecting with their peers from other schools and building relationships. Several times, many coaches approached me to say how special our students are and how they clearly represent the Christian values the school stands for.  My prayer is that these interactions can be seeds planted for God’s Kingdom and someday lead to deeper conversations about faith in Jesus.


You should see how beautiful is the location of the Big 8 Tournament. The beautiful camp of Nosso Recanto (NR) is located in the southern mountainous region of Minas Gerais, close to Campos de Jordão. NR is nestled in this lusciously green valley surrounded by forest-covered mountains with crystal clear spring water flowing through the grounds. I even challenged the students to see God’s glory manifested in His creation.


We are grateful to God for this year’s results. We are grateful to Him for the athletes and families He has brought to our school. We are grateful for the opportunity to play sports for a whole week in a beautiful location.  Keep us in your prayers. Pray on our behalf that we not lose sight of the opportunity to “love our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. And to love our neighbor as yourself.”


Sincerely,
Renato Sousa – Class of 1999
Athletic Director & Boys’ Soccer Coach & Elementary PE Teacher
[email protected]