Christ the Redeemer

"Build me a home inside your scars.
Build me a home inside your song.
Build me a home inside your open arms.
The only place I ever will belong."
(Exerpt from "I Am Still Running"by Jon Foreman)

Mystery Meat

Just got home from lunch at a church members house. I sat on her row and she invited me to lunch with her family. (The Jefferson's know them well so it was safe) Unfortunately I wore the high heels that are at least one whole size too small and totally KILL my toes...even when I'm sitting. We had to walk about a mile up and down rocky hills to get to their 4th floor apartment. I just had to laugh at myself. I do not believe I will wear those shoes here ever again!

The lunch was delicious though I had to get over my nervousness about eating it since I couldn't tell what half of it was. There was one thing that I just had to buck up and make myself eat (greens) but she must have thought I liked it most and heaped another big pile of it on my plate!
Dessert was delicious...tasted and looked just like a big bowl of strawberry jam.

They taught me several more praise songs in Portuguese and we watched a Michael W. Smith concert on DVD with Portuguese subtitles.

Road the bus home and am about to take a nap before singing tonight. I'm going to a ladies small group retreat tomorrow afternoon but first meeting the movers with all of the Jefferson's belongings at 8am. Deus e Fiel!

I Know How This Looks!

This morning I was so excited to put powdered milk in my coffee (I found out this is how Brazilians make theirs so delicious) but while prying the metal lid off of the can, the (sharp) knife slipped and went into my left wrist with force! A gigantic bubble (like 2 pecans side by side) formed under my skin and blood spewed all over the kitchen like a fountain!

I called to Deborah for help, smashed down on the cut with my opposite thumb, and quickly got down on the floor because I felt like I was about to pass out. Sparing the rest of the details, the cut sealed beautifully and my young medical student neighbor came upstairs to clean and bandage the wound...dertermining that I would not need stitches since the cut was more deep than wide.

My body was in such shock that I have spent the morning in bed resting to get rejuvinated for band practice tonight at the church (singing solo tomorrow). I am sad to miss out on the morning of final paint touches on the Jefferson's new apartment because I so love working hard with my hands...especially painting.

While I was laying on the bloody, cold floor, sweating like I'd just run a marathon, I starting thinking "what if I cut one of those main arteries that suicidal people aim for?" Deborah reminded me to relax, and then a song flowed quietly from my heart and lips..."Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen!"

This morning has been a gigantic blessing of refreshment from God's word. Amen.

Woman Joined the Family of God at Home Depot Tonight!

"I pray that you will be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." Philemon 1:6

Tonight, famished, I left the Jefferson's and a stack of paint samples to grab a sandwich at the cafe inside the hardware store. I'd been sitting at a table eating and resting for 5 or so minutes and then went to the counter to pay (always pay after eating here). When I returned to my table a woman was sitting in my chair. I sat down across from her and she was a bit embarrassed and began to dismiss herself. I asked her to feel free to stay and when the Jefferson's came to join me they told her the same thing when she tried again to leave. Deborah and I began chatting about the kind of brushes we needed to paint the new apartment and Keith started telling this woman about the Lord! She was hanging on every word of truth that came from his mouth so he just kept sharing and kept sharing. Occassionally a tear would well up in the corner of her eye and she would discreatly wipe it away. Her boyfriend even came over and then left to buy more things when he realized that we were in deep converstation. I thought that would be the end of the conversation but she was immediately open to hearing more once he left. In the end she was ready to ask Christ to forgive her sins and be her Lord, so Keith led her in a prayer! She said she could feel instant peace in her heart and would come to church with us this Sunday! So sweet. The Lord is awakening the dead in Brazil, in the US, and all around the world!

Sights along my morning walk today...

• Dead dolphin on the beach :-(
• Tiny monkey on the powerline overhead
• Family of 3 that lives on a busy corner, washing clothes with a hose from the fire hydrant
• A leashed dog pooing on the sidewalk in front of me. Oh, that's how it all get's there!
• About 10 tiny fishing boats in the distance where the grey sky and grey ocean met
• A clothesline with newborn "onesies" on the porch of a house you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy
• A man in a shirt that said "I AM CANADIAN"

Deus e Fiel!

God is Faithful!

This week I have spent lots of time with Brazilians in their natural habitats!

The family below my apartment had me over for about 3.5 hours of Portuguese vocabulary, sentence formation and dinner (at 10pm)! Oh my gosh it was a hoot!

Two days ago I spent 9 hours exploring the city, on foot, with a new gal friend who only speaks Portuguese! It was such a practical way to get the words to stick in my head. It was important for me to visit many of the places that are central to the African and spiritist culture here. Sorry there are no pictures...it's not safe to use a camera unless in a big group.

At one point we walked down a rusty, metal, spiral staircase into a dark and smelly expanse under a hippie market. I was trying to tell Daniela that I was scared and didn't think it was safe, but she kept motioning that I should come. It turns out that she was giving me a tour of the underground chambers where they used to store slaves from Africa. It was a big sewer-type space with arched canals and a stomach churning smell. I saw 4 other tourist taking pictures and instantly felt better, but found myself so sad for the reality of harsh slavery that has not been abolished for very long in this city.

She also took me to a small museum where several rooms were dedicated to Candomble, a common practice of witchcraft among Brazilians, and especially those in Salvador. The rooms had life size statues of their spirits (gods) and the entrance had an armed guard. We did did a quick turn about the room and left.

This stuff is really, really sad because they are in constant fear and consumed with spells to get revenge on the people they hate, get ahead in business, or to heal loved ones. Every now and then you'll see a little pile of food, a white candle, and/or popcorn strategically placed in a street...and I have come to learn that it's all apart of a spell that someone is hexing someone else with. There is a spot about a 30 second walk from my apartment where they practice these things in the middle of the night. Praise God for His truth which indwells us!

While on a high point of the city we saw a cruise ship docked in the distance and decided to head to that direction since Daniela had never seen a cruise ship before. We got there and could not see it due to tall metal walls, but did get to find out that it held 650 American college students and professors! They are on a 108 day cruise called "Semester at Sea" and take classes in their actual majors on board and receive assignments to accomplish in the 10 countries they plan to visit. Wow!

This week...
Thinking in Portuguese all day is exhausting, but wonderful too. We continue to visit churches who partner with us in reaching the Quilombos, get the Jefferson's new apartment ready for them to move into, intentionally build relationships with unbelievers I see regularly, soak up the language and culture, and we are preparing to receive two teams of Americans in the next month. One will focus on evangelism in the Quilombos and the other will raise a church from the ground up in one week! I love contributing to the ministry with the gifts and skills the Lord has entrusted me with. Thanks for those of you who are praying and supporting our work in various ways!

Pictures for Fun!

This sign says that there
is only one way you can go.
Similarly, Christ is the only
way to receive full forgiveness
of sins without having to pay
the wages of it yourself through
eternal death! Isn't the sunset
beautiful??? Whew! I love Christ
for His sacrifice and for His
beautiful creation!


"Canga's" can be purchased for
about $10 and serve as a towel
to lay out on at the beach, something
to dry off after swimming in the ocean,
shade from the sun, a break from the wind,
a skirt, or a dress! I love mine!


You thought Houston tolls were high!
I nearly fell over when I saw this!
Granted it's really only about $6.50 USD for a car
but still!!!

Roommate/Singing Tonight/Cold Water

New Roommate
A Brazilian missionary named Daniella may move in with me when the Jefferson's move out. We met two days ago and have totally hit it off (she's staying with us this week). It's interesting to note that she does not speak English and I do not speak Portuguese, right now we are sitting at side by side computers in an internet cafe and using a translation website to send each other occassional messages. Tomorrow she is taking me to several important places in Salvador (since she is from here) and we will make flash cards for everything we see. It is sure to be an adventurous, fruitful, and tiring day!

Plataforma
Tonight we are going back to a tiny church about 1.5 hours from here so that I can sing, Keith can preach, and we can connect with the ones who are asking to join us in ministry to Quilombolas! I look forward to it!

Cold Showers
The locals have taught me the secret to painless cold showers! You only shock one leg, then the other, then an arm, and then the other at a time. It really does help!! Though most Brazilians do not have hot water at all, we only lost it for a few days due to electrical issues. No homes have hot water for dish washing or laundry!

Back in Salvador!

I flew into Salvador on Sunday evening and went straight to church with the Jefferson's to church! I am excited that instead of just hearing "bla, bla, bla" in sermons I actually hear individual words and recognize many of them! I can't quite follow along with what he's saying but I predict that I will be able to within a month or two.

I have a English/Portuguese Bible and am beginning to study it (even though it's KJV) so that I can learn the words that will be most important to ministry here down the road when I can actually converse with Quilombolas without an interpretor.

"Order and Progress!"
These are the words on the Brazilian Flag!!...BUT...
I was warned about how inefficient things are here but didn't really expect it to be quite as bad as it is.
Five hours to open a cell phone account.
An entire day to renew *Visa's.
1. You get to an office that has processed Visa's for years and they say the location has changed. 2. You get there and it doesn't open until mid-morning.
3. You wait and then get sent to the mall to fill out an online form with the individual code you were given (website in complete Portuguese!).
4. Then you go to a bank to pay the Visa renewal fee using the barcode on the form you just printed at the mall.
5. Then you return to the Federal Police station at the Airport and fill out another form and pray that you're given favor with the attendant there because they are known for giving American's a really rough time,
6. and then finally get to go to another place in the city to get the documents stamped as authentic,
7. but they need copies of this document and that but don't have a xerox machine...
8. ...so we go to a store that has a xerox machine
9. and drop by the bank for cash because they don't take credit cards
10. and return to get the stamps.
The only reason we only spent an hour at that place is because we had a connection that let us cut in front of about an hours wait.

Unbelievable Processes!
Here everyone has to pay their bills at the bank. At the beginning and end of the month there are hundreds of people in line at the bank. It is truely unbelievable!!!!

College professors start phone chains if they decide to change the class location on any particular morning. They can choose to do this if they just happen to be on the other side of town and would prefer to stay there and bring all of the students to them. Students spend their whole day traveling by bus from class to class in different locations around the city! The students engaged in loud protesting in the streets during my first week here!

I could tell more and more stories like this!!!

Miss Multi-Task
The inefficiency is the most difficult adjustment to being here, but it is good for me too! Everyone close to me knows that back home every half hour of my day is scheduled on the calendar until bedtime, and friends can't get a slot until the following week often times. I rarely just talk on the phone, or just grocery shop, or just hang out with a friend without meeting at the park for a 3 mile walk to kill two birds with one stone. Many of us live this way in the US...sometimes it is good, and sometimes we just need to use the Brazilian policies of "He-lax (this is how they say relax) and "no stress". The Lord is transforming my perspective on so many things and I praise Him for it!!

Embracing the Simple Life
I'm struggling to embrace the simple life but can see how it pleases the Lord to give me a less stressed life, by force, and teach me to delight myself in the simple things that I have missed in my busyness back home.

Love Takes Time
Most importantly...loving people takes time! I long to love people better...as Christ does!! He doesn't give us 30 minutes of distracted time on His way to the next appointment. Such "efficiency and production" in one day must have it's roots in my own pride. How much better to love 15 people well then constantly apologize to 250 people that I didn't reply to their email fast enough or that I can't have lunch until next month cause I'm booked? :-) Just thoughts.

Beautiful Testimonies!

He Owns the Cattle on a Thousand Hills
Last night Georgia took me to CBO's mission church for a small group meeting. About 16 of us sat in a circle in plastic chairs and worshipped God with singing and then scripture reading, discussion and testimony. Two years ago Patti and Georgia found this community with no church what-so-ever and surveyed the residents to evaluate interest in Bible study. There was a good amount of interest so they began meeting in someone's home...with 4. Members invited unsaved friends who then accepted Christ and invited a friend or spouse to begin learning as well. Eventually they began praying for a church building and found a house that was being rented out for parties. Such a house should have cost $3000-$4000 Reais per month and they knew they could not afford it under normal circumstances. The mother and daughter church members prayed for one week and then called the owner about renting the home for church services. Miraculously she offered it to them for $600 R per month!

Manuel
Manuel was a quiet, handsome faced man of about 55 sitting across the circle from me in blue pants last night. After the 2 hour meeting he was eager to tell me about how God has redeemed his life. Only 6 months ago Manuel was an addict living on the street. Church members noticed this drunk sloppy man and took him to the hospital and then rehab. He told me that he was so thankful to be in rehab and didn't wish to leave for one single day while there. When he graduated, the church offered him a room in the church to live in and take care of the building/yard. He was careful to make sure I knew that it was Jesus who deserved all the praise! Grinning from ear to ear he told me that he would pray for me daily and then asked how Patti's Dad from the US was doing (he has prayed for him daily since his visit several years ago). With a hug we said goodbye and my heart sang all the way to the car.

A peaceful faced man...
...sitting 4 people to my left stroked his wife's hair as the small group came to a close. Georgia shared with me that when they first reached out to this man he literally tore the gifted Bible in two and also tore the missionaries pictures in half with anger. Over time he began attending church and Christ transformed his life. Now he is a regular at church and his wife leads worship there.

Maria & Joao
Next to this man was a couple in their 60's I'd say. They lived together for 20 years and he regularly beat her in his constant drukenness. She harped on him for his behavior every single night and he hated it. I'm not clear on how she started being discipled by Patti (missionary) but she stopped treating him badly and he took notice. She also moved out since he would not marry her, but God began working on his heart too! Through this woman's obedience to Christ he eventually followed suit and then married her. Now they are both active in evangelism in their tiny community! The wife repeated again and again, with a glowing face, "it was all Jesus"!

Pizza with the Pastor
Georgia and I invited the pastor and family (Robson, Naruby, and Luan) to pizza with us. Boy were they sweet! I asked for their testimonies and was deeply touched by how the Lord humbled this previously proud couple, gripped their hearts, extended forgiveness, and is faithfully maturing their faith. Patti and Georgia had prayed for local leadership of the mission church since it was growing and they had responsibilities at their own young church 2.5 hours away, and this couple answered the call. She was honest with me about how she wrestled with the Lord so hard because she was so afraid of such a huge spiritual and physical responsibility. God confirmed the call to both of them and assured them that His power was more than enough to produce eternal fruit through them. They boldly challenged me with some very direct words to not ever give up.

"If God had not sent missionaries...
...all of us may have never heard from Jesus" the pastor told me. They love and support missions for this very personal reason! They assured me that the work was hard (in addition to both of their fulltime jobs and child rearing) but a joy!

My testimony
Patti and Georgia have asked me to sing and give my testimony in every group we have joined for study. Patti told me to make sure that I told them that I have walked with Christ since childhood. Coming from the Bible belt I find myself amazed that this is a "powerful and rare" testimony for their church members. Many Americans feel as though their testimony is boring, but this is SO untrue! I told them how my parents very real faith and godly instruction had set us on the right path while young, but that we came to crossroads for ourselves where we either surrendered our own hearts or not. Each of us went through a short time of doubt and rediscovery of the truth of Christ, but my heart could never stray long or far. They were encouraged and hopeful for their children who will be now be raised in Christian homes also! My story has been one of God's faithfulness to a often unfaithful gal that does truely yet love Him. His grace is amazing!