Life in Brazil

it's been a long time......

friends......I know.....I know......it's been too long........way too long.

I had the best of intentions a few months back when my folks were here to post about their time here......yet with them being here there just wasn't the time.  Then they left....and time got away.....then I just felt uninspired to write about anything.

You see I've been fighting some difficult things which I'm not going to go into because I don't believe the internet is the place where we share everything.....there are just somethings that are meant to be shared face to face with people who are closest to us.

But let me say this.......I've been passing through some sad and difficult moments and would appreciate prayer as I continue to battle through these things.  However in spite of my circumstances I can honestly say that I have never felt God so closely as I hear Him whisper from time to time in my spirit...."You're not alone in this"........"I'm right here with you in the middle of this."  I know I'm not alone......even though there are times when I feel alone.....He's right here in the middle of what I'm going through. 

God with us.......Immanuel.....sound familar??

Isn't this what we are looking towards??  Isn't this what we are celebrating??

Immanuel.....God with us.

Do you really believe it??  God with us....right here.....right now.....in the middle of everything....the good....the bad.....and the ugly??

I pray that as we start our journey toward Bethlehem......that this phrase has new and immense impact on your heart and the hearts of those around you......because.....

He is with us......and is waiting to be invited into our circumstances.......whatever they may be.

the exploding oven door......well the glass part.....

I had just put the chicken I was preparing for lunch in the oven and was back at my desk doing some things online when all of a sudden I heard the sound of something hitting glass and when I went out to the kitchen I found broken black and clear glass down on the floor in front of my oven.  I was a bit shocked to say the least.  I couldn't imagine how in the world it had happened.  I was just thankful that I hadn't been in front of the oven cooking something on the stovetop when it happened.

So now my stove has no glass front and as you can see what's left of the insulation is now exposed.......so for now no baking or cooking........until we decide what we are going to do.

The sad remains of the front of my oven door.....now it's just a pile of broken black and clear glass......in the garbage.

I might end up with a new stove.....because quite frankly we don't know if there are people here who can rebuild a glass front for an oven door.....we simply have never had to deal with anything like this before. 

But man..........some times doesn't it seem that when it rains.....it pours?????

prayer update.....

6 viewed apartments and two days of waiting later.......

we found out today that we will be able to rent the apartment I looked at two weeks ago and for a good price.

While I am extremely grateful.......now the real work begins for there will be two apartments to clean and paint and clean again.....and of course pack up all my belongings for the move.  Doing this under normal circumstances is challenging enough but we are up against a time deadline.  Not the deadline of my parents arrival but the expiration of the contract on the apartment I'm currently living in.  Everyday after the 10th of August that the apartment remains not ready to be handed over to the owner we will have to pay a certain amount until it is.  Asking for prayer that the process will go smoothly and quickly.  Promise to post pictures of the new place but first I want to clean it up first.

another prayer request..........

It was about a year ago that I moved into my apartment here on Rua Nossa Senhora da Lapa and now it looks as if I will be saying goodbye.  We found out late this afternoon that the owner is not willing to negotiate price with us and now we have no other alternative but to seek other housing for me.

I looked at an apartment about a week and a half ago that I really liked and when I walked past the place Sunday afternoon I saw the for rent sign still in the window.  Tomorrow Aaron and I will be heading down to the real estate office to speak with them and hopefully contact the owner.  Please be in prayer for this.  We really need a quick and smooth transaction especially because my parents will be arriving here in Brazil for their visit in 5 and a half weeks.  We are hoping to have the move completed by then.  So please be in prayer for all aspects of this situation.  I know that God is in control and I told Him last week that I was ok with whatever He has in mind.  So I'm trusting Him in this situation........but honestly I hate moving.......maybe He can help me with my attitude as well. 

prayer request........

Just a short post asking for prayer for our Brazilian friends here.  Robberies and muggings have been on the rise as of late.  A nephew of one of the owners of Life English Center was robbed right outside of the English School Monday evening.  This afternoon we received a strange call from one of my private English students telling us she would need to cancel all her English classes for the next month.  Then I found out that the dentist office where she works was robbed today.  Please be in prayer for everyone's safety and vigilance as we go about our daily lives.  It just shows we are living in evil times and people are becoming increasingly desperate and brazen.  Yet we know who is still in control as we entrust ourselves to Him and continue to do good.

God's timing is perfect.....

 
 

How's your Friday??

Well as some of you know I have been having quite a time getting regular sleep.  I just want to say to those of  you who have been praying....thank you.  The past three nights I have been sleeping well and am hoping it continues.

Also, I want to say that this morning I woke feeling a little dejected and in need of some encouragement.  God is so good because in my inbox I received a message from one of my mentors and the words were indeed timely and very encouraging.  So I'm going to share Proverbs 3:13-26 here with you all.

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,

for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.   Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.   Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.   The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.  My son, do not lose sight of these-- keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.  Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.  If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

Find wisdom......get understanding.

Your prayers would be most appreciated........

Enjoying your Sunday??

Here.....it's overcast......and the neighborhood is filled with the loud music coming from one of my neighbor's car stereo.  I think he thinks he's doing the neighborhood a great service by providing some musical entertainment.  Me on the other hand think he's doing the neighborhood a great dis-service by being a disturbance.  I guess it depends on your perspective.

Anyway......I have some prayer requests that I would like to lay before you all to keep in mind and bring before the Father.

• Sleep....or maybe the better way of saying it is my lack of it.  I went almost 11 nights in a row without really sleeping at all.  Finally this past Friday I slept for the greater part of the night...but last night.....no sleep at all.  It is frustrating to say the least....and the fact that it affects my ability to function and accomplish the things I need to do starts taking a toll on my attitude....so please be in prayer that I would be getting consistent sleep every night.

 

• My health.  This past week I went to see a dermatologist about a few spots I had some concerns about.  Well some of them turned out to be nothing to be concerned about but she did notice something that has the appearance of a cyst on the side of my face close to my right ear.  There is also a spot on my right hand and another on the side of my stomach.  So I will be making an appointment for an ultra-sound to confirm whether or not the spot on my face is really a cyst.  Then I will be seeing a surgeon to have all three spots removed.  This next week I will getting a physical.  I have been battling a lot of sickness and headaches during the past couple of months so I want to get checked out.  Also,  a few years ago I had iron deficiency so I am wondering if I might be dealing with that again. 

 

• The Reward Party for the students in Ilha Bela and Vila Esperança will be this upcoming Saturday.  I am in the final phase of getting everything ready so you can also see why it is so important that I have plenty of rest for this week.  My hope is that this party will serve as a bridge between the English classes and the Youth Club/Church.  Those who won the privilege to go are very excited and I am really hoping for amazing results.  So please be in prayer for this and also for Menezes, Rosane, Aaron and Cris who will be helping me.

So as you spend time with the Lord please remember these requests....thank you so much!!

 

 

.....and even more winners

 
Kevin, Kaique, Anderson(in front), Me, Thayna, Lizandra and Alice

 

Here are the last of the winners.......again there were some surprises on the part of the students.  I think there were a few who thought they would be going to the party and then discoveredthey didn't have enough points to rank in the top four.  What can I say???  When you have just so many available spots....some will be able to go to the party and some won't.....again....another life lesson.  I did, however encourage everyone to look forward to next semester's competition where they will get to earn points to "spend" in a little store.....that way everyone walks away with something.

A personal note here.....when you think of it would you be in prayer for my health.....I've been fighting the symptoms of a virus/cold for about 2 weeks and it's driving me crazy.  I'm trying to have an appointment set up for a check up to see what's going on.

more winners.......

Beatriz, Andressa, Micheley, Me, Jaqueline, Bruno and Victor

 

I told the kids why I sometimes take pictures in the class and the reaction I got was pretty funny.  When they found out they would go "viral" they were all of a sudden so concerned with their appearance and made sure their hair looked ok.  Needless to say I explained the reason behind my blog and why I do it....so that folks back in the States would have a better idea of what happens here and of course so they can be praying.  Having said that I ran the idea past the kids of taking each of their pictures and then giving them a few questions to answer about their life and their family.  They seemed ok with this.  So what I plan to do is "feature" a new student on a regular basis throughout next semester.  However, you will just have to wait for this as the current  semester has just come to an end and the new one will start at the beginning of August....but then that is a good reason to keep coming back to see what is new in the world of life in Brazil.

notes.....

 

note to self:

"You have once again successfully gone way too long without posting for your readers.....congratulations."

Even after writing out a month long plan of posts and keeping to it for the most part I hit a bit of a snag.  Some ideas seemed great in theory but then when it came time to write....I was like, "Who are you kidding?  Are you really going to write about that?"  Then there was a bout with a lack of motivation followed by a couple of days of being down in the dumps further intensified by feeling quite lonely.  Finally coming up out of it a couple of days later to discover that "no, indeed it was not merely my emotions....but the enemy's spin on my emotions."  Which resulted in doing some much needed seeking of God, internal probing and cleaning out.

Needless to say....walking a day in my shoes is never easy....and I'm amazed at the stuff I'm still working through and the internal lies that were planted so long ago and continue to be worked up to the surface.  Yet God is gracious and won't allow those lies to remain undealt with....so we continue with the work.

On a lighter note......I've been writing and makes lots of notes lately.  Here are a sample of some.....

 

I've started doing private English lessons with Debora and Rosane which is a huge stretch for me given that even though I speak the English language it doesn't make me an expert.  I like to look at it as an opportunity for me to be learning right along with them and surly it can only help improve my writing.

 

Saturday morning we leave for our all church retreat.  We will be heading up to the interior on the other side of São Paulo to a nice quite place in the countryside.  The house is quite nice (from the pictures I've seen) complete with swimming pool, soccer field and a large area for playing games.  We will be staying there until Wednesday noon.  The country of Brazil is all geared up for Carnaval which is purely a four day feeding frenzy of the flesh.  Not exactly something any of us want to be a part of....so every year the church puts together a retreat so we can "get away" from it all.  I would covet  your prayers for this 4 day excursion as there are some individuals accompanying us who are not Christians.  We are hoping that this time is an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord as well as with each other.

I definately will be taking my camera so be looking for an update later next week.