24 Apr 2012

Brazilian Life, Village Visit

As a pre-cursor to my update, maybe you've noticed, but this should be the 2nd of the same update you've received from me today. I'm working on switching to another sender (MailChimp), that will hopefully work better than my prevoius sender (Posterous). However, MailChimp isn't the best on photos, so when I have lots of photos to share, I will include a link to this site where you can see more photos.

If you haven't received 2 of the same update, please check your junk mail box to see if there's one in there. If it is, you can unblock messages from the sender and receive these e-mails by putting the sender's e-mail address on your white list or add it to your list of contacts. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVEN'T RECEIVED 2 E-MAILS WITH THIS SAME UPDATE, since in the future I will be sending only from MailChimp. Thanks! Now on to the more interesting stuff...

Hello from the Brazilian/Bolivian border! For 3 weeks I've been in a new house, new city, with new people, experienced new things, and haven't spoken English face-to-face with anyone. It has been a challenge in many ways but I'm always grateful for my faithful God who's with me and gives me strength for this great opportunity! I can already see improvement in my Portuguese and know a lot more about Brazilian culture. I'm staying in a little house on a mission base with another missionary, Aérica. I spend all day every day with her, learning to cook the Brazilian way, practicing grammar exercises, learning new vocabulary, walking around the town, and watching TV or movies to get even more language exposure. After another week here, we'll visit an indigenous village and stay there for about a week with the missionary couple who lives there and experience life with them. Praise the Lord for all I've learned so far and for His strength. Please pray I'd soak up all the language and culture I can get during my time here, and not get frustrated with it as it's sometimes overwhelming.
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(sorry for the sideways picture - not sure why it's doing that!)

Sunday morning I had my first visit to an indigenous village! It was fun to travel there and see some neat landscape, and very encouraging to meet indigenous believers and see the result of missionary work in this village - a functioning church! They speak their own language, so I didn't get to visit with them, but we enjoyed "meeting" each other, and they especially enjoyed it when I said good-bye to them in their language, after picking it up hearing them all say it to each other. Praise the Lord for this young indigenous church and pray for this and many others around the world, to have wisdom from the Lord to understand, teach His Word, and spread the Good News so that the Lord is glorified!
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One new thing I experienced 3 weeks ago was taking a long-distance bus ride. We thought it was funny, and ridiculous, that the bus had a bathroom, but the bathroom had no light, no garbage can to put the toilet paper in, no soap, no water in the sink, and water sprayed the area quite well when you flushed. Not many people used it once they walked back there and saw the conditions! Another new experience on the bus was an unexpected stop when 3 policemen boarded and walked to the back of the bus with their hands on their guns, and arrested a drug trafficker! Thankfully the young man complied and there was no fight! Praise the Lord for our safety and pray for safety in our travels and health as we go to areas that have other kinds of illnesses.

I've been thinking recently about Romans 1:20 "For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." I'm glad all people have access to finding out about God, but I'm sure glad I have the written Word of God to help me understand much more! I also feel privileged that I have a part in sharing God's Word with people who don't have it. Thank you for the various part you have in this too - through gifts, prayers, or encouragement! Pray for more workers! There are still billions of people in the world who don't have God's Word in their language! Thanks for your prayers for the spread of the Word of God in Brazil and throughout the world.

19 Mar 2012

1-year Visa, Kids Club, Immersion

I can't believe I've already been here almost a year!  Early tomorrow morning I'll be making another visit to the federal police, to turn in my application to obtain another visa.  My current 1-year visa will soon be expired.  It shouldn't be a problem, but please pray that I will be granted another visa so I can stay here!  It could be up to 3 months before I hear if it's approved or not, so I'll let you know what happens when I know.

 

Here are some reflections from my 10 1/2 months here in Brazil.  I still struggle with explaining anything that's not simple past, present, or future tense (and sometimes I even struggle with those), but it's amazing how much I HAVE learned!  I get homesick sometimes, but I have new friends and a family in Christ here!  I'm still learning how to make GOOD Brazilian food, but at least I've learned to make some of their foods.  I miss eating berries, in any form, but I've found some new fruits here that I enjoy.  I still stand out as an American when strangers see me, but I've become much more Brazilian than I was a year ago.  I've been lonely at times, but God has filled me in a new way and become so much more precious to me!  I still get the chills when I see bugs bigger than a centimeter in my house, but I've learned the power of spray venom and how hard to hit bugs with sandals!  I still don't know much about how to get around Manaus, but I know how to get to the few locations I need.  I had a couple colds this year, but I'm thankful I haven't been sick much or gotten dengue or malaria!  I don't know yet what plans the Lord has for me after I learn Portuguese, but I've learned more about the exciting work the Lord is doing in growing His Church in Brazil and look forward to seeing His plan in it for me!

 

Praise the Lord that the kids' club here has been picked up by a few of the men who live here! They do a great job with the kids, mostly boys. Keep praying for spiritual understanding and salvation of these neighborhood kids.

 

I've been immersed in language and culture my whole time here, but in a couple of weeks my immersion will soon to taken to a new level.  On April 3rd I'll be flying out of Manaus and taking a 6-week trip with a single Brazilian missionary lady (Aérica).  We'll be visiting her base, the tribe she works in, and one other tribe.  Not only will my Portuguese get a good work-out on this trip (I don't think we'll encounter any English-speakers), but I'll get to see more places where MNTB works and experience tribal life.  Pray for communication between Aérica and I, safe travels, and for the Lord's glory in this trip!

26 Feb 2012

Hodgepodge

Keep praying for our neighborhood with the recent tragedy.  I want it to make people think about their own death and whether they're ready to meet their Creator.  At kids' club yesterday, I was talking to the victim's cousin.  She is an unbeliever but doesn't seem too concerned about it.  The thing is, it could've happened to almost any of the neighbors since many people were there when the gunfight happened, and any of them could've been the victim of a stray bullet.  Pray that people here think about their own soul and where they stand with God.  Pray for the men who did the shooting as well, for their souls.  The police now know the identities of the men who were involved in the gunfight and are looking for them.

A few weeks ago I went on a trip out of town with some church friends.  We drove to a port in Manaus, took a ferry boat for about 20 minutes (and crossed the famous "Meeting of the Waters"), then went for an hour and a half by bus to a little town where my church knows people in another church.  When we arrived, we walked around the town a bit, found a bakery so we could eat, then got dressed up for an evening meeting.  After the meeting we ate something related to hot dogs, then piled back into the bus for our trip home.  It was a nice break from city life; so calm out in that little town!  Here are a few pictures from that - ferry speed boat, rural houses were all on stilts, my buddy for the trip, the chapel we had the meeting in, some houses around the town, and silhouettes against a bright Manaus night sky (at midnight).

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My new language helper, Jaiana, is a good, faithful helper! She's here twice a week and patiently talks with me, helps me make Brazilian food, answers my questions about culture, and reads with me (we often stop so I can learn words I don't know yet).  Here's a photo of her teaching me to make a food they call tapioca.  Pray for our interactions.

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Carnaval is one day on the calendar, but celebrated for 5 days.  Many unbelievers see it as a time when sin is more excusable and go about pleasing their flesh in various ways.  I'm glad it's over now and the news of violence around the country has decreased some.  On the day of Carnaval, I didn't have any plans, and the missionary kids who live on this property were showing me how they made their playhouse "homey" by keeping it swept, having fake lights and TV, curtains, etc.  We decided we should have a party since it was a holiday, so I made cookies, popcorn and juice and we enjoyed our little party.  Here's a photo of that, so you can see who my little neighbors are - the little Portuguese voices that play right outside my house that laugh, cry, yell, make-believe all sorts of things, and give me lots of smiles and laughs through the windows of my otherwise-quiet house. :)

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Tomorrow morning starts another week of classes and studying Portuguese.  People often ask how it's coming along.  I'm learning more every day, so I'm glad about that!  I'm not learning as fast as I thought I would, but that's ok.  My language studies will continue on for a while, but that's fine with me since God hasn't shown me yet what I'll be doing next anyway!  When I want to speak, if I know the vocabulary I can basically say anything definite (but still have quite a few mistakes).  I'm beginning the process of learning how to say verb tenses that are not-definite, such as "If I did that..." or "I wish that he would..."  Before, I didn't realize those are actually different verb tenses than past, present, and future.  I think Portuguese has a different way to say every tense where English uses mostly the same word for many tenses - I think that's why many Brazilians think that Portuguese is harder to learn than English.  I can understand more than I am able to say.  As long as I know the vocabulary and can hear very clearly, I can understand most of what people say in every day settings.  

In reading about the kings in the Bible, I see so many miracles and proof that my God definitely exists, and is AMAZING - even making fire consume stones and water!  I'm so grateful for Him!

1st Kings 18:38-39 "Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God."

22 Feb 2012

2 Brutal Deaths

Yesterday the shooting victim's machines were unplugged and organs donated. Today her body is in a school gymnasium in our neighborhood for visitation while Catholic leaders do rituals and say prayers. This afternoon her body will be transported to a cemetery and buried. Myself and some missionary neighbors went to the visitation earlier and it was good to see some of the kids we know and comfort them and let the girl's mom know we're praying for them. Some of us will return later to see them off to the cemetery. Continue to pray as we have contact with the neighbors, for softened hearts.

I think everyone in the world thinks it's an awful thing when an child is brutally killed because of the violence of others. Yes, she did wrong things, as does every other human in the world, but she did nothing to deserve such a death! But somehow, not everything thinks of what an awful thing it was that a perfect man was tortured and crucified, not because of His wrong, but because of your wrongs, and my wrongs. He didn't deserve such a brutal death either, but He allowed it because He loves you and wants a relationship with you. That perfect, sinless person was Jesus, God, on the cross, and He died in your place; He took the punishment from God for your sins. Have you ever thought about how much God loves you to do that for you? Have you ever thanked Him? Have you ever accepted His death as the payment for your sins? Do you have a relationship with the God who created you and died for you?

20 Feb 2012

Prayer for the Neighborhood

Please be praying for my neighborhood to be softened to the Lord.  Some have already shown it and we want more, for the Lord's glory!  It started on Friday night with a gunfight in which a stray bullet hit an 11-year-old girl in the head.  Yesterday she was declared braindead but is still being kept alive by machines.  Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning the machines will be unplugged if a miracle doesn't happen.  The girl had frequently come to our kids' club and heard the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ, but didn't show any interest.  But since the tragedy, we had a kids' club and one boy professed salvation through faith in Christ's death for him!

Pray for us Christians in the neighborhood and our interactions with people.  Pray for justice to be served to the guilty person(s).

These few days are also the Brazilian holiday "Carnaval" in which many gratify the desires of their flesh.  Pray for safety and testimony of believers.  Pray for unbelievers to have a realization of the filthiness of sin to the Savior who died for them.

Please also pray that the Lord would raise up another couple to do the kids' club that we've been doing here.  Soon the current couple will be moving away and we don't yet have anyone to teach lessons and help care for the kids.  I hope we can keep sharing the Good News with them after all the bad news lately!

Thank you for your prayers!  I'll try to post again on Tuesday or Wednesday with anything about the victim, and a few other new things around here.

4 Feb 2012

Not My Strength, But His

Have you ever eaten a tongue?  Or a tail?  In the last week I've had the opportunity to try both! They didn't taste bad, but the thought of chewing on a tongue and tail was kind of disconcerting! The friends who fed me the tail were excited that I would try their food that was new and strange to me.  They didn't mind that I didn't want any more, and even joked about it the next time I saw them.  Being open to "their world" is what matters, not necessarily that you like it all right away.

 

A couple weeks ago I went to the West Brazil conference for MNTB missionaries.  It was a challenge to live in a "Portuguese world" for a week but I learned a lot and got to meet a lot of fellow missionaries and hear about what God is doing in their tribal areas.  Here's a picture of all the ladies at a ladies' tea we had, some evening fun of round robin ping pong, having a meal, and the boat that took us to and from the conference. 

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This coming week I'll be starting up with all my regular lessons again.  I've had a break from most classes for a couple months.  Pray that my mind would dive back into formal language learning again! I'm grateful for the profitable break time I had, which helped the information sink in and gave me time to practive things I had learned.  Now my brain is ready to learn new verb tenses and more vocabulary!

 

A cashier at my little neighborhood store is always glad to see me and we visit a bit when she checks out my groceries.  Recently she let me know that she wanted to talk more, so on Tuesday when she got off work she came to my house and we had a good time getting to know each other.  She'd like to help me learn Portuguese, so she will begin helping me this coming week!

 

I've begun helping out with a hospital ministry once a week.  I go with the team of people in the following picture to a children's floor in a hospital.  The rooms hold 5-8 children and we visit several rooms, sharing the gospel through the Wordless Book and giving little gifts bags of fun activities for the children to do while they're lying in bed.  I don't do the speaking yet, but I enjoy being a part of this ministry.  I know some of you have asked if there's anything you can do or make, to be more a part of my ministry, and now that I'm involved in this, here's an opportunity for you!  If any of you are interested in making "Wordless Book" bracelets for us, or sending small, lightweight activities, let me know and I can answer any questions and give you my address.

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God has great ways of showing His power in our weakness!  First is the fact that I'm doing what I'm doing - going out "on my own" to be a missionary in Brazil.  When I meet new people they say, "Wow, you're so courageous!"  But I'm not a courageous person!  It's the Lord working through my weakness!  Another example recently is the fact that I'm doing a bit of accounting.  For those who know nothing about my school days, math is not my forte.  But on the property where myself and 6 other families live, we needed someone to collect rent and keep track of all the other payments and funds we have.  I had become accustomed to not having to deal with 1 cent coins (since there aren't any in Brazil), but now that I'm doing accounting it makes things a little more challenging to not always have the exact amount!  It was confusing to learn from the previous person, and figure out how I'm going to keep track of things, but with the Lord's help I managed to successfully close out January without any big issues and hope it will continue!

 

I'm impressed lately by the love of God and being reminded that God loves me the same way He loves His Son Jesus Christ, that He gives innumerable blessings that I don't deserve, that He gave up His Son to be humiliated, beaten, and crucified for ME!  I don't deserve any of this from the Creator of everything, but He has chosen me to be His child so I can have a relationship with Him and declare His praises!  I need to have this be my focus to keep my heart with a right attitude.

 

Praise the Lord that I had the blessing of meeting many other missionaries at the conference and was encouraged hearing about the works the Lord is doing in their tribal areas.

Praise the Lord for the break from classes and the opportunity for my skills to catch up to my knowledge.

Praise the Lord His power is shown through my weaknesses.

Praise the Lord for His abundant love.

 

Pray I'd be devoted to my studies as they pick up again, and for my relationship with my new language helper, Jaiana.

Pray for the children and parents at the hospital who hear the gospel and wisdom for the ones presenting the gospel.

Pray as I continue learning and doing accounting.

Pray I would keep Christ as my focus.

 

Thanks for standing with me!  I'd love to know your news, praises and prayer requests as well!

5 Jan 2012

end of 2011

Happy New Year!  The lastest noteworthy event was a New Year's Eve party with my church.  We first had a meeting with lots of singing and a message to help us remember to thank the Lord for His goodness in the past year, and things to ponder going into a new year.  After that we had a gift exchange, watched fireworks outside at midnight, then ate supper after that!

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Shortly after Thanksgiving, a friend from training, and her husband, visited her parents here.  It was fun to see a familiar face from the States!  They were so kind to let me do several vacation activities with them!  We got to escape the city and go to waterfalls, hike in the jungle, go tubing and swimming in the Amazon, and play games.  It was good just to be able to be with other people for extended periods of time and be able to communicate clearly with them!

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I've had the opportunity to do a little work in the mission print shop a couple times.  There, they print and put books together that have been written in the indigenous languages by missionaries.  I got to help put together a book on basic Bible lessons, including portions of the Bible, that have been translated into a tribal language.  It was fun to be a part of that because ultimately, that's what I'm here for - to help get God's Word into indigenous languages, to allow them to discover who God is through His Word.  In these pictures, I'm sewing a booklet together and the translator is holding a completed book (minus the cover) and all around him are stages of the book being put together.

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I certainly had a new Christmas experience this year!  It didn't feel much like "Christmas", with the weather being so warm, Brazilian decorations just aren't the same (pictures following), and I wouldn't be doing any normal traditions.  But I had a good Christmas anyway, spending time with friends and learning about how some Brazilians celebrate.  Christmas is about the Savior coming to this earth, to save us from our sins - it's not about snow, decorations, traditions, or even family.  I'm so thankful that God sent His Son Jesus to this earth, to experience human life and then to die because of my sins, and the sins of each person.  I'm also very thankful that God raised Him from the dead and now He lives in heaven, prays for me, and is always available to me!

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Language studies are at a bit of a break right now, at least the formal part.  I have a break from classes for a bit, but I still participate in activities with Brazilians and do a little studying on my own.  In a couple weeks I'll have another break from classes, but I'll still get LOTS of Portuguese in at a "field conference" where many of the missionaries from West Brazil will gather.  I'm looking forward to getting to know more of the missionaries here, and getting lots of language practice!

Thank you so much for all your prayers and various ways of support in 2011!  Thanks to many of you who recently sent letters or packages and pictures!  I know some are still on the way too!  Please pray that I would faithfully keep at my studies - there's so much to study I sometimes don't even know where to start!  I'm often encouraged as I listen and can understand more and more.  On the other hand, it's often discouraging to try and talk and not be able to communicate what I want to say.  Pray as I meet more missionaries at the conference, some of which may be my future co-workers.

2011 was a year of many huge changes for me, beginning with a trip to FL by myself and ending with a new way of celebrating major holidays in a new country!  I thank the Lord for how He has led me and proven Himself faithful to me through it all, as always! :)  He's worthy of all praise, and worthy to be trusted.

25 Nov 2011

Thanksgiving and a Trip

Happy late Thanksgiving! I hope you found many things to thank the Lord for, as we should every day! I sure did! He's SO good to me- in creating everything so beautifully, loving me even though I'm a sinner, giving His Son Jesus to die in my place and forgive my sins, allowing me to be a child of God and have a relationship with Him - the Highest, Perfect Being, always being with me, giving me family and friends like you, providing for me in so many ways, and SO much more! I read a quote on the internet recently, but can't find it now, but it said something like, "We're not thankful because of ___(I don't remember the word, but really, anything would work)___, rather we're thankful because of who He is." It was a good reminder to not let circumstances guide our attitudes, but rather to have a joyful, thankful attitude constantly, because God is God, and He is GOOD!

Thanksgiving is a normal day in Brazil. It was a bit of a hard time, being away from family, but I had a good day anyway. I'm thankful I got to spend some of the day with friends here.

Last week I was able to go on a trip with some co-workers to an Indian conference. It was so good to see Indian believers encouraging each other in mission work in their own areas as well as others, and encouraging each other to trust the Lord, grow in Him, and live for Him. They go through a lot of difficulties and challenges in trying to leave the former sinful ways that are just part of their culture. My friends tried to describe to me what it's like to become a tribal believer: it's like being born in a bar, surrounded by constant evils (which you're pressured to do), and never leaving the bar. That evil is all you know in life. Then one day someone comes into the bar and takes time to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and you trust Him as your Savior. But you can't leave the bar - it's all you know, all your family and friends and culture, and you want to share the good news with them! The other catch is that you have very little of the written Word of God because it's slowly being translated into your language. It would be pretty hard to thrive as a believer in that situation, but do-able because of the Lord and His Spirit living in believers. Pray for these believers when they come to mind!

Enjoy this edition's pictures consisting of: a road covered with potholes (I didn't know roads could pothole themselves away!), beautiful scenery, at the Equator, as close as I'll get to snow - white sand, a tribal group singing praises in their language and style, a view of the meeting area and attendees, "bunkhouse" (I didn't sleep there), map of tribes in Brazil - some reached but many not yet reached, sunrise on the jungle plains, and breakfast at a roadside cafe with my friends who brought me.
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11 Nov 2011

6 months

I've been here for 6 months! Time has gone slow and fast - mostly fast. I made it through dry/hot season and am glad that rainy season is here to cool it down a bit.

After 6 months, I still find it strange to:
-drink yogurt
-kill cockroaches and centipedes in my house
-hear rainstorms coming closer and closer as they pound on tin roofs in the distance
-be wearing short sleeves and capris every day
-think about wearing a jacket when a cool front comes, only to find that the temp is 82
-pick fruit off the trees in the yard
-not have seen anyone from my USA-life for 6 months
-find my language helper may come 10 minutes early, 1 1/2 hours late, or not show up at all
-listen to someone talking and not understand anything
-listen to another person and understand almost everything

There have been times of loneliness and frustration but the Lord has been so good to me in showing me more about Himself and teaching me to lean more on Him. I'm thankful I have a closer relationship with my Best Friend and Savior, I have lots of new friends, and am learning a lot. In my devotions, I recently came across one of my all-time-favorite verses; I have lots of favorites, but this was one of my first! Deuteronomy 31:6,8 "Be strong and courageous...the Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Yes, it was for Joshua, but we know from the New Testament that these things are true for believers today as well, and what an encouragement they are! If you're His child, may you be blessed by them today as well, knowing that the Lord Jesus will never leave you to face things on your own. He loves to be invovled with you and help you through whatever comes. What an awesome God we have! What a privilege to serve Him!

I was reminded of the privilege, and responsibility the Church has (in bringing glory to the Lord and sharing the Good News with the world), when I heard a missionary speak at a meeting last Sunday. He talked about the great need of the people in the tribe he works. They don't know who the true God is, nor do they have access to finding out, unless Christians continue learning their language and culture and teach them what God's Word says. There are also neighboring tribes who know nothing about the true God, and speak a different language, but there's no one to go there. There's such a huge lack of missionaries! Luke 10:2 is so true even now, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

So, pray for more workers!  Pray I'll keep dedicated to learning Portuguese - it can get tiring!  Praise the Lord for my good health!  Praise Him for being the God who's with us!
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31 Oct 2011

New Teacher, Children's Day, Language Team, Waterfalls, Co-Worker, Nearness of God

Hi Friends! Again, it has been a while, but I have lots of pictures to show you some of the things I've been up to! If, when you get this e-mail with photos in it, and it takes a long time to come though, and you don't want that in the future, let me know and I'll start e-mailing only text to you, then you can go to my site and see the pictures.

I've had a few weeks of class with my new language helper, named Rebeca. She's a friend from church and comes 3 times a week. I plan out things I want to learn from her, and she also comes with things to teach me. She's a good and patient teacher. I'm still learning vocabulary and culture, but I'm also trying to practice talking more. I can understand a lot if people talk slowly enough, but my talking is coming slower. Sometimes Rebeca's little girl, Ana-Dálete, comes along too.  This picture is us 3.
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We have a kids' club here at the property where I live, every Saturday. Normally, we have a Bible lesson, then let the kids play soccer and play on the playground. A couple weeks ago Brazilians celebrated Children's Day. On the following Saturday we had a special time for all the kids - besides our regular Bible lesson time, we also had fun games for them to play, snacks and a tract to take home, and a popsicle as they went out the gate! Here are some of the pictures of that outreach.
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A few weeks ago a dear family of language-learners had to leave Brazil due to health issues. Please pray that they and the doctors would have wisdom in knowing what's going on, and for the Lord to guide them as to what to do in the future. Before they left, the language learning team got together. Here are some pictures of my fellow language learners and teachers.
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Last Monday we had a holiday here - the city's anniversary! :) Thanks to some friends who organized the whole thing, 13 of us took advantage of it and headed a couple hours away to some beautiful falls. We wish it hadn't been rainy and cool the whole time, but we had fun anyway! It was a great experience for me to take a trip with mostly Brazilians, get to know some friends better, learn more of their culture, and learn new words while experiencing them. Praise the Lord for safety on our trip! The Lord may have saved us from a bad accident (which we later saw down the road), by making our 2-car caravan lose each other and "waste" an hour trying to reunite. Here's a bit about a few of the pictures: we enjoyed lower water levels, horizontal rock-wall climbing (going against the current to later float/swim in the current), eating an all-American PB&J picnic lunch (some Brazilians enjoyed it, though some kept saying they didn't eat lunch yet because they didn't have rice and beans), and a statue representing some of the things the Amazon is known for: Indians, jaguars, fish, and a fruit called cupuaçu. 
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There are now quite a few single Brazilian missionary ladies living around here, who are all in need of a co-worker. They already have a tribe they've been in and know the language already - they just need one or more co-workers. It's still a challenge for me to communicate about every-day things, so I don't know much about them or the tribes they've been in, but maybe someday I'll be a co-worker with one of them. Please continue praying that when the time comes, the Lord would lead me to the right tribe and co-worker/s. Thank you!

Today I was pondering the privilege we as believers have, in the nearness of God and that He listens whenever we call to Him! What a blessing to have the Highest Being so near and so caring toward us!
Deuteronomy 4:7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 

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