This is probably about as random as they get since it is 12:30am, and I am wide awake since I went to bed "to pray" at 7:30pm and got quite a bit of "prayer sleep".
Yesterday we had an "impacto" here in the slum, an interchurch event that took place in the Cafezal plaza up the hill, near the health post. It was great to see the pastors from different churches working together to lead this rather unstructured, Spirit-led preaching/worship service in the middle of the public park.
I made chocolate chip cookies again this weekend...I seem to have more friends everyday. ;)
God doesn't tell us things just for the sake of telling us - He always has a purpose in what He tells us, He tells us what we need to know.
I'm in the process of asking God why He has told me some of the things that He has told me, what He wants me to do with that information.
Sometimes He tells us things just so we can pray about them, sometimes because we need to tell someone else, or sometimes because we need to do something about what He told us.
I miss carpet, the way it feels to walk on it barefoot.
Brazilians don't really say brrrrrrrrrrrrrr when they are cold, and now that the winter months are rolling in, I catch myself naturally saying it, sometimes rather loud...I must look kind of crazy. I have surveyed the other foreigners to make sure it is not just an American expression, and have found that Dutch and German people say brrrrr but with a heavy roll on the R but English people say brrr like I do, more like "bur" with no R roll.
I'm almost done reading Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider. I highly recommend it. It is re-inspiring me in my vision and big-picture calling, but also personally challenging me in some areas.
Sometimes I wake up thinking in Portuguese now...
Agora eu sei como trocar o idioma de meu teclado então dá para digitar em português se eu quiser. Tambêm agora sei como escrever melhor por causa de meu curso de português.
It's hard to talk/write in Spanish now because it is so similar to Porgutuese, I need to train myself to switch better.
One girl from my group who was really starting to show improvement was suddenly taken by the police to live with her mom on the other side of the city, due to her father abusing them. I hope she's doing okay, though I have heard the man living with her mom is abusive as well. We're sad we can't work with this girl any more...she was so closed at the beginning of the year that she would never talk and if we tried to talk with her personally, she would turn her head, shut down completely, and never look us in the eye. Just before being taken away, she had come so far that she was participating in all of the activities, enjoying herself, trying to write whenever we do written work (she doesn't know how or has some disability), and not only able to talk to us and look us in the eye, but also courageous enough to stay after to talk to us about some struggles she was having with other girls in the group. This girl and her siblings are so precious but have been through so much...I really feel God's heart for them.
Okay...I'm going back to bed now.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Lessons from Chocolate Chip Cookies
Some of you may remember reading a blog I wrote just over a year ago regarding my first attempt to make chocolate chip cookies here in Brazil during my time as a volunteer at the girls’ house. Basically I struggled to find some of the ingredients and accidentally ended up using yeast rather than baking soda, and it didn’t come out looking anything like normal cookies (but the girls still ate it). Since then I have not been brave enough to try baking much of anything here in Brazil, but this week I decided to give chocolate chip cookies another try as I learned the proper words for all of the ingredients and I wanted to make something special to serve at the 15th birthday party of one of the girls in my group. I still faced the challenge of a gas oven with no temperature gauge and a few improvisations in terms of ingredients, yet by some miracle they turned out absolutely perfect! I still wasn’t sure what the girls would think of them as chocolate chip cookies basically don’t exist here. To my surprise, when the girls tried them, they were shocked that I had made them because they thought they were professionally made. They asked for the recipe and even though I told them I just got it off of the internet, they determined my cooking was good enough that I can get married. (Here in Brazil it is normal to tell a single woman she can get married if her food is good – I like to say the same to single men to single things out a bit.)
After the birthday party was over and the four dozen cookies had been consumed in a matter of minutes, God used this experience to speak to me about my own progress since first arriving here in Brazil. When I first got here, I didn’t know hardly anything about the language, how to find my way around the city, where to buy things, how to cook, clean, and use appliances, etc. But after a year, this is really my home now. I know how to get around the city without getting lost (most of the time!), I know how to speak the language well, I know how to use so many things that were very foreign to me at first. Something that I failed at a year ago, I not only succeeded but excelled at now! Although there are still challenges with living here and navigating in a foreign culture, I have come a really long way in the past year and am now capable of mastering things I was completely clueless regarding before.
After the birthday party was over and the four dozen cookies had been consumed in a matter of minutes, God used this experience to speak to me about my own progress since first arriving here in Brazil. When I first got here, I didn’t know hardly anything about the language, how to find my way around the city, where to buy things, how to cook, clean, and use appliances, etc. But after a year, this is really my home now. I know how to get around the city without getting lost (most of the time!), I know how to speak the language well, I know how to use so many things that were very foreign to me at first. Something that I failed at a year ago, I not only succeeded but excelled at now! Although there are still challenges with living here and navigating in a foreign culture, I have come a really long way in the past year and am now capable of mastering things I was completely clueless regarding before.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
A very specific need of the Lighthouse
Here at the Lighthouse, we have been vehicle-less for quite some time, and last year staff were really praying for the means to purchase a new "kombi" or van/minibus for the house. We recently received an offering that covers 65% of the cost of a new VW minibus! That still leaves us with US$7500 to raise. Please prayerfully consider how you may be able to help the Lighthouse in this VERY practical manner. Having more than 40 people in a house and no form of transport is kind of tough, so please join us in our mission to get a minibus! :-)
If you would like to contribute from the US, you have two choices:
1) Make a tax-deductible contribution by sending a check to the following address:
YWAM
PO Box 3000
Garden Valley, TX 75771, USA
Make a note indicating that it is for YWAM Belo Horizonte - Center, Brazil, for the Lighthouse minibus fund.
The downside of donating this way is that it takes a couple of months for the money to go through the necessary process to actually end up in our hands here at the base. If you decide to donate this way, please send me an email to let me know so that we know to be expecting your donation.
2) If you don't care about being able to take a tax-deduction and would like your gift to be received immediately, you can make a wire transfer into the Lighthouse's bank account here in Brazil. Wire transfers usually cost about $50 so this is probably only worth it if you are making a larger gift. Please send me an email if you would like to donate this way and I can pass you the information regarding the bank account that you will need to make the wire transfer. That way I will also know to be watching our account so we can confirm when it comes through.
Studying Portuguese
Foreigners on staff here are given the option to study Portuguese half-time for the first 3 months. At first, I thought I didn't really need this as I already speak decently and can get better just by speaking more, but after giving it more thought, I realized that I have never learned how to read and write in Portuguese, and that is a valuable skill to have that may help me greatly in the long-term here.
I went a public university to take a placement test, and when the professor reviewed it afterward, he said I was right in between the Intermediate II and Advanced classes, but he suggested that I challenge myself by giving the Advanced course a try. I think did so well on the test because my Spanish background helped a lot in the grammar portions even though I have never learned proper grammar in Portuguese.
So I have been in this class for a few weeks now, and think I am surviving, though I feel everyone in the class is better than me! Everyone is either married to a Brazilian and/or speaks Italian, Spanish, or French as their first language, making Portuguese easier. They all speak so well! At first I felt a bit overwhelmed, but I feel the challenge has been good for me and I am really catching up. I am learning how to properly use the subjunctive tenses and everything from my spelling to my pronunciation is improving!
The class has also been good for me in terms of getting outside of the YWAM bubble and outside of the slum, putting me back into an environment much like that I was in during my classes in college, primarily with people hostile toward religion and especially Christianity.
Many YWAMers here are in these Portuguese courses...but I am the only one in the advanced course, so I am on my own in that sense!
Two class discussions have been very interesting for me: one on simpatias or superstitions and the other on social problems and what the government can do to improve things.
The class on simpatias was quite interesting, because we learned about many of the superstitions that people here in Brazil have, many within the Catholic church or spiritist traditions, or a syncretism of the two. There are many things that follow the following formula: if you want x, you do y and z for this saint. For example, Sao Antonio is the saint of romance. In June each year there is a celebration called the Festa Juninha (June/winter Festival), and it is supposed to be a good time to find that special someone. During this time, single women take their statue of Sao Antonio and place it upside down as a "punishment" for the fact that he hasn't provided them with a man yet, then go out to dance, and I guess only turn it back right side up if Sao Antonio comes through in providing a man.
As we discussed this and other various simpatias mostly connected to some kind religion, I couldn't help but think I am SO thankful that it is not like this with the God that I worship - it is different because I have a personal relationship with Him based on who He is. It isn't something that I just use Him to get what I want and just follow a formula to do whatever I need to do to get that. It is totally different! He blesses me not on the basis of what I do, but because of His love for me, and I love Him because of who He is. I don't have a statue of Him that I turn upside down to punish Him if I don't get what I want! Sometimes I struggle to understand if things don't go as I would like or the way that seems best in my eyes, but that does not stop me from loving Him or relating to Him, because He matters more to me than what is happening in my life. What a difference than the simpatias used to get things out of the saints!
The other class of particular interest to me was during our unit on politics. We got into a discussion regarding the main problems facing Brazil and what the government can do about it. Some of the biggest problems identified were poverty and social inequality. We discussed what the government can do to address these problems, and the best thing the class could come up with was improving the education system, yet that has its challenges and shortcomings. Basically, the conversation made me realize that I am here doing what the government can't do to bring about change in these areas. This was an amazing realization for me, because in the past when I have discussed these things it has always been a theoretical discussion, but now it is real, rooted in my experiences, and their are faces and stories I can relate to these large, abstract social issues. We also discussed problems like corruption in politics and the police force. And it reminded me why the kind of character transformation brought about by a genuine relationship with God is so key to broader social transformation. It is the only way to truly uproot social injustice and corruption. People will always find ways to get personal gain and take opportunity of any situation at the expense of others unless moral reasons and personal convictions as to why not to, and without God, people have no reason to hold those kind of convictions.
I went a public university to take a placement test, and when the professor reviewed it afterward, he said I was right in between the Intermediate II and Advanced classes, but he suggested that I challenge myself by giving the Advanced course a try. I think did so well on the test because my Spanish background helped a lot in the grammar portions even though I have never learned proper grammar in Portuguese.
So I have been in this class for a few weeks now, and think I am surviving, though I feel everyone in the class is better than me! Everyone is either married to a Brazilian and/or speaks Italian, Spanish, or French as their first language, making Portuguese easier. They all speak so well! At first I felt a bit overwhelmed, but I feel the challenge has been good for me and I am really catching up. I am learning how to properly use the subjunctive tenses and everything from my spelling to my pronunciation is improving!
The class has also been good for me in terms of getting outside of the YWAM bubble and outside of the slum, putting me back into an environment much like that I was in during my classes in college, primarily with people hostile toward religion and especially Christianity.
Many YWAMers here are in these Portuguese courses...but I am the only one in the advanced course, so I am on my own in that sense!
Two class discussions have been very interesting for me: one on simpatias or superstitions and the other on social problems and what the government can do to improve things.
The class on simpatias was quite interesting, because we learned about many of the superstitions that people here in Brazil have, many within the Catholic church or spiritist traditions, or a syncretism of the two. There are many things that follow the following formula: if you want x, you do y and z for this saint. For example, Sao Antonio is the saint of romance. In June each year there is a celebration called the Festa Juninha (June/winter Festival), and it is supposed to be a good time to find that special someone. During this time, single women take their statue of Sao Antonio and place it upside down as a "punishment" for the fact that he hasn't provided them with a man yet, then go out to dance, and I guess only turn it back right side up if Sao Antonio comes through in providing a man.
As we discussed this and other various simpatias mostly connected to some kind religion, I couldn't help but think I am SO thankful that it is not like this with the God that I worship - it is different because I have a personal relationship with Him based on who He is. It isn't something that I just use Him to get what I want and just follow a formula to do whatever I need to do to get that. It is totally different! He blesses me not on the basis of what I do, but because of His love for me, and I love Him because of who He is. I don't have a statue of Him that I turn upside down to punish Him if I don't get what I want! Sometimes I struggle to understand if things don't go as I would like or the way that seems best in my eyes, but that does not stop me from loving Him or relating to Him, because He matters more to me than what is happening in my life. What a difference than the simpatias used to get things out of the saints!
The other class of particular interest to me was during our unit on politics. We got into a discussion regarding the main problems facing Brazil and what the government can do about it. Some of the biggest problems identified were poverty and social inequality. We discussed what the government can do to address these problems, and the best thing the class could come up with was improving the education system, yet that has its challenges and shortcomings. Basically, the conversation made me realize that I am here doing what the government can't do to bring about change in these areas. This was an amazing realization for me, because in the past when I have discussed these things it has always been a theoretical discussion, but now it is real, rooted in my experiences, and their are faces and stories I can relate to these large, abstract social issues. We also discussed problems like corruption in politics and the police force. And it reminded me why the kind of character transformation brought about by a genuine relationship with God is so key to broader social transformation. It is the only way to truly uproot social injustice and corruption. People will always find ways to get personal gain and take opportunity of any situation at the expense of others unless moral reasons and personal convictions as to why not to, and without God, people have no reason to hold those kind of convictions.
Not your typical church...
The other week I went to a church here in the slum up in Del Rei, which is up the hill from the Lighthouse. Del Rei is known to be a more violent neighborhood at the moment, because of drug trafficking and gang wars. When one druglord has power over a certain territory, things tend to be more peaceful, but when there is a contest for power/territory between two or more druglords, you don't want to be caught in the middle of it! The area immediately around the Lighthouse has been pretty safe and peaceful for awhile, but just up the hill things are different. So to walk up to this church, we had to pass through a known "boca", or drug-dealing locale. There were many people heading to church at this time of the evening, which gave the streets a safer feel, though we were advised to come back by bus as things are more dangerous late at night, and we took that advise (which also saved us from walking back in the sudden downpour that can roll in out of nowhere during the rainy season, which seems to be prolonged this year).
I don't know if I have ever been to a cooler church service in my life. We actually had to leave early to catch the bus, right when the sermon was starting (2.5 hours into the service). Everything up to that point was worship and musical performances. Like many churches in Brazil, they had some youth up in the front worshipping through dance. However, this was different. Normally the churches here just have girls doing this - and it is usually graceful, ballet-like dancing. But this church had young men as well - and they were worshipping through break-dance! I have never seen anything like it before, but these young men who were dancing were totally into and I sensed really worshipping God through expressing themselves through this kind of dance. It was awesome! I don't think I have ever seen so much creativity in worship at a church. I don't know if it is like this every week there, but it definitely made me want to go back!
I don't know if I have ever been to a cooler church service in my life. We actually had to leave early to catch the bus, right when the sermon was starting (2.5 hours into the service). Everything up to that point was worship and musical performances. Like many churches in Brazil, they had some youth up in the front worshipping through dance. However, this was different. Normally the churches here just have girls doing this - and it is usually graceful, ballet-like dancing. But this church had young men as well - and they were worshipping through break-dance! I have never seen anything like it before, but these young men who were dancing were totally into and I sensed really worshipping God through expressing themselves through this kind of dance. It was awesome! I don't think I have ever seen so much creativity in worship at a church. I don't know if it is like this every week there, but it definitely made me want to go back!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
God in children
Yesterday during my morning meditation time (ie quiet time, hang time, whatever you want to call it), I was praying for God to show me more of His Father heart for me right now. He answered my prayer in a very unexpected way. During my afternoon group, one of my girls handed me a note, four pages long and beautifully written in different colors, accompanied by designs and drawings. Part of it was clearly something she copied from somewhere, like the type of thing that someone would forward on as an email to all of their friends, but it was much more meaningful than that since it was so carefully handwritten. The part that God used to answer my prayer was the following (Portuguese followed by English translation):
Se algum dia, voce vier a esquecer de mim, olhe para o mar e eu serei a onda que vier ao seu lado.
Se algum dia, voce vier a esquecer de mim, olhe para as estrelas e eu serei a que mais brilhar.
Se algum dia, voce se esquecer de mim, olhe para as flores e eu serei a que voce cheirar.
Mas mesmo assim se continuar se esquecendo de mim... Olhe para os passaros e eu serei o sinonimo de liberdade.
E se continuar esquecendo de mim, olhe para a lua e eu serei a luz que te guia na escuridao.
E se a lua nao fizer voce lembrar de mim... Olhe para o sol e eu seria sua fonte de energia.
E se tudo isso fizer com que nao lembres de mim...
Olhe para as criancas e eu serei a que com carinho te dizer...
EU TE AMO!
If some day you should come to forget me, look to the sea and I will be the wave that comes to your side.
If some day you should come to forget me, look to the stars and I will be the one that shines brightest.
If some day you should forget me, look to the flowers and I will be the one that you smell.
But if you still continue forgetting me... Look to the birds and I will be the synonym of freedom.
And if you continue forgetting me, look to the moon and I will be the light that guides you in the darkness.
And if the moon doesn't cause you to remember me... Look to the sun and I will be your fountain/source of energy.
And if all of this doesn't cause you to remember me...
Look to the children and I will be the one that affectionately says...
I LOVE YOU!
I am not sure if the girl in my group who wrote this for me meant this part as to be from her or from God...but God used it to speak to me as if it were from Him. Especially the part about children at the end! I started out leading my group this year thinking that it would just be God using me to minister to them...I never expected Him to use them to minister to me in return, but He surprised me in this way!
Se algum dia, voce vier a esquecer de mim, olhe para o mar e eu serei a onda que vier ao seu lado.
Se algum dia, voce vier a esquecer de mim, olhe para as estrelas e eu serei a que mais brilhar.
Se algum dia, voce se esquecer de mim, olhe para as flores e eu serei a que voce cheirar.
Mas mesmo assim se continuar se esquecendo de mim... Olhe para os passaros e eu serei o sinonimo de liberdade.
E se continuar esquecendo de mim, olhe para a lua e eu serei a luz que te guia na escuridao.
E se a lua nao fizer voce lembrar de mim... Olhe para o sol e eu seria sua fonte de energia.
E se tudo isso fizer com que nao lembres de mim...
Olhe para as criancas e eu serei a que com carinho te dizer...
EU TE AMO!
If some day you should come to forget me, look to the sea and I will be the wave that comes to your side.
If some day you should come to forget me, look to the stars and I will be the one that shines brightest.
If some day you should forget me, look to the flowers and I will be the one that you smell.
But if you still continue forgetting me... Look to the birds and I will be the synonym of freedom.
And if you continue forgetting me, look to the moon and I will be the light that guides you in the darkness.
And if the moon doesn't cause you to remember me... Look to the sun and I will be your fountain/source of energy.
And if all of this doesn't cause you to remember me...
Look to the children and I will be the one that affectionately says...
I LOVE YOU!
I am not sure if the girl in my group who wrote this for me meant this part as to be from her or from God...but God used it to speak to me as if it were from Him. Especially the part about children at the end! I started out leading my group this year thinking that it would just be God using me to minister to them...I never expected Him to use them to minister to me in return, but He surprised me in this way!
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