Food

I have a friend who is a few months in to a 24-month stint in Armenia as a Peace Corps volunteer. This morning I read this post on his blog about missing American food, and I must say it's spot-on. For those of you who have never lived overseas and think it's weird how many times I've talked about Mexican food on this blog, feel free to read his post so that you'll see that I'm not alone.

And don't miss my post below this one, I published it last last night and you probably haven't seen it yet...

Still feeling thankful

Yikes. I've done a much better job about posting lately but the comments aren't reflecting readership. Is it A) because the reader ship is sinking? B) because the readership is shy about commenting? or C) because my posts are too lame to be comment-worthy?

A whole week after I wrote my Thanksgiving thankfulness post, I've thought of a bevy of other things to be thankful for, so since this is my blog and I can't sleep I decided to continue. Here goes...

I am also thankful for:

• my apartment. I could easily describe this apartment as a dream come true. It sounds like I'm making this up, but not a week goes by that at some point as I'm flicking off a light switch or closing the windows for the night I don't think "I LOVE MY HOUSE." It's true. I dreamed for 1.5 years of living in a place big enough to host church gatherings (like the one pictured below) and church sleepovers and have a kitchen big and efficient enough to actually enjoy cooking in it. God provided all of those things, and I feel BLESSED.

(Lacy, you might be interested to see the blackout curtains, the new couches, and the painting on the wall, the only real additions since you left. Everyone else, there were 27 people in my living room that night. And only two fans. This is a group REALLLLY committed to praising God.)

• my students/readers. They really bring a lot of joy to my life, not only because of the funny things they say, but because of the conversations we get to have about Jesus. The help me to see His story with a fresh perspective.
• Mexican food. I feel it deserves to be on the list again. I especially am thankful for the avocados that make guacamole, the tortillas that make chips, and the tomatoes and spices that make salsa.
  
• fruit. Living in Brazil makes you appreciate fruit, because there is just so much of it, and so many different kinds that don't seem to exist anywhere else. And the fruit juices...oh the fruit juices. That's a whole other item...
• fruit juices. There.
  
• the beach. I've never been much of a beach lover, because I always found it a bit too sandy for my taste, but I've learned to appreciate it since living in a city with some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. Here's my favorite, Ponta Negra: (This is where I spent Thanksgiving, by the way. And this is not a professional photo. It's just that pretty.)
  
• 
• the book of Philippians. I really love that epistle. Not sure how to make this not be blue and underlined.
• pictures like this one (Mom please don't kill me.):This photo was taken on one of my last days in the US in April. My mom and I had a twice-daily battle with the family cat, Scout, to squirt medicine into her mouth. This was the only way she couldn't get away. We liked to sing "Magnificat" (just now realized the 'cat' in there...we sang it because it's Mary's song) while holding Scout this way. She did not find it as amusing as we did.
  
• special friends in Natal whom I have gotten to know by just being a part of the neighborhood. I mentioned my doormen in the last post, but I am also thankful for Neide and Meyre, my two favorite bakery cashiers, Rosa, the girl who does my nails, Percy, the guy who cuts my hair, Chagas, the guy who sells me drinking water, and Souza, the best dune buggy driver in the world (pictured below.)

Well, that about sums it up...for tonight, anyway. I'm getting sleepy. Happy Carnatal everyone! (10 points to you if you remember what Carnatal is. It starts tomorrow, which means the church retreat starts tomorrow as well.)

Thankful for...

On this Thanksgiving's eve, I am going to be totally cliche and list the things I am thankful for. I spent the day feeling sorry for myself because not only am I not with my family in the US for my FAVORITE holiday of the year, but this is my first year in Natal that we are not celebrating it here, either. Since Thanksgiving is more about thanksgiving than turkeys and pretzel jello salad, I thought it might help me to make this list. As always, if I feel that is is publishable, then I feel as though it will be entertaining to you. That's my rule, you know...

I am thankful:

• that I live in a city that is sunny, like, 360 days a year. A lot of people in the northern hemisphere get SADD, and that is not a concern when you live close to the equator. Also makes for a nice tan.
  
• that I have a handful of people in my life who really love me, even though they know me really well. It's nice to be loved in spite of your shortcomings.
  
• to have family here in Natal. Not every young, single missionary is blessed to find a place and family in which he or she just naturally fits the way I do with the Signorettis. I am thankful for that.
• to have a car. But not just any car. A CUTE car. Even though Talissa (my car) got keyed two weeks ago, she took it like a champ. But mostly I am thankful to just have a car. I feel much safer and more efficient not having to ride (and wait for) buses.
  
• to be bilingual. That's pretty awesome if you ask me. And makes living in another country a whole lot easier.
• that I get to spend Christmas in New York City with my family. Christmas away from family the last two years has been hard, and I anticipated it would be extra hard this year for some reasons that you'll probably find pretty boring. Long story short, I get to meet up with them in NYC. Never been there before. Pretty excited about it.
  
• for Mexican food. You don't have to be one of the handful to know the role Mexican food plays in my life. I truly am thankful for it.
  
• for laughter. I LOVE LAUGHING. And I love thinking I'm funny. Call it vain, that's ok. I make myself laugh a lot, and I believe it will add a few years to my life.
  
• for crying. Helps create a healthy balance.
  
• that God put me in this city, doing this job, at this time in my life. He is the ONLY explanation for why I am here doing what I do, and I figure He's the best reason there is.
  
• for garbage disposals. Not having one in Natal makes me appreciate them all the more. When you go to dispose of your Thanksgiving scraps (although I encourage you not to perform such an atrocity) think of those of us who have to scrape our plates into the trash *GASP* and constantly clean out the sink's drain.
• for the doormen who work at my current building and previous building. Their friendly faces make coming home feel homey.
• for Surf laundry detergent. Buy some, take a big whiff, and you'll know what I'm talking about.
• for free internet phone calls.
  
• that I got to celebrate Thanksgiving two years in a row here in Natal, and was a part of the beginning of a fantastic Thanksgiving tradition: the Thanksgiving tree. You could say that this list is my Thanksgiving Tree 2009.

I could go on...and on...and on...and I will, tonight in my prayers. Because if we are being thankful, aren't we supposed to be thanking God? You better believe I'll be thanking God for garbage disposals tonight...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Advanced Group Class

Here is my Thursday night advanced group class. This is the class in which we study/debate controversial topics related to Christianity. We are obviously not having class in this photo, but eating ice cream and acai. Camila, the girl in the middle in red, left for a three-year master's program in Belgium last week, so we went out for ice cream for her last class session.

They all look sweet in the photo...just bring up predestination, abortion, ethics, or any other hot-button issue and you'll see these sweet angelic smiles change very quickly! Just kidding, I love my students!

Lessons Learned from an Amateur Missionary

I've been thinking lately about the things I have learned since being here in Natal. September 4th marked my 2-year anniversary, and I think in 2 years I've learned quite a bit of what to do- and what not to do, when arriving on the mission field. I have a few friends who are in the same boat as I am, and a few who are getting ready to go onto the field, so I thought maybe writing these things down would be of value. It's also good for me to write these things down, lest I get too cocky and I forget. :)

1. An effective missionary goes on the mission field for TWO reasons: love for God, which is the most important, and love for the people whom he or she will be ministering to. One without the other causes a lot of pain and reduces the effectiveness of ministry.

2. Don't arrive to the new culture and begin criticizing things. Never utter the phrase "Well, in America we do things this way." You are not in "America" and no one probably cares. If you want to share the way things are done where you come from, humbly say "At home we do it this way," or "where I come from we do it that way," but never use those phrases to belittle the way natives do things. Use them to share about yourself, and that's it. I've learned that your new friends usually welcome knowing those interesting tidbits about yourself and your home culture if you share them in a way that is not condescending.

3. Embrace the culture from day 1. Will you go through culture shock? Absolutely. Will you be homesick? Of course. Will embracing the culture help you get through all of those things more quickly? YOU BETCHA. If your family always celebrated Christmas on Christmas morning, but your new culture celebrates it on Christmas Eve, spend your first Christmas on the field celebrating it on Christmas Eve. You will have a new cultural experience, learn new customs, have something to share in with new friends, and help you not feel soooo homesick. Feel free to celebrate privately on Christmas morning, but don't expect the natives to join you or change their plans for you. Maybe over the next few years you can share your traditions with them. If the biggest meal of the day in the new culture is lunch, rather than dinner, start eating a big lunch and small dinner on day 1. This will help your adjustment, your health, and cause you to not feel "inconvenienced" when you have to switch things up.

4. Be graceful. Do the people in your new culture have a tendency to always be running late? Are you a stickler for punctuality? Don't expect to change their customs with rage. Learn to expect what you know will probably happen, and be pleasantly surprised when it doesn't. Show grace to those who need it, because sharing the Gospel is not as bound to hours and minutes as it is to relationships.

5. Don't assume people love the United States. There is a lot of anti-American sentiment overseas, and arriving to a new country assuming that people will be impressed by you will only add to that. A lot of times the sentiments are unfounded, but a lot of times they are totally valid. Either way, don't try to argue your point. Show them with your behavior, your speech, and, most importantly, YOUR WILLINGNESS TO LEARN, that you represent an exception to what they think is the rule. Over time, you will become the rule (so be careful!)

That's all I can think of for right now, but I'm sure there's more. If you read this and find it helpful, please let me know and I'll share more as it comes to mind. Deanna, I'm specifically thinking about you and your team. Your message to me the other day got me thinking about this!

Have a good weekend!

I'm proud of my students when they use English idiomatic phrases appropriately...but....

So today I was in one of my group classes with two students, reading about The Triumphal Entry/Palm Sunday. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story where Jesus rides in on a donkey and people wave palm branches and give him a King's welcome, you can read the story here.)

I asked my reader why the people were so excited to welcome Jesus, and he said: "The people knew there was coming someone to be the Son of God, blah blah blah..."

So...he gets who Jesus was...

Where does one go from here?

I always say life in Brazil is never dull...but along with that I should include that Bible study in Brazil is never dull, either.

AT LAST!

For those of you who don't use a blog reader (I recommend Google Reader, personally) and frequently check my blog for an update and are met with that sad photo displayed in my previous post, you can rest easy because the construction is over! There was a wedding, the FIRST EVER wedding from our church held in that building, on Saturday, and that was the deadline for all of the construction to be completed. Since a picture says a thousand words...here are like 10,000. Enjoy. :)

Wow...good thing OUR church building doesn't look like that!! How embarrassing! (Or...another appropriate title would be BEFORE.)


Tearing off all the grodiness

Tearing down the three columns...that represented The Trinity. They were left over by the Nazarene church from whom we bought this building.

Ok...so it doesn't have an angled roof anymore...interesting. What will it look like?

Gluing long skinny rocks horizontally...one by one...I feel it was probably a task as tedious as laying a cobblestone street.

Hmm...lookin' good!

This title of this photo is "Sneak Peek" because here comes...

THE REAL THING! THE FINISHED PRODUCT! FINALLY!!!

And without the nasty dumpster in front...the dumpster that spent 2 months uglifying our building. This photo was taken this past Sunday, the first Sunday we had worship with the construction (at least on the auditorium...) FINISHED!

So some of you may be wondering why this is so exciting, why I would dedicate two whole blog posts to show you a simple building remodeling project. Well, my friends, because this project was paid for all on our own. Those of you familiar with missions know that many times a mission team will raise funds to build a building, or buy a building. Many times those funds are supplied almost entirely by an American congregation(s). Our congregation is VERY blessed in that it already owns its own building, and has for a long time. (Graciously purchased by the Westover Hills congregation many years ago.) However, when you purchase a 30 year old building, sooner or later some major updates and adjustments will have to be made- not only aesthetic, but structural and legal! (You may or may not notice that the new doors are SIGNIFICANTLY larger than the previous ones. The new ones are up to code.) The new changes were 100% funded by special contributions, the fees paid by our English class students, costs cut in energy conservation (leaving things unplugged, etc.) and a few generous donations by outside visitors. We are blessed to have a church building on a main avenue, in the single largest and most populated neighborhood of Natal, and now we feel like its pretty new face lives up to the wonderful reputation it already has about what goes on inside. May God be glorified through this project! Rejoice with us!