I'm reluctant to write this post because it's so trendy to put recipes on blogs, and I am no Pioneer Woman. However, I feel like I am justified in doing this because I don't cook. Well, I do cook, but I can't cook. Well, obviously I can cook, but I am most definitely not gifted at it. Nor do I particularly enjoy it, although that is changing. And so here is my justification for this blog: this recipe is one of the easiest, if not the easiest, things I make, and it's delicious and a huge hit. People here always, always ask me to make this dessert for showers or events at church. Just this week I hosted our team meeting at my house on Wednesday morning, and when I woke up an hour before everyone arrived, I realized I only had water to serve. I whipped this baby up in exactly 6 minutes and popped it in the oven. So, when I realized I had timed myself to see just how fast it was, I decided it was blog-worthy. I owe a big thanks to my Aunt Nell for sharing this recipe. It's definitely a hit in Natal!
(Easy) Peach Cobbler
Mix in 9 x 13 pan:
1 stick melted butter
3/4 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
3/4 C milk
Pour one big can sliced peaches over mix. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until brown.
You can also cut the recipe in half, use a 16 oz can of peaches, and put it in a 9x9 pan.
My mom suggests cutting the sugar back to 1/2 cup because the peach syrup makes it too sweet, but I think that's a really sad idea. If you're averse to sweet things, though, that might be a good suggestion for you. I never do that, but sometimes I keep out some of the syrup.
It's really hard to mess this up, and that might be the #1 reason I make it all the time.
I bet this will be the only time you will ever see a recipe on this blog, so I hope you enjoy it!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Church Without a Name
Over the past 5 months I've participated in a lot of phone conversations on the church's phone line that went a bit like this:
Me: Comunidade de Cristo, may I help you?
Caller: Yeah, I'm calling about ______ that I heard about from _______. Where are you located?
(Note: The _____ can represent English classes, church events, worship services, a delivery, etc.)
Me: On the corner of X Avenue and Y Street, in between B Boulevard and C Avenue.
Caller: Ok, and what's the name of your church?
Me: Comunidade de Cristo....
Caller: Ok, well, thanks...
Me: But wait. Our name is not on the front of the building....
Caller: What do you mean?
Me: Well, you see, we've been remodeling our church building and...well...the name hasn't gone up yet.
Caller: So...how do I know where it is?
Me: Well, it's next door to the aluminum store. It's a big white building with a green front.
Caller: Ok, green front.
Me: But don't come in through the front, come in through the side. The front is the auditorium, and during the week there is no one at that door. Come to the side gate.
Caller: Ok, is there a sign over the side gate?
Me: No.
Caller: Ok, well hopefully I'll find it anyway.
Me: Me too. (Hang up with my head hung in shame.)
For months we've been called "The Church Without a Name".
For weeks our members have been asking (read: bugging) us about how weird it is that our church doesn't have a name--and they don't even spend the day answering phone calls like I do! And we reply like this: "Well, we'd be happy to accept your donation for R$X to cover the cost of the letters. We'll have them up by Tuesday." You see, these things cost money, people!
Of course our church has a name. And anyone who knows the 10-year history of this church in this neighborhood knows we have a name, and that name is "Comunidade de Cristo".
But what about those who don't know our history? What about the newcomers, the parents of a teenage girl who came to pick up their daughter who was visiting a Bible study on a Saturday and started getting worried when they could not find this mysterious church, not to mention their daughter who was supposed to be inside?
Have I dramatized it enough for you???????????????
Well, my dear readers, you know me. And you know I am no bad news bear. So this post will likely end with some exciting news. I present to you:
Me: Comunidade de Cristo, may I help you?
Caller: Yeah, I'm calling about ______ that I heard about from _______. Where are you located?
(Note: The _____ can represent English classes, church events, worship services, a delivery, etc.)
Me: On the corner of X Avenue and Y Street, in between B Boulevard and C Avenue.
Caller: Ok, and what's the name of your church?
Me: Comunidade de Cristo....
Caller: Ok, well, thanks...
Me: But wait. Our name is not on the front of the building....
Caller: What do you mean?
Me: Well, you see, we've been remodeling our church building and...well...the name hasn't gone up yet.
Caller: So...how do I know where it is?
Me: Well, it's next door to the aluminum store. It's a big white building with a green front.
Caller: Ok, green front.
Me: But don't come in through the front, come in through the side. The front is the auditorium, and during the week there is no one at that door. Come to the side gate.
Caller: Ok, is there a sign over the side gate?
Me: No.
Caller: Ok, well hopefully I'll find it anyway.
Me: Me too. (Hang up with my head hung in shame.)
For months we've been called "The Church Without a Name".
For weeks our members have been asking (read: bugging) us about how weird it is that our church doesn't have a name--and they don't even spend the day answering phone calls like I do! And we reply like this: "Well, we'd be happy to accept your donation for R$X to cover the cost of the letters. We'll have them up by Tuesday." You see, these things cost money, people!
Of course our church has a name. And anyone who knows the 10-year history of this church in this neighborhood knows we have a name, and that name is "Comunidade de Cristo".
But what about those who don't know our history? What about the newcomers, the parents of a teenage girl who came to pick up their daughter who was visiting a Bible study on a Saturday and started getting worried when they could not find this mysterious church, not to mention their daughter who was supposed to be inside?
Have I dramatized it enough for you???????????????
Well, my dear readers, you know me. And you know I am no bad news bear. So this post will likely end with some exciting news. I present to you:
The Building Formerly Known as the Church Without a Name
Igreja Comunidade de Cristo
And just a little reminder as to why this is all so exciting and blog-worthy (to me, anyway...)
You may call this BEFORE. I call this YIKES.
Igreja Comunidade de Cristo
And just a little reminder as to why this is all so exciting and blog-worthy (to me, anyway...)
You may call this BEFORE. I call this YIKES.Special thanks to a handful of generous contributors who helped make the naming process possible. The money came from a few individual church members, as well as brothers and sisters from other congregations in Brazil who stayed in our building while on vacation and left behind some cash to help us out. Hooray!
Coming soon...
It's been a month since my last post, and that depresses me. Sometimes I go a month without posting because there's not much to blog about, but that's not the case this time around. There's been lots going on, including my getting my very first foreign stamp in my Brazilian passport on a quick little journey to Paraguay a couple of weeks ago. As well as some freaky little Paraguayan bug that bit me on my toe and prevented me from walking correctly for about a week. And the completion of an exciting new phase in the church building's remodeling process.
See? Lots been goin' on. I'll be back later this week to share (I hope). Just going to acquire some photographic evidence so that those of you who prefer looking at pictures to reading narratives can stay updated, too. :)
See? Lots been goin' on. I'll be back later this week to share (I hope). Just going to acquire some photographic evidence so that those of you who prefer looking at pictures to reading narratives can stay updated, too. :)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Carnaval
I just realized that I never blogged about the Carnaval retreat...so here we go.
Imagine a world where your yearly calendar functions around Mardi Gras. Imagine a world where Mardi Gras celebrations are not just confined to one major city, but is evenly represented in all major cities throughout the country. And, best of all, imagine a world where, whether or not you are the Mardi Gras celebrating type, you still get 5 days off work to do whatever you want.
Enter Brazil, and the famous celebration known as Carnaval. Although the "official" Carnaval holiday is on what American culture calls "Fat Tuesday," the day before Ash Wednesday, here we start the commemorations the Friday or Saturday before and party hard until Tuesday or Wednesday. And by "party hard" I mean we go on a church retreat. :)
This year's retreat theme was "Renewed Hearts" and its theme passage was the parable of the sower from Matthew 13. We dissected the parable each day and focused on each element of the story: the sower, the seed, and the different kinds of soil. I really enjoyed such an in-depth study of the same passage over the course of the retreat.
Of course, in between the worship, studying, and prayer times, we also had a lot of play time! The retreat was held at the house in Genipabu where we often hold our church events. We had daily access to a pool, a soccer field, and a sand volleyball court. Each night we also had special theme nights, including Gala night (dress in nice clothes), and costume night with a talent show. The Brazilians love to go all out and make these events really special, and it showed. The retreat planning committee did an excellent job, and everyone had a great time!
Worship time.
Costume night, obviously. We had a hippie, a Baihana (the girl dressed in white, Google it) a diver, a girl with blue hair, and Little Osmildo...
The best costume of the night BY FAR: Little Osmildo posing next to Big Osmildo. I laughed so hard at this.
Osmildo teaching the wrap-up lesson on the parable of the sower.
I look pretty rough in this picture, but I guess it's an accurate reflection of Retreat Cris. Anyway, the real subject of the photo is my precious kind-of nephew, Filipe, showing off his I heart NY onesie I gave him for Christmas. :) He's happy, don't let the "kill me now" look fool you.
Playing in a Bible Bowl competition where the loser....
...gets an egg white pie to the face. Poor Isabel.
The whole group.
Imagine a world where your yearly calendar functions around Mardi Gras. Imagine a world where Mardi Gras celebrations are not just confined to one major city, but is evenly represented in all major cities throughout the country. And, best of all, imagine a world where, whether or not you are the Mardi Gras celebrating type, you still get 5 days off work to do whatever you want.
Enter Brazil, and the famous celebration known as Carnaval. Although the "official" Carnaval holiday is on what American culture calls "Fat Tuesday," the day before Ash Wednesday, here we start the commemorations the Friday or Saturday before and party hard until Tuesday or Wednesday. And by "party hard" I mean we go on a church retreat. :)
This year's retreat theme was "Renewed Hearts" and its theme passage was the parable of the sower from Matthew 13. We dissected the parable each day and focused on each element of the story: the sower, the seed, and the different kinds of soil. I really enjoyed such an in-depth study of the same passage over the course of the retreat.
Of course, in between the worship, studying, and prayer times, we also had a lot of play time! The retreat was held at the house in Genipabu where we often hold our church events. We had daily access to a pool, a soccer field, and a sand volleyball court. Each night we also had special theme nights, including Gala night (dress in nice clothes), and costume night with a talent show. The Brazilians love to go all out and make these events really special, and it showed. The retreat planning committee did an excellent job, and everyone had a great time!
Worship time.
Costume night, obviously. We had a hippie, a Baihana (the girl dressed in white, Google it) a diver, a girl with blue hair, and Little Osmildo...
The best costume of the night BY FAR: Little Osmildo posing next to Big Osmildo. I laughed so hard at this.
Osmildo teaching the wrap-up lesson on the parable of the sower.
I look pretty rough in this picture, but I guess it's an accurate reflection of Retreat Cris. Anyway, the real subject of the photo is my precious kind-of nephew, Filipe, showing off his I heart NY onesie I gave him for Christmas. :) He's happy, don't let the "kill me now" look fool you.
Playing in a Bible Bowl competition where the loser....
...gets an egg white pie to the face. Poor Isabel.
The whole group.Monday, March 1, 2010
Nice reminder
Many of you have probably never heard the full, extended-version story of how I ended up in Natal. It all started back in 2005, when I was in my sophomore year of college at ACU and decided that I was so tired of school that I would take time off after graduating to do something other than graduate school. At the time I flippantly decided that I would take a year or two to do short-term mission work before returning to get a Master's degree.
Today one of the church members asked me "Cris, how did you become a missionary?" I told him the story, starting in 2005, (actually, starting long before when I said I would never be a missionary) and how it all led to me being in Natal today.
Today I also started a new Bible study plan that the whole congregation will (hopefully) participate in to read the New Testament in 3 months. Today's chapters were Matthew 1-4. I read them in my favorite Bible, the one I received from the MRCC elders when I graduated from high school. I used it throughout college and then it got replaced by a smaller, cooler, hipper, more colorful Bible that I got for college graduation. I accidentally left Bible #1 behind at my parent's house when I moved to Natal in 2007. Over Christmas in NYC, my mom brought it to me and we had a very happy reunion. After reading the first four chapters of Matthew, I began to thumb through its pages, looking at all of my old notes and sermon outlines with a hint of nostalgia. Imagine my very happy, blessed surprise when I saw this Post-It, carefully placed under the passage about storing up treasures in heaven, on the very day I told my story:
I remember that day in my dorm room, when I had given my flippant idea a little more thought, and was convicted by this passage in Matthew. I decided to make myself a Post-It reminder to see if I would follow through with the commitment I made to myself.
Well, 5 years later, and I believe that moment was a bit more than school fatigue and much more divine appointment.
I am thankful that God put me here, and I am thankful that little "coincidences" like this remind me of that fact.
Today one of the church members asked me "Cris, how did you become a missionary?" I told him the story, starting in 2005, (actually, starting long before when I said I would never be a missionary) and how it all led to me being in Natal today.
Today I also started a new Bible study plan that the whole congregation will (hopefully) participate in to read the New Testament in 3 months. Today's chapters were Matthew 1-4. I read them in my favorite Bible, the one I received from the MRCC elders when I graduated from high school. I used it throughout college and then it got replaced by a smaller, cooler, hipper, more colorful Bible that I got for college graduation. I accidentally left Bible #1 behind at my parent's house when I moved to Natal in 2007. Over Christmas in NYC, my mom brought it to me and we had a very happy reunion. After reading the first four chapters of Matthew, I began to thumb through its pages, looking at all of my old notes and sermon outlines with a hint of nostalgia. Imagine my very happy, blessed surprise when I saw this Post-It, carefully placed under the passage about storing up treasures in heaven, on the very day I told my story:
I remember that day in my dorm room, when I had given my flippant idea a little more thought, and was convicted by this passage in Matthew. I decided to make myself a Post-It reminder to see if I would follow through with the commitment I made to myself.
Well, 5 years later, and I believe that moment was a bit more than school fatigue and much more divine appointment.
I am thankful that God put me here, and I am thankful that little "coincidences" like this remind me of that fact.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Missionaries for a day
For those of you who grew up going to church, you might remember that Sunday every few years when The Missionary came to give his report about how the work was going in Brazil, or Africa, or Mexico, you can fill in the blank. Along with this report usually came a "we are all missionaries" charge, one in which you were encouraged to be your own missionary at school, or at work, or on the basketball court, etc, that it wasn't necessary to move overseas to be a missionary. That is true, but so many times people are left with the question "how?"
Today I had the opportunity to see my friends at Comunidade de Cristo be missionaries for the day. Geraldo is a name I've mentioned several times on this blog. He was baptized in September of 2008 and has since brought his wife and four kids to church. His family has been a great encouragement to all of us because they are excited for God. Just talking to Geraldo makes you excited to do something to share the love of Christ with others. So it was no surprise that soon after he was baptized, Geraldo had tons of ideas for how we could share the love of Christ with his neighborhood. Today we had an "evangelistic campaign" in his neighborhood, where we split up into groups and went door-knocking, inviting anyone who would answer the door to a Bible study at Geraldo's house later in the evening.
I was so proud of the young people of our congregation. Door-knocking, especially with an invitation to learn about the Bible, can be a risky feat. You run the risk of getting the door slammed in your face, people assuming you're asking for money, or people just being mean. (And, in my case, you run the risk of running into dogs. Lots and lots of BIG, scary, barking dogs.) However, they all arrived at Geraldo's house ready to get their knock on, and after everyone finished I even heard stories of people fighting over who would get to talk at the next house! It was an exciting day for all of us, and we were thrilled when 16 people that we invited showed up to the study! Praise God for those 16, and we pray that God will continue to work on their hearts as well as the hearts of those who answered their doors, listened to the invitation, but for whatever reason decided not to accept it. We know that God knows each of their names, each of their hearts, and maybe allowed a small seed to be planted today.
Ok, enough for narratives. Here's proof!
Osmildo giving last-minute instructions before we split up
The troops setting out to start knocking on doors
The sign hanging outside Geraldo's house. It says "Evangelistic Campaign. Theme: Come to Me" with an arrow pointing down that says "Here". The "Come to Me" theme was based off of Matthew 11:28, a pretty good theme verse for an outreach campaign, if you ask me!
Getting everything set up in Geraldo's garage
Chatting and getting the snacks ready
We had an uninvited guest crash our party.
Full house!
This lady wanted to share that today she was down in the dumps when Fernanda and Geraldo knocked on her door and offered to pray with her. She had her bags packed to move out and leave her husband, because he told her he didn't want her anymore. She cried and cried and cried, but said that after hearing the message from God's Word tonight that she's going to go home, unpack her bags, and show her husband that she's not giving up on 30 years of marriage.
Most of our door-knocking group after the Bible study (and after the tasty snacks they served!)
Today I had the opportunity to see my friends at Comunidade de Cristo be missionaries for the day. Geraldo is a name I've mentioned several times on this blog. He was baptized in September of 2008 and has since brought his wife and four kids to church. His family has been a great encouragement to all of us because they are excited for God. Just talking to Geraldo makes you excited to do something to share the love of Christ with others. So it was no surprise that soon after he was baptized, Geraldo had tons of ideas for how we could share the love of Christ with his neighborhood. Today we had an "evangelistic campaign" in his neighborhood, where we split up into groups and went door-knocking, inviting anyone who would answer the door to a Bible study at Geraldo's house later in the evening.
I was so proud of the young people of our congregation. Door-knocking, especially with an invitation to learn about the Bible, can be a risky feat. You run the risk of getting the door slammed in your face, people assuming you're asking for money, or people just being mean. (And, in my case, you run the risk of running into dogs. Lots and lots of BIG, scary, barking dogs.) However, they all arrived at Geraldo's house ready to get their knock on, and after everyone finished I even heard stories of people fighting over who would get to talk at the next house! It was an exciting day for all of us, and we were thrilled when 16 people that we invited showed up to the study! Praise God for those 16, and we pray that God will continue to work on their hearts as well as the hearts of those who answered their doors, listened to the invitation, but for whatever reason decided not to accept it. We know that God knows each of their names, each of their hearts, and maybe allowed a small seed to be planted today.
Ok, enough for narratives. Here's proof!
Osmildo giving last-minute instructions before we split up 
The troops setting out to start knocking on doors 
The sign hanging outside Geraldo's house. It says "Evangelistic Campaign. Theme: Come to Me" with an arrow pointing down that says "Here". The "Come to Me" theme was based off of Matthew 11:28, a pretty good theme verse for an outreach campaign, if you ask me!
Getting everything set up in Geraldo's garage
Chatting and getting the snacks ready
We had an uninvited guest crash our party.
Full house!
This lady wanted to share that today she was down in the dumps when Fernanda and Geraldo knocked on her door and offered to pray with her. She had her bags packed to move out and leave her husband, because he told her he didn't want her anymore. She cried and cried and cried, but said that after hearing the message from God's Word tonight that she's going to go home, unpack her bags, and show her husband that she's not giving up on 30 years of marriage.
Most of our door-knocking group after the Bible study (and after the tasty snacks they served!)Tuesday, February 9, 2010
My Sister is Pretty
A certain party who closely monitors this blog expressed distaste and, really, disgust, at the unflattering picture displayed in the post below. This party felt that the photo did not accurately portray the beauty of her offspring. So, since I willingly chose to publish that photo of myself, and you probably know what I look like, here are some pictures to show you that my sister does not even closely resemble the wide-eyed pale weirdo that was just nervous about being in a cable car.
Posing with Sergio and I in front of the Thanksgiving tree on her visit to Natal in 2008
Posing in front of the fantastic light show at Columbus Circle during my visit to NYC in 2009
There you have it, Mom. Better?
Posing with Sergio and I in front of the Thanksgiving tree on her visit to Natal in 2008
Posing with her husband and I in front of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center on my visit to NYC in 2009
Posing in front of the fantastic light show at Columbus Circle during my visit to NYC in 2009
There you have it, Mom. Better?
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