Hi, Cris...

Hello, my name is Cris, and this is my first time to BBA (Bad Bloggers Anonymous.) I fell off the blogging wagon just over a month ago, and am trying to get clean again. I hope that all of you here will be able to forgive me for my negligence, and I trust, in accordance with the nature of the BBA program, that you will welcome me back with love and forgiveness.

My absence is justified but not excusable, and I have so much to catch you up on! I am currently at the church building playing secretary for the LST team, so I am without a file of pictures to post, but I will give you a written update and then add the pictures later.

I had a WONDERFUL but QUICK two week "vacation" in the US of A at the end of May with my college friends and family. The first week was spent in the Dallas/Ft Worth area for wedding festivities, and then the second was spent in Edmond with my family. The wedding was beautiful, the bride was beautiful-er, and getting to spend a few days with my friends was priceless. [Insert wedding pic here.] My parents drove down for the wedding and took me home the next day (thanks, guys. Gas prices are unbelievable...) and I got to see the inside of my parents' completely remodeled house and do some necessary WalMart shopping. I spent good, sarcastic time with Sister and Sister's husband, including gelatto. It was no Freddy's Frozen custard, but I suppose it was still sufficient. :) I also got to hang out with my high school friends and double my body weight in Mexican food. [Insert pic here, of HS friends, not body weight.]


THEN the craziness began. The same day that I was to leave the US to come back to Natal, my parents and their LST team were scheduled to leave the US and...come to Natal. It was quite the zoo getting three people ready for an international trip under the same roof, but we managed and all came out alive. When we arrived in Natal on Tuesday I couldn't stop smiling. I was so proud to show my parents where I live and introduce them to all my friends. We hit the ground running (ok..we actually just hit the ground and stayed there. 30+ hours of travel is TIRING.) and had their LST information meeting on Wednesday night. [Insert information meeting pic here.] There was a good turnout, considering it is the end of the semester at the university, and we signed up about 25 new readers. Since then, as always, tons of new people have called to sign up, and their team is almost to capacity (i.e. 15 readers apiece). As soon as they all fill up and feel good about it I will begin accepting new readers. It's worked out, though, because Sergio, who usually plays LST secretary/advertiser/information giver/GURU has been busier than in previous years, so I have been helping him with answering phones, signing up readers, making schedules, making party invitations, giving directions, etc. Although I haven't been spending much time in actual reading sessions, I feel like I've been working harder these few weeks than ever before, and I go home completely zombified every night! [No zombie picture to be inserted here, sorry.]

Last week we had the first party, with a Valentine's Day theme because it happened to fall on Brazilian "couples day." [Insert party pic here.] We invited all the single people we know and had a GREAT turnout! It was so fun and really got the party thing off to a good start. I don't consider myself a party planner, and assumed that I came by it genetically, so needless to say I was a bit concerned that out of 4 LST party planners, 3 of them were Carpenters. Like...not a bit concerned...really worried...but WOW did God bless it! We had 42 people, about half and half readers and church members. One reader even brought his mom, cousin, and two aunts. We expect the party this Thursday to have an even bigger turnout considering it's not a romantic holiday, and we are already planning to go out with the Baseball theme, including hot dogs, cracker jacks, baseball shirts, and home run derby. Check back this weekend for photos of that...I'm really excited. I'd also like to take the oppportunity to give a shout out to my Mom. She has done a GREAT job with the party planning, tiring herself out to make them fun and innovative. In fact, she's upstairs right now researching good Baseball party games! Three cheers for you, Mom!

So I've really loved having my family here. The only way it could be better is if Kelly and Mark were here. It has felt so natural for them to be here and be involved in my life in Natal. The church has welcomed them and asked my Dad to do a lot of teaching. I can't believe their project is already half over! I don't think we've taken any pictures together, which Carpenters are also famous for, but if we had I would [insert it here].

So, please check back another day for the pictures. I will make sure we take a family pic at the party on Thursday. Please keep this project and all that it entails (reading sessions, parties, English worship services, Bible studies, etc) in your prayers. God has shown His hand in every detail, and we are grateful for the people He has sent to us. And FYI, the bracketed [insert party pics here] are not reminders for myself, they are for you to know that you can come back later and there will be pictures to look at. :) I'm not that lame...

Have a good week!!

Duck Duck Goose

Well, you didn't know it, but I've been owing you a report and pictures from the LST party we had last Saturday. The last big event I had for my readers was in November when we celebrated Thanksgiving together. Six months later I decided it was about time for another go around. :)

With Sergio's help, we decided to plan a party to celebrate the "end of the LST year." In June the normal 6-week project LST team will arrive (coincidentally, a team that just so happens to include MY PARENTS!) and "begin" the LST year. Also, a week from today, I will travel to the United States for two weeks to be a bridesmaid in one of my college roommates' weddings and spend a short time with my family. So, it just seemed like an opportune time to have a blowout. And a blowout it was!

About 25 readers and 20 church members showed up on Saturday afternoon for American birthday party food (Doritos, Cheetos, M&Ms, Coke, cake, cookies, you know, the good stuff) and some good old fashioned American birthday party games (Duck Duck Goose and Telephone...ok, so American CHILDREN'S birthday party games.) It was an absolute blast, and everyone genuinely had a great time. The party was supposed to last from 4 until around 7, but at 8 we were still having a good time eating and talking. Coincidentally, my birthday is the 14th (tomorrow), so given that a birthday party is the easiest kind of American party to plan from Brazil, it inadvertently became MY birthday party as well as a celebration of the LST year. It was all good, though, because several readers who no longer study with me made a special effort to come when they found out we were celebrating my birthday. It was exhausting but such a blast. I woke up Sunday morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck, but it was totally worth it. It got a lot of momentum going for the weekly parties the LST team will have in June and July, and it got the church members excited to participate. All in all I'd call it a success. Now, if I don't have to plan another party until next Thanksgiving, I'll be just fine! Below are a few pictures of the party, and the rest can be found here. Enjoy!

One of the church members (who became a Christian through LST last year) with a few of my readers. L-R Aarao, Alex, Manoela, Junior, and Rodrigo

Sarah (another former reader-turned-church-member) deciding who to choose in the Duck Duck Goose circle

The plate of Sam's Club cookies...but no one cared they were store bought, these types of cookies don't exist in Brazil and are quite a hit!!

Just a funny picture. I'm cutting one of the DELICIOUS birthday cakes with Alexsandra behind me testing out the cookies. I promise my thumbs-up was not as strategically placed as it looks. :)

The rest of the pictures.

...and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Today is audience participation day on the blog. I would like to know what you think of this verse:

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

Please, honest interpretations here. And please give particular attention to what you think "delight yourself in the LORD" means.

I was reading this Psalm last night and, although I've read it and seen it on plenty of favorite quote listings before, was struck by what it truly means to delight yourself in the LORD. Not looking for any right answers, just some opinions and personal life applications. Thanks!

A Good Day

Today was a good day. Usually on Saturday nights the jovens (young people...which means age 14-26) get together around 6:30 for a weekly Bible study. However, today they wanted to meet a few hours earlier and go around the church's neighborhood to collect non-perishable items for recent flood victims in surrounding interior cities. I don't stay caught up on local news, but I know that for the last several weeks there have been a lot of prayer requests for people whose homes have been destroyed by ceaseless rain.

So, although I had no idea what we were going to do, (they used a word I don't know when they invited me...I just accepted and decided I'd figure it out later) I showed up at the church building at 4 and we set out. I had done this type of thing a few times before with my youth group in Oklahoma City, but I wondered what kind of experience it would be in Brazil. Turns out, not that different! We got a few rude "No!"s, a few "Um...not today"s, a few "the lady of the house is at the store right now..." and one "we eat out every meal...but would you take sugar?" It was a great experience and I enjoyed getting out and getting to know the surrounding area a bit better. Plus, I spent a fun couple of hours with friends whom I usually don't have any one on one time with. When our group made it back to the building, we had three sacks full of rice, sugar, corn flour, and all kinds of odds and ends. We dumped our loot on top of the ever-growing pile, and I was proud of what our little group of jovens had accomplished today. It was your run-of-the-mill service project, but those aren't all that common here. I was proud to be a part of it. Later on during the Bible study, one of the jovens, Andre, even commented that they had gone by several really nice houses where the people didn't give anything, and then got to a street of very poor homes. He felt like he should be taking the things out of the sack and giving them to the people inside! He went ahead and asked anyway, and the first woman he asked sent her son to get beans, apparently a very expensive item right now. Andre reminded us of the story of the widow who gave all the money she had to the temple, and how so many of us could have given so much today but brought nothing. Definitely a lesson that never loses..potency? (My English is terrible these days...please disregard.)

So, it was a good day. I'll leave you with a picture of our fun day yesterday, a dune buggy ride through the famous sand dunes of Natal. We accompanied the Jewells while Samantha's brother was in town from Ft Worth. If this doesn't make you want to come visit, I don't know what will!

Our group for the day in front of one of the buggys (buggies?)

My friends Jonah (left) and Andy (right). Andy had a rough time and got a lot of sand in his eyes. They went home after 30 minutes but fully enjoyed those 30 minutes. And who wouldn't want to start out the day with no pants? They had the right idea...

Punting across the river on rafts for a mere 12 bucks

Amigas Especiais

I want to introduce you to two of my very special friends. I spend all day every day at the church building, and these two friends are often the ones who make my time there so much fun and so special. Today I had a particularly fun day with each of them, and decided it was time you got to know them, too. Did I mention that one of them is 10, and the other is 42? :)

This is Isabel. She, her sister, her brother, and her mom are some of the most faithful members of our church. They are there every Sunday, Wednesday, and special occasion without fail. Isabel's mom works full time as a house cleaner, which leaves her home alone with her siblings every day with little to do. They live just around the corner from the church building, so most days the kids come and spend the afternoon with us. They always find something to do, whether play games on the computer, water the plants for Marisa, run errands for any one of us, or do their homework. They feel at home at the church building and count us as a part of their family. Isabel is only 10 years old, but she is one of my most special friends here. I always take her with me to buy fruit, because I believe she has special papaya-choosing abilities. She has a fun sense of humor and knows to never, ever take me seriously- except when I tell her I love her. She knows I mean that. :) Isabel is probably one of the most responsible people at church. Yes, I said people. Definitely more responsible than most of the young people my age, and maybe even more responsible than some of the adults! We all know that if we ask Isabel to do something it will get done quickly and efficiently and without a single problem, and that she will do it with a cheerful, servant heart.

This is Marta. Marta is one of the missionaries who works with our church. You hear me mention Roberto and Marisa more often, but probably only because I lived with them and they take care of lots of things for me around Natal. However, I love Marta and her husband Osmildo just as much! They are such special people in my life in Natal, and in recent months I have gotten especially close to Marta. She is very motivated to learn English, and despite studying for almost a year she has recently gotten extra-motivated and has asked me to study with her any time we are both free. Today two of my readers in the afternoon canceled, so I spent a good two hours with her, practicing verbs and forming sentences. She learned how to say "I am blessed," "I like to pray," "Really? Wow!" "Already?" and several others. :) She is such a joy to work with, and told me later that she loved our time together because she doesn't get tired and she has fun. I would say the same! Marta has received me with open arms a couple different times when I was having whatever cultural/emotional crisis of the week, always giving wise, honest advice filled with godly encouragement.

I like showing you pictures, so here are a few of my advanced group class. We met for breakfast this morning at my apartment. It was really fun, and I look forward to doing that again! Sergio took better pictures, but here's what I have so far:Rodrigo and Junior listening to Toni answer the question "Once a person knows the Truth, what keeps them from making a decision/delays the decision to follow Christ?" (We read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch from Acts 8 today...would you like to explain what 'eunuch' means? Neither would I...)

The crew (l-r Rodrigo, Junior, Sergio, and Toni) eating breakfast

Plumbing in Brazil...hooray

A few days ago we had a small plumbing emergency here at apartment 805. Toni, an American woman from Palm Springs who is staying with me for a few months while she helps out the church in Natal, was taking a shower and realized the water wasn't draining and had flooded her bathroom. So, she got out, went to my shower, and resumed. But then, all the water that didn't drain from her shower came up a separate drain in my bathroom and flooded mine as well. Uh oh.

So I called my go-to guy, Roberto, who then called his go-to guy, Joao, to have him come over within in the next few days to see what the problem was. Roberto promised it would be a hair clog, but I thought "what does he know?" and just agreed that we'd be careful about not taking too many showers close together, etc, until Joao could come.

Joao, the friendliest handy-man in the world, showed up this morning to start working on our little problem. After about 10 minutes of going back and forth between both bathrooms, he called "Cris! Can you bring me a plastic sack?!" with a bit of desperation. Afraid but a bit excited for what I was about to see, I ran in. There, in his hands, was a solid block of hair, the size of a small rabbit. I am not exaggerating. You know those little cottontails that run across the lawn when they think no one is looking? That was the size of what he pulled out of my drain. He held it with both hands, like a loaf of bread. The thing had to have been 3 or 4 pounds. Toni, feeling bad, said "I've only been here for one month!" and he said "No, no, this has been collecting for years. (Please note I have only lived here for 6 months of those 'years'. That was mostly NOT my hair.) You'll be good to go for about 3 more years before this has to be done again."

I promptly responded that I was happy he got paid to do that job, because I would not.

I am happy to announce that Joao is now my go-to guy, and he will be getting my business from here on out.

Readers

The other night as I came home I noticed a baby albino lizard lurking in the corner. I thought he'd be just fine as I opened my front door, but he surprised me and literally jumped horizontally right toward my feet. I screamed (hope the neighbors didn't hear it) and he scurried right into my apartment like he'd been waiting for the moment all night. I won't go into detail about what the next few minutes entailed, but I will tell you that that about 2 hours later I was still sitting on my couch with my feet up, trying to watch Law & Order but actually just surveilling the entrance to the kitchen where I knew he was hiding. Did I mention the line of bleach that I made on the floor, dividing his side of the apartment from my side? Someone told me they hate bleach.

This is something crazy people do.

So, I know a lot of you have been waiting for a long time for me to give you a reader intro/update. The truth is, I have sat down several times to write one and I just can't ever seem to quite articulate what it is that really goes on in our sessions together. They are such special people, such wonderful friends, that I feel like the measly words on this blog won't even come near to doing them any justice. So I usually just give up.

With that being said, prepare yourself that what you are about to read may very well be boring. It very well may be unimpressive. And I can assure you that the reason is that the written word does not capture or convey the work the Spirit does in my time with these readers. Yes, some days are boring days. Some days they are too preoccupied with the test tomorrow, or the Dengue fever they just got over, or with their most recent family crisis. Some days I'm the culprit, the one who wasn't well-prepared, the one who didn't ask in-depth questions, the one who was also preoccupied with something else going on in my crazy life.

But, usually, those things don't matter. Usually, within the 45 minutes allotted for our reading sessions, we open the book and the lesson was "just what I needed to hear today," or "I had never seen that before!" or "God can do anything!" Even with their often limited vocabulary, I see the stories and ideas going into their minds and hearts and getting worked over, planting seeds that I pray will one day come to fruition.

So, with that preface, please allow me to introduce you to two of my very special readers, with names that have been changed, of course!: Leandro and Paulo.

Leandro has been studying with me since I arrived in September, and during these 7 months we have become great friends! Our sessions are filled with laughter and teasing, but then our conversations get so intense that I often lose track of time and accidentally keep him into my next session! Like many Brazilians, Leandro grew up in a Catholic home. As we read through the book of Acts together and now the Good News study, he is seeing and understanding the Gospel message in a way that has never been clear to him before. Just last week he said "Well, now that you explain it like that, I completely understand!" He has also mentioned recently that he is changing in the way he lives his life, and he is willing to give credit to the fact that maybe it's because he has been spending more time learning about, thinking about, and searching for God. Please be praying for Leandro, that he will open his heart just a little bit more to what he already knows the Spirit is doing. Please also pray for me, that God will give me boldness and the right words to help Leandro arrive at the answers he is looking for!

Paulo was my reader in 2006, and during those four weeks we became good friends. We always had great discussions about the Bible, and he was never shy to be honest with me about where he stood with his faith. When he found out I was back in Natal, he was so excited to see me that he came to church the next day, something he had never done in the 3 years he had studied with LST! Paulo had a bad experience with a church several years ago (a story way too common in Brazil) and has since been far from the Lord, with difficulty in knowing how to get back. Paulo believes in God, believes in Jesus, but has made a choice to not follow them. He makes no secret of the fact that he fears that one day he will go to hell, but also that he doesn't want to follow Jesus just because he's scared of what will happen if he doesn't. He is very sincere, and a very DEEP thinker. Recently he has been blowing me away with his insights into the lessons, one of which was so profound for me that I went home speechless that night! A few weeks ago I gave him an Easy-to-Read English New Testament, and when he came back the next week I asked if he had read any of it. He said "Yeah, a little." I asked what, exactly, and he said "Well, I read Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Luke and John, and a little bit of Revelation." I'd say that's "a little"! I am so excited to watch what God is doing in Paulo's life, especially since when I first met him he was so deep in despair that I wondered if he would ever be able to find his way out. Please pray for Paulo, as well, that he would be able to see clearly what it means to make a choice to follow God, and that he would begin to consider to make that choice again.

So...I promised it might be boring, but I didn't promise it wouldn't be long. :) I hope you enjoyed reading about my friends, and got to see just a little deeper into what it is exactly that I do here. Leandro and Paulo are just two of thirty, and if you ask for it I could tell you about a lot more! Please being praying for us, as we weekly delve into scripture and try to figure out what in the world it is saying to us. I know you've been there...