Elivelton

I love this video.
It's a video of worship and my church, the Community Church of Lagoa de Itaenga.
It's also a video of Elivelton, a teenager with Down's Syndrome who attends our church.
I love this video because Elivelton has become part of our church.
He at times causes a ruckus in the middle of the service
But it's ok.  He's not just "special", he's a special child of God.
I love this video because everyone in it is worshipping God.
It doesn't matter that Elivelton is "disrupting" the music.
No.  As I stood, praising the Lord, it wasn't in spite of Elivelton, it was because of him.

Leaving Week

I have chosen to love you these past several years.
At first, I did it because it was my job.
But now, I love you because it overwhelms me when I look at you.
I knew it would come to this point.
To leaving week.
When I have to face the fact that I'm not here forever
When I have to look in your eyes and say Good-bye.
I don't know when I'll see you again.
I don't know if I'll see you again.
All I can do is leave you in the hands of the Lord, most high.
All I can do is trust that He loves you more than I do.
I don't know what the future looks like but I will trust you
To the one who's love is so much greater than mine.

November Pics!

Click here to see more on Picasa!

My List of Thanksgivings Turned Into an Acceptance Speech

I'm thankful for
So much.


Counting my blessings
Sounds appropriate.
But on some level
Counting diminishes 
What is and what was.
A list of the things that I hold dearly
Seems small.
Yet
Not expressing thankfulness
Is the equivalent of 
Being unthankful 
(on some levels).


So, 
I'm thankful for
My family.
Over the years, traveling.  
Coming and going.
Friends have become less constant.
Family remains.
They are forever my cheerleaders
Support and my sounding table.
They know who I am
And they love me.


I'm thankful for
My friends.
Those friends who are constant
Have become family.


I'm thankful for
My church.
Some churches, it seems, 
are full of perfect people
Mine isn't
We're a ragtag group
But we follow the Savior
And He is good beyond measure


I'm thankful for
My students.
Why do I love them?
I dunno.
But I do.
And watching them grow
Is joy.


I'm thankful for
My supporters.
How to express the significance
Of having a person 
Commit?
The money is good
I needed it.
But more: 
The thought that
This person believes in me
To the point of sacrifice.


I'm thankful for
The hard times.
The struggles have made the good times
Full.
Change has happened in me.
I would have been content 
To continue to live easily.
Now I can't.


I'm thankful for
The good times
They're fun.

I'm thankful for
My Lord
His faithfulness
Strength and Love
Carry me
And I will forever follow Him.

Dia Das Flores Bonitas

Today is Day of the Dead
I must say, on holidays like this, I ain't no expert.
But from my observations, I'd say it's pretty equivalent to the U.S.'s Memorial Day
With an addition of praying for dead relatives.
But the best part of Dia Dos Finados is the flowers.
It's become a bit of a tradition,
Going to the market to buy flowers on November 2nd.
Lindsay and I got all sorts of cheap, beautiful flowers this morning.
I paid from the change that had been collecting in the jar on my bedside table.
That means they were basically free, right?
And now my apartment is tão bonita.

More pretty flower pictures on Picasa

Chugga-Chugga

I wrote notes home to five parents today
I told 'em that their kids had done an excellent job
They're the kids that at the beginning of the year I wondered how in the world I would ever get to
Sit, pay attention, and obey
Let alone
Speak & Listen.  Read & Write....in English.
But today I was listening to these kids
Reading.
I sat back and tutored
While the other munchkins played with a train.
"Don't forget to say 'Chugga-Chugga-Chugga-Chugga-Choo-Choo"
(We learned about the "Ch" sound today)
And they Chugga-Chuggad
"Hugo, what time is it?"
"2-4-9"
"2:49.  Thanks Hugo.  It's time to clean up."
"Thiago, what's your mom's name?"
"Amanda"
"A-m-a-n-d-a?"
"Yes."
"I wrote a note to your mom to tell her that you did a good job.  Make sure to show her when you get home, ok?"
"Yes, Teacher Emily", his face beamed.
Every year, in the beginning,
I wonder how I will ever be successful with any given group.
I wonder if this teaching thing is really for me.
Talk to me about two months in, and I'm probably playing around with the idea of switching careers.
But the end.
The end is when I can see its worth.
All those hours of painstakingly taking the students through the rules, the procedures, the basics.
All those hours of laying a foundation,
Forming a classroom environment that leads to growth.
And then one day, at the end of the second semester, I look at them
And I realize how far they've come.
How they've changed.
Oh yeah, their English has developed.
But it's not just that.
They've developed as people.
I smile when I think of them,
I can't help but praying for them to become passionate followers of Jesus Christ
Because I love them.
And the truth is that I've changed because of them.
The difficulty I had in the beginning of the year
Was because these kids were little hoodlums.
But it was also because my actions weren't affected by the pull of love.
As we spent time listening and understanding each other,
We all changed.
We have been molded by each other.
And I thank my students for that.

Cooking Day

Have I ever told you how much I enjoy cooking?
I do.
As long as there isn't some deadline looming over my head.
Like the end of a grading period.
Or emails that need to be sent.
Or an apartment that needs to be cleaned by six o'clock, when it will be invaded by unusual, uncanny, and underhanded folks.
But, if those deadlines have passed,
If parent-teacher conferences were last week,
If the emails are answered,
And only usual, canny, sufficiently handed folks will be in my apartment,
I love it.
Sunday is my day off,
Which means it's often cooking day.
Modifying or rejecting recipes based on their ingredient list is the norm.
Marshmallows.
Peanut butter.
Cheddar cheese.
Hard/impossible to find and/or expensive.
Until today pumpkin was on that list too.
There's lots of pumpkin here,
But in my mind
Changing a big ol' pumpkin into the stuff you get out of a can
Was way too much work.
But there was this recipe.
I knew the moment I saw it.
I had to make it.
Pumpkin granola.
FYI:  making pumpkin puree is super easy.
Menu for the week:
Pumpkin Granola
Pumpkin Latte
Italian Chicken Soup

Cocoa Fruit

Did you know that Chocolate comes from a fruit?

It does.
Did you know that the outside is really hard?  Like, you have to saw through it?

It is.
A student brought me this fruit from a tree in his yard.  It was good!  There are a bunch of seeds inside.  The fruit is on the outside of the seeds.  You suck on the seeds and then spit it out once the fruit is removed.  Evidently making chocolate is a really intricate process.  First they dry the seeds.  Then roast them and grind them.  And add other stuff too.  That's what the kids tell me, at least.  I don't know who thought up the process.  But they were genius.  Genius, I say.

September

September had some fun happenings.  Check out the pictures on Picasa!

September Photos

English & Pie! Pie & English! English Pie! Pied English Pae!

Tonight was the first night of English class at Guadalajara.  And I made pie.

Look at that.  The top is fully intact.  The innards are in.  Even the edges are edible! The apple part was apple-cinnamon-yumminess.  I hereby deem this pie delicious.  And on this momentous occasion of making an edible pie, I would like to take this moment to thank Pam.  Thank you Pam.
Here's Victor, an energetic, super sweet kid, picking the crust out of the pan.

Anyways, besides the pie, the first class was pretty good.  We were a little short on numbers, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Plus there's a good chance we'll have more next week.  Pray for us as we start a new semester.  Pray that I will teach well.  That my teaching will draw students to the church, especially those who don't already have a church home.  Pray that Pastor Carlos would be able to build strong relationships with the students.  Pray that the students will be ready to learn about English and about the Lord.  

Crazy Kids

This is Igor.  He's one of my English students at the International School of Carpina.

Friday was Shopping Day.  The kids used their merits to buy little toys and games and such.  So, among other things, Igor bought this toy frog.  He came outside to where his friends and I were playing Crazy 8's and began telling us about his new friend "James Podoski da Silva".  I begged him for ten minutes to let me take a video of him introducing his friend.  He finally agreed.

Not Unique. But Honest.

Can I just be a little honest here?
The truth is that I while I can try,
I probably can't accurately convey these simple ideas.
Cause I'm really not very good with words.
I've gotta think, develop, massage an idea into existence.
I like conversations where I can sit and listen most of the time.
Jump in occasionally.
But when I have to step out with my own thoughts on a topic...
I freeze.
I have thoughts.
Believe it or not.
I just...don't really know what they are until I start to speak.
And even then...
Sometimes as I'm speaking I realize that what I said in my first sentence isn't exactly right.
So, the third sentence is contradictory.
I think that's why I don't like praying aloud.
Cause my conversations with God are more thrown up there,
More round about than group prayers are supposed to be.
They aren't in a neat little package
And if they are, I'm not comfortable with them.
Blogging annoys me sometimes.
Cause I feel like each entry has to be tied up in a little package.
It needs to end on a positive note
Spiritual or thoughtful
But what may one day end up as a pretty little package
Today may be a pile of dirty clothes, empty lesson plans and Ramen noodles.
I don't really want to show nameless people my piles of trash and tears.
Not so much because I'm too proud
...Well, ok. That's part of it.
But also because I don't want people to worry.
I don't want my mom to worry.
And when you only hear from your daughter once every couple of weeks
A blog post about tiredness or frustrations
Is going hang on your heart.
So, maybe the moral of this story is that I need to call my mom more.
Maybe it's that I need to blog more, so that a few spatterings of the negative aren't going to leave a flavor of sadness for long.
I dunno.
But I want to write an entry that goes something like this:
Being a missionary is...
Difficult.
I wouldn't trade the past several years.
But it's not the movies.
There are times when I'm able to share the love of Christ and it's...fulfilling to the max.
But
Sometimes I'm tired.
Sometimes I don't fit in.
Sometimes I just want to be understood without the asterisk that says 
*I'm pretty sure that's what she was trying to say in her broken language.
Sometimes I wonder why...(fill in the blank)
And then when I post that blog,
I don't want people to jump to the conclusion that I'm depressed.
Or when I post a blog in a month about returning to the States
I don't want them to believe that the story of my stay in Brazil
And return to the States was based upon some depressing life that was Brazil
Cause I'm not and it isn't
And I love Brazil
And I love ministry
And I love my part here.
But we look forward to heaven for a reason.

Pineapple Mint Deliciousness

You gotta try it.
Get a fresh pineapple.
Put it in a blender with some water
And sugar
And mint.
Blend.
Drink.
So good.

I know.  You're thinking "Pineapple and mint?  Really?"  And I will forever respond "Really."

The Head Fake

Learning English is a perk

It's a head fake.
The real goal is drawing the students to Jesus.
And that's done through love.
Love them.
Each of them individually
Even the tough ones.

This Little Light of Mine

We're changing things up at church.  Started doing a kids' service before the adults' service.  Other than the difficulties we have in starting at a reasonable time, it's going well.  Pray for us and that we will be a light for the Lord in Lagoa de Itaenga.

July!

Dude.  July was busy.  'Twas good.  But busy.
Here are some photos documenting my sister's stay, a trip to the beach, VBS, a big outreach to Lagoa de Itaenga--March for Jesus, English Camp, and the Youth Conference.  I relied on Sarah to take the majority of the pictures and then she inadvertently gave a really good birthday present to the kid who used the bathroom after she did.  Sooo...I've got a sparse collection of pictures. But it'll have to do.

See the pictures on Picasa!

Plans

So, as most of you know, I'm planning on returning to the States in mid-December.  While I am taking steps towards the next part of my life, I don't know what the future holds.  But, the closer I get to December, the more I realize that I am surrounded by many people with great plans for me.  I'm fairly certain that if I were to hand my life over to any of these people, I wouldn't have to make any more decisions as long as I shall live.

The International School's Plan
I will leave Brazil in December, much to the sadness of those at the school.  Upon arriving in Indiana, I will discover that I have an enormous sense of saudades for Brazil.  I'll stay in the U.S. until January, and return to Brazil.  I will return at the same time that Brent, a short term teacher, arrives.  We'll fall in love and he'll decide to stay in Brazil forever.  We'll have a giant wedding at the Community Church of Carpina, since more people can fit in the church there.  We'll have three kids and live happily ever after.

My Parents' Plan
I will arrive in the United States in December, much to the jubilation of my parents.    Upon arriving in Indiana, I will spend the first couple of weeks looking for a job.  I will then be hired for a maternity leave position at J.B. Stevens.  They'll love me so much, that when the original teacher decides she can't possibly leave her thirteen week old baby at the local Fun Palace Day Care, they'll hire me on as a full time teacher.  I'll work with the kids at Brookville Road Community Church, where I'll meet Rob, a thirty year-old dermatologist who just finished medical school and moved to the Indianapolis area to be near his family. We'll fall in love and have a medium-sized wedding at a chapel in Brown County.  We'll buy my childhood house, at 1305 Greenhills Rd. and have ten kids.

Lindsay's Plan
I will leave Brazil in December, much to the chagrin of my friends in Brazil.  Upon returning to the beautiful United States, I will land a high-paying teaching position in Boston.  There I will tutor Brazilian immigrants and eat plenty of bolo de rolo.  I'll move into an apartment next door to a lovely little Brazilian family. Each Sunday afternoon, they'll invite me over for a dinner of beans, rice, potatoes, fish, and vinaigrette.  After a couple of months, the mother's brother will arrive in town.  He's been living in Chicago, going to seminary and dreaming of starting a church in northeastern Brazil.  I'll share my contacts and in the midst of explaining what my role in the ministry was, we'll fall in love. A year later, we'll have a large wedding in Indiana and move back to Carpina.  We'll wait a couple of years, and then have two kids.  A boy and a girl.  

Sarah's plan

I will arrive in the United States in December, much to the excitement of my crazy sister.  Upon arriving in Indiana, I will promptly move into my parents' basement.  I will construct walls out of sheets and either buy a dog or a gerbil.  I'll cook for Sarah until she gets a little chubby.  At which point she'll choose a husband for me.  We'll have the perfect little wedding.  Sarah will be my maid of honor.  Her dog will be my ringbearer.  I'll move next door to my parents so that I will be able to continue to cook for her.  I'll have five kids, one named after Sarah, of course, and we'll live happily ever after.

The wonderful part of all this is that I know that each one of these people want the best for me...except maybe Sarah.  I thank God for their love.  And I also thank Him that He is the one directing my path.  

Proverbs 19:21  Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Happy Birthday, My Dear

Wednesday was my little sister's 16th birthday.  She arrived here in Brazil this morning.  After a nap, we had some friends over, ate spetinhos (meat on a stick) and churros and played a game.   'Twas a nice evening.  

I thank the Lord for you, Sarah.  Happy birthday.

Show & Tell

Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to move pictures around in Blogger?  Very.  You move one photo and all the others move too.  I was going to put a description under each picture, but words also move the pictures.  An hour after beginning the "simple" task of arranging these pictures, I have given up.
So, top three pictures are of the end of the semester English party in Gualdajara.  Next four are cute kids at the International School.  Next is Jeff, Lindsay, and Melody Turner (my neighbors and friends).  The next five pictures are from Sao Joao, a holiday celebrating John the Baptist and the corn harvest.  Next six are random pictures of fun we've had while on vacation.
And I am done with this post.

I Don't Like Spitting.

Ebenezer.

Thus far the Lord has helped me.

But sometimes, 

In the midst of it,

I wonder were God is.

Coming to Brazil was difficult.  I never imagined myself here.  I never really wanted to be here.  But the Lord led me and I followed.  And now I love this part of my life.

But now I'm preparing to leave.  I committed to lead the English program for two years.  It's been two years.  I decided to finish the school year, stay til December.  But...with departure within spitting range, it means I have to admit it's there.  I hate it.  I love the people here.  I love the work here.  But this is a temporary place. 

But then I ask why?

Lord, WHY?

Why did you give me a temporary place?  Why is it time to think about transitioning yet again?  I'm not good with transitions.  I like to stay where I am.  I like to be comfortable.  

Whenever this topic of conversation comes up, I want to cry.  I want to stomp my feet.  I want to throw a fit.

Sometimes I do.

And while I hate even thinking about the fact that I will be leaving my home, my work, and my friends, I know that I can and will say

"Ebenezer".