Lock in to Relaxation

Friday was the day of wonderful massages with a palm tree ocean view and the day of the lock in. After the massage Heather and I went to take pictures out on the large rocks that sat on the beach. They went out into the water and made for great shots and places to sit and talk. The other girls (other that Whitney) stayed up on the land and laid in the warm sun. They were nice and toasted by that evening. The inner children that live inside Heather and me were completely satisfied by the time we left for home. Heather sat on the rocks nearer to the water and got splashed by the waves and finally climbed to the big rocks that were farther out. It was a lot of fun. The lock in was good. We watched Bruce Almighty (which was better then I thought it would be). We then answered questions about the movie. We analyzed the good and not so good views of God that the movie portrayed as well as looking at ways to apply to moral of the movie to our lives. The night was full of eating, playing games, Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. We played Spoons, I got to read and at about 3am Heather and I decided to get some sleep. The rest of the weekend was down hill for me. I got REALLY sick that morning and Randy took me home. I was in bed for the rest of weekend. It really sucked!! I have not been that sick in a very long time. We still do not know what caused it. From what I heard the goodbye for the Parkers went well and Francisco and I will sing this week instead. On Monday I was feeling better and Heather, Randy and I got to go to the beach to relax. I was still weak and sore but it was nice to set in the breeze and watch everyone hanging out with their families. We were at a small out door restaurant. There was food, music, kids playing and people just having a good time. It was raining off and on that day so it was cool outside. Heather and I got to play in waves and sit in sand. It was a good day to relax. We had to head home due to rain. That night Heather and went to that mall to eat and see Pirates 3. We had a great time. The movie started around 9pm and after (we were the only people that stayed for the part after the credits) we were the only ones in the mall. There were only workers and guards. It was a bit scary but after calling Randy we found and guard and he called a taxi for us. He was very talkative for 12:30am but he was nice. We told him about the English classes at the church and I hope that he shows up. VBS went great. Still wish we had more kids. Heather put a video of her doing an announcement for VBS on Facebook. You should check it out, there are pictures too. Yesterday one of the LST girls, Whitney, got baptized in the ocean. She said that she is a Christian but she had never really understood the concept of baptism. After praying and talking with different people she decided that now was the perfect time. It was great. Yesterday I also met with my reader, had Portuguese class and helped teach the 2nd hour of the adult beginner English class. It is so funny. Everyone is great. I really enjoy teaching and working with Val and Matt. Last night Heather and I ordered pizza and guess what. It does not come with red peppers and Parmesan cheese...no it comes with oregano and ketchup. Yeah...just thought that was funny. Anyway Heather and I are enjoying our day off. We went and got our nails done and I am about to start cooking dinner. Tonight is another LST party..I think the theme is Olympics. I hope all of you are doing well. Please keep up the prayers and support. Have a wonderful day.

In the Swing of the things

So I am finally starting to feel at home here. I have started language class. They are going well however after class my brain hurts. :o( On Monday I went with some of the LST team along with Matt and Travis to the Pelourinho. This is the downtown area of Bahia. It was the capital of the state for around 200 years. Everything there is very historic. The buildings reminded me of an old European town. I loved walking down the cobble stone streets that were lined with small shops. The views down the streets were picturesque. We went into the President’s Palace that overlooks the harbor. There were tankers outside the harbor and sailboats inside. This place is still used for transporting good. There is a building out in the water where slaves were kept and a larger building on the beach was where the slaves were held. This building is now a very large market. It is similar to the one that we went to in Honduras. Here you have to be ready to bargain. There is everything that you can imagine. We are defiantly coming back for souvenir shopping ;o). I met a woman named Anna Christine. She was one of the people that walked around and tried to sale necklaces. Travis and I were sitting in front of the Saint Francisco church waiting on the others. She came and sat with us to talk. She is about 5 months pregnant and she said that she worked with a program for street kids. I was able to talk with her a little in Portuguese. After we talked for a while, I ended up getting three necklaces from her. (After bargaining I got three for the original price of one). Later on we met another man that was selling his woodcarvings. They were paintings that he made by carving wood and taking an imprint. They were very unique and beautiful. He said that he normally sales them for about 90 to 100 reais He spoke very good English and Spanish. We talked with him for a while. Two of the LST girls came and join us. At one point he told Danielle and Caitlyn that if they could guess his age then he would give them a prize. He said that he is a man of his word. (I had heard his age earlier.) They went on and could not get it so I showed Caitlyn the answer. She was right and he said “here pick a painting”. She refused to take it and told him that she and I cheated. He thought it was very funny and told her to pick one anyway. It was all very funny. He joked around with us and soon it was time to move on. Danielle and I bought a painting from him and he gave them to us for 10 reais a piece. (Good deal!) When we got back to the church it was time for the baptism. It was great. We all walked down to the water after a time of singing and prayer. It really was fun and beautiful. Russ baptized her and Katherine was able to go out in to the water with them. I hope that we get the opportunity to see more. I gave her one of the necklaces that I bought from Anna Christina. It was a cross.
Tuesday VBS went great. Heather is really good at telling the stories and leading everything. There were less Brazilian kids but everyone was more hyper. Heather told the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 so for props we printed out 5000 smiley faces and bought 5 small loaves and since there were no fish at the market by the church we got a can of 2 sardines. Well we forgot the faces at home so before we started Heather, Alicia and I drew 5000 (about 5000) circles on card stock. I also went to get the basket of food ready and while trying to open the can of sardines I got fish juice on my hands and leg. I also had to pick up the fish to put them in the basket. It was gross!!! My hands smelled like fish the rest of the day. (I made one of the kids smell them…it was funny) Oh yeah and kids go crazy when you dump 2 trash bags of balloons on the floor.
Wednesday was alright. We were at the church from 9am till 4:40pm. We had the devo and then staff meeting. After that was our mentor time at Alicia’s house. Heather and I had our first LST readers today. Heather’s was at 2 and mine was at 3. It was some work but it was fun. The girl I read with has trouble with English but she really tries. After reading I was supposed to meet with Francisco to practice from 4 to 4:30, but he got held up at work. At 4:30 Heather and I had to leave to go and meet the Porters at the mall. We went and saw Shrek 3. I was so much fun. Kelton loved it. The mall however was PACKED. I will never complain about movie lines in Abilene again. We got in there about 2 previews before the movie began. Back at the apartment we watched CSI while playing a game of Outburst. It was interesting.
Today was our day off. Heather went and spent sometime with one of the missionary families that is leaving soon. I had language class and got to hang out this afternoon. We just got back from the LST party. Tonight was Bunko night. It was hilarious. Brazilians are very competitive. If they win a prize they will gladly share it but they will fight to the death to get it. Bunko is a dice game where you and your partner are trying to get the most points. You have 3 dice and every time you roll a 6 you get a point. If you roll 3 of a kind that is a Bunko. You get points for rolling a Bunko and you get points for grabbing the dice. If you roll a Bunko you get 6 points and if your team grabs all the dice you get 3 more points. Needless to say there were people on the floor chasing dice. We had some broken nails and bruised hands but it was great. Everyone had a great time.
Francisco and I along with a friend of his that might sing with us, got to practice some tonight and as of right now we are still singing on Sunday. This weekend is a HUGE holiday here so we have tomorrow off (other than the Youth Lock In tomorrow night). In the morning Heather and I are going with Jen and some of the LST girls to get massages on the beach. I can’t wait. We also may get to go to the beach on Saturday. We have not been able to go at all yet because of the rain…oh well I have enjoyed the rain. Today was rainy and gray almost all day. I thought it was nice…I was also inside almost all day. :o) Keep praying for us and the girl that was baptized. (Her name is hard so you can just call her Claire)Her family is having some problems with it from what I understand. Also pray for everyone that is traveling for the holiday. The holiday lasts all weekend. And this Sunday is the last Sunday for the Parker family. They are a part of the missionary team and they are moving back to the United States. Thank for your prayers and support. I am sorry some of the posts are long…. :o)
I love you all. Have a great weekend. I have posted pictures on Facebook. So if you are on Facebook you can log on and see them.

Praise God

Today was great. We went to church as normal. Daniele did not show up but Francisco did. Heather gave an announcement about VBS in the form of a skit with a monkey puppet named Cackoo. She was up practicing it last night and she did so well. I taped it and we are going to try to post it on her blog. It was too cute. Worship was fun. I finally know some of the songs and I can follow the sermons a little better. After church a big group of us went to eat at a great place called Sanac. It is a school for chefs and waiters. It was pretty cool. Beth and Katherine did not go with us because they had a bible study with one of Katherine’s readers before Beth had to be at the airport. Francisco and another English student came with us. It was fun and that was so of the best dessert I have ever had. Totally serious. The restaurant is also on the top floor of one of the building downtown and the view was incredible. When we got back to the church Heather and I got some stuff ready for VBS. The kids made Popsicle stick frames last week and I put in the pictures of the kids. They are so cute. I also got to help with the beginner English class. I was nervous but it was fun. They were reading a verse from Romans. I got to walk around and help people with the problem words as well as listen to some of the read the while thing to me. In the mean time I go to learn some Portuguese. In the middle of class Katherine comes in just beaming. She pulling me aside and said that we are going to have a baptism tomorrow night at 6pm. The girl that reads with her came to church today and then we to study with Beth and Katherine today. She was so excited. She gets to see her friend baptized in the ocean before she goes home. It was so exciting. They normally do not baptize in the ocean during the winter (yeah this is winter) and normally not at night so please pray that everything goes well. Also after the class I got to talk to Francisco and guess what?... Next Sunday is a praise service and he and I are going to sing a song in Portuguese and a song in English. Yeah I am going to sing…(defiantly nervous already). When I talked to him about coming to church I said that this could be a possibility because he likes to sing and he has a really good voice. Honestly I did not think that he would be into it but he is and for some reason things feel into place for next Sunday. Please continue to pray for the churches relationship with him and maybe this can get him involved. Also pray for Daniele and that she will come sometime. Pray for the baptism of Clerlhan (that is her name).

Friday and Saturday

Alright where to start? This is going to be a catch up.
Friday: I did it!! Heather and I got up early and went walking in the park near the apartment. While she did Portuguese class I made by first trip to the church by myself. It is about a 45min to an hour trip. A walk to the bus stop, ride on the bus, then a walk to the church. I had to go and meet one of Katherine’s readers and then one of Andy’s. Andy’s reader was a no show. Katherine and I were going to go the store to buy groceries for sack lunches that we were going to hand out on Saturday night to the street kids and adults in the area. When we were ready to go we realized that Lindsey had taken all the money with her and she would not be back until three. Oh well. I went to catch a bus home and I ended up missing my bus 3 times. Well I made it home and had time to eat a quick bowl of chicken spaghetti and Heather and I were off to the store. We took a taxi to SAMS CLUB to get some photos printed for VBS. Due to card problems we could not buy the groceries that we gathered while waiting for the prints therefore we walked down the street to a store called Hiper. It is pronounced E-per but is defiantly a hyper store. It is owned by Wal-Mart and it looks the same just a different language on the isles. It is soooo crowded. Our short trip to the store turned into a 3 hour trip due to check out lines. We got back home with an hour to spare before Youth Night. Youth Night was good. I still have a hard time getting into it because of the language barrier and in a new crowd I am not the most social person. Katherine and I went down to the store and got the stuff for Saturday night and then I helped get ready for the meal that they serve every Youth Night. After dinner we played ping pong. Brazilian scoring is pretty interesting. Randy was the Champ.
Saturday: Today I had a hard time getting up. I felt like a Zombie most of the morning. I felt lazy just reading and writing. I was supposed to have language class but due to things that came up Rebecca had to cancel for the day. Heather was gone up to the church and I was chilling at home. Randy had to go run errands and Jen and Kelton were going to the store. I decided to tag along. Maybe some movement would wake me up. Jen, Kelton and I were dropped off at Hiper. I really didn’t think I would be back there twice in the same week. We talked to Heather on the cell phone and discovered that she had taken the wrong bus from the church and was now way off track. She caught another bus and met us at the store. Turns out that she was supposed to take Pituba R1 or Pituba R2 but she just heard that she needed R1 or R2. It was kind of funny. Anyway she made it to us. We caught a taxi home, unloaded everything, ate lunch (Kelton wanted eggs so I made a scambled egg sandwich) and I had time for a quick nap before small group time. Small group was good. I read out loud in Portuguese so did Katherine (the other English speaker). The lesson was also over Jesus feeding the 5000 which is the same story Heather is teaching at VBS on Sunday. After small group we went to the church and split into groups to go hand out food. It was Heather, Matt, the LST team and me. Matt, Beth, Katherine, and I went in the car while Heather and the rest went walking down to the park. Heather’s group gave out one sack and then they were bombarded by kids and two adults. They gave out all their lunches in a matter of minuets. We drove to a few spots and gave out all of ours. There was a large group of kids with their mothers near my bus stop, two men and a very happy older woman on another corner and two girls with a baby on another. The street kids here go out in the road when the cars are stopped and they juggle or do tricks with sticks (like the black and green ones Dwight got from the Caribbean). Sometimes people will clean your windows or wash your cars for coins. We try to help them out when we can. They are always there. After we were done Beth, Heather and I went to dinner. We went Joia which is a sushi lounge. It was great. We got yokisoba and sushi. It was a very nice place and surprising cheap. (We did split one plate between the three of us) After dinner there was an English praise and worship night at Matt and Mary’s. It was great for all of us to worship together. Beth from the LST team is leaving on Sunday to go home for Medical school and Andy and Katherine are leaving on Wednesday. While I listened to the stories that were shared I got to thinking. I have had a good time here but I feel like there is something that has been holding me back from really diving into the experience. I think that this internship has been something that I felt that I had to get through. Granted this though has been in the back of my mind so I was not aware of it before now. I hope to change this mindset. I just need to find my place here.

Day off

Today was a nice day off. I got to play Kingdom Hearts, finish the book I have been reading, watch part of a movie with Heather ( I fell asleep), take a nap, do some homework and cook dinner. It is nice to have a day to recharge my batteries. Heather had to do homework most of the day so it was not much of a day off for her. Tonight was another LST party. The purpose of these parties is to get people that are coming to the LST reading sessions acquainted with church members in hope of a longer connection. So far all the parties are on Thursday nights and there are themed. The first was a western party and tonight was an Auburn Football party. All the LST team members are from Auburn University in Alabama. Football is a HUGE thing there and their school is huge. The church was full of orange and blue balloons and streamers. There were pictures of Auburn and footage of a football game playing. They taught everyone cheers and had a drawing for prizes. Everyone had tickets and if your number was drawn you could win an Auburn hat, bandana, water bottle or T-shirt. There was so much excitement. Brazilians love parties. They were yelling and jumping and modeling their prizes. I will try to post pictures tomorrow. It was great. We played a relay game where we wrapped people in Toilet paper (Heathers team won), and they made a football toss. There were quite a few people and maybe some of them will come to church on Sunday. One of the guys that helped us get ready for VBS was there tonight. I thought that he was a church member but he is a reader. His name is Francisco. He loves to sing and his English is pretty good. He asked Heather and me if we would teach him songs in English and I said that I would if he taught me songs in Portuguese (or Hebrew or German). He taught me an easy one later on this evening. I told him that I would practice. I almost have it down. Some of the guys have been inviting him to church and he keeps saying that he will come. I invited him tonight and he said that he would come. I hope that he does so please pray. He is in his early 20s I think and he is very smart. It would be great if he could get connected in the church. I do not if he is a Christian but has been looking around at churches and he listens to praise music. Pray that God can maybe work through us to help him and pray that God guides our friendships with him. Tonight was a blast..and we still really cannot believe that they through an Auburn party. Oh yeah I almost forgot. All the LST people wore their Auburn clothes so Randy, Jen, Heather and I showed up in our ACU shirts. We have a great picture. I will try and post it. Go Wildcats! It was pretty funny.

Room with a View

So this just a little insert. One of my favorite rooms here at the apartment is our room and our bathroom. There is only a shower and in the shower there is a frosted widow that sits a little above eye level. It opens from the bottom and is always pushed open about 5 inches. No one can see in but there is a glorious view out. You can watch the clouds, the ocean, the traffic. We are 10 stories up so you can see for a distance. It is relaxing and for an artistic mind it is simulating. Our room is a bit small for two people but we have been alright. There is a large window above our bed. Even with the shades drawn it is the brightest room in the house. I have seen the sunrise once and the burning sky stretched over the tall buildings and off into the sea. My favorite view however is the view at night. The sky is almost always two or three shades of blue even in the middle of the night. The lights from the buildings and the traffic are peaceful in a way and the ocean is a dark space out beyond the lights. It is sort of comforting to look out the window when I cannot sleep. There is an apartment building being built right across the balcony and so it is not far from our window. The construction team starts at about 7am and works all day until 10pm or so. We fall asleep to the sound of muffled traffic and our ceiling fan and wake up the music of metal work and pounding but there is the occasionally bird chirp. For some reason this really does not bother me. You can watch them build from the swing on the balcony. (Which by the way is a wonderful reading spot.)
There are a few frustrations that I deal with. I do not like not being able to communicate well. The other day I was so happy that I ordered at Subway. (There was a lot of pointing but I got food by myself other than Heather telling me how to say mustard and pronounce the word for wheat bread). I also do not like not being able to go places alone (though I understand why) or function in a store alone. I start language school on Saturday, so that will help some but the thing is that I need to be alright with being a learner and not a leader right now.

Business day

Today was business day. At 9am we had a short devotional with the missionary team and some of the LST team. This was followed by a staff meeting that we got to sit in on. I enjoy being able to watch the team dynamics. Heather and I got to get a few more details on some of our tasks to be completed and a better sense of our schedule. It is weird to think that we are actually living here for this summer. It still feels like we are only visiting for a week or two. Oh well, maybe it will sink in…before we leave. After the meeting this morning, Heather and I went with Val and headed to Alicia’s house to have our mentor time. We hit Subway and caught a taxi. The time with them was great. I really enjoy getting to know the whole team. They are all so different and I like seeing how they all fit and work together. We got to get more details worked out and slowly but surely our schedule is becoming clearer. Between the two of us we have a list of tasks and projects that need to unfold throughout the summer. Jen and Randy had to drop off Kelton with us because they had a study at 2. After our time with the ladies we decided to walk back to the Porter’s (with Kelton). It is about a 30-40 minuet walk. It was hot but not near as hot as yesterday. Kelton was alright until he tripped on a curb. It was time for his nap so he got carried the rest of the home. We forgot about the uphill stretch near the house. We also stopped and got two 2liters of soda and some ice cream. Heather and I were talking about going walking or running this evening but after the trek home we changed our minds. That was enough exercise. We got to chill tonight. We were told that we need to try to take part of everyday off to recharge. We also get one or two days off during the week to see the city, go out, or do homework. It was great to have a little time to read and relax after a long morning and hot afternoon. When Jen and Randy came home we made home-made pizza. Heather and I just got some ice cream that we had brought home and now we are watching You’ve Got Mail. Watching a movie and practicing Portuguese. :o)
It has been fun here so far, tiring but fun. We have had our moments of being overwhelmed with this or that but for the most part we are doing pretty well. Tomorrow is our “day off” and that means homework and getting some administration stuff completed.
It was good to here that it is raining in Abilene. :o)

Rainy Dayz and Hot Glue

So yesterday, not 30mins after I posted my blog, it began to rain. Not a slow or clam rain but rain that blew in from the side. The clouds covered the entire sky like a glowing gray blanket. Oh well. This group of rain clouds did not hang around long but long enough to say bye-bye to the beach. We had lunch at the apartment and then went to the mall to meet the LST team. They had not had lunch so we joined them and ordered some juice and coffee. I wish that we could have walked around more (my legs wanted to move) but sitting and talking to everyone in a really cool restaurant while tasting a bit of food and dessert was fun. The team from Alabama is great to be around and the missionaries are like a big family...a big family of kids for the most part. After lunch we all went our separate ways. Some girls went to look at shoes, Kathryn (LST girl) went with Matt (missionary) to get a tattoo and Heather, Randy and I went to the grocery store. The most crowded grocery store I have been to for that matter. It was a store owned by Wal-Mart, therefore, same colors, same fonts, but different fruits. That evening Heather, the Porters and I went to Matt and Mary's, ate BLTs, and sat around and watched a group of missionaries say "Hey they buried them alive! That's awesome!!!!" And for those of you who have not seen this episode of LOST, sorry... I just ruined the ending.
Today was VBS day numero um!

The story: The birth of Jesus
The setting: The church
The crafts: A bit messy
The boss "chefe": beyond compare
Heather did a great job getting everything organized. She told the story (in Portuguese...everything is in Portuguese) , taught songs and explained the craft. I helped by hot gluing Popsicle frames together, playing soccer with two boys and a blow-up globe, taking pictures (surprise), and helping with the craft when I could. It all went well. Today is Valentine's day here in Brasil so we babysat while Randy and Jen went and saw a movie. Tonight was relaxing. I got to play Kingdom Hearts, Heather and I got to make dinner, watch Carros (Cars), watch an episode of FRIENDS, play with Kelton, eat some popcorn, watch Kelton eat a fist-full of popcorn, call people, do laundry and now we are tired...yet relaxing. Goodnight to all. Boa noite.

143 Honey

Our First Weekend

Yesterday began with a late morning. I was able to do some homework...fun fun. Heather and I went to a small group meeting at Mat and Mary's house. There are 3 girls that are regulars, Lorena, Larisa, and Daniele. Daniele and Larisa are doctors and Lorena is a lawyer studying to be a judge. They are all in their mid 20's. It was a great discussion. It was all in Portuguese so I only caught a few words but it was intense. At one point I spoke up in English and Heather translated for me. Afterwards we discovered that they all speak English. Oh well. With that knowledge I will speak up more. Last night (Saturday) we went to a baby shower/churrasco aka BBQ at the house of Antonia who is the Porter's house keeper/ friend. Now do not think of a Texas BBQ. Think of it more of a party and a cook out in a small town in Mexico. There was a lot of food, a lot of people, music, laughter, kids running around, and a lot of sitting around and talking. It felt like I was in Mexico again. I tried some home made apple wine. It was good but defiantly different. We were there for about 4 hours and when we left some people still had not gotten food. Two older men cooked on a small about 12 x 12 grill and there was a good 20 pounds of meat. The food was good...what I ate. The view was so cool. It was a classic, lower class community. From the window there were hills covered in roof tops. The glow of TVs and small house lights made the multicolored houses look like a scene from a movie. We left around 9 in order to get Kelton home and in bed for church in the morning.
This morning (Sunday) was the first time that we really got to see it rain. The clouds would come in, rain, and then clear up as fast as it started. Before church Heather and I hit the small market about a block from the building. We decided that Heather would cook dinner on Sunday nights and I would cook on Thursday night. When we got the groceries it was raining a little so one of the men that worked there gave us an umbrella took all our groceries down the block to the church. Heather and I were given the task of pouring the juice into the communion cups. Let's just say my cup runeth over. We made a mess to clean. The church service was great. I followed the songs, the children’s time for the most part and the prayers. I got a tad lost in the sermon. After church everyone hung around and talked. I played with some of the kids…I was in a dress so they had even more of an advantage. They are teaching me so cool soccer tricks. Daniele (one of the girls from the small group) took Heather and me to meet everyone for lunch. I got to talk to someone in English! Lunch was good. I was told that I had to try a chicken heart. It really was not that bad. Thanks to Tokyo I have had worse. After lunch I caught a Taxi with some of the LST team and headed back to the church to sit in on a beginner English class. I also helped Heather get some stuff ready for VBS on Tuesday. Two guys from the church helped us as well. We had to cut out stuff and bend hangers. One of the guys, Francisco, spoke some English. He and I talked while we cut out fabric. He is learning English and German. He loves to sing and he sang songs in German, Hebrew, English and Portuguese. He entertained all of us as we worked. The other guy asked Heather want the hangers were called. She thought that he asks what she was called so she said Heather. Later on he asked her name and she said Heather. He told her no this is a Heather and held up the hanger. I was really funny. While we were working a puppy was running around the church building. He decided that it would be a good idea to do his business in the middle of the floor. Val, one of the missionaries, cleaned it up and walked over to us with a hand full of brown tissues. “Oh the glamorous life of a missionary.” Around 4:30 Heather and I left church and walked down the block to get ice cream. We walked back toward the taxi stopping area via the sidewalk that over looked the beach. It was beautiful. The sky was pink and blue and the waves were white capping. We stopped to take a picture but a beach store worker advised us that our camera may get stolen. That understandable because it was getting dark. We walked on, caught a cab and headed home. The man watched us as we walked on. He was protecting us. At the Porter’s we all watched Law and Order, Heather and I cooked a wonderful dinner of roasted corn and chicken salad and then Randy and I played guitar hero. It felt good to win at GH. :o) The people I normally play against are freaking awesome! Writing this blog took a few days due to high Internet traffic and busy days….Well I am finishing it on Monday morning. Heather is taking her language class and we are heading to the beach at 12:00 to meet the LST team. I hope of you are having a great week so far. I will do my best to keep you posted. Keep praying that God will totally lead this trip. I have already seen Him at work in little things and in me. I pray for His peace and guidance.

Ready, Set, GO!!!

So just kidding...we kicked started everything today. For future knowledge..if the posts are shorter that is not due to lack of events, simply lack of energy. Today started around 8:45am. Randy, Heather and I walked down the block to get SIM cards for our cell phones. We went to the bank, I got my first Brazilian coffee (which was served in a cup the size of a shot glass...). For lunch, Heather and I walked to the bus stop a few blocks away, caught a bus, then walked from the stop to the church. We then went with Andy, the leader of the LST team, to get some food. I ordered a dish called comida Baiana. None of us knew what it was...it was fish or chicken, rice, a bean mixture thing, some orange stuff that looked like mashed sweet potatoes and some green chili stuff. Most of it was very good...the green stuff was a little bland for me. Heather got steak that looked like pork chops and Andy got chicken. It was ALOT of food. Andy trained us some in the ways of LST so that when members of the team leave we can take over their readers. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about when I say LST I will try to post a link for you at sometime. After lunch Heather and I hailed a Taxi all by ourselves, all we did was wave. We went to a birthday party for Mary (one of the missionaries). She is about 7 months pregnant and on bed rest. The party was followed be a series of meetings regarding our schedules for the next few weeks, VBS and small group meetings. We got around an hour to "rest" after the meetings and then it was off to youth night at the church. We sang, had a devo, prayed, ate some food and played a little futbol (soccer). All of this was done in Portuguese...except of eating and soccer. I got to join in on the game....I think that they went easy on me :o). Tomorrow looks like a homework day followed by a small group meeting and a baby shower.
I hope that everything is going well where you are. Things are good here. I still feel like it will be a week long trip.

Today has been a slow and relaxing day. It was very needed. Here are just a few picts for your enjoyment.
Heather on the balcony
At the Dallas Mall (in honor of Jaylynn) The view from our room

Next week we start right in. Pray for strength, wisdom, joy, guidance and the gift of fast language learning. :o)

So I thought that we were going to Brasil but it seems that we are still in Texas....sort of. The LST team from Alabama threw a party that was a "Western" theme. They taught everyone the Electric Slide. Brazilians doing line dances....entertaining. Heather and I had to show off our mad dancing skills. We did "the" line dance. It was great. Heather got to be the great wonderful save the day translator and through that we met a woman named Danieli. She spoke some English. She also works with deaf people therefore the three of us had a conversation going in English, Portuguese, and sign language.
Earlier today we were sent to the market up the hill to get food and snacks. We needed alface (lettuce) and the lady did not charge us for it because the leaves we got were very sad and wilted.. :o( After we got home Jen pointed out our mistake..Turns out it was kale...SCORE!...not really.

9 Weeks and 6 Days...better than it could be

So do you ever wonder if God is ever looking down on us and shaking his head with a smile as we try to figure out things and make sense of situations that in the end turn out even better then we planned? Yes we made it to Salvador with a good night sleep and a Bueno lunch behind us. One more night to say "see you later" was wonderful.
Granted there were more minor bumps along the way but we missed the pot holes and ditches. Patty and Jaylynn came and picked us up from my parents house and took us back to the airport. As us three girls got the 8 pieces of luggage through the check point, Patty went and got us Bueno and a Double Shot :o). Yea for coffee. We loaded without a problem. (Less tears this time around) In Dallas, Alex picked us up and Megan met us at the Grapevine Mills mall. I had been having massive unlocking cell phone issues and the Cingular people called me just after we landed. At the mall we were able to find a store that would unlock it for us so now I can use the Brazilian SIM card. (God gave us one more day..If we had left on time I would not have had a phone here.) At the mall we got to hangout, get ice cream, sunglasses and took a small detour by Build-A-Bear. The flight to Sao Paulo from DFW was 2 hours delayed because of fuel issues and therefore we missed our connection to Salvador. Luckily we were not the only ones. The airport in Salvador was not opened until 9am so all the flights going out were delayed. We were just put on the 2:35 flight rather than the 11:00. We met two girls from Tx that were coming to Salvador to take classes. They hung out with us and got to sit with us on the new flight. We all went through customs (Tip..if you ever carry blocks of cheese in your carry on and it melts, they will stop and search your luggage for hidden liquid or gel items.) Anyway after waiting for hours in line we start to check in for the flight. We tell them that Beth and Stevana are with us so we all check in together. Well everyone is clear.....but me. There is no ticket for me and I am not in their computer system. Our plane is boarding in 20 mins. So there are 2 out of the 4 of us that speak Portuguese (Heather and Beth). Heather stays with the bags at the check in point along with Stevana. Beth and I RUN across the airport to the opposite end to find the American Airline Center. In the end everything was alright. We made it in time and I had a seat ON the plane. In Salvador Russ and Val had been waiting for us since 1:00pm and due to poor communication they thought that we were on the next flight..then the next...and the next. We arrived at about 5:30pm. Currently I am out on the balcony in the cool breeze with scent of the ocean and the muffled sound of traffic and drums highlighted by the glow of the lights from the tall buildings and the winding street. It is more urban then I was expecting but it is beautiful here. I can't wait to see it in the sunlight. (It gets dark around 5pm) Heather and I will be sharing the guest room right now because there is more space then we were thinking. Kelton, Randy and Jen's 3 year old, helped us unpack and made sure that we were going to be tired tonight. He is all rough and tumble. Heather just went off to go to sleep.I can see the golden moon dipping into the ocean to the right of the buildings. It is so peaceful. We are in an apartment on the 10th floor so the view of the skyline is amazing.
I think that it is time to call it a night.
Goodnight...sleep with the angels...
I love you all
PS
I do have to say that I am glad that all the toilets are Western.....and a bus went by that reminded me of the Tokyo train around the rush.......

I love you honey

Delay, Detour, U-Turn!

Plane is running a tad behind but that is alright it is only a few moments. We have said our “see you laters”, cried, laughed, hugged and prepared to fly off into the clouds for our great adventure. My families (Mom and dad, Eric and Laura Beth + the kids, Dwight, the Phillips family – Randy :o( (yea school stuff)) plus Phillip, Jeff and Brother Mike were all there to see us off. We went through security..I set off the alarm. Here is a tip: never go through the sensor with a package of Gushers in your pocket. As a result Alex and Carter got candy. After we boarded the plane Heather and I well mostly I prepared myself for take off. Just kidding…DFW has closed down for a while due to thunderstorms but that is alright because we are the first to take off when all is clear. Just Kidding..some people decided to get off after some time passed. Therefore we need to redo the paperwork. We traveled about 100 yards down the runway and we are waiting. Every half hour we get an update on the situation in DFW. It is a stop and go game that went from funny to ironic to quite frustrating. “Oh it looks like we can go…oh wait never mind.” While we waited Heather and I entertained ourselves (probably everyone around us). We played Go Fish in Portuguese, a card game called golf, and the “Many moods of men game” fortune telling game. It was great fun. We did a donut on the runway, for some reason we had to get more fuel even though we had not moved. This little detour bumped us to the end of the take off line. Due to the weather around the Dallas area Abilene became the stopping point for a lot of planes…you may have seen it on the news last night. Anyways around 7 (we were supposed to leave the ground at 2:10 and our connection flight had been delayed to 8:30 from DFW) we are clear for take off. We fly off into the horizon. We now have to fly to DFW by way of Oklahoma to miss the storms. We are going…going...oh wait we are put into a holding pattern near the air strip. And yet we lack the fuel to stay in this pattern for the amount of time we need to therefore we are off once again…back to Abilene. I really thought that the next time I saw the Zoo, Shotwell and the runway that I would be a whole lot more excited. When we land we have to stay on the runway for over an hour because of the number of planes that have docked. One is from Canada and last I heard they could not get off the plane because we do not have customs in Abilene. Granted some folks on our flight are tired, very hungry, sleepy, and very late and this leads to the attendant threatening to call security due to some very colorful language flowing from the back of the cabin. Heather gets on the phone with the AAdvantage desk after we scramble through the American Way magazines that we have now read close to five times in order to find a number. After an hour has passed and the attendant passes out a few bags of trail mix (for free...score) one of the 3 people working the strip brings us stairs and we all rush to freedom. (Walking across the runway towards the airport reminded me of the scene from Homeward Bound: Lost in San Francisco.) We called Dwight and Patty and Jaylynn and they came to rescue us. My parents provided us a bed and a couch which made us feel like 17 years olds in High School because that we the last time Heather had slept in my old room on that couch. It was fun. Mom, Dad, Patty, Jaylynn, Dwight, Heather and I got food from Sonic, gathered in the living room, talked and then Heather and I got to sleep in!! We have to be at the airport at noon today for the same song second verse. So our first day in Brasil will be a day late (I hope) but that is alright. 10 weeks vs 9 weeks and 6 days is not that bad. Please pray that everything from here on goes well and say a prayer of thanks that we even though we did not make it yesterday we are still here to try again. We have repacked our backpacks with food and AA batteries this time just in case. Thanks for the prayers and maybe the next entry will come from a computer way more south then Abilene.

PS

I Love you Honey

Blast OFF!!

Only hours away from the airport and yet it still feels like we are going away for the weekend. We are all packed and ready... just waiting. Our house is a collage of suitcases, trash bags and boxes. After we return Heather is moving out to start her student teaching in the fall. Therefore we have been packing for the 10 weeks in Brasil as well as moving her out. Yea...or not. I am going to miss her but at least we have 10 more weeks.
Well, nerves are starting to build up (for those of you that do not know I have a major fear of airplanes...yeah God has a sense of humor. He calls a missionary that HATES flying..oh well all is good) Excited nervous.
This being my last post while I am in the country I wanted to end it in a special way.
God thank you so much for this opportunity and please watch over Heather and I as we travel. Please prepare the hearts of the people we will meet and work in our hearts so that we will be the people we need to be. Allow our family and friends that are here to be safe and please work in their lives and bring joy to their hearts. May every step we take bring glory to your name and may you receive the praise in all things. Please remove the sense of pride from our hearts and make us your servants. In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.
I hope that all of you have a great summer. Mom and Dad thanks for supporting me and standing with me even when things were not as we planned. I love you both.
Eric, Laura, Alex and Carter I am so glad that I have you guys. Thank you for being there. Thanks for the DJ jobs, the shopping trips...everything. Congrats on the house...interesting timing... :o).
The Phillips family Thank you for being there for me and becoming my second family. I love you all.
Heather I could not have picked anyone that I would rather work beside. You are such a strong and wonderful woman.
Dwight I love you. I will miss you but remember that when I return it will only be 10 months until our wedding. I love you.
Everyone thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my friends and my support. Each one of you means so much to me and I can't wait until I come back and tell you all the stories of the summer.
Blessings to all

One...(well 2:45)

Clothes....check
music...check
Pillow...check
money...check
passport...check
tickets...check
sleep...I wish
ready to go...oh yeah
So we fly out in less then 12 hours. Maybe we will get to sleep alittle before it is time to get up and finish getting everything together and the house clean. Dwight and Jeff are coming over to cook us breakfast in the morning...aren't they sweet. Dwight and Jaylynn helped us out this evening after a great trip to Fuji's for dinner. Today was Heather's Birthday...(Happy 22nd!!). Dinner was wonderful. Thank you Dwight, Jaylynn, Jeff, Shane, Birdie, Sam, Mom, Patty, Randy, and Annay for coming! Tonight was great...even the packing, cleaning, and organizing had its fun moments. I sure hope we have everything. It still does not seem real that this time tomorrow I will be in Brasil. I know that when I am on the plane that it will all hit me but I can't wait. Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me and Heather. Keep up the prayers. I love you all.

Two...

Well the sale was a success. Thank God. Things seem so surreal right now. We have less then two days...it will sink in later. Please continue to pray for us as well pack tomorrow and get ready to say goodbye to family and friends for the summer.

Three...

Tick tock...tick tock
Sitting here I really feel like there is something that I could be doing. You know, something productive but no, I am sitting here watching my friends play Guitar Hero as Heather is going through all the old clothes in her room. Three days out... I am currently in the place where I have planned, shopped, washed, and cleaned but it is too soon to pack. Therefore I am waiting.
God has provided once again. The garage sale at church that I thought was going to be small (due to the fact we just had a huge one in March for our Japan trip) is not at all. I do not know where all the stuff came from but we have pulled together and God has pulled another miracle out of his hat. I am not even worried about the money that it will pull in. I know it will be what I need...God is great that way.