A buffet of thoughts

Today I have many scattered thoughts, so I think this post will be about a bunch of little things instead of one big topic...sort of like a buffet :) So here goes...





This week I felt very encouraged by a milestone in learning Portuguese. Over the weekend we headed to Goiania, where Jeyson's family lives, because Lika (his sister) was having her bridal shower. Here are some pictures of the event:



Anyway, the milestone was that I led my first activity in Portuguese. I had been asked to help with the shower games, but I had been thinking I would just be planning them and that someone else would actually lead them. The game I planned was one where the leader would do a lot of asking questions, etc, so I planned everything necessary for the person to fill the role. Then at the last minute when I was going to hand the paper with the instructions to someone to lead it, Jeyson encouraged me to step up to the challenge and lead it myself. After a little debating I went for it and everyone seemed to have a good time. Although this may seem like a small achievement, to me it was huge to stand up in front of a group, give directions, ask questions, serve as a judge, etc in Portuguese without any help. However, the biggest part of the achievement for me was not standing up and doing it (though that was big!), the biggest part was the fact that people enjoyed the game! What does that mean? It means that my Portuguese has improved enough to not get in the way of what I am trying to say! I am starting to not feel so much like a child when I speak anymore.



While that was great news, the truth is that it is not always so smooth. Some days I feel so frustrated because I want to say the most simple thing, but it seems IMPOSSIBLE to find the right words. Sometimes I have to repeat myself many times and I just feel like giving up. Sometimes I feel like crying when everyone is laughing at a joke but I can't understand it. But despite the ups and downs from day to day, I feel encouraged by the evidence that I am making process over time! Please pray for my progress in learning if you remember!



Another thought I wanted to share was a letter that I read this week from a Brazilian family writing to one of the missionaries with Asas. This family had heard about the work that our mission does and had been wanting to support an Asas missionary for a long time. However, this family just did not have any extra money to help in a monetary way. The letter said that the husband and wife would walk over 4 miles to work every day and would pass a lot of garbage along the way. So, this family decided to start collecting aluminum cans and other recycling material as they walked and bringing it to a recycling center to earn money to send to the missionaries! I was just blown away by the story and humbled to remember the many people sacrificing to support us so we can continue serving here. It is especially humbling knowing us from the inside, knowing we're not superhero Christians - just normal people with a calling to be here but still struggling with normal things just like everyone else. It really is humbling to know people are coming alongside us sacrificially just the same. We are so grateful!



Well another thought today is about my time teaching English at the Bible school/Seminary. When I committed to teach, I only made a commitment until June so I could have the chance to reevaluate if this was the right ministry opportunity for me. Now the course has come to an end so I thought I would share some of the pluses and minuses of the experience as I evaluate what kind of setting to commit to next (I will still continue at the children's program and tutoring for sure because they have turned out to be great ministry opportunities!)



First, the Minuses -



The course started out with 28 students, but they were not really committed. Many already were overloaded with other commitments and missed many classes. In the end only a handful were dedicated to the end.



Teaching at a Bible school was great because there was already the structure of a classroom, etc. but the school had many activities that conflicted with our schedule. Sometimes there would be a conference or a holiday scheduled at the school so all classes were canceled. It is hard to work with an irregular schedule.



An actual classroom setting gave too formal of a feel. The environment did not help bring about conversations which would have been good for English and great for relationship building.



Pluses -



I was able to help future pastors, missionaries, etc learn basic English skills which really are often required since a huge amount of resources are only in English. This was a ministry to them.



Teaching there forced me to be in a setting where I will practice Portuguese conversation, very valuable for me!



I was able to meet a few times with some younger students to read the Bible with them.



It was a good experience for me to have tested out to at least know what that kind of setting would be like.



Having so recently arrived from Brazil, it would have been impossible to have created my own program so quickly. The school gave a great structure that a needed.



So what's the bottom line? I am very glad for my experience there. It was a great way to start out and I can see a lot of positives that came out of it for me and some ministry opportunities. However, I don't think I am going to continue there now that this commitment has been completed. My thought is to next try out teaching a higher level of students in a conversation course in my home. I think the problem of the number diminishing would be solved because only those who are really committed would start coming out to my house in the first place. Also, a conversation class would facilitate more conversation (relationship building), and the atmosphere would be more relational than academic. So, we'll see. My plan would be to begin in August so I have some time to get myself off the ground. July is a huge holiday month in Brazil where all schools are off. At Asas things change in July. Rather than Jeyson going to the hangar each day, we will have a week off (during Lika's wedding week) and then go on a VERY intense evangelistic trip for 10 days to another State. Then we will have a few more days off and then get back to the usual routine, when I hope to begin this course. I really want to be effectively reaching out to others. I have never tried anything like this before, so I'll keep you updated about how it's going!

Another quick thing I wanted to show you was this funny picture. The other night two couples came over for dinner. When we looked over onto to the street from our patio, we saw this funny scene... all of our old bugs parked in a row on the street. See, our old car does fit in around here! Ours is the one on the right.

Here is a picture of Jeyson with one of our friends spending time together and working on a project...carving airplanes. Are you surprised?

Lastly, I just want to share this little thought from my devotions this morning. It is from the book My Utmost for His Highest. It says, "The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of that life is its seeming insignificance and its meekness".