Sweet Relationships

Food is an important part of building relationships here in Brazil. When you want to communicate that you want to start a relationship with someone or that you're enjoying the relationship you have, just bring over whatever you have on hand from your kitchen! I suppose it's like that in a lot of cultures, but I feel like we notice it more here Brazil because our houses are so close together and because building relationships is what missions is all about! So, when yesterday our neighbor stopped over with these:....we knew how much they had enjoyed coming our house for dinner the other night. What's in those packages above? They're call pamonha....very similar to Mexican tamales. The outside wrapper is corn husks and inside is a corn mush. They can either be sweet, savory, or have cheese inside. They're delicious! But what's even more delicious is knowing that our relationship with our neighbors is growing.

On a side note, one of the most fulfilling moments in ministry happened right after we got back from furlough. After we organized ourselves a little, we took our dog on a walk around the neighborhood to get some exercise. As we walked down the street, person after person called out to us from their house saying "You're back!", "We missed you!", "It wasn't the same here without you" I can't tell you how satisfying it was to know that we have made an impact here among our neighbors and to know that they are anxious to continue to build relationships with us.

And a day or so after that, a different neighbor stopped by tow bring us this homemade bread. As I've mentioned before, here in Brazil, the custom is that you then have to bring back the person's dish full. So, I whipped up some brownies and stopped by the neighbor's house. She invited me in and we sat for a while chatting about some tough things she is going through. Her husband recently left her and she is considering moving out of town with her twin 12 year old daughters and young son. While we chatted the kids finished off the whole bowl of brownies and said they wanted to learn how to make them and how to make cookies.
So, a few days later, they came over and we made chocolate chip cookies. I told them about cut out cookies and showed them the cookie cutters I have and they said the want to come back over to make those too. We had an absolutely terrific afternoon together, and I got to share just the beginnings of the Gospel with them. I'm looking forward to continuing to share more with them as we make more goodies!

But the icing on the cake (haha) came when the next day Jeyson and I were coming home and a totally different neighbor who just moved in said that the girls had shared their cookies with her and now she wants a lesson too. Who knows, maybe soon the whole neighborhood will come through our kitchen and hear the Gospel too! That's my pan...I mean plan, anyway!