Ok...so I realized that my last blog was quite awhile ago...and it wasn't exactly the best view of what God's been teaching me. So I thought I would send out an update that has a little more to do with how God's been moving here in Brazil...
Well as I sit in my kitchen trying to update friends and family through email, facebook, and skype I look out the sliding glass door of our 7th story apartment and take in the sights of Brazil. There are mountains around us, the ocean is out to my left, Recreio shopping to my right...everything a girl could want! haha The mall is awesome because it has a fantastic little coffee shop and a great super market that fits our needs quite nicely. For example: Last night I made our little family penne pasta, with spaghetti sauce that I doctored up quite nicely with oregano and fresh garlic, we also had steamed broccoli, and homemade cheesy garlic bread! Thanks mom...I can't take the credit for my cooking genius ; ) God has provided for us in numerous ways by allowing us opportunities to make our apartment our home, eating meals that remind us of home, and keeping in contact with people who are our home and our life.
How do I express what God is doing in my life here in Brazil? Man that question could take forever to answer. I lean on God more here. Plain and simple. My friends, family, and loved ones are far from me. But God has given me internet so that I can communicate. He gave me skype so I can see their faces. He blesses me with encouragement from people every single day. The ladies here that I live with have become family to me. We lean on each other. When Laura, Bria, and I were in Campo Grande all this last week staying with a family we missed Sharon and Kristi a ton! It was so awesome to finally come back together and come back to our home. God has blessed me so fully with the ladies I serve with down here. I feel the love! God fills me cup every single day with his love many many times through all of you back home!
God is teaching me about how to be bold in my faith. That it isn't just about reading your bible and faithfully going to church every Sunday. Faith is about actions, it's about deeds, it's about stepping up to the plate when God calls your name. No hesitation, no fear of looking foolish, or wondering what God's plan is. I can't tell you the number of amazing conversations I've had with people by asking them what God has been doing in their lives. I have enjoyed encouraging the students of Campo Grande to step up and challenge one another to not just come to church but to be apostles and to bring the good news to their friends in school. We have an English Night coming up at Campo Grande on Saturday. We have invited kids from all different English courses and churches to come, to invite their friends, and to enjoy american snacks, music, games, and conversation. This is to get them excited for English Camp in July. I really want to challenge the kids of the church to use this as an opportunity for them to be examples of Christ to those who may be seeking or are lost! Please pray that they would step up to the plate!
I am currently reading through James with a young woman here that I have built a relationship with over the last few years during my time in Brazil. God has used this relationship to encourage me to seek out opportunities to share with other students. It is so important not to waste any time!
There are days when I am so exhausted trying to think in Portuguese, when I miss my family like crazy, and when I just wish I could be in my room on my bed or able to have a delicious Mexican meal : ) There are days when I just desire to be with people who know my background and where I've come from. Days when I wish that I could hug my boyfriend and have someone pamper me : ) But MAN let me tell you...God ALWAYS brings me to his throne. He ALWAYS speaks to my heart and helps me to tell him my heart's frustrations and he ALWAYS fills me with his love and strength. I truly have come to experience his provision in all circumstances. There is NOTHING that I cannot do when I look to the Lord of my life. He is the God that I seek to serve in all that I do. In every conversation, every hard moment, every moment that I am lonely, every amazing experience, every triumph, and every moment I learn something new. Faith is not just about being faithful. It is about stepping up to the plate. It is about taking the challenges that God gives you so that you can grow. He keeps asking me to flex my spiritual muscles and when I get tired I look to him to give me the boost I need. I have learned that my faith back home was real. That I truly desire to have him as Lord of my life. But it is here that I am learning how to do that in all that I do.
God is taking me, breaking me, fixing me, strengthening me, transforming me, refining me, celebrating with me, and pouring his love into me.
Praise Him with me in the ways in which he is working in your own life!
Blessings,
Anna
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Ahhh the life of a carioca
Hello!
Sorry I know I have been slacking off on blogging but I didn't have a good internet connection in our apartment until two days ago! So PRAISE GOD! We now have internet in our apartment. This is only one of the ways that God has taught us to trust in him during our time in Rio.
Thank you to each and every one of you who has prayed for us over the last few months and especially during our first official week in Brazil. It has been a crazy and awesome transition. We are slowly getting integrated into daily life here and it's awesome.
Here are a few of our routines:
-Daily walks to the Recreio shopping mall across the street from our apartment. They have clothing stores and everything like a regular mall but we like it because it has "Casa & Video" which is a store that has nicknacks for our apartment like rugs, racks for drying clothes, pots, pans, etc. We also like the mall because it has a "Sendas" which is a small grocery store where we can buy fresh bread, cheese, meat, delicious fruit, and of course the staples such as Guarana, pao do quiejo, and cookies.
-Going to the ocean. It is only a fifteen minute walk from our apartment and it is a GORGEOUS beach!!! Looking at it is beautiful and hopefully we will all be lookin like Brazilians by the time we leave in two months ; )
-Keeping our apartment clean: we have tile floors so it gets dirty quick and with no dish washer the dishes stack up quick. But we just got a washing machine today so we are living large!
-With only six Portuguese channels, no dvd player, and only one computer with internet we spend a lot of time reading on the roof, talking and getting to know one another (sharing some seriously hilarious and awkward moments), going on walks around the beautiful neighborhood, showering, and sleeping.
-We are always trying to learn more Portuguese! So we read billboards, read our books, and try talking to people to pick up more everyday!
It is cool because we each get to find a Brazilian to partner up with and learn Portuguese while we teach them English. I will be connecting with a woman named Luciana who is a physcial fitness trainer :) oh yeah. Hopefully I'll get to hit the local gym down the street where she works a few times. I have started running outside on different routes and I love it! We also have a gym up top but I haven't tried that one out yet. Our roof has a gorgeous view of the ocean, a gym, a coffee shop and a pool. I want to swim really bad but it hasn't been that warm and I'm pretty sure the Brazilians in our building would look at me like I'm crazy because it is their winter here. But those of you who know me know I really don't care about being crazy so I'll probably be taking a dip...I'll let you know how it goes.
I am sleeping well here (thanks for the prayer Brian : ) and my quiet time has been amazing. The Lord has been taking me through Mark and I am learning a ton. We are also doing a bible study as a group reading through Cast of Characters. It is a book by Max Lucado where he takes a look at different characters in the bible that God uses in big ways even though they seem like ordinary people. So far we have read about Joseph and Matthew. I would highly recommend this book.
Funny stories....you all know me. I am not much of a coordinated person. So besides the daily tripping over sidewalks, rocks, cords, and the other usuals I have had a few mishaps.
1. The first night I tried to make us some pao do quiejo for dinner. It's little mini rolls with cheese in the middle. Very delicious. But our oven doesn't have a rack in it currently and we didn't have a baking sheet or a pan without plastic handles that would melt in the oven so I tried to make an oven out of the stove. Needless to say it did NOT work and I burned the living daylights out of the pao, made our apartment stink, and caused us to eat granola bars for dinner.
2. The second night we got a baking pan and I jimmyrigged the racks on top of the stove to fit in the oven. So again....I made pao. It looked beautifully golden brown and delicious. But when I went to go pull the meal out of the oven I didn't open the door wide enough and it slammed back and scraped/burned my hand on it's way. I yelled out in a fit of joy as my hand started gushing blood and seared from the heat. Needless to say the pao was still good and the hand is finally healing.
3. The third night I was outside on a bench just across from our apartment because we don't have internet in our house trying to write a few emails to family and loved ones. It was the first time that I wore shorts outside even though it was chilly out. I figured I would be safe from mosquitoes. WRONG! By the time I finished my legs were feeling really weird. They were burning. So I hurried up and ran inside. When I got in the elevator and finally looked down at my legs I realized that I had been bitten ALL OVER! I mean I looked like I had a flesh born disease on my legs! It was crazy!!! So my roommates tried to help me by buying me some ointment for my legs but what I didn't realize at the time was that it was cortizone cream...which I just so happen to be allergic too. So I woke up in the middle of the night with a burning/itching sensation that I have never experienced before in my life. Praise God...I had one benadryl in the bottom of my suitcase. Now it's all good my legs are tan and normal...for now.
These are the basics for now. Much more has transpired but I cannot make this blog too long for the sake of my faithful readers. More to come.
God is good. We had a great time with the youth group saturday night and at the church service sunday evening seeing old friends and meeting new ones. God is setting up opportunities to work with differnt churches, possible opportunities helping homeless street kids, mentoring young adults, going and inviting local youth at English courses throughout the city to the Celivre church and so much more. So pray for the ministries that God is preparing for us. Pray for the students and people we will come into contact with. And pray that we would keep our eyes continuously focused on Him!!!
Thank you for all the prayer and encouragement. It has made all the difference in the world!
Blessings,
Anna
Sorry I know I have been slacking off on blogging but I didn't have a good internet connection in our apartment until two days ago! So PRAISE GOD! We now have internet in our apartment. This is only one of the ways that God has taught us to trust in him during our time in Rio.
Thank you to each and every one of you who has prayed for us over the last few months and especially during our first official week in Brazil. It has been a crazy and awesome transition. We are slowly getting integrated into daily life here and it's awesome.
Here are a few of our routines:
-Daily walks to the Recreio shopping mall across the street from our apartment. They have clothing stores and everything like a regular mall but we like it because it has "Casa & Video" which is a store that has nicknacks for our apartment like rugs, racks for drying clothes, pots, pans, etc. We also like the mall because it has a "Sendas" which is a small grocery store where we can buy fresh bread, cheese, meat, delicious fruit, and of course the staples such as Guarana, pao do quiejo, and cookies.
-Going to the ocean. It is only a fifteen minute walk from our apartment and it is a GORGEOUS beach!!! Looking at it is beautiful and hopefully we will all be lookin like Brazilians by the time we leave in two months ; )
-Keeping our apartment clean: we have tile floors so it gets dirty quick and with no dish washer the dishes stack up quick. But we just got a washing machine today so we are living large!
-With only six Portuguese channels, no dvd player, and only one computer with internet we spend a lot of time reading on the roof, talking and getting to know one another (sharing some seriously hilarious and awkward moments), going on walks around the beautiful neighborhood, showering, and sleeping.
-We are always trying to learn more Portuguese! So we read billboards, read our books, and try talking to people to pick up more everyday!
It is cool because we each get to find a Brazilian to partner up with and learn Portuguese while we teach them English. I will be connecting with a woman named Luciana who is a physcial fitness trainer :) oh yeah. Hopefully I'll get to hit the local gym down the street where she works a few times. I have started running outside on different routes and I love it! We also have a gym up top but I haven't tried that one out yet. Our roof has a gorgeous view of the ocean, a gym, a coffee shop and a pool. I want to swim really bad but it hasn't been that warm and I'm pretty sure the Brazilians in our building would look at me like I'm crazy because it is their winter here. But those of you who know me know I really don't care about being crazy so I'll probably be taking a dip...I'll let you know how it goes.
I am sleeping well here (thanks for the prayer Brian : ) and my quiet time has been amazing. The Lord has been taking me through Mark and I am learning a ton. We are also doing a bible study as a group reading through Cast of Characters. It is a book by Max Lucado where he takes a look at different characters in the bible that God uses in big ways even though they seem like ordinary people. So far we have read about Joseph and Matthew. I would highly recommend this book.
Funny stories....you all know me. I am not much of a coordinated person. So besides the daily tripping over sidewalks, rocks, cords, and the other usuals I have had a few mishaps.
1. The first night I tried to make us some pao do quiejo for dinner. It's little mini rolls with cheese in the middle. Very delicious. But our oven doesn't have a rack in it currently and we didn't have a baking sheet or a pan without plastic handles that would melt in the oven so I tried to make an oven out of the stove. Needless to say it did NOT work and I burned the living daylights out of the pao, made our apartment stink, and caused us to eat granola bars for dinner.
2. The second night we got a baking pan and I jimmyrigged the racks on top of the stove to fit in the oven. So again....I made pao. It looked beautifully golden brown and delicious. But when I went to go pull the meal out of the oven I didn't open the door wide enough and it slammed back and scraped/burned my hand on it's way. I yelled out in a fit of joy as my hand started gushing blood and seared from the heat. Needless to say the pao was still good and the hand is finally healing.
3. The third night I was outside on a bench just across from our apartment because we don't have internet in our house trying to write a few emails to family and loved ones. It was the first time that I wore shorts outside even though it was chilly out. I figured I would be safe from mosquitoes. WRONG! By the time I finished my legs were feeling really weird. They were burning. So I hurried up and ran inside. When I got in the elevator and finally looked down at my legs I realized that I had been bitten ALL OVER! I mean I looked like I had a flesh born disease on my legs! It was crazy!!! So my roommates tried to help me by buying me some ointment for my legs but what I didn't realize at the time was that it was cortizone cream...which I just so happen to be allergic too. So I woke up in the middle of the night with a burning/itching sensation that I have never experienced before in my life. Praise God...I had one benadryl in the bottom of my suitcase. Now it's all good my legs are tan and normal...for now.
These are the basics for now. Much more has transpired but I cannot make this blog too long for the sake of my faithful readers. More to come.
God is good. We had a great time with the youth group saturday night and at the church service sunday evening seeing old friends and meeting new ones. God is setting up opportunities to work with differnt churches, possible opportunities helping homeless street kids, mentoring young adults, going and inviting local youth at English courses throughout the city to the Celivre church and so much more. So pray for the ministries that God is preparing for us. Pray for the students and people we will come into contact with. And pray that we would keep our eyes continuously focused on Him!!!
Thank you for all the prayer and encouragement. It has made all the difference in the world!
Blessings,
Anna
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