Ola,

Today marks two months in Brazil. Emotionally, I think this has been my most difficult week here. Last Saturday, my cousin got married. I knew when I left for Brazil that I would be missing the wedding, but I wasn't expecting to feel so sad and lonely knowing all my family was together and I was here by myself. On Wednesday a close friend had a heart attack and today my family was throwing a baby shower to celebrate my first nephew. I felt very sad to not be there for both the good and bad moments for people I love dearly. Additionally, communication was not very good this week. I would try and talk to my family and friends, but the signal would drop out repeatedly, if it worked at all, and when I had a signal timing wasn't good. I was feeling like God was very far. Although I was having my quiet time, I felt like I didn't know how to pray, what to ask for. But God is faithful and spoke to my heart exactly in the moments I needed it the most. A friend had sent me a texted that I saved, so I can reread it, and I'd like to share it below. I hope it can be an encouragement to someone else as well.  I think that I am supposed to be learning that God alone is enough. I have known that in my head for a long time, but here I am experiencing it. It's easy to say God is enough when you also have an abundance of other relationships and things to turn to or fall back on. But what if God is all you have? Is he enough then? Here, I have no friends, no family, no money, little control over where I go and how I get there or what I eat and when I can eat it. I can't pick up a phone anywhere at any time and just text or call or Facebook. I am bound by locations with good wifi and different time zones. But I always have God and he is in control of everything. One cool moment I had was when the wifi was out. Without wifi there is no tv or telephone. That means I can't text or call anyone. My cell phone is supposed to cover free international texting, but up until this point it has not worked at all. One person, I can't contact even when on wifi has been my father. It always fails to send the message. So I talk to him when he is with another family member. But on this one night that we had no wifi, I was lying in bed and praying about feeling alone, and at that exact moment, a text can through from my dad. I couldn't talk to anyone else, but the one person I can never talk to was able to text back and forth.  I was so appreciative of that conversation. I am also appreciative of knowing you guys pray for me, even if I sometimes feel alone, I'm not. Thank you.

At the school, the students have been studying citizenship this year. This Friday was their culminating project. The older students decorated the school with posters and artwork they had made. The younger students had each learned a song that they would sing at a parent assembly. Every day we wear jeans, sneakers, and a polo shirt or a t-shirt from our church English camps. On this day, we were supposed to wear a T-shirt that said citizenship. Now I have been here long enough to know that parents use these events to get very dressed up. You will never see a parent in Nike sweatpants and baseball cap at a school function. So I made sure to wear jewelry and makeup but still had the standard jeans and t-shirt. I was so underdressed. The teachers use this assembly as an event to dress up too, even though they are wearing a citizenship t-shirt they wore leather pants, stilettos heels, lots of makeup and lots of big jewelry. They decorate the stage with a painted backdrop. Each class parades in with their teacher and poses in front of the backdrop for a photo shoot. Then after all the classes have finished the photo-op the assembly starts. After the assembly, there is a photobooth with flowers and bird cages so parents can now take individual pics with their kids. There were popsicles, puddings, and coxinhas for sale.  As soon as all the parents left the teachers kicked off their stilettos and returned to normal shoes, but the kids just had recess for the rest of the morning. I think it is funny how in America teachers look for any opportunity we can to be allowed to wear jeans and comfortable shoes. Here they look for any opportunity they can to wear very uncomfortable shoes. 

Text from my Friend:

"Good morning! ️ Was reading my “jesus calling” app this morning before I get in my bible and am thinking and praying for you in a foreign land. Here it is. ️️

I AM ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO YOU. Once you have trusted Me as your Savior, I never distance Myself from you. Sometimes you may feel distant from Me. Recognize that as feeling; do not confuse it with reality. The Bible is full of My promises to be with you always. As I assured Jacob, when he was journeying away from home into unknown places, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. After My resurrection, I made this promise to My followers: Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Let these assurances of My continual Presence fill you with Joy and Peace. No matter what you may lose in this life, you can never lose your relationship with Me.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
—Isaiah 54:10

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
—Genesis 28:15

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:19–20"

a vocabulary word of the week is origami, so we made some origami butterflies

Happy birthday Carpina

My 6 week stats

46 the number of days I’ve been in Brazil 
81 the number of kids I teach
8/10 of a mile my daily commute 
1/2 a tube the amount of toothpaste I’ve used
44 number of days I’ve eaten cake
9 hours, length of my work day
7 minutes, the length of time my shower stays hot
6 weeks, how long ago my mother mailed me a letter
0 the mail I have received 
5 dollars, the cost of a pedicure 
6 dollars, the current price for a gallon of gas
3 the number of hours one load of wash takes
8 the number of monkeys the neighbor feeds on our adjoining wall, causing John angst
5:17 the time the sunsets here
3 the number of planets I can identify (There are 4 but I can’t find Venus)

We eat cake everyday. How can life not be wonderful, when there is cake every day?

One Month 🇧🇷

Today marks one month of my life in Brazil.

The longer I am here the more clearly I see how Brazil is a land of opposites. Extreme beauty brushing shoulders with extreme poverty. Pet dogs bathed daily with fancy collars and t-shirts (they even sell meat flavored wine here to celebrate with your pooch) living in gated communities. Pathetic strays with ribs jutting out and open sores festering, waiting just outside that same gated community. Even the “rules” I have been given seem to contradict themselves. When offered food always accept. Never eat food unless you know how it was cleaned and prepared. Always look up when walking: know who is in front of you and who is behind you, pay attention to what they are doing- always look up.  Always look down when walking: pay attention to places where snakes camouflage in the road and scorpions borrow- always look down. In a place where contradictions are so blatant, it is such a blessing to have a God is constant and sovereign, a God who sees the poverty and the strays and is moved with compassion.

In my personal life, I have been working through the struggle of losing my independence. I have been meditating on Psalms 46 and in my devotional time this week I have been meditating on Matthew 16:25, “For whoever would save his life shall lose it: and whoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Before I thought the verse meant that if you give your life to Christ you gain eternal life. And, yes that is true, but I have been gaining a better understanding of how much deeper the message is. Giving my life may be something as simple- and as difficult- as giving up my right to do my own grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is probably one of the chores I most detest. Yet, when I came to Brazil and needed to rely on someone else doing that for me, it was hard for me to let go. But this week I began to release control. I think of it  like the Brazil version of Amazon- text John a picture of the shampoo you like and he will bring you home something similar within a few days. Amazon is a great thing, and the Brazil version is an acceptable second choice. This past week I also read Corrie Ten Boom’s autobiography The Hiding Place. Her testament and her faith was inspiring and caused me to ask myself hard questions and regain my focus.

Anna is very excited. She approached the principal of a local public school about starting Bible classes there. He was very excited to have her come. He said he was Catholic but didn’t understand the Bible and though it was wonderful she wanted to teach children how to understand the Bible. The school is tiny. Grades k-6. 60 students from a very poor community. The school has been robbed three times this year and vandalized. The state doesn’t mow the lawn so they can’t play outside because of the dangers in the tall grass. Please be praying for the school, the principal, Anna, and the students. I am hoping that maybe my schedule after the New Year will allow me to go with Anna. I would like to see first hand what a public school in Brazil is like and I would love to be part of sharing Christ with the children there.

In September, Anna and I are going to start a Bible study together. We go to church a lot, but all the messages are in Portuguese. Even though I am studying my Bible on my own and streaming Fellowships Sunday services, it is important to have someone to study with.

It’s hard making friends or meaningful connections when I can’t communicate more than pleasantries. I am a little frustrated. I spent this past year taking online classes daily and being tutored by Anna for an hour and a half every week. I was hoping to be more fluent than I am. Some days an entire day goes by without me having a single real adult conversation. The closest thing would be talking to Isaac about Pokemon, which is almost like a foreign language. I registered for online classes again and will start them on Monday. I am hoping it will help.

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Rachael

3 weeks in 🇧🇷 Brazil

Today marks three weeks of my life in Brazil.  Sometimes I feel like I just got here and am settling in and other times I feel like I have been away from home forever and can't wait to get back.

I have gotten accustomed to the wildlife here and no longer are bothered by new sounds in the night. The latest creature was a five-foot snake in the street. The gatekeeper killed him and then hung him by a tree so people could hold it and get their photo taken. Every time I look at the difference between my facial expression and my friend Anna's I laugh. I am thinking, no thanks I don't need to hold a dead, bloody, possibly poisonous snake. She was very excited about this photo opportunity.

I enjoy my days at the school. Children and teachers everywhere are the same and so I feel like I am in my element there, it is safe and familiar, even if I can't speak the language well.

Things in Brazil continue to amaze my American mind. Some examples: For anything you turn on here, red means on and green, means off, which confused me for quite some time. The streets in our development are not paved. They are littered with potholes and bricks. It is very much like driving through a construction site. However, someone thought it is a good idea to put in cement speed bumps. So they are in the process of doing this, and instead of using traffic cones to prevent you from driving over the newly poured speed bumps they just drag tree trunks out into the road (note: They do have traffic cones. I have seen them stacked at the front gate). These trees are difficult to see at night. Driving here is definitely a hazard to your health. I drove the kids too and from school this past week. Other teachers seem overly amazed that I was "learning" to drive. I didn't know that most women, especially single women, don't drive here. It cost about $1000 to get your license and that is an expense most people just can't afford.

Praises for God’s faithfulness this week: 1)John Snow (the family I’m staying with) officially became a Brazilian citizen which now enables him to do things like shop at Sam's club, make an income, and get health care. 2)The kids were able to get their social security numbers, which was not easy to do. They also need these numbers to get health care. They have filed the application for the healthcare and hopefully, the kids will be approved for a student discount. You can pray for that as it will be significant savings. 3) Earlier in the week, the value of the dollar increased to 4 reals. This is bad for Brazil's economy but good for those of us living in on the American dollar. John stays on top of this and does things like fill the cars with gas and bulk shop using a US credit card to get the best rate. 4) Not a single day has gone by that someone has not given me a piece of chocolate cake.

My personal praise is for Anna. She takes such good care of everybody. She spends many of her days waiting in lines at government offices- think hot DMV- often to be told to come back with more paperwork or different paperwork. She goes to the fruit market for us regularly and then comes home and spends a long time soaking and scrubbing everything with vinegar so that it is safe to eat. I have never asked her to buy anything, but she always makes sure to pick up things she has noticed I like. When I had to leave for work and the washer wasn't finished, she hung all my clothes out, and when I didn't make it home by sunset, she took all my clothes off the line and folded them.

Prayer requests: 1)This coming weekend is a big church planting conference. Ying Kai a missionary to Asia and some other church planting pastors are coming to speak and train. They are expecting a big turn out and hope many of the local pastors attend because when they plant a church they like to partner it with an existing church. 2) Deborah is trying to manage to learn to read in two different languages. Please that God will open up the barriers in her mind and allow her to have and celebrate successes. 3) I am struggling with my lack of independence. I feel like a child. I have to depend on others for everything from to take me to and from school to food shopping for me. And because it gets dark here so early, I often feel trapped inside. A friend had sent me a message and suggested I get a hobby. When I first read the message my thought was, I don't want a hobby. I want my life back. The life where Amazon delivers anything I want in two days. The life where I walk the beach every morning and watch the sunset over the bay each night. The life where laundry takes a half hour, not a whole day.  And as I was thinking those thoughts, I Corinthians came to mind-"You were not your own, for you have been bought with a price. So glory God in your body." I know this is where God wants me to be, and every day he has been faithful. Every night I go to bed having been fed, clean, healthy, safe, and comfortable. I have been blessed with a space that is my own.

I remember a message Pastor Phil preached many years ago on the Lord's prayer and how he said that as Americans we often don't fully understand the part, "give us this day our daily bread," how things are so easy for us we forget to lean on God for daily provision. I think that is what I am learning here, to truly lean into God moment by moment. I never use to pray when getting into a car unless the roads were icy or it was a long road trip. I pray for God's protection everytime we get in a car here. Although I would thank God for my food at home, I have truly developed a new attitude of thankfulness for having food I enjoy available. Yesterday I had mashed potatoes instead of rice for the first time. I was so grateful for mashed potatoes.  I also think I am growing to be more like Christ in the way I react to others. I am very conscious of the fact that I represent Fellowship. When I was in the airport and the worker was so mean to me over a mistake that the airline had made I consciously chose to walk away instead of saying the things going through my mind because I knew I represented Fellowship. Also while here, there have been a few instances where people have just been rude. The man who opened the door to the refrigerator section in the food store and sat in it to stay cool while he was on the phone. Well, I needed an item that he was blocking and he refused to move. In my head, I was thinking I have enough Portuguese skills to ask him what his problem is, but then I didn't because I represent our church and the school. That is when it occurred to me, isn't even more important that I represent Christ. How many times in the past did I not choose to walk away or speak with kindness because I didn't take that responsibility as seriously as I should have?

Love Rachael

Brazilian Independence Day