Week one Brazil

Olá,

Yesterday marks the completion of my first week in Brazil. It’s been a busy week filled with new faces, new foods, and new challenges, but God has been faithful in providing what I need just when I need it.

The Snow’s are very welcoming and have provided me with a very nice space of my own. The view out my window is beautiful and each morning I wake to sunshine and singing birds.

There is a lot of wildlife here. When I arrived at the house from the airport I was greeted by a tarantula on the front steps. There are large bats, little monkeys, lizards of varying sizes, scorpions, beautiful birds, and a frog the size of a dinner plate. Although I enjoy seeing the wildlife outdoors, I was less enthused by the giant spider in my bedroom and hearing bats screeching at night. I’m starting to get used to the new sounds and slept soundly the last two nights.

Water is such a precious gift. We take it for granted in the United States and so much of the world has limited access to drinkable water. Here, in our development, we are blessed to have a well. This means the water is safe enough to brush our teeth with, but still not able to be used for drinking. Although well water is a blessing, it brings with it its own set of challenges. The house has a cistern. Twice a day when the water table rises water will pump from the well to fill the cistern. However, if you use all the water in the cistern you are without water until it fills again. This makes conserving water very important. You can’t just run the sink on full blast while washing dishes. You can’t take excessively long showers and need to time laundry accordingly. There is no such thing as hot water.

Life in Brazil is more difficult than life in America. Doing Laundry here is a time-consuming task. It takes about three hours for a load of laundry to wash. You need to get up early enough to have the wash done in time to hang before work because it has to be dry by sunset when the bugs and bats come out. I am used to my jumbo washer that washes three loads of clothes in 30 minutes. We are spoiled in America.

Life in Brazil is expensive. Not only do we have to buy drinkable water, the price of basic necessities is outrageous. For example, a bottle of Tide laundry detergent costs $45 dollars. Gas is expensive. Things like baggies and paper towels are expensive. There are, however, other things that are more accessible.

Food in Brazil is incredible. Fresh fruit is always available, and it tastes juicer and sweeter than it does at home. There are different fruits here and so far I have enjoyed them all. Although I’m sure I will eventually miss some of our fruit specialties like blueberries. There also seems to be a lot of cake here. I have tried every new food I have been offered and so far haven’t found anything I didn’t like. I eat lunch at the school each day. It is a delicious home cooked meat that includes juice,  a salad, a fruit, rice, beans, a vegetable, the main food like chicken, fish, or beef, and a dessert.

This past week the school days were very long. I would get there at 7 and not leave until 4, but now that I have my class schedule and had the week to observe everything, Annapaula is going to drop me off and pick me up at different times.

The things I miss the most: 1) My Family and friends, but I thank God for the ability to FaceTime and be able to talk with them almost every day. I know some people don’t have that privilege. 2) Hot water, You know when you take a shower and someone flushed a toilet and for an instant, you get burnt. I would give almost anything for that kind of shower. I miss hot water very much. I think that is the hardest thing about living here, but I am grateful to have my own bathroom and have a well and access to drinkable water..3) My independence, It’s hard having to rely on other people to take you places.

God’s Faithfulness: 1)
God has placed people in my path to help me with things exactly when I need them. Especially, my prayer partners. It really helps me when I get that message from people saying they just prayed for me. 2) Annapaula has been a gift to me. She has so much on her own plate but always makes sure I feel comfortable even to the point of buying me snacks for my school day. 3) I am so grateful I can still connect to Fellowship through the streaming and videos. It helps me still feel part of our church and still get fed spiritually. 4) This week I have been wishing I packed somethings that I left at home (not that my 49-pound suitcase could hold anymore). When I plan lessons I can’t help but think of all the resources available to me at home. Then last night, all the women from the local churches came over with food and gifts for Annapaula. We had a devotional time together. Although I didn’t understand the conversation, I knew the passage in Matthew 6 that it talks about God will meet all of our needs. Then this morning my quiet time passage was Philippians 4 "But My God shall supply all your need." God is teaching me that he will meet all my needs, and maybe I need less than I thought I did.