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