People, we have a lot to catch up on...

 

I will start where I left off... 


The Beach! 
I spent 3 days at the beach with Tati, Wellington, and the Gordon College team. We went from Monday to Wednesday, stayed in a hostel which was pretty small but was pretty nice too. We actually had some sun breaks, though the weather man said it would rain the entire time we were there. So that was awesome!  

Come on, Sunshine!!!

Tati and Wellington <3

Not so great weather....

The group that went out swimming during the rain, lightning and thunder storm!

There was a Strawberry Festival going on, so we stopped in for some dessert.

I had the opportunity that Tuesday to Skype with Heidi and the boys. I just cried seeing them and hearing their voices! How much I have missed hearing their crazy laughs and screeches! 

CAMP CALIFORNIA! 

After the beach, we came back to reality... but really that just meant re-packing our bags from Camp California! The team from Arcade Church in Sacramento, CA came on Friday. This team has been really awesome. I feel like I am learning a lot from their leaders, Pastors Dan and Jeremy. Dan has lead a couple different time of prayer, both unique and in ways I have not done before. And Pastor Jeremy has been teaching a class on Biblical Counseling, which for me with the dream to become a counselor in the near future, has been really enjoyable as I have found new verses in the Bible that could help me with Christian counseling in the future. 

Sleeping on the way to camp!

Futebol time!

Crafts!

Bonfire!!

we were all so sleeeeeeepy, but didn't want to leave the comfort of
1) each other and 2) the fire. 

dancing by the pool!

Modelo and I

Marcia and I

Most beautiful eyed kiddo and I

LETICIA and I!!

funny kid...

SO HAPPY!

The boys at this camp had to be some of the most loving and funny boys I have met so far. They were always dragging me to do stuff and making me smile (: 

Girls from my cabin!

flowers the boys gave me (: 

stairway to heaven!

SUNSHINE!! God is my light, for what shall I be afraid. 

Michael and I!

William and I, being us... 

We traded glasses (: 

love these boys!

Distractions and God's hand in them...

This camp was really good for me on many levels. I had time to sit and talk with a few very special women down here. Tati and I had a few cuddle seshs while we listened to the girls laughing and being wild in our cabin; I took some time to talk with Courtney who lived here for 6 months just last year. I have been struggling with some distractions, aka the difference in boys with the whole touchy feely stuff and one handsome ministry guy... Her and I talked about the differences in the culture and how she handled similar situations with men during her time here. It gave me the insight and courage to approach this specific guy about how I was feeling. 

 I needed to make a point that I am here as a Missionary, as an example, and not as a girl looking for a 3 month fling of a boyfriend... So we had this discussion over Google Translator. God you are good for providing a way. (1 Corn. 10:13). 

It was a huge relief to just let him know where I stand. It wasn't that anything in particular had happened, we hadn't kissed or anything. It was just the flirtiness and attention that was going both ways that needed to be addressed. So having that out on the table provided a way to make sure that those lines were drawn clearly, for BOTH of us. 

Learning Portuguese!

We arrived from camp just in time for Sunday night church service. This service had some INCREDIBLE worship. The church was PACKED. It was AWESOME! It reminded me of what Brazilian worship really is all about: the clapping, the loud singing, the swaying from side to side, the mighty prayers being lifted up. 

What was most exciting to me about this service was that I actually started singing in Portuguese....WOAH! This was the first time I felt myself truly worshiping WITH the Brazilians, whereas usually on Sundays I just sit there and hum... this time I was smiling through the words, kinda pronouncing some of the words, and just praising God like I wanted to. 

On Monday I had my first formal Portuguese lesson with Camila. It went really well! I learned how to conjugate all verbs based on how they end. YAY!

It gets better, on Tuesday while we were in Iguatami favela, William and I walked around to some of the homes to let the women know that we were having a service for them that afternoon. Some of the women invited us into their homes for a brief visit. One of these was the home where William had given a bible just the week before to a younger woman named Aline just the week before. We took some time and William read a little from Psalms. Afterwards, he began to pray for her. (I tear up thinking about this moment, and I know God was there, He was in me, He was ever present.) 

I understood William's prayer in Portuguese. His prayer for Aline's husband, for work for him; for their daughter and family; for Aline as she seeks to find truth in the Word. I sat there responding with "amens" and "yes, Jesus" as if he was praying in English. 

We walked out and I told him that I understood his prayer, and I repeated what I had heard. He got a big smile on his face and just replied with, "I love this time we have together. You are learning so much so fast." I couldn't help but cry. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for that special moment. 

Bible Studies this week!

Tuesday night I had my first bible study with the young women (18-23) from the church. It was a small group, only four of us. But I think it went pretty well! 

This week I am talking with all of my groups about the lies and deception that Satan feeds us. I (we) are constantly under attack by him. He picks at the things that he knows we are lacking confidence in; body image, relationships/friendships, capability to complete a task, courage to talk to that person you have been wanting to talk to, courage to tell your family about Christ, or your new friend that you are a Christian, or.... and it goes on and on. 

I shared a few verses with the girls about the TRUTHS that God has written for us drawing back to a few specifics: 

We are Accepted. We are Beautiful. We are Secure. We are Protected. We are Capable. 

 

Yesterday in Promorar with my younger girls (from ages 11-14) we talked about the same things and I found that they were more willing to discuss the things that Satan feeds to them. We went from these lies, to what they are worried about, to what their dreams are, to being reminded that they are capable and worthy of bigger and better things, but only through Christ who strengthens us. 

Two sisters from my bible study in Promorar

Sweet girl who I have been snuggling with each week. She won't say a word to me, but loves to sit on my lap and play with my hands and nails. She is sick right now, I could feel her wheezing as she sat with me.
Please pray for her, her name is Victoria. 

I feel really blessed to have had this week. I was feeling for a little while that not much has really been changing, that I am living here kinda going through the motions, doing what I am told and nothing really special. That I wasn't really making a difference in others lives and that mine too wasn't really changing. God opened my eyes to show me that I really am growing, NOTHING is normal here, you have to grow to keep up! 

On to Today's trials...

Well, I found out that my bank information had been stolen and someone was able to make a duplicate of my card to use in stores. In two days, this individual spent nearly $1,500. All of my money. 

I broke down immediately. I was able to get a hold of my aunt Heidi who was able to call the bank for me to then put them on speaker phone while I was on Skype with her. We out a permanent block on my card. Later today, I was able to call the bank again to find out how to rebutle the charges made on my card. They will be mailing me forms to take to get notarized and then sent back in order to get the money that was stolen back. The difficulty here is notarization works very differently, you have to have the two pieces of Brazilian IDs in order to register your signature. We were kind of able to get a hold of the U.S. Embassy, so we know that they can do it, but the cost is $25 per document (I think it is one document per charge made, and there is a full page and a half worth of charges this person made). We have to call back tomorrow to find out more information. Prayers please. 

Though this really upset me today, I have so much support that I cannot deny God's Love for me. Realizing I am in a country far far away with nothing but eleven reals on me (that's about $5.50) yet there is no doubt that I will be taken care of, I cannot help but thank God. 

After lunch, Leticia went upstairs with the guitar. I followed her, of course. I walked in, started to just sing and cry in thanksgiving. 

My God never leaves or forsakes me.