Going to the Airport can be an adventure. But it's even better, if you Do Your Hair for the occasion...!!! We went to get Timothy at the airport, and had fun with crazy hair-dos! :)
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"Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." Ecclesiastes 7:9 If Brasil has taught me one thing, (and it has taught me many!), it would be how far I have to go in my Walk with the Lord. As I finished reading through Proverbs and now in Ecclesiastes, I realized I was the "fool" Solomon was talking about. And only God can help me become "the wise man." (just for the record, in the picture to the left, I have heels on... yes, I am that short! ;) Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" Don't wish your day or your life away. Spend each moment In That Moment, finding satisfaction in the work that the Lord has given you to do. "Wherever you are, be there 100%." ~Jim Elliot Yesterday it stormed and rain... a cozy-feeling for Brasil. Last night, my family in the States watched a movie and ate popcorn. Last night, my family and I in Brasil watched a movie and ate popcorn. Do we ever really understand how blessed we are to have an immediate connection to all believers, and a Special connection to some believers in particular? =) I am blessed! Lord willing, I will be going to English Service today. This is where, on Saturdays, the church reaches out to those wanting to learn English and pairs it with the gospel. Those in the program may or may not be Christians, but they want to learn English. So first is a church service, and then classes for them! It is a wonderful Evangelism and outreach tool! Please pray that those attending hearts' would be opened and come to Salvation, and grow! =) No Wonder this world is a mess. People try to figure it out all of the time... we have problems because of the economy, or relationships, or lack of food, or lack of nice things. "Studies Show" how you can make your teeth whiter, lose weight, etc, and that all of these things will help you feel better. But honestly, if we'd start listening to God's Word and stopped listening to the world, we'd feel a lot better. (Okay, maybe not at first... because Really Listening to God's Word would make us uncomfortable with our current lifestyles. We'd have to change. THEN, we'd feel much better and more connected to our Forever Friend.) Jessica and I were reading a magazine, and our eyes bugged out when we came to the article that said... "Behaving badly, at least once in a while, can ease stress, put a smile on your face..." Are You Kidding Me? WAIT. It gets better... It gives 10 tips ~ ways to misbehave ~ that are Sure to Help you and Relieve Stress! Are you ready....? #1. Gossip (Um... what if you were the one being gossiped about? I feel like it wouldn't "put a smile on your face" or relieve any stress.) #2. Flirt with a man who isn't your husband (Turn the situation around. Can you spell Jealousy? Or forget jealousy... can you spell S-I-N?) #3. Read Erotica #4. Spend the day in your PJ's (in other words, be lazy. It says "You deserve a day of rest." I just have problems when anything has "you deserve" in it. I want to say, "You, Me, we all, deserve Hell. Sorry to break it to you." .... alright, so maybe that's a little harsh. But still. #5. Procrastinate, then tell yourself you're being creative (Again, be lazy. Don't manage your time so that you can accomplish the most out of your day for God and others) #6. Don't censor yourself (in other words, cuss if you want to, just not around kids. Puh-leeze.) #7. Eat two desserts, or have a third cocktail (Not that I've never been guilt of eating two desserts, but gluttony makes me feel pretty miserable. Not really happy.) #8. Be gleefully grabby (Selfishness is miserable. Veggie Tales song puts it this way, "Being Selfish/Doesn't Pay/I tried it/Just the other day/I wanted to be happy/I thought it was the way/But it weren't") #9. (Well, #9 wasn't super appropriate. So we'll skip it.) #10. Get mad and stay mad. Did you think that sounded as Terrible as I thought it did? What kind of advice is that? :) lol. I have to think God's Ten Commandments would relieve stress a little more effectively... That's just what I think. But Maybe I'm crazy ;) What do you think? Good advice? I suddenly realized that I have only a month left of being in Brasil, and that I have been here longer already than I have left to be here... and it has gone So Fast!
THANK YOU to each of you who are praying for me... I know that is why I have had little to no problems with my stomach the whole time I have been here! and that it has just been going so well in general! THANK YOU to each of you who wrote me a sweet note of encouragement... these mean So Much to me! =) (I still have a stack to read through this last month here... :) The hardest thing to leave here will be all of the new, dear friends I have made. I'll get my first taste of saying good-bye to these New Dear Friends on Thursday, when the basketball team leaves. They've been here three weeks and have been quite fun to get to know and hang out with! Please continue your prayers for the children at the school ~ they need Christ as much as the children in Living Stones! (please pray for them, as well!!!! :) Post TwoHaha so, in the middle of typing the previous post, the little guy who cries woke up and started Crying. SO, I hit "post"... but then realized I hadn't finished... haha ;)
... I am allowed so much joy! And joy for me comes in bucket-fulls when I feel connected. When I belong. And as a Christian: I will belong in many, many places where Christ's Love is active! =) And so will you, as part of the Body of Believers! What a blessing! =) Think of all of the Christians you are blessed to know; Those you have been blessed to meet for a short time; and those you won't know on this earth, but will in Heaven; ALL of them are part of our family! :) Take some time to Give Thanksgiving to Jesus for this blessing from Him! It was a good, long weekend! Friday night I went to bed at 7:45, and didn't get up until 8am Saturday morning!! ;) lol
Saturday night, Jessica, Stephanie, Rebecca and I stayed at the hotel with the Master's College Team. That was a fun time! Sunday morning, I had breakfast with Whitney, Shannon, and Lindsey. We all sat talking for a long time! (In fact, Whitney and I talked until lunch... four hours later!) It was such a blessing to converse with them! During our 4-hour dialogue, Whitney and I covered everything from politics to relationships to colleges to Greek & Hebrew to Creation & Evolution to personal testimonies and Christ's work in lives! :) It was awesome! During the conversation, this dawned on me: We have a connection. Not basketball. (Have you seen me play?? ... And she's very good! :) Not profession. Not school. Not where we live. (She's from the West Coast; I live in the Corn Belt.) It was our faith. Our faith in Jesus linked us together across thousands of miles and a span of interests to meet in a country where neither of us lived or spoke the language, but were in that country with others who had Our Faith in common! This may seem like I am stating the obvious... but think about it. Really think about it. If I had never met Whitney, or any of the girls on the team, or any of the Brasilian pastors and their families, or Miss Susan and Mr. Rogerio, Rachel or the Turners, or Pastor Tele and Miss Heather, or Jessica or Stephanie (the list could go on and on), we would STILL all meet each other in heaven and spend FOREVER with each other! However, I DID meet all of these people... but we are far apart in miles. Will I consistently see them like I see my youth group friends? .... no. And that could make me sad. OR, I could choose to see it as a season, just as each time in our lives is. Highschool is a season. College is a season. Living certain places is a season. Certain friends are for certain seasons. Brasil is for a season. And when I look at my life in seasons, I see a beautiful masterpiece painted by a Master Painter. He knits it together so wonderfully complex and yet simple, that it amazes me I'm allowed so much joy! (I have a lot of joy at this very moment, because the little boy who cries and cries in my class has fallen asleep! Praise the Lord! He was so tired... now he's not screaming and miserable, and I don't have a headache! We're both happy! ;) (Oh, and the picture above has absolutely nothing to do with the post... it's just a fun picture we took at the beach! ;) First week of school: Exhausting, but a success! Praise the Lord for giving me strength to go each day ~ I made it all five! =) (That's a HUGE praise... it's a 5:45am wake-up, 7:20-4pm at school, and a few of the evenings we had activities.) SO, Yay! It was a lot of fun! Monday and Tuesday and Thursday, I did Nursery (2 year olds) in the morning and Kinder 1 in the afternoon (3-5-ish year olds). Then, Wednesday and Today, I was a T.A. in English class in the afternoons for 3rd, 8th, and 9th grade. (An awesome quote from Wednesday's 9th grade class: Teacher David: "It is Teacher Molly's Birthday today ~ she's 52." Student: "I thought she was 30!" ... not sure if the kid was serious or not, but it made me laugh! ;) Today, by forgetfulness, and accident, the 3rd grade teacher was Late to class. SO, with no training accept for what I got on Wednesday, I taught English As A Second Language today! Haha! .... actually, it's not quite as "professional" as it sounds ;) We played hangman (in English); I broke up a pushing escapade and a couple of kids stood in the corners until they apologized; I enforced the rule of raising your hand before you speak (a very difficult one...), and we sang and danced to the Hokie-Pokie! The Master's College Basketball team also had a good week in Carpina doing Basketball Clinic! Two children accepted Christ today ~ so Huge Praise! =)
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