This morning was normal, uneventful. We went to lunch at Alcance, and then I accompanied the ladies from GCC to their last too "Ladies' Teas" as part of outreach. (GCC is here on a short-term mission trip, and they leave tomorrow.)
The first "Tea" (where we actually have coffee and brownies! Ahh, I've eaten so many sweets!! ... and it was wonderful ;) Quick fact: ingredients are in Portuguese, so even though I did try to read a few, I am unable. So, I just eat it!;)
ANYWAYS, it was at Paudalho that I met Alexandra.
I asked how old she was, and she said 19. I told Rachel that later and she smiled and said maybe 17... they really don't know. And since they don't know, they can be whatever age they want.
Alexandra's story is here, put together by Rachel for this months' newsletter... (sweet Cathy Flink is in a picture in this video! Watch for her! :)
Which brings me to my next story! I got to meet Camila this evening at Cajueiro Claro, the little girl that my family sponsors through Living Stones!!! =)
They are the sweetest couple ever... caring, adorable, loving, etc. Jeff was telling me how hard they work, day in and day out. Next time you see a missionary, shake their hand and tell them thank you for sticking it out in the tough times... lol That leads me to the next story!
Flavio (being the amazing guy that he is!) went to pick up a few people for church who otherwise wouldn't have been able to come. (Life of a pastor... when he married Marcia, his wife, last December, they were able to have 3 of the Living Stones kids come to the wedding! Flavio, the groom, picked them up right before the wedding! This was the first wedding the kids ever saw, and so Rachel said... Well, okay, that's a whole nother story. Back to the one I was on!;)
So, being the kind pastor he is, he picked up the people. He also took them home afterwards. The team and I are all at the church, waiting on Flavio to get back so that he can drive the Kombie back down "The Hill" for us (a video of the road we drove is following, hopefully tomorrow. When I get back to the States, I will gladly Silence anyone who has "bad road" complaints.) We are waiting.
Flavio, instead of driving up in his car, comes running up in bare feet that are covered in mud. His car is stuck. Really Stuck. This is a bad picture, but it might give you some idea...
Imagine this... we are literally in the middle of no where, the car is stuck, it is 10:30 at night, pitch black, cars are a lot heavier than I thought, mud is sticky, mosquitos are biting, etc.
Flavio broke up pieces of brick and wedged them under the wheel, trying to get traction. When they pumped the gas, it sprayed water, mud, and the bricks right out from under it.
After about try number 18001 (jk... like after try 4, and each try takes quite some time), Flavio jacked up the car, and Jeff, Flavio, and Paulo lifted/pushed the car backwards about a foot. Then it would be past where the jack was holding it. So Flavio would then jack it up again, the guys would repeat the process.
I like to think I helped... I prayed, observed, and encouraged. And actually, I did push. Plus, when Jeff was pushing, I wedged a board under his foot and held it while he pushed the car, because before he just slipped right backwards. Flavio was barefoot and so didn't have as much trouble.
Praise the Lord, we got the car out. And we didn't get stuck getting home!! =)
What makes a person want to live with these challenges, day in and day out? The Adventure? yeah... maybe for a little while. But not for a life time. Unless you are working for something bigger and more important than yourself. And I don't just mean "helping people." I mean something that matters for eternity: telling people about a personal relationship with Christ. THAT is what counts. Flavio and Marcia, Jeff and Lindsey, Tele and Heather, and so many other pastors here work So Hard. Pray for them. Encourage them. Send them a Thank-You note.
And pray for their work... pray that the Holy Spirit would open hearts to receive Salvation, in Brasil and in the States! =)
........ It's not 1:17am and I'm exhausted! Good night! :-)