Relationships

Do you think much about the relationships that you have? If you were to list all of the relationships/friendships that you have who would you include? Would you think of the guy who bags your groceries or the gas station attendant? Would you think of the mailman or your butcher (we have local butchers in Brazil)? Who would you include in your list?

I have been learning more and more about the importance of relationships in our daily lives. Ever since I went away to college I have been able to make friends fairly easily. In Brazil, however, it has been much more difficult. I have good intentions to befriend everyone I am blessed to have a conversation with. I pray often that the Lord would bless me with opportunities to become friends with more people, in particular Brazilians. Even though I have good intentions that doesn't mean that I am successful at making friends or even see those opportunities when they come my way.

One of my hindrances in Brazil has been the language barrier. Although I speak Portuguese at a much higher level now, it is still difficult to be myself in this foreign language. I like to joke with people and it is difficult to feel comfortable being that way in Portuguese. I feel that some of my Brazilian friends, mainly those in our church family, are starting to get to know me on a deeper level. I am happy about this, I really am. It is difficult, though, not to get frustrated when my friendships with Brazilians outside of our church family are not developing as quickly as I would like or when I am being myself but am not being understood.

Sometimes my difficulties with growing and maintaining friendships here are just plain comical! Over the last 2 and a half years, Jennifer and I have been growing friendships with 3 different couples in our apartment building. We have had dinner together and have had some good times getting to know one another. Okay, here comes the comical part: all three of these families have moved or are making plans to move out of our building just when we started getting close to them (or closer to them). One of the families moved to Italy (Tanja and Stefan). They are a really cool German couple that lived below us. We miss them dearly and pray that they are doing well. We have shot a couple of emails back and forth since their move, but that is about it. The other 2 couples will remain in Porto Alegre. We will be able to continue to maintain a friendship with each of them, but it is hard to know that we will not see them as often as we used to.

I really want to be Jesus to everyone I come in contact with. I want to know people and I want them to know me. I want to be comfortable with myself in Portuguese or any other language that the Lord calls me to learn. I want to know how to maintain the relationships that I do have and not allow anyone who comes into my life to "slip through the cracks". I want to be encouraged that the Lord is giving me opportunities to meet new people each day and I want to see them for what they are!

Please pray for these things along with me. Relationship are essential. I believe that they are absolutely vital to our ministry here on Earth. I pray that we honor and glorify our Father through our relationship and that many will come to know Him all because we had the courage to say, "Hello, my name is..."

More Baptisms!

This last week we added 2 more to our family! Marcio was baptized on Wednesday morning by Paul Morrow at the church building. His mother, Miguelina, and sister, Daniela, were baptized back in July. We are praying that the remainder of this family will make a decision to follow Jesus soon!

Also, Elizabeth, the daughter of one of our members was baptized in Canada this last week. Elizabeth left Brazil for Canada a few months ago to study English and work. She has been well cared for by Christians there. Praise God that she found a home away from home!

Paul and Marcio prepare for "the plunge"!

You can see the joy as Paul welcomes Marcio to the family!

Searching for Vision

Our church family here in Porto Alegre, Brazil is searching for a vision from the Lord. On September 24th we challenged the leaders and hosts of our Growth Groups to fast and pray about the future of this family for 40 days (picking specific days of the week to fast - not fasting for the entire 40 days).

We have been feeling a deep burden to change our focus and reach out to this city in a more powerful, impacting way. The American missionaries working with this church family believe that the Lord has already blessed us with a very specific vision. We are anxious about following this call of the Holy Spirit. We are praying that this 40 days of fasting and praying for a vision will call our members to the same vision we already have. We want to be a family "agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose." (Philippians 2:2, NLT)

I know that the Lord will unify us through this 40 days of vision searching. We ask you to be praying for us and our unity in the Holy Spirit. Please pray that the Lord would touch all of us and bring us to the same place in vision and hope for this church family and this city.

I have been convicted to separate myself from my computer and from tv for the next 7 days. I am excited about this fast because I know that the Lord will bless the times that I normally "surf" to grow my relationship with Him! My prayer is that this fast will be a way for me to be more productive in my searching after God and His purposes for me and this family.

I ask for prayers of strength, peace, courage, conviction and protection for our church family. We have already seen many attacks from the evil one because we are recognizing the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit. If you feel a burden upon your hearts to fast and pray with us we welcome you with open and loving arms.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and encouragement. Know that we are praying for you too!

Kid's Day!

October in Porto Alegre is a really great time! The weather starts warming up as we get into Spring. Flowers of purple, red, yellow and blue bloom from various trees throughout the city. It is a lovely time.

One of the things that makes October great in Brazil is Kid's Day. Children are really appreciated in Brazil. So, there is a special holiday designated to honor them. It usually falls on a Thursday in the middle of the month. On this day the children of Brazil don't go to school. They go to parties and are showered with gifts! It is like having their birthdays and Christmas all on one day! Needless to say, they really enjoy it.

It just so happens that the street that our church building is on closes down for a "block party" the Sunday before Kid's Day. This "block party" is called Criança na Avenida (literally translated: children in the street). When I say that the street is closed down I mean that no cars are allowed to drive down it. The street is full of pedestrianswalking from storefront to storefront and from activity to activity. Different groups and business owners have food stands out and games for the children to play. For the last 2 years we have made and sold Entreviero sandwiches (a mixed meat sandwich - very yummy!) and have all kinds of activities for passers-by. We sell the sandwiches to raise money for our Carnival Retreat. This helps us off-set some of the costs. Inside our building we have different games and a karaoke setup with Brazilian and American songs. The karaoke can be really funny sometimes! There is also a parade that goes down the street twice during the day. There is a small marching band and several different groups seeking exposure in the community. I think I saw the Lion's Club! We have built Noah's Ark for the last 3 years. It has been a huge way for us to be seen.

The greatest thing about the "block party" is the exposure. For the last 3 years we have had approximately 2,000 people come into or up to our building on this day. We hope and pray that our good attitudes and loving spirits touched people who came by this last Sunday.

This is me managing the selling of our sandwiches, drinks and cake. My first customer of the day!

Our member, Lauro Lima, is the master chef behind the wonderful Entreviero sandwiches.

This is our Noah's Ark float going down the street in the parade. If you look closely you can see some of our kids dressed up like animals. In this picture we have some ladybugs and a couple of lions.

This was Elisa's first parade - she was a bunny rabbit! You can see a picture of her on our other blog: www.terrysinbrazil.blogspot.com

We set tables and chairs up in front of our building for people to sit and relax and enjoy their food. Here you can see Jennifer eating a sandwich and visiting with some of our friends.

Jennifer and Elisa walked around and visited with people most of the day while I worked the cash register. It was a really fun day!