confessions of thanksgiving....

I have a ton to be thankful for.....

Let's see - the stillness of this moment...and then the wind SLAMMING the door...I almost fell out of the hammock.

Or, let's talk about the total "TommyBoy" moment I had last week. I stopped at the store to get a few things before work one morning which caused me to catch the late bus. No problems with the bus-just a little later than I ever want to be there and I'm by myself. So-I cross one stream of traffic and make it to the median (which is like a parking lot) and proceed to head across the other stream of traffic..... but somehow as I proceeded-I was stopped by sudden tripping over the cracked sidewalk. Normally this wouldn't be funny but today-oh yes. By this time the morning traffic was flowing pretty heavily and there were tons of buses all around-not to mention the light turning green for the oncoming traffic to come straight toward me as I fell into the far lane of traffic. 10 seconds later and I would have been hit or I would have hit a car (that would have been amusing...can you imagine the driver?). Not only do I fall but my backpack goes FLYING over my head and for a split second I think---yes, this is funny to a couple hundred people and I think I actually chuckled at the scenes in my head. Falling is funny sometimes. I was up in about 6 seconds and out of the way. I'm sure you could imagine my prayers of thankfulness for the last two blocks of my trek.

Hmm, I'm thankful for the beautiful relationships here. I have several Brasilian friends that make my job completely amazing :) Rebeca is the secretary and her mom calls me her "American daughter" in which I love. They are such a precious family to me. Rebeca's sister, Gabi, is also amazing. She could be one of the best translators I've ever had. Truly a servant using God's gifts. She never fails to go with me on Saturday nights and I'll be eternally thankful to her for this.

And then there's Raquel. Hmm, servanthood. Her attitude is positive, encouraging, and loving. She has a way with the students in which is a mystery to me. She's like a mother hen-they all just follow her-no matter what age. We are different and yet-we work so well together. We've shared a classroom two times this year and basically team taught. I'll forever look up to her. God uses her to teach me something new.....almost every day!

She also invited me to go to church at IPN-a place where I've fallen in love with God's people and their diligence to the Word of God. I'm truly amazed! I believe that I'm going to the best church in Brasilia!

Story of the week:

So one of my students has a problem with some of his underwear.....I mean-a real problem. I don't know if they are just a bit uncomfortable or ....what, but on one occasion I recovered them from the garbage can. This was a huge deal as I ended up calling his mom to confirm that the lizard camoflauge undies were his...ahh. Well, I thought he was over doing that until yesterday---I hear this loud giggling and someone yell, "Ahh, UNDERWEAR in the sink!" "Who left their underwear in the bathroom?" I went to calm them down and I knew immediately whose they were. I looked over and he shook his head no. The other little boys kept on and on about this matter......and finally he said,"WHOSE GOING THROUGH THE TRASH!!"

I love it when they tell on themselves. Better yet, I love writing in the agenda, "I don't think he is very fond of the underwear he was wearing yesterday-we found them in the bathroom." Ah. Kindergarten. I don't know that I'll ever have a class quite like them.

More to come.....

I'm also thankful for my Mom whose love endured many hard years of raising me and even some years of distant hellos. I love that she is serving God in Cuba this Thanksgiving. :)

Three of our five family members will be overseas all at the same time in just a few days. Sharing God. Thank you to the people who help make that possible-for obeying the convictions of your heart and for giving. It is a truly a privilege and I recognize it as just that. "He doesn't need me but He chooses to use me." I'm thankful. Thank you, God.

Hey everyone! Whew! Just got in from an action packed weekend! Probably one of the most back to back "new" experience weekends I'll have here in Brasil (I can spell it that way, right, I live here....)




First, I went to Hillsong-a free (with a donation of a kilo of food) concert. It was really cool to see so many people singing the same Hillsong favorites "Mighty to Save" "Worthy is the Lamb" there were others such as "Shout to the Lord".... We got there at 6 and waited until 10pm for Hillsong to come on. It is always in true Brasilian fashion to be late-fashionably and unfashionably :) I relearn that every single day.









Next, I attended my first Brasilian wedding! The BIS Secretary from last year got married on Saturday. She had an evening wedding that I wore a prom-like dress (no kidding). My informant told me that weddings are a BIG DEAL! And she was right-most people were dressed-not in their Sunday best-but their formal finest! Some were dressed semi-formal--but it was really nice! The power went off in the middle of the ceremony-so that was interesting. Cake, Guarana, water, and Coke were served to us (we stood at the reception) along with chocolate "bon bons".




Some Brasilian wedding stats:

• it is common for the Bride and Groom to sing to each other during the ceremony.....Tayana and her husband did--as she was walking down the isle. Quite amazing she could hold that together-that would never fly in the us!
• the bride is ALWAYS at least 30 minutes late....more common that she is later than that.....we waited for 1 hour!
• the bridesmaids and groomsmen come down the isle but then sit on the front pew. Typically the parents sit up on stage.
• Usually there is a "fake" cake that is made or "rented"-it is absolutely beautiful but not eaten.....(different, huh!)
• The bride 9 times out of 10 rents her dress. She can pay a lot of money to have the "first wear" of a dress that she gets designed for her wedding-but it will still be rented. They can pay up to 2,000 reals for a "rented" wedding dress. insane-right? but then-they don't have it rotting in their closets.
• sometimes the weddings start at like 7:30-8:00; the reception starts about 10pm, and they dance and celebrate until wee hours of the morning. These weddings are usually very expensive and the hosts will buy guests a pair of haviana flip flops (around 14-20 reals) to dance in.

Amazing!

Last, I attended a camp with the Youth (ages 18-35) from the Igreja Presbyterian Nacional (the church I regularly attend) and it was amazing! I'm building relationships, loving these people, and watching their cultural norms unfold before my eyes. I'm doing a lot of observing and trying to figure out what to say when EVERYONE asks, "So, how is your Portuguese?" This is really a blessing---but it is still very hard for me to think of things to say to them. I get really embarrassed because I don't know all the rules and if I just say anything-it ends up being SOO wrong or really funny. As much as I like to laugh and joke (and be joked with)-I really hate getting laughed at because of my Portuguese. It does not come very natural to me yet and therefore makes it difficult to think of things to say when put on the spot. So-I am challenged to study and make a better effort. People are no longer allowing me to speak English (which is truly a blessing-I promise) and I praise God for this push to try harder.

I'm running again...and I hate it. Running clothes get on my nerves....once I ignore the fact that they are going to ride up or fall down---it is sweet and I end up organizing thoughts, relaxing, and pondering the hard things of the day. So-it's therapeutic and that is the only thing that keeps me going back.....because I truly detest it.

In my Bible reading-I should be through the whole Bible by May 25th. This is if I read 5 chapters a day (I read one chapter from 5 books every day). Lately, I've been in Leviticus, Psalm, Isaiah, John, and 2 Thessalonians(sp.) It is so sweet how sometimes 3 and 4 of these books will line up and talk about the same things-even with my random way of going through the Bible. Just another awesome wonder of God :)

I miss you guys! I will be home in about 35 DAYS! I can't believe it! I've already filled my Itunes classroom playlist with my favorite Christmas HYMNS and of course David Crowder's Feliz Navidad. I've decided that it is okay to start this early because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving (only our BIS staff)--so we're gonna do Christmas for like a month!! It's kind of hard though since I'm used to sipping on hot chocoloate, bundling up in a blanket, fighting with my grandparents over the thermostat, and of course Thanksgiving all building up to Christmas. I think many of my plans for the next month include my bathing suit.....so....it won't feel like Christmas until I hug my parents and my nose begins to run in the 30 degree weather :)

Prayer Requests

• Taylors and Stephanie Downing-Visas and prep to come (hopefully early Jan.)
• Our staff has been asked to make resignations as soon as possible in order to begin recruiting early (because of the visa process)-so there is a little stress going around about that.
• My sending church, CrossPoint Baptist-they purchased land a few months ago and still greet many guests on a weekly basis. Last Sunday they had 50 guests! How Cool! Pray for their Outreach ministry and what to do with all the new faces!! They also have an awesome College Ministry that keeps growing and growing!!!
• For my students and their families during the Christmas season. We will put on a Christmas program that is required for all students and most families will attend :) This is a great way to share and show the Gospel!
• For our school. We JUST finished Phase I of renovations. We are encountering some opposition in different areas and it is vital that we stay on our knees, humbled, and seeking God in all areas of our lives and in this school.
• For our principal, Scott Bose
• For the ministry opportunities that I've encountered and will be involved very soon!!

confessions of Gadsby's Hymnal

As I was looking for some new music this weekend-I stumbled across Red Mountain Church (of Birmingham, AL) and their "Gadsby Project" to which I quickly became a bit enamored. I quickly decided that I wanted the "Help My Unbelief" album. I've found many encouragements in this beautiful collection. I have even added Gadsby's Hymnal to my Christmas Wishlist.

I think all of us struggle with some form of a past sin whether it be hidden, confessed, or repented (or maybe all three)-and I had a conversation this week that basically said, "My unbelief is my stronghold". About 30 minutes later, I realized that this is so true. Our unbelief is the stronghold. It's not that God doesn't have the power to heal us-it is simply our unbelief-our flesh, this earth, and maybe our deep condemnation.



William Gadsby was a Baptist minister from a poor background and as a child he went to a hanging. It is said that this ghastly sight forever "preyed upon his mind" in terms of eternity. I think of this and how the spectacles of our lives prey upon our minds. These things should drive us to share the gospel-through our words and lives with others. We should be haunted by the eternity of others-to be forever sharing our eternal perspective with others. I can confess that I'm not impacted by that enough.



He ministered for 38 years at St. George's Road Baptist Chapel and traveled 60,000 mostly by foot to preach the Gospel. In 1938, he and his son, John, started a magazine called "Gospel Magazine" which is still in print.



Ol' Gadsby must have been a force to be reckoned with at his time. I think he would have been a modern day Mark Driscoll-very practical, truthful, shocking, convicting, and seen as crazy. I can see that-he was not a fan of musical instruments in church. He was not afraid to argue for the sake of the truth. He was also weary of missionaries because he felt like many of them preached erroneously and spread false doctorines.. Hmm. Yikes! A part of me wants to rebuke him and in another way-I know my missionary friends and I have experienced some very confused people-confused by the doctorine taught by missionaries.



This is what was said of Mr. Gadsby by Richard Lord,

"It is now nearly forty years since the devil and I were friends, and now during that time we've had many a conflict; but if the devil has begun to send such men as Mr. Gadsby to preach the gospel as he does laying the sinner in the dust and exalting the dear Redeemer, then the devil and I will be friends for ever."



One man so disliked Mr. Gadsby that he went to towns and preached against him. This man was soon dismissed from his congregation-to which Mr. Gatsby sought him out. From then on, these men were friends to death.
As I continued to read a biography of his-I became more enthralled.....and suddenly I was on the 110th page and out of time. ....so I leave you with these few thoughts in hopes you will check out some of his hymns....ahh....beautiful.
To read his biography online:
http://books.google.com/books?id=rTZsc7rMBzkC&pg=RA1-PA74&lpg=RA1-PA74&dq=William+Gadsby+and+Andrew+Fuller&source=bl&ots=pffuWtItip&sig=ZXyiH--fqMxovh0T9lXu7FTJcv4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PRA1-PA113,M1
I could not put it down (or close it if you could say that about my laptop..) :)