The Reason for all of this

It is nearing our time here in Brazil and though it has not quit ended we are still beginning to really reflect a little more. For me (Paul) I finally had a few moments last week that reminded me why I teach. One of my main goals as a teacher is to equip kids with the skills sets they need for the future. One way I try and accomplish this is to make them self-learners. So often, all semester in fact, we here the constant whine of students saying 'oh, teacher I don't know' or 'oh, teacher, I can't'. I feel as teachers we sometimes don't want to here the whine anymore so we simply give the answers. Or we can say 'yes you can' until we are blue in the face, but when that moment comes when the student realizes that they can do it on their own, it is an awesome look on their faces. We had those moments last week. I was trying to help kids learn context clues to figure out words they don't understand either verbally or written. Most often they rely upon the dictionary, which is a momentary fix but not a long term help, or they ask a classmate who knows. (another form of a dictionary) At the beginning of the week, we went through a book and all I heard was 'oh, teacher I don't know or oh, teacher I can't.' Through some stress, and thinking through a little bit we finally got it!! It was great. The reason why I love teaching. I could almost see the light bulb go on above their heads and the flash of smiles that comes over their faces. They are so proud when they get it on their own. Since English is such a pivotal attribute for the future success of these children, it is really cool to be able to help them better their futures.

Ruth and I decided that we won't really see the fruits of our labor (per say) but we have been confirmed over and over that this is where God needed us to serve; whether it was to serve the kids or serve the need of the Alcance. All in all, what joy it is to be where God wants you to be and to also be in the will of God. (The safest place to be) Or at least, when you feel like you are. :-)

Happy Birthday Paul!

First thing...Happy Birthday to Paul! Today is his 25th birthday! We went to Recife last night to celebrate. We looked for a dog cage with no luck, watched Robin Hood in English in a huge theater, and had some amazing pizza! The pizza restaurant had all kinds of decorations and a floor of sand. It was a great time out. Special thanks to Jeff, Lindsay, and Emily for taking us to Recife, paying for dinner and a movie, and helping us on the adventure of finding a dog cage. So cheers to Paul and another great year of life.

This last Wednesday we were able to go play soccer at the church in Guadalajara where we teach English classes. They have a concrete gymnasium and it is perfect for indoor 3v3 futsol. Paul and I didn't know what to expect but were excited to play. Duda, the Mr. Fix-it of Alcance, lives in Gaudalajara. So Paul and I gave him and his 8 year old son a ride home (we borrowed Jeff & Lindsay's car) after school because soccer started at 5:30. They invited us into their home, showed us around, offered us snacks, and even let Paul use his indoor soccer shoes, since Paul only has thick soled tennis shoes. Then we went over to the church and got to play. There is a man who we call Stan that also goes to that church that speaks English very well. He was probably the best player there, and luckily Paul and I got to play on his team. We actually did alright. The Brazilians usually play until someone scores and then the team that got scored on leaves the field and the next team comes on. So if you win, you get to play lots of games! Paul and I played a total of maybe 8 games! So we held our own! It was very exhausting but really fun too. It is neat because most of the players are non-Christians and halfway through the evening, Duda gave a devotional. There are so many opportunities for soccer ministry here in Brazil!!! It's cool because we can take something that they love and many times make their god and use that to lead them to the True, Living God. I am thankful for my many years of soccer playing and being able to use them here in Brazil. Glory Socccer is also going well. We had around 35 younger players here this morning and maybe 15 older ones this evening. We have started doing youth group type activities for the boys on Saturday nights, including a devotion, which has been very successful. Novinho has been doing a great job helping to start and lead the Glory Soccer ministries. I can see his love, hard work, and passion for these boys.

Paul and I are in a great community here. I am so thankful for all the positive relationships we have been able to make. The people are so open, friendly, generous, and welcoming. It is so nice to be able to eat breakfast with your neighbor while discussing cultural differences, or trying to talk to a Brazilian who has never left Carpina while we are giving the dogs a bath, or being welcomed into a home on short notice, or being given a trip to Recife time and time again, or being given bread from a man whose father owns a bakery, or being graced with an uplifting conversation with great patience from the Portuguese speakers. We are so thankful for the community we have been welcomed to here. Back in the States it is so easy to be secluded and hardly interact with others outside of work. We have been graced with many great friends and we love all the interactions. After passing our half way mark last week, this is one of the things we will miss most about Brazil. I encourage you, if there is a foreigner near you, please, invite them into your home with hospitality and friendship. It means so much to be invited into someone's home and can be a very positive and eye-opening experience. Don't miss the opportunity!

Blessing and Becoming Brazilian

We praise God for his wonderful gift of bringing us here to Brazil. We are really enjoying our time here and feel filled with the joy of the Lord.

First off, Paul and I are going to try to take a yellow Labrador puppy home with us!
They breed them here at the school to raise money for the ministry. Paul and I have wanted a dog for awhile especially since we are going to wait to have kids. When a litter of puppies was born I thought it would be so cool to have a dog from Brazil. That way we could always remember this trip and how the Lord provides for us in so many ways. We wanted to give him a Brazilian name and we finally found a perfect one: Bênção. It means blessing in Portuguese. The only thing is that it is really hard to pronounce! Paul and I have been asking how to say it but we have to practice it a lot to get it right. It kind of sounds like Benson but a little different. He will be seven months old tomorrow. We praise God for our new blessing!

Paul and I feel more and more Brazilian every day. Carpina is about 3 miles away and we only get to go there about once a week for groceries and such. We have to either get a ride from Jeff and Lindsay, take the bus, or walk. This week we found out that there is a bike here that we can use to ride into town. But yes, only one. We needed to get some things in town so we decided to try something we see many other Brazilians doing.....the man pedals and the woman rides on the back. It was great! I had such a lovely time. Paul was all sweaty and tired, but it was great for me! Plus we really enjoyed the freedom of being able to go to town by ourselves and buy groceries! It was a great time!

Secondly we are getting a bit more comfortable with the language and are able to communicate a least a little bit with almost anyone. It is still frustrating at times, but we have improved in leaps and bounds since we got here. We have been talking to lots of Brazilians and making new friends too. We went to two different Brazilian homes this week which were both great experiences. We had dinner at a good friends house last night. The night before all the Glory Soccer coaches went to the home of one of the boys who plays soccer here. His mom has terminal cancer so we shared some scriptures and prayed together which was hard but good.

We appreciate and value the culture here. I especially like the way things are laid back and relaxed. They aren't so worried and uptight about having good manners like we are. They seem so friendly and comfortable with us from the very beginning.

Lastly, the Preschool class dressed up for a birthday party this last week and I thought they were all so cute so I had to share the picture.

Olinda!

Olinda is right. This is the oldest town in Brazil. It means, Oh Beautiful City. For when the man who came to this spot, he said 'oh, what a beautiful place for a city.' One of the reasons we went is bitter sweet.
Jon Wright and Betsy Galbraith are leaving this Friday. We are all very sad for them to go. Not only has it been nice having them around, but they have also done a lot of great work since they have been here. Since they are leaving, we were all blessed with a trip to Recife and Olinda Saturday. This was a great 9 1/2 hour day. First, we went to one of the original streets of Olinda, which is basically a northern suburb of Recife. Like I said, it is the oldest city in Brazil. It was originally settled by the Dutch. It had a mix of Jewish people and Christian Dutch. You can tell the Dutch influence, because apparantly they are big into the bright pastel colored buildings. It was very cool to see all the colors and old, old architecture. When the Portuguese came, their forceful Catholic dominance and persecuting looting drove the Dutch out. When they left, they went straight to what is now called New York. (Kinda interesting)

The second picture you see is from on top of the highest point in the town. It was an awe inspiring view. You can see almost all of Recife with its ridiculous amount of skyscrapers. The old architecture and colorful paint filled the streets: as did all the tourist street vendors.
Afterward, we went to the mall and hung out to cool off in the A/C. It was nice to hang and talk for awhile. Then, we were treated to one of the best restaurants that I have ever eaten at. It was a Brazilian steakhouse you only hear about! Of course, we had the green sign for go on the meat, or the red sign that says, ENOUGH, I can't take anymore! The food was so good that I couldn't hardly stand it. It was also very nice to speak with Tele and Heather more. It was so kind of them to make us feel very welcomed and spend time with us all. We talked, laughed, and just hung out: it was cool. There are good people here and God is really with this place.

Jubilation

I am also so grateful to be able to speak more freely about faith in Jesus during class. In partiuclar, the 8th grade Bible course has been fantastic this week and last week. We were talking about the character trait of this week which is Be Considerate. I began by asking the students why it was so important to be considerate of and towards others. They had good answers but I decided to go deeper. I then asked a tough question; a tough question that I've had to work through before as well. "What gives you self-worth?" In other words, what gives you your worth as a human being? Not expexpectedly, they were giving me pretty surface answers like 'because Jesus died for us or my mothers love or something of the sort.' (all legitamate) After and during I was worried about what to say next and how to proceed in order to go deeper still. So, then and there in my mind I was praying for God to intervene in my words and help me portray His mesage. I can't remember the last time that I read or heard about God being a clay maker, but he Lord answered and that is what came to mind.

First, we sat in silence (for they were extra rowdy this day) for two minutes. I believe this calmed them down enough for me to really talk with them. I spoke about how a clay pot maker loves each one of his pots equally and each are valued the same because he made them. I then spoke about our worth coming by the fact that God made us. I spoke for nearly ten minutes while sitting in my chair looking out at al the staring faces. It was amazing. Their hands stopped fidgeting, their eyes were fixed on mine, and their ears were open wide to let the truths of God's love come in. Afterwards, Julia, and 8th grader that we have been particularly praying for spoke first. She calmly said, "That story makes me believe in God." (Although shis is one who's family believes so strongly in evolution that they feel they can't believe in God. Possibly other reasons, of course, but that is the short of what I've been told) Not only that, another 8th grader who is really a good kid, though closed off a lot, came to me as well. We talked for 20 minutes after class about all the kinds of questions involving God. Like I said, fantastic class periods. I can't wait for more to come.

Praise the Opportunity

This was a very encouraging week. Monday night at Guadalajara (no idea if that is spelled correctly) we had great classes with the local community. Here in the northeast Brazil, when it rains people don't go anywhere. Many times it is because they have to walk or ride a motorcycle. So ingrained in the culture, it actually happens to the students here at the Alcance despite everyone having a car. This particular Monday evening it was pouring. However, during a small window of dryness a good number of people showed up. This was very encouraging because it showed their dedication to learning. Ruth and I were wondering earlier that day why people here wanted to learn English; so I asked. A lot of people said that employers ask if they know English. Others said that they wanted to travel one day. And others said that it was simply a cool language. The ones that spoke about English enabling them to get a better job or those who mentioned that they wanted to travel have been the most devout learners. I've notice such a drive in them during class. It is very cool to see people take initiative and be proactive for their own futures. This is very encouraging.By simply teaching them English (though it is not as simple sometimes as it sounds) we are helping them improve their circumstances. By providing an opportunity to learn English and answering the call to teach, it now feels like we are truly showing love to our neighbors by being beside them while they are bettering their future circumstances. It is very cool to think about how we are being used to serve other people in a way that can really be beneficial for their future. I'm so happy to see the Alcance taking on this responsibility and the Lord blessing them for their obedience.

Duties of a Teacher

Today was parent teacher conferences. It was strange giving the students grades as I have never had that responsibility before. However, meeting with the parents was a great experience. I have learned much more about each child as I interact with their parents. There are so many different kinds of people, different development levels, different parent philosophies, different problems with the children in class, etc. When I met the parents it helps me understand who the child is and a little bit of why they may be that way. Always a challenge working with a classroom of children that each need their own special way of being taught. The teacher's job is a tricky one, but once you begin to figure out how to work with the students and see their progress it is very rewarding. Many of the students who first started school here in January have made such great improvements in their English. It's really neat to see them go from not understanding a thing, to being able to speak a phrase here and there. I am glad that we get to see a glimpse of their development.

Wednesday was a national holiday and everyone from Sunday wanted to play soccer. It ended up that 50 people came to play! The field is small and only 12 can play at a time so many of us just watched the whole time. But we were very encouraged by all who showed up. We are going to wait one more week before we create teams for the Glory Soccer ministry in hopes that even more young boys will join. Paul and I are excited to see this ministry begin.

As a side note: Paul and I had the privilege of trying two new strictly Brazilian foods yesterday. We had what I would call tapioca omelets. It is made with tapioca (a little different than the kind sold in the U.S. to make the dessert), coconut, cheese, and sweetened condensed milk (a popular product down here). The tapioca is heated in a pan while the coconut, cheese, and milk is put on top and then folded over to create the omelet part. Hard to describe, but the tapioca makes a firm jello-wy type consistency. The tastes go amazingly well together and it fills you up quite a bit as well. Yummy. Second was acai. I think it is a fruit that only grows in the Amazon and spoils quickly so they freeze it to be transported. They served it slightly frozen with granola, bananas, and honey on top. It was really good too and makes your teeth purple! And supposedly it is very healthy for you as well. Ok, side note over, hope you enjoyed it!

God bless you all!