i'm alive!

dear faithful blog checkers,

i am, in fact, alive and well in brazil! december turned out to be much more of a whirlwind than i anticipated and january with back to back volunteer teams was here before i knew it! i appreciate so much your faithfulness in prayer even without an update during these two months!

december...

brought so many blessings along with the super intense heat! all along i expected that dreaded bout of homesickness to hit at christmas...what i didn't expect was how little it would seem like christmas around here! if i were in a cold, snowy place that decorates the town as we do at home i would have been consistently homesick. my brazilian friends kept me busy from christmas eve right through my birthday week with their traditions and of course...beach trips! it seemed like a totally different kind of experience rather than 'christmas without my family' and for that, i was really, really grateful!


new years eve with my friends!

january...

brought two volunteer teams of college students...in other words: one busy month! a team from union university arrived on the 5th with an old friend from jackson, 2 of my west jackson girls, and CHUCKY! we were able to sleep at my church, which made for a whole bunch of really late but really fun nights that i had been needing! during their 2 weeks here they painted some rooms at CADI and did a VBS at CADI and a VBS for my church...we kept busy! this team, though, was awesome-every single one of the college students and leader had such a great servant attitude and an immediate love for the kids, especially in frei damião; which of course, blessed me so much! and the kids loved them! while i haven't been homesick and i really love it here, being with them was refreshing...good for my soul! it was hard for me to see them go!


finally, the union team got a beach day and it was enjoyed by all!

the second team was from impact360 and they were also really great! i stayed with them at the camp as well and had a really great time getting to know them and hanging out with the ministries they were supporting and getting involved with! i really love having teams-its fun to jump into ministry with another group of people and see how God works in snap shots-and then i get to return to regular life!

which is exactly what i'm doing right now! i am now looking at how to best organize my last 6 months here in brazil so that i can be as effective as possible with that time...yes only 6 more months! i can hardly believe it, myself!

if you can be in prayer for these next few weeks to start off with energy and motivation and of course, purposeful organization! also, i've renewed my visa and am waiting to hear that it was approved (given my luck with the visa process, lets go ahead and pray a little for that, too!)

if you're reading this, then i appreciate your consistency in trying to keep up with my life here, which, i'm sure leads to prayers! you're a huge part of what the Lord is doing in brazil at the moment! thank you for that!

God bless you, today!
beijos!

thankful

happy thanksgiving week!

i LOVE thanksgiving!

turkey, dressing, etc is, hands down my favorite meal...i LOVE hanging out with my family...i LOVE the approach of winter weather...i've always been a big fan of breaks from school/work...i LOVE parades...i LOVE that my jackson radio station changes to the 'christmas star' on thanksgiving day...i could make a much longer list, but you get the point...

all things thanksgiving = awesome.

obviously, this year will be quite a different thanksgiving, with hardly of the above mentioned items to note the holiday. BUT nonetheless, (only to the credit of God's proactive intervention in my thought life) over the past month i've been overwhelmed with things that i am really thankful for.

such as:

-so many great US churches that partner with our ministries here--financially, through prayer support, and by sending teams.
-the openness and warmth of brazilian culture, 95% of the time i feel welcome in any situation i'm in with brazilians
-a really stand up, quality team of IMB colleagues here, in florianópolis
-seriously committed friends at home who pull more than their weight in an inter-continental friendship
-pão de queijo...its like a ball full of cheese, without which i would most definitely starve around here (and probably be a few pounds lighter) ;)
-the beauty of the internet which keeps me in touch with friends and family but also the important goings on around the world, such as can be found on E!.com
-just this stage in general, which is hard somedays, but overall a pretty awesome experience!

so, while i will most certainly enjoy thanksgiving on the beach (with a group of colleagues from around the country) i will most definitely be missing the presence of cranberry sauce and my mom's dressing...so enjoy it a little extra for me, this year!

...when september ends

As it turns out September is my favorite month. Not for any huge, significant reason, really. I just like it. This September went exceptionally well...and way too fast!

A highlight (of my year, really) was having Becca here for little bit. We did Rio in a day, literally...Spent a few (very) lazy days at my two favorite beaches in Floripa...visited with some friends in Frei...I think she got a good variety of what we have to offer, here! Lately, my days have seemed to have more 'downs' than 'ups' and as Bec is one of the most encouraging people in my life, the Lord used her to challenge and motivate me (in person...which is always better!) The Lord really has blessed me with some great friends!



In other news...Thursday afternoon visits with Jan and Alana (IMB colleagues) have morphed into home bible studies with some women in Frei, which is really exciting! I'm praying it can become more of a discipleship situation where the women learn to take the reigns themselves and lead their friends, neighbors, families!

In the interest of being transparent 'Clube da Biblia' is my favorite and least favorite part of the ministry at CADI. Favorite because it's an hour and a half of bible stories, games, and crafts with third graders! Those are like 4 of my top 10 favorite things of all time. BUT on the other hand...it's an hour and a half of trying to tell a bible story in portuguese (with third grade input), trying to referee games that always end with some sort of injury and trying to keep glue only on the intended items. I have a morning and afternoon club and I'm discouraged about 30 times during each; but God is so good and somehow on the way home (almost every Monday) all sorts of positive highlights come to mind. I'm continually amazed at how personalized God is with blessings!

cribs: brasil

So I've been in Floripa for a little over 2 months and I'm just now getting my apartment set up to feel "lived in". Here is (to the best of my limited photographic ability) an idea of what it looks like!



This is a view of my building (green), the pizza place I frequent, and Pedra Branca (the white rock). Not too bad of a view, huh?!



View of the living room/balcony/laundry nook/kitchen-ish from front door.



View from the balcony of living room/eating space.



Kitchen.

florianópolis! FINALLY!

Soooooooooooooo 15 months after I selected the "women's health education position at the CADI in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil"...I'm here!

Just in case the details of my life aren't in the forefront of your mind...

I'm here to help the CADI develop a roster of classes which can double as bible studies or discipleship groups. I'll target both moms and children in the area.

(one of my new friends: Adalaine)

There were horrible storms everyday of my first week so I wasn't able to really get out and meet any of the families. BUT THIS week has been great! There is a team of college age missionaries at the CADI for a month of volunteering, and they have been really fun to get to know! Also, this week there is a team of college students here to do bible club type things with the neighborhood kids. Those girls have been awesome!

They have been super flexible and willing to do whatever comes up! They even participated in the "acrobatic" presentation the other group put on for the kids...talk about getting out of your comfort zone for ministry!

Of course, I've been taking pictures of some of my new friends around the neighborhood!

(siblings Alexandro and Alexandra....they do smile, but not when asked!)

(clearly having a rough day...)

I'm working on a video to explain CADI, favela life, and ways that you guys can specifically pray and help from right where you are!

tchau, ribeirão preto!

it's hard to believe, but 3 months of language school has flown by! in the morning i fly to florianopolis...finally! for those who have been lost in the shuffle of all the waiting and plan changing, i selected this job LAST MARCH! it's been quite the journey! i'm really excited to see what the Lord has in store for the work, there! i'll let ya know what the city is like, ASAP!

while i'm so ready and super excited to head to florianópolis, i'm sad to leave ribeirão preto! language school has been a really great experience and i've

made some great friends, here! the Lord is so faithful to provide what we need...and in my case that is often good friends and dessert around every corner!

literally, the last 5 minutes with some of my favorite TCK's

most of the CIC staff and students for my despedida (going away deal)

two of my favorite teachers, sylvia and leda

aventura Braseilera! (Brazilian adventure!)

Today I went for a little 'aventura' with AnnaCaye and Marianna to Centro (downtown). After a few days of AC and I practicing the bus system we thought we had it down. Here's a helpful tip if you're ever in a place where you don't speak the language...don't just guess on which bus you should hop on to! Marianna's not from this city, so she couldn't really help with directions, but she knew JUST what questions to ask! We made it there and back after awhile, it was a great lesson on the city! OH until it started raining out of nowhere, which happens 5 or 12 times a day, here! :)

AnnaCaye and Marianna refusing to cooperate with photo-op time!

AC and I at the sweet little park in(?) near(?) downtown? We're not really sure, still!

This is one little shopping area downtown. I like this one in particular, because no cars drive through! Walking around is a "taking life in your hands" kind of activity!

Bem Vindo á Brasil!

Meet Marianna! My roommate at the pousada!

She is here for 1 month to do an extra class at the University. She is a lot of fun so far, and though her english is limited-she understands what I'm trying to say most of the time, which is a HUGE blessing!

PS-this is what Sara looks like without a hair dryer! :)

Here is the cute little park near our house. There are 4 or 5 ponds, a little bit of exercise equipment (which i will no doubt use often) :) AND plenty of Brazilians to help me learn the language better! Oh and there are a few waterfalls (of course! aren't there waterfalls in every public park)

This is the pousada (student boarding house where we are staying). There are 8-10 people living here right now (we think!) They are all Brazilian, so this is the BEST language experience we could ask for! Breakfast and Lunch is prepared for us, and our clothes are washed, dried, and ironed for us! I don't even iron my own clothes! Most of our housemates don't speak ANY english-so any and EVERYTHING is a learning experience!!!

give THANKS to the LORD, for He is GOOD!

THIS is the long awaited Visa, conveniently stapled to my passport

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arrangements are being made (at this very moment) to fly out (probably) at the end of next week.

Thank You for all of the prayer and support you've offered during these few months of "learning"!

If you can switch gears, please now pray for safe travel and a smooth transition to language school!

Obrigada! (Thank You)

GOOD NEWS!

For those of you praying for me not to lose my mind as I wait...and wait...and wait...

Today I received the an email from the Consulate...my Visa is there! I will immediately send them payment and passport, and I will hopefully leave in the next week or two!

THANK YOU for your prayers! Hopefully soon you'll be getting updates from outside of the U.S!