Getting Settled

Our suitcases lie in various corners of the house, piles of clothes cover every available surface and every place I look I find more books to try to cram in our bookshelves.

I hate unpacking.

Packing is filled with anticipation: though tedious, it is bearable because you know that upon completing the task you will be rewarded with a trip. Unpacking is quite the opposite: it feels like pennance for the good time we had.

And what a time it was. I would love to be able to thank every person who helped make our furlough such a blessing to us, but I would surely forget someone (or many someones). I will just make some general thank yous:

-Thanks to everyone who let us stay in their home--all of you who put up with our late-night comings and goings and sometimes went for days without actually seeing us.

-Thanks to everyone who fed us, either at your home, your church or your favorite restaurant. I'm trying not to blame you for the weight I gained!

-Thanks to everyone we didn't get to eat with or stay with for your patience and understanding. There just wasn't enough time!

-Thanks to everyone who casually slipped us money. We promise we didn't spend it all on our many Target runs!

-Thanks to everyone who took us on shopping sprees. You sure know the way to my heart!

-Thanks to everyone who came up to us with hugs and encouraging words. Even if you guys don't keep in touch with us like you'd like to, we appreciate whatever support you give us!

-Thanks to everyone who kept us in their prayers. You made our trip a success!

Even now, I'm sure I'm forgetting someone. My mind is running a million directions at this point, between unpacking, the LST campaign and a major change to the team. (I'll blog more about that later.)

From the Road: Winnipeg

When last I wrote, we were in Blackwell recovering from the graduation festivities. Since then, we drove to Branson with the Quireys for a quick vacay, drove back to Blackwell, to Stillwater and then on to Winnipeg. We started the week with Russell's parents and are ending it with mine. Our days in Branson were (generally) warm and sunny; when we got out of the car in Winnipeg it was COLD. I have had several conversations with people leading up to this trip, reassuring them that the weather would be nice at this time of year but we seem to have arrived in the middle of a cold snap. It's par for the course at this point.

We'll try to update more in the next couple of days but for now I'm going to enjoy some time with my folks!

He Did It!

This weekend we celebrated with Russell's brother, Matt, as he graduated from Oklahoma State University.

Matt on the Jumbotron in Gallagher-Iba

The Quirey family

Russ and me, lookin' all purty

From the Road: Frisco, TX

We did it! We made it through the month of April. It was our heavy travel month but we've now reached the halfway point. Here are some stats for you:

Beds slept in (to date): 12

Flights: 9

Sunday morning sermons given: 3

I would tell you how many miles we've put on the car but it's outside and frankly I am quite tired, not to mention the skunk that is lurking in the front bushes. Last night we got in from North Carolina much later than expected due to some major storms in the Dallas area. I can still feel the motion of the plane bouncing.

We're staying with Ron and Georgia, our friends who work with Continent of Great Cities. Georgia took me shopping today--a dangerous trip to Ikea and Sam Moon--but I showed great self-control and only bought a little. There's so much stuff here in the US that we just don't have access to in Brazil. We're fighting the urge to buy buy buy but it is difficult since every time we watch tv, open a magazine or even walk through WalMart we are innundated with messages about how the latest and greatest product will improve our lives. Ikea was a tough one for me. I'm not even letting myself near The Container Store. I try to remind myself before I go into a store what things I have pre-determined that I need but I inevitably get distracted by something else. The fact that we have to carry whatever we buy back with us does help but the temptations still are strong, especially for a recreational shopper like me!

From the Road: Myrtle Beach, SC

Well, technically we're not in Myrtle Beach, we're south of the crazy tourist stuff but we've been in several different small towns (house in one, church in another, restaurant in yet another), none of which most of you have heard of, so it's just easiest to say Myrtle Beach. This was the leg of the trip of which I was most uncertain. We had only been to the Grand Strand church once, on a Wednesday night, three years ago. We just didn't know very many people. But we received a very warm welcome and have had a wonderful time.

In the morning we'll pick up a rental car and make our way up to Raleigh to see my Grandma Turner. I have so many memories of our family vacations to Raleigh and I've loved being able to visit as an adult with Russ. We'll get back to Texas on Wednesday where we'll be reunited with our car and the rest of our luggage! Then it's on to Oklahoma for Matt's graduation!

From the Road: Denison, TX

It was really hard to leave Athens. We had so many great relationships there. We're already talking about "next time".

Last night we drove through very heavy rains to make it to Basil and Rachel's house. It's great to see them again. Tonight we went to church with them and got to sneak in their worship team rehearsal and just sing for an hour. It was wonderful.

Tomorrow we get to repack and head back into Dallas. Friday morning we will fly to Myrtle Beach. I can't believe that we have only been on the road for three weeks. It seems like much longer because we've been so many places and seen so many people. We're sleeping in our eighth bed tonight. I won't list a rating of all the beds--we can't seem to agree on what sort of bed is most comfortable, plus we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. We're just so grateful for all the hospitality we have been shown.

Reminder

From the Road: Abundantly Fed in Athens

It's a relatively standard sitcom plot: the couple overcommits themselves on Thanksgiving and ends up running from meal to meal. After each meal, they are progressively fuller but know they need to make an efort at the next place.

I can now relate.

We've had a wonderful time in Athens and we've felt so loved and taken care of. Especially when it comes to food. These ladies can cook. The ones that haven't cooked for us have taken us to the best restaurants. I'm going to miss all these great meals (and the company we have shared them with!) but my waistline sure won't!

Better Luck Next Time!

Last night was a fun change of pace. We drove over to Arlington with our friend Kody and Kristie to watch the Rangers get clobbered by the A's. I mean, the plan was to watch the game...the sound defeat was unexpected. We missed the first inning but the second was the inning to watch: the A's were 8-0. It all went downhill from there. But we had a great time and ate WAY too much ballpark food. (Though I figure if you only make it to a game once every few years, who cares if you have a hot dog, cheese fries, popcorn and some cotton candy? I *did* drink water the whole time, so I wasn't all bad!) We only have a few days left in Athens and then it's back to our breakneck travel pace. These few days in the same place have been nice!

From the Road: Athens, TX

This week it's been hard not to feel like darkness is winning. The news from Virginia broke our hearts and I continued to be sickened by the blame game everyone is playing. Evil happens. Darkness exists in our world. Bad things will always happen until Christ returns.

But we have had some glimmers of light, too, during our stay in Athens. We have had the joy of watching three special baptisms. Sunday, we watched one of the elders at church baptize his elderly mother. "Don't ever stop praying," he said to the congregation. Tonight after church, we watched as a member of the youth group and her mother put on Christ. What a beautiful moment for family to share! I count these as victories in our war against the darkness.

It has been wonderful to be reunited with our friends and family at Eastern Hills. We didn't get as much time as we would have liked with them before we moved to Brazil but we have some wonderful connections with people. We have spent the past few days getting loved on and absolutely spoiled. I'm doing my best to avoid gaining the "furlough fifteen" but I don't know how much longer I can keep it up!

After a very long weekend, a little rest

The last 3 days have been tough. We saw our sponsors for the first time (during a tornado warning) followed by a dinner and hail in Dallas. We spent a long day (8 to 5) telling them about all the things the church had experienced in the past year. Then we drove back to Athens and slept a bit before preaching today! Now we can relax and share some meals with our friends here without another move for at least a week. It seems like we are a month into this trip, and it has barely begun! Many of our sponsors were very encouraging, despite a handful of problems and a depressed exchange rate. We prayed and shared hugs with them all. To those working on our behalf in Bahia: you are being held up in prayer! Keep on truckin. Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible. We promise to give you our very best effort. We love you, and good nite!

Welcome Home

There are so many things we miss when we are in Brazil. We often talk about the various things our mouths crave or experience that we wish we could have. Then there are the things that we forget we miss. Last week's snow, for example, was a welcome (though cold) treat. Tonight we had a chance to be reunited with another meteorological friend.

We are in Dallas for the Sponsoring Church Workshop. We were resting a bit before the dinner tonight and flipped on the TV. A spring storm was headed our way and it looked to be pretty bad. We decided to head out a few minutes early to try to beat it to the church. As we stepped out the door of the hotel, the tornado sirens went off. I spent long enough living in Oklahoma to be completely unfazed by that fact and we headed off to the church. After a brief parking lot conversation about whether it was better to be parked under the large tree or far away from it, we walked inside through light rain. Two minutes later, large hail started. We chatted with everyone for about five minutes and then were herded into the safest room in the building. After a little bit, we were back on schedule and had a nice dinner. Now I'm sitting in the hotel lobby listening to details of all the damage on the TV news.

I didn't know that I could miss tornadoes. And really, it's not tornadoes I miss--it's the adventure of it all. I have some fun memories of hanging out in the Mayfair basement. I know that Russ has even more tornado memories--they were such a big part of his childhood. Even though storms like this are scary and do a lot of damage, the fact that we had tornadoes tonight makes me smile a little bit. It feels like God has been using the weather to say, "Welcome home!"

From the Road: Las Cruces

Learning Portuguese has helped us understand more Spanish. Driving around town, I can figure out what a lot of things mean. But learning Portuguese has absolutely killed any chance we had of pronouncing Spanish correctly. What comes out is such a jumbled mess that always errs on the side of Portuguese. And being in Las Cruces we have a lot of opportunities to use Spanish words (yes, most of those words are enchilada and queso but I'm still having trouble!)

We are having a great time with Susan and Joel. Yesterday Susan and I had some good sister time (read: shopping) and Russ and Joel went hiking in the mountains. (I'm glad that our husbands share the love of adventure that we wives just don't have. We tolerate adventure, sometimes we even participate in it. We just don't live for it.)

Tomorrow we hit the road again but I'm trying not to think about it. It's really easy for me to get so caught up in what's next that I don't enjoy what's now. Hmm...I think that's true most of the time, not just on furlough. Today should be easy to enjoy: we're going to the farmer's market and to bookstores. I miss bookstores so much--it's going to be hard not to overindulge!

From the Road: Blackwell, OK

The snow finally stopped. It didn't stick but it was quite a sight. Our poor bodies are chapped from head to toe. I keep buying new moisturizers and chapstick, trying to find one that will do me some good. Everyone promises that it will be warmer by Monday but on Monday we are headed somewhere (theoretically) warmer. (Though at this point I have heard so many promises about weather that I'm not sure that I won't need my jacket.) We've now been to Oklahoma City and Stillwater. We've eaten at Ted's and Eskimo Joe's and too many other places to mention. In fact, tonight I had my first homecooked meal since we arrived.

I'm sitting in the church office in Blackwell using the secretary's computer (shhh...don't tell!) while my mother-in-law gets ready for Sunday School in the morning. I thought I'd take advantage of this opportunity to catch up on my email and fill everyone in on what is next. So here you go--the infamous schedule:

Monday, April 9--to Las Cruces, NM (sorry, Ginger, we're flying)

Thursday, April 12--to Dallas, TX for the Sponsoring Church Workshop

Saturday, April 14--to Athens, TX

Wednesday, April 25--to Denison, TX

Friday, April 27--to Myrtle Beach, SC (yes, we have supporters there, we're not just going on vacation!)

Monday, April 30--to Raleigh, NC

Wednesday, May 4--to Dallas, TX

Thursday, May 5--to Stillwater, OK for Russell's brother's graduation (those who know him will appreciate the significance of this event!)

Monday, May 7--to Branson, MO

Friday, May 11--to Winnipeg, Canada

Thursday, May 17--to Wichita, KS

Saturday, May 19--to Oklahoma City, OK

Saturday, June 2--back to Brazil!

(We're going to sneak up to Tulsa at some point, too, but we're not exactly sure when yet.)

Just typing that schedule exhausted me. As you can well imagine, we need your prayers to get through this marathon. Please pray for good health, lots of energy and safe travels. Pray that we get to see exactly who we need to see and that we say all that needs to be said. Please pray that we make the best use of all our resources, especially time and money. And finally, please join us in thanks to God that we get to make this trip. We already have had such wonderful time with our friends, family and supporters.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Notes from the Road

This is just a quick note to say that we arrived safely in Oklahoma. This weekend is Stillwater & Blackwell (Oklahoma) and then Monday we're off to Las Cruces. I really promise I will post our schedule (RYLAN!) but I need to be staying somewhere with a computer to do that. Right now I am borrowing the computer of someone who should be working.

Let me just say, it is COLD. It's snowing today in Oklahoma. I only have two pairs of long pants with me and one pair of closed-toed shoes. Brrr...

All Kinds of Things

Don't ask if we're packed yet. We're not.

We just dropped Samson off at Travis and Alicia's. Their daughter, Ceara, loves him. Their cats do not. We're confident they'll find a way to work it out.

Yesterday we had our first anniversary celebration at church. We set a new record--102 people. Last year, our inaugural service was mostly brothers and sisters from the other Churches of Christ in the city. This year there were only a couple of people from those congregations. The crowd was made up of our members, their friends, family and neighbors, and dozens of contacts we have generated: English students, language teachers, doctors. Three visitors stand out in my mind:
1. Vivian--Vivian was one of the LST students. She studied while the campaign was here and then she and I studied together for a while. Once the English classes started up again after summer break, she came back with several friends. Yesterday she visited our worship for the first time. Our perseverence paid off.

2. Palmira's husband--Palmira is a sister from one of the other congregations who visits us occasionally. She's an older woman who has dealt with a lot of tough things this year. Yesterday when she walked in the door she was beaming. Her husband came to church with her for the first time ever.

3. Zoraide's nephew--Zoraide is another LST student. She and I have spend many hours together. She's been coming to group classes again, too, and has started bringing her nephew with her. She explained to us that he won't come with her to her church (she is Seventh-Day Adventist) but he was willing to come to ours. We're happy to have him.

(My apologies that I don't have names on the tip of my tongue. Yesterday was a flood of names and faces, not to mention the fact that my brain is full of travel plans!)

If you were to ask my teammates which visitors stood out to them, they would probably tell you different stories--stories of persistence paying off--but with the same sense of amazement that I have. It is incredible to see what God has done in one year.

We had a potluck lunch after worship and gave people the opportunity to share how ICOS has touched their lives. Many tears were shed. We were reminded of how many life transitions we have been able to be a part of--births, deaths, weddings and new and renewed commitments to Christ. Above all, people spoke of the love they feel as part of the true family that exists there. There aren't words I would have rather heard right before I left for furlough. God has created something wonderful at 35 Holy Spirit Street. It's something that people want to be a part of and, even better, want the people they love to be a part of. To God be the glory!

And that brings me back to tomorrow. We leave just after lunch for the big trip. It's unbelievable to think that we will be gone for two months. When I look at our schedule I wonder if we'll be able to pull it off. There are so many people that make what we do possible and we want to thank them all personally. If you're not one of the people we're going to see, let me tell you right now--THANK YOU! We are utterly dependent on the actions of God and other people. Without people writing checks, writing emails, sending candy and praying for us, we wouldn't be here. Even the littlest bit makes such a big difference for us. We thank you and the family of ICOS thanks you, too.

And now, off to pack!

Go ahead, ask me about my day.

Today I've got a good story.

This afternoon we had to go to a meeting at Travis and Alicia's. They have offered to watch Samson while we're gone but they have two cats. Today seemed a perfect opportunity for the big meeting with the cats, too.

When we got there, Randy, Jenn, Matt and Mary were all in the lobby waiting for the elevator. It arrived after a minute or two and we all got in. It was a tight fit, with the dog crate and all, since the elevator is only about 4x6 at most. The door closed and then nothing. we made sure we'd pushed the button and tried pushing other buttons.

All of a sudden we went up. Just a little. Then the door opened and...there was a big concrete wall there.

At the very bottom you could see the door that goes to the lobby but only about a foot of it. And here in Brazil, there are generally doors on every floor of the elevator that are locked and only unlock when the elevator arrives on the floor. It just had some little holes in it.

So it was the six of us and Sam. None of the buttons worked. We tried pushing the alarm button and the button to call the doorman. Nothing.

Matt figured out that his cell phone worked so we called Alicia and told her to call downstairs. While he was on the phone, someone in the lobby opened the door to get on and discovered us.

In the minutes that followed there was all sorts of opening the door to check on us and passing messages on--we're calling the repair man, the repair man is coming, the repair man is stuck in traffic, etc.

We passed everyone's bags through to make more space and eventually Travis showed up and we gave him Sam. (The dog crate didn't fit through the hole so we just put it up on its size, effectively doubling the available floorspace.)

Eventually some genius downstairs figured out that it would be better if they left that door open so we could, you know, BREATHE! (There was a fan in the elevator, but after all, we were six people stuck in a tiny elevator. In the tropics.)

After even more time, one of the maintenance guys brought an electric fan and stood there holding it up for us. that helped a LOT.

Anyway, we were stuck in there over 50 minutes, all told. We had a can of Coke Zero which I sacrificed for the team, passing it around. (we also had our lunch: a frozen pizza that I had cooked but we hadn't had time to eat so we just brought it with us but the pizza was sausage and onions and didn't seem like a good thing to eat in the situation so we passed it with the bags.)

Finally we were freed...to get to walk the seven flights of stairs up to Travis and Alicia's!

 

Don't we clean up nicely?



We're on the home stretch before furlough though it's hard to feel like it. Yesterday we had another women's ministry event. I procrastinated again (but at least I procrastinated with a partner this time!) and ended up with way too much last minute work. I'm going to get the hang of it one of these days. So I'm recovering from that today. PLUS this weekend is our ICOS one-year anniversary celebration so we have a lot of work to do getting the building ready. I'm trying to preserve my energy because our furlough is marathon length but at a sprint speed. We have to hit the ground running with little time for recovery. We only have a couple more things to finalize and then I'll post a schedule for you...hopefully within a day or two. It's on the to-do list, along with about a million other things. And yet here I am, blogging. I guess that's my cue to jump up and start getting stuff done. More later!

FYI

Hm...there's a lot about the past couple of weeks of my life I wish I could write about. They've been some of the toughest times ever. And yes, I am just going to leave you to sit and wonder about what's been going on. Sorry. But here are the good things:

- Everything is going to be okay.
- I am making great strides in my fight to leave my pride behind and be more open about my weakness.
- Our furlough is going to be at just the right time.
- Our mighty God is hard at work in the lives of His children; loving us, refining us and holding us in the shadow of His wing.

Next month you have a rare opportunity. You can turn a guilty pleasure into a way to help others. Plus, those adorable kids my brother works with will be there!

Team Banquet

Team Banquet, originally uploaded by russandval.

Tonight we got together to celebrate the past two years on the field. It's hard to believe that as of tomorrow we will have been here for two years. How time flies. Maybe I'll sit and reflect on that some time soon. But not tonight- I'm exhausted. I spent last week at a conference for missionary women put on by Continent of Great Cities. A certain roommate (who will remain nameless but is a teammate and was a former co-worker and member of Mayfair with me) kept me up until all hours of the night!

Everything but the kitchen sink

I finally saw one. After surfboards, puppies, and ice cream carts made it onto the bus with me, somebody brought a kitchen sink (a big one) on their commute to work. They even asked someone to hold it while they paid their fare! Random, but so am I. On my walk yesterday, people were handing out flyers for a weight-loss company. It was called "Hunger", even more ironic. I thought about people around me trying to sweat off ten pounds, while millions wanted nothing more than the chance to be overweight. It seems crazy and unfair, and it probably is. Take care of each other, and try to share your leftovers with those who need 'em.  Peace.

Milestone

  For those of you keeping track, which I know none of you are, today marks the nine year anniversary of when Russ and I started dating. I know many of you who read this are older than me, so I won't talk about how old that makes me feel. Instead I will just say what a blessing it is to have spent almost a decade with Russ. As you can tell by the picture (which was taken that first semester) we were pretty young when we started dating so we've both done a lot of growing up since then. In those nine years, we've been around the world and had many ups and downs but every path has helped us grow personally, in our relationships with each other and closer to God. I'm so thankful that God brought Russ into my life and helped us to see beyond the people we were at the time to the people we would become.

Women's Ministry

Gisele and Irla, originally uploaded by russandval.

We've been wanting to get a women's ministry off the ground for a while now and we finally decided to just do something. It's easy to get caught up in plans and dreams and never actually get started. At the missionary conference, I realized that I needed to stop dragging my feet so one day during church, I asked Alicia (the other half of the women's ministry) if we could have an event in February. I was running the slides that day so I quickly made an announcement slide and we started advertising it. At that point I really had no plan.

To be honest, I didn't have much of a plan until Saturday and even then it was sketchy. I didn't share the workload so I ended up stressed out and wandering around the grocery store, trying to figure out what to feed people. We can't have an oven at church and our microwave doesn't hold big pans so we're always limited as to what we can make. I was blessed when one of my "maybes" for the menu was on sale.

Saturday night, Russ and I got sick. We don't know if it was the chinese food we'd ordered that night or gripe (technically the flu but what ends up being the catch-all word when someone is sick). Sunday morning Russ wasstill too sick to go to church but because I had refused to share the responibility, I had to go. I felt much better, though, which really makes me suspect the sweet and sour chicken.

God got me through the day, though, and made everything run smoothly. (One exception was the mocha cake, which as Lauren kept reminding me was "ugly", but we cut it up before anyone saw it so no one was the wiser.)

About twenty women of all ages stayed. After lunch, I had them fill out a survey asking what they would like the women's ministry to be. Then we made salvation bracelets which have different color beads to symbolize our paths to salvation. I gave them a little card with Bible verses for each color so if someone asks about their bracelet, they have answers ready.

I think we're going to try to have activities every month now. I guess I'll only get to go to one more before we leave for furlough. Maybe this time I'll share the work!

Press Release

*******PRESS RELEASE*******

Russ and Val's North American Tour

April 3-June 3

Cities to include:
Blackwell, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Tulsa, OK
Athens, TX
Dallas, TX
Raleigh, NC
Myrtle Beach, SC
Las Cruces, NM
Wichita, KS
Winnipeg, MB

We're going to try to see as many people as we can, but we can't see you if you don't let us know how to. So if you're interested in seeing us, please drop us a line and we'll figure out something!

Tinkles and Transgressions

This morning I sat out on the balcony, enjoying a cup of chai and an okay book, and watched Samson walk up, stand next to his pee spot (kind of like a litter box) and tinkle. Beside it. I said his name in a disapproving way and he immediately ran back inside and hid under the couch. He knew why he was in trouble. He knows exactly where we want him to go but sometimes he can't be bothered. It frustrates me to no end because sometimes he goes days without a slip-up. He knows.

Then I realized that I'm like that, too. I know exactly what God wants from me and yet so often, like the dog, I can't be bothered. I wonder if He looks at me messing up, either doing something I shouldn't or not doing something I should, and sighs just like I do with Samson. I wonder if He thinks, Why?!? You know better! I thought you had worked this one out, put it behind you! Are you ever going to learn?

The advantage that I have over Samson is that I am the recipient of infinite grace. God knows I will do (or not do) things that will disappoint Him. In fact, He planned for it long before I was born. (Samson, on the other hand, only receives my grace which is often in short supply.)

It makes me think of a song I love (almost every situation makes me think of a song!) called For All You've Done. The second verse sneaks into my head on a regular basis:

Oh, Cleanser of the mess I've made,
Your boundless love for me portrayed.
With patience for my learning curve,
By holding back what I deserve.

(chorus) Oh, how wonderful Your mercy is!
How awesome are Your ways!
I come, I come to worship You
For all You've done.

It reminds me of how patient God is with me and that thought encourages me to try harder. Hopefully I can learn the life I need to live much faster than Samson has been learning where to tinkle.

When you don't ask for help, you get burned

Sometimes this is literal. I try to reach every place that the sun can, but without Val's help there is a spongebob shape burned into my shoulderblades every time. The beach is not as fun when it is a table for one. Happy birthday Vally!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

We have two jars of the good stuff, both Peter Pan, both start with 2111. Good thing furlough is only six weeks away!

Intercession

Yesterday I had two different encounters with friends asking for prayer. One was at church, the other at a street market. One came looking for prayers, the other I "just happened" to run into. With one I was already in "work mode", with the other I was in relaxation mode. Both currently have horrible family situations that are outside of their control and are desperately in need of prayer.

Please lift up Jaci and Nadia tonight. They both have fragile faith and are facing so much. Jaci is a very dear friend and we have walked alongside her through other family crises. I worry for her because I have seen the toll these ongoing struggles have taken on her personally. Nadia is a newer friend but is moving this week to escape what is happening in her family and we may never see her again. My heart hurts for my friends.

What a Difference a Tan Makes

Two Years Later, originally uploaded by russandval.

People seem to be getting a kick out of this comparison so I'll share it with everyone. The first picture is from my ID card when we first arrived in Brazil. The second is my new ID picture, taken this week. Before the word "goth" comes up again, let me just say in my defense: 1. I moved in March so I was coming out of winter (the reason for the paleness). 2. My hair was not black, just a dark brown. 3. I was in the middle of the chaos of moving.

Even still, I can laugh at myself.

Yesterday afternoon we turned in all our paperwork for our permanent visas. Now all we can do is wait. And pray.

Words cannot express my excitement. What I am experiencing is a dream come true. What am I so worked up about? The repairman just left and the air conditioner in our bedroom is now working again. Finally--sleep!

! ! !

We just bought our tickets for furlough. It's official: in April and May we will be around to bug all of you in North America. We'll have a lot of ground to cover and relatively little time to do it but I can't wait! More details to come as our calendar gets finalized.

Inspired

Here we are at the start of another week. (In our line of work, Sunday is the climax of the week leading up to it, so we really see Monday as the first day.) I'm sitting here trying to figure out what will make this week better and different than last week. Last week wasn't a very successful week for me. I felt pretty crummy most of the week and that left me unmotivated. Russ preached on Sunday so that meant he was home working on his sermon a lot. Of course there were some little victories, like finally getting the last of my Christmas decorations put away, but there were so many things on my list that didn't get done. (Oh, the joys of self-employment!)

But this is a new week. God is good and can help me be more this week. Russ and I hope to take a day this week to go out to our favorite beach so to be able to do that our schedules must be even more focused.

As I write I'm listening to Songs from the Voice, Volume One, an album of interpretations of many of the psalms by some great Christian artists. Every time I listen to it, lyrics jump out at me and I have to stop whatever I'm doing, pull out a Bible and pour over the original psalm. I can't count moments like that as distractions from my schedule, only enhancements of it. I give the time that I had set aside for something else and take a few minutes to get refocused. All of a sudden, the original task doesn't seem as weighty/important/pressing and I feel truly in control of my life (which in this case means turning control over to the one who made me.)

Right now, it's a particular album that makes me stop and inspires me to praise in the middle of the day. What is inspiring you lately? What makes you drop everything and give up your time? Knowing how life goes, there's someone reading this that isn't feeling that way much these days and has trouble understanding what I'm talking about. Take a second and comment to this post so people looking for new ways to encounter God during their day have new ideas to try!

A Little More Funk

Several people told me that they really related to my post about the "funk". Today I was looking up a scripture for something else and came across a verse that expressed it perfectly. I'm not always a big fan of The Message paraphrase (though I believe it has its place), and I really haven't liked what I've read of the Psalms in it, but this verse expressed it perfectly. I think I'm going to put it in a prominent place so I can be reminded of its truth. Hope it helps you out!

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.
Psalm 42:11 (The Message)

Summer Cleaning

Summer in Salvador is an interesting time. First comes Christmas which compared to every other holiday seems quite low-key. New Year's is a much bigger time; many people travel for the holiday. Then comes January. In a nutshell, Brazilian labor laws guarantee workers one month of paid vacation a year and it seems like most people choose to take that month in January. Vacation time means travel and the majority head to the interior, which basically means "any place in the state of Bahia except for Salvador". When you ask people where they are headed, you have the opportunity to learn many obscure place names, all of which are either Catholic (St. Something-Or-Other), Indian (like Jaguaquara) or some combination of the two. When you ask for further details about the town, you inevitably receive an open invitation to come with them some time and for a brief second you imagine yourself enjoying the summer in a small city in rural Brazil. Then you realize that your friend was just being polite and even if the invitation was sincere, it would involve many, many hours in the car on horrible roads to arrive at a place that has neither a beach nor a mall. But they have family in that town and will have a wonderful time.

The people that stay in town slave away, making up for the lost labor force. HA! On the contrary, the people that stay in town are gearing up for Carnaval. The various acts for Carnaval start holding weekly rehearsals that are open to the public. This week is the largest event of the summer outside of Carnaval: the Festival do Verão (Festival of Summer). It's held out at the exhibition grounds and is a sight to behold. (We have never actually gone but can watch it on television every night from the comfort of our home.) It's many of the acts that will perform at Carnaval, many popular performers from other genres of Brazilian music and some international acts. (One of the highlights this year was Ben Harper.) The festival will end this weekend, leaving us with only a couple of weeks until Carnaval.

All of this fun means that it is impossible to get anything done. And so here I am, at home, cleaning out my cupboards. When I was a girl, I used to love cleaning out and organizing my mom's cupboards. Yes, I understand that makes me odd but I have never shyed away from that label. Somehow, though, when it's your own cupboards it's not as fun. I pulled out my spices checking their expiration dates. As I got to some of the more obscure ones, I was reminded of my ambitions when I bought them. That's right! I think. I was going to start cooking more Indian food. Oh, these are the seasonings for that recipe that I thought looked so good! And so on. As I fill my trash with forgotten food items, I can't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Every day, one of our building's custodians comes by to pick up our trash. To him, it will look like just another example of decadence among the rich. More wasted food. More money thrown away. When I stop to think about it, I'll have to agree with him. It's so easy to be tempted, as I walk through the grocery store or look through cookbooks, by dreams of what I might do or how I would like my life to be. I spend a couple of dollars here, a couple of dollars there, thinking that even if I never make it, it's really not that much money down the drain. But as I look at my full trash can, I realize the effects of that attitude. I'm able to put a total on all of that wishful thinking and it is embarrassing. I want to be a good steward. I don't want to even appear to flaunt my relative wealth by throwing food away. There's still a lot of stuff in that cupboard that is the product of dreaming. I'm going to resist buying more spices and seasonings until I have used it up. (I may have to get creative in how I use it to maintain our current diet efforts!) We'll see how it goes. Lord willing, next year I won't have as much to clean out.

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Oh! Check out that new Plugoo thing in the sidebar--you can chat with us in that window anytime we're online. Nothing to download, nothing to sign up for. See how easy I'm making it for you? (Though if you want our MSN or Skype names I'd be happy to provide them!) Hope to hear from you soon!

Funkalicious

Almost a week ago I wrote a lovely post about trying to be more open. And then I froze. What do you say after that? Did I really mean it? I've been thinking about that and my conclusion is yes, I did.

And so, friends, the truth: I'm in a funk. Some of it is coming down off the high of the missionary conference. It's like the days after summer camp--the glow wears off. All the new "I feel so close to God now" feelings get replaced by the mundane. God is closer than before but not as close as when you were getting to spend several hours a day learning about Him and talking about Him and talking to Him. I carried the "high" for several days but by this morning, it was almost gone. Instead of getting to focus on church this morning, my thoughts were filled with the fact that the water bottle was almost empty and even if it weren't we'd still have a problem because we didn't have enough plastic cups, and that I didn't have the books I needed to teach but it probably wouldn't have mattered because the kids were out of control, and that everyone who came up to me seemed to want me to do something for them and no one just wanted to say hi.

Now, this is pretty normal Sunday morning stuff. I can't tell you how many times I've had to run to the grocery store or wing a class or deal with everyone's stuff. (In fact, I understand that I chose this life.) But for some reason today it just hit me wrong. And so after being home for a couple of hours, I realized that I'm in a funk.

I described it to Russ as: kinda lonely, kinda sad, kinda dissatisfied and kinda unsatisfiable all at once.

It's definitely not what would constitute Major Depression, or even Depression, or even depression. I'm just in a funk. I'm sure it will blow over soon enough. I'll get distracted by something and stop thinking about myself so much. That seems to be the source of most of the funks. (A-ha! It's that silly pride problem again!)

It's somewhat tempting to stay in a funk for a little while. I usually give myself a lot of grace during that time. (And by grace I mean Doritos and television.) But when I really think about it, when I bring it before God, I am so embarrassed that I occasionally relish a good funk.

So this post is me banishing my funk. When I started writing, I thought, "I'll be honest about the fact that I'm in a funk." But as I kept going, I realized, "Why should I let myself stay there? I'll be honest about the fact that I just realized how stupid my funks are." It's kind of amazing the effect that blogging about this stuff is having on me. Once I decide to make my thoughts and struggles public, my self-examination reaches a whole new level (two, actually, if you include spell check!). I guess that's why sin thrives in secret, in the darkness. In the light, we are embarrassed by our actions.

I wish I had some sort of killer conclusion for this all. But I don't. As you can tell, I'm just figuring this stuff out. So I'll use my favorite conclusion of all--TADA!!!

(Do I get some sort of prize for including the word "funk" so many times in a single post?)

Way Down South, Part One

We spent last week in Canela, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. (For those of you familiar with the REE-oh Grand, you pronounce this one HEE-oh GRAN-gee.) It's the southernmost state and since we're below the equator, it means that it's colder. Fortunately for those of us from more tropical climes, it's summer. Had it been winter, we just might have seen snow. The climate is perfect for hydrangeas and we were there on the tail end of the growing season. They were everywhere! (Hydrangeas have been a favorite of mine since we went to Sydney so seeing them was a highlight of the trip.)

The weather isn't the only thing that makes this part of Brazil different from Bahia. It's home to many German and Italian immigrants (compared to all our African descendents) so just about everything is different: the food, the architecture, the faces. Russ, with his German background, definitely didn't stick out there! The region is known for production of all kinds of good things: chocolate, wine (and grape juice!), cheese, chocolate, leather goods, chocolate...I could go on forever!

What brought us to Canela was the annual missionary conference. It's a great opportunity to take some time to be fed spiritually. We have class sessions and worship times all in English! I loved getting to hear Russ lead singing in English for a change. I miss that!

It was a powerful week for me. In our women's classes, the speaker, Jean Blackwell, helped us examine our lives and develop in our practice of spiritual disciplines. We spent some time looking at pride. I was already quite convicted of the fact that I need to get rid of all the pride in my life when something else happened to help drive it home.

I went on an excursion to a nearby waterfall on Wednesday afternoon. It was beautiful to stand at the top and look out from the observation deck. But there was another option--900 stairs down to the bottom. (That's more than 40 flights, for those of you keeping score at home!) I decided to go for it and headed down with my friends, all of whom are in much better shape than I am, completely missing the sign that said not to do it if you have asthma. (I probably would have done it anyway since my asthma is mild and rarely a problem. Signs like that just help me remember to pace myself.)

We made it down without much difficulty, only pausing to slow down our momentum. We got to the bottom in a matter of minutes and didn't feel too bad. We checked out watched--over an hour left until we had to be back at the van--no problem.

We scurried up the first couple of flights. We got to the first rest area and I wanted to die. I pulled out my inhaler and did my best to breathe. Eventually I felt able to do the next flight. And then I had to rest again. Unfortunately, there is no other way up--it's walk up those stairs yourself or on someone's back! What followed was an exercise in humility for me. I had to admit, not just to myself but to my friends, that I was too weak to go on. I had to admit it over and over again, sometimes sitting down in the middle of a flight of stairs. My friends were wonderfully patient with me and encouraging but in many ways, admitting my weakness to them was harder than trying to breathe. We reached the top with just enough time to grab a celebratory popsicle before meeting the others.

I had done similar things at waterfalls around the world without problems (Of course, I was twenty years old and in the best shape of my life!) But combined with what I had been realizing about myself though our classes, it was a humbling experience.

So why am I telling you? It's not to say, "Look how humble I am now!". It's with totally the opposite spirit. I am a proud person--I fight pride every day of my life. Today, I am telling you this story as a part of my journey to be open about my weaknesses. As missionaries, sometimes we get put on pedestals. Sometimes our pride gets mistaken for faith. And sometimes we start to believe the things other people believe about us. But in reality, we're not super-Christians. We fight the same things everyone else does. I had a hard time admitting my weakness before I was a missionary and now that I am, it's even harder. If I admit I'm struggling with something will we lose our support? If I am open about my weakness will people question our worth as missionaries?

As you know, this past year has been a tough one for us. God and I have had some things to work out, but through that process I've found a new level of relationship with Him. In that same spirit of transformation, I'm trying to reach a new level of relationship with the people around me. If my weaknesses are known, then His power will seem even greater. At least that's my theory. That's not to say I'm going to let it all hang out--I think some things should remain between me and God. But this year I'm seeking to reach a new level in my candor. I want to be open about my life, the good and the bad.

Ha! I tricked you. I made this look like a chatty post about the missionary conference and then I got all deep. Honestly, when I sat down to write this, I didn't know that those were the words my fingers would find to type. But I'm glad they did.

(Part Two is coming and I don't anticipate that it will be as serious. But you never know!)

Awww...

Today Russ opened the closet and Samson saw his crate. He started barking and whining for it. I took it down and opened it; he jumped in immediately. Soon though, he was following me around the house frantically. He wanted us to put him in his crate and take him somewhere. This dog keeps us laughing.

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Oh, hey--while I'm talking about nothing in particular, I keep hearing about my appearance in the Christian Chronicle but have yet to see it. Could someone please scan it and email it to me? I'll love you forever!

***EDIT--Saw it! Thank you!

Home Again

We Made the Paper!, originally uploaded by russandval.

We did make it home from the missionary conference--about twelve hours later than anticipated. The airport in Curitiba was having major radio problems so everything got super delayed.

We (us and the Parkers) arrived at the airport with everyone else from the conference and had a lot of time to kill. We checked in and then headed over to our friends' house. The kids all played together for a while and we got to spend some more time with Kyle and Leslie. Then we headed back to the airport, getting there just in time to board. We got through security, sat down and, moments later, discovered our flight had been delayed. It kept getting delayed later and later. Talking to the airline, we discovered our plane hadn't even left the previous airport so we headed out of the gate area and back to McDonalds. As we finished eating, they announced our flight so we went tearing back through security. Once we got back to the gate, however, they wouldn't let us board. The guy kept saying we needed to leave security again and go to the counter, which we were reluctant to do while our flight was boarding. Stacey went into the VIP lounge to get more information and while she was in there, I heard them announce Russ and Lauren's names over the PA. (We still don't know why they only announced the two of them!) We left the gate area once more and stood in line at the counter. After a few minutes, we found out that because everything was so delayed it would be quite a long night if we wanted to make our connections. But the airline was ready to put us all up at a hotel, give us a meal, transport us to the hotel and then put us on the flight of our choice on Saturday. The best choice of flight happened to leave at 6:20 AM, so by the time we got to the hotel at midnight and left the hotel at 5:00, we didn't get much sleep. (But still much, much better than spending the night in the airport!)

At the airport on Friday night, I noticed a photographer. His camera was pointed directly at us. We joked about how funny it would be to make the paper but he was taking a bunch of other pictures, too, so we really didn't think we would. But Saturday morning, just in case, I grabbed a paper. And there we were! Tiny, but there!

I spent most of yesterday sleeping. I slept on the airplane from Porto Alegre, slept while the plane stopped in São Paulo, slept on the flight to Salvador, ate lunch and then slept some more and still managed to go to bed at 11:00 and sleep all night long. I'm pretty sure I have a nap in me this afternoon, too. So once I'm done with all the sleeping, I'll share some stuff with you from this week. Until then, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ........................

Still Around

Yep, we're still here. We took it easy for a couple of weeks while our friends, the Clays, were with us. Now they're gone and we're running around like mad. Russ is doing his first Brazilian wedding this weekend and then on Monday we leave for the Missionary Conference. That means I have a handful of days to 1. do all the laundry and housework I didn't do while Tom and Gina were here; 2. get us ready for the wedding (including getting Russ a suit and figuring out what I want to do differently in photographing this one); 3. make plans for Samson while we're away; 4. get us ready to travel across the country (almost 2,000 miles!). At some point I'll get around to putting away our Christmas decorations, but I don't see that happening before we leave. I also anticipate that I won't be blogging much until after we get back, but I just wanted to let you know what we are up to. I'm sure I'll have a bunch to share after the conference.

A Dream Come True

Adson, originally uploaded by russandval.

Ever since we found our church building by the water, and even before that, our dream has been to have a baptism in the ocean. Today we had the privilege of having not one, but two! Two of our teenagers made their commitment to Christ this morning after church.

The part of our worship time inside the church ended with Gilvan and Adson's confessions of faith. Then we all walked across the street to the beach. Sunday is a big beach day here so there were people all around. But all the beach-goers were very respectful of what we were doing. The beach soccer game was suspended while the baptisms were going on. It was such a neat moment.

And now, we have two new brothers. Gilvan is related to several of our members already. His grandmother wept tears of joy. His mom doesn't come to our church but came today to experience this important moment in her son's life. Adson is one of their neighbors and the two boys are close friends.

This morning before worship, Russ, Gilvan's uncle Fernando and I took a moment to pray for them. We prayed that God would be with Gilvan and Edson in their new walk and that He would help them become leaders in the church. Please join us in prayer for the new lives our brothers are leading!

(Not So) Shameless Plug

My brother Dave has a cool job. He's been touring with the African Children's Choir for a while now but since he's neither African nor a child, he serves as a chaperone. It's taken him to some pretty neat places--the UN, Africa, Europe--but next week he's headed somewhere new.

Next Friday night, tune in to The Tonight Show to see the ACC perfom. You won't actually get to see Dave, because he's just the big white "uncle", but it's not really about him. His kids are about as precious as you can get and are excellent ambassadors. The ACC is a really cool program that is doing a lot of good in the lives of these kids, their families and their villages.

I won't get to watch because we don't get that show here so I'm asking you to watch for me. Thanks!

(If you want a preview of how stinking cute the kids are, check out Dave's pictures.)

What a Day!

Yesterday was a day of epic proportions.

We had decided a while back that it would be fun to have a church picnic, Brazil-style, as a church Christmas celebration. That meant churrasco or barbecue. BBQ here is much simpler--no sauce, no marinade, just salted meat on big swords. When it's ready it's cut up in little bit sized pieces. You end up spending a couple of hours eating but it's all so worth it.

So we decided to make this an Event. We were going to have it at Keith and Stacey's house which is about a fifteen minute drive from the church. We made plans to rent transportation to get people out there after church. We set a price for our members and told them visitors would be free. That confused some of our members. "But then we'll have people inviting lots of people!" THAT'S THE POINT!!! (We're working on teaching evangelism and outreach!)

As the day approached, we realized this was going to be bigger than originally anticipated. We rented another mini-bus and made sure we would have lots of food. We moved the events from the Parkers' house to the party facilities in their neighborhood.

Yesterday morning when we started our prayer groups, there were only about fifteen people there. But half an hour later, the room was filling up. And when I got up during the sermon to count, there were 85 people! I couldn't believe it and had Russ doublecheck my count. Our average attendance is about 50. Our previous record (other than our inaugural service) was 60 or so.

Afterward, everyone headed out to the churrasco. I knew there were a lot of people there but I didn't realize how many until we stopped for a devotional. Again, I recruited Russ because I couldn't believe it. We had about 100 people!

It was such an awesome mixture of people: our members, members from other congregations, friends and families of our members. (We even had several people from my English class!) Some people had never visited our church before, some were truly "unchurched". Everyone hung out under the shade of a huge mango tree and visited for several hours.

We were exhausted at the end of the day but we sat for a long time sharing stories about some of the ways that God had worked that day, guiding just the right member to chat with just the right visitor. We realized that if we can capitalize on even 50% of the potential contacts after this event we will be in an incredible place. Of course, 50% isn't our goal! Please pray for us as we try to follow up with all of these visitors. There were several requests for Bible studies and many new conversations were started. Pray that God gives us the words to bring these people to faith in Him. Pray that the evangelistic spirit catches fire in our members.

What do you do after a day like that? Well, we ended the evening with an adventure--we discovered that the big toad in the Parkers' yard is poisonous! Their little dog, Chacha, had a close call but we're happy to say that she's going to be okay.

This morning I went with some members of the American Society to drop Christmas presents off at a children's home. It's run by the Missionaries of Charity. It was an awesome experience and I felt my eyes welling up several times.

When I got home this afternoon, I crashed. I slept hard for two hours. The past day and a half was awesome but there's not much time to rest! Our friends Tom and Gina arrive in a week so we've got to get ready for their visit! I'm so thankful though when I'm tired in this way. God gives us strength to get through marathon weekends like that and rewards us with blessing upon blessing. What a privilege to serve Him full-time!

Christmas Party

The Food, originally uploaded by russandval.

This afternoon we had a "North American" Christmas Party for our English students. We sang carols, played games and ate a bunch of traditional foods. It was really hard to narrow down what treats to make. The decision was affected by the availabilty of certain ingredients. Fortunately, year-old candy canes still make very yummy peppermint bark. The church ladies were funny. As I started pulling out all the goodies, they marveled, "I didn't know you were so domestic!" Yup, I'm full of surprises!

This morning our worship was incredibly powerful. I love that we're finally to the point that we can be touched by a worship service in Portuguese. (I'm glad that the guys' Portuguese is finally to the point that they can use it to touch people!)

Little Things

We discovered the other night how responsive Samson is to the TV. He has a spot next to the bed where he has a good view. Some people say that dogs can't watch TV. Sam is evidence to the contrary. When a dog came the show we were watching, he started barking at it. When that scene ended, the barking stopped. Now I don't feel so silly leaving the TV on for him when we're out sometimes. (It's hard to decide what he'd like to watch. Usually I leave it on nicer shows like Gilmore Girls.) So we know he's a clever dog. Unfortunately that cleverness doesn't seem to carry over into going for walks. It's an ongoing challenge.

In completely unrelated news, my heart leapt for joy this morning when my friend Nina, who I meet with a couple times a week to talk about English and Jesus, described me to someone else as her "white sister". Our relationship is really blossoming. Not only is this a good evangelistic opportunity but it's a great feeling to have a good friend who isn't a teammate! (Though I love my teammates dearly. Most days, anyway!)

Food For Thought

I had a tough conversation with a fellow minister here. He commented that sometimes all he can afford for his family is bread and bananas. He knows many people who have never eaten something as simple as cheese; partly because it has to be refrigerated and partly because it is not a necessity.
Commercials for healthy eating are ignored by the rich and made fun of by the poor because they are so far away from their normal lives. Some eat the chef's choice wherever they are, but in doing so they spend more than most entire families have for a month of food. Think about that when you can afford to by healthy choices; there are more ways to model Christ than you can imagine. My friend ended by saying he was happy because he knew every bite came from God. May we feel the same way.

New Adventures

When we first got here, we talked a lot about how we felt like babies, having to re-learn everything again. Well I guess now we've developed since then because now I'm a teenager learning how to drive.

Matt and Mary Virginia left for furlough yesterday and they left their car for us and the Sasses to drive. We're excited about having the use of a car for over a month and the minute we dropped them off at the airport, we started listing the places we want to go with it. So often on our shopping expeditions, we're limited in what we can buy. Even if we're fortunate enough to get a taxi that's not a hatchback and doesn't have a tank in the trunk, the driver is another passenger, so that leaves little space inside the car for extra stuff. (That's not to say we haven't crammed an incredible amount of stuff inside taxis!)

So first on the list was Sam's Club. I needed to get some stuff for this weekend's Team Thanksgiving Dinner. Unfortunately, Russ had an appointment this morning. He suggested that I drop him off and then go on in the car by myself.

I've driven a handful of times here but most of my experience has been limited to our neighborhood or going to and from the Parkers', which is a pretty straightfoward route. Today, however, was right through town.

People often ask us how the drivers are here. Honestly, I don't think they drive that poorly. I will say, though, that it is a completely different driving style than my own. Those of you who know me well know that I'm a fairly "by the book" kind of person and I like everything to be in its place. Hm. Doesn't really work here. You can't stay in your lane all the time and politely signal when you want to change lanes. You can't come to a complete stop before you pull out of parking lot. So I'm relearning.

I don't have it all down yet. My neck is tired from the number of shoulder checks (and re-checks!) I did today. But after a few minutes of driving, I fell in step with the rhythm of the other cars. It's like a dance (and sometimes, as I experienced in a harried cab ride yesterday, slalom skiing). And the longer I drove, the more I understood it. Now I understand why taxi drivers always hang out in the left lanes of one street before crossing over quickly to our exit on the right. I understand why I have to be flexible about where exactly the lanes are. But I did it- I made it to Sam's and home again and I've got the Kraft Dinner to prove it!

Women's Conference

Women's Conference, originally uploaded by russandval.

Yesterday I took a group of our women to the Salvador Churches of Christ Women's Conference. Stacey and I kept saying all day, "I love our women!" The gals at church are so much fun and I am becoming great friends with them. The conference was really good. There were close to 200 women there. We got to reconnect with many of the friends we've made all around the city.

At the end of the conference, it was time to decide what church would host it next year and the whole crowd started chanting, "Pi-tu-ba, Pi-tu-ba!". (That's us!) Stacey and I looked at each other, shrugged and said, "We'll do it!". I'm glad we've got a whole year to plan!

P.S.

Just wanted to let you know that we're hoping to be in North America in April and May. Yes, we'll come over for dinner!

Still Here

Oh, little blog. I haven't forsaken you. There's just been a lot going on.

Russ and I are just coming off taking a couple of personal days. We used our vacation time to go to my sister's wedding but we found ourselves needing a little renewal time. Russ has been doing the preaching recently and, while he enjoys it, it does take a lot out of him. We also really needed a break on a personal level. A couple of weeks ago we had another miscarriage. I'm okay. We're okay. But we have a mountain of feelings to work through.

So we took a little break. We looked at all kinds of fun places to go nearby. Salvador is not hurting for vacation spots (case in point: we have a Club Med in the bay). But as we researched and planned we decided to keep it simple. We stayed in town. There's a big hotel on the other side of town that we frequently pass. It's on a gorgeous plaza and at the end of an avenue filled with some of the biggest trees in town. We'd spent very little time in that part of town, so there were lots of things we could do. We had a blast. My favorite part was that our hotel room had a bathtub so I was able to take my first bath in a long time! It was just the break we needed and I think we're both in a much better place than before.

There is, as usual, a ton going on at church. English classes are still going strong (I am turning people away now!). We had about sixty people in worship on Sunday and we were missing a dozen or so regulars! It was the most visitors we'd had since our inaugural service. In every area of the work exciting things are happening.

Samson the dog is doing well. He's on his way to becoming the World's Biggest Yorkie. Well, maybe not, but he's definitely not a delicate dog. He makes us smile and laugh and he seems to think we're okay, too (judging by the kisses he gives me).

Oh, and in other news, Travis and Alicia had their baby! I can't believe I forgot to mention that earlier. So now the team is up to ten adults, five kids and three dogs. Ceara is a doll and I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she has Travis wrapped around her little finger!

Movie Night

I know I've mentioned once or twice about how life here is making us more and more flexible. Tonight was one of those times, but it turned out to be a great time. Randy and Matt had planned a church movie night. We've had two others and we always have a great turnout. Tonight we had close to 30. We were eating before the movie when the power went out. Outtages aren't unusual on days like today when it's cold and rainy (we even had thunder and lightning this morning!). But they can definitely interfere with your plans. Everyone made their way to the front lobby and the sidewalk and we all hung out and talked for a while. Fernando positioned his motorcycle just inside the front door and shone his headlight at the tables so people could get more to eat and drink. The teens had fun running around the dark building. After a while, we all gathered in the lobby and sang. It was a great moment. I was especially excited because we had visitors from the beginner English class who were there for the first time. They got to see what we're really about. And they were excited! Eventually we sent everyone home. The power came back just as we were getting ready to leave the church building. We got home a few minutes later only to discover our power was still out. Russ and I sat in the dark for about 30 minutes and just chatted without distraction. He decided he should rescue the ice cream "just in case" and I tried not to fall asleep. Now we unexpectedly have a free evening! Guess I'll catch up on some work.

Shoe Drive a Success!

New Shoes, originally uploaded by russandval.

Our first church benevolence project was a resounding success. We collected about 50 pairs of shoes, both new and used, and R$ 300 to buy more. Several pairs of shoes were given to needy kids that day as part of our Dia das Crianças (Children's Day) celebration and we've got a nice stockpile for helping the kids that we see every day. Pray that the hearts of the children and the parents will be opened by this gesture. So many people on the street are distrustful and with good reason, but we are fighting to show them our love.

Sam I AM

I made my first trip to the mythical sams club. It even smells the same. My name on my card is Russel Austim; what do i care as long as i can buy Peter Pan PB for seven dollars AND giant trampolines (here they are called a pula-pula). So much fun to be had. They even sell beef jerky. It is a fun new store to wander around in; the only reminder of Bahia are the butchers inside the refrigerators wearing PARKAS! Good times.

Weekends, Past and Future

What a weekend it has been here. First there was the story of the missing airplane, then the plane was found, making it Brazil's greatest air accident ever. Our prayers are with the families--how hard it must have been to wait so long for news! Of course the other major excitement was the election yesterday. We really weren't sure what kind of turn out we'd have at church but we still had decent numbers (including visitors!). Now the election has gone into a runoff. At this point, it's hard to predict what that will mean. The one thing I know it means is four more weeks of campaigning (blech!) and heated discussions about Lula. (He's quite a polarizing figure). Anyway, keep praying about it all!

This weekend is going to be a doozy, too, though for completely different reasons. Saturday night is the wedding of two of our members, a couple who transferred from Bonoco. The church was asked to do the wedding which means, of course, that we missionaries (okay, the women) are doing the bulk of it. That's proving to be quite interesting because our wedding experience here is rather limited. We keep asking the bride her opinion and she says, "Oh, whatever is fine." None of us can imagine sitting back and having our weddings planned by committee but the bride seems to trust us completely. We have found ourselves wishing we had a Garden Ridge in town!

So that's Saturday. Sunday is a completely different event. October 12 is Children's Day, quite a large occasion, and we're going to do a church celebration of it this Sunday. Street children are common here and they often don't have any shoes, so we're using this as an opportunity to help them. We've been collecting money and shoes and are inviting all the kids we see to join us this Sunday. We have no idea what to expect but we are praying that this day will touch the lives of all involved.

Something Good and Something to Pray About

Something good: Today was a very happy day in the lives of the Salvador team. Our brand new Sam's Club opened! It was a madhouse but it was so wonderful. It has great deals on a number of things that are hard to come by here. We were excited to see Kraft Dinner and Heinz ketchup in the "gourmet" section! (See? It's always the little things...)

Something to Pray About: This Sunday is Election Day here in Brazil. While we don't necessarily have strong opinions about politics here, we are concerned about the impact that any outcome will have on life. Brazil has made great strides in the past fifteen years and we pray that they are able to keep making progress. So we ask for your prayers as people hit the polls (voting is mandatory, so that's a lot of voters!).

Happy Wednesday (Quarta-Feira)

Today is quarta-feira, the fourth market day of the week. I am chillin' with my dog Sammy. It started pouring around 5. I can only remember a handful of mornings that were so dark and misty; it's a nice change. Life is pretty sweet. We are feeling an incredible sense of growth at ICOS, and our short-term goals have the potential to unite everyone even more. Our team is praying for more involvement and leadership from our members so that our mission team can take a step back and become a truly staff-run church. Bahians are stepping up and volunteering in worship, service, and especially youth. Thanks for all your help to reach this new and exciting phase. PS- our youth won a city-wide contest among the Churches of Christ that was like a Spirit Week competition that involved games and collecting food for the needy. Way to go guys!

The Smallest Things...

Several months ago, I caught a bus to a hospital on the other side of the city. The husband of my language teacher had been there for a month with meningitis. I gave him the Max Lucado book "It's not about me" in portuguese, which he thanked me for. I just wanted him to have something to do; his friends never even called during the five weeks that he was ill.

Yesterday, his couisin Eduardo stopped me before worship. He read a single chapter of the book while he was using the computer at his family's house; and in his words, it was if I had put the book in his hands on God's behalf.

Now he is studying with Travis each week; he started an online discussion group about the concepts of the book b/c he cannot stop thinking that his life is not his own. Praise our Father in heaven today for Eduardo. There are incredible things happening because he accepted that without God, life doesn't make sense. Right on.

Thoughts

We've had Samson for a week now. It's been a tough week--puppies are a lot of work--but he's settling in quite nicely. Now he's just a member of the family (a member that doesn't have access to every room in the house). He has started getting excited when he hears our voices. It's nice, though, to have a little friend to greet us when we get home from a long day.

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Yesterday I brought a book about Winnipeg to share with one of my readers. She was amazed by how different it was. She couldn't believe that there are houses made of wood. She found the pictures of the lush green summers absolutely beautiful but when we got to a picture of winter she said it was ugly. Now, in February when the accumulation of a winter's worth of sand on the streets turns everything a dingy grey, you may be able to call it ugly. But this was a picture of a tree-lined avenue (in River Heights, I think) right after a blizzard. It looked absolutely magical. But Nina disagreed. Oh well, she'll probably never see snow. I wonder when I'll see it again! (It's not all disagreements with Nina. She makes me laugh, sometimes deliberately, sometimes not. I'm trying to break her of calling coffee "cough". I've explained the difference but old habits die hard!)

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It seems like every day we have moments that expand our perspective. A recent example: For the past several years in North America, churches taking the name "Church of Christ" off their signs has been a source of controversy. But in Salvador, the fact that we have the name "Church of Christ" on our sign (or that we have a sign at all) has been an issue with some of our brothers and sisters in town. Who is right? I am, of course!

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I guess that's it for today. I just had several little things running through my head, none of which seemed to warrant a long post. (Well, I probably could have rambled for a while on the third one but it wouldn't have been fruitful.) It's Saturday morning, Russ is out for a bike ride with a guy that works in our building and I'm hanging out, listening to K-Love and enjoying the fact that I managed to make it through my crazy week. I think I'll go make some celebratory (fresh) mango juice. (Sorry, just had to throw that in to make you jealous!)

And His Name Shall Be...

...Samson.

Announcement

Puppy!, originally uploaded by russandval.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present...um...our dog. Okay, he doesn't have a name yet. He's a Yorkshire, though a dog that small isn't the first choice for either of us. But he's sweet and precious and, as I said before, nameless. We will gladly hear your suggestions but here are a few things to bear in mind:

1. We'd like a fairly masculine name.

2. The name has to be relatively easy to say in Portuguese.

3. Val loves when pets have human names (Exhibit A: Virgil the cat) or are some obscure pop culture reference (See Exhibit A).

4. Russ has veto power.

God Is Good

Right now I'm sitting on my balcony and reflecting. We just got chairs for our balcony--they were entirely an afterthought--but they seem to be meeting a need in my life. As I sit out here, I get drawn into moments of reflection that seem hard to come by anywhere else in my life. There's a definite peace to sitting out here in the morning, though the soccer court at the apartment building next to ours is full of teenage boys, the apartment upstairs is somehow still undergoing renovations, and the sound of trucks being loaded at the central post office occasionaly wanders over.

I started to write a long post detailing what I'm thinking about this morning but sitting here in my reflection seat, it ended up a little more personal than I'd like. (Maybe this isn't a good place to sit and blog from!) So I'll try to keep it short. These days, I'm trying to get out of the Job phase of my life and to be more like David (the king, not my brother, though he's pretty cool, too). I keep coming back to a song over and over--when I'm not listening to it, I'm running the lyrics over in my mind, contemplating them. So here you go, a little something for your own mediation time this morning:

Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Squirming

I told myself that after everything settled down I would get on a schedule. My schedule for the past few months has been project-based. I've been the one free to run and buy things for whatever was going on at the church, the one able to do things at a moment's notice. But I found myself longing for some sort of schedule. Maybe it was just so could feel like my work could be compared to my teammates. Maybe it was because after a month in bed I needed some sort of structure. Whatever the reason, I wanted it.

And yet now I find myself with a regular schedule, at least in the mornings, and I'm squirming. My freedom is gone. Once one part of your day is scheduled, you have to schedule everything else around it. If I go to a study on Monday mornings and need to go to the grocery store, I know that Monday afternoon will be when I have to do it. (Unless I play hookey like I did today and go to the movies instead of getting groceries! Guess I'll be shopping on Tuesday afternoon!) I'm just missing the flexibility.

On the other hand, there are some wonderful benefits. Every day I have to get up and walk to the church building for my studies. That's exercise I wouldn't have gotten. And I'm getting even more familiar with that walk and the people on it. Today I learned which magazine stand will always have recharge cards for my cell phone (and is courteous enough to cover up the porn!). I'm learning which little grocery store is better to stop in for a snack and which has a better selection of fruit.

The best benefit is, of course, the time I'm getting to spend with people. I'm doing several one-on-one LST-type studies and am getting a great chance to build some new relationships. My beginner class is progressing and the students are really bonding. Even though we're not actively advertizing the class, there are new students almost every week because the current students keep telling their friends! God continues to bring us new contacts!

I know I'll get used to the schedule thing. I did, after all, used to work at a "real job". But I'm sure I'll still squirm for a week or two!

As Promised!

Monkey, originally uploaded by russandval.

That's right, friends, more monkeys. Keep reading and you'll find out the details. First I have to fill you in on where we've been.

For starters, we were getting our schedules back on track after our vacation and my parents' visit. Then the unthinkable happened- the laptop died again. Died for real this time. But it died during the week that the Parkers (read: free tech support) were moving, so we weren't able to do much about it. Then Monday we headed out on a team retreat.

Someone commented recently, "You guys seem to go on a lot of retreats!" Well, lately we have. The one in June was postponed from March (we were a little busy getting ready for the church to start). That was strictly a working retreat. We reviewed what was happening in the church and how that compared to our strategy. We reviewed our strategy to see if that's still what we wanted to happen. We evaluated our ministries, ourselves and everything else under the sun. Definitely not a vacation. (It even stormed the whole time we were out there, so the beach was not an option!) The latest retreat is our annual spring retreat. It is strictly for renewal and relaxation. Most of us (okay, mostly the women) even avoided saying the word "church". We spent three days going to the beach, swimming in the pool, playing games and eating.

Which brings me to the monkeys. We rode out with the Maberys and were there several hours before everyone else. While we were eating a fabulous lunch of imported food (peanut butter sandwiches and chips and Rotel!), something all of a sudden landed on our table. Russ and I turned to look and saw a monkey! There was another one in the bushes behind us. After lunch, we were in hot pursuit of the monkeys. There were four adults and a little baby one, who I tried to convince to come home with me. We spent the afternoon watching the monkeys and laughing at the Maberys' puppy, Nala, interacting with them. Once everyone else showed up, the monkeys got a little scared. They came back one other time, but not like they were the first afternoon.

We got home from the retreat Thursday and managed to get our new hard drive and all our programs installed that night. Now we're back and will hopefully be blogging a little more.

Where in the World?

We're still alive, but we're temporarily computerless while we get our new hard drive set up. More soon, I promise. (Including...monkey pictures!)

Sigh.

That was a sad sigh. I took my parents to the airport this morning. Our time together was wonderful. Combined with the time we spent in Winnipeg for Susan's wedding, I had five straight weeks with my mom and dad. It has been more than ten years since that happen (and I only had to compete with my siblings for their attention for two of those weeks!) I'll share more about what we did in the next few days as I get caught up posting pictures and stuff.

Sigh.

That one was a happy sigh. I just got home from the beginner English class. I took over teaching that class after the LST team left. Today was my first day flying solo. Fortunately, my mom spent much of our time together coaching me in how to teach English. The class is a lot of fun. When I say it is a beginner class, I really mean beginners. We are forming the most basic of sentences and learning the most basic vocabulary. The class is a mixture of people from the church and people from the community. It's wonderful to have the two groups together because the people from ICOS work hard to make everyone feel at home. Today I heard them invite someone to come to church and then stay for lunch and hang out with them until class. They're doing my job for me!

That's all for now. I'm alone in my apartment for the first time in almost two months and I feel like I should be celebrating! I'm off to jump on the bed or walk around without pants or whatever else strikes my fancy!

For the Curious

If you've been visiting looking for updates from Wayne and Diana, we're sorry, they've just been having too much fun to sit down to do that. Mom has taken a bunch of pictures and has put them up on Flickr. You can find them here.

Baptism!

Baptism!, originally uploaded by russandval.

This is our new sister Lorena. Lorena and Mary Virginia have been studying together for a while. I was walking down the street today with my parents and one of the LST workers and all of a sudden I heard someone say, "Hi!". Mary was on her way home from a Bible study with Lorena and couldn't wait to share the good news with us. She pulled up on the sidewalk (not such a bad thing here) and filled us in. We were so excited to get to share this moment with Lorena.

We haven't just been enjoying vacation time with my parents. LST had their final party tonight. We had over 60 people present. LST has been such a wonderful thing for us. We have over a hundred new contacts! Pray for us as we do our best to follow up with them! And while you're on your knees, lift up our new sister, Lorena!

Where Have We Been?

Mom and Dad T. Relaxing, originally uploaded by russandval.

Sorry that we haven't been updating much. These are the people that are to blame for our absence. We've been having a wonderful time with them and have taken lots of pictures which will be posted later.