Santa Fills Up

So today Brenda and I walked to church and we saw this!!  Santa and his reindeer needed some gas I guess.  This lovely little contraption was even playing Christmas music!

Church was really great this morning.  There was a baptism service at the retreat center Dave and Jan Santos have right next to their home.  There is a beautiful pool and many people were baptized including two families!  It was pretty cold today and the water was cold since its been cold lately (ok, cold being 60-80 ish), but when its cloudy, around 70 and the water is cold its not that much fun!  After the baptism we had communion which was really special because it was the first time these members could join in!

Paulo the Brazilian pastor.

Embu

Today another teacher and I decided to go to a near-by area called Embu where they sell traditional handicrafts.  It’s a little less than an hour away by car, but we took the bus and metro which takes about 2 and a half hours.  We got there no problem and spent a few hours shopping and finding treasures.  It was rainy today so there were less people there since it’s outside.  We were a little wet, but it was ok.  This little town was so cute with its cobblestone roads and lanterns.  Yes, cars do drive down these streets!




Here is a lantern store I thought was cool.  I'm standing toward the back and taking a picture toward the entrance.



 I thought it was so funny they were selling overalls!  I snuck a picture when it looked like no one was watching!

I bought a pretty necklace from these sweet ladies and we had a wonderful "conversation".  Later I ended up buying two pairs of earrings ($5 total!) from them and my friend bought some too.  Too bad the necklace broke when I got home!  I picked it up and all the pretty shells fell off because the string broke!  :(

We grabbed a sandwich at a little cafe where everyone enjoyed laughing at us...just because we were American I guess.

 Later we got these delicious treats!  Mine was a white brigadero covered strawberry, and Emily's was white chocolate covered brigadero (a Brazilian sweet made mostly of sweetened condensed milk.  They sure do love that stuff down here!!)

So yummy!

On the way out I noticed an interesting version of Santa and Mrs. Clause.  I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but Santa is in board shorts with sunglasses like a surfer dude and Mrs. Clause is sporting some marvelous midriff and snappy shades!  Hey, we're in the tropics right?  I've just never seen such a young skinny Mrs. Clause!

We left about 4 pm.  We were looking for a bus home and rain started to pick up.  After a while a bus came along and a man was yelling two destinations out the door.  One was the destination we needed, but it the bus wasn't labeled.  He assured us it would take us to our metro stop so we got on.  Maybe the signs were not working.  Sure enough, true to his word he made sure to tell us when to get off which was a good thing because we would not have known!  So many people here are helpful.  I always hope we trust the right ones!  

Anyway, we got on the metro (which I love!) and took that to where we needed to catch a bus.  We got off and walked about 5-10 minutes to the bus stop.  By the time we got there we decently wet from the rain.  It was probably between 5:45 and 6 PM.  

This is when things began to get interesting.  AND this is a wonderful story of how God protects, answers prayer, and truly cares about each one of us.  I am really thankful for this experience because it helps me trust God more and to rely on Him alone.  Without moments like these it’s so easy to forget just how much I need Him and how powerful he is!  

Well, we were pretty close to home outside the nearest mall.  It’s typically a 30 min. bus ride or so.  We were pretty proud of ourselves for how well we had done that day with all the buses, and the metro.  Anyway, we waited... and waited... and waited.  Many people came and left on their buses and we were still there.  After about 45 min. we called another teacher from PACA on a cell phone I had just been given (another blessing!!!).  She told us of another bus we could take so we got on that bus.  Neither of us had been on this bus before and we didn't know the route.  Anyway, after a while we realized we were not in a good neighborhood, but that happens a lot on the bus.  Side note...I love the Metro. Its fast, efficient, color coded, and there are maps everywhere.  The buses on the other hand are slow, bumpy, and there are no maps posted (or at least I haven't seen any). Anyway, I don't really like the buses, but they get us around and are necessary so we use them.  

There weren't many people on the bus.  My friend commented on a homeless man sitting one row up and on the other side of the aisle.  She said he was staring at us a lot.  Soon after that she asked me to pray.  She has been here 3 years and so she knows a bit more than I do about life here.  So I started praying ...also noticing that he kept staring with his sunken eyes and cheeks and protruding cheekbones.  I had also seen the man in front of us turn around to stare a couple times, but hadn't paid too much attention.  Now he was doing it more and more.  When I glanced behind us I saw two more homeless men staring at us, and when they stood up I could smell the alcohol.  The only other people on the bus were the driver up front and the man who collects money (also up front).  We were toward the back.  There was "staring headphones man" in front of us, "staring homeless man sucking his gums" to the left, and two "alcohol smelling homeless men behind"...all staring at us.  Lovely ...So I started praying and quickly decided I would keep my head bowed, but maybe I would open my eyes this time. :)  I prayed that God would make us invisible; that He would put his protective angels around us and just make us invisible.  I asked God to please have these men get off the bus quickly and that our stop would also be soon so we could get off and go home.  LESS THAN 5 MINUTES LATER all these men got off the bus!!!  It was just Emily and I left!  Wow, thank you God!  

The bus was stopped, but I didn't really think much of that.  The traffic is always terrible and the bus is stopped a lot.  Emily realized something was wrong though and went to go talk with the man who collects the money.  I'm not sure how we realized this exactly (neither of us can really speak much Portuguese), but evidently that was the end of the bus ride!  I thought all buses ended at a terminal...so if we got stuck at least we would be at a terminal where we could catch another bus.  We also would have the name of the location we were at.  Anyway, we were just on this street.  I don't think we were in a favela (slum) per se, but it was definitely not somewhere you want to get lost on a dark rainy night.  By this time I think it was probably around 7:30 or 8.  Either way it was dark and rainy.  

We had no idea what other bus to get on and no clue where we were.  Well, the money man was talking with Emily and the bus driver.  He told the bus driver something and then I heard the word "gringos".  It’s a slang term for white foreigners or English speaking people.  Ha, I have never been called that to my face, but I figured he could call us whatever he wanted since he was helping us!  We told him the name of a university right across the street from where we live and he recognized it!  He motioned for us to stay on the bus.  He ran to some other bus and the driver got off.  Maybe he was on break or had finished his shift.  I don't know.  Either way the money man came back and told us to follow him, so we got off the bus and followed him across the road to another bus.  He talked to a man and we went back across the road and he had us get back on our original bus.  The other man got in the driver’s seat.  I have no idea if they are allowed to do this or not, but they ended up acting as our own personal chauffeur's!  The shut the bus doors with just the four of us and drove us all the way to a bus stop very close to where we live! Later I was reminded of the Kerry Underwood song, "Jesus Take the Wheel". 

They didn't charge us anything.  Here we were on our own personal city bus with our personal driver and helper.  They talked to us the whole way, and I understood about 5% of what they said, but it was so great!  They were kind, helpful, friendly and just wanted to talk with us.  When we got to the bus stop the bus driver let us off and the money man got out with us, helped us cross the busy street (I'm told that you can get put in jail for life if you hit a tree, but nothing really happens if you kill a person...and its seems that is true based on what I have observed with drivers and pedestrians!), and took us to the bus stop.  He waited with us there to protect us, and make sure we got on the right bus.  It was so kind of him.  The area isn't the greatest, and there is a homeless camp right there with many people sitting around the campfires and whatever else.  I didn't look too much.  I tried to give him money and he refused over and over.  In fact, he quickly made sure I hid it away so we didn't get robbed.  He stayed with us until we got on the right bus.  I have no way of knowing this, but I do wonder if he was an angel.  I rarely think about angels, but I asked God to protect us with His angels and right after that things started to fall into place.  It was pretty amazing. (Maybe next time I'll get an English speaking one. ;) ) 

I was reminded of II Kings 6: So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.18When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.…

After that it was a few short stops and a little walk home.  When we finally arrived at the PACA gate the guard pushed the button to unlock it.  We were so thrilled to be back, and so full of adrenaline we couldn't even get in!  We were pushing all over the gate.  I have no idea what we did, but we couldn't get it to open (it’s not really that difficult!!).  He had to unlock it twice for us to get in. :)  Whew!  We were pretty relieved to be home, and so thankful that we have a God who knows everything about us, every little street in the biggest of cities, and exactly what people we need to meet each day.

Atibaia

"Its a small world after all"...

So come to find out my mom's cousin lives down here in Brazil not too far away!  His mom and my Grandma were first cousins, so who knows what that makes us...but we are related!  They had me to their house this weekend and I got to meet their four daughters who are about my age.  We had such a nice relaxing weekend and it was so fun to see a new place!  They live in a place called Atibaia which is just north of Sao Paulo and its in a mountainous area.  Its really beautiful.  I got to stay in "the pink room" which I loved.  I felt like I was 10 again and it was great.  There was even a whole Barbie house in one corner!

 

 Friday we went to their relatives house close by and spent the day at the pool...rough life huh?!

The biggest ant ever was fished out before we went swimming.

 

 In the evening we went for a walk around a lake in their complex and saw this huge bee hive.

There are tennis courts, a park, and some birds near the lake as well.

This is one of the first houses built on the complex.  I thought the tall trees in the front were pretty amazing. My cousin's father-in-law started Word of Life Brazil here on this property and the seminary and family camp are still here.  They have sold a great deal of the land to private parties who built homes and condos.

I was able to meet this man and his wife and watch the sunset while drinking some banana avacado beverage.  Not bad huh?!  He was one of the men who started PACA in a church basement and it was really neat to hear about the beginnings of the school and the philosophy behind it.  He helped purchase all this land and develop it.  Isn't it amazing that now he can live here on top of a hill and look out over all God has done through him?  What a challenge for me!
This man came down from Minnesota with one other man to work with an indigenous tribe in the Amazon. They were the first two white men to come out alive. This took place about the same time as 5 missionaries were killed trying to minister to the Auca Indians in Ecuador.  Later he began the Word of Life Brazil.

 

Saturday night we went out for pizza.

I don't think I have posted much about the pizza here.  They have many different kinds of pizza, and they do not put sauce on their pizza.  This pizza has ham, egg, cheese, and lots of onion!

Today I was able to go to church at Primeira Igreja Batista de Atibaia (First Baptist Church of Atibaia). Afterwards we had a nice Sunday dinner and then I came home.  It was so nice to have Sunday dinner!!  It reminded me of all those great Sunday dinners my mom makes. :)
Oh and one more thing...I rode the metro and bus home alone for the first time!  I haven't taken public alone before...one more step toward growing up. ;)

Zoo!

Yesterday I went to the zoo.  Its the largest zoo in South America and the 6th largest in the world!  My favorite part was the Africa section with a giraffe who was born two days ago, a hippo, and rhino.  The lions and tigers were sleeping in their dens so they were hard to see.  Oh, and of course there were some fun monkeys!  The birds here are amazing as well!

The kiddos looking at the elephants.

  

Claudia fixed a delicious lunch of chicken, rice, and corn that she brought along.  What a great picnic!

Rhinos...look out!

 Talk about cute kids!

  

There were so many vultures by the lion's cage.  I couldn't see the lion, but the birds were interesting!

 It was so cute how the kids held hands the whole time making sure not to lose anyone.

This bear was pacing in and out of his cave.  One time he started chasing the birds which was fun.

This zoo was so wonderful.  There were water filling stations everywhere...of course I loved that!!

The kids in front of a little monkey island.

At the end we stopped for ice cream.  It was a hot day so that was perfect.

Bountiful Blessings

I have been thinking lately that I write a lot of updates that revolve around activities.  When I "read" other people's blogs I mostly just look at the pictures and sometimes the captions.  I don't really like reading paragraphs and paragraphs of text.  Therefore, I tend to structure my blog in that way.  However, today I want to write how God has blessed me just this afternoon.  God works things out over and over again and many times I have no idea how everything will work out until the last minute, but without fail everything comes together!  

In my Bible Study we are studying Matthew.  When I did this study several years ago I remember that the main point I took away was DO NOT WORRY.  Living here really helps me work on that because there are MANY things I cannot do on my own...things that I have been able to do for a long time, like read my mail or schedule a Dr. appointment.  I have to depend on others to help me daily with the basics of life, and therefore I have to trust God to put those people in my life and trust that He will take care of me.  Here are just a couple of examples from this afternoon of what I have found to be fairly common lately!  

I needed to get to physical therapy today right after school.  Fortunately another teacher needed to go as well so she was going to help me figure out what bus to take (blessing number one!).  It was raining so we weren't looking forward to walking to and from the bus stop, and the rain also makes the traffic worse, but like I said I was just happy to have someone show me the way.  Well, we met outside my classroom right after school and the mom of one of my students said, "I know you have P.T. today.  I can take you."  Actually I have no idea what she said because it was in Portuguese, but my friend who was also going speaks both languages and so we got a ride to therapy.  THEN this mom went with her boys to the supermarket and waited for our appointments to be done (almost 2 hours) and then drove us home!  It is considered close, but takes maybe 30-45 min. in the afternoon during rush hour.  Wow!!!  That was such a blessing.  

Then I got home and I really needed to get some fruit.  I have P.T. everyday normally I don't get home until after dark.  Its not safe to go out by myself then so I haven't been able to get to the store.  Tonight I decided to start walking  because I got home a little earlier , but when I went out in the street there was a man going through the garbage and he kept looking at me.  He walked off with a large black bag of garbage like Santa Clause and then started picking through another trash bin.  He kept looking over his shoulder at me and I felt uncomfortable so I went back to school and decided to leave through the other gate.  Well, when I went out on that road he was talking to someone on the pay phone and again kept staring!  Ugh, forget it I thought and headed home.  I figured a few oranges and bananas weren't worth it.  I got home and 4 teachers were heading to a men's Bible Study so they were able to drop me off at the store!  They joked that I was trying to get away from one man and then jumped in a tiny car with 4 others. :)  

Traffic coming home from P.T.  Notice all the lights are green, and almost all the brake lights are on. :)  For some reason everyone seemed to be on their horns.  Typically the traffic is bad, but everyone expects it.  However, for some reason tons of cars just laid on the horns this time.  

On another note today was Twin Day...what a bunch of cuties!!!