Frequently I have "adventures" here in Brazil and I don´t write about them too much. However, there have been 4 events in a two week time period where I have really seen how God protected me and worked everything out when I was helpless to do anything about the situation.
First, a couple of Saturday´s ago I decided to go for a walk at a local park. The park I normally run/walk at is not safe. I have seen some "interesting" things going on there twice now, there are lots of drug deals going on there (even during the day), and my final reason for not going back was recently someone hung himself there. I can walk to that park which was nice, but now decided to drive myself to a different park. This other park is much safer with many other people exercising there. I was able to find the park without getting lost and completed my work-out. Just before I was about to leave I saw the director of our school walking with her daughter (who is also my friend). I have been to this park several times in the past with a friend of mine, but have never seen anyone else that I know there. We chatted for a few minutes, and I went back to my car. I had only taken the key to the car with me since I was walking and did not want to carry my cell phone, the keyless entry buttons, my documents etc. When I went back to the car the key would not open the door. I didn´t know what to do, but remembered how God provided a friend for me at the park just on the day and at the time I needed it. I walked around looking for my friends and found them. They were so kind and we all went to work on the lock, but it did not open.
There are many cars stolen in São Paulo every day and I wanted to go around and ask if anyone was a car thief an could break in. :)
Anyway, my friends did not have their phones either, but they had another friend who lived right across the street. We went over there and this very sweet lady and her husband invited us in. She allowed me to use her phone multiple times while we figured out a solution to the problem.
Later we found out that the key was a copy of the original and so it only starts the car, but does not open the door.
I was so thankful that God allowed my friends, and their friends, to be around when I needed them and got me home safely as well as the car (3 days later).
The next Friday some friends from my church invited me to go to a beach with them. I have heard many stories about the beautiful beaches in Brazil and have wanted to experience them during my time here. We were told to be ready right when school got out at 3:30 and we would be picked up here. Well, we sat on the bench by the entrance...we sat, and sat and sat. About 5:15 someone showed up and we left at 5:30. We did not know these people, but they were friends of our friend who was riding in a different car. We were about to give up and go back home when their car arrived. Since we left 2 hours late on a Friday afternoon the traffic was terrible. It took about 4-5 hours just to get out of the city. Then we driving for quite a while. I was supposed to take about 5 hours total to arrive. Around 12:30 in the morning we were going down the side of a mountain in the rain on very curvy roads. My friend and I were resting our heads on the back of the seat because we were tired. All of the sudden there was a big crunch and it looked like headlights almost in our back. There was a 3 car pile up. The trunk of the car we were in was only about 1.5 or 2 feet deep. We were completely fine although the car was dented and the trunk would not open up after that. Our driver and his wife got out of the car, but no one had cell phone service. After discussing things for a bit (in Portuguese) they got back in the car and started driving. My friend and I just looked at each other and figured, well hopefully the car stays put together to get us to where we need to go! Brazilian roads tend to have lots of potholes and speedbumps. While the car rattled quite a bit after the accident it seemed to work fine. Around 1:30 or 2 AM we ran into a problem where the road ended (going straight into the ocean), and the only other way to go was over this kind of little river. We didn´t know how deep it was, but I guess they decided to try because into the water we went! Well, the car made it again. At 2:30 in the morning we arrived at the place where we were supposed to stay. The only people out in the "street/ally" where our little cottage/room was were drunk men. We could not get ahold of anyone to let us in since it was the middle of the night. At one point there were four men coming from one direction and three from the other direction. Sometimes it is not fun looking so American. Well, they left us alone, and finally one of the girls came down to let us in. We had a mat to sleep on in a room with 5 girls, but we were thankful to finally have arrived at our destination 11 hours later. God protected us all the way through language barriers, a car crash, traffic, and unfamiliar places. The next day we were able to experience the beach and it was exquisite! God´s incredible creation was worth the problems from the night before. In addition, it was another opportunity to trust in God and rely on Him. He figured out everything for us when we could not.
Some photos fromThe Traveling Teacher
The next Monday I was driving myself to a Bible Study. Normally I go with other people, but they were not able to go this week. My phone was dead, but I had driven to this church before so I figured it would be fine. Well, I accidentally missed my exit. I took the next exit and there were two different ways I could go. One looped around and brought me right back on the same road heading the same wrong direction. The other one led me down another main road. I took the second choice. There was a large median in the middle of the road and no where to turn around. When I came to traffic lights I was not allowed to turn left. I was stuck in traffic. I knew that if I took a side street there would probably be a way to turn around, but I was nervous that I would get lost and or end up in a favela (slum). I kept going and going. I went past signs for the zoo, through a big tunnel, and finally I found a gas station on my side of the road! I pulled over to see if I could borrow a phone to call my friend to translate and give me directions. Four men came over which made me nervous since I look so different and I only know a little Portuguese. I tried to ask for a phone and one of them was really nice and let me use his phone. I heard them all talking in the back saying that I probably only knew English and was a foreigner. I was praying that God would protect me in this situation since there was nothing else I could do but ask these men for help. I was able to get ahold of my friend and she spoke with the gas station attendant in Portuguese. She told me he would draw me a map (since I can´t really understand the language). Well, he did not draw me a map, but told me the directions. All I could understand was to turn right. He explained the directions to me 3 times which was nice. However, if I don´t know what the words mean he could have told me a million times and I would not have understood any better. I didn´t know what else to do so I decided to turn right and hope for the best. After a bit I saw a sign for a "retorno", which literally means "return". I followed it was able to get on the road going the other direction back toward the road I needed. I got back to the road I needed, but could not get on it. I had to go under it. Again I had to stop and found a Subway Restaurant. Fortunately this time there was a lady inside eating a sandwich alone. I went up to her and tried to ask if she had a phone I could borrow. I could tell she did not really want to let me use the phone, but later she realized I was not trying to steal her phone and ended up being really helpful. She asked if I spoke French so that we could communicate better, but of course I do not. Anyway, with limited language skills and the help of my friend on the phone we determined that I would follow her a little ways to a mall that I knew and I thought I could find my way from that point. She finished her sandwich and we left. I followed her and eventually made it to my Bible Study more than one hour later. Whew!! I was praying tons along the way! Sometimes they were prayers of frustration, and other times prayers of thankfulness. All in all I was on the road for about 2 1/2 hours. Once again God provided people along the way to help me and figured out a situation that I had no answers for.
Lastly, I decided to go to a feita (similar to a Farmer´s Market) on a Saturday morning because they have really cheap fresh produce. I had been before with a friend and supposedly there is just one road that takes you there. Well this road has a couple of round-abouts and splits/merges several times. The streets here remind me of a spider´s web. Anyway, I made it to the feita and purchased the things I wanted. I went back to the car and they keyless entry system was not working. As mentioned earlier the key to this car also does not work to unlock the door. There was a homeless camp of about 10-15 men right behind me, and I was getting a bit nervous really wanting to get out of there. Finally, I managed to get into the car. I started driving and realized that I was not in the right place. Somehow the "one road" had changed or split, and I must have gone the wrong way. I decided to go back to where I started from. I was able to do this, but whoever had used the car before me had left the gas on E and I had no idea if/when I would run out (the teachers at PACA share a couple of cars they have here on campus). I could not find a gas station anywhere and I only had about $2.50/$3 on me even if I did find a station. This area of the city is not the safest so when I go there I only take enough money for the feita and leave all my credit cards/extra cash at home. Well, I started over again but somehow I went the same way I had earlier and got lost again. Whenever I tried to call a friend on my cell phone I got some message in Portuguese that I could not understand so I was unable to contact anyone for directions or help. Since I had almost no gas I finally tried to ask someone and found a lady walking on the side of the road. She said that she did not know, but I could go to a bakery across the street and ask. I did not really want to go because in this area of the city the bakeries typically have a bunch of creepy men sitting around staring at you. Once again I did not know what else to do. I just kept praying and praying. I went in and I saw a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes!!! I could not believe it. I never see that in this area of town. I went up to her and tried to ask for directions. Then she asked if I spoke English (because clearly my Portuguese was not the greatest). I was so excited...YES YES YES!!! I SPEAK ENGLISH! She was able to understand most of what I said. She was so nice. God just kept providing people to help me! A man in the bakery said that I could follow him and he would show me how to get back. I did not know if I should trust him or not, but I had no gas, no phone, and was completely lost. There really were no other options. I got in and started driving praying the whole time that the car would not run out of gas and that this man was leading me in the right direction. Twice we turned in a direction that felt like we were going away from PACA. Then I saw a store I recognized that is close to PACA. I began praising God and thanking Him over and over! I was so happy! I thanked the man and drove to the gas station I know of nearby. The car made it!!! I got there and asked if I could leave the car there for about 20 minutes while I walked home to get money. The gas station attendant took me to his boss where I tried to explain the situation again and ask if I could leave the car there. He went over to my car and told me open it up. I was not sure what was happening. He pulled a lever that released the door to the gas tank. He asked me how much I wanted to put into the car. I told him R$50. I said I will come back in just a few minutes. He just started putting gas in my car!!! He said that he would put the gas in and I could come back and pay later! He put about $20 of gas into my car trusting that I would come back! I could not believe it! Once again God provided and I didn´t even have to walk home to get money. Isn´t it amazing how God provides??!! These situations are stressful for me, but so wonderful. I am so thankful that God has allowed them because each time I trust Him more and more and get less and less scared knowing that He can work it out no matter what is happening. I also can hear His still small voice in my head reminding me of verses and songs to calm me down. Often its just a "trust in me". It is so comforting and really helps provide peace. PRAISE THE LORD!!!
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