And Then There Were 2...

Hello! = ) Well, let's see, where did we leave off on the last post? As of thursday ive been here an official two months and they've been unlike anything ive ever experienced! This week was packed with a lot of great stuff and also had its share of not too great stuff. The school-ish part of school was fairly normal this week, but there was a lot of talk amongst those same people who were talking about christianity and whatnot last week. For a while i sat there just listening like i did last week and the same guy kept bashing Christianity and saying a lot of stuff that he thought was bad about God. He said he doesnt believe in God or the Devil and that you are born already determined whether you are good or evil. So i got Patricks attention and asked him if there is not God, where do the standards for good and evil come from and he couldnt answer me. Our conversations was cut short cuz class started. They started talking about it again afterwards, but i havent gotten another chance to talk to the same guy. This kid is really just confused and doesnt know what he belives, so please pray that God prepares both of our hearts for His will in the sittuation.
Other than that, school has been pretty normal, we're started to prepare for Bimester tests that start next week. woohoo.... ; D But hey, its another opportunity to watch God's providence work! As far as things at Grupo CEO, theres been a lot of preparation for the teen and pre-teen easter skits. Ive seen them rehearse and they're all taking it seriously which is a blessing to see! i cant wait till service on sunday! The teen service on friday was very good! Bill lead most of it and talked to the kids a little about me and the reason i am here and encouraged them that they can do the same thing i am doing if they just let God work in them! He spoke for about 2 hours and most everyone stayed engaged the whole time. By the time it was finished, we had two boys (Renan and Thiago) and two girls (Leninha and Josefa) volunteer (i use that word a bit loosely) to give a short devotion this coming friday! Please pray that they will seek God to give them courage to share and wisdom! But they're not the only ones who will be speaking on friday. Im also gonna lead the main devotion and some people (bill and erika) are under the impression that i will give said devotion in portuguese! we'll just wait and see about that..
This week was also full of opportunities for me to talk one on one with some of the girls who have been problems with their home and spiritual life, and God blessed me with the words to say to encourage them in His wisdom, but they still need prayer!
Patrick and I spent saturday at the mall with some friends from school and saw The Book of Eli. (fantastic movie with a great message when viewed from the perspective of the Truth!) We had a good time "socializing" (hehe) and hanging out with everyone. Patrick and i had some time to hang out before everyone else showed up so we just sat and talked for a while. We've spent a lot of time together between school and just hanging out, hes gettin to be like a younger (but much taller) brother. haha. Oh, and before we went to the mall, the whole family at lunch at Peixe Vivo (or something along those lines, its a fish place) and i saw our lunch get taken straight out of the water and wacked! crazy stuff! haha.
Sunday, well mostly sunday night, was a little discouraging because of some things that are going on with a couple of the kids not coming to Grupo CEO and choosing to do other things that are gonna lead them down the wrong path. But I've realized something else since the last post. Last week i was talking about how God was showing me that i can do nothing without Him, but this week it hit me that, not only can i do nothing without Him, He can do EVERYTHING without me. (if He wants to) so even though i sometimes dont have the opportunities to talk to some of these kids or the words to say to them, God's Spirit can work in amazing and heart changing ways!
well, i feel like i've written a lot, and still left plenty out, but im gonna wrap it up by echoing the words to a song by Brandon Heath and praise God because He's loving like ive never seen and i am living like i used to dream! so im gonna keep on singing my new song to Him!!
Until Next Time,
Jo