hello again. how are you? i gotta say, my week was pretty good one!
Monday at basketball we had the biggest group of people show up as of yet. i think there were 7 of us which made for an interesting game of 3 on 4. haha. Tuesday i spent the whole time on the playground pushing kids on swiings as usual. we had a good bible study lead by Pastor's wife that was filled with scripture, and afterwards the girls sold pastels for the retreat fundraiser. There was a "worship team" practice after that for the ladies who sing in front of the church at the services, so some of the girls and i hung out it the back and i tried to actually get some pictures of them (cuz ive been kind of bad at that the past 4 months..) but taking pictures with them is like pulling teeth! they tell me to delet like every picture i take cuz they find something they dont like about it! ive started to take a paparazzi style aproach and just snap pictures when they least expect it.. it seems to be working. hehe..
Wednesday we stayed in town after school becaus amanda and douglas had dentist appointments, so we didnt make it back to Grupo CEO for the study, but we had fun hanging out. Douglas, Amanda, and i watched some french movie called Surviving With Wolves that i would not recomend even to my worst enemies...strange movie (i would like to point out that this is not the first movie that ERIKA picked out that has been....less than enjoyable. ;D dont worry erika, i still love you!)
Thursday was, as usual, a fun day with the little ones at Children's Worship. I really should do a better job at getting some pictures of them too. They're soo cute!! Friday was just a good day in every aspect. 1) it was friday, i mean, who doesnt like fridays? 2) We ate lunch at McDonalds. yum! 3) playground time was fun which lead into a good Childrens Worship with the Pre-Teens (thiago pretty much owned me this week in our dance off..) 4) we watched The Triumph at the teen meeting which really got them thinking about how much they can accomplish if they work as a family in community (thats right brian, community) and dont give up. 5) the Devos after the movie were filled with the Holy Spirit, and everyone was connected and paying attention. I gave my devo on Life and how we're living it right now, its not something that starts "when we're older" its today, and we only get one chance to live the plan God has for us. I sort of left it at the end with the idea from that switchfoot song "This is your life, are you who you wanna be?" Patrick translated the last half of the devo for me cuz i really wanted the kids to understand. (by the way, he's getting better at that every time he does it! thanks Patrick!)6) the last real highlight of the night was at the end when we joined to pray. Erika asked for volunteers to pray, which, im pretty sure ive mentioned before, can be a futile question with the teens, but to my surprise and to the glory of God, you know who raised their hand? Barbara. Now, i dont know how much i've mentioned her in my blog, but normally, barbara isnt one to volunteer to pray. Not only that, most times if you ask her to pray, she wont do it. You can stand there waiting with your head bowed and eyes closed, but she wont. It was a different story on friday though. She volunteered and prayed a prayer from the heart, and i was so blessed! After the meeting she was a little teary-eyed and talked privately with the pastor's wife for a little while, and when i saw her after that i told her i was really proud of her and she smiled and said thanks.
God is good. He is just SO GOOD! and you know what else ive realized? He IS going to be victorious. He WILL conquer the Deciever who whispers all kinds of lies in these kids ears every day. This battle is His. These children are His. He had already declared that He will deliver them. Now all we need to do is be willing to seek His will to make that happen. I dont know exactly when, and i dont know how He's going to do it, but God WILL be glorified in the lives of these kids, and just to be a part of it is an honor and blessing i never could have imagined!
So that was friday. haha. Saturday we spent all day at home relaxing. oh, and i made lunch! (dont worry, everyone is still alive!) today has been pretty slow too. But today before lunch, Amanda and i went to a ladies house in the neighborhood whos daughter has microcephaly. We spent a long time talking with her about her daughter and life in brasil, and how tourists pay way too much money for things at the market. haha. She's a nice lady with a beautiful family. oh, and i almost forgot! earlier that morning, while setting the church up for the service tonight, Patrick and i were almost converted to Jehova's Wittnesses! ok, so we werent even close to being converted, but there were JW's walking around the whole community this morning in their ties and dress-pants spread their "truth" around to anyone who would listen.
Tonight, we're going to start a series at church all about FAMILY wich is a a topic that a lot of people in the church have really wanted to study. Pray that God brings people with hearts ready to accept His Word!
God is just awesome! theres so much i could thank Him for! He brought me through my tests better than i even expected, He has given more and more ease with the language as i need it, and He's changing hearts right before my eyes, including mine! I love you LORD!
And you know something else? He's doing just as much in you're life, you just need to open your eyes and take a look around and you'll see. = ) thanks for reading. God Bless!
Until Next Time,
Jo
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
2 for 1
hello. = ) first off i would like to say that whoever takes the time to read this ginormous blog deserves a parade. you're a trooper. ; D
goodness, im two weeks behind again, aren't I? well let's see what i can remember from 2 weeks ago. Monday we had girls basketball as usual, although i think im gonna have to stop calling it basketball. What we play looks more like the distant cousin of basketball, soccer, and football.. sometimes even a little UFC! ok, maybe not that last one, but either way we have a lot of fun! Pastor's wife lead the service on Tuesday about being athletes for Christ. One of her illustrations (unbeknownced to me prior to her calling me up to the front) was to have Joyce and me pretend to box. I dont know exactly what her point with that one was, but the whole message was one about how Christ has already won the fight against Evil, and if we are on His "team", we are champions over the world as well. Amen? Wednesday service was good as well, followed by a fun Children's Worship time on Thursday with the little kids and Friday with the Pre-teens. (im pretty sure we served them hot dogs for their snack.. im also pretty sure that, afterwards, the floor inside the Grupo CEO building looked like it rained pieces of hot dog. lol) The teen meeting was a blessing again, especialy because of one of the guys who gave a devotional. Evair had asked me earlier in the week to give him an idea of what to talk about for his devo and i told him that it should come from his heart and he should pick something that maybe he has struggled with and go off of that. So at the meeting that night, he read a verse in Proverbs and started to talk a little bit about wisdom and also forgivness. Then, mid-scentence, he stopped and put his head in his hands, choking back tears. He tried to keep going, ended up just keeping his head down, whiping away those few tears he couldnt keep from falling. we paused for a little while and Thiago prayed for him, then the next person continued with their devo. I didnt know it at the time, but it turns out that, either before the meeting or earlier that week, im not sure, Evair had gotten into some sort of fight with Fabrissio about his guitar. I guess the argument got pretty heated, and as Evair was preaching on forgiveness, the Holy Spirit tugged at his heart, telling him he needed to set things right with Fabrissio. To God's glory, everthings good between the two guys now, and it was so beautiful to see how sensetive Evair was to God's voice. (is it weird to describe that as beautiful? maybe, but thats what it was) He's a good guy and, just like the rest of these teens, FULL of potential to make God famouse!
Saturday we spent the afternoon at the mall. Patrick, Douglas, and I saw Iron Man 2 while Amanda and Erika had some mother-daughter time. Sunday was a day of relaxing and getting ready for a week of mid-quarter tests. Thus ended a pretty good week!
Now this past week, every day was pretty bipolar. "Jordan, you're saying your days were bipolar?" allow me to explain. So, i get up in the morning and go to school, trying (usually in vain) to get some sleep on the way. Then we have the first 3 classes as normal (which means homework as usual on top of studying for the tests. blah.) Then the time arrives to take the lovely little assesments so we give it our best shot, hoping we studied the right stuff, and turn the test in, thankful that its over! Then we go home, (depending on what day it is, patrick and i study for 2 hours with the tutor). then, finally, the time arrives to go do the ministry activities and all thoughts of school fly away and i get to interact with all the kids and teens who i love so much! haha. All of the services and studies this week were just really great times that i could see God working and moving in even the smallest way, and there were a lot of times this week that i just stopped for a moment to think about how God has brought me so far, how incredibly much He's blessed me to be able to spend every day with the people here. I told myself, "Jordan, when you were down here in 2007, you never dreamed that in 3 years you would get to spend 180 days in a row with these persons!" Thank you, Jesus!!
Monday, Patrick and i had a movie we had to watch for a paper we had to write, so it became a movie night for us and the pre-teens who normally have Cycling on mondays. it was a good movie, with some pretty good company. = ) Tuesday and Wednesday were, as i said, bipolar, with tough tests in the morning and good times at Grupo CEO in the afternoon. Thursday's Childrens Worship was a lot of fun, and on Friday with the pre-teens, Thiago and i had a bit of a dance off during one of the songs. Hes pretty light on his feet, he is, but had a little trouble copying me when i did the worm (the only thing that i can do dance-wise thats semi-impressive. lol) Both Children's Worship services were especially good this week! I didnt give a devotional at the teen meeting this week because i was spending a lot of time studying for tests and doing homework, but one of the people who did give them did a good job. Josefa actually gave her devo this week and, considering she gets embarrassed to death when she talks in front of groups of people, i was really proud of her stepping up and sharing. Alane was super nervouse too, which surprised me because she has already lead a devo once before. Both them and Thiago and Patrick shared from the heart so needless to say, i was blessed. Since i didnt share anything this week, Pator Eudes lead a discussion with the kids about purity and "friends with benefits" kind of stuff, which is common here. Everyone seemed to stay engaged and a few people gave their oppinions. All the teens agreed that its not alright to be physically involved with anyone, but easier said than done, right? Pray that the Holy Spirit uses the Word that was taught to mold the hearts of these teens!
Saturday, Erika went to VQ with Pastor and his wife so their daughters Gessica and Amanda spent the day at our house hanging out. It was a great way to spend the day! Today i spent a lot of time planning my devo for friday, writing this monster of a post, and planning the lessons for the teen meetings that Rob Lauter and I are going to be leading once he gets here in 18 more days!!
i had some of good chances this week to talk with a few different girls about stuff in their lives and point them towards scripture so that it's not me who is helping them with tough times, it's our God, cuz He'll always be there and isnt leaving to go back to His home country 2 months... Im going to miss everyone a lot.. a lot, a lot.. theres a quote that says, "How lucky I am to have known someone that was so hard to say goodbye to." I really like this quote, but i would change 2 things, because for me, its not just a someone, its a lot of persons (no, not people, persons), and im not lucky, im blessed.
Thanks for reading, thanks for remembering, thanks for praying. = )
Until Next Time,
Jo
goodness, im two weeks behind again, aren't I? well let's see what i can remember from 2 weeks ago. Monday we had girls basketball as usual, although i think im gonna have to stop calling it basketball. What we play looks more like the distant cousin of basketball, soccer, and football.. sometimes even a little UFC! ok, maybe not that last one, but either way we have a lot of fun! Pastor's wife lead the service on Tuesday about being athletes for Christ. One of her illustrations (unbeknownced to me prior to her calling me up to the front) was to have Joyce and me pretend to box. I dont know exactly what her point with that one was, but the whole message was one about how Christ has already won the fight against Evil, and if we are on His "team", we are champions over the world as well. Amen? Wednesday service was good as well, followed by a fun Children's Worship time on Thursday with the little kids and Friday with the Pre-teens. (im pretty sure we served them hot dogs for their snack.. im also pretty sure that, afterwards, the floor inside the Grupo CEO building looked like it rained pieces of hot dog. lol) The teen meeting was a blessing again, especialy because of one of the guys who gave a devotional. Evair had asked me earlier in the week to give him an idea of what to talk about for his devo and i told him that it should come from his heart and he should pick something that maybe he has struggled with and go off of that. So at the meeting that night, he read a verse in Proverbs and started to talk a little bit about wisdom and also forgivness. Then, mid-scentence, he stopped and put his head in his hands, choking back tears. He tried to keep going, ended up just keeping his head down, whiping away those few tears he couldnt keep from falling. we paused for a little while and Thiago prayed for him, then the next person continued with their devo. I didnt know it at the time, but it turns out that, either before the meeting or earlier that week, im not sure, Evair had gotten into some sort of fight with Fabrissio about his guitar. I guess the argument got pretty heated, and as Evair was preaching on forgiveness, the Holy Spirit tugged at his heart, telling him he needed to set things right with Fabrissio. To God's glory, everthings good between the two guys now, and it was so beautiful to see how sensetive Evair was to God's voice. (is it weird to describe that as beautiful? maybe, but thats what it was) He's a good guy and, just like the rest of these teens, FULL of potential to make God famouse!
Saturday we spent the afternoon at the mall. Patrick, Douglas, and I saw Iron Man 2 while Amanda and Erika had some mother-daughter time. Sunday was a day of relaxing and getting ready for a week of mid-quarter tests. Thus ended a pretty good week!
Now this past week, every day was pretty bipolar. "Jordan, you're saying your days were bipolar?" allow me to explain. So, i get up in the morning and go to school, trying (usually in vain) to get some sleep on the way. Then we have the first 3 classes as normal (which means homework as usual on top of studying for the tests. blah.) Then the time arrives to take the lovely little assesments so we give it our best shot, hoping we studied the right stuff, and turn the test in, thankful that its over! Then we go home, (depending on what day it is, patrick and i study for 2 hours with the tutor). then, finally, the time arrives to go do the ministry activities and all thoughts of school fly away and i get to interact with all the kids and teens who i love so much! haha. All of the services and studies this week were just really great times that i could see God working and moving in even the smallest way, and there were a lot of times this week that i just stopped for a moment to think about how God has brought me so far, how incredibly much He's blessed me to be able to spend every day with the people here. I told myself, "Jordan, when you were down here in 2007, you never dreamed that in 3 years you would get to spend 180 days in a row with these persons!" Thank you, Jesus!!
Monday, Patrick and i had a movie we had to watch for a paper we had to write, so it became a movie night for us and the pre-teens who normally have Cycling on mondays. it was a good movie, with some pretty good company. = ) Tuesday and Wednesday were, as i said, bipolar, with tough tests in the morning and good times at Grupo CEO in the afternoon. Thursday's Childrens Worship was a lot of fun, and on Friday with the pre-teens, Thiago and i had a bit of a dance off during one of the songs. Hes pretty light on his feet, he is, but had a little trouble copying me when i did the worm (the only thing that i can do dance-wise thats semi-impressive. lol) Both Children's Worship services were especially good this week! I didnt give a devotional at the teen meeting this week because i was spending a lot of time studying for tests and doing homework, but one of the people who did give them did a good job. Josefa actually gave her devo this week and, considering she gets embarrassed to death when she talks in front of groups of people, i was really proud of her stepping up and sharing. Alane was super nervouse too, which surprised me because she has already lead a devo once before. Both them and Thiago and Patrick shared from the heart so needless to say, i was blessed. Since i didnt share anything this week, Pator Eudes lead a discussion with the kids about purity and "friends with benefits" kind of stuff, which is common here. Everyone seemed to stay engaged and a few people gave their oppinions. All the teens agreed that its not alright to be physically involved with anyone, but easier said than done, right? Pray that the Holy Spirit uses the Word that was taught to mold the hearts of these teens!
Saturday, Erika went to VQ with Pastor and his wife so their daughters Gessica and Amanda spent the day at our house hanging out. It was a great way to spend the day! Today i spent a lot of time planning my devo for friday, writing this monster of a post, and planning the lessons for the teen meetings that Rob Lauter and I are going to be leading once he gets here in 18 more days!!
i had some of good chances this week to talk with a few different girls about stuff in their lives and point them towards scripture so that it's not me who is helping them with tough times, it's our God, cuz He'll always be there and isnt leaving to go back to His home country 2 months... Im going to miss everyone a lot.. a lot, a lot.. theres a quote that says, "How lucky I am to have known someone that was so hard to say goodbye to." I really like this quote, but i would change 2 things, because for me, its not just a someone, its a lot of persons (no, not people, persons), and im not lucky, im blessed.
Thanks for reading, thanks for remembering, thanks for praying. = )
Until Next Time,
Jo
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Feliz Dia das Mães!!
Hey everyone, and a special hello to all you moms out there! Love you, Mom!
Well, in case you didnt notice, i kind of slacked off last week, so this blog is gonna cover two weeks of God's awesome work in NE Brasil! Let's see if i can remember everything...
Well,the weeks are kind of running together, but i can give you a pretty good overview of what happened. The teens have spent the last two weeks selling food on tuesdays and wednesdays to raise money for their retreat in July. The boys team sold pizza, hamburgers, and coke, and the girls sold mousse, cake, and chicken pie. (the guys may, or may not be the ones with the most money at this point, and they may, or may not be making sure that all the girls know it!) The girls have had some problems with communication and organization. There was actually a point where a lot of them wanted to just quit raising money, so that sparked some..creative discussion, but im happy to tell you that the Enemy didnt succeed in tripping them up, and the girls are gonna persevere!
For my devotional last week, i asked Patrick to translate for me instead of me doing it in portuguese. and before you make your assumptions, no this was not just because i was feeling lazy and didnt want to try to give the study in portuguese! Patrick is gonna be doing a lot of translating this summer when Rob Lauter and I work with the teens, and when the other missions teams come down in July, so he needs his practice! He was also an illustration of sorts for my lesson. He doesnt like to translate, just like some people dont like public speaking, its just not his thing, but he did it anyways cuz he decided it didnt matter if his friends made fun of him a little bit, because what God thinks of His relationship with God is more important to him that what others think of his relationship with God! amen? Also, i was really blessed this week at the teen meeting cuz I got to see how God is changing their hearts. See, two of the guys that are newer to the group were supposed to give devotionals, but they didnt show up, so Pastor Eudes asked for volunteers to just share something that was on their heart, even though they didnt prepare anything. Now, im pretty sure if he would have asked that question a few months ago, there prolly wouldnt have been any takers, but, I'll admit, to my surprise, Renan, Douglas, and Joyce all three shared something from the Word! Isnt that cool?! it makes me wonder how many of me and my friends would have been willing to step up in that sittuation...
Well, im happy to say that God still hasnt stopped helping me learn the language! (as if i ever had reason to doubt, right?) But as i learn and understand more portuguese, the material we cover in my classes at school gets harder. (dont you just love irony?)Our midquater tests start a week from monday, so keep prayin up Patrick, Douglas, Amanda, and me! In other school news, Brenda, the girl i mentioned last post, ended up not going to the school bible study last week, but she did come this week! I feel like God is really preparing her heart to her His Truth, so please pray that im sensetive to the opportunities He opens up!
As far as the pre-teens go, they've had stronger times. There are still a bunch of them that regularly come to service and Worship on Fridays, but, from what i can tell in the moment at least, they dont have quite the same hunger that they've had before. Keep them in your prayers. They're a great group of kids that have amazing potential for Christ! Oh, and speaking of Childrens Worship, do any of you who read my blog last summer remember a girl named Sula? well i got pretty close with her the last two times i was here, but had only seen her twice in the past 3 months. That is, until thursday. She came with her 3-month-old baby girl, Riana, to Childrens Worship and we got to talk a little bit. (Riana was wearing TINY little knitted flip-flops. SO cute!) Sula told me she would be at church on that sunday, but for some reason she didnt come. i shouldnt have been too surprised, because she had been known to do that before, but thats the thing about inconsistency, you never get used to it. I still love her to death though, and i hope you join me in prayin for God's Grace and Truth to explode in her life, as well as the lives of everyone in this young church!
The past 2 weekends have been awesome times to just relax from the past week and prepare for the next. This weekend Erika's family came over and we hung out in the pool for a while on this beautiful, Brasilian Mother's Day!
You know, i dont think i'll ever really understand why God chose me, why He loved me enough to save me from what i could have been and give me such a clear understanding of how to serve and praise Him. But i dont have to understand it. What i know is that He did save me, He does love me with a Love greater than any that i can even imagine, and i love Him! And every day that i discover something new about His Love, the more passionate i am to share it with everyone else so they can experience this sense of peace and purpose for themselves!
My time here maybe be half-way over, but God is just getting started. So please, dont stop praying, and dont stop believing in what He has planned for my life, for your life, and for the lives of the people you and i encounter every single day!
"None of us walk around with mere mortals." -C.S. Lewis
Thanks for the all of your support and love. = )
Until Next Time,
Jo
Well, in case you didnt notice, i kind of slacked off last week, so this blog is gonna cover two weeks of God's awesome work in NE Brasil! Let's see if i can remember everything...
Well,the weeks are kind of running together, but i can give you a pretty good overview of what happened. The teens have spent the last two weeks selling food on tuesdays and wednesdays to raise money for their retreat in July. The boys team sold pizza, hamburgers, and coke, and the girls sold mousse, cake, and chicken pie. (the guys may, or may not be the ones with the most money at this point, and they may, or may not be making sure that all the girls know it!) The girls have had some problems with communication and organization. There was actually a point where a lot of them wanted to just quit raising money, so that sparked some..creative discussion, but im happy to tell you that the Enemy didnt succeed in tripping them up, and the girls are gonna persevere!
For my devotional last week, i asked Patrick to translate for me instead of me doing it in portuguese. and before you make your assumptions, no this was not just because i was feeling lazy and didnt want to try to give the study in portuguese! Patrick is gonna be doing a lot of translating this summer when Rob Lauter and I work with the teens, and when the other missions teams come down in July, so he needs his practice! He was also an illustration of sorts for my lesson. He doesnt like to translate, just like some people dont like public speaking, its just not his thing, but he did it anyways cuz he decided it didnt matter if his friends made fun of him a little bit, because what God thinks of His relationship with God is more important to him that what others think of his relationship with God! amen? Also, i was really blessed this week at the teen meeting cuz I got to see how God is changing their hearts. See, two of the guys that are newer to the group were supposed to give devotionals, but they didnt show up, so Pastor Eudes asked for volunteers to just share something that was on their heart, even though they didnt prepare anything. Now, im pretty sure if he would have asked that question a few months ago, there prolly wouldnt have been any takers, but, I'll admit, to my surprise, Renan, Douglas, and Joyce all three shared something from the Word! Isnt that cool?! it makes me wonder how many of me and my friends would have been willing to step up in that sittuation...
Well, im happy to say that God still hasnt stopped helping me learn the language! (as if i ever had reason to doubt, right?) But as i learn and understand more portuguese, the material we cover in my classes at school gets harder. (dont you just love irony?)Our midquater tests start a week from monday, so keep prayin up Patrick, Douglas, Amanda, and me! In other school news, Brenda, the girl i mentioned last post, ended up not going to the school bible study last week, but she did come this week! I feel like God is really preparing her heart to her His Truth, so please pray that im sensetive to the opportunities He opens up!
As far as the pre-teens go, they've had stronger times. There are still a bunch of them that regularly come to service and Worship on Fridays, but, from what i can tell in the moment at least, they dont have quite the same hunger that they've had before. Keep them in your prayers. They're a great group of kids that have amazing potential for Christ! Oh, and speaking of Childrens Worship, do any of you who read my blog last summer remember a girl named Sula? well i got pretty close with her the last two times i was here, but had only seen her twice in the past 3 months. That is, until thursday. She came with her 3-month-old baby girl, Riana, to Childrens Worship and we got to talk a little bit. (Riana was wearing TINY little knitted flip-flops. SO cute!) Sula told me she would be at church on that sunday, but for some reason she didnt come. i shouldnt have been too surprised, because she had been known to do that before, but thats the thing about inconsistency, you never get used to it. I still love her to death though, and i hope you join me in prayin for God's Grace and Truth to explode in her life, as well as the lives of everyone in this young church!
The past 2 weekends have been awesome times to just relax from the past week and prepare for the next. This weekend Erika's family came over and we hung out in the pool for a while on this beautiful, Brasilian Mother's Day!
You know, i dont think i'll ever really understand why God chose me, why He loved me enough to save me from what i could have been and give me such a clear understanding of how to serve and praise Him. But i dont have to understand it. What i know is that He did save me, He does love me with a Love greater than any that i can even imagine, and i love Him! And every day that i discover something new about His Love, the more passionate i am to share it with everyone else so they can experience this sense of peace and purpose for themselves!
My time here maybe be half-way over, but God is just getting started. So please, dont stop praying, and dont stop believing in what He has planned for my life, for your life, and for the lives of the people you and i encounter every single day!
"None of us walk around with mere mortals." -C.S. Lewis
Thanks for the all of your support and love. = )
Until Next Time,
Jo
Sunday, April 25, 2010
OOhhhh we're half way there...!
Hey there! First of i would like to say yes, i did just go Bon Jovi on you guys! lol but i thought it was fitting considering that today is the 3 month mark of this journey! thats right, its already half over! crazy right?
This week was a good one! Billiam left on tuesday which was sad, (we all miss you Billiam!) but it just got better from there! Wednesday was a national Brasilian holiday so we didnt have school! instead we went to the beach with a group of more than 20 teens! we swam in the ocean, raced on the dunes, played volleyball and soccer, and several of us got pretty burnt in the process! It was a lot of fun!
Thursday at Childrens worship there were a few new songs so the kids had fun with that. one of them is the portuguese version of "Im in the Lord's Army"! Dont you all remember that one from sunday school? haha. the funny thing is, the motions to the song are exactly the same, only thing different is the lyrics.
The most exciting day this week would have to be Friday! "Why is that?" do you ask? Well first off, since we didnt have school on Wednesday, the optional bible study at school was moved to Friday. So i asked one of the girls in my class who i hang out with a lot, Brenda, to come with me. (she has told me she believes in God, but i dont think shes a born again christian) She was heasitant to come at first and said no cuz she didnt have a bible or anything but i told her that was ok, so she ended up coming. The study is lead by two senior girls that are true believers. They asked me to open up in pray in english and said "We're not gonna understand anything, but God understands it all," which is so true! Their devotion was on Psalms 1 and how when God changes your life, its important that you surround yourself with friends who will help you grow. Brenda was engaged the whole time and even responded to some of the questions that were asked. After the lesson i asked if she liked it and she said she did and she wanted to go again next week! Please pray that God moves in her heart so shes open to what He has to tell her at the study on Wednesday! So then, after school was over, we went home and i had a little time to go over my devotional for the teen meeting, and i also squeezed a nap in before it was time to go to Playground. I spent the whole time pushing the little kids on the swings and talking with this boy named Fernando. hes pretty cute! Then after that we went straight to Worship for the Pre-teens and got to dance to the new songs with them and hang out. From there i went and grabbed my bible and notes and got ready for the teen meeting. The teens devotionals this week were again well thought out and from the heart! We're keepin it going next week with Itelo, Claronice (sp?), and Barbara and Roberlanhe (again, sp?) who are going to do theres together. My devotional this week was about the relationship between us and God being like a friendship. I talked about how we were His enemies, but through the reconciliation of Christ's sacrafice, we are made His friends! (John 15:14-16 and Rom. 5:10-11 were two of my references if you wanna check 'em out.) but at the end i said that if anyone there had not yet recieved that reconciliation, but wanted to become God's friend, they could do that tonight. I asked Erika to pray and she said if anyone wanted to make that decision, that they could talk to Pastor Eudes or her or Manhia or me after the service. So we moved on and started planning different ways to raise money for the retreat this summer (each teen has to pay their own way. 50 bucks!) We broke it into teams actually, boys v.s. girls! We're going to be doing stuff like selling snacks and having raffels, and in the end we'll see who raises the most money! hah! When we finally finished the meeting and got ready to pray, Pastor Eudes shared with everyone that one of the new guys who has been coming, Fabrissio, had talked with him, and he had made the decision to follow Christ and make Him his Savior!! Praise the LORD!!! God had specifically placed Fabrissio on my heart all week as i was planning my lesson, and the Holy Spirit really worked through all the Scripture that was shared that night, and by His Power we now have a new member in the Family of Christ! Hallelujah!
Thank you so much for keeping everyone on your hearts and in your prayers! This first 3 months have flown by, despite some moments of slowness, and i have a feeling these last 3 are really gonna go quickly! Thanks so much for your support! I give all of the glory of what has happened here to my God and Father! He is the Hope, the Truth, and the Reason for all that i do! Thank you, God, for using me for your glory! i love You!
Until Next Time,
Jo
This week was a good one! Billiam left on tuesday which was sad, (we all miss you Billiam!) but it just got better from there! Wednesday was a national Brasilian holiday so we didnt have school! instead we went to the beach with a group of more than 20 teens! we swam in the ocean, raced on the dunes, played volleyball and soccer, and several of us got pretty burnt in the process! It was a lot of fun!
Thursday at Childrens worship there were a few new songs so the kids had fun with that. one of them is the portuguese version of "Im in the Lord's Army"! Dont you all remember that one from sunday school? haha. the funny thing is, the motions to the song are exactly the same, only thing different is the lyrics.
The most exciting day this week would have to be Friday! "Why is that?" do you ask? Well first off, since we didnt have school on Wednesday, the optional bible study at school was moved to Friday. So i asked one of the girls in my class who i hang out with a lot, Brenda, to come with me. (she has told me she believes in God, but i dont think shes a born again christian) She was heasitant to come at first and said no cuz she didnt have a bible or anything but i told her that was ok, so she ended up coming. The study is lead by two senior girls that are true believers. They asked me to open up in pray in english and said "We're not gonna understand anything, but God understands it all," which is so true! Their devotion was on Psalms 1 and how when God changes your life, its important that you surround yourself with friends who will help you grow. Brenda was engaged the whole time and even responded to some of the questions that were asked. After the lesson i asked if she liked it and she said she did and she wanted to go again next week! Please pray that God moves in her heart so shes open to what He has to tell her at the study on Wednesday! So then, after school was over, we went home and i had a little time to go over my devotional for the teen meeting, and i also squeezed a nap in before it was time to go to Playground. I spent the whole time pushing the little kids on the swings and talking with this boy named Fernando. hes pretty cute! Then after that we went straight to Worship for the Pre-teens and got to dance to the new songs with them and hang out. From there i went and grabbed my bible and notes and got ready for the teen meeting. The teens devotionals this week were again well thought out and from the heart! We're keepin it going next week with Itelo, Claronice (sp?), and Barbara and Roberlanhe (again, sp?) who are going to do theres together. My devotional this week was about the relationship between us and God being like a friendship. I talked about how we were His enemies, but through the reconciliation of Christ's sacrafice, we are made His friends! (John 15:14-16 and Rom. 5:10-11 were two of my references if you wanna check 'em out.) but at the end i said that if anyone there had not yet recieved that reconciliation, but wanted to become God's friend, they could do that tonight. I asked Erika to pray and she said if anyone wanted to make that decision, that they could talk to Pastor Eudes or her or Manhia or me after the service. So we moved on and started planning different ways to raise money for the retreat this summer (each teen has to pay their own way. 50 bucks!) We broke it into teams actually, boys v.s. girls! We're going to be doing stuff like selling snacks and having raffels, and in the end we'll see who raises the most money! hah! When we finally finished the meeting and got ready to pray, Pastor Eudes shared with everyone that one of the new guys who has been coming, Fabrissio, had talked with him, and he had made the decision to follow Christ and make Him his Savior!! Praise the LORD!!! God had specifically placed Fabrissio on my heart all week as i was planning my lesson, and the Holy Spirit really worked through all the Scripture that was shared that night, and by His Power we now have a new member in the Family of Christ! Hallelujah!
Thank you so much for keeping everyone on your hearts and in your prayers! This first 3 months have flown by, despite some moments of slowness, and i have a feeling these last 3 are really gonna go quickly! Thanks so much for your support! I give all of the glory of what has happened here to my God and Father! He is the Hope, the Truth, and the Reason for all that i do! Thank you, God, for using me for your glory! i love You!
Until Next Time,
Jo
Monday, April 19, 2010
Happy Birthday Erikaaa!!
hey there! well, in case you havent noticed from the title, today is Erika's birthday! (im pretty sure its her 29th, right erika?) Manhia organized a surprise party for her with a group of teens and pre-teens. She arrived fashionably late, haha, but we had a good time and it was cool to have a chance to show our appreciation for how much she does in this community. love you Erika! = )
Now back to the begining of this week. We've started having girls soccer on mondays so i played with Ingrid, Joyce, Lais, and Maninha. My team one, despite me, and we had fun playing. Tuesday was a regular Tuesday with school, playground, and the study which went well even though there werent that many people there, but Wednesday Billiam, Patrick, and I shook things up. Patrick had an eye appointment at 11:30, so naturally we had to skip the whole day of school and run errands with Billiam, errands that included eating icecream at Mcdonald's. =D Then after the appointment we went to Erika's parent's house for lunch and hung around a little while before taking Douglas and Amanda to their dentist appointments, then went to the mall for dinner at the food court. We didnt make it back in time for the service, but it was a good day of "family time" seeing as Billiam is leaving tomorrow for the rig.
Thurdsay was another, more relaxing day out for Billiam, Patrick, and me. Dont worry, we didnt skip school again, but afterwards we went straight to the beach (which was a longer drive than i thought it was) and road 4-wheelers on the dunes! it was soo cool! well, exept for the part that i almost drove into a river and got my 4-wheeler stuck, then Patricks died and we spent 15 min. in the middle of nowhere trying to get it to work. haha. For dinner we at the best, biggest, and most shrimp i've ever had in my life! we sat at a table right near the ocean just talking about everything from school to work to Grupo CEO to God's awesome blessings that flow through our lives! Thanks for the day out Billiam! = )
Friday we, of course, had our teen meeting and i gave my devotional. (at the begining of the day i didnt think i was ready for it, but the Holy Spirit really gave me the words to say. and you know what i ended up talking about? the Holy Spirit. God is so good.) Benjamin, Douglas, and Joyce all gave their devotionals as well. Douglas even had all his verses memorized! I really love listening to the Word through as it comes out of their mouths cuz it shows what God is doing in their hearts and lives. Next week is Patrick, Fabrissio (sp?) and Alane. Pray 'em up!
Saturday was another Vestibular Simulado test which was no fun at all, but afterwards Patrick, Douglas, and i walked to the mall (walk a long way in the hot sun to the mall might i add..) and got some ice cream. But when we had money left over, we decided we should go buy a 2 litre of coke and use our ice-cream cups to drink it! so we sat in the middle of the mall drinking coke out of plastic ice-cream cups. it was a memorable experience! haha.
Sunday was a good day of rest for us and Billiam gave a really good sermon on the different relationships God has with us: Father-children, Master-disciples, Friend-friends, Shepherd-sheep, Vine-branches. Everyone was engaged the whole time which is always encouraging!
This week is just another 7 days full of opportunities! People at school are starting to ask questions about God and the Bible, people at Grupo CEO are starting see how they can apply Gods Word to their very own lives, daily! and even though things are soo much easier than they were when i got here, i still need my Jesus to be my Rock every single day! Im starting to undertand the importance of truly "seeking Him in the morning" and how much God can do with me if i can really "cast aside my fear". Im so blessed to know Him!
thanks for reading this and i hope you'll be blessed through it! Thank you for your prayers!
Until Next Time,
Jo
Now back to the begining of this week. We've started having girls soccer on mondays so i played with Ingrid, Joyce, Lais, and Maninha. My team one, despite me, and we had fun playing. Tuesday was a regular Tuesday with school, playground, and the study which went well even though there werent that many people there, but Wednesday Billiam, Patrick, and I shook things up. Patrick had an eye appointment at 11:30, so naturally we had to skip the whole day of school and run errands with Billiam, errands that included eating icecream at Mcdonald's. =D Then after the appointment we went to Erika's parent's house for lunch and hung around a little while before taking Douglas and Amanda to their dentist appointments, then went to the mall for dinner at the food court. We didnt make it back in time for the service, but it was a good day of "family time" seeing as Billiam is leaving tomorrow for the rig.
Thurdsay was another, more relaxing day out for Billiam, Patrick, and me. Dont worry, we didnt skip school again, but afterwards we went straight to the beach (which was a longer drive than i thought it was) and road 4-wheelers on the dunes! it was soo cool! well, exept for the part that i almost drove into a river and got my 4-wheeler stuck, then Patricks died and we spent 15 min. in the middle of nowhere trying to get it to work. haha. For dinner we at the best, biggest, and most shrimp i've ever had in my life! we sat at a table right near the ocean just talking about everything from school to work to Grupo CEO to God's awesome blessings that flow through our lives! Thanks for the day out Billiam! = )
Friday we, of course, had our teen meeting and i gave my devotional. (at the begining of the day i didnt think i was ready for it, but the Holy Spirit really gave me the words to say. and you know what i ended up talking about? the Holy Spirit. God is so good.) Benjamin, Douglas, and Joyce all gave their devotionals as well. Douglas even had all his verses memorized! I really love listening to the Word through as it comes out of their mouths cuz it shows what God is doing in their hearts and lives. Next week is Patrick, Fabrissio (sp?) and Alane. Pray 'em up!
Saturday was another Vestibular Simulado test which was no fun at all, but afterwards Patrick, Douglas, and i walked to the mall (walk a long way in the hot sun to the mall might i add..) and got some ice cream. But when we had money left over, we decided we should go buy a 2 litre of coke and use our ice-cream cups to drink it! so we sat in the middle of the mall drinking coke out of plastic ice-cream cups. it was a memorable experience! haha.
Sunday was a good day of rest for us and Billiam gave a really good sermon on the different relationships God has with us: Father-children, Master-disciples, Friend-friends, Shepherd-sheep, Vine-branches. Everyone was engaged the whole time which is always encouraging!
This week is just another 7 days full of opportunities! People at school are starting to ask questions about God and the Bible, people at Grupo CEO are starting see how they can apply Gods Word to their very own lives, daily! and even though things are soo much easier than they were when i got here, i still need my Jesus to be my Rock every single day! Im starting to undertand the importance of truly "seeking Him in the morning" and how much God can do with me if i can really "cast aside my fear". Im so blessed to know Him!
thanks for reading this and i hope you'll be blessed through it! Thank you for your prayers!
Until Next Time,
Jo
Monday, April 12, 2010
Bye, Bye, Bimester!
Helooo... well, i am happy to say that Bimester Tests are over! they were harder than the first round of tests cuz they had more material, but, yet again, God gave me strength and helped me through it! thanks for all your prayers! I also went to the Bible study at school on wednesday again and so did a few guys from my class. The girls that teach it seem to really be in tune with God so hopefully people will keep on coming and get more curious about the Truth!
Oh, and just like the week was filled with tests, 8:00-11:00 on saturday was also spent doin the brasilian version of the PSAT. It was a trip, let me tell you! but it doesnt count for an actual score, we just get points for participation, and i for sure participated! Then, after the test, the whole family went to the mall for lunch and then patrick and i walked around for a while and hung out while everyone else did their thing. After that we went home and i took a lovely nap and relaxed until it was time to go to my first Brazilian Christian concert! It was raining off and on and there were a TON of people jumpin all around and knocking into each other, therefore it was awesome!! the main guy, Trazendo Arca, didnt even show up at the concert until midnight, but there were opening acts before that. there was a group of people there from Grupo CEO so it was cool to hang out with them outside of church.
Speaking of the teens and church, lets rewind to friday night. I gave another devotional on "dont sacrifice what you want most (to be like God and to please Him) for what you want in the moment (satisfaction from sin)". it went well, but the really great part about it was listening to the devotions that Ingrid, Jamile, and Evair gave. They werent just: heres a verse, heres what i think it means. They had thought it out and were explaining how to apply it to their lives and all of them backed it up with more than one Scripture reference! It was a blessing for sure. = ) thanks to all you guys for praying for them to have the courage and sensetivity to speak! Next week its gonna be Joyce, Benjamin, and Douglas so please pray them up too!
Things to pray for: the people at Grupo CEO and at school to continue to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit. I can see God their knocking, they just need to open the door! Bill is gonna be goin back to work in a couple weeks, so pray that everything here is in order for him to leave and that he has a nice time with his family before being gone for so long. The Brasil Team that is coming down this summer, that we can really get moving and planning and God prepares us all to speak His Words though us!
My Visa, i have to go ask the "people in charge" to get it renewed for another 90 days, so pray that everything goes smoothly and God goes before us with His providence.
Now, things to praise God for!: i got a 6 in Sociologia, a 6.4 in História, and a 7 in Matemática (the easier one of the two classes i have) as far as the Bimester tests go, and thats all by the Grace of God, seriously! Aslo, we've been haveing more attendence at the teen meetings which just shows how He works in people's hearts! Im picking up the language more and more which is totally His doing as well. And finally, i just wanna praise Him for showing me every single day how much He loves me and how i KNOW He is with me every single moment of the day!! Thank You Jesus!! Oh, and by the way, He loves you too! ; D
I really miss you all!! thanks so much for the prayers and for not forgeting about me or the work our God is doing down here. Love you guys!
Until Next Time,
Jo
Oh, and just like the week was filled with tests, 8:00-11:00 on saturday was also spent doin the brasilian version of the PSAT. It was a trip, let me tell you! but it doesnt count for an actual score, we just get points for participation, and i for sure participated! Then, after the test, the whole family went to the mall for lunch and then patrick and i walked around for a while and hung out while everyone else did their thing. After that we went home and i took a lovely nap and relaxed until it was time to go to my first Brazilian Christian concert! It was raining off and on and there were a TON of people jumpin all around and knocking into each other, therefore it was awesome!! the main guy, Trazendo Arca, didnt even show up at the concert until midnight, but there were opening acts before that. there was a group of people there from Grupo CEO so it was cool to hang out with them outside of church.
Speaking of the teens and church, lets rewind to friday night. I gave another devotional on "dont sacrifice what you want most (to be like God and to please Him) for what you want in the moment (satisfaction from sin)". it went well, but the really great part about it was listening to the devotions that Ingrid, Jamile, and Evair gave. They werent just: heres a verse, heres what i think it means. They had thought it out and were explaining how to apply it to their lives and all of them backed it up with more than one Scripture reference! It was a blessing for sure. = ) thanks to all you guys for praying for them to have the courage and sensetivity to speak! Next week its gonna be Joyce, Benjamin, and Douglas so please pray them up too!
Things to pray for: the people at Grupo CEO and at school to continue to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit. I can see God their knocking, they just need to open the door! Bill is gonna be goin back to work in a couple weeks, so pray that everything here is in order for him to leave and that he has a nice time with his family before being gone for so long. The Brasil Team that is coming down this summer, that we can really get moving and planning and God prepares us all to speak His Words though us!
My Visa, i have to go ask the "people in charge" to get it renewed for another 90 days, so pray that everything goes smoothly and God goes before us with His providence.
Now, things to praise God for!: i got a 6 in Sociologia, a 6.4 in História, and a 7 in Matemática (the easier one of the two classes i have) as far as the Bimester tests go, and thats all by the Grace of God, seriously! Aslo, we've been haveing more attendence at the teen meetings which just shows how He works in people's hearts! Im picking up the language more and more which is totally His doing as well. And finally, i just wanna praise Him for showing me every single day how much He loves me and how i KNOW He is with me every single moment of the day!! Thank You Jesus!! Oh, and by the way, He loves you too! ; D
I really miss you all!! thanks so much for the prayers and for not forgeting about me or the work our God is doing down here. Love you guys!
Until Next Time,
Jo
Monday, April 5, 2010
He's Alive!
Hello, hello! this past week was a really good one! we only went to school until Wednesday and had a much appreciated 4-day weekend! on Thursday, i went with bill and erika to breakfast at McDonalds while we got the car ready for the trip to VQ and did some grocery shopping. (by the way, their Bacon, egg, and cheese McMuffins kick the pants off of ours! just sayin..) Then around 2 in the afternoon a huge group of pre-teens, teens, and a couple women from the community traveled about 3 hours to VQ (the community in the interior of brasil). It was a really good time of service and getting to just hang out with everyone. We spent a lot of the ride there singing worship songs which was really cool. the pre-teens performed their skit and it went really well. Pastor Eudes also lead the easter service and we had a worship time which somehow consisted of me leading one of the songs with Joyce and Jamile.. with a microphone! all of you who know me well should be impressed! lol During the ride there and back i had a few good conversations with some of the girls which was hopefully as much of a blessing to them as it was to me. = ) Oh, and while we were there, i got to drive Bills truck on the paths that were too rough for the bus and it was sweet!!
So then friday rolls around, we had a relaxing morning and playground time in the afternoon as usual followed by childrens worship hour. Then we had the teen meeting. Im pretty sure i told you guys last week that I was the one who was leading the study and that i was told i was giving it in portuguese... well thoughout the week i prepared what i was gonna teach, but i didnt prepare it in portuguese. I figured i could do that another time, when i have learned more. So i get to the Grupo CEO building before the study starts and Bill is there, and any of you who know Bill can prolly guess what ended up happening. I gave the study in portuguese. Yep, Bill encouraged me to take a step of faith and reminded me what an awesome testimony it would be for the teens, so, even though i really didnt want to, i did it. It was choppy and i dont know how much the teens understood, but i know that i spoke God's Truth, and the Holy Spirit will use that. And guess what! Im gonna do it again this friday! woohoo! lol
But the really encouraging part about the study was that 3 of the 4 teens who had volutneered to give a short devotional actually did and it was really cool! For three years ive come down here to teach these guys and it was so cool to be on the recieving end of their devotional. Next week Jamile, Ingrid, and Evai (idk how to spell that one. lol) are supposed to give their devotionals, so pray for them throughout the week that God will show them just what He wants them to say!
Saturday was a day that we pretty much relaxed and so was sunday for most of the day. I got my first Brazilian Ovo de Pascoa! (big chocolate egg filled with more chocolate!) The Easter service went really well and both the teens and pre-teens preformed their skits. We also had communion and both Bill and Pastor Eudes talked about the sacrifice that Jesus made for every person alive. As far as i know, no one that was there actually made a decision to surrender their life to Christ, but a seed has definitely been planted in their hearts, and His Word will not return void!
This comming week is gonna be tough because of Bimester Testing and getting back intor the routine of school after a long weekend. Pray for strength and understanding for me and Patrick, Douglas, and Amanda as they take their tests too. I titled this one "He's Alive" not just cuz its easter and thats what we're all celebrating, but because i can see Him moving in the hearts and lives of so many people here! He's so active and waiting for people to let Him take over! Keep praying for the eyes of the people here to be opened so they can see how much love and purpose God has in store for them! Thank you so much for reading and for remember me and the Brazilians! God Bless!
Until Next Time,
Jo
So then friday rolls around, we had a relaxing morning and playground time in the afternoon as usual followed by childrens worship hour. Then we had the teen meeting. Im pretty sure i told you guys last week that I was the one who was leading the study and that i was told i was giving it in portuguese... well thoughout the week i prepared what i was gonna teach, but i didnt prepare it in portuguese. I figured i could do that another time, when i have learned more. So i get to the Grupo CEO building before the study starts and Bill is there, and any of you who know Bill can prolly guess what ended up happening. I gave the study in portuguese. Yep, Bill encouraged me to take a step of faith and reminded me what an awesome testimony it would be for the teens, so, even though i really didnt want to, i did it. It was choppy and i dont know how much the teens understood, but i know that i spoke God's Truth, and the Holy Spirit will use that. And guess what! Im gonna do it again this friday! woohoo! lol
But the really encouraging part about the study was that 3 of the 4 teens who had volutneered to give a short devotional actually did and it was really cool! For three years ive come down here to teach these guys and it was so cool to be on the recieving end of their devotional. Next week Jamile, Ingrid, and Evai (idk how to spell that one. lol) are supposed to give their devotionals, so pray for them throughout the week that God will show them just what He wants them to say!
Saturday was a day that we pretty much relaxed and so was sunday for most of the day. I got my first Brazilian Ovo de Pascoa! (big chocolate egg filled with more chocolate!) The Easter service went really well and both the teens and pre-teens preformed their skits. We also had communion and both Bill and Pastor Eudes talked about the sacrifice that Jesus made for every person alive. As far as i know, no one that was there actually made a decision to surrender their life to Christ, but a seed has definitely been planted in their hearts, and His Word will not return void!
This comming week is gonna be tough because of Bimester Testing and getting back intor the routine of school after a long weekend. Pray for strength and understanding for me and Patrick, Douglas, and Amanda as they take their tests too. I titled this one "He's Alive" not just cuz its easter and thats what we're all celebrating, but because i can see Him moving in the hearts and lives of so many people here! He's so active and waiting for people to let Him take over! Keep praying for the eyes of the people here to be opened so they can see how much love and purpose God has in store for them! Thank you so much for reading and for remember me and the Brazilians! God Bless!
Until Next Time,
Jo
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