Dear friends,
It is hard to believe that I have already been in Brazil well over a month. The time has gone by very quickly and I am very grateful to God for his provision in so many ways. At points I didn’t think I was actually going to be able to depart on the 19th but it was amazing to see how God made everything possible for me to depart; from getting my police check through quickly, to applying and obtaining my Visa. It is good to remind myself of these things when language study seems impossibly hard and quando eu não entendi nada (when I understand nothing)! I am where God wants me to be and he will provide me with everything I need to keep persevering.
HOME
It has been a great joy and blessing to be living with a Christian Brazilian family and Paula (for the time being). It has been a real help having Paula here to help me find my way around, have company in the evenings, rescue me from being locked in the toilet and help get rid of cockroaches! Paula will be leaving Campinas at Christmas to start working with ARCA in Belem. Please pray for her as she makes this transition and for me as I get used to her not being around. The family are lovely. They have gone out of their way to help me and are very genuine and caring. I am definitely looking forward to being able to get to know them better as my language improves and I am able to speak and understand more. Despite this, I successfully managed to communicate to them recently – in my best Portuguese that I had managed to dye my white clothes pink! I thought that was only possible in washing machines that use hot water. Clearly I was wrong and should have listened to my mum! The family have a dog called Tweely who I have been getting used to (in case you didn’t know I am not a fan of dogs!) To my great delight recently they announced that they were getting another dog. They decided on the name Fred. He is just a puppy, one month old, and is so cute that I couldn’t dislike him especially after all the hilarity he’s caused since his arrival.
CHURCH
I have been attending the church that the family goes to in the morning. Last week it was a baptismal service, so after the church service lots of people drove to a piece of land they own where they have a swimming pool and a remarkable number of mango trees! Altogether about 20 people were baptised and then we all had lunch together. It was a great day and was good to be able to meet some more people from the church. I have been attending a different church in the evening. It is really friendly and it’s been great to get to know people there and already feel a part of it. There is a great bunch of people in their 20’s who have accepted me into their group, and this is another way in which God has provided for me since being here. I have also been attending a house group on a Monday night and this has been a great opportunity to get to know people in the church.
LANGUAGE SCHOOL
The majority of my time here is focussed on learning Portuguese. I am studying at a school called Interclass which specialises in teaching Portuguese to foreigners. It is a half hour walk from my house. I have lessons from 3-5pm Monday to Friday. The lessons are 1-1 and I have two different teachers Zelinda (left) and Maria Helena (right). They are both lovely and I get on well with them. Before I arrived I don’t think I fully appreciated how hard it was going to be to learn Portuguese. It is much more difficult that I anticipated. Despite this I have settled into a routine and am enjoying my lessons (most of the time!) I study at home in the morning before going to school in the afternoon. Some days I feel like I am doing well and am understanding and able to speak a reasonable amount but other days I feel like I can’t say or understand anything. It is easy to get discouraged and I have to keep on reminding myself that I have only been here a short time!
GENERAL LIFE
I have joined a gym which is less than a ten minute walk from the house. This is great because if I have a bad lesson or am feeling discouraged its great to be able to go to the gym and clear my head through doing some exercise. I have been adapting to the dramatic changes in weather from it being baking one minute to absolutely pouring the next. There have been some amazing thunder storms since I have been here and I am not sure I have experienced such heavy rain before. I have only been caught out a few times but my language teachers keep on telling me I need to buy an umbrella and carry it everywhere with me – I think they might be right! At times it has also been pretty cold as you can see in the picture so I am not looking forward to it being winter here! I have been able to get out and about and experience a few different things including visiting a few different cities, a trip on a steam train and a visit to the beach. I have also watched a football game where the refs were escorted onto and off the pitch by police with massive riot shields because Brazilians hate them so much!
Every Wednesday for the past few weeks Me and Paula have been doing a study over Skype with some of the missionaries in Belem. This has been a great encouragement and blessing. It is great to be getting to know each other better and being able to hear news of the work and be able to pray together. The wonder of modern technology!
The worst thing about living here is definitely the mosquitoes, there is nothing worse than lying in bed and hearing it buzzing around your face and then it going quite and knowing it has landed on you somewhere!
Thanks so much to everyone who has made it possible for me to be here. It is such an encouragement knowing that I have so many people upholding me in prayer. Thank you also to all of you who have sent cards, letters, emails and parcels. I really appreciate it. Do please let me know your news and how I can be praying for you.
PRAYER & PRAISE POINTS
- Praise God for making it possible for me to be here, and for all his provision since arriving.
- Praise God for the opportunity to connect with the missionaries in Belem once a week and pray that our times would be blessed and that we would be changed through the studies.
- Praise God for the wonderful family I live with and pray that we would continue to build up a good relationship.
- Pray for Paula as she joins the other missionaries in Belem and for me as I adapt to her not being here.
- Pray that I would have patience, perseverance and endurance as I learn the language and that I would learn it quickly.
- Pray that I would continue to make Brazilian friends who I can meet up with to practice my Portuguese.
- Continue to pray for the missionaries who work with ARCA that they would know God’s presence as they seek to serve him.
- Pray for the street kids all over Brazil that they would have the opportunity to hear the gospel and that they would respond with faith.
Loading ...