Fortaleza Day 20
10/16/12
Wow time is flying. I can't believe i've been here for 3 weeks almost. I feel really ready to have a more normal schedule, just the disorganization of everything is kind of overwhelming. I am kind of caught up trying to get several projects done simultaneously to get ready to host this next team in two days. They will be here for 10 days and have more of a planned schedule, which I is pretty refreshing to me at the time.
Maybe the second month in Brazil I will get to practice Portuguese :) haha, I got to escape to Nadyla's house yesterday to spend the night and day there. It was so refreshing! I loved staying in the slum. You hear the birds chirping different good morning sounds, and neighbors calling over the wall or at the door hollering throughout the day to talk to Nadyla, or for her to come get a plate full of food from the old lady next door who treats her like a grandkid :) I know all those same things can wear on you after a while, but I thought it was so refreshing. And to be in a small simple space, instead of a gigantic house was nice for a day too. And I was just soo happy to get to practice Portuguese all day. Even though in the morning I hardly said anything, it seemed so hard, and like my brain was in slow motion. But slowly I gained confidence and I am at a place now where even though I know I am making many mistakes in each sentence and pronouncing most of the words wrong, especially the new ones, and using a lot of spanish grammar instead of portuguese, I am so glad to be at a place where I feel able to practice what I do know. Now I can learn more as I go. Like I made it over my first hurdle in communication!!
And we had a birthday dinner in the House of Prayer for Lorelei last night, with just our Iris Fortaleza team (10 people). I love being with those guys, my new family here.
Praying for health for everyone, several team members have gotten sick with cold and fever this week.
Last Saturday night outreach at Beira Mar, a beach with a lot of bars and prostitution etc. It was so surprising to me what God's agenda was like for the night. A group of us ended up walking into this tiny catholic church that was open late that night, which they've never seen open. Turns out that they were doing street outreach that night too, and some were in the church interceding and others on the street visiting with people. They were surprisingly joyful and passionate about preaching Jesus and many of them had also given their lives to be missionaries and share the story of Jesus. Outside of the church, one of the leaders shared about a powerful encounter he'd had with God and how it changed his life and we shared a few testimonies of healing from our journeys. We wanted to pray and prophecy over them, and they asked us to pray for them to have more of the gifts of the Spirit and to minister in power. Then they invited us in to the front of the church so that they could all pray for us. They all started praying outloud in the Spirit. I was so humbled, honored, and surprised. I was really touched and cried like a baby, which I haven't done in a while. It was an amazing moment. I felt like we had met our cousins in the Spirit or something. It was a really big deal to our Brazilian team members because here there is a huge enmity between the catholic and evangelical churches, they don't usually talk or associate, and are kind of like rivals, and certainly we didnt' expect to have such a common vision or passion. It was so great to get to bless and honor one another. And who knew God had some reconciliation like that on his agenda?!? we didn't.
Now I am listening some of the Iris Latin America team playing soccer in the courtyard and wishing I could go to sleep :) Have big plans of going to the food market in the morning and getting Aliza (a missionary from Australia) to show me around and show me all the coolest stands and friends she's made there in the past 2 weeks of helping to cook for the team.
Fortaleza Day 22
10/18/12
What a ride. Yesterday was busy with a lot of projects around the house. We are trying to get beds/mattresses in for the new team that is coming today. And install a new tiny bathroom while we have a construction genius from the first team still with us! And many other tiny projects. Its quite a transformation of this house to get it ready to host people straight out of America. I want them to all at least have mattresses and a fan or I feel they will just be exhausted and miserable instead of able to enjoy their time here and to enjoy giving what they have brought to impart. I was a bit stressed and scatterbrained the first half of the day, until I had the courage to delegate almost every little project I was taking responsibility for and to let go of the last one until today when Nedson can help me with it. Then I felt so much peace, and relief, and so grateful for all the help!
God you are so good. Only you know what each one of your kids can handle, and what challenges are good for us, and how we can give to one another and encourage one another at just the right times. Your giftings are beautiful. Your love makes all things beautiful.
Then last night we did another soup outreach at the prayer house. The most soup I have ever seen in one pot in my life. In my baby Portuguese I told the amazing woman from the community who cooked it, that it was like the love of God… deep and big :) haha. And so good! It was so different from last week, everytime with God is different. Only the kids were going upstairs last night for prayer/worship. I was downstairs serving soup and could hear them playing so hard for a little while, then suddenly it was quite for the rest of the night, but all the kids were still up there. Later I went up to grab a coffee (with lots of sugar) for a woman we were ministering to downstairs, and I saw all the kids chilling out around the prayer room worshipping/praying/resting, it was so peaceful and amazing time in the presence of God. They had listened really well to whatever Nedson shared with them and there they were receiving the love of God. At first Nedson had been kind of disappointed that there were less people than last week, and only kids going in further, but then he saw what God was doing this week, and it was awesome.
So downstairs, a 51 year old woman was receiving prayer, and God healed her vision to be able to see every detail on the face of a watch where before she could hardly make out anything on it. Then we were encouraging her and sharing the gospel. She was afraid to receive Jesus in her heart because a nearby Catholic church helps her with food every week and had said that if anyone became "a Christian" they would not help them anymore. (its that weird religious rivalry mindset that seems prevalent in many churches). And then come to find out she believed that only babies who have never sinned can go to heaven. I realized that this was a moment like in "Peace Child" where she believed a lie that could actually help her understand the truth. I told her, yes! Thats true. Only a baby without sin can enter heaven. But the Bible says that when we believe in Jesus, we are born again, and we become like new babies, without sin. She said, "but how can we be born again?!" You should have seen Nadyla and Bruno's faces when she said that! Just like Nicodemus. So I ran to get show her a Bible and Bruno showed her how that exact conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus, and eventually she did want to receive Jesus. When she did, then also a reoccuring pain she had had in her head behind her eyes, disappeared. Praise God!!! Haha, what a fun day. I wish I had a video of all Nadyla and Bruno's faces throughout that conversation, and of them preaching the gospel so simple and thorough. It was a fun moment, and I was glad that they helped me participate even though the woman and I couldn't understand each other's Portuguese most of the time. :)
