What does Jesus see?

I have amazing readers. I have been praying for mainly two things: 1) that God will use me to share His Word with my readers and 2) that He will give me words to speak and questions to ask. I have no doubt that He will answer #1, but little did I know that He would use my readers to answer #2 (well, I knew He would, but not to what degree). Let me give you an example.

One of my readers, let's call her B, is a strong Christian. Before continuing, please read Luke 7:36-50. In this passage, Jesus tells the story about the money lender to make a point. One of the questions in the workbook asks why Jesus tells the story. B said something like this: (keep in mind this is a loose paraphrase, the original was in broken English.) "Jesus wanted Simon to know something. He compared the man who owed the most to the sinful woman and the man who owed the least to Simon. He is the money lender. Jesus saw them differently. When he looked at them, he did not see the things they did. He saw what was inside their heart, the reasons why they did what they did."

This conclusion may seem elementary to you, but I had never thought of this passage in that way before. I never thought to ask "What did Jesus really see when He looked at them?" Usually, I assume Jesus saw that she was sorry and believed because of her actions. But no, Jesus did not see the woman's sin nor her actions. He saw a truly repentant, believing heart. And that is why He forgave her sins. Because of God speaking through B, I have a little more insight not only into this story, but also into the man Jesus. And I have another question to ask my other readers, one that may help them to see Jesus in a new, better way.

Thank you for your prayers! Know that God hears you and He is answering, sometimes in the most unlikely ways.

What a week!

Oh. My. Goodness. This has been the best, craziest, busiest week of my stay in Brazil. (Granted, it is only the 3rd week. But it was crazy busy nonetheless.) I counted, and I have 14 readers, which is more than I should have considering I'll be taking some of Ryan's when he leaves. But I do have some really great readers! I also got to go furniture shopping and now have a new bed and a closet!!!! I got a great deal on them too. Now my clothes will have a place to live. Til now, they've been hanging out on top of suitcases, the bed, and anywhere else I can put them. It will be really nice to have everything organized (someday). All I need now is a desk and my room will be complete.

Last night, Ryan and I had our first LST party. It was awesome! The theme was an Ice Cream Social. I started by explaining what an ice cream social is. Then we played the Human Knot Game, where people stand in a circle and randomly grab hands then have to undo themselves and remake a circle. We played twice. It was great. Then we played my favorite game, Hand to Foot. It was SO FUN!!!! Then we taught them to chant "I scream. you Scream. We all scream for ice cream!" Once they mastered that, we brought out the ice cream. We had Neopolitan ice cream with sprinkles bought in the States, small gummy things, and chocolate and caramel sauces as toppings. It was de-licious! While we ate ice cream we just talked with our readers. Everyone loved the games and the ice cream. It was an amazing night. Afterwards we went to a nearby burger stand with some readers and ate the best burgers in the world (no offense Chris Buxton). And now I'm completely worn out. Today is going to be a day of rest. It's a perfect day for that since it's raining and has been all morning.

God is so good!!! He is here, working, and has been for a long time. Please continue to pray for us as we share His Word with some very special people. Someday soon I'll tell you more about them. For now, just lift them up in prayer. Thank you!

With lots of love from Brazil,
Lacy

My New Home

Ok, here it is. For those of you who don't have facebook, I'm finally going to give you a glimpse of the place I now call home. I have no idea how well this (putting the pictures on here) will go because, as I'm writing this, I can't tell which picture is where. I can tell you that the caption is below the picture. Oh, and no pictures of my bedroom on this post. I have yet to get any furniture besides a bed.



my bathroom (i knew it wouldn't do to leave this one out)
except now there's no mirror and it's more organized



the 'dining room' (aka, the table behind the couch)



the kitchen




the living room and the balconey (complete with hammock and incredible view of the city)

Forget the box...just think outside

I have been reminded every day since arriving here why I love Natal. I've met a lot of my new readers and their friends/family members/significant others. Some of them I'm already pretty good friends with already. I just love Brazilians.

For example, tonight the current LST team from Oklahoma Christian University had their farewell party. I started the party talking to a reader who shares my interest in linguistics. We talked about American English and British English and Brazilian Portuguese accents. Boring for you maybe, but interesting to me and Bruno. After the party, I talked to my future reader Ana Mara and her brother Hermony (er-mo-knee) who I met on Wednesday and saw a movie with last night. We, along with a church member and Ryan, talked and laughed for a while then started taking pictures. When pretty much everyone had left the auditorium, Ana Mara, Hermony, and another reader Tiago gave us Samba and Hip-hop lessons. Samba is a traditional Brazilian dance. Yes, we danced in the church (don't worry, not suggestively, and I was horrible at it). Then they helped me with my Portuguese. It was like we'd been friends for a long time.

Speaking of learning Portuguese, I have been. I've learned all sorts of good stuff. When I speak it, people shout "Ay Lacy! Esta falando Portugues (You're speaking Portuguese)!" like they're really surprised that I actually know words in their language. It's great. I keep being called cute when I speak Portuguese. My favorite words to learn are English words with Portuguese pronunciation. For example, Microsoft Word is pronounced worgeye; download is downloagey; powerpoint is powerpoinchey; milkshake is milkshakey; and internet is internechey. My absolute favorite is facebook, pronounced faceybookey. I love to say it how they say. Then we crack up for about 5 minutes.

I start my reading sessions on Monday! I am SO EXCTIED about it!!!! Please pray that the Lord speaks through me and that He gives me the wisdom I need to respond to my readers. The first English worship service is tomorrow, which, of course, I'm REALLY EXCITED about!! I loved our ones last year and can't wait for tomorrow! The firt Portuguese worship service is also tomorrow. You guessed it, I'm SUPER EXCITED!! The confraternizacao (like a meet-and-greet except you kiss everyone on the cheek) is my favorite part. I've been looking forward to it for a year. Praise God that He brought me back to Natal! Though, of course, I miss my family. I love you family and friends!!!

With muito amor (much love),
Lacy

P.S. I got the title of my blog from a t-shirt a reader was wearing tonight. Isn't it great?

In Brazil Again

I made it! It took us 26 hours to get here, but the flights and layovers were well worth it! It's so good to be back. I've seen so many people I know from last year. I'm so happy to see them all again. I'm remembering why I love this place so much!! I start reading sessions on Monday. I'm so excited!

Right now I'm sitting in my living room, looking out at the lights of Natal. Our apartment overlooks the northern part of the city, and in the distance, we can see the ocean. Not much of it, but enough to count. It's a nice apartment. I like it alot. And I have a great roommate, Cris. She's been here since September doing LST work. She's been a huge help. I'm so thankful for her.

This is so surreal. I can hardly believe I'm here. And that God wanted me to come back. I am blessed beyond anything I'll ever deserve. Have a wonderful day! Deus te abencoe (God bless)!