Christmas at 90 Degrees

Well, since 2008 is almost over, I thought I’d share with you my Brazilian Christmas experience. I have to say that I really missed a lot of the USA Christmas traditions (family and cold weather mostly). But once we began celebrating and while I was talking to people, my homesickness subsided, and I thoroughly enjoyed Christmas in Brazil.

It started the Saturday before with the young people’s Christmas party at the church. We had dinner then played two present games: amigo da onca (I have no idea how to translate that, sorry) and amigo espiritual (spiritual friend). The first one was kind of a joke. We drew names and had to buy a present that, in a nice way, made fun of the person. For example, I received a small etymological dictionary of Portuguese words, since I don’t speak the language well. Get it? Maybe you just had to be there. Anyway, it was really interesting. For the spiritual friend gift give-a-way, we bought some kind of spiritual gift (I made a cd of Christian music). At the party, we made a “web of love” as we handed out the gifts. One person started, took some string, and threw it and their gift to someone who blessed them this year or who they wanted to get to know better in the next year. In the end, we had made what looked like a web. There was also a slideshow of pictures from throughout the year. I learned an important lesson from that slideshow: where there is slideshow that I can be in, there will be a picture of me sleeping (which is sad for everyone because I am not pretty when I’m asleep. And I have tons of pictures to prove it.). I can’t escape this curse even by moving to another country!

The Monday before Christmas, I hosted an English Christmas party for a few readers and some people from the church who speak English. I made sugar cookies with homemade icing and no-bake cookies. They started out a bit rough but turned out good! Well, they were edible at least. :) Cris and I introduced them to Dirty Santa, the BEST Christmas party game EVER. It was great. They stole gifts more often than Americans do! We also watched one of my favorite Christmas movies: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, claymation version. I used to watch that movie every year when I was younger. I still love to watch it.

Us and our Dirty Santa Gifts


On Tuesday, Cris and I took Roberto, Marisa, and Andressa Signoretti (one of the missionary families) to my new favorite restaurant, Sal e Brasa. It’s a churrascaria (a restaurant specializing in meat that they bring to you at your table. Genius.) with a sushi bar and salad bar. Oh, and incredibly delicious desserts. What’s not to love? After lunch, Cris and I opened our presents. Her mom graciously sent me some gifts, which I appreciated more than words can say. I got some beautiful bracelets (from Cris), a book (yay!), some lotion, and my favorite gum, Big Red. That night we went to see Natal’s Christmas tree. It was huge, so much so that we could see the top of it from the church, several miles away (or so it seems). It wasn't an actual tree, but the shape of a tree made from lights that blinked and changed colors. It was beautiful.

Christmas Eve started off really well when the doorman beckoned me over to give me a special delivery. The box my dad sent only 2½ weeks before had arrived! (The Brazilian postal service was on the ball. Under non-Christmas circumstances, that box wouldn’t have arrived for another 2 weeks.) You'll never know how excited I was. I really enjoyed going through the box, seeing all the goodies my family sent. My favorite part was the Christmas cards. I love my family. :) That night I went to the American missionaries’ house. Christmas Eve is a bigger deal here than Christmas day, so we had a big dinner, complete with shrimp, turkey, mashed potatoes, rice, salad, a dish that I wasn't familiar with but really liked (some kind of mini dumplins in tomato sauce-ish) and cinnamon roll-like bread (yum!), all Brasilian-style and delicious. Then we played a game, opened gifts (I got a cute tank top and some cookies), and left. I spent the night at the Signoretti’s home. Since Andressa got the 3rd season of Friends, we had a Friends marathon that night.



Part of Christmas day was spent at Camurupim beach. I really liked that beach. And hanging on the beach on Christmas day was pretty cool too. It was definitely the first time I’d ever done that! Later, I was able to talk to my family on Skype. That was so great! I saw and talked to people I hadn’t seen or talked to in months. Yes, I was a very happy girl that night.

Me and my Christmas 'date' on the beach


My (first?) Christmas in Brazil was wonderful! Even though I couldn’t be with my blood family, I was with my Brazilian family. I hope all of you were able to spend Christmas with your loved ones. May the last few days of 2008 go well for you!! And I hope that 2009 starts off wonderfully and continues to get better and better. I pray all of God’s greatest blessings on you in the year to come!!!

P.S. Thank you for the comments. I enjoy every one more than you could ever know. :)

Merry Christmas!

And Feliz Natal!
(Feliz = Happy
Natal = Christmas
Feliz Natal = Happy Christmas)

And yes, Natal is also the name of the city I live in. So, I live in Christmas! Sometime before the end of the year, you'll get a more detailed post of my holiday adventures.

In case you were wondering, I will miss spending Christmas with my family back in Arkansas. But I'm also excited because I'm going to spend it with my Brasilian family. Tomorrow, I'll be spending most of the day by the pool (probably) and eating the traditional Brazilian Christmas Eve dinner with all of the missionaries, their families, and maybe some other friends. This dinner is the most important part of a Brazilian Christmas. On the 25th, we'll be going to the beach. Yes my friends, Christmas will consist of me getting a great tan. That'll be a first! :D

I pray that you all will spend Christmas with people who love you and who you love. May you be completely surrounded by and full of Christ's love, joy, and peace.

Merry Christmas!! Feliz Natal!! Feliz Navidad!!

Cold? What does that feel like?

Thanks to CNN and Facebook, I’ve noticed that the majority of the USA is suffering from a bad case of winter. Lately, every time I check up on my Facebook friends’ statuses, someone (usually several someones) mentions how much they either hate or love ice/snow. I find it funny because I’m sitting down here in the southern hemisphere melting in the intense heat and sunshine. It’s at least 75 degrees by 7 am. Right now, it’s almost 7 pm, and it’s 81. I can get a good tan (or sunburn) just by walking the 1 block from my apartment building to the church building. Yes, the sun is that strong. So, definitely no ice problems in my part of the world anytime soon!! Thank you equator.

Christmas is only 9 days away. Wow! Like our Christmas décor?
















I’ve been enjoying some good Christmas music lately about winter wonderlands, chestnuts on open fires, and sleigh rides. It’s been nice. A little weird to hear that while sweatin' like a stuck pig, but nice. However, I can’t stand to listen to “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” Why you ask? Well, because although it’s Christmas time, it hardly feels like it. Mostly because it’s so HOT, and I’m used to cold weather in December (I miss cold weather a little bit, ok a lot.). Right now, I don’t know what my Christmas plans are, but I do know that they’ll probably involve either the beach or the pool and a great tan. Woo hoo! Again, thank you equator.

Yesterday, Greg and Cyndi left Natal after three months of work to go to Panama City to spread the Good News there. Once again, our team is separated (We were all supposed to be here in Natal for one year but the Brasilian government waited until three months after I arrived to give them a one month visa and a two month extension). I will miss them terribly. They are wonderful, funny, dedicated workers in the Kingdom and have been very special to me for several years. They are deeply committed to knowing Jesus better and sharing His message with others. While not our first choice, I know their move is part of God’s plan. They will bless everyone they meet in Panama. Who knows why God worked things out this way? It was very hard for me to understand at first, but the Lord has taught me that He is in COMPLETE control of EVERYTHING (which is always a hard lesson for me to learn, as you know if you know me well) and has perfect plans for His Kingdom. Proverbs 19:21 and Isaiah 55:8-9 have taught and comforted me in the last few months.

Me, Greg, and Cyndi as we trained to move to Brasil (taken sometime early last year)



One more thing before I end this post. I have good news! One of my readers will start a Bible study in Portuguese tomorrow!!! Praise God! His Word is working mightily, and your prayers are being answered. Please continue praying for my readers, that the Words they have read will stay in their hearts and on their minds as they head into the holidays and begin their summer vacation.

Thank you for reading my blog! At least, I think people read my blog. I wouldn’t know. I hardly ever receive comments (hint, hint). Have a blessed week!

Funny Story

Those of you who know me really well are going to get a kick out of this.

Today I was talking to someone about cats. I told him I don't really like cats. After he gasped like I had just told him I didn't like Brazil (or something equally horrific like that), I recanted and tried to say that I like cats when they are kittens, but not once they grow up. I didn't know the Portuguse word for kitten, so I got creative. I know that 'gato' means cat and that Brazilians add 'inho' to the end of a word to indicate something small. So I put two and two together and said that I like 'gatinhos.' I thought, and still think, that's the right word, though I could be wrong (but freetranslation.com agrees with me). However, I forgot that this word can also be used to talk about a hot guy. So, this person interpreted my sentences as being "I like hot guys." Which, by the way, had absolutely nothing to do with our conversation. I probably turned a few shades of red (thank goodness it was dark!) and quickly explained what I had actually meant.

He'll probably never let me forget that. Though, for the record, I do like kittens, and hot guys aren't all that bad either. ;)

So much to be thankful for

So much has happened since the last time I blogged. Please bear with me. This post is going to be LOOOOONG! I apologize in advance. (If it makes you feel better, it took me about 2 hours to write and perfect it. Darn perfectionism.)

The most important news first. Last week, two guys decided they wanted to give their lives to Christ and were baptized on Sunday!!!! One of them is a great guy named Talis. He started reading with LST in June. He read with Ryan through July and August, and I started reading with him when Ryan left. I have watched his interest in Jesus grow strongly in such a way that his life is now completely different. Each week, he told me about how starting LST and meeting the church has changed his life. (Isn't that what it's all about? Lives changed by the love of Jesus.) I can see the joy he has now because of Christ. He was so excited to be baptized! He kept telling me, “Sunday will be the great day!” And it was! For more than one reason. At the end of October, Talis brought his friend Jefferson by the church to hang out for a few minutes, meet some people, and speak English. A few days later, Jefferson came to our LST Costume Party. He enjoyed everyone so much he came to our next English worship service. There, John, the American missionary, talked about how everyone has things they don’t like about “church” but the church is God's people and is therefore an important aspect of our lives as followers of Jesus. He also offered to study the Bible with anyone who wanted to so that they could see that the way many churches and Christians act sometimes nowadays isn’t the only way and isn’t the way it should be. Jefferson really related to that talk and took John up on his Bible study offer. It didn’t take him long to make the decision to follow Christ. Now we have two new brothers in Christ! The angels in Heaven are rejoicing, as is the Comunidade de Cristo church!!

Talis being reborn




Jefferson saying goodbye to the old him



Our two new brothers!



Praise God for He is doing great work here in Natal, Brazil!!

Last week we also celebrated a very important holiday, twice. On Thursday, we took the day off to enjoy it with the other Americans at the church as well as some special Brazilian friends. We had most of the traditional foods: turkey (flavored with peaches, pineapples, and figs), stuffing, sweet potato casserole (which I loved, for the first time ever. Way to go Samantha!), green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes. For dessert Cyndi cooked some delicious pies. Afterwards, we all got together to talk about what we’re thankful for. I, of course, was (and am) thankful to be in Brazil participating in the Lord’s work here. Marisa, one of the missionaries, said that at this time last year, the church leadership was in deep prayer about their outreach and about help in their work. She is thankful that God answered her prayer by sending so many workers this year. Later, a bunch of us played Quiddler, a super fun card game. I am way too competitive when it comes to card games. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit helped to keep my competitiveness under control and show Christian love to my fellow cardplayers. And it was okay that I didn’t get first place. Second (or maybe it was third...) isn’t so bad. ;)



The following Saturday we LST workers organized a Thanksgiving celebration for all of our readers. The women missionaries and LST workers cooked a big meal, complete with Turkey, dressing, broccoli-rice casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pecan pie (my fave!), chocolate pie, and pumpkin pie. It was a hit! A big THANK YOU to Cyndi for organizing the dinner part and for cooking most of those delicious dishes. Everyone loved the food, or at least one dish. I had been telling a reader about how great dressing was for several days, so he was eager to try it. I asked him how he liked it, and he said, “Oh it was good. But I couldn’t eat every day because it’s so heavy.” He was relieved to know we didn’t eat all that food everyday. Although some of them do think it’s strange that we don’t eat the same kind of food daily. (They eat beans and rice here every day, sometimes twice a day.) Cyndi received a care package of Thanksgiving goodies the day before, so they got to enjoy some authentic tastes from the USA. YUM!

Go here to see tons of pictures of our LST Thanksgiving celebration. Bookmark this page. We'll have more photos of all our LST adventures here in Natal.

Before eating, we started with a slideshow presentation of the history of Thanksgiving. I told them about the pilgrims, the Indians, and how we celebrate today. Then we gave them the opportunity to reflect on what they’re thankful for and thank God for it. Everyone wrote what they are thankful for on a leaf and hung it on our Tree of Thanks. Some of my favorites include “For God” (complete with drawing – done by a 4 year old, CUTE), “My divorce” (that would be an interesting story), “I’m thankful to God touched my heart and guide my way to His home and His teachings,” and “All the bad things that didn’t happened!”

My new favorite Thanksgiving tradition



Right before we chowed down, we got in a semicircle and sang “Thank You, Lord” and “Give Thanks.” It was so cool to hear all those voices joining together to sing thanks to God. Then we had a prayer and everyone dug in! All in all, it was a MARVELOUS day! We’re still enjoying the leftovers too. Another Thanksgiving tradition we couldn’t do without…

This wouldn’t be a proper Thanksgiving post if I didn’t mention a few of the things I’m thankful for, right? I won’t mention being in Natal, since that’s probably obvious. (Although I guess by saying that I did mention it. Haha.) I’m very thankful for the Holy Spirit, who has been helping me in reading sessions and teaching me so much about myself, God’s work and Word, and the love of Jesus. I give thanks everyday for people who love, support, and care and pray for me. The list is way too long to mention everyone here. I’m also thankful for the opportunity to experience another culture, learn another language, and live among such great people. Lastly, I’m thankful for LST and the ability to speak English. Without those, I just might not be here. :)

I hope you all had as blessed a Thanksgiving as I did! May the Holy Spirit help you realize all you have to be thankful for and may God continue to place things in your life throughout the year to come that you can thank Him for this time next year!

“You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:28-29 (NIV)