Little Monkeys and Tiny Guitars

Yesterday I rediscovered how much I love nature. Now, I'm not one to spend every possible moment outside, but I do love the serenity and peace of God's creation. And I have really missed spending time outside in nature. This may sound weird coming from someone who lives 30 minutes from the beach. I guess by 'nature' I mean trees and plants and other such greens. You know, the kind of nature you'd find in my part of Arkansas. Lately I've had strong urges to go for a bike ride, go hiking (oh Mt. Nebo how I miss your closeness), or just take a walk in a peaceful place. But I can't. It's hard to do so when you live in a city of a million without a car. Or so I thought.

Enter Parque dad Dunas, a.k.a Dunes Park. With its trees, trails, music, and monkeys, it makes my heart smile. So now that I have my own bit of familiar nature, I don't miss Arkansas as much. (No dear loved ones in Arkansas, that does not mean I miss you any less.)

I want to give you a glimpse into the greatness that is Parque das Dunas. Since I forgot my camera, my fellow LST intern Cris graciously agreed to allow me to copy her pictures from Facebook to have as my very own. Cris, I and both of my blog readers thank you. Now for the pictures.


A mama with her baby.
Notice the baby clinging on
to it's mother for dear life.
Well, when mom is jumping from tree
branch to tree branch, your life does
depend on your grip.



Another monkey. Just chilling in the tree. Or preparing to pounce on some prey.



Meet Diogo, lead strummer of the non-singing musical group "Diogo Guanhabara and Macaxeira Jazz." He got down on the mandolin. Charity, this one is for you.



Say hello to his little friend.
Diogo's rocking the baby guitar.









So, when would you like to enjoy the music and monkeys of Parque das Dunas?

The Price of Being Valuable

A little over a month ago, my wonderful Dad who I love so much mailed me a package. At the post office in Harrison, AR (where international mailing is about as common as someone voting Democrat), the post office guy asked how much the contents of the box were worth. My dad said nothing, which was pretty much correct. There wasn't anything of great monetary value in the box. So PO guy says, well I'll put $100 so if it gets lost, you'll get that much in insurance. It was a nice thought. I appreciate PO guy's concern for the potential loss of my package.

So, I have been anticipating my package's arrival for about a month (ok, more like 3 but more so when I found out it had actually been sent. :) I love you Daddy). So, on Tuesday, when the doorman told me he had something for me, I was so excited. I thought my box had finally arrived. No. Instead, I got a card from the great people at the Church of Christ Student Center (CCSC) in Russellville. That was such a great surprise!!! It put a big smile on my face. :D See?

**If anyone from the CCSC reads this blog and signed my card, THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

So, no box on Tuesday. I thought maybe Wednesday would be the day. When I got home Wednesday, the doorman flagged me down. I thought for sure he must have a box to give me. Again, no. Instead, I got a slip of paper informing me that my package is at the post office in Natal but that I can't get it until I pay the taxes on it. What?! Taxes?! In the words of Andy Jewell, YOU...HAVE GOT...TO BE KIDDING ME! Poor PO guy. I'm sure he doesn't mail packages to Brazil very often. So he probably didn't know that here they charge taxes on packages valued over $50 and that the taxes are 60% of the value. So, multiply $100 by the exchange rate (which varies hourly) then multiply that number by 60% and you have the amount I will pay in taxes. In dollars, I will pay about as much money to get my box from the post office as my dad paid to get it there. Oh well, I'm just SOOO happy to finally get my box!

So, FYI, if you ever want to send me anything, make sure you don't put a value on it over $50. Better yet, just don't put a value on it at all (unless it really is that valuable. In that case, you might want to reconsider sending it by USPS). Oh, and it takes packages at least a month to get here. Just so you know.

But if you want to send me something, anything, please feel free. I love getting cards, Facebook messages or wall posts, emails, blog comments...really any communication from the people I love so much back in the good 'ol USA.

Answers come in handy

On my Facebook profile, I have an application that gives me a daily Bible verse. It is aptly named "Daily Bible Verse." Today, the verse was 1 Peter 3:15.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (NIV)


This verse really reasonated with me when I read it. Especially when it says "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have." I have to do this all the time (as I'm sure many of you do). Is it easy? Not always. Sometimes my readers ask me questions that I've never thought about before. In those cases I don't have a previously thought-about answer. Thankfully, the Lord usually provides me with words. But sometimes I do have to say "I don't know." There's nothing wrong with this. I don't know all of God's secrets. But it is so important to my work here to have an answer for my hope in Christ. Really, it's vital to all of our lives, whether you work for a church or you work in a garage. This answer can greatly impact the Kingdom of God and someone's eternity.

The last part, "with gentleness and respect," is important also. If we do not respect others, they will not respect us, perhaps to the point of not listening or outright rejecting what we have to say. Now, I'm not the best example of gentleness in an intense discussion or argument (as some of you know from experience. Sorry about that). But I'm learning, as I hope we all are.

I don't think it is completely a coincidence that it was that particular verse that I read on my profile today. Here's why. Yesterday, I had a 2-hour long conversation with a reader about why I believe in the Bible and he doesn't. We discussed his doubts, and many times he wanted me to give him an answer or at least give him some thoughts to help him find answers. I had never talked about some of those topics before. (Plus, my voice wasn't 100% because of this darn cold.) Thankfully, the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation and strengthen my voice, from the questions that came to my mind about the lesson to the words that came out of my mouth to the understanding that both my reader and I had of what the other said. Some of the questions I asked him about the lesson were ones that I had never thought of in 4 years of LST work. Coincidence? I think not. It was so obvious to me during and after the lesson that Holy Spirit was there. It also helped that the Lord had taught me about the answers to some of my reader's questions in previous college classes, Bible classes, random conversations, reading sessions, and my own studies. It was a great lesson for me to learn the importance of the wise words in 1 Peter 3:15.

I will leave you with a quote from one of my readers today. This is from a conversation about making the choice to follow Jesus. "If we stay in the middle, He (God) will throw up."

Growth before birth

I think I've mentioned this before, but just in case you forgot, I'm going to tell you again why I like living here longer-term. Growth and development. It may sound like I'm talking about a fetus or a toddler. Not exactly. I'm talking about adults. They just happen to be at the fetus stage of their Christian walk. The seeds have been (and are being) planted. Now we're watering them and hoping to see signs of faith and commitment begin to grow. And I am thoroughly enjoying the fact that I get to watch it all unfold. Witnessing this growth is one of the greatest blessings in life.

Yesterday, one of my readers, who has studied with 2 other LST workers since starting in June, began to study the Bible in Portuguese with one of the church members!!! He has been interested for a while and has participated in many activities with God's people here. I knew it was just a matter of time. So, of course, I was very anxious to find out how the study went. I didn't have to wait long. During our reading session tonight, he told me that during the Bible study he learned that every kind of knowledge could be found in the Bible. He said it with such wonder and amazement and excitement that it made me love and respect the Bible all over again. It made my heart very happy. I'm really excited to see this reader grow in his knowledge of the Bible and his love for Jesus. And what a joy it will be to see him some day become a beautiful baby!

Jesus had siblings?!

I wish you could meet my readers. They are wonderful! I really enjoy talking with each of them. I’m sure you would too. We talk about all sorts of things from English words to American culture to international affairs. And, of course and most importantly, the Bible. To give you a little insight into what goes on in an LST reading session, I’d like to share a few excerpts from some of our conversations. Both of the following exchanges happened in two separate reading sessions with the same reader. I’m going to call him Thiago (which, by the way, is the Portuguese form of James). I look forward every week to reading with him. We share a lot of laughs during our sessions. He comes twice a week and has such an excitement for learning English. He also has developed some good relationships with some of the people from the church and is learning a lot about the Bible and its Truths, as you will see. For now, I’m going to give you some of the more serious conversations. I’ll post some funny stories at a later date. Enjoy!

Excerpt #1
After reading about the angel telling Mary that she will become pregnant and give birth to Jesus.

Me: So, what are your thoughts about this lesson?
Thiago: I agree with this. I think it’s true. But [thoughtful pause] I don’t think Mary is still a virgin.
Me: (after a few seconds of shock) Well, I don’t think she’s still a virgin either.
T: Really?
Me: Yes, she had other children.
T: Mary had other children?!

(Apparently the Catholic church here in Brazil teaches that Mary is still a virgin and Jesus’ brothers and sisters talked about in Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 8 aren’t actually his real siblings. They’ve come up with several reasons why, but I don’t know all of them.)

Excerpt #2
During the lesson about Satan tempting Jesus in the desert/wilderness. Right after reading “Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.”

Me: What does this mean?
T: That we should only worship God and no one else.
Me: Yes, we should only worship God and Jesus.
T: Jesus too? Why?
Me: Because Jesus is God also.
T: What?! Jesus is God?
Me: Yes, He is.
T: No, He’s the Son of God. Not God.
We then have a brief discussion of how Jesus can be both God and man and continue the rest of the lesson. At the end:
Me: What did you learn in this lesson?
T: I learned that Jesus is God and God’s Son. But I don’t think I agree.

Followed by a brief discussion of why he doesn't agree.

(Well, Thiago dear, it is just fine if you don’t agree yet. I’m just glad that you have now heard the truth that Jesus is God as well as God’s Son.)

I’m very anxious and excited to continue reading with Thiago and to see what else God has to teach him through me. I hope you enjoyed this peek into the work God is doing here at the Comunidade de Cristo church in Natal. May the Lord give you this week a glimpse (or hopefully more) into the work He is doing where you are.