Amy in Brazil

Grocery Shopping

It’s been nearly a month now since I arrived in Rio, and it truly is starting to feel like home…mostly… But, when I want to be reminded of my own foreignness in this country or my own awkwardness in it, all I have to do is go to the grocery store.

My local grocery is a mega-store similar to a Super Walmart or Target—meaning they carry things like clothes, towels, and electronics in addition to food, though they are sadly lacking in dry erase markers and construction paper (see Mercenary Requests). It is called Carrafour (ka-ha-forh), and its in easy walking distance of my apartment.

Now, I have always been a notoriously bad checkout-line picker. Even in the states, I somehow always managed to end up behind the woman who had deceptively crammed four carts worth of goods into one cart or the man who discovered, after being told his total, that he’d left his wallet in the car but, not to worry, he’d be back in a jiffy… This is a talent that has traveled across hemispheres with me.

But it’s not so bad, generally, I’ve found. In the states, I often found comfort in those sorts of situations by sharing commiserating glances and/or conversations with the cashier and/or other patrons who had the luck to be in the same line with me. We’d share glorious moments of friendly and meaningless line bonding—alliances forged for a moment and then forgotten that act as a great reminder of our common humanity… (I realize that this sounds a bit over the top, but bear with me for a bit).

Here, all the lines are long, and all the lines are slow (this is not an exaggeration; it’s observable fact). The cashiers are in no hurry to scan your items, and everyone self bags. So for a person like me who’s going to inevitably pick the slowest of the slow lines, you would think that I would be delighted to enjoy such ample opportunities to suffer alongside and bond with my fellow shoppers. But, really, nothing kills a good shopping line gripe more quickly than having to say to the patron or worker who so foolishly decided to include you in a discussion of your common plight then to have to smile and say, “Eu não entendo” (aka I don’t understand).

So, I’ve spend my anxious minutes looking at magazines that I can’t understand and eying the impulse candy that doesn’t even look appetizing, all trying to avoid eye contact with my neighbors who might take that as encouragement to make me declare in front of everyone that no, I don’t really belong here…

Favelas

This past weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a homeless/soup ministry in and around the Cidade de Deus, one of Rio’s many favelas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favelas). There is a small Wesleyan Methodist Church right inside the favela that has an amazing focus on missions—though their weekly income is less than R10 (1.7 reals = 1 dollar). It truly touched my heart to see pictures and hear testimonies of the work that one tiny church is accomplishing with no resources, only the heart to share the Gospel of Christ and to improve the lives of their neighbors and others around the world.

The soup ministry is simple; every two weeks, volunteers make a hearty soup from donated food items and pour drinkable water into recycled soda bottles. Then, they pile the soup and water and some donated clothing into a van and drive around the surrounding neighborhoods late at night, at the time when the homeless are likely to be settling in on some bit of pavement or other. They distribute whatever goods they have to offer, and they pray with the people. Simple—feed the body and feed the soul.

But, for a tourist like me, the six hours spent doing this was quite difficult. It is always uncomfortable to see such extreme poverty and such desperate people, and it feels as though distributing a carton of soup will hardly go far in righting the wrongs of the world. But, it is heartening to see simple men and women with hardly enough of their own reaching out to share the little that they do have, putting their faith in the plenty of the Lord.

Hummingbirds of Unusual Size

The hummingbirds here are enormous. Seriously. They must be three times the size of their North American cousins. And, they are quite nasty to each other. I am actually nervous while walking by them during their aggressive battles, worried that those wings or beaks might get a little too out of control… I’ll post a picture if I ever have my camera nearby when I see them.

Prayer Requests/Praises/ Updates

1)      My mom’s last lab results actually showed some improvements and amazed her doctors—please continue to pray for her.

2)      The Dengue Epidemic is still in full swing down here, and it is hitting the very poor the hardest as they are the people most likely to not receive medical care. I’ve been told that it will stop when the rainy season stops… so probably not anytime soon. However, Juliana, my former substitute, is completely recovered now.

3)      My birthday was fantastic! My students celebrated with me all day and my roommate threw me a little party—much fun was had by all.

4)      There was a problem with my last paycheck from Belen not going into my account when it was supposed to which meant that I had to absorb some checks into my overdraft, and I was really worried about this month’s finances. However, now it looks like things are going to work out ok. Please pray that I would be able to continue to generate financial support for this endeavor.

Best wishes to all of you,

Amy

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.  1 Corinthians 15:58

It’s almost been three weeks since I’ve come to Rio and in some ways it seems like I’ve been here much longer. The language continues to baffle me, but, as I settle into a routine, things seem less foreign somehow.

Teaching is going well. I know all of my students by name (first name, at least), and as I start to grade assignments the surnames are at least becoming familiar. We had parent-teacher conferences last Wednesday, but I only met four of my student’s parents. This was to be expected, I suppose, because they are high school students, but I was still hoping to meet more of them.

Yesterday I went to church at the same church where I celebrated Easter, but the week before I went to a service in downtown Rio. The service there was in Portuguese, but I enjoyed the parts of it that I understood. I think that I mentioned in my last post the coincidence that family friends of ours from long ago are here in Rio planting a churh; it was their church that I attended last Sunday.

It continues to be warm and humid here, but it is cooling off a bit at night. I was excited to use my afghan last night (Thanks Laura!) for the first time. Of course, the heat and the rain that we’ve been having hasn’t improved the Dengue situation, and I am told that the epidemic is making North American news now. I am still well, and there aren’t as many cases in my neighborhood as there are in many others. But, I am still taking percautions–wearing my bugspray and closing my windows at nights–and I appreciate your continued prayers for my health and the health of the school community.

In other school news, the three remaining teachers that are not yet in Brazil have all received their visas, and they are making travel plans. I believe that one of them will arrive this Thursday, and she may end up being my second roommate. My other roommate, Teresa, arrived in the country about six weeks before me, and she is, therefore, the household expert on all things Rio.

On Friday night, I helped to supervise a Girls’s Night Out that the school’s youth group organized. It was an overnight activity for the junior and senior high students. The first activity was a scavenger hunt at a mall, then we had dinner, and then we went to a family’s house for the sleepover. Games, girly-ness, and movies followed. And, right in the middle, we had an open discussion about purity and God’s plans for proper relationships. The whole event went very well. Of course, I spent most of Saturday recouperating from the lack of sleep.

 I am currently on the look out for additional ministry opportunities. Obviously, the opportunities abound as Rio is a large city with many needs, but I am praying for guidance. I want to work where my gifts are needed and where I can make a positive impact–I want to be doing the work that God intends for me to do.

Please send me an email if you have time. I was feeling a little homesick earlier this week, and I’d love to have news from all of you.

With my thoughts and prayers, Amy

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  Hebrews 11: 8 – 10