The Wedding!

So, this weekend a very sweet friend of ours here in Brazil got married. Jude wasn't feeling very well, so I decided to go the wedding alone. Huh, rookie mistake. Let's remember I am taking Joel with me. All in all I am so glad I went and took Joel (there really wasn't another option: Note to self, find a backup babysitter..... my babysitter was in the wedding.) I guess I could have left him with Jude, but I wanted him to be able to rest. Anyhow, so there we went, off to the wedding. Weddings in Brazil are very fancy and even the people attending the wedding need to dress up. I wore the nicest dress that I have, high heels and some basic earrings since I can't wear dangly earrings due to Joel's need to pull on them. Why create one more situation where I have to say "no" to him. There are already so many things that he can't do. I was one of the least dressed up people there. The wedding started about an hour late, which was good since I was running late getting ready as was my friend who caught a ride with us. I went really prepared, raisins, corn flakes, milk, an extra jar of baby food just in case, the stroller, and toys/books that don't make noise. As I said before, all in all I am really glad that I went, but let me just say that I came home exhausted. I think that I walked/scurried about 2 miles in my high heels. Joel did pretty well for a little guy. He ran around and played, ate almost everything that I brought with us, except for the cookie that I ate to have energy to keep running after him! :) After the cerimony, Joel was the hit. He threw himself into the bride"s arms as well as all of the beautiful bridesmaids' arms. My son is smart! He charmed the photographer, ate some cake, almost touched one of the candle's romantically lighting the cake table and ran some extra laps around the reception area. We had a great time and Joel fell asleep on the ride home.

Blogging blahs & 3 things that I am excited about....

Well, I am definitely not among the best bloggers, I guess because I always want it to be just right, or I think, Oh, I can't write about that, everyone knows I am a missionary. Missionaries need to have everything figured out right. Haha, not sure where we get that idea. A missionary is just someone who has heard God's call, and has been obedient to go where the Lord leads and serve in His name, living out His love, sharing how Jesus is the only way to heaven, and how he changes lives and gives hope. A task we can only do in His grace and strength, not by our own brilliance or in knowing it all. Please don't read that as a theological definition!!! Anyhow, there is a lot to catch up on, since in my blogging blahs has passed 2 months. Right now, I am excited about several things, one being that I am planning a cooking making day for my English class. Our last class will be at our apartment and we will make Christmas cookies and just hang out. They were so excited when I told them! One of the kids even said that he wanted to live at my house. Seriously, these kids are so precious. God has put them on my heart in a way that constantly confirms our calling here. They live in such a hard reality, that something as small as a cookie party, can be a big deal. I can't wait! I will definitely have to take pictures and post them. We are getting ready for Christmas here, with some shopping for the kids at the project (Christmas presents) and organizing things somewhat for our trip to the states in 2 weeks. We can't get anything too organized since Joel would love nothing more than to play in a suitcase filled with presents. :) I am also SO excited about our trip, it is only not #1 on my excitement list, because it is farther away, and I don't want to miss out on what God has for us here before we visit, by focusing to much on our trip. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love and miss my family, so that is not easy, but we have a pretty full schedule before we leave so that is good. I am also so excited about my women's prayer group. It has been such a blessing in my life. It has been some time since I have had a group of women to pray consistantly with and really just share life with. I have amazing friends/family in Texas that I love to pray with, but the distance being what it is, a weekly prayer meeting is not doable. Anyway, so I was really praying about that and just asking God to provide that, and He did in a major way. We meet every wednesday night to visit, share prayer requests, talk, and pray. From the first week I just felt so happy. We have been meeting for about a month, and I already feel that the friendships have deepened, and we have already seen God answer several of the requests put forth! Well, that is all for now, more to come, my new goal may be to blog once a week, we'll see if that is doable. :)