The $1.99 Store!

So, this week we went to the $1.99 store, much like the $1 store in the U.S. and may I just say it is my new favorite store. I know that sounds silly, but finding anything in Brazil at a good price is so rare. I don't say that to complain, I just think that everything is really expensive. God always provides for us so well, so I don't have to worry about buying things, but it is so rare, that I think, wow, I got such a good deal on that. I love being a smart shopper and doing that here has been challenging. If you remember my post about the cheap grocery store, sometimes getting things cheaper has it's down sides. Anyway, I love the $1.99 store. I went to look for a watering can for Joel since he loved watering plants with my Mom when we were back at Christmas. Not only did we find that but we found several other useful items and all for a grand total of $16.95, if I remember right. Ahhhhhhhh, what a great feeling the feeling of getting a lot for your money, I had almost forgotten what it felt like. I got 2 buckets, a lighter to the light our gas stove, a battery, the watering can for Joel and a pizza cutter. (We love having homemade pizza, I make a killer whole wheat crust for anyone who wants to come over and eat pizza with us, but anyhow, our other pizza cutter broke a while back and I just kept forgetting to get a new one.) They had several other things that I almost bought, a tambourine for Joel and a little sand shovel/bucket for Joel to play with at the beach $3.95), which by the way I later saw at another store in the mall for $19.99. All these prices are in "real" by the way, which is the monetary unit in Brazil. One dollar right now is worth about 1.80 reais. So, I just had to share all about our successful trip. Joel was even quiet in the stroller! That sounds like a great trip all the way around to me! Not to mention that it did wonders for the bargain hunter in me. :)

Hot, hot, hot!

So, how hot is it in Niteroi? Let's me see if I can explain in my terms. I am horrible at guessing the temperature and while I know that it has been about 40 degrees Celsius, not sure how to spell that word, but anyhow that is about 104 or 105 Fahrenheit I think, but don't go by that, because numbers are so hard to imagine in terms of what they feel like..... Go by this.....

It is so hot that at 1:40 in the afternoon after I quickly swept up the house and wanted to take a shower to cool off I was unable to stand under the water because it was so hot. Our water tank is on top of our apartment building and so the sun heats it up so much that it is too hot to take a shower. It does cool off around 6:30 or so, so we get to take showers, don't worry!

It is so hot that yesterday when Joel got up from his afternoon, I took him to the mall, because it was the only activity that I could think of that involved getting out of the house and air conditioning.

It is so hot that all I wanted to eat today for lunch was a popsicle.

It is so hot that our 16 month old son has learned what the air conditioner does and the other day he coaxed me into his room and stood right under the air conditioner just looking at it, as if to say, come on mom turn it on, it is too hot. When a busy little boy says it is too hot, then it is!

That is my weather report for today. I am sure that all the math lovers out there hated my assessment of numbers and their lack of meaning for me, I actually don't mind math, but come one, my stories paint the picture much more vividly.

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10 things that I am enjoying this visit back to the U.S.- 1. Family – it is such a wonderful thing. People who always love you, even when you decide to up and move to another continent. 2. Using a dryer. Drying clothes in the dryer is infinitely easier, and they come out all warm and toasty. Although, on a hot day in Brazil, they are warm and toasty as well, they just take longer than 50 minutes. 3. Having time with Jude and Joel, all of us together. Jude is at work during the week, like most, and I am so enjoying all the time we have to do family things or just relax together. 4. Starbucks. I don’t really need to elaborate on this, but I will say that we did try to take Joel to McDonalds to play on the playscape, and got a coffee just to buy something while we were there, big mistake. It was really gross, and reinforces the fact that I do not like McDonalds. So, Starbucks, yes, amazing. Peppermint Mocha.....mmmmmmmmmm. 5. The grocery store. Grocery stores in the U.S. are so luxurious. The grocery store by our apt. in Brazil is very clean, but it is small and being able to buy diapers, wipies, and all the grocery items at one place, plus a random item or two, is amazing. 6. Catching up with friends. We went to our “old” church, old in the sense that we went there when we lived in Kerrville, and it was so fun. That plus my college roommate lives down the street from Jude’s parents, so walking out the front door to visit with her is awesome. Jude got to catch up with some buddies as well, which I know he really enjoyed. 7. Seeing Joel say more words in English. He now answers the phone in Portuguese, which he did before we left, but now he says bye in English. It is really cute, and perfectly bi-cultural! 8. Times reading the Bible. As anyone would, in a time away from work/regular life…. You just tend to analyze and look at your life from a different perspective. God has encouraged me again and again, in His calling on my life, and how He is always faithful. I just need to have faith. I am challenged that I need to have more faith for God to take care of things when we go back to brazil….. where to live (the contract on our apt. is up in March), and a babysitter for Joel, among other things. 9. Different food.....Mexican food, and my dad’s brisket! That doesn’t really need an explanation either. Brazilian food is REALLY good, but it is definitely not spicy, and everyone knows that Texans make the best brisket! 10. The cold weather and being able to bundle up. I love the change in the seasons and cold weather is something that Rio does not get. The most we get is a cool front with rain, but it isn’t cold it is just cool. I love that we are bundling up and sitting in front of the fireplace and drinking hot chocolate and eating soup to stay warm. Something about sleeping in cozy pajamas, fuzzy socks, and lots of warm blankets just feels good. Happy New Year. I know that God has amazing things in store for this year. Now it is up to us to follow after Him with all that we have, and trust Him to show up, which He always does. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

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. :)

Happy 8th Birthday Projeto Crescer!

Happy Birthday Projeto Crescer! (The Growing Project) This weekend, we celebrated the 8th year of the project! (if you want to learn more about the project, keep your eyes out for an update in the next few weeks about the new website! It is coming soon and looking great.) After doing a unit focused on Brazil and it's 5 major regions, each class picked a region and the respective teachers made a booth and foods from their regions of Brazil. It was an awesome party and a huge testimony to what is God is doing and continues to do in Cafuba! There was pizza from Sao Paulo, bar-b-q from the south of Brazil, and fish from the North-east. The cake was bigger than any cake I have ever seen and there were also items for sale that the kids made ie. vases, bookmarks, placemats, various painted boxes, etc. Everyone turned out for the celebration. There were vollunteers from our church and students from years back. We count it a privilidge to be a part of such a great organization and to see how far God has brought things. Pictures from before it ever existed reveal an empty lot, which now holds classrooms, and so much more for 80 kids Monday through Friday. A big hit at the party were the prizes that were raffled off. Everyone sat anxiously looking at their numbers waiting to see if they had won. I will brag on my husband a bit, and say that the raffle was his idea! He is such an amazing director. He has poured his all into things this past year and it was a blessed day to get to see everyone celebrate the continuation, growth, and hope for even more in the future! God is SO good! MMMMMMM, this cake was soooo yummy! Thank you Deisy! She is the cook at the Project and she did a great job on the cake! Anxiously awaiting cake!

I know that this picture is a bit blurry, but I just had to put it on here..... Near the end of the party, Pastor Claudio gave a word of encouragement and incentive, to look for healing for whatever is hurting us physically, spiritually, or emotionally, in Jesus. After that he prayed for the community, everyone present, and the project! It was such a precious moment and one that I believe states strongly why the project exists and what God hopes for in this community. People healed by the power of Jesus! To God be the glory!

Joel is 1!

I am a little late with this post but I couldn't go without posting a few pics from Joel's 1st Birthday! We had a frog birthday party with my parents, and some friends from church and the Project (the before and after school program that we work with....FYI a new website will be up and running soon with lots of info on "Projeto Crescer" and we will update you on that when it is good to go! ) Anyhow, here are some pics.

Everyone says, "I can't believe that my child is _____ years old." I am not sure if I can believe that Joel is 1 but enough has happened in the past year to make me feel like he is one. He has changed SO much, as have I. I think that I have learned more as a mom than in any other role ever in my life. It is such a huge responsibility and one that in my opinion requires such humility, a servant's heart, a selfless spirit constantly (all of this I am still working on by the way) and a love that is beyond ourselves-thank You Jesus for providing this in my life without limit! I owe my life to you, yet you are the One that gives me life daily. I love Joel more each day, if that is even possible, and I wouldn't trade the adventure for anything!

So, here is to my son, Joel Deron Geroy.

Congratulations Son, I love you and am so proud of you!