Second Week coming to an end...

The time at the Language Institute continues to be awesome and very productive.  I am getting to know the kids and they are now asking for me by name!  That warms this heart!  Rita, the administrator, has been incredibly gracious with her time.  We probably have spent close to 7 hours talking!  I have posed many questions to her and she is so open and so supportive of what we are looking into doing in Manacapuru.  The teachers, what can I say, they are great.  They have welcomed me to the school and into their classrooms with open arms.  They want to help in anyway possible and they too are very supportive.  I am going to try to get pictures of the teachers next week so you can see their faces.  I do not feel comfortable taking pictures of the kids, so sorry about that.  I have learned a tremendous amount by listening to the teachers, observing, looking at curriculum.  My brain is about to explode.  So far I have been in 33 classes!

Teacher workshop

Today, I had the chance to attend a workshop with some of the teachers.  A woman from Maine came and talked to the team.  I don't have the space to contain all I received from her.  WOW!  It was powerful and I was pumped in every way!  It was so practical and this woman encouraged me in every area.

This weekend I have the opportunity to go with one of my roommates, Nayara, to her church in a town about 2-3 hrs from BH.  She asked me come and to share with the church about the ARS

Roommates

Projects.  I am honored and excited about this chance to share with this church.  I am also blessed by getting to spend time with this precious sister in the Lord.  She has a beautiful spirit, soul and voice. We have had so much fun with all the girls in the apartment as we expand our knowledge of English and Portuguese!  I don't think I have laughed so much in years.  We are already planning English lessons via Skype! Not sure  how that is going to work while I am in Denmark but we will see.These ladies are precious and love the Lord with  hearts!

our apartment

Our apartment is fairly near the school.  We are on the 16th floor with a beautiful view of the city!The hills are a challenge on the knees.  I have described the hills like this:  its like San Francisco hills on steroids! :-)

Ludmilla

I got to go with Ludmilla last Friday where she was asked to do a story telling drama for a ladies meeting.  She was incredible and made the Bible story alive.


This week I also attended a service at the Baptist College during one of the weekday evening services.  It was great.  I was excited to see a ministry share that a couple of years ago we toured their facility.  This ministry reaches out to addicts.  They sang with all their hearts and it was a blessing!

Service

Next week, is my final week in BH and I can't believe it.  I will be squeezing out every opportunity to share with the teachers and glean from their experience.  My flight home is next Friday evening, arriving in Little Rock Saturday afternoon.  I plan on spending the night in Conway with the Duggins before making the trip home to Stillwater on Sunday.

Please pray that I will not miss one thing the Lord wants to teach me and use me in these final days. I must say that my heart is full and my head is spinning with all the possibilities.  I am determined to walk in His Peace and to listen to His voice and directions.  Pray for His wisdom for Pr Jose, Leoni and me as we seek Him.

Thank you so much for your prayers and continued financial support.  You are right here with me and I am so grateful for each one of you.  I will try to write again before I leave.  Bless you from Brazil!

until next time.......

First week very productive

The first week of my time in Belo Horizonte is almost finished.  Today I observe only two classes. This week has been great!  The time observing the teachers as well as the students has been very informative.  It has been a good time for me to learn about the culture here in regards to teaching style, student interactions with both peers and the teachers.  The administrator has been wonderful, initiating the time to meet with me to make sure everything is going well and that my expectations are being met.  She has given me some material to read this weekend (homework!).

Sabrina, me, Nayara, Priscila

Last night, the 3rd roommate here at the apartment arrived back to BH.  She has had some personal affairs with her family that needed her attention.  Last night, we had a time of singing, praying and a message from the Word with a woman who is a pastor's wife and a dear friend of the girls.  Plus this was the first time I could get a photo of all three.  Some of you may have already seen these pictures of Face Book since one of the girls posted them last night, or should I say early this morning!  We began around 10:30 pm and I went to bed at 1:45 am.  I must admit I missed a lot of what was being said but I heard the heart behind the message loud and clear. It was obvious the special relationship these girls had with this pastor's wife. We laughed until we

Sabrina, Priscila, Elissandra, Nayara

We laughed until we couldn't breathe.  Sabrina can tell a story like no other!  These ladies are a tremendous blessing!!

Besides the classes today, I have a treat of seeing both Ludmilla and Dayse today.  I will try to get a picture of Dayse for the next update.  Both of these ladies have had a great personal impact as well as a blessing to the work of the ministry with ARS.  Love them both.

I need to get going...until next time!