Only in Brasil... and much MORE.

I think I could write a book about things that only happen in Brasil. Sometimes when I get frustrated about something I say, "only in Brasil." But I don't want to write a negative post on my blog about all the things that frustrate me because that would be no fun to read and besides I really like Brasil and every day that passes this beautiful place feels more and more like home to me. But lets talk about life here, just so you have an idea of things that happen here and some things that are a little different from Sweet Home Alabama.

Here is a list of some things that only happen in Brasil:

1. Right now you can get a fine if you have the water hose outside of your garage and in the street, in order to wash your sidewalk. It is forbidden right now because of the lack of water and if some one sees you they can call the police and give you a big fine. They are saying that you can wash down the garage and the outside of your house, but you don't need to wash the sidewalk outside. They are wanting to save the water because it is getting low. Pray for some rain here because we are needing it. (P.S. I was a rebel yesterday and washed the sidewalk down with the water hose. There were people passing by and saw me, but thankfully I didn't get a fine. I didn't know about this new rule, until Joao told me that afternoon. I just thought it was that you couldn't wash your car outside, because this is another thing that you can't do right now.. haha. "Oh well," I told him, "I already did. Now it's clean.")

2. In the morning there are these loud trucks that pass by everyday and play music. They announce that they are selling gas. Imagine a very loud intercom system that you can hear from a very long distance and as it gets closer to your house it just gets louder and louder. "Gas, gas," it says, "buy your gas today and you will get a present in return." This truck usually comes around 9 but sometimes earlier too. Then on certain days there is people selling cheese and other things. So it's the same thing, "cheese, cheese, we have all kinds of cheese." And then there is this one truck that comes by and only has this melody playing over and over again. I am not sure what he sells but the melody is more like an alarm clock going off or an alert sound, and not a pretty music playing. So it is kind of impossible to sleep in late. But it can be a good alarm clock. If you are in bed and you want to know what time it is. You will know that it is close to 9 if the gas truck is passing by. (Ha.. and at this very moment as I am typing, a truck just passed talking about something. And it is 12 in the afternoon, so it shows you that they come at all times of the day.)

3. You can pass by people if there is a crowded place or something and there is no need to say, "excuse me." Here in Brasil, people are very close to each other and very friendly. So if you are in a supermarket and you bump into someone and they see you and you see them, its okay. If it was an accident then of course you would say, "I'm sorry." But if there is just a lot of people there and everyone is pushing through, its okay. The personal bubble here is not as big as it is for the people in the US. Normally if you did this in US, you would be saying,"excuse me," the whole way as you are passing through people. And I think that is because we are thinking "your in my bubble" or "your in my personal space." But people are so friendly here in Brasil and things like this doesn't bother them. (This is one thing that I love about Brasil. It is very rare to meet a person who doesn't say hello or doesn't treat you like you're their best friend.)

4. The birds poop on everything. Your sidewalk. Your car. Your freshly washed clothes. Your walls outside. And the list could go on. If you like birds then you will find many of them here. They wake me up a lot outside my window fighting and singing loudly. This is probably when they are pooping on my clothes that are hanging to dry. Trust me, it is no fun to go and take your clothes off the line and then realize that you have to wash some of them again because the birds poop on them. (This just happened the other day on my nice dress pants. Joao saw it and said, "what is this?" There was two big white stains. No fun.)

And the list could go on and on, but I am going to stop at number 4 and save the book for another day. Even if there are little things that are very different from US, I still love it here. The people are so friendly. The food is very good. Family is very important and you are very close to everyone; and you see the family several times a week. Life seems to be more carefree and laid back here. There is not a lot of worries here, unless I create them (which I do sometimes). But life is good here and I love my job more and more each day. I love being a teacher. I love watching my students learn something new and grow each day. Being a teacher is definitely a reward, even if it requires a lot of preparing for class and studying all the material. I find that I am learning a lot of things, just like the students.

One thing that I have been wanting to write on my blog, but just haven't made the time to is about being satisfied. Ever since I went to the Philippines, my life changed. I will never forget that summer and how much of an impact it had on my life. I remember coming home and feeling lost in the US. At times I didn't want to be there and I wanted to be back in the Philippines. I felt out of place and like I wasn't able to do my part, as far as serving the Lord and being a missionary. It was a very strange time for me and took months of adjusting. Then later I got engaged to Joao, and was planning to move to Brasil. So, I really became unsatisfied with life in US and I was ready to move as soon as possible to Brasil. And mainly this was because of being so far from my handsome Joao. I wanted to get married fast and live that happily ever after life. Then when I got to Brasil, I was good for a couple of months and then I was missing US and all of my family there. Again, I felt that feeling of being unsatisfied. I prayed a lot during that time and asked God for help, and he blessed me with a lot of jobs that I am so grateful for. It got me out of the house, and allowed me to be busy and feel that I found a place to fit in. A couple of months after all the newness went away, the feeling came back. Finally, after praying to God again, the Lord spoke to me. He told me that I am never going to be satisfied on this earth and that this is not my real home (my eternity home) and that this was just a temporary home. It made sense and it was a good reminder of something that I already knew. And I am still seeking Him for direction in my life and learning new things about Him daily.  Just the other day as I was reading a book by Francis Chan and doing some reflection, God revealed something to me that amazed me. It was something so simple and something I already knew, but when we see things from a different angle it sometimes makes more sense to us and it is way deeper than we ever imagined.

Also, throughout my praying and seeking God, I learned that I was more focused on life on earth and living for the world than I was living for God and looking forward to my future home in heaven. I think this is something that we all struggle with on a daily basis. We can get so caught up in worldly things and so focused on our life here on earth, that we forget about the fact that one day, as believers of Jesus Christ, we will be spending eternity in heaven. I was watching some videos of John Piper a couple of weeks ago on his book, "Don't Waste Your Life"and he talks about a poem by C.T. Studd called "Only One Life." I encourage you to go look it up online and read it. The line that stands out the most, and that is repeated over and over in the poem is this, "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last." I now have this printed out and posted on my refrigerator and also I made it into a bookmark and put it in my bible. I think it is a good reminder that we need to be reminded of every day. We only need to be focus on our life in Christ and what we are doing to bring glory and honor to Him. He is the reason we live. 

Well, I think I have made up for the many months that I failed to write on my blog. I am sure you will have plenty to read now and a better update on life here. God is still blessing Joao and I and we are thankful for all our friends and family there in US. Continue to pray for us that God will use us here in Brasil for His glory and that He will give us wisdom and direction for what lies ahead. We love you all and miss you all very much. Sending you hugs and kisses from Brasil. May the Lord bless you and your family. Always look to Him for guidance and always know that He never changes. Even while this world changes daily, even while we move to different places, and even while we get different jobs, our God never changes. His unfailing love and mercy is always there. He is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow. He might be the only constant thing in your changing life, but know that He is the greatest and the most worthy of all our praise. Thank you Jesus for who you are!!!