Back Again!

Tonight was the second night back at the Umuarama. So many things have happened these past months! Here are a few:

1. The girl who was feeling the spiritual oppression says that she has been freed from any pains in her chest. She told me that since the time she shared with us about them and we were able to pray for her, she has not had any more attacks. PRAISE THE LORD!

2. The girls kept meeting while I was gone and it’s so good to see that I am not vital to any ministry! They were strong and kept steady, and Juliana did a great job sharing weekly with them. They memorized more than half of the books of the Old Testament and were singing the worship songs I taught them with much vigor and passion! When I returned last week there were about 8 girls there- the largest number yet!

3. Last week I shared about my travels. It was so shocking to see how little they know about the world. I told them that I had gone to the United States and asked them if they knew where that was. No one volunteered an answer. I then asked if it was above Brazil or below… One girl shyly ventured: “Above?” Imagine me trying to explain my further travels around Europe! It was good to talk to them about it all, though, and I described some of my crazy adventures on the plane and in other countries. The part they liked the most, of course, was the Swiss Chocolate that I had brought them! Today three of them came running up to me and said: “Auntie (that’s how they call older people here in Brazil: “Tia”), tell our friend here that you gave us Swiss chocolate last week! She doesn’t believe us!” I laughed and confirmed that I had, in fact, brought them some chocolate from Switzerland. The little girl was amazed and they were super proud.

4. Juliana called me this week with a very scared voice. I asked her what was up and she told me she had bad news to tell me. She said that she had been so worried about the books I lent her (I gave her several teen books to use while I was travelling) that she put them away in a really safe place. In fact, it was such a safe place that she couldn’t find them anymore! She said that she had cried and cried looking for them and that she was so upset that she had lost them all. She said that she knew they were expensive and that she had separated some of her money in order to buy them again. I was so touched by her plight. I know that she is a maid and has no money. I know how much she must have worried about coming up with this money to buy these expensive books again. I can’t imagine how frightening it must have been to tell me that she had lost them all! I assured her that the LORD had provided the books and that they had been a blessing while we had used them. I also told her that she should keep her money and that if the Lord wanted them to turn up, He would allow her to find them at the right time! She cried and cried on the phone and I had to basically twist her arm not to give me the money and to try to convince her that she was way more important to me than a bunch of books. This experience made me realize how these people treasure books and how wonderful it must seem to them to actually touch and see a new book. How humbling to think about how I take my reading materials and extra resources for granted!

5. This week seven girls came and they are just so much fun to have around. They range from the ages of 11 through 14. I taught them a new song and we talked about what we are going to do next. We are going to start a study on the book of John and I asked them to read the first chapter this week and bring three questions about what they read. Let’s see how this works… If it doesn’t, we’ll try something else. I just wanted to move away from the topical studies I had been doing with them because I want them to get into the Bible and hear from it. Otherwise, I feel like they hear what I’M saying, and even though it might be biblically based, it comes out more as MY OPINION rather than what the Lord wants for their lives.

Well, that’s a quick summary of what’s going on. I held the cutest little girl in my lap before everything started. She showed me her dress and her shoes and told me all about how her dog bit her nose and her ankle. It surprises me that God is actually giving me a greater love for little kids! For those of you who know me, you know that I have the hardest time enjoying kids. I love teenagers and adults, but kids… It’s a lot harder for me to have the patience to hang out with them. But… I guess the more I do it, the easier it gets!