Priceless Moment!

Our family took a walk to the Panificadora this morning. On the way, as I was holding Naomi's hand, I looked at her and said, "I am so proud of the woman you are becoming". She gave me her big grin, looked up, and said,"Daddy, I'm glad that's working out for ya".

That's all I need to write.

Eu amo minha vida! (I love my life)

So, starting to process earlier has left me wanting more. And so, since I have a little bit more quiet time this evening, I've decided to make a list of things that I'm loving about my life in Brazil. Here goes:

1 - I love that I get to live new adventures every day! Sometimes these are things that I would've normally taken for granted, like going to the grocery store, but now they are new and fun and not always easy either.

2 - I love that we take long walks every day (or at least close to every day) and have a lot of time to talk to each other and process life during these times. We also have many opportunities to learn about the area that surrounds us and the people we live among now... which leads me to my next love.

3 - I love that I get to be a learner every single day... I know I had the opportunity to do this in the US as well, but here this role is almost thrust upon me, but I actually enjoy it. It has actually spurred me to learn in other areas that are not necessity, and other than learning Portuguese and the culture of the Brazilian people, and learning how to cook from some sweet (and patient) Brazilian friends, we have been learning about different types of plants and animals. Steve and I have also been doing an inductive Bible study together for the first time since we've been married and I love it!

4 - I love that we have been making meal times a priority. This isn't something we ever put much effort into doing when we lived in the states, but has been invaluable. We have learned so much about our children and each other during these times and we are totally loving our dining room table :) I'm praying for many more good times to happen there.

5 - I love that tonight, at the dinner table, Naomi said to me "porque... why" like she was translating her Portuguese for me. I love that my kids enjoy speaking the language and that they are understanding even more than I know.

6 - I love that our Jesus Storybook Bible is starting to get worn out because the kids love reading it so much! I love that we have great friends who bought it for us before we left to come here and that our kids are really learning about the "Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love" of the God who created them and sent His Son to earth to rescue them! And I love that the kids ask to read stories by name and that they can finish sentences in the stories... so fun!

7 - I love that we live in such a hospitable place! The other day, when I got stuck in the bus door (if you don't know about this story, you can ask and I'd love to give you details... a very humbling experience), we were walking home and Steve was carrying a sleeping Caleb and Naomi was doing an amazing job walking next to us and I was carrying all of our purchases from the day (a rug for our frontroom and a wooden box full of our dishes set). I had just set one bag down to switch arms that I was carrying it on when I realized that I had blocked the sidewalk and there was a guy riding a bike from the other direction. When I picked up my stuff and said sorry, he asked if he could carry the stuff for me to my house! And this is only one example of the hospitality that is so prevalent in this culture.

8, and lastly - I love that my kids are being exposed to life how a majority of the world live. I love that when my kids see people in poverty they ask hard questions and they want better for them. I love that they are compassionate and caring and they are thinking outside of themselves. I don't want to hyper-spiritualize my kids... they are still 4 and 2 and beat eachother up and can be really selfish at times and they pick their noses. But I love that they are being challenged to think of others when we live life among those who have less than we do.

Thanks for reading about my life and for letting me share a little bit more about life here.

Boa Noite (Good night)

Living with paradox

Since I have yet to really sit down and take the time to process all that has been going on in our life for the last month and a half, I figured I'd use this quiet time while the kids are both sleeping to do just that. You will have to bare with me as normally my processing is pretty random :) so to make it a little easier, I'll just make a list of my thoughts. here goes:

I am loving that we are getting closer as a family and getting to know each other better
... at the same time, we are learning that, as culture shock hits and things get harder, it's much easier to take it out on those who are closer to you. So we've had to learn to ask for forgiveness A LOT (and extend forgiveness as well) during these stressful times.

I love learning a new language and am thankful to the Lord that He's given us a grace to be picking it up pretty quickly. A Brazilian friend came over today and brought me to the store, taught me how to cook some, and ate lunch with us. She was over for probably around 2&1/2 hours and we were able to converse with her the entire time she was here
... at the same time, it has been frustrating to not be able to share deeper parts of who I am with our Brazilian friends because of the lack of vocabulary. I can't wait to share more of the depths of my soul and the longings of my heart with them! I am excited for the day when I can talk to our friends here about how the Lord is moving in their lives and even just about their feelings, but I know the day will come and, for now, I'm learning more about patience.

I love that my kids have started calling me "mamae" (Portuguese for mom) and using little phrases in Portuguese during normal conversation.
... and I know that a day will come when my kids will probably be interpreting for me. It has been fun watching them go from being confused about the idea of others speaking in a different language to actually being able to understand little phrases. The first week we were here, we were at a pastor's conference and there was a woman speaking on a microphone (which they turn up REALLY LOUD here) and Naomi said "I can't understand her because she's too loud." Even after we explained that the reason she wasn't able to understand was because the woman was speaking Portuguese, Naomi still responded, "no, it's because it's loud" :) And today, when we were at our language school, our professora asked Naomi a couple of questions in Portuguese and Naomi answered them appropriately! It's so cute to hear her little accent!

I have started to come to grips with the idea of doing dishes after every meal and cleaning the floor at least once a day - 2 things that I don't enjoy doing in the least, but are necessity here because spaces are small and they get dirty quick.
... and it's helped me to identify with a larger percentage of women around the world who have been doing this (and much much more) their entire life. I have lived a very privileged life thus far and I am learning to be thankful for what I have and remember to pray for those who have even less.

One of the most difficult things for me to wrap myself around since we've been here are expectations. I know Steve talked a little about this before, but it's something I'm dealing with as well. As a mother, walking into a new culture, I have wondered often how people are perceiving my parenting. Is it culturally appropriate for me to spank my kids, or even discipline them by raising my voice?... Am I a "bad parent" if I let some older kids watch my kids while I go into someone else's house and sit and converse with them?.. Can I let my kids run around our driveway area by themselves, or do I have to sit down there with them while they're playing? These are only a couple of the questions that I mull over all day, and may not know the answer to for some time.
... thankfully, we're learning that Brazilians are not normally afraid to share their opinions, and so hopefully once we know the language a little more, we will be able to question other parents to learn how they live life with little kids. Until then, once again, I need to learn patience.

There are many more of these to come, but I don't want to write a book. Thank you for reading this far and for walking in this journey with us! We would not be able to do this without the backing of the amazing people who we call our family and friends! We are so thankful that the Lord has called us to this place and are excited to be able to do our part in the body of Christ. Thank you for also doing your part, and may the Lord bless your obedience. It is my prayer that the body of Christ would function as a healthy body throughout the world, and that as a result, others would be drawn to the feet of Jesus!

Deus a bencoi (God bless you) -

Shannon

Our Disease

All of our training has prepared us for the inevitability of the onset of a period of turmoil known as Culture Shock. If you really want to know how to be praying for us over the next several months, it is related to this area. I've posted some notes from our training on our website www.themissionsociety.org/people/mersinger. It's in the top right above our newsletters.



Culture shock, and the inability to cope, is one of the primary reasons that 50% or more of full-time missionaries do not complete their first term or leave right after their first term is up. We've been here just over a month and have been loving the honeymoon stage of culture shock. Everything is new and exciting and fresh. However, we've started to feel the tension over the past week and a half that this portion is ending and an unsettling and chaotic period is beginning.

On a surface level it is largely simple things that aren't very significant, but if you dwell upon them they can bite you. I miss Reese's peanut butter cups, they don't have peanut butter in Brazil. Dulce de leite is AWESOME, but it's not peanut butter. I miss flushing toilet paper, throwing it in the trash can lacks a certain appeal that I'm sure you're cringing at the thought of right now! I miss Salvation Army half priced Wednesdays ~ "can't just some of you selfish Brazilians get rid of your nearly brand new clothes that you never wear because you have tons of others so that I can buy them for 50 cents?"

All of the above, and many others unlisted, are very simple things that we can laugh at and move past with a chuckle. Others have started wearing on us and they are what we really need prayer for. In a context where it can take four to five hours just to walk to a store, negotiate a price for a pair of sandals, and walk home can leave you feeling extremely useless and lazy at the end of the day. We say, "what did we do today besides go shopping, do some laundry, and cook two meals?" Then we realize nothing, because all of that took 10 times longer than it did in the states. We're picking up language and getting some of the culture and figuring new things out while we're doing all of this, but it feels extremely unfulfilling.

Couple this with the fact that even when you succeed in such a venture, you're still left feeling like a moron. You can't express the simplest of your feelings or ideas about life. You can get "things" that you want by pointing, grunting, and scratching your armpit like a caveman, but it's not due to the intricacies of your learned communication styles, but the grace and mercy of your hosts. However, none of that lends to the building of deep relationships and the formation of a community that you can lean and rely on in the midst of challenges.

On top of not being understood, is the inability to truly understand. Without knowing the language let alone the non-verbal signs and cues that are being communicated, it leads to a lot of ambiguity. For me, as a people pleaser, this leaves me very unsettled in wondering about expectations. What are they? What do these people whom I'm working with expect out of me. I don't know, so I'm left to my imagination, which is a dangerous thing.

These are the aspects of this season that we most need prayer for! In reality, we are feeling these tensions, but we're also learning a ton and experiencing the presence of God in the midst of them. One of the other aspects of culture shock that was emphasized in our training is that it creates an atmosphere that is conducive to spiritual renewal. Whenever I am confronted with the ambiguity of expectations, I have to lean back on the reality of my identity, a beloved child of the King. What are HIS expectations for me? What is HIS view of me? That is the audience of One that I have been called to live my life before. If I do that well, then I'm in the best possible position to be a blessing to those I'm sent to, regardless of whether they have expectations, whether I understand them, and whether or not they are or aren't realistic ones.

One final thing that we find encouraging as we head into this is that we have not experienced any major aspects of culture shock in terms of hostility towards the Brazilian people. This is a common aspect of the struggle, but we have found the Brazilian people very easy to appreciate and love, and we think that this is vital to our work here. Even our one small complaint; that whenever Caleb throws a temper tantrum in the home of one of our Brazilian friends, he comes home with five more new toys; is understandable to us. We don't appreciate him being rewarded for his behavior, but we recognize that Brazilian culture places a deep value on harmony in relationships. As our relationships deepen, we will in time express our feelings and values in terms of not rewarding this kind of behavior. But for now while we remain in this ambiguous position, we believe it is best to respect the culture and learn from it as we are able.