Gates
It's been a while since I've written. Looking back through the entries from our time in Brazil brought some sadness about what is missing since we left that life behind. At the same time there are feelings of joy over where we have been brought to through the past five years. We're in the midst of more transitions, which never seem to end for us, but we're handling these well together as a family, pursuing Jesus and opening ourselves up to opportunities for growth and continued renewal. With these transitions come new experiences, relationships, friendships, and encounters that can stretch, challenge, refresh, and energize us. I (Steve), hate change, I typically run from it, and I typically struggle. This is perhaps the first period of transition that I can honestly say I'm thriving in, through the midst of some major transitions. It hasn't been easy, it's been quite painful and uncomfortable. However, I've been surrounded and supported by an amazing community and feel empowered to embrace these transitions fearlessly.
I'm writing this today, because I need to reflect, but also as an offering to this very same community. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Paul describes those of us who are but clay jars full of treasure as being "hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed." I'm surrounded by amazing people attempting to serve Jesus and their fellow women and men and it feels like we're getting consistently lambasted.
Like so many of the deep truths inherent in the universe, paradox seems to be central to what we need to be overcomers. One thing that has stuck with our family since our trainings and life in Brazil is a nightly discussion of "yay" ducks and "yuck" ducks or the "pair-of-ducks (paradox)" of life. Each day we honor the best parts of our day and the saddest parts of our day and share them with each other. Both victories and disappointments; mountains and mole hills; bring rich context and experience to our lives that can be treasured, valued, and redeemed. We don't attempt to only talk about "yay" ducks, or try to bring solutions to the "yuck" ducks, but we simply embrace the good and the bad and know that we are heard and validated in the sharing with each other.
In paradox, we find the place of divine tension, where seeming contradictions and opposites can be recognized as whole and unbroken truth that can confound even the wisest of humans. Was Jesus true God or true man? Yes. Is the Bible a living God-breathed source of inspiration or a collection of writings at the hands of frail and broken humans? Yes. Is the church a gathering of sinners or a congregation of saints? Yes. Are humans made in the image of God, holy, sacred, and worthy of dignity by that fact or fallen trainwrecks capable of great and horrible acts of destruction? Yes. Is God sovereign, in control, and all-powerful or is he present with those who suffer through the tragedies and horrors that often seem both preventable and unspeakable? Yes. Do we want justice or mercy?
The Paradox of the Gates
I remember as a young child, doubting the existence of God, but taking very seriously the reality of evil and suffering. It was a theme in my life, no paradox, but certainty of doom and despair. One of the greatest aspects of Good News when I began chasing after Jesus came from encountering Matthew 16:18 where Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock upon whom the church will be built and . . . "all the powers of hell will not conquer it."
I felt so safe, for the first time in my life. I was aligned with Someone who could protect me from the powers of hell. I rested in that. It wasn't long after that I came across another version of that verse that repeated . . . "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." I again took this to heart with great relief. That I found a place, the church, where I could sit protected and at peace. But that phrase "gates of hell" left me uneasy. The attitude in the church that I attended was a common one with a strong theme of pilgrimage and alien residency, of not belonging or being welcome in the world. The world was a place that could stain us, corrupt us, be hostile towards us, a place from which we needed protection. Yet, the more deeply I pursued relationships and engaged in the community of the church, the more aware I became that it was not a perfect sanctuary, but had the capacity to stain, corrupt, wound, and be hostile in and of itself.
This was a devastating fact that I faced and seemed to shatter my hopes. I'd go back to Matthew 16:18 and try to hold onto that verse but it seemed to slip from me. I began to look at different versions and noticed there seemed to be two ways of reading it. Perhaps there is a biblical languages scholar that could set me straight, as to whether one strain is more correct than the other, but for now I hold out hope that this is simply another paradox to hold to.
Gates don't move. They don't advance. They aren't weapons. They aren't used to assault or attack. They are defensive pieces, and in the context in which it was originally written, the entire source of a city's power. The weakest point of attack, and a direct expression of how strong or weak a location was. If the gates held, the city was strong, if they could be breached, it was vulnerable.
Jesus was the sacrificial lamb, God's lamb, the prince of peace, a man who wept. Surely he would need a strong city to defend him, a city that could withstand the powers of hell or Hades. However, He is also Redeemer, Mighty Conqueror, the One who came to set captives free. The one who would kick down the very gates of hell; who would call others in His name to do likewise.
For many years, especially as I embraced this perspective into a growing conception of our mission in and to this world, to confront injustice and brokenness, to set captives free; I rejected my former understanding. However, I've come to realize over the past few years that there is a strong theme of sanctuary, of rest, of restoration, of peace that is central to our hopes. This has given me a renewed vision for the struggle of life, the struggle of authentically following Jesus, to embrace seasons, or even moments of sanctuary, but also to paradoxically be ready to thrust my foot outward to beat against the gates of hell when it comes time for captives to be set free. To embrace participation and community and offer intimacy, connection, and healing, while preparing to move outward to shake the foundations of hell's defenses.
Where Paradox Ends
As I'm learning to rest in this place of paradox, as a citizen of a Kingdom where protection and peace are offered in abundance and without fail, who also has nothing to fear as he steps outside of the sanctuary to join in an assault on the gates of hell itself; what gives me the most comfort is knowing that in some ways the paradox is nearing its end. Perhaps there is no real paradox in the first place, but simply a lack of sight and understanding that will dissipate on that day that we know and are fully known.
What gives me strength is the knowledge that this is not a true contest. The outcome is assured. It doesn't make the blood-letting, wounds, or cries of pain in this present day any less raw or challenging to face. But every tear will be wiped away. Captives will be set free. We will know and be known. Internally, interpersonally, communally . . . God's shalom, His peace and wholeness will reign! So be it.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Escola Municipal Dulce Seroa da Motta Cherubim
Yeah, Brazilians love their titles! I think it's actually a name of a lady, but I haven't gotten the whole story yet. However, a significant portion of my week is now spent preparing and teaching at Escola Municipal Dulce Seroa da Motta Cherubim. It's considered the best public school in our city and it's also the one Naomi goes to since it's a block and a half from our house.
I've taught English there for three weeks now. It would've been four if Montezuma hadn't found us down here in Morretes and launched a full scale war on our bodies for the past 8 days. I've enjoyed it, it's not what I ever expected to be doing, but it's started opening doors for us in the community. It's fun to ride my bike to the store and have a trail of followers shouting "Hey, what's up!" Then when I shout, "nothing, what's up with you", they shout "nothing" and ride away laughing talking about how awesome it is that they know some English. We've been approached by many parents thanking us and telling us what an encouragement it is that their kids are learning english from a real live gringo. haha! Shannon has also been able to get a group of a couple ladies meeting in our home who also want to learn and building a relationship with them.
However, I've also been deeply challenged and frustrated. I would estimate that 30-40% of the 5th graders can't even read. Naomi's class is one of the worst because they put two pre-schools into one first year class and the teacher is overwhelmed. We're going to have to do a lot of supplementing at home, basically having our kids in school to gain social skills (and because homeschooling is illegal here) and educating them at home.
My first week, I broke up five fights. Most of them were boy on girl, but in most cases the girl won. The most brutal was a larger girl named Beatrice stabbing a boy named Aslan with her pencil. Third-graders, I tell ya!
So here are two things we've had to face. The first, what potential lies within this challenging environment?
In Brazil, prayer and religion still exist within the schools. It's pluralistic so that's not always an encouraging thing. However, it leaves Christian teachers working within the system huge opportunities. When kids fight and stab each other, we can send them to the principal (which is sometimes necessary) but we can also step in and talk about reconciliation and forgiveness and share our faith. I'm learning how to take advantage of these opportunities to fight my discouragement.
I had a couple of kids express frustration to me this past week. They cried injustice, because, unlike the other teachers, they said they noticed when two people come to me frustrated that I don't decide who did the worse thing and punish that one, but I always assume they both did something wrong and ask them to work it out together or with me. I asked them if it is usually just one persons fault with the other person having no fault? They said no, but usually one is worse. I explained to them my faith and how I view the world and began to explain that to me it wasn't important to find the most guilty person and punish that one, but to see them both own their part and work together to reconcile and be friends and love each other. They don't quite seem to get it, but they notice a difference.
The second thing is that we've had to wrestle with where education lies in our value system as it relates to God's Kingdom. We often take our education for granted in the States, for all of its issues, the system overall does a very good job. At the same time, if we're honest, a lot of the value of our education does not lie in the actual content of what we learn, but in the piece of paper we get if we make it to the end. The job market doesn't ask about our knowledge or skills, and too often just expects to have to train us practically after hiring us (if we have the said paper). In some situations this is necessary, the theory is important. However, too often, it's because the content of our education is just as lacking. This is my opinion, and I don't want to offend teacher friends, I actually want to enlist your help so that I can do this the best that I can. But I feel strongly about this, especially as it relates to high school and college.
As a Kingdom value, we've come face to face with the question of how important is this for us as a family? Some people have packed up and left the mission field because the value of their kids' education was more important than the sacrifice required. I don't judge them, it was their conviction. Others have sent their kids to boarding school. The reality is that most missionary kids end up back in their home country at some point, and should be prepared to reenter the school system upon returning.
We've already started and will continue working to make sure that our kids have a solid educational foundation. However, we've tempered our discouragement and fears with the realities that many of the apostles were likely illiterate. That our most important value for our kids is that they became faithful and true followers of Jesus Christ. A reminder that they are going to be bilingual, have a deeper understanding of the world because of their travels and learnings of other cultures, and have rich wisdom of nature because of their hippy mom :).
In addition, our value in ministry of being incarnational and identifying with the people we live among has opened huge doors for us in the community here. I think many parents viewed us with suspicion at first and we fielded many questions about when we were going to get our kids into private school. When they came to understand that we truly don't have the means and have entered here to live life among them, relationships have started to become genuine and deepen. When they express frustration with the education their kids are receiving, and their fears and concerns for the future of their kids. We can enter the conversation and share with them, not from a philosophical point of view, but from the genuine emotions of our heart. We're not simply trying to understand and identify, we are identified and connected within their struggle. Their struggle and concern is shared by us.
Due to the nature of our work, and the availability of teaching resources in English on the internet, our kids still have more opportunities and more of our time available to them (because we're not both working 60-70 hours a week like some of our friends here), and we've been honest about that. But we've still been able to identify and connect in deep ways, and share out of our wrestling the ways we're learning to overcome our concerns and prioritize our values as followers of Jesus.
I've taught English there for three weeks now. It would've been four if Montezuma hadn't found us down here in Morretes and launched a full scale war on our bodies for the past 8 days. I've enjoyed it, it's not what I ever expected to be doing, but it's started opening doors for us in the community. It's fun to ride my bike to the store and have a trail of followers shouting "Hey, what's up!" Then when I shout, "nothing, what's up with you", they shout "nothing" and ride away laughing talking about how awesome it is that they know some English. We've been approached by many parents thanking us and telling us what an encouragement it is that their kids are learning english from a real live gringo. haha! Shannon has also been able to get a group of a couple ladies meeting in our home who also want to learn and building a relationship with them.
However, I've also been deeply challenged and frustrated. I would estimate that 30-40% of the 5th graders can't even read. Naomi's class is one of the worst because they put two pre-schools into one first year class and the teacher is overwhelmed. We're going to have to do a lot of supplementing at home, basically having our kids in school to gain social skills (and because homeschooling is illegal here) and educating them at home.
My first week, I broke up five fights. Most of them were boy on girl, but in most cases the girl won. The most brutal was a larger girl named Beatrice stabbing a boy named Aslan with her pencil. Third-graders, I tell ya!
So here are two things we've had to face. The first, what potential lies within this challenging environment?
In Brazil, prayer and religion still exist within the schools. It's pluralistic so that's not always an encouraging thing. However, it leaves Christian teachers working within the system huge opportunities. When kids fight and stab each other, we can send them to the principal (which is sometimes necessary) but we can also step in and talk about reconciliation and forgiveness and share our faith. I'm learning how to take advantage of these opportunities to fight my discouragement.
I had a couple of kids express frustration to me this past week. They cried injustice, because, unlike the other teachers, they said they noticed when two people come to me frustrated that I don't decide who did the worse thing and punish that one, but I always assume they both did something wrong and ask them to work it out together or with me. I asked them if it is usually just one persons fault with the other person having no fault? They said no, but usually one is worse. I explained to them my faith and how I view the world and began to explain that to me it wasn't important to find the most guilty person and punish that one, but to see them both own their part and work together to reconcile and be friends and love each other. They don't quite seem to get it, but they notice a difference.
The second thing is that we've had to wrestle with where education lies in our value system as it relates to God's Kingdom. We often take our education for granted in the States, for all of its issues, the system overall does a very good job. At the same time, if we're honest, a lot of the value of our education does not lie in the actual content of what we learn, but in the piece of paper we get if we make it to the end. The job market doesn't ask about our knowledge or skills, and too often just expects to have to train us practically after hiring us (if we have the said paper). In some situations this is necessary, the theory is important. However, too often, it's because the content of our education is just as lacking. This is my opinion, and I don't want to offend teacher friends, I actually want to enlist your help so that I can do this the best that I can. But I feel strongly about this, especially as it relates to high school and college.
As a Kingdom value, we've come face to face with the question of how important is this for us as a family? Some people have packed up and left the mission field because the value of their kids' education was more important than the sacrifice required. I don't judge them, it was their conviction. Others have sent their kids to boarding school. The reality is that most missionary kids end up back in their home country at some point, and should be prepared to reenter the school system upon returning.
We've already started and will continue working to make sure that our kids have a solid educational foundation. However, we've tempered our discouragement and fears with the realities that many of the apostles were likely illiterate. That our most important value for our kids is that they became faithful and true followers of Jesus Christ. A reminder that they are going to be bilingual, have a deeper understanding of the world because of their travels and learnings of other cultures, and have rich wisdom of nature because of their hippy mom :).
In addition, our value in ministry of being incarnational and identifying with the people we live among has opened huge doors for us in the community here. I think many parents viewed us with suspicion at first and we fielded many questions about when we were going to get our kids into private school. When they came to understand that we truly don't have the means and have entered here to live life among them, relationships have started to become genuine and deepen. When they express frustration with the education their kids are receiving, and their fears and concerns for the future of their kids. We can enter the conversation and share with them, not from a philosophical point of view, but from the genuine emotions of our heart. We're not simply trying to understand and identify, we are identified and connected within their struggle. Their struggle and concern is shared by us.
Due to the nature of our work, and the availability of teaching resources in English on the internet, our kids still have more opportunities and more of our time available to them (because we're not both working 60-70 hours a week like some of our friends here), and we've been honest about that. But we've still been able to identify and connect in deep ways, and share out of our wrestling the ways we're learning to overcome our concerns and prioritize our values as followers of Jesus.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Quick Life Update
So, I just realized how long it's been since I updated our blog. Being that the last update was about Jordan's birth and he just celebrated his 5 month birthday, I guess I've fallen behind a bit. So, I'm getting back on the horse and plan to update the blog at least every month again... I might need some community around me to keep me accountable to this, because communication has not always been my strong suit. OK, so here we go, quick life update:
We have moved to our ministry location as of the 22nd of September, and we're living in an amazingly beautiful town, surrounded by mountains and rivers and I can't wait to get hiking! We ride our bikes as our main form of transportation, which has been really good for health and for generally connecting with people around us, as we see lots of people that we've met as we ride our bikes to and from town. We're encountering some new transitions as we enter into small town living just the same as you would if you moved from a city to a small town in the states.
Right after we got here, Naomi started at her new school and LOVED it! Her teacher was the wife of the president of the children's home that we work at and is really sweet to her. She graduated "pre" in December and is currently on summer break, but is really excited about seeing all her friends again when they start back in a couple weeks.
Caleb has been meeting lots of little kids his age at the park right next to our house, at church and also has made some good friends at the children's home - he calls them his "best little buddies" and is also biting at the bit to start school here in a couple weeks... he's been asking for the last couple months about every single day if he can go to school too.
Like I said earlier, Jordan is 5 months old now and is wanting to be running around after the other 2. He's just started rolling around and scooting his body across the floor - it'll be any day that he'll be crawling and then walking, but we're soaking up every minute with him, since he'll be our last baby. He just got his first tooth and dude's been a champ through it!
Steve and I have had lots of adjusting to do in the last couple months, from learning lots of new cultures to having battles with the ticks that had invaded our home before we moved in, making new friends and also making a good effort to keep in contact with the ones we left in Curitiba.
Our family returned on the 18th from a month long trip to the US, where we were able to spend good time with family and friends, celebrate Christmas and New Years and then attend our regional gathering for The Mission Society. It was a great time back, but I'm glad to be home now and really settle into this new place.
Since we've been back we've had the opportunity to spend some good time at the children's home, helping the staff so they can get a little rest, learned a new Brazilian game, and we've had some friends in our home for lunch. We really look forward to lots more opportunities to do this, as we LOVE engaging in relationships through sharing meals and sharing life with others.
Thank you for all of you who share life with us and for your prayers as we live life here in Brazil!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
A Brazilian Birth Experience
So, while I was in the hospital, sitting around having some good alone time with Jordan, I decided that it would probably be helpful for me to process some of the things that happened the day before and so I jotted some things down in a journal and wanted to use this blog to continue processing through some of the cultural things I encountered during this experience. After my previous 2 births, I thought this one would probably end up being boring, even though I was having him in another country and I was still very much learning the language… but I was wrong. So I made a list of some of the things that were different for this birth than for the others:
1 – My first 2 births were done in the comfort of my own home (or van) with people I knew and trusted, who really cared for me. Jordan's was in the DIScomfort of a hospital, surrounded by people who I had never met, who were just doing their job, and didn't even seem to enjoy it.
2 – I was warm (even in Dec in KY). Steve and I were joking on the way up about the hospital having heat (because it was about 30 degrees outside) because, of course they have heat in a well known, popular birthing hospital in Curitiba – it’s not like we’re in the jungle… NOPE. And not only did they NOT have heat, but when I got up into my room, my windows were open. Then they give me a “gown”(if you can even call it that) to put on and told me to take everything else off. All that to say, I spent the majority of my labor shivering like crazy and very uncomfortable.
3 – No IV & no meds. Since my doctor ended up inducing my labor because I was over 41 weeks, I had an IV for the first time. Overall I could care less about IVs… I used to give them to myself when I was practicing as a new nurse, but the nurses insisted that I needed it in my AC (for all you nurses out there) which is just the area right where your elbow bends, which meant I couldn’t move my arm & had to keep it straight the entire time I was in labor. The first IV I was given came out of the vein, which meant that the medicine I should’ve been getting for the first 1&1/2 hours was just going into my arm and not into where it was supposed to be going. None of this is a huge deal, it just made things less natural and more annoying for me than anything. And as far as meds go, there was just an expectation that I would take whatever the doc ordered because he is like a god here. So, after the birth, the doc ordered a med to stop my bleeding, and so instead of letting me breastfeed (which does the same thing as the med), they took my baby away from me and gave me a shot in my butt – in the middle of a hallway right at the entrance of the surgery center… good times!
4 – Much less explaining, coaching. My doc was pretty quiet – not sure whether it was because I didn’t speak Portuguese fluently or just because he’s a quiet guy – but there were several things during the labor that I would’ve been much happier if he had explained before doing them (you don’t want me to go into detail about this one ;).
5 – Number of advocates. Well, this is probably one of the biggest ones that I was feeling as we were on our way to the hospital. I was talking to Steve in the taxi and lamenting that I felt like it was me and him against the world. I felt like no one else was on our side in regards to having this baby naturally. I have never had this feeling before, because with my other 2 births I had an amazing support system… midwives who cared for me and my baby, other moms who had given birth naturally, my friends and family. This time I felt like I was going to have to fight about everything (which was kinda the case, but there were things I couldn’t fight and just gave in on – more on that later). Also, I was missin’ my momma. My mom was able to be at both of my kid’s births… Naomi by accident, because she was a week late. And she actually caught Caleb in the back of our van, so she has been an integral part of my birthing experiences, and a part that was missed greatly this time around. Steve was AMAZING & I couldn’t have done it without him – he was a great encourager, advocate, and back pusher J. He knows me so well that he kept all of his jokes in when my legs were being strapped into the stirrups with ace bandages and tape and stayed calm when I was yelling at the doctor in English, and he kept himself from flipping out on the doc when he gave me medicine through my IV without asking or even telling me.
6 – I had to die to some of my desires. With the other births, I had options to find doctors/midwives who have similar opinions as me, so when I made my desires known to them, they understood and respected them. Jordan, at one day old, has already had more vaccinations than his almost 4 year old brother. I was given a shot to slow bleeding after the doc sowed me up, but breastfeeding my baby would’ve done the same thing – instead, I had to be away from him for 2 hours while they had him downstairs in the nursery. Not that I could ever come close to understanding what it feels like to lose a baby at full term, but this time away from him became a time for me to grieve for those who don’t get to look forward to holding their babies when the pain remains after the birth.
I know I’ve been focusing on a lot of the negatives of Jordan’s birth, but there were very good things that came out of this experience. Because I was induced, this was my shortest labor, at just over 3 hours of hard labor - Caleb's was 8 hours & Naomi's 24. Also, even though I was missing my family like crazy, I was able to spend really good one-on-one time with Jordan for the first couple of days because I had to stay in the hospital for the first 48hours. But most importantly, after all is said and done, here is the best thing that came from the whole experience:
A healthy, beautiful baby boy!
Monday, July 11, 2011
I freakin' love our kids!!
I love that Caleb sat at the dinner table last night, quoting Rio with Naomi... they went back and forth for 5 minutes quoting every line, word-for-word. And if I tried to cut in, I was corrected with the exact words that were spoken (my loose translation just wasn't good enough).
I love that Naomi "read" to Caleb last night for almost a half an hour... she definitely isn't quite reading yet, especially in English, but they've heard the stories enough that she was able to get through the books with the general concept, and Caleb just ate it up!
I love that Caleb asks me all the time when baby JellyBelly is coming, he's so excited to be a big brother and have a little baby around that he can love on.
I love that the kids are each other's best friends... well, at least most days :)
I love that Naomi's prayer last night was, "Jesus, thank you for mommy, daddy, Caleb, JellyBelly and everyone. And thank you that you came and died on a cross for us, even when you didn't have to." Neither Steve nor I had talked to her at all about this during the day. I just love when we get glimpses into our kids hearts and minds when they are praying - it's such a cool gift!
I love that both of our kids are just normal kids too... they get into trouble for fighting with each other and they can be selfish and manipulative, but overall I think they're pretty fabulous & I'm blessed that I get to be their mother. I'm thankful for this season of our lives when I can spend most of my time with them (although I can't say there aren't days when I want to get away for a little while) and I can't wait until the newest addition arrives, in just about 5 more weeks or so! We can't wait to meet you, little Jordan!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Update on life
First of all, I just wanted to apologize for our distance for the last couple months… we have had a lot going on, with visitors and traveling, and have found that we are very reluctant to be on the computer when there is opportunity for community in front of us. So, a little (well, maybe big) update on lots of stuff that’s been happening to/with us these last couple months... first, to start the month of May out, our Pastoral Care staff from The Mission Society, Lauren & JoAnn Helveston came and stayed with us for a week. It was a great opportunity to share life with them and get to have some good, deep discussions about our life and ministry here. During that time, we took a trip over to Morretes (the city we’ll be moving to in September) and had a good opportunity to talk about expectations for us at the children’s home and get to know the staff and kids a little bit more
.
The same day Lauren & JoAnn left, our good friends, Mason & Melody Reedy came to stay with us for the last 3 weeks that we were in Brazil. During the time they were here, we had the opportunity to experience our first American short-term missions team, got to hang in the favela and at friend's houses with them... it was so great to see how quickly our Brazilian friends fell in love with them. It was also really cool for Steve to get to show them where we're going to move and get to introduce them to some of the kids we'll be working with at the children's home in Morretes. We were blessed that they were with us on the day that we left to return to the States. Naomi woke in an episode, and they prayed for us and were a source of support during that rough time. Overall, they were a huge blessing and we are thankful that they chose to take 3 weeks out of their time to come spend with our family!
Time in the US:
Left with the girl in an episode, which was an experience all in and of itself… not sure how smart it was getting on an airplane and increasing the pressure in her brain while she was in the episode, but we did it anyways… it added some crazy amount of work to travel, but I’m glad we did it. She came out of the episode right before we got on our long flight to Panama, which was an answer to prayer for me, and the pressure didn’t seem to affect her in any way. We arrived in Florida at 1am and were picked up by my mom, sister Jackie, and brother Kedrick. Thankfully, both kids are amazing at being able to sleep anywhere, so after the letdown of finding out they had to sit in carseats (it had been a whole year since they’d even seen one), and the excitement wore off of getting to hang with family, they were fast asleep.
The rest of that next week was spent catching up with loved ones and getting ready for Steve’s brother’s wedding because Saturday was the big day! The kids were so excited to get to be the flower girl and “sword bearer” at the wedding. Uncle Scott had carved a piece of driftwood into a sword for Caleb to carry the rings with, which turned out really cool; and the fact that Caleb didn’t injure anyone as he walked down the aisle made it even better J. The kids did an amazing job at the wedding and even into the late hours of the night as we got to celebrate with Scott & Liz at the reception.
The next week was filled with continuing to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in a year and then we began our travels to Orlando & Jacksonville. We stayed with our dear friends, Joe & Mindy Eichorn, and their little ones – Natalie & Nicholas, and had a great time. They were gracious enough to open their house for us to have people come and hang with us there, which allowed us to see a bunch more people than we would've in the short time we were there. We are so blessed to have such dear friends that we can connect with, even when we haven't seen them in a long time.
From there we headed to Jacksonville to stay with some dear friends there and visit their church where the atmosphere is an open and loving place. The couple of days before we got there had been a hard and exhausting time for us, as our precious daughter had 3 episodes in 3 days. We were pretty much at a loss for what to do from there because we had been as strict on the diet as we could possibly be, and she was having more problems as a result of it, so we decided that if the diet wasn't helping then we would take her off of it and let the poor girl eat. So we did. Her first meal on a "normal" diet was at Firehouse Subs and I actually cried watching her eat... she was SO excited just to get to eat a sub again! I think she ate the thing down in 3 bites, all the while giggling and announcing to everyone that she was eating a sub. It's now been 3 weeks since we started her back on this regular diet and she has been doing great! We were able to have several restful days in Jacksonville, while we hung out with friends and vegged, and then headed back toward Venice. We decided to stop back in Orlando to shorten the trip for the kids and also allow us to see a couple more friends that we weren't able to see on the way up. We had plans, before Naomi's episodes, to travel up to GA and see some friends and visit The Mission Society, but decided it would be wiser for us to have some down time and not return back to Brazil more tired than when we left.
The last week seemed to fly by, as we were making last-minute purchases and making sure we had everything we would need for when the baby comes. We were thankful to be able to spend some good quality time with our friends, Sarah & Anthony and the kids were ecstatic to be able to wake up and play with their son, Abraham while we were staying there, who is one of their best friends. Also, Naomi got to have a princess sleepover with another good friend of hers, which pretty much made the trip for Naomi. We were also able to have a quick lunch with our soon-to-be intern, Brittany, and it was great getting to know her a little bit - we really look forward to working/living life with her when she gets down to Curitiba. We're so blessed by the friends we have and were grateful for the time we had to see some of you... and bummed at the same time that we didn't get to see everyone that we wanted, but thankfully we'll be back in December and will get to spend time with others that we didn't get to see on this trip.
Our trip back was a little less eventful than the one coming to the States, but was much longer as our first flight was cancelled and we were sent up to Atlanta for a 9+ hour layover. This actually turned out to be a blessing, as we were able to hop over to The Mission Society office and hang with some wonderful people there for a couple hours. It was a good time and the kids did a great job traveling. After that, we were homebound and other than being absolutely exhausted when we got home, everything went great. We're so blessed to have such great travelers, and we're praying that this next little guy is as good as the other 2 - guess we'll find out in December :)
Will try to be better about keeping up on here as much will be happening in our life in the coming months. Thank you all for walking this journey with us and for your prayers... we are more and more aware of our need for them every day that passes.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Heart Attack of Senhor Flavio
Senhor Flavio is our landlord. He's the man to whom we pay rent. He's Brazilian, but his German roots and accompanying obsessive compulsiveness and control issues are very apparent in nearly everything he does. I'm not sure if it's better now that we can communicate more effectively, it was much nicer when we could just nod and smile and wonder why he walked away shaking his head.
When you ask a question to Senhor Flavio's children, he answers for them. His youngest is 28. Senhor Flavio washes EVERYTHING, even dirt. I can't explain this in English, we have our clean freaks, but this man shames them all. We are the Mersingers, clean is a relative term, imagine the context.
So I'm sitting on my bed this morning rubbing my feet, still jet-lagged and exhausted from this past week. Have had a wonderful time back with Shannon and the kids, arrived to see Naomi speaking about 50% more Portuguese than when I left. I think she's about caught up to us in just the past week.
As I was sitting I hear a "scream" of sorts. I recognize my name mixed in with some new interjections. I run out to see Senhor Flavio ascending the stairs screaming "my wall, my wall, my beautiful wall"!
One more interjection, they don't have chalk here in Brazil, that we've seen, certainly not the kind that kids use to color walls and roads with.
He arrives nearly in tears, asking me what we let happen. Pointing and screaming at the mural that Naomi and Caleb began their day drawing. He says "it is ugly, it's so UGLY, it's ruined, I will have to repaint everything". I began to explain that it is children's chalk and that it will come right off. He screams, "NEVER, I've already tried, it is there forever, it's SO UGLY, I will have to repaint everything the entire wall, because it will have to match the new paint". I apologized and took his feelings sincerely, but kindly asked for five minutes to try myself.
I now know what the face of Martha looked like when she received her brother Lazarus back from death. It was like Senhor Flavio's when I clapped my hands downstairs from his kitchen and called him out to observe. He beamed, his precious wall was saved. He thanked me over and over, said that he was so scared, and so amazed at how we restored it so quickly.
So, thank you Sarah Reynolds for the chalk. However, we won't be using it anymore in this location. It's not worth killing our landlord over. Somehow he still likes us, even though we're a terror to his precious environment.
It was a huge disappointment for the kids, so we had a whole morning explaining property rights and the Kingdom of God to our 5 and 3 year olds. That Jesus loved their work and all IS truly His, but we also live in a broken place with OCD old men and from this perspective it is his wall and we can't draw on it anymore. Caleb refuses to concede and spent an hour lamenting his loss, Naomi struggled also, but made up a song that she told us is entitled the Mourning Song, and after singing it to the wall as she sat on our steps, is feeling better.
I could create a new blog centering on our adventures with Senhor Flavio, but though it might interest some others, it's just become a bore for us, but at least a humorous bore.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Baby Name Game
So . . . for the first time, we aren't set on a name three years ahead of time. We were, but Steve changed his mind. If it were a girl, we were set. However, baby Buzz Lightyear Optimus Prime Mersinger threw a wrench in that. Caleb is serious about this name, Naomi insists a baby brother named Hannah will make her happy enough.The challenge at this stage in the game, is that we have to find a name that works in two languages. Steve LOVES the name Seth, and is really pushing for it. However, Brazilians CAN NOT make the TH sound, at any place in any word. It's extremely hard for them, so Seth, Adam and Eve's third son, is translated in the Bibles here as Sete. Kind of sounds like sechee. Steve likes the symbolism, Seth, the renewal of creation after Cain and Abel, after all of the loss that we've had, this kid brings hope for a new start. The biggest problem for me, the Portuguese word sete is the number 7! Steve even went as far to argue that this is fine because, counting miscarriages, Seth would be number 7 for us! Sorry, I'm not naming my baby Seven. It might have helped my dad, since he refers to us by number anyways, but I just can't let that fly.
The initial name we had agreed upon was Isaiah, but Steve changed his mind and doesn't like it anymore. We're trying to stick with Bible names, but I won't let Steve go with Heman, Goliath, Sampson, or any of the extremely odd ones like Elkiniah. Meaning is important to us, but so is our kid not being a prime candidate for wedgies based solely upon his name.
The middle name is settled, it'll be Daniel, in honor of our good friend Danny Smith. Sorry to any other Daniel's out there, we wanted to be honest, but you can rejoice in the fact that you weren't part of a conversation that went something like . . . I could never give my kid the name Daniel because of Daniel . . . . So again, Rejoice! :)
We've kind of whittled it down to three options at this point, though the book is still open, and we are receiving suggestions. Jordan Daniel (this is the closest we've both come to agreeing, the problem is the translation Jordão (JordOW) is only used as the river), we've been told it could fly if we don't translate and just tell people Jordan, they'll still have trouble pronouncing a little bit but it could work as a name. The next is Simon Daniel, we're not crazy in love with the name, but it fits here, even the translation Simão (SeemOW). Finally, a name both of us love, but don't necessarily want to give to our kid, but it works great in both languages, Gabriel Daniel.
Your thoughts???
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Glutaric Acidemia - MOST BORING BLOG EVER
I hope that you will forgive the "monthly phone call from Grandma" format I've chosen to go with. I don't believe that anyone particularly enjoys an onslaught of medical diagnosis descriptions, however, since so many of you have invested your time and prayer into the life of our daughter, we thought this would be the best way to give a comprehensive update. If you're already up to date, or simply not interested, please feel free to grab our blessing and insistence to pass on this and run!
It was a great comfort to us as we were preparing to leave that we came face to face with nothing but encouragement and blessings from all of those who support us. From our church, our friends, our cheerleaders. We had expected, to be honest, more than a few comments tossed out such as "looks like God's trying to tell you guys something". It was hard enough to go through everything, we were thankful that we didn't meet any of that. We believe that the Lord does move like that, we know a plethora of faithful people who planned to head to the mission field or were there, and were called back to their home country because of a health issue in the family. However, for us in particular, we consistently felt affirmation and confirmation to move ahead with this call upon our lives to do mission work here in Brazil.
Since arriving, we've met nothing but deeper confirmation that we were thinking of what was best for our daughter and being faithful as well. The medical system in the States is good, we were very thankful for the care we received. However, for Naomi's condition in particular, we met the one doctor in Miami who made an amazing presumptive diagnosis, and no one else had ever heard of it. To be fair, they've estimated less than 100 people have this disorder in the whole of the United States, it's skewed towards native tribal populations, and the majority of the cases are of a severe nature that leaves the child dead before the age of 3. To be defensive, Shannon and I are not related, we've checked on ancestry.com :).
Since arriving here in Brazil, we've made contact with four different doctors who had intimate knowledge of this particular genetic disorder. While it is still a "presumptive" diagnosis, we picked up an order yesterday for a lab to be drawn that will give conclusive results. It's a complete genetic analysis that our Brazilian insurance will cover, that is not done in the states for less than the lifeblood of the person you want to cure (it's expensive).
To top that, we met with a nutriologist (don't think we have those back home) it's a nutritionist who is also a licensed and practicing doctor. She had intimate knowledge of Glutaric Acidemia and put together a diet plan for us. This is where this blog gets juicy, at least as juicy as a blog written about glutaric acidemia can get.
Naomi has had much fewer and less severe episodes since we've arrived. Four major ones, with a bit of paralysis, but no seizures. The first two because we were still learning to read food labels, assumed pasta was safe, and fed her bowls full of noodles made from eggs, not with, from! We took her to the hospital once to get the ball rolling with the doctors here, but the rest we road out at home, with seizure medication as a back up, and just waited for it to pass. She's continued to develop fine, has started school, and everything had been pretty great. Though she had started to wet her bed again, for a few months straight, and would weaken considerably after a half hour of running or playing she would lose her ability to walk properly and we'd have to carry her home.
Since visiting with this Nutriologist, we learned that it is not just animal proteins or meat, cheese, and egg that we must avoid, but protein in general. Specifically, limit her to fifteen grams per day. Even more important, the particular amino acids Tryptophan and Lysine (which form glutaric acid, the thing her body can't process normally) are what we needed to focus on. The diet plan we were given was built around the limitation of Lysine to 2000mg per day.
The rough news is, the things that we were using as staples, potatoes, rice, beans, and bananas all of the sudden hit the prohibited list. They're extremely low in protein, but the protein they do have is composed of Lysine and Tryptophan. Even in cutting out major proteins, the things we were leaning on were still creating a toxic environment in her body. So for the past month we've been diving into new foods, new recipes, new torture devices to force vegetables down her fried chicken loving little throat. j/k. She's taken to it wonderfully, even though she's expressed sadness over losing yet more foods. For the past month, she's had energy out the wazoo again, can run for hours without any strange side effects, she's quit wetting her bed, and her only "issue" was a little five minute loss of speech and movement on this past Saturday because her teacher forgot about our requests and gave her some chocolate cake for a class party.
All in all we really feel as though we've gotten a handle on all of this. Most of the research we've done says that a case as mild as hers is easily manageable. It's not something that she'll ever grow out of, but as she grows and her weight increases, in most cases the metabolic crises cease as well.
We just ask that you'd continue to join us in prayer, we still would love to see an act of complete healing and our little girl stuffing pizza down her face again someday. Even more important for our mental sanity, that this genetic analysis confirms the diagnosis, and if not, that I restrain myself from going Sampson on our block of four apartments here, calling all of our Brazilian neighbors Philistines, and trying to bring the roof down with my forehead.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
A very late post from our hospital experience
So, as most of you know, Naomi had an episode a little over a month ago and we decided to take her to the ER so that we could start the process of having her seen by docs here in Brazil. Thankfully, the pastor we work under was able to drive us to the children's hospital and be there with us.
When we arrived at the ER, we were taken directly to the triage area and evaluated by the people there (I never really know who I'm dealing with because they don't introduce themselves... an interesting concept for me, but what do ya do?)and sent to see an ER doc for the initial evaluation. When we arrived in this room, Naomi was in a part of her episodes that have been the most difficult for me... it's about 1/2 hour into the episode and she normally has been sleeping for a couple minutes and when she wakes up she cries for a some time and then falls back asleep... this normally lasts for between an hour or 2, but she is absolutely inconsolable during this part of the episode and this time in the ER shed some light on what might be happening during this period to make her this way. As the doc was evaluating her, he stood her on the floor and the first thing she did was put her hands up in front of her face like she was trying to protect herself and she slowly laid herself down on the floor and got in the fetal position. After this, the doctor asked me to call her, and so standing about 3 feet away, I started calling her name and telling her I was there... the doc stood her up and this time she started walking in circles, crying, with her hands up by her face still. It appeared that her senses were totally shut down... I don't think she could see or hear me and it was probably the worst feeling in the world! It was everything in me not to bawl my eyes out!
Well, from there we sat in the ER for about another 2 hours, spoke to a couple more docs who decided to admit her and then moved up to our room for the night. Because of some craziness with our Brazilian insurance, we ended up being admitted under the Brazilian national health insurance.
Besides the fact that we're definitely still learning Portuguese, there were many other things that made the visit somewhat (ok, a lot) more uncomfortable than past hospitalizations. Here's a few of those things:
-Instead of the ACH suite, we were in a roughly 8'x 10' room with no A/C to be shared with two other patients. The kids all stuffed into tiny baby cribs and the parents left with a chair that could recline more if the room were bigger.
-About an hour before bed the moms left and the dads arrived to spend the night, so I spent the night with two other men and woke up about every fifteen minutes after accidental games of footsies.
-I was only allowed to keep a tiny plastic bag of my own stuff in Naomi's room with us because of infection control purposes.
-Since the rooms were so small, only one adult was allowed in the room at a time, except for the 1 hour visitation period between 2pm and 3pm. Whoever was staying was identified by these hideous smocks that had to be worn at all times. I got yelled at by security because I had it draped over my shoulder, and it had to be worn PROPERLY.
But there were also blessings that accompanied this interesting time in the hospital and they were as follows:
-I got to meet 2 new Brazilian couples who were really cool, and had some good conversations with them, which was encouraging in regards to how well I'm picking up Portuguese.
-We got to pray for one of Naomi's roommates who was going in for brain surgery the day we were discharged... she had been in the hospital for 2 months already and was a sweet little 3 year-old girl.
-We were able to get connected with some other doctors who are knowledgeable about Glutaric Acidemia (the genetic problem they think Naomi has) and have been able to become more knowledgeable also, which has been fabulous.
Well, if you're still there, thanks for hanging in this long. And thank you even more, for walking this crazy journey with us! We wouldn't be able to do it without the amazing support of those who love us!
Tchau, for now.
When we arrived at the ER, we were taken directly to the triage area and evaluated by the people there (I never really know who I'm dealing with because they don't introduce themselves... an interesting concept for me, but what do ya do?)and sent to see an ER doc for the initial evaluation. When we arrived in this room, Naomi was in a part of her episodes that have been the most difficult for me... it's about 1/2 hour into the episode and she normally has been sleeping for a couple minutes and when she wakes up she cries for a some time and then falls back asleep... this normally lasts for between an hour or 2, but she is absolutely inconsolable during this part of the episode and this time in the ER shed some light on what might be happening during this period to make her this way. As the doc was evaluating her, he stood her on the floor and the first thing she did was put her hands up in front of her face like she was trying to protect herself and she slowly laid herself down on the floor and got in the fetal position. After this, the doctor asked me to call her, and so standing about 3 feet away, I started calling her name and telling her I was there... the doc stood her up and this time she started walking in circles, crying, with her hands up by her face still. It appeared that her senses were totally shut down... I don't think she could see or hear me and it was probably the worst feeling in the world! It was everything in me not to bawl my eyes out!
Well, from there we sat in the ER for about another 2 hours, spoke to a couple more docs who decided to admit her and then moved up to our room for the night. Because of some craziness with our Brazilian insurance, we ended up being admitted under the Brazilian national health insurance.
Besides the fact that we're definitely still learning Portuguese, there were many other things that made the visit somewhat (ok, a lot) more uncomfortable than past hospitalizations. Here's a few of those things:
-Instead of the ACH suite, we were in a roughly 8'x 10' room with no A/C to be shared with two other patients. The kids all stuffed into tiny baby cribs and the parents left with a chair that could recline more if the room were bigger.
-About an hour before bed the moms left and the dads arrived to spend the night, so I spent the night with two other men and woke up about every fifteen minutes after accidental games of footsies.
-I was only allowed to keep a tiny plastic bag of my own stuff in Naomi's room with us because of infection control purposes.
-Since the rooms were so small, only one adult was allowed in the room at a time, except for the 1 hour visitation period between 2pm and 3pm. Whoever was staying was identified by these hideous smocks that had to be worn at all times. I got yelled at by security because I had it draped over my shoulder, and it had to be worn PROPERLY.
But there were also blessings that accompanied this interesting time in the hospital and they were as follows:
-I got to meet 2 new Brazilian couples who were really cool, and had some good conversations with them, which was encouraging in regards to how well I'm picking up Portuguese.
-We got to pray for one of Naomi's roommates who was going in for brain surgery the day we were discharged... she had been in the hospital for 2 months already and was a sweet little 3 year-old girl.
-We were able to get connected with some other doctors who are knowledgeable about Glutaric Acidemia (the genetic problem they think Naomi has) and have been able to become more knowledgeable also, which has been fabulous.
Well, if you're still there, thanks for hanging in this long. And thank you even more, for walking this crazy journey with us! We wouldn't be able to do it without the amazing support of those who love us!
Tchau, for now.
Friday, February 4, 2011
They Might Buy Food
I wanted to take a second to reflect on something that I wrestle with. Specifically to give or not to give, when you're encountered on the street by someone who is begging. Almost anyone who lives in a large city or has traveled abroad has to wrestle continually with what to do in these situations. Many people develop a rule or a consistent pattern for dealing with this, whether to never give, to always give, to never give money, to always give whatever. I'm not writing this to criticize a particular perspective or to give my opinion on what is the best, but simply to share out of my struggle.
I was walking to buy some groceries a couple of weeks ago and this guy came riding up to me on a bike. He skids to a stop, hops off, limps and says "brother, brother, I need 2 bucks to get some bandages for my leg". He then lifts up his Jean legs and shows me this horrifying gash about the length AND width of my forearm running down his leg. There's maggots and flies in it and it was everything in me not to vomit. When I was younger, I would've just started emptying my wallet. It saddens me to say that the years and some hurtful experiences have hardened me. I know in many ways it can be for the better, but still, I stared at this obvious need and paused. I knew in my head, and have met in experience, people whose addiction is so deep that they're capable of doing something this atrocious to themselves just to up the anty in pursuing their fix.
As I stood there staring, thoughts ran through my head. The predominant one, a line of thought that I can't stand, "he might buy drugs, he might buy alcohol, he might use it for something bad and then you're supporting that". It's true, he might. Then a thought I've heard less frequently, but one that is more dear to my heart "he might buy food, he might buy the bandages, he might get some water". It's always easier to hold onto the first thought, because you can walk away feeling safe, even if you were wrong.
For me, I don't have a pattern. I fight with all my heart and soul to keep from developing one. I try, as cliché as it might sound, to really let Jesus lead me in these circumstances. Yet, nearly every situation, whether I give or withhold, I walk away. Sometimes I have a sense of peace, sometimes I don't. Developing a pattern would be easier, it might make me feel better, but I feel (at least for myself) that this agonizing and wrestling is a good place where Jesus meets me, a place where He wants me to be.
If I still feel bad, I stay thankful that I'm not in a position like an old missionary to Hong Kong named Jackie Pullinger constantly found herself in. She ministered in the walled city, one of the dingiest red light/drug districts you could find yourself in. She earned the trust of the people and has a powerful ministry to opium addicts. She writes in her book, Chasing the Dragon, about some of the guys who came to trust her coming and asking her for money. They were straight up honest, they were going to use it to buy drugs. The simple answer is NO! I'm a missionary, of course I won't give it to you for that. Yet, she knew these guys well, knew the context, understood the whole picture. She was their last resort, if she didn't give, they were heading out of the walled city to mug, and often murder, someone to get the cash they needed for their fix. To give, was to support the drug habit and impending death of her friend in front of her, but to not give might cost the life of someone else. She said, she never stopped wrestling with what she should do.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Ano Novo, Vida Nova
New Year, New Life! It does feel extremely refreshing to "fit in" again, not that fitting in is something we've done very well anywhere we've been. Yet, to feel adjusted, comfortable, and even sometimes understood in our new environment has brought the stress and tension way down and started to make life feel "normal" again.
It was tough being away from family and friends through this first holiday season. But we've really had a blast and taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to us in the midst of this. The first challenge in this has been the weather. While many people would miss cold Christmases, it's never been something we've counted on growing up in Florida. Yet, several weeks into summer, we've hit the 80's today for about the fifth time. This city is cold!!! So for us, it was a cold Christmas.
The second challenge, and most shocking thing to us, is how this city empties during this time of year. Curitiba has roughly 3 million people. It's the 6th largest city of Brazil. However, because the retirement of Brazilians is provided for socially, the main type of investment for anyone with any kind of money is in real estate, specifically, on the coast. So when you have the colossal collision of Christmas, New Years, and Summer Break for school kids, everyone heads for the coast. Because of this, tons of people get laid off within the city, or put on break from their jobs. They also head for the beach towns where seasonal employment opportunities explode. It's a strange dance, an odd cultural pattern that we're living in the midst of.
With all that said, most of our friends bailed mid-December and said they'd see us again in February. Thankfully, a few of our friends, seeing that we'd be alone for Christmas, invited us to come crash on their sister's floor in a beach town called Itapóa. So we hopped a bus on Christmas eve and stayed four days down in Itapóa in a state south of here called Santa Catarina. It was beautiful, reminded us a bit of home, and gave us the opportunity to rest, enjoy the beach, and pass the holiday with dear friends. It also provided for us the opportunity to celebrate Brazilian style.
It's a shock to us that Brazilians don't seem to suffer holiday fatigue, especially given that Brazil has seemingly, at least one holiday per week. I've always loved holidays, and felt something special during these stations of life, but like most people I know within our own culture, they wear you down. My birthday is Dec. 23 and my mom's is Dec. 6 so we started the festivities at Thanksgiving and continued on through New Year's, it was always such a full time of the year. My poor brother whose birthday arrives on January 12, each year, normally got a few gifts in the mail and people complaining or making excuses why they couldn't make a birthday party for him, they were just too worn out!
I've spent quite a bit of time reflecting during this season, and my mind has continually drifted towards Jesus' teachings regarding the Sabbath - was it made for man or man made for it. I think holidays can be reflected on in the same way, do they exist for us or do we exist for them. Too often in my life, it's become the latter. I've come to exist for the holidays, offer my life in service to its' success and completion, and come out of it worn, exhausted, and glad only that it is over and won't have to be done again for a while.
While there are some styles of Brazilian celebration, traditions, and customs that are different and interesting and enjoyable; the main thing that has stuck out to me is the attitude. It's now January 5th and walking to the grocery store and back I had four people tell me felicidades or feliz ano novo. My attitude the past four days was, "really, dude, it's over, move on". In my mind, you say Happy New Year on the first, check that off of your list, and the next day move on, already having screwed up on your resolutions, accepting that life is just life and it was just another day. But I'm learning something from the people here, who see this time of year as charged with opportunities of genuine change and transformation in their lives.
I was buying some bread yesterday afternoon and a man was talking with the owner and asking him about some problems that had been going on. He laughed and smiled and said "ano novo, vida nova". New year, new life. He didn't say it with skepticism or cynicism, but hope and expectation. It rocked me and encouraged me, it's contagious. I want to walk in that childlike faith again that can look at something as simple as a "special day" and bring meaning and hope out of the heart of it and use it.
It was tough being away from family and friends through this first holiday season. But we've really had a blast and taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to us in the midst of this. The first challenge in this has been the weather. While many people would miss cold Christmases, it's never been something we've counted on growing up in Florida. Yet, several weeks into summer, we've hit the 80's today for about the fifth time. This city is cold!!! So for us, it was a cold Christmas.
The second challenge, and most shocking thing to us, is how this city empties during this time of year. Curitiba has roughly 3 million people. It's the 6th largest city of Brazil. However, because the retirement of Brazilians is provided for socially, the main type of investment for anyone with any kind of money is in real estate, specifically, on the coast. So when you have the colossal collision of Christmas, New Years, and Summer Break for school kids, everyone heads for the coast. Because of this, tons of people get laid off within the city, or put on break from their jobs. They also head for the beach towns where seasonal employment opportunities explode. It's a strange dance, an odd cultural pattern that we're living in the midst of.
With all that said, most of our friends bailed mid-December and said they'd see us again in February. Thankfully, a few of our friends, seeing that we'd be alone for Christmas, invited us to come crash on their sister's floor in a beach town called Itapóa. So we hopped a bus on Christmas eve and stayed four days down in Itapóa in a state south of here called Santa Catarina. It was beautiful, reminded us a bit of home, and gave us the opportunity to rest, enjoy the beach, and pass the holiday with dear friends. It also provided for us the opportunity to celebrate Brazilian style.
It's a shock to us that Brazilians don't seem to suffer holiday fatigue, especially given that Brazil has seemingly, at least one holiday per week. I've always loved holidays, and felt something special during these stations of life, but like most people I know within our own culture, they wear you down. My birthday is Dec. 23 and my mom's is Dec. 6 so we started the festivities at Thanksgiving and continued on through New Year's, it was always such a full time of the year. My poor brother whose birthday arrives on January 12, each year, normally got a few gifts in the mail and people complaining or making excuses why they couldn't make a birthday party for him, they were just too worn out!
I've spent quite a bit of time reflecting during this season, and my mind has continually drifted towards Jesus' teachings regarding the Sabbath - was it made for man or man made for it. I think holidays can be reflected on in the same way, do they exist for us or do we exist for them. Too often in my life, it's become the latter. I've come to exist for the holidays, offer my life in service to its' success and completion, and come out of it worn, exhausted, and glad only that it is over and won't have to be done again for a while.
While there are some styles of Brazilian celebration, traditions, and customs that are different and interesting and enjoyable; the main thing that has stuck out to me is the attitude. It's now January 5th and walking to the grocery store and back I had four people tell me felicidades or feliz ano novo. My attitude the past four days was, "really, dude, it's over, move on". In my mind, you say Happy New Year on the first, check that off of your list, and the next day move on, already having screwed up on your resolutions, accepting that life is just life and it was just another day. But I'm learning something from the people here, who see this time of year as charged with opportunities of genuine change and transformation in their lives.
I was buying some bread yesterday afternoon and a man was talking with the owner and asking him about some problems that had been going on. He laughed and smiled and said "ano novo, vida nova". New year, new life. He didn't say it with skepticism or cynicism, but hope and expectation. It rocked me and encouraged me, it's contagious. I want to walk in that childlike faith again that can look at something as simple as a "special day" and bring meaning and hope out of the heart of it and use it.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
When I get back to . . .
Over the last couple of months, we've noticed something very evident in the life of our daughter. If her life was a song, the chorus would begin with these words "when I get back to . . . ".
Due to her health struggles, she's had to learn some difficult restraint for a 4 year old. One of the first Portuguese phrases she learned was "não posso ter proteinas" - I can't have proteins. We've watched time after time as her friends in Vila Pantanal have shoved cookies, cake, or cheetos in her face only to see her stand confident and recite her phrase. It breaks our heart, well mostly mine... Shannon has a stronger confidence that not eating crap food is a good thing for her, while I view it as a devastating tragedy. But enough of my issues.
One of the constant conversations around the dinner table has begun like this . . . "Daddy, when I get back to eggs, I'm going to be so happy!" or "Daddy, when I get back to cheeseburgers, I'm going to eat six at one time!" She never says this complaining or frustrated, but with a simple tone of hope and expectation rising out of a place of contentment. She's handled it much better than I ever could have. The tone changes slightly on tougher days when a different verse is sung that goes more like this . . . "Daddy, when I get back to the United States, I'm going to play dress up with Hannah because I miss her so much!"
Out of these simple conclusions, I've come to the conclusion that my daughter is one of the world's most brilliant theologians. Ok, I'm good at overstating things, but at least I'm confident that she's on the way. The longing and desire for things to be as they should be, even as she rests content in the midst of this challenge, is an example that I'm trying to learn to follow.
I know that life is not what it's supposed to be, I know that this world, all of us as a people, were created for more than what I see daily on the streets. Too often in my life, I've let this fact draw me into frustration and lead me towards a life of complaining, moping, pouting, and the occasional temper tantrum.
The first time I was struck with the reality that this world was not what it was meant to be was my first trip to Haiti. Driving through the streets as the stench of sewage washed into the streets and the sight of blocks of landfills full of people picking through the trash slammed my senses, I caught the gaze of a lady staring back into my eyes. I noticed her humanity, she wasn't just an object on the side of the road, but had flesh, feelings, and thoughts like I did, she was made in the image of God. Up until that point, I assumed that this dump of a life was all people like her had ever known. So, not knowing anything better, they probably were content in this life because they knew no better. But when I locked eyes with this lady, I knew, she knew, she was meant for more. They all were. We all are. Even the comfort and luxuries of life in the States come with aches, pains, frustrations and brokenness.
My deepest hope and desire is to see the Kingdom of God in all of its fullness. Lion laying with lamb, peace in fullness on a recreated Earth, with Jesus leading and guiding all the world in His physical presence. But now, I wrestle in the tension. I don't live in hopelessness, because I believe His Kingdom is already here, inbreaking, coming forth. But I know there's more to be had. I long for all humanity to experience the moment WHEN WE GET BACK TO . . . what it was all meant to be in the first place.
When Naomi speaks of what she wants to get back to, it sends me off into a daze, thinking about the things that I long for in the same way. Sometimes it is just very simple things. To sit and sip a freezing cold beer in a world free of alcoholism, addiction, and abuse. To enjoy the fruit of creation in this form without concern that I'll cause trouble for someone else and send them spiraling into a pattern of life that wrecks and wastes theirs and the lives of those they love. Jesus said at the last supper that He wouldn't taste wine again until He drank it anew with those He loved at the consummation of His eternal Kingdom. I know there's going to be some shock for some there who have embraced certain valid callings in this life. But I can't wait to hear the roar of laughter at the freedom we'll experience as we begin to tip back the greatest wine we've ever tasted!
Other times, it's very situational. When I get back to being understood. Most of this has been brought to mind by the simple fact of language acquisition. However, there's a deeper longing there that I've learned all about through my very cross-cultural marriage to my hygienically questionable neo-hippie! We've always had a great marriage, are madly in love, and yet have forever spoken two different dialects of the same language. Communication has always been our weak point, even though we've gotten a lot better. We can almost communicate with each other as well as we communicate with the Brazilians here, almost. But there is this longing, to be understood. Scripture talks of a time when we will fully know as we are fully known. Often we emphasize the excitement of being able to fully know, especially us Americans, we value information. It's legit, to grasp, understand, and appreciate, every scar, every pain, every moment of frustration . . . to see it redeemed, painted, and infiltrated with meaning and significance. It is legit. At the same time, for me, there's just this deeper desire to grasp what it would be like to be fully known . . . fully understood, fully accepted, fully appreciated (and to receive that without doubts or confusion).
However, too much of the time lately, it's serious emotional things. As my beautiful brown-eyed whacko starts to speak of "when I get back to" my heart pounds out the deep emotional yearnings of "when I get back to" watching you, my beloved little daughter, run and dance and play. When I get back to hearing you sing, listening to your jokes, watching you climb the monkey bars without this nagging incessant inspection for the slightest little slur in your speech, the simplest little falter in your step, the smallest hesitation in your thought and the constant wonder if something dreadful is going to happen. When I get back to trusting that you're going to be just fine. When I get back to a world without illness, pain, or suffering.
In truth, she's been great since we've gotten here. It's been three months since any issue (other than the emergency room visit after she fell and slammed her head). Even as I write this, and even as I ponder, I feel the presence of the One who has suffered through my moral seizures and paralysis. Who's watched over me as I've stumbled and fallen and bled. When I think of this I can't help but feel hope arise and faith grow and hold on with anticipation for the great moment to come of "when I get back to".
Due to her health struggles, she's had to learn some difficult restraint for a 4 year old. One of the first Portuguese phrases she learned was "não posso ter proteinas" - I can't have proteins. We've watched time after time as her friends in Vila Pantanal have shoved cookies, cake, or cheetos in her face only to see her stand confident and recite her phrase. It breaks our heart, well mostly mine... Shannon has a stronger confidence that not eating crap food is a good thing for her, while I view it as a devastating tragedy. But enough of my issues.
One of the constant conversations around the dinner table has begun like this . . . "Daddy, when I get back to eggs, I'm going to be so happy!" or "Daddy, when I get back to cheeseburgers, I'm going to eat six at one time!" She never says this complaining or frustrated, but with a simple tone of hope and expectation rising out of a place of contentment. She's handled it much better than I ever could have. The tone changes slightly on tougher days when a different verse is sung that goes more like this . . . "Daddy, when I get back to the United States, I'm going to play dress up with Hannah because I miss her so much!"
Out of these simple conclusions, I've come to the conclusion that my daughter is one of the world's most brilliant theologians. Ok, I'm good at overstating things, but at least I'm confident that she's on the way. The longing and desire for things to be as they should be, even as she rests content in the midst of this challenge, is an example that I'm trying to learn to follow.
I know that life is not what it's supposed to be, I know that this world, all of us as a people, were created for more than what I see daily on the streets. Too often in my life, I've let this fact draw me into frustration and lead me towards a life of complaining, moping, pouting, and the occasional temper tantrum.
The first time I was struck with the reality that this world was not what it was meant to be was my first trip to Haiti. Driving through the streets as the stench of sewage washed into the streets and the sight of blocks of landfills full of people picking through the trash slammed my senses, I caught the gaze of a lady staring back into my eyes. I noticed her humanity, she wasn't just an object on the side of the road, but had flesh, feelings, and thoughts like I did, she was made in the image of God. Up until that point, I assumed that this dump of a life was all people like her had ever known. So, not knowing anything better, they probably were content in this life because they knew no better. But when I locked eyes with this lady, I knew, she knew, she was meant for more. They all were. We all are. Even the comfort and luxuries of life in the States come with aches, pains, frustrations and brokenness.
My deepest hope and desire is to see the Kingdom of God in all of its fullness. Lion laying with lamb, peace in fullness on a recreated Earth, with Jesus leading and guiding all the world in His physical presence. But now, I wrestle in the tension. I don't live in hopelessness, because I believe His Kingdom is already here, inbreaking, coming forth. But I know there's more to be had. I long for all humanity to experience the moment WHEN WE GET BACK TO . . . what it was all meant to be in the first place.
When Naomi speaks of what she wants to get back to, it sends me off into a daze, thinking about the things that I long for in the same way. Sometimes it is just very simple things. To sit and sip a freezing cold beer in a world free of alcoholism, addiction, and abuse. To enjoy the fruit of creation in this form without concern that I'll cause trouble for someone else and send them spiraling into a pattern of life that wrecks and wastes theirs and the lives of those they love. Jesus said at the last supper that He wouldn't taste wine again until He drank it anew with those He loved at the consummation of His eternal Kingdom. I know there's going to be some shock for some there who have embraced certain valid callings in this life. But I can't wait to hear the roar of laughter at the freedom we'll experience as we begin to tip back the greatest wine we've ever tasted!
Other times, it's very situational. When I get back to being understood. Most of this has been brought to mind by the simple fact of language acquisition. However, there's a deeper longing there that I've learned all about through my very cross-cultural marriage to my hygienically questionable neo-hippie! We've always had a great marriage, are madly in love, and yet have forever spoken two different dialects of the same language. Communication has always been our weak point, even though we've gotten a lot better. We can almost communicate with each other as well as we communicate with the Brazilians here, almost. But there is this longing, to be understood. Scripture talks of a time when we will fully know as we are fully known. Often we emphasize the excitement of being able to fully know, especially us Americans, we value information. It's legit, to grasp, understand, and appreciate, every scar, every pain, every moment of frustration . . . to see it redeemed, painted, and infiltrated with meaning and significance. It is legit. At the same time, for me, there's just this deeper desire to grasp what it would be like to be fully known . . . fully understood, fully accepted, fully appreciated (and to receive that without doubts or confusion).
However, too much of the time lately, it's serious emotional things. As my beautiful brown-eyed whacko starts to speak of "when I get back to" my heart pounds out the deep emotional yearnings of "when I get back to" watching you, my beloved little daughter, run and dance and play. When I get back to hearing you sing, listening to your jokes, watching you climb the monkey bars without this nagging incessant inspection for the slightest little slur in your speech, the simplest little falter in your step, the smallest hesitation in your thought and the constant wonder if something dreadful is going to happen. When I get back to trusting that you're going to be just fine. When I get back to a world without illness, pain, or suffering.
In truth, she's been great since we've gotten here. It's been three months since any issue (other than the emergency room visit after she fell and slammed her head). Even as I write this, and even as I ponder, I feel the presence of the One who has suffered through my moral seizures and paralysis. Who's watched over me as I've stumbled and fallen and bled. When I think of this I can't help but feel hope arise and faith grow and hold on with anticipation for the great moment to come of "when I get back to".
Naomi's Skill
Well, we took our first "vacation" in Brazil. Traveling anywhere with two little munchkins with planes, trains, buses, taxis, etc. isn't the most relaxing thing, but we had a great time none-the-less. Both Shannon and my passports are expiring the beginning of next year, and we thought it would be good to get them renewed with plenty of time left. So we headed out Monday afternoon for São Paulo. We were in awe of the city, never seen such an enormous city in our lives!!! Some estimates at over 20 million people!
We went to the Consulate on Tuesday morning, and were pleasantly surprised that it only took us about an hour to get everything taken care of. We had done some searching the night before for things to do. Shannon talked me in to not being cheap, so we sprung the US$15 for the four of us to go to the São Paulo zoo. It was amazing, there were over 3000 animals. The kids had a blast and we spent about four hours there.
Of course, it's always an adventure. Caleb was getting exhausted and wanted to be carried everywhere, but wouldn't fall asleep. So we were carrying him for a while and then putting him down to walk. (Important to note, Caleb does not know how to walk, we've never observed that phenomenon, he runs EVERYWHERE)! Well, sure enough, at one point we had put him down and were looking for an entrance to this kid's place. We got sidetracked and Shannon, Naomi, and I looked at this other exhibit. We seriously hadn't turned our head for more than 10 seconds, turned around and Caleb was gone. Shannon went running one direction, I took off in the other with Naomi, our hearts were just about stopped. Shannon found him around the corner a good 1000 feet or so away, behind a fence, just standing. She was tearing up and all he says is "I didn't find the way in yet mom".
This was towards the end of the day and we were all exhausted, and pretty angry at that point too. At the same time we were relieved, so we sat down on a bench to take a break. Caleb was finally starting to fall asleep sitting on Shannon. Naomi was mentioning every three seconds what animals we still had left to see. As we were sitting there, we heard a bird shaking a bunch of leaves above our heads. Shannon asked me what it was, and I replied "at this point, I'm not going to bother looking, it's probably a pigeon and there's a great chance it's about to crap on us." Naomi rolled her eyes at me and said, "don't worry Dad, I'll find the bird and figure out what it is". She got up and walked back into some bushes and was looking all around this tree while we sat there trying to gather up some energy. All of the sudden Naomi shouted "daddy, come look, it's one of those cool birds from your book" I walked over, still expecting a pigeon, and saw this:
How AWESOME! My daughter totally spotted a Red-breasted (or Green-billed) Toucan. It was sitting on a branch at a height of about 7 feet, right above us. We stared at it, and were amazed. It stayed just long enough for me to pull the camera out, and then it took off out of the park and into some more forest (the zoo is actually located in the middle of a massive forest area that is preserved inside of the city). I found this picture on the web.
I had to take the time to celebrate my daughter and her amazing birding skills. It's something that the kids and I have loved to do together. They like to find me birds, make up names for them, and then run screaming and roaring at the birds as they chase them away. Shannon's probably going to get some pictures up later on Facebook about how that doesn't always work out great, especially in the case of ducks and geese, a whole other story!
We went to the Consulate on Tuesday morning, and were pleasantly surprised that it only took us about an hour to get everything taken care of. We had done some searching the night before for things to do. Shannon talked me in to not being cheap, so we sprung the US$15 for the four of us to go to the São Paulo zoo. It was amazing, there were over 3000 animals. The kids had a blast and we spent about four hours there.
Of course, it's always an adventure. Caleb was getting exhausted and wanted to be carried everywhere, but wouldn't fall asleep. So we were carrying him for a while and then putting him down to walk. (Important to note, Caleb does not know how to walk, we've never observed that phenomenon, he runs EVERYWHERE)! Well, sure enough, at one point we had put him down and were looking for an entrance to this kid's place. We got sidetracked and Shannon, Naomi, and I looked at this other exhibit. We seriously hadn't turned our head for more than 10 seconds, turned around and Caleb was gone. Shannon went running one direction, I took off in the other with Naomi, our hearts were just about stopped. Shannon found him around the corner a good 1000 feet or so away, behind a fence, just standing. She was tearing up and all he says is "I didn't find the way in yet mom".
This was towards the end of the day and we were all exhausted, and pretty angry at that point too. At the same time we were relieved, so we sat down on a bench to take a break. Caleb was finally starting to fall asleep sitting on Shannon. Naomi was mentioning every three seconds what animals we still had left to see. As we were sitting there, we heard a bird shaking a bunch of leaves above our heads. Shannon asked me what it was, and I replied "at this point, I'm not going to bother looking, it's probably a pigeon and there's a great chance it's about to crap on us." Naomi rolled her eyes at me and said, "don't worry Dad, I'll find the bird and figure out what it is". She got up and walked back into some bushes and was looking all around this tree while we sat there trying to gather up some energy. All of the sudden Naomi shouted "daddy, come look, it's one of those cool birds from your book" I walked over, still expecting a pigeon, and saw this:
How AWESOME! My daughter totally spotted a Red-breasted (or Green-billed) Toucan. It was sitting on a branch at a height of about 7 feet, right above us. We stared at it, and were amazed. It stayed just long enough for me to pull the camera out, and then it took off out of the park and into some more forest (the zoo is actually located in the middle of a massive forest area that is preserved inside of the city). I found this picture on the web.
I had to take the time to celebrate my daughter and her amazing birding skills. It's something that the kids and I have loved to do together. They like to find me birds, make up names for them, and then run screaming and roaring at the birds as they chase them away. Shannon's probably going to get some pictures up later on Facebook about how that doesn't always work out great, especially in the case of ducks and geese, a whole other story!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Things I Love About My Life - Take 2
I love that Naomi and Caleb are starting to understand more Portuguese and have started responding to simple questions in Portuguese... it's so fun! And when they're playing, sometimes they make up words and pretend that they're speaking in Portuguese. I love that my kids will someday be bilingual (or maybe trilingual)!
I love that Caleb wants to pray for all of our meals... he reminds us when we forget, and then takes it on as his duty to pray for all of us.
I love that we have made friends with cool Brazilian people like Jonas & Amanda and get to hang out with them often. They're 19 and 16 respectively, but they are our closest friends here. We definitely feel like we connect with them, even with the language barrier. Jonas is the worship leader at the church that we attend and Amanda has just recently fallen in love with Jesus!
I love the spontaneity of this culture... i.e. yesterday morning, the bishop over the entire Methodist church in Brazil (and a friend of ours) calls us on Skype and asks Steve if he would give a devotional at a meeting with the District Superintendants about 3 hours later... such fun! And, mad props to my hubby, who wowed them with his fabulous Portuguese :)
I love that I can walk out of my house and find new places that I have yet to discover. While I was out yesterday, I ran into a friend of mine, which is a big deal since we know about 30 people in a city of 2&1/2 million.
I love that also, while I was out for my walk, I walked past an adorable little girl, playing out at the front of her house and when her mom came out, they both waved at me and smiled and said good morning. Living in the city is very different from what we're used to and people don't always talk to you... they're a bit more reserved, and cautious. So anyways, it's always a plus when I run into a friendly person who smiles and talks to me.
I love that we have made relationships with people in day-to-day life. Steve stopped by the Panificadora (bakery) around the corner where we buy our bread every day or two, when he was returning to the hospital with some food for us the other night and shared with the people what was happening with Naomi. The next day, on his way to the market, the shop owner came running out and asked him how Naomi was. People who would just be strangers or shopworkers at home are genuine opportunities for relationship and sharing in this culture.
I love that, even though we are many miles away from most of our friends and family, we have the opportunity to still be in contact through Skype, and the internet. I love that we can maintain our relationships with so many that we love and miss like crazy!
And lastly... I love my family! I love that God has blessed me with such an amazing husband and that we get to walk this journey of life together. I love that He has given us the opportunity to raise these two precious kids and to point them to Jesus and to teach them of His love for them.
Thanks for letting me share more about how fabulous my life is!
I love that Caleb wants to pray for all of our meals... he reminds us when we forget, and then takes it on as his duty to pray for all of us.
I love that we have made friends with cool Brazilian people like Jonas & Amanda and get to hang out with them often. They're 19 and 16 respectively, but they are our closest friends here. We definitely feel like we connect with them, even with the language barrier. Jonas is the worship leader at the church that we attend and Amanda has just recently fallen in love with Jesus!
I love the spontaneity of this culture... i.e. yesterday morning, the bishop over the entire Methodist church in Brazil (and a friend of ours) calls us on Skype and asks Steve if he would give a devotional at a meeting with the District Superintendants about 3 hours later... such fun! And, mad props to my hubby, who wowed them with his fabulous Portuguese :)
I love that I can walk out of my house and find new places that I have yet to discover. While I was out yesterday, I ran into a friend of mine, which is a big deal since we know about 30 people in a city of 2&1/2 million.
I love that also, while I was out for my walk, I walked past an adorable little girl, playing out at the front of her house and when her mom came out, they both waved at me and smiled and said good morning. Living in the city is very different from what we're used to and people don't always talk to you... they're a bit more reserved, and cautious. So anyways, it's always a plus when I run into a friendly person who smiles and talks to me.
I love that we have made relationships with people in day-to-day life. Steve stopped by the Panificadora (bakery) around the corner where we buy our bread every day or two, when he was returning to the hospital with some food for us the other night and shared with the people what was happening with Naomi. The next day, on his way to the market, the shop owner came running out and asked him how Naomi was. People who would just be strangers or shopworkers at home are genuine opportunities for relationship and sharing in this culture.
I love that, even though we are many miles away from most of our friends and family, we have the opportunity to still be in contact through Skype, and the internet. I love that we can maintain our relationships with so many that we love and miss like crazy!
And lastly... I love my family! I love that God has blessed me with such an amazing husband and that we get to walk this journey of life together. I love that He has given us the opportunity to raise these two precious kids and to point them to Jesus and to teach them of His love for them.
Thanks for letting me share more about how fabulous my life is!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Caleb's potty training goodness
So, we have one funny boy on our hands... this week we started potty training and I wanted to document some of the hilarious things that came out of his mouth. So, the first day, we had started talking about his body and how things work... that his body would give him signals to tell him that he had to pee/poop and that he needed to start "listening" to his body so that he would know when to sit on the potty. And so we were sitting up at the table eating lunch that afternoon, Caleb busts out with "hey mom... my belly is telling me that it doesn't want broccoli, only candy." He's been getting a half a piece of candy each time he sits on the potty, so the first day he wanted to sit on it every 5 minutes, for about 10 seconds, so we had to do a little revising of the candy reward (ah, kids love to keep you on your toes).
Also, every time we've had him sit on the potty when he wasn't in the mood, he uses the excuse that his body told him that he didn't have to go.
i have to give some props to my boy who has been running around with no pants on (except his big boy underwear) for the last 6 days, in 60 degree weather... he is actually getting it down. One time, we tried to have him stand up and pee at the regular toilet one time... when he came out of the bathroom with Steve, he said, "mom... my penis told me it didn't need to pee."
At the beginning, we had some rough times, but thankfully he's getting more and more comfortable with himself... earlier when he was sitting on the potty, he started playing with himself and he said, "mom... I'm pretending it's an elephant"!!!
Aside from the potty training, he has (well, for about a year now) been almost as good as his daddy at quoting movies. I love the randomness of it all, for example, the other night, we were riding home on the bus and Caleb just randomnly, said "leaving broccoli... a vegetable" (complete with the pause for effect), which was a quote from IceAge 3, which is one of their favorites. I could go on and on about all the times he has used quotes at totally appropriate times, but that will have to be another blog. Here are just a couple of examples of how adorable our little boy is, and we are so blessed to be his parents! Love you, Caleb Samuel!!
Also, every time we've had him sit on the potty when he wasn't in the mood, he uses the excuse that his body told him that he didn't have to go.
i have to give some props to my boy who has been running around with no pants on (except his big boy underwear) for the last 6 days, in 60 degree weather... he is actually getting it down. One time, we tried to have him stand up and pee at the regular toilet one time... when he came out of the bathroom with Steve, he said, "mom... my penis told me it didn't need to pee."
At the beginning, we had some rough times, but thankfully he's getting more and more comfortable with himself... earlier when he was sitting on the potty, he started playing with himself and he said, "mom... I'm pretending it's an elephant"!!!
Aside from the potty training, he has (well, for about a year now) been almost as good as his daddy at quoting movies. I love the randomness of it all, for example, the other night, we were riding home on the bus and Caleb just randomnly, said "leaving broccoli... a vegetable" (complete with the pause for effect), which was a quote from IceAge 3, which is one of their favorites. I could go on and on about all the times he has used quotes at totally appropriate times, but that will have to be another blog. Here are just a couple of examples of how adorable our little boy is, and we are so blessed to be his parents! Love you, Caleb Samuel!!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Yet another adorable thing that came from the mouth of our little girl
So, I know that we have blogged a lot lately about Naomi, but I think that she is just thriving here... so anyways, we have to share this one too. A couple of days ago, Naomi woke from her nap before Caleb and so Steve offered to let her watch a movie. Some of the new movies we bought for the kids have the option to be watched in Portuguese or English, so Steve asked Naomi what language she wanted to watch the movie in this time (lately we have been having the kids watch the movies in Portuguese about 5 or 6 times and then let them watch it in English to give them some words for things they weren't picking up before, then go back to Portuguese). Naomi's response to Steve was (ah, I wish you could hear the tone...) "Portuguese, Daddy... we already know English, but we need to learn Portuguese" Ahhh, she is SO my daughter :)
Friday, September 10, 2010
So, i woke up this morning to Caleb climbing and jumping all over me... a daily occurance in our home. About 10 minutes later, Naomi walked in really smiley. We have been working on staying dry through the night, so when she came in this morning we asked her if she was dry, she responded with a huge smile and said yes! As we were starting to praise her and get really excited about this victory, she stopped us and said, "but you know what I'm really excited about?... isn't today momma's birthday? Happy birthday, momma!" How darn sweet is that?!?! Made my day! I freakin' love this girl!!!
Friday, August 20, 2010
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.
Friday, August 6, 2010
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)
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)
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