Merry Christmas!

"Buy a present for your
favorite person: YOU."

This cell phone commercial, seen in the window of Home Hardware, made me sad. Even Christmas, the time to give and focus on others as we remember Christ's birth, becomes yet another excuse to spend money on ourselves. Why must we be so selfish? They've hit the nail on the head - we do love ourselves more than we love others, and we certainly don't need advertisers to remind us of the fact or encourage us in it!

Let us focus on loving others this Christmas, on giving love and spending time with them unselfishly. Jesus told us to love others as we love ourselves. This is difficult because we love ourselves so much, and always want to put ourselves first! So let us focus on Christ and the meaning of His incarnation this season, and "consider others better than [ourselves]." As the song I learned as a child says, "Jesus and Others and You, what a wonderful way to spell 'joy.'"

May you have a joyful and Christ-centered CHRISTmas.
God bless!

My grandpa died today (Thursday), in Ontario. He was 87 years old.

I hadn't talked to my grandma in a while, and was meaning to phone her this week. My mom called me this morning to let me know my grandpa was doing quite poorly (he's been in a nursing home for a while now), so I decided to phone her this afternoon instead. He died a few hours later! My roommate phoned me at work tonight to let me know my grandma had phoned to tell me the news. I was very glad I had been able to talk to her earlier!

I'm thankful that my aunt just got there last night for Christmas holidays, and was able to see him before he died. Now she will be able to spend her Christmas much differently than planned, helping my grandma with funeral plans! Please pray for them as this will be hard, even though it was kind of expected for a while now. It's especially hard to make plans or arrangements at this time, so I don't know what they're going to do!

This is kind of hard for me as I've never been too sure of my grandpa's spiritual state. I didn't knew him super well, what with living so far away and not being nearby on furloughs either, and he didn't talk much. I pray sincerely that he made his peace with God before dying, because I really want to see him in heaven when I get there! He was never a man to share his feelings or express love very openly, so it's hard to tell from his life whether he really was born again or not. He did pray & do devotions with his wife every day, and go to church, but that doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. Sadly, there were many issues in family relationships that have caused difficulties in his kids' lives until the present, and some doubt as to his heart's condition.

Please friends, pray for my grandma and the rest of the family as they grieve and try to plan. Pray also for an uncle who's had nothing to do with his parents for decades, that perhaps this would bring him to repentance and a relationship with both his mom and Christ!

Thanks.

Churrasco!

Olá pessoal,
finalmente vou escrever um pouqinho em português! Tive um churrasco aqui em casa este domingo... foi um sucesso! Deu muito trabalho pra planejar tudo direitinho e limpar a casa, mas valeu a pena. Meu amigo Rique fez a carne, e outros trouxeram arroz, feijão, vinagrete, e salada de batata. Eu fiz pudim (que quebrou tudinho! :( mas ainda comemos) e mingau de milho branco e biscoitos de Natal, e também fiz a farofa. Foi tão gostosa... adoro essa carne cheia de alho, sal, e limão! :) É uma bênção poder compartilhar comida boa com amigos, a minha "família" brasileira aqui no Canadá! Vários vieram da cidade de Calgary, e outros são daqui da minha cidadezinha. Minha colega de quarto, a Jess, adorou mesmo que não entendeu muita coisa, e tb adorou a comida, é claro! (Como não?) Depois de almoçar, conversamos e tb tivemos um culto com hinos e um devocional. Foi uma bênção. A casa ficou meio bagunçada com 3 crianças, que tb comeram muito (especialmente os doces), mas foi divertido! Depois de todo mundo ir embora, eu e a Jess estávamos super cansadas.

Vejam a seguir as fotos da comida, dos amigos, da casa cheia, e do culto. :)

Feliz Natal, amigos!


This Sunday, the 17th, a long-awaited event came to pass! We Brazilians had a churrasco (a Brazilian barbecue which includes steaks, rice, beans, farofa, vinaigrette, strong Brazilian coffee, and pop). We also had a yummy potato salad, pudim (similar to a flan, made with the oh-so-Brazilian ingredient, sweetened condensed milk), and canjica or mingau de milho branco (a white corn pudding or porridge with coconut milk and... you guessed it... condensed milk). Oh, and LOTS of my Christmas cookies (see previous post) got eaten - mostly by the kids, who probably ate more food than anyone else! Mmmmmmm, it was so good! I really need to learn how to make meat like that.

The whole thing was Rick's idea. Originally he wanted to have one and get all the Calgary friends out here for it (since he's the one always going in there), but then I offered to have it at my house since it's bigger and we have more room, couches, a table, dishes, etc. :) So pretty much I ended up planning it, while Rick answered questions & gave ideas and bought & prepared the steaks & chicken. In all we were 17 people! A majority were Rick's relatives, plus Jess & me, plus 3 retired missionaries from here who used to be in Brazil. So it was quite the full house. With 3 kids the house looked like a hurricane had gone through it - there were toys everywhere, plus purses, bags, etc. My bed was heaped with coats, and all couches and chairs were filled with people. While I and others finished up food prep in the kitchen, I had to keep excusing myself to move from the stove to the sink to the fridge, etc. We were full. We had about as many people over for that birthday party, but that was different in that it was just snacks, not a full meal, so it was a bit easier on the kitchen space. :)



Here's a look at the food, and everyone dishing up!


The 3 kids with their mom & Jess.


Jess & Rick, Dan & Jason eat up. This was Jess' first experience with a Brazilian churrasco, and she loved it, of course!

While listening to a piano medley of
Christmas music, Jason cuddles with an Elmo toy while Rick takes a little snooze.

After eating, we chatted and then had a culto, like a little church service or small group time. We sang some Portuguese hymns - Christmas and otherwise - and then Jim led us in a Christmas devotional based on John 1, God coming to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. It was an important reminder of the true focus of Christmas time. After that, several people left to go home or to other events, and the rest of us had more coffee and mingau. It was yummy and I was thankful that it had turned out well, since it was my first attempt. (The pudim unfortunately did not - I may have taken it out too early because it completely broke apart when I tipped it out of the pan. It was a mess, but people found out about it and still wanted to eat it, because what Brazilian can resist pudim?! I just served it all out onto plates so everyone wouldn't see the lumpy blob of food. :))

Everyone was gone by 5:45, and Jess & I finished dishes & clean-up. By about 7pm we were exhausted! It was a fun experience, hosting all these people for the first time, but definitely lots of work in planning and cleaning! I was very thankful to have Jess' willing help before & during it, and very glad that she loved it, even though she couldn't understand half of what was going on! ;0) Anyway, I think I'll wait a while till the next one, or else have fewer people. It's less stressful that way. :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

"Christmas time is here..."

The same weekend as we had that big birthday bash in November, we also decorated our house up for Christmas! I took some pictures of our cute apartment to show how it looks now that it's Christmassy. Jess & I have lots of Christmas decorations & stuff, and I had the tree, so we had plenty to work with. :)


Tania & Jess pretend the wreath is mistletoe! :)


The tree goes up...

The finished house! Aw, so cute.


This Saturday I made some Christmas sugar cookies, and Jess & I decorated them ... for 2.5 hours!!! Poor Jess was so tired and wanting to go to bed, but was kind enough to keep on helping me. Tania made some too, and they were quite hilarious. She's not much of an artsy or detailed person, I don't think. :D Anyway, it made for some good laughs for me & Jess!



Please notice my cute Brazilian soccer team. :) (Tania's funny little man is just to the right of them, and her "Chelsea" ball - she's a bit of a soccer freak, hehe.) I hadn't made & decorated cookies in two years, so this was fun! Last time was when my parents were here, and Jess & another friend came over for it. So history kind of repeated itself....

happy birthday!

Today is my little sister's 21st
birthday! Yay! :)

God bless you, Jules!

birthdays

This last weekend was a nice, stay-at-home one with my roommates and other friends. Friday was Jess' birthday, and Monday was Tania's, so we had a birthday bash on Saturday night. Lots of people from the soccer teams came over, as well as some other friends. Here's the group shot:

In the afternoon my two roomies were opening their presents from each other - Tania because she couldn't wait any more (Jess had been torturing her with it!) and Jess because it was already a day late! :)



In the evening when one of our Brazilian friends came over, he happened to be wearing the same jersey as Tania had just gotten! It was quite funny. But as you can see, the name on the back is different - an Englishman and a Brazilian. :) We enjoyed a Brazilian cafezinho together.



Later everyone else came over and we played the game where you can't say certain words or you lose the tie you're wearing (I've played it with clothespins). The words were the names of the two birthday girls, and then Jess kept adding more words to the taboo list. I ended up winning, with 4, but didn't want the prize so the next person with 3 got it. (Actually, I'll confess that I said each of their names once, when talking to them, without anyone noticing! hahaha. The rest of the time I was having to say "roomie 1" or "roomie 2".)

We also played Mennonite madness, or floor pinata,

had yummy chocolate cake,
and played Twister!! I actually won that too (apparently I was on a roll! ;)), but it wasn't too hard because two people got out right at the beginning. It was fun playing that b/c it had been so long! :)
All in all, it was a fun night. We also watched "The Grinch" as that is Jess' birthday tradition. I was so tired by the end of it, but then couldn't sleep once I got to bed because of all the coffee! Aaaah. That's why I never drink it. I hate the jittery, gross feeling it gives me, and this Brazilian brew was strong. :(

finally, some pictures!

Here are pictures of my 2nd weekend in Calgary, from the evening. Three of the guys are three brothers, F, J, and A, and the other 3 cute little kids are siblings newly moved to Canada with their parents. They're so fun. The second last pic has the oldest boy with his dad, Jim. Now you can have an idea of who I've been talking about! :)

international friends

So, it seems like every time I write about something fun that I've done it's Brazil-related. I guess that's what happens when you work nights and can really only do stuff on the weekends! Last weekend I went to Calgary again, for Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening. Saturday was November 11, so for the occasion we went and watched "Flags of our Fathers," a war movie that told the true story (at least supposedly) of a famous photo from that time that was used as propaganda. It was interesting. We were a bit too close to the screen so had to lean back most of the time - the theatre was tiny and we got there kinda late. :(

On Sunday the sermon was once again very good, on Cain & Abel. For lunch we had another Brazilian party as the family that was there last week came again for lunch, a few other relatives who weren't there before came too. It was fun - rice, beans, farinha, delicious ham, and even some guarana! :) In the evening, after some shopping, my chauffeur ;) and I went to the house of the family that'd been with us at lunch. It was funny to leave them at the aunt's house, go shopping, and then meet up with them again at their house. We had pizza and talked (or listened ;)) lots. Fun times - we got back way later than we'd planned to though. I'm so blessed to have these Brazilians around, and to be able to use my Portuguese pretty much daily - either speaking it, or reading or writing emails in it. It keeps me learning. :)

On Friday two of the Calgary boys were out here on business, so we went out for lunch and talked more. It was nice. This weekend I finally stayed here, and it was very nice to just be at home and able to practice, organize my room, and get things done that I hadn't been able to during the week! Saturday evening we had a bunch of people over for a prayer meeting for a situation involving my roommates (& me a tiny bit), which I thought was an awesome idea. It was an encouragement and blessing, and fun to see people from school. Later that night 3 freshman boys were over too, so I got to meet them. They were hilarious. (Thursday night I was able to go to the futsal game too, as one of my clients wanted to go, so that was fun! I'm such a loyal fan - I went to the Calgary game, and went to the one here even though I was working! ;) There was even a little "class of 06" reunion there - about 7 of us grads! I find it so funny that so many of my class are still around.)

Sunday morning I helped out in the nursery for the first time, and it was pretty slow some of the time - 2 people to watch only 2 or 3 kids. I got to leave for the last 20 minutes of each service time though as I was being officially accepted as a member yesterday! Yay. That was special - I've never been a member of a church before.

In the evening I was able to finally go to a supper for MKs and international students at my boss' house. :) I hadn't gone to any yet so was happy for it to work out. It was just what I was needing that day - to get away from my house, see good friends, have good conversations, and meet some new ones. We had Indian cuisine, but it was waaaaay hotter than last year! I'm pretty sure it was the hottest stuff I've ever eaten. I like spicy, but only to a point! As I said to my friend, "Why do we put ourselves through this?" It sure cleaned out my sinuses, lol! The poor Japanese kids took hardly any of the hot stuff and even then could barely eat it. That's why Brazilian food is so great - seasoned well but not HOT!

Oh, and the conversation around the table at one point was about worms and deworming (especially in tropical countries). It made me laugh so much... "You know you're in an international crowd when...!" Where else would you ever have a conversation like that?! No one talks about that kind of thing! We talked about cod liver oil, weird foods we've eaten or refused to try, etc. It made my day. :D

Ok, so that's the 2-week update on my life. I wanted to write something other than a repeat of last time's "Brazilian weekend," so this weekend was filled with new and different people! :)

Christ in us, making us one

Man, I love how as Christians we can get together w/ ppl we don't even know and yet love them, have fun, and feel like family. Even though I've experienced this over & over again in my transient life, it still amazes me! How cool to have that instant connection because of the underlying common denominator of Christ in us. We automatically know quite a bit about the other person just because he/she is a Christian. How amazing of God to give us that gift of His love which enables us to love each other and be ONE in Him.

Saturday night I was able to go into Calgary to watch the school's futsal teams play against a city team. The girls did quite poorly but the boys won... after all, their games were at 10 and 11 at night, which is quite ridiculous. I had hoped to stay overnight there to hang out with Brazilian friends in Calgary that I don't see too often, and for a while on Sat. it seemed that it wasn't going to work out. The guy from Three Hills that I'd be able to get a ride back here with was going to have to work on Sunday after all (it was dependent on the weather), so I resigned myself to only going to the game & coming back really late with the teams.

After all that was planned though, I got a hold of another lady who asked what I was doing Sunday afternoon b/c she was wanting to go in to Calgary for the Brazilian party that I had been hoping to be at, and wanted someone at least to come back with her at night. So, God ended up working it out perfectly for me & I was soooo happy! :) I made so many phone calls that day, my word! I love Brazilian connections - they're so happy to help & willing to offer things, wow! But in the end I went in for the game w/ the team vans, met up w/ 2 Brazilian friends there, got a ride w/ them to the house where I (and they) were staying overnight, and was able to go to church w/ them, have lunch, hang out, meet a bunch of sweet Brazilian couples I didn't know before in the afternoon party, and then still come home at night. WOW, what a great weekend.

It was so good to catch up with one friend especially, and meet a family that just moved to Calgary a month ago (cute but hyper kids!!). (Hence the earlier paragraph about the Body of Christ.) I'm grateful for the hospitality of the family with whom I stayed, too. They're so great. It makes me happy to be becoming part of this extended Brazilian "family". I just love the culture - all the joking around, "hello" hugs from strangers and later "goodbye" hugs from new friends (I love hugs and definitely got stocked up for a bit yesterday - waaaay more than "4 hugs a day..."), hearing stories, and a chance to have a small service that night (a meditation on Psalm 126 and prayer). What with all the phone calls on Saturday and then being with them Sat. night and all day Sunday, I had quite the Portuguese-speaking weekend. Fun times... oh except for when they like mocking my "Paraense" accent (my r's and s's especially). How handy is it that my name has both in it?? So now I'm "Eshterrr." I keep trying to tell them that it's really hardly Paraense at all - b/c of being around them it's gotten so mixed up. Half the time I say something like I would in Belem, and the other half it's more Paulista or something. Argh. Even so, they mock me... I guess I should just start imitating them! ;) [sorry to those who have no clue what i'm talking about....]

As a side note, I had my first experience at Centre Street Church yesterday morning, and am happy to report that even though it's so HUGE they have a great preaching pastor and very Biblically-based messages. That's so encouraging. Both that message (on the Fall & sin, Gen. 3) & the one in our evening "small group" were so good, and came with good timing for me personally. Even so, I like my own church, where I know most of the people I see in the morning, where I can find people before or after the service, where I am known by the pastor, and where I am soon to become a member!! Yay!

Alright, that's been a long post and I'm digressing from the original point of it. So I'll quit now.
Comment!!

fun times...

Saturday night I came home from practicing to do laundry, make supper, and study for a course at my job. However, I found out that 2 Brazilian friends had come into town for a bit and ended up going out for supper with them. We made it a memorable night for those in the restaurant, and especially for our server.... First of all, the one guy talks pretty loudly for these enclosed spaces, and most likely drowns out those at tables near him. Add to this the fact that it was in Portuguese, and we end up with lots of people watching us (hopefully not glaring)! Secondly, after we got our drinks and were waiting for the food, the same guy accidentally knocked his iced tea over. I was across the table from him and saw the liquid coming my way. I shoved my chair back really quick and thankfully it missed me, going mostly on the floor. Thanks, quick reflexes! :) The poor server had to run and get us a bunch of paper towel! I found it quite hilarious, though I wouldn't have if it had actually soaked my lap. (My friend was duly apologetic.)

At the end of the meal we stayed and talked for quite a while, and I think the girls were getting impatient for us to leave (though they didn't need our table for anyone). Finally she came and got the money off the table (at that restaurant you're supposed to go pay at the till when you leave), and then came back - "Um, I don't understand...." There wasn't enough money on the tray! Ahahahahaha. Kind of awkward, but mostly funny. She didn't care too much and they added some money to cover the bill. After that she came back with the "change" which was supposed to be her tip. Weird. I guess she thought we'd leave that on the table. Oh the awkwardness of not knowing a certain restaurant's protocol.

Just before we left the boys wanted to give our server a Brazilian coin as well - apparently they do this when they eat out. So they gave it to her and that started a bit of discussion of where we were from, if we knew other Brazilians in town that she knew, etc.

And the best part is that when I got home it hit me that our server was the sister of one of my friends! I didn't realize it there but should've due to family resemblance, her voice, the Brazilian family she mentioned, her sister worked there too, etc. Now I have to tell my friend to ask her sister about her memorable night! Although then she'll remember me the next time I go there. Hmmm.....

*edit* For those of you who may know or be related to these people, try to guess who the 2 guys were! :)

from death to life: more angelic celebrations!

I just wanted to post a follow-up to my last post/prayer request. As a result of B's death, two others have been born, have found life! One of my other clients and a gentleman from another house have both trusted Jesus! All of us who knew B (her friends and family) are confident that she would be/is overjoyed to know that her life and death have had this impact. It's so awesome! Already we've seen encouraging changes at our house, and the group Fellowship time last night was also evidence of that. I'm excited to see how they'll continue to grow. This was not something that I expected to come from all this! Praise God with us, and continue to pray for others who do not know Christ, that they would understand and want to trust Him as well.

B's memorial service was last Friday. Thanks for those who prayed for the family. They seemed to be doing very well. All the siblings were able to make it & the time of tributes was amazing. I hadn't known her too well but it was obvious that all had been impacted by her joy, love and concern for others, and love for Jesus. I was challenged to be more loving to my clients, to see them as Jesus would and at the same time to treat them as I would treat Jesus, if it were Him in that situation. After all, He told us that whatever we do to "the least of these" we do to Him. It made me very sad for the times I had been impatient or unkind, rather than patient and loving, wanting the best for them. Obviously I would want that if I were in their position, and I would never treat Jesus that way!

Please let this be a challenge to you as well, in whatever situation you find yourself. Are you being Jesus to those around you, spreading His joy & love? Or what do people see when they look at you? And are you treating people as you would treat the Lord of the Universe??

God, forgive us for hurting You by our actions. Help us to see the world through Your eyes today.

the angels are rejoicing...

Yesterday when I went to work I found out that one of my clients, who I'd been supporting for just about a month, had passed away. Almost exactly a week ago she developed a cold and then pneumonia, so was taken to hospital and now passed away there.

Please pray for her family, friends, co-residents, and staff. Some of her family is far away and will have to be making important decisions; some of her friends and staff have known her for many years and this loss is hard on them. I didn't know her for very long but she was a sweet lady who loved the Lord, and loved to sing, pray, and read her Bible. I'm confident that now she is with Jesus, and for that I rejoice. We will see her again. Now she has a perfect, healthy body and mind, she can run and jump and no longer worry about a variety of health problems. It's amazing to imagine her like that! I'm sure she's loving it and wouldn't want to be back here for anything!

Please pray too for all the decisions that will have to be made by both her family and the organization as they deal with her belongings and what happens now.

Thanks friends. Aren't you glad we have the assurance of heaven? Wow, what sadness and despair there would be without it!

back for more...

whoa, two days in a row. I don't know if I can handle this....

Last night I was reading Chambers again and there was another thought near the end that fit with the last post, so I thought I'd add it.

"When once we realize that through the salvation of Jesus Christ we are made perfectly fit for God, we shall understand why Jesus Christ is so ruthless in His demands. He demands absolute rectitude from His servants, because He has put in them the very nature of God."

This is how we can be perfect as God is perfect, because Christ is in us. It is Him living that perfect life through us. So it's not impossible! :)

some thoughts from my buddy Oswald...

Last night after work I was reading that day's devotional in My Utmost for His Highest (by Oswald Chambers) and it was just so fitting for the people I'm working with now. Sometimes I struggle with really showing love to them, with being patient with them as I know I should. I wish they could do things "correctly" (according to my definition or desire), or faster or better. Sometimes I wish I could just do it for them so it'd be faster and I wouldn't have to wait around, but of course that's not the point. I have to try to help them learn to do it themselves. There's a fine line though between letting them do something to learn it and knowing when they genuinely need help with something! (Especially because some of them ask for help when I know they can do it.)

So here's what I was reading, based on Matthew 5:48's "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

"...show to the other man what God has shown to you; and God will give us ample opportunities in actual life to prove whether we are perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. To be a disciple means that we deliberately identify ourselves with God's interests in other people. 'That ye love one another; as I have loved you....'

The expression of Christian character is not good doing, but God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit Divine characteristics in your life, not good human characteristics. God's life in us expresses itself as God's life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian is that the supernatural is made natural in him by the grace of God...."
(bold mine)

WOW.... The first part is what struck me most about work - trying to be perfect in loving those I work with, actually loving them as God loves them, as God loves me! I know I fail in that a lot. Yet God is giving me many opportunities to learn to be perfect as He is! Pray that I would actually identify with God's interests for them... that sounds so hard. Not my interests or wishes, but God's, how HE would treat them were He in my place. I need to love unconditionally and unselfishly.

And the next part: I think we most often are humans trying to be godly, trying to do the right thing, to be good. But here Os says that true Christians will be displaying Divine qualities because it'll be God showing or living through us. My life should totally reflect God. I'll leave you with that today... are you a human trying to be godly or has God transformed you so that He is living through you? (see Galations 2:20 - "I no longer live but Christ lives in me.")

back to life in the hills

sorry everyone, it's been a while. I think I'm gonna give up on posting too many more pictures from Brazil, because I for sure can't document everything on here, plus I was so far behind anyway.... Maybe I'll put more on later as I have time and want to go back to my warm summer memories! :)

So, after a WONDERFUL summer, I'm back to Three Hills and living and working here. I flew from Belem on Aug. 15, traveled all day to Miami where I stayed in a hotel (thanks Mom & Dad! :)) and continued to Calgary the next day. Overall it was like 40 hours of traveling, because of the stopovers. Thankfully even though there was some confusion at first with my tickets, everything worked out and I didn't miss flights. Thanks for those that knew about it and were praying! I spent the night with Brazilian friends in Calgary, then spent 3 days with Julie before she left Olds to go study in another city. We got to go to the Torrington Gopher Hole Museum - that was so funny! I've always wanted to go there. One day I'll have to post pix from it. We even drove around finding all the gopher fire hydrants. Oh man, small-town life. How redneck can you get? :)

Since then I've been settling back into life here, with 2 roommates and a cute apartment. I'm glad to be back... I like this town that some people can't wait to get out of! I've seen some of my friends again but still have lots more to see! I'm excited. School starts on Tues. so people are getting back really soon!!! Yay! Anyway, we live rather far (in small town terms) from the stores and my job, so that's not so fun - especially when winter comes. Thankfully I have a bike. However, we may be moving again, which I DON'T look forward to because I had planned not to move again for a while, but which might be nice if we end up closer to town.

I started working this week full-time with a Christian organization that helps mentally-handicapped people. It's been really good, though somewhat trying at times, and I know I'll learn a lot from it - things that will be useful anywhere else too. I'll have to take First Aid and various other medical or dealing with confrontation courses... yikes. So far I've been having to learn and remember lots, but thankfully I haven't been too overwhelmed. Once I figure out what I'm doing for piano and theory students, I plan to move to part-time with them, since the musical stuff is what I really want to do. I may be able to get several students during the school day by teaching at school, which would be great, since it's close to me & since I need a place with a piano anyway!! It's awesome how God worked both of these jobs out - I didn't do anything! Hopefully I'll get some theory students from the college lined up soon. And for now I also plan to be accompanying for three voice recitals, but that only pays later on in the year. Maybe I'll get some more gigs that are just a one-time thing, like at a music festival or recital.

Ok, that's the general update. I did some fun things with friends last weekend, today, and hopefully Sunday I will too, but I'll try to update that once I can also post pictures of them! :))

Thanks for your prayers, friends. God has been good and faithful once again as I moved back, so I praise Him for that.

My 22nd birthday!

On June 24^th we were finally able to go do some sightseeing! Yay! I was better, thankfully, so we were able to drive downtown to the famous Ver-o-Peso market, by the river (“see the weight”). There I bought a beautiful hammock to take back with me, and was snagged by lots of guys trying to sell shirts & stuff. Here’s the hammock – like the Brazil colors? :)

Michael & I were looking for Seleção shirts (Brazil’s team shirts) – we wanted fake ones, but not extremely fake-looking ones! The ones there in the market were cheap but really ugly. So we went to a sports store across the street & there were able to buy some good-looking shirts, without the massive price tag. I wanted to get #8, Kaká, but of course they had only 6, 7, 9, 10, and 23. Neither of us wanted 9 or 10 because Ronaldo & Ronaldinho are too overdone, so we ended up both getting 7, Adriano. Here’s a picture of the 2 of us wearing them for a game the next week, against Ghana.

Mmm, coconut water! It was so nice to have one again!

Then we walked through the rest of the market – it’s way nicer now than it used to be, because everything is covered & more organized. Of course it’s still dirty tho, & I would never buy meat there! There’s everything from vegetables to crafts (baskets, pottery, paintings) to meat to lunch stands. I love these open markets – so fun! And there’s a separate fish market (mostly freshwater fish because Belém is a port city at the mouth of the Amazon) but it REEKS, of course.

This blue building with the spires is the most famous building at the market - what you always see pictures of. The fish market is inside of it, with the other stores beside it. Going around the corner you come to a lot of fishing boats & beautiful old buildings such as these (built ages ago in the Portuguese style). Looks crowded, eh? They're all stores.

From there we drove to a place called the “Mangal das Garças,” which is also by the river. It’s kinda like a reserve for these stork-like birds - some white & some red.

(It’s fairly new, so I had never been here before & neither had my fam.) There’s a restaurant, gift shop, tower, butterfly place, and a beautiful big boardwalk out over the plants to the edge of the water (here, looking under the top one, but you can see another part at the side). It was a very hot day so it was wonderful being out there in the shade & breeze! (This shows the swampish area by the river - weird tree things there.) We ate there, but just a picnic lunch that we’d brought. Mom even brought a little cake & candles for me. Awww. :)

Cute turtle!

I couldn't forgo including these beyootiful pix that I took in the buttefly place at the Mangal - actually moth, butterfly, & hummingbird place. So sweet!!

Then we drove back to the old Fort, laden with canons from centuries ago when it protected Belém. They’ve fixed this up too, and I barely remember it. Anyway, it’s a sweet place for pictures of canons, of the river, of Ver-o-Peso (which is right close by). Most of the canons are on the grass outside, closest to the river,

and there are a few above it in the wall. Inside the fort it’s kinda empty except for a couple more canons – mostly it’s just a good photo place & it’s also fun to walk on the top of the wide wall.

(taken from the Fort, where you can see Ver-o-Peso.)

Beside the fort is this other building – the House of the 11 Windows – but we didn’t really have time to go inside it. We saw the outside & the little sitting area behind it, but apparently they’ve made it into a museum. I think it used to be a hospital or something like that.

whoa... it takes waaaaaaaaay too long to put all these pix on, but that's my favorite part of blogging - showing you the stuff I'm talking about! Enjoy!