days nineteen & twenty: a little bit o' random. :)

SUNDAY:: a day of worship. and learning. and peace. and hope. and smiles. and piano playing??? i was between sunday school and church this morning when Cal approached me and asked if i'd be interested in playing piano for the service. i chuckled and asked if he was interested in having me play (i wasn't about to volunteer wholeheartedly if it was just a kind gesture!!!). he smiled and answered yes. i headed to the piano with him as he told me the songs and about when i'd be playing them. HOWEVER... i had no idea that "announcements" would last 15 minutes and that i wouldn't know when they were done. so i sat there patiently, wearing a little smile while the church service went on and on. :) HOWEVER (again), i caught a comical announcement in Portuguese!!! when people laughed, i knew just why they were laughing and i could legitimately laugh along!!! :) anyway, we sang the battle hymn of the republic. that's a fast song in english anyway! so, i started off a little slower, but the song leaders took off, so i followed like a good accompanist! :) and sure enough, they couldn't sing all the words fast enough! :)

during the service, i realized that if i listened to Portuguese everyday, i'd learn a considerable amount! praise the Lord for two years of French in high school and a blessed semester (+ two weeks) of Greek in college... i could translate almost every word on the power point during sunday school! i wish i had more of a chance to learn... but i guess those opportunities won't come unless i look!!!

sunday afternoon brought lunch with friends, homework (yes, i do schoolwork!), and skyping my parents and grandparents and brothers. :)

MONDAY:: i taught four lessons today. i kind of just dived in head first, but the water wasn't too cold! (unlike the gorgeous ocean water... THAT was chilly). anyway, during my third grade math lesson, we talked about Venn diagrams. :) one of my (two) third graders is an English Language Learner and english isn't even his second language. he doesn't usually say much... since i've been there, he's been quiet towards the other students and the teacher and even me (his trend all year). but today, the math lesson was simple enough (diagramming students by colors they were wearing) that he KNEW he knew the answer a few times. he readily gave the correct answer more than once and even raised his hand and volunteered information!!! :) :) :) THESE are the moments that remind teachers that all the long days and coffee are WORTH IT!!!!!!! i make it a point every day to say hi to him, to ask him about recess and to look his way until he feels me staring and he cracks a smile and a giggle (not sure why, but it works!!!) please be praying for him as this school year won't be too easy! i know the Lord can do a HUGE work in his little life and right now, i get a front row seat to see what the Lord does. :)


after school today was an ABWE field council meeting. i got to meet several other missionaries. :) we took time to pray together, and can i just say what a HUGE ENCOURAGEMENT it was to pray with believers that i barely knew but know that the God who breathed the entire universe into existence was hearing each prayer because of the blood of His Son.

"It's all because of Jesus I'm alive. It's all because the blood of Jesus Christ.

It covers me and raised this dead man's life. It's all because of Jesus."

My God is good!!! :)

tonight, Krisanna and i headed to the mall :) that's one of a handful of places we can make it by ourselves. :) i found an ADORABLE dress for summer weddings! and i was ECSTATIC about going to KFC tonight to get biscuits. i LOVE their biscuits. that's all i usually get. :) however... they don't have those here. so i settled for BK chicken fries and BBQ sauce and fries and one ketchup packet and a coke :) :) :) and then i got yelled at in Portuguese at the grocery store! haha

tonight brings more lesson plans and reflection on God's love and grace. i am so blessed. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)