Christmas 2008

We had a nice Christmas Eve service. The youth put on a short program. Everyone looked sharp.

On Christmas Day, we went over to Charlie and Isabel's. We had an awesome meal and played a lot of Clue! We also watched a movie with the girls - The Christmas Card. We ended the night with a game of Monopoly...Charlie won!

On Friday night, we had the youth Christmas party at our house. They seemed to have a lot of fun eating and playing board games. It was a lot of fun to teach them how to play the gift exchange, where you have the opportunity to take somone else's present. Some of them were too nice, but they got the hang of it!

On Saturday night, we had the adult Christmas party at our house. We taught them how to play Pictionary. That was a riot! We had a lot of fun. They also learned how to play the gift exchange game. They weren't as worried about being nice. It was hilarious to see which presents were taken by other people!

All in all, it was a great Christmas! Fun was had by all!

Trip to Araras

Last week we had the opportunity to travel to Araras. We visited Leandro, Bruna, and their new baby, Kevin. Leandro is currently taking care of a work for an American missionary that is on furlough. Tim was able to preach and Charlie translated. The services went well. It was a blessing to see the work there and to see how well Leandro was doing with it.

Please pray for Leandro and his family. Their son, Kevin has had a rough time of it. When Bruna had her first ultrasound, the doctor noticed an abnormality. It was discovered that he had an opening in his stomach and some intestines were outside of the body. They monitered the pregnancy and scheduled a C-section. When Kevin was born on Nov. 6th, it was determined that he would not need surgery. The opening was small and the doctor was able to put the intestines back in and stitch up the opening. Because his iron was low, they gave him a blood transfusion. This resulted in Kevin getting a staff infection. The staff infection caused him to go into cardiac arrest. The medical staff worked for 40 minutes to resuscitate him. As a result there appears to be some brain damage and he has started having seizures. Only time will tell how extensive the brain damage is. He is on medication for the seizures. God is the Great Physician and can take care of all of these problems or choose to use them for good. Please pray that God would heal Kevin and give wisdom to the doctors and parents.

Christmas Tea

Every year there is a Christmas Tea at the church here in Formiga. We had a really good turnout this year! I'm not sure what the exact count was, but I'm pretty sure there was around 80 people there tonight. There were a lot of visitors, many of which were lost. Isabel gave the devotion. She spoke about the birth of Christ and His gift of salvation. I don't think anyone got saved, but at least they heard the Gospel. The food was great and the fellowship was fun. Here are a couple of pictures.

Doctor Visit for My Finger

Let me start off with praise the Lord everything went faster with this doctor visit and I got a good report! The doctor removed the splint and said to start physical therapy. My little finger is still discolored, fat, and stiff (it's really quite ugly)! Any attempt to bend it is quite painful! The doctor said that this is normal. So, tomorrow I start physical therapy on it and hopefully it will get back to normal quickly! At least I no longer have to bag my hand for showers! Woohoo!

Missions Conference

We had Missions Conference here from Wednesday to Sunday. Tim preached every night except Friday. Weber preached Friday night. It was exciting to see the people faithfully attend each service. On Sunday night, they took up and counted the Faith Promise. It was slightly higher than last year's. Praise the Lord!!! We also had some visitors on Sunday night. One of them indicated that they knew that they were lost. She did not get saved last night. Hopefully, she will be saved soon. On Saturday night we had an International Banquet. I somehow ended up in charge of the planning and cooking for this event. Thankfully, a few of the ladies came to help me cook. Our menu consisted of: pasta, cabbage rolls, swedish meatballs, kugilis, potato salad, carrots, salad, banana bread, pao de queijo, chocolate pudding, chocolate cake, white cake, and chocolate chip cookies. Everything turned out well. The people seemed to enjoy it too! (always a good thing!) It was a lot of fun!

Our First Thanksgiving in Brazil

Our first Thanksgiving in Brazil was quite enjoyable! We had an almost traditional meal. Isabel was able to find a turkey! Woohoo!!! The biggest one they had was 8.5 pounds, so we didn't have a lot of leftovers. I think it was the best turkey that I have ever eaten! Isabel and Nita arrived at my house between 6:30 and 7:00am and we started cooking. The green bean casserole was slightly varied. I had to make cream of mushroom soup (bring back memories Jill?) from scratch. Since you can't get french fried onions here, I added diced onions to the mix and put shoestring potatoes on top. It turned out pretty good! Isabel made mashed potatoes and gravy. I made a broccoli casserole and we had some rolls. Nita made an apple pie. The pumpkin pie was a little different. They don't have evaporated milk here, so I substituted creme de leite. It tasted the same but the texture was different. Instead of being kind of thick and heavy, it was light and fluffy! No complaints here! It was fun to spend Thanksgiving with the Nichols crew.

Class #5-6

Things are going well. We talked about ministries and relationships. One of the main aspects of both of these is to remember that everyone is different, has different opinions, and different abilities. As long as everything lines up with the Bible, it's not a problem. We need to accept people as they are and help them become what God wants them to be. Just as a sidenote - this does not mean that it is your job to go around correcting people. That comes with position or having been asked for the help. You can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped. Use the Bible as your basis for everything in life. It will never steer yoiu wrong.

For me, a lot of these things have become common sense. I must remember that I have been spoiled by Pastor Allison's preaching and Mrs. Allison's advice. Not that I know everything...who does? The girls seemed pretty interested and had plenty of questions. Some of their questions were easy to answer, some were more challenging. Either way, the class has been a lot of fun and a good reminder for me about some things. I think that that is the best part of teaching. It forces you to remember things that you may have forgotten or help you with things that you need to work on.

A Busy Week!

This week will be extremely busy. We have Missions Conference, Wednesday through Sunday. Tim and Weber are preaching it. Of course, Thanksgiving is on Thursday. On Saturday, we are having an International Banquet. I am in charge of the cooking and will be assisted by some of the ladies from church. I am looking forward to all of it. It will be a busy week and a fun one! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

What a day!

On Saturday, we were scheduled to have the youth activity at our house from 4-6pm. The day started with my normal schedule of getting up at 6:30 and heading off to the feira (open air market). After the feira, I go to the grocery store, then to the butcher. When I arrived at the grocery store, I discovered that it was closed because it was a holiday. Bummer! So, I continued on to the butcher's, hoping he would be open. Thankfully, he was. I now had enough food to get us through the weekend! Whew!!! When I got home, I started cleaning the house to get ready for the activity. As 4:00 approached, I was getting a little worried that I would not finish in time. At 3:00, I still had to clean the carport and take a shower. I started in on the carport. In case you don't know, all of the floors are tile. I was in a hurry and probably not being as careful as I should have been. As I bent over to pick up the hose and move it, I slipped and fell, landing on my rear. Initially I thought no problem. However, as I regained my bearing, I realized my right pinkie finger was bent to the side. Not good. Tim came to check it out as a surge of pain hit. I carefully moved the finger back to its rightful position and promptly iced it. Tim took over finishing the carport as I prepared to go to the hospital. After waiting an hour and a half, the doctor looked at my finger and said that I needed x-rays but would have to wait until Monday. (Remember, it's a holiday.) So they put a splint on the finger and sent me on my way.

Monday morning, I go to the place for x-rays, only to be told to come back at 1pm. When I return, there is a long line. Three and a half hours later, I finally get my finger x-rayed. Now, it's back to the hospital. After an hour wait, the doctor says the finger is broken, anf to come back to see the orthopedic doctor. We go to make the appointment and are told to come back Wednesday morning at 7am.

Wednesday morning, I show up promptly at the hospital. What do I see? Oh! It's another long line! I waited for three and a half hours before being seen. The doctor agreed it was broken but it did not need a cast. He put a new splint on it and said to come back in three weeks. Oh the joys!!!

Class #4 - Your Children

So, we've talked about having a right attitude, walking with God, and husbands. Tonight we talked about raising children. Some of you may think, but...you have none! This is true. My husband says that it means we have no bias! It does make it difficult to teach on because I must rely totally on the experiences of others and personal observation. Thankfully, the Bible says a lot about raising kids, especially disciplining them! It was an interesting class. Raising children is a tremendous responsibility and opportunity. Train your kids t0 serve God in whatever capacity He desires. Prepare them for life. Be consistent. Communicate with your child(ren). Know what is going on with them. Expect the unexpected! Enjoy your children. You only have them for a short time before they go off on their own. Love your children.

As Americans, we take many things for granted. We have every tool and resource imaginable to help us raise our kids. It's not like that everywhere. Here in Brazil, homeschooling is not an option for most people. You would have to have a teaching degree and an administration degree. The private schools are either Catholic or charismatic. Who knows what kind of junk you would learn there. The public schools have a strong Catholic influence and introduce sex education right from the start in kindergarten! Crazy! If our kids get in trouble, there are programs and girls/boys homes we can send them to for help. We have books by Godly people to give us tips. Most importantly, we have the Bible!

Class #3 - Your Husband

Wow! Can you ever learn too much about your responsibilities as a wife to your husband? My students consist of three single girls. Talk about getting them excited! They talked more last night than the previous two classes combined! They had lots of questions, some of which made me laugh, and some of which made me roll my eyes? (For example: If there is something that I want, can I ask for it? or What if my dad wants me to marry a guy that I don't like, do I have to?) It also caused me to think, is there eally no such thing as a dumb question? :) Needless to say, it was an interesting class. I can't help but think, did I think that way about marriage when I was single? Anyway...we talked about a lot of things. We covered topics such as: praying for him, loving him, supporting him, encouraging him, helping him, and the all-time favorite, submitting to him. In a nutshell, being a wife is a grave responsibility but can be a lot of fun too! The Bible has a lot to say about marriage. There are three main passages of Scripture that talk about the duties or responsibilities of the wife. They are: Proverbs 31:10-31, Ephesians 5:22-33, and Titus 2:3-5. Learning as much as you can before you are married is a big help. However, there are some things that can't be learned until you are married. There are some things that you have to learn and re-learn. Marriage is work. The more you put into it the better it will be. Prepare and be prepared for whatever may come your way. The key? Walk with God and have a right attitude. Kind of funny how everything works together!

Recipe for Bagels

Combine:
1 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

When this mixtures is 105-115 degrees Farenheit (hot to the touch, but not burning), add and dissolve for 3 minutes (take off of the stove so you don't kill the yeast)
1 pkg active dry yeast

Blend in
1 to 2 eggs
3 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Knead this soft dough about 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary to make it firm enough to handle. Let rise, covered, in a greased bowl until doubled in bulk. Punch down and roll out to a rectangular shape. Divide into 18 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 7 inches long and tapered and overlapping at the ends, to form it into a doughnut-shaped ring. Let rise, covered, on a floured board about 15 minutes. Drop rings, one at a time, into a solution of
2 quarts almost boiling water
1 Tbsp sugar

As the bagels surface, turn them over and cook about 3 minutes longer. Skim out and place on an ungreased baking sheet. coat with beaten egg white

Bake in a preheated 400 degrees Farenheit oven 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

Making Bagels

One of the foods that I have been missing since coming to Brazil is bagels. Now some of you may think that's crazy...oh well! So about a month or so ago, I saw Philadelphia cream cheese at the grocery store and thought, "Wow! I would really love to have some bagels!". So, I asked Isabel if I could buy them anywhere. She said no. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Then I thought that maybe I could try making them. None of my cookbooks had a recipe. That meant I was going to have to look on the Internet. However, before I got around to doing that, I was telling Mrs. Allison about my desire to eat bagels. She looked in one of her cookbooks, found a recipe, and e-mailed it to me. Today, I finally attempted to make the bagels. I say attempted, because I messed them up. They are still edible, just not true bagels. The problem was that I don't have much experience working with yeast. I let the liquid mixture get too hot and killed the yeast. Note for the future - don't add yeast to a boiling or almost boiling mixture! The good news is I have learned my lesson. Hopefully, the next time they'll turn out perfect!

Second Night of Class

Tonight was my second night of class. It went even better than the first. I think I'm getting back into the groove of teaching! :) Tonight we talked about having a walk with God. You can't have a successful walk with God if you aren't reading/studying your Bible, praying, staying right with Him, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. That last one is the tricky one to me. It's not something YOU do. It's something that God does in you. Without the first three things, though, number four is not possible. I'll be the first to admit that I have a lot of work to do on my walk with God. I don't think you ever perfect it, just get closer and closer to Him. There are many Godly Christians of the past (you may know of some present) that obviously walked with God. It is the only way to explain the great things that they accomplished for Him. So...how's your walk with God?

First Night of Class

The first night of class went well. I went into it thinking that I did not have nearly enough material. I was completely surprised to find out that I had too much!!! I have to revamp my strategy as I prepare for the next class. :)

Election Day

Well, here we are - Election Day. One of the most important days in our nation. Who will win? Will God show us mercy or will we, as a nation, get what we deserve? I voted absentee three weeks ago. I hope everyone has taken advantage of the privilege that we have to vote (especially if you are voting for McCain, not Obama!). I am anxious to watch the returns come in tonight. I am proud to be an American!

Teaching in the Bible Institute

Tomorrow I will teach my frst class in the Bible Institute...a ladies class, of course. When I first agreed to do this, I had the noble idea of doing it on my own, in Portuguese. Needless to say, that's not happening! There just wasn't enough time to translate the material. Though I am disappointed, plan B has been put in place. Isabel will translate for me. I look forward to the class. It will be interesting for sure!

Starting out

Alright...here goes! I'm going to try to to keep up with this. I make no promises! :) Hopefully, I will do a decent job of keeping everyone up to date on the happenings here in Formiga.