26 more hours...
Greetings from Atibaia, Brazil! Wow, time flies.
Last night was my last class at PIBA--our last trumpet section rehearsal. Everyone in the church has been getting ready for their performance of David Clydesdale's Evidence of Grace, which will be next weekend. The trumpet section has a particular amount of comraderie and they've been arranging their own sectional rehearsals at night, which I've been attending and helping out in (my boss plays first trumpet). It was so rewarding last night when we finished by standing up and performing with excellence the final number of the "cantata," the piece we worked hardest on. It was so wonderful! I feel so honored to have been able to participate in this endeavor--it really is amazing the level of playing and musicianship that is emerging from such a randomly assorted group of Brazilians, for the glory of God alone!
Wednesday night, we had a little slumber party at my apartment with Micheli, Ana, and Katia! I made pasta (Italian style with lots of fresh garlic) and we watched a movie. Sometimes I just have to sit back and realize how amazing it is that I have such wonderful friends here who are so loving and accepting, even if I can't speak their language very well and have a thick accent. The other day, I was trying to tell someone that my friend Ana was born in Brazil and lived in Atibaia with her parents, but I mixed up the word for "live" (morar) and the word for "die" (morrir) and instead I said that she was born in Brazil and died in Atibaia. Ana was sitting right next to me and when everyone started rolling on the floor laughing, I knew I'd said something wrong!
I mean, I think about how sometimes in the US people who can't speak English very well are looked down upon or treated as less intelligent, but here, I have only found love and encouragement. What an example! And what a blessing from God! Really, I was mentally prepared that this past month and a half could have been the worst 6 weeks of my life, but instead, it has been the best 6 weeks. Even now, I'm still finding out about things that God used me to do here that I didn't even know about when they were happening. God is SO amazing--He just takes one person's willingness to obey and that's all He needs!
Please pray for these last few hours here, that I'll be able to finish all the loose ends and be packed and ready to go meet the group from BRCC at 8pm tomorrow night. In case I can't update the blog again before I leave, the BRCC group has a different blog site that I'll be updating from the road: brccbrazil.blogspot.com There are 60 people coming from my church in Boca (Boca Raton Community Church), which will be divided into 3 groups once they arrive in São Paulo tomorrow. I am part of the Blue team, which is headed for Campinas for a week to do a Vacation Bible School for an orphanage there, and then to Vitoria for another week, doing the same type of thing. All 3 groups will meet back in Rio de Janeiro for the last few days before returning to the US on August 1st. Please continue to pray for us--that the people from BRCC will adjust to the culture well, that everyone will stay safe and healthy, and most of all that God would use us here in Brazil!
Hugs!!
--Joy
Last night was my last class at PIBA--our last trumpet section rehearsal. Everyone in the church has been getting ready for their performance of David Clydesdale's Evidence of Grace, which will be next weekend. The trumpet section has a particular amount of comraderie and they've been arranging their own sectional rehearsals at night, which I've been attending and helping out in (my boss plays first trumpet). It was so rewarding last night when we finished by standing up and performing with excellence the final number of the "cantata," the piece we worked hardest on. It was so wonderful! I feel so honored to have been able to participate in this endeavor--it really is amazing the level of playing and musicianship that is emerging from such a randomly assorted group of Brazilians, for the glory of God alone!
Wednesday night, we had a little slumber party at my apartment with Micheli, Ana, and Katia! I made pasta (Italian style with lots of fresh garlic) and we watched a movie. Sometimes I just have to sit back and realize how amazing it is that I have such wonderful friends here who are so loving and accepting, even if I can't speak their language very well and have a thick accent. The other day, I was trying to tell someone that my friend Ana was born in Brazil and lived in Atibaia with her parents, but I mixed up the word for "live" (morar) and the word for "die" (morrir) and instead I said that she was born in Brazil and died in Atibaia. Ana was sitting right next to me and when everyone started rolling on the floor laughing, I knew I'd said something wrong!
I mean, I think about how sometimes in the US people who can't speak English very well are looked down upon or treated as less intelligent, but here, I have only found love and encouragement. What an example! And what a blessing from God! Really, I was mentally prepared that this past month and a half could have been the worst 6 weeks of my life, but instead, it has been the best 6 weeks. Even now, I'm still finding out about things that God used me to do here that I didn't even know about when they were happening. God is SO amazing--He just takes one person's willingness to obey and that's all He needs!
Please pray for these last few hours here, that I'll be able to finish all the loose ends and be packed and ready to go meet the group from BRCC at 8pm tomorrow night. In case I can't update the blog again before I leave, the BRCC group has a different blog site that I'll be updating from the road: brccbrazil.blogspot.com There are 60 people coming from my church in Boca (Boca Raton Community Church), which will be divided into 3 groups once they arrive in São Paulo tomorrow. I am part of the Blue team, which is headed for Campinas for a week to do a Vacation Bible School for an orphanage there, and then to Vitoria for another week, doing the same type of thing. All 3 groups will meet back in Rio de Janeiro for the last few days before returning to the US on August 1st. Please continue to pray for us--that the people from BRCC will adjust to the culture well, that everyone will stay safe and healthy, and most of all that God would use us here in Brazil!
Hugs!!
--Joy
posted by Joy | 3:08 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home