Discoveries

The makings of whip cream. We blame this on Larry because soon after we got here he informed us that we had to have coffee at this particular restaurant. Not only was the food good but with the coffee came w/ this frozen cream on the top. Heavenly. Well, we did go there and we did get the coffee. No frozen cream sitting on the top for us!
But it did give us an idea. We have since kept whipped cream in the freezer waiting for our treat each
day to share with our Portuguese teacher right after lessons. It would be a crime to forget....

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Today marks the two month anniversary of the day we left for Brazil.
It doesn't seem possible.

And as we are here at this mile stone mark we find ourselves packing for the next leg of our journey. And it's hard to go.... we have come to love it here and especially the people.

Peanut begging to go along as we take off for the store.

I just missed the picture when her head was back in a full howl....

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I thought I would capture some of the things we have seen on pretty much a
daily basis or at least a regular basis, that maybe seemed strange in the beginning
but now are pretty much a part of life for us.

Warren doing a much too familiar thing - trying to communicate with someone who doesn't understand English! He was trying to find out if they had batteries at that particular store. He left not knowing. "But," he said, "I didn't see any." And he did get a few smiles from her as he tried to make the appropriate motions for batteries.....!
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I think the biggest thing that I have come to realize is that I am the very same
person here that I was in Corvallis. Maybe that sounds strange. Of course you are, you say. Well, maybe I should have known that or maybe I did but just hoped to be different.
(you know, like hoping that God would give me the gift of tongues in Portuguese!)
I mean, I want to be this dynamite person for the Lord
but instead I find myself with the same struggles,
the same insecurities and the same selfishness
that I hoped would somehow disappear along with the miles
between here and there. They didn't.

So my words of wisdom:
Don't leave for the mission field thinking you'll be different once you're there.
If anything, these things about myself that I loathe have been magnified.
(and new ones added!)
Thankfully, I have a patient, loving God! (and husband!)

The recycling guy. Usually it's done with these carts
but sometimes you do see a horse-pulled cart.
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I have also found that I love leading the ladies Bible study but that I suck at it. Yes, no kidding.
Studying is hard for me and wanting so bad to honor God's Word
sometimes feels overwhelming.
But in my weakness I did experience God covering for me. Giving me insight and scriptures that I wouldn't have had on my own. Being amazed by Him.
And week after week I realized how much I needed Him. It was worth it for that.

Our neighbor sweeping the sidewalks in front of her house.

A man mowing the grass. I hope you can see the mower. It's small and old.
However, this is not the usual. Most lawns are mowed with a lawn trimmer.
We have even seen the city guys mowing the lawn that way along big expanses of highway.

Another neighbor, across the street on the side of us. He is always outside doing work around his house or yard.
We liken him to my Dad. He must have the best kept place in the neighborhood and he does!

This is the garbage can! Their version of it anyway. The garbage men come here three times
a week. It's all gathered by hand, put in the road and then the truck comes by and
it's thrown in the truck. Nothing automatic about this.

Delivering propane. Much of the deliveries are made on motorcycles.
People also get their water jugs , take out food and groceries delivered this way.

We pretty much go to the grocery store every day or every other day. We look forward to it. We always walk. We had tried the larger grocery stores downtown. And while they may have a little bit more selection we didn't find that their prices are that much better. We liked this store. Lider is it's name. (Leader) We became known by the clerks there and though we couldn't say much we always got a smile and a few words.

And yes, Warren grocery shops too. Times have changed!

Not sure what he does with this truck but I thought it was cute and as soon
as he saw me ready to take a picture he got out and posed!

Studying for our Portuguese lesson. although we take the class together Warren is more advanced than I am. Today it was really a nightmare for me as we worked on telling time.
Oh, Jake, where are you when I need you?!

He's working on his homework. Counting and writing numbers. Don't get too smug.
It's not as easy as it looks. Unless of course you speak Portuguese!
And she checks for spelling too....

Laundry.
TaLisa is much taller than I so I am actually standing on a chair to hang up the clothes.
I will have a shorter line. You can count on it.

This has been home.
And it has been a good one.It's been a great 2 months.
What felt different and scary at first is now comforting to us.
We will miss this home and these people. But we feel the nudge to move on and besides...
the Rogers get home in 2 days and

they want their house back!

Side note: Brett, Rob, Jess and Amanda arrive on Friday and we couldn't be more excited. They will be in Foz until Tues. morning and then leave for Campo and Curtiba. From there they will go to Rio where we will meet up with them again. We are planning to stay in Rio for the month of Oct. We have return tickets to Foz on the 31st.

Please continue to pray about our visas.
Also that God will use us in Rio in spite of ourselves.

All of the pictures in today's post were taken today as we walked. That is how common of a sight it all is.