March 4, 2008
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It is not all i have…
…And it is not enough.
i read the story of the Widow’s mite. it hits me somewhere deep. of holding in my hand all the money, possessions, whatever…and watching it slide down into the offering box. locked away from me.
and then walking away.
empty.i want to become a person who lives…not one who writes about those who live.
It was My Angel’s birthday last Saturday. She would have been 57. (i think)
“When you are desperate or even angry, there is at least a shred of hope that things might be different. a holy discontent. But despair is what happens when you are tired of being desperate.” –The New Friars by Scott Bessenecker
MUST READ BOOK. go ahead…add it to your list. you know that thing going on in the US…emerging church, fresh movement, whatever you wanna call it? Where people are LIVING the life? This book talks about some of the ministries happening when God moves these people. These people who have a holy discontent and need to go out and do something. They live with the poor. the very poor. They do not bring Jesus with them–they are Jesus to them. One girl, Heather, wrote about some of her experiences with living and working with prostitutes in the slums of Bolivia. She is my age.
so what does all this mean? to me, right now?
i dunno yet.but selling all i have, living on 2$ a day like most of the undeveloped world, and becoming a nun look pretty interesting right now.
last weekend Junior and Aninha had Dengue (Deng-ee). it is caused by a certain kind of mosquito…the ones with stripped legs. it means you get all achy all over and your bones hurt and your eyes feel like someone is jamming poles into them and you have a high fever. fun fun. So i was in charge of four hour medicine runs and cold compresses. And i tried to pray for them, but got some of the words confused and stopped after the uncontrollable laughter drowned me out. ehhh.
things seem all the same and then some things just stick out as really weird in another country. like temperature. When i took Junior’s temperature at 43C i thought nothing of it. until they told me 36C is normal. and 45C means you fry your brain. ohhhh. please pray as they recuperate this week.
With the two of them sick in bed, they were missing a song leader for church. They had this little white girl sing with a very bad accent, but it was okay, since everyone knew the words and drowned her out.
it is ironic the situations you find yourself in sometimes.
There is no such thing as a “good deal” in Brasil. you get what you pay for. i bought a cheap red rag. i used it once and now the rag is orange and the floor is red. so that is why they use old clothes for rags. now my stained shirt is a bathmat and my holey shorts are a curtian. i am getting it. eventually.
I went to buy the ticket to the US via London. and found that taxes DOUBLE the price. opps, they forgot to mention that before. oh well. Via Miami still works. hello alligators, goodbye prince William.
My English classes each week are 30 adults (in two classes) and 30 kids (in five grades). Today we just got a new student in ninth grade. His name is Igor. yes, Igor. But you pronounce it more of EE-go” i am torn between a wicked desire to act like a hunchback or say “Leggo my eggo.” poor kid. don’t worry, i will be kind.
Third grade has named my eraser Donna. it is short for Madonna. that is the name they thought of when i told them to think of an “American name.” oh dear. Jake (whiteboard marker) and Donna are quite the couple.
