Easter Traditions:

* Experience the Easter story in some form

* If you are not surrounded by family, you should be at the beach–or both

* If there are any children of any age, there should be Easter eggs hunts/dying

* Partake of communion, individually and collectively

* Grapes and hot cross buns are necessary food at Easter–preferably served on an Easter tree and early in the morning

Never miss a time to celebrate!

**

A smile is too small

I have too much to express

And too little expression

I want the words to fade away

To reach the true meaning

Deep calls out to deep

And the sound makes me weak

Mouth closed, soul awake

I did not choose this–He chose me

I desire nothing more or less

Even though Frank showed me how to make it easier to upload pictures, it still takes a while. And Rachel doesn’t want to do it again. So–here is the link to the AMAZING WONDERFUL PICTURES of the Paudalho Easter Party:

http://buildinglivingstones.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-at-living-stones-paudalho.html

The whole blog is pretty good, if I do say so myself. Grin.

Happy Good Friday! The ocean and I had a good time this morning. That is my official tradition for Easter when I am away from home and missing all my family’s wonderful traditions. God bless you as we take time to celebrate and remember the sacred story of sacrifice for us.

I want to find something different, something interesting. And I can’t think of any good websites to find it. And I am thinking that maybe I wouldn’t find it on the internet at all. I should move away from the computer screen. Slowly. Until I am far enough away to break eye contact.

Today is “Tira Dentes” day in Brazil. Happy taking out teeth day. Not really–that really is the name, but it is because of a famous guy who was a dentist-like person who stood for freedom…I am pretty sure it didn’t end well for him. It doesn’t end well for most people who end up honored with a day of celebration.

Mr.Darcy is just as bad as Disney movies for us girls. Hmmm. Us girls had a marathon Pride and Prejudice day. It was lovely. Yea for holidays where you can do nothing and not have to feel guilty about it. Six hours of old English accents and Mr.Darcy. And Lindsay’s cookies. I crocheted 12 bracelets/anklets/necklaces in that time. I am trying to learn how to crochet without looking. Perhaps while giving a speech. Don’t you think a speech would be more impressive if I was crocheting at the same time?

The Living Stones party was lovely yesterday. I will post pictures soon. One of the little boys was sitting in the front and he called me over and whispered in my ear “I have to piss.” Unfortunately, while I have heard many versions of saying “I have to go to the bathroom,” I never heard that more…crass way of putting it (in Portuguese) that this little guy said. I was thoroughly confused. So he said it a little louder. Still a blank look on my face. And a little louder. Finally, one of the older kids behind him said “He has to pee.” And so I took him to the bathroom. Funny, the vocabulary that you miss out on…

“Rio” the cartoon–you should watch it. A pretty good representation of Brazil–and some lovely Brazilian beats and songs. Fun. Cartoons should never be watched alone or without snacks.

I fly home three weeks from today. Things are going pretty well according to plans, and I feel that gnawing feeling sneaking up on me. For sure by next week I will feel it full well. The transition mode. Shut down, close up shop, and start somewhere else feeling. Not entirely healthy, but can be managed if surrounded by enough prayer. More questions than answers–which makes for more adventure.

I think…I will go jogging now.

Saturday we had the children from Living Stones Cajueiro Claro over to the Alcance for a day of futebol (soccer), basketball (I showed my skills), swimming, and hot dogs. It was an amazing day–one of those day you know the children will never forget. I won’t either.

so stinkin pale…they find it facinating.

Guess who won?

On Sunday I heard a knock at the door (on the weekends I stay in Paudalho). I asked who it was and no one answered. I called out again, thinking it was nothing, and heard a small voice say “Cesar.”

“Cesar from Living Stones?” I asked. “Yes.”

I opened the door and he gave me a big bag of pitomba and rode off on his bike.

Wow. Yeah. SOOOOOO worth it.

Things have been going well, and now I even have some pictures with me in them since Frank Penna (check out his weblog at www.fpenna.blogspot.com ) has been here and joined us in Cajueiro Claro.

(Frank and Paulo)

Frank makes our long journey even funner:)

We also had a chance to visit the children’s homes and talk to some other their mothers

Frank had some snacks, so we made a lil party one day:

But it has been rainy lately, so many days I haven’t been able to go (the trail there is pure mud. This is a picture after it was dried up–it was so deep the day before that Flavio was up to his knees in water to get through to the church. Flavio still goes…but I wimp out.)

I also had a day where I visited a friend’s school and spoke English with them…someone decided I must be famous and they asked me to sign autographs and pose for pictures…

The Paudalho church had a women’s conference on April 9th, and it was great to be a part of that, at Word of Life camp in Northeast Brazil.

The services on Friday nights in Cajueiro Claro continue to be a blessing–and are growing!

Sara and I–one of the our volunteers for Living Stones. And yes, I got sunburnt again.

More pictures and information to come about our awesome Saturday trip with the kids from Cajueiro Claro…

Yesterday Marcio got in the back of the Kombe I was riding. With his purple “Justin Beiber” bangs (well, trying…) and his new piercing, he is one of the older boys from Living Stones in Paudalho; 15 or 16. He and I go way back, starting with him always wearing a hat, and I always pretending to take it off. But one day, I actually did–and he hated me for it. I saw why at once–his hair was in awful condition and everyone laughed. How he now manages “bangs” peeking out of his hat, I do not know. But he refused to talk to me for months. By the time I had left, we had a timid agreement not to bother the other much–but he did give me a smile and handshake when I left.

Yesterday Marcio and I had the longest conversation we’ve ever had–being a couple sentences–where I invited him to our Easter celebration for the Living Stones. He responded in his shy, “I have to be cool” way, but I think he will come.

Today on the Kombe I saw Gerson, who is going to be a father next month–with Alexandria (I shared about her awhile ago). He updated me on the baby and told me how he was working hard at the Feira. He found 14$R on the street yesterday, and took it home to Alexandria to buy baby things. She is living with his family now, instead of in abandoned houses. He cannot be more than 15 years old. I also invited him to our Easter celebration.

Gerson’s older brother, Gilmar, who helped us out and laughed his way around roasting s’mores at the January party for Jesus, had run away from Juvenile in Recife, after being arrested for selling drugs. He was picked up again and will serve at least another year.

On the corner of the street where I live, I saw Eduardo asking for money. He looked up at me, with shame in his eyes. I moved in and gave him a quick hug, said I was happy to see him, and invited him to our Easter celebration. He seemed unresponsive, so I moved on until he stopped me, looked up with a smile, and said, “When is the Easter party again?” I hope he will come. Patricia said that his aunt that he is living with, doesn’t want to have him anymore, so they are looking for a group home to take him.

These are my kids, and sometimes I feel overwhelmed because I don’t know what to do. Going back to my favorite story, “the Little Prince,” I know it might seem sacrilegious, but like the Prince and the fox, I feel responsible for what I have tamed. Living Stones has been working with these children for over 5 years. I have known many of them since 2008–and even though I have invested nothing compared to the other workers, they have claimed me and called me “Tia,” and opened their hearts and lives to me. When I pass them on the street, we have a connection, and my heart goes out to them.

Opportunities:

Please pray for our special Easter celebration (April 20th): a ritual we have had the past couple of years in Paudalho Living Stones. It is a special time–and an important one for us to connect and reach out to the children and remind them that we love them–especially now with the program being on hold. One of my dear friends has provided for the grapes and bread, but we are hoping to make little bags of chocolate for the children to take home, for as one of the children said, “We know Easter is NOT about chocolate, it is about Jesus, but it does make it just a little sweeter.”

If you would like to provide for this extra sweetness, it would be between $50-$100 (there will be over 100 children there).

For Cajueiro Claro, we have a special activity on April 16th: taking the children to the Alcance to swim, play soccer and volleyball, and relax. They hardly ever have a chance to leave their small rural community, so this is a big deal for them. A gift of $25-$50 would cover a really nice lunch for them.  

Mother’s day is also coming up, and we would like to purchase paint and dishtowels to decorate, and then put soap/lotion in and tie with a bow for the children to give to their mothers. This Mother’s day project will cost between $100-$150 for both Paudalho and Cajueiro Claro.

But mostly, please just keep these children and these activities in your prayers. Thank you!

I think I have always liked teaching. I used to make my dog sit and listen to me teach when I was little. Really. I think we have pictures. Teaching is passing on something to someone else. Because life is too short to keep the good stuff to yourself. It is meant to be shared. Woof.

I started teaching–or at least helping–in sunday school when I was 12. My mom did a teaching class for all of my friends. It was scary stuff. It was then I found my love of props. Something, anything–so that if I lost my train of thought, I could at least stare at whatever was in my hand in contemplative silence until I got my thoughts back…and no one would know better.

The first time I was really teaching on my own was in a rough part of Naptown. We were doing VBS in an overgrown parking lot. The verse we all learned was “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” I was the only one there who knew the lesson. It was me or nothing. I had information in my hands that was good stuff, and I knew it. It was exhilarating.

Move on to being a Junior in high school. Being homeschooled had its benefits, and I had mine teaching at an alternative school when I was 16. Teaching there opened a new door to me–questions. They had so many! And I didn’t have the answers. But I also learned how we could find the answers together. Teaching is discovery–for the teacher as well.

At 19, I met this place called the Good News Ministries Youth Center. We go way back. Teaching, counseling, tutoring, riding in the car, mentoring, checking in, visiting homes, calling–all the way to visiting in jail or the hospital, going to funerals of loved ones, getting midnight emergency calls–Being a teacher means wearing many hats. I learned something of the dedication and perseverance that real teaching requires. It is outside the classroom as well. And just about anywhere can be a classroom. I learned to let go of the titles and embrace the lifestyle of teaching. And learning.

I began a love affair with a country when I was 21. Brazil. And quess what people in Brazil want to do–in fact, it helps them get a better job and more opportunities? Speak English. So Rachel, the horrible speller, who had to read “Grammar for Dummies” (I kid you not. It is on my shelf), became an English teacher. And the beautiful Brazilian people taught me that teaching is mutual. It is a two way street. Because there is nothing like being in another country to show you that you have a lot to learn.

Last year, this group called Supercamp took it all to a new level. Yes, because it is SUPER. Thank you for asking. The best teachers from all over the United States learning state of the art teaching methods and strategies. It blows my mind. I look at them in awe. REALLY. And in a funny story I stumbled into an interview with them–and was accepted. They showed me the ART of teaching. They provided me with tools and then said “Hey, go for it–we believe in you.” I learned I had what it takes. I felt the feeling of “Man, I nailed that–I taught/presented/facilitated that the best I could–and it was GOOD.”

It has been a long time coming, but today was another big day for teaching and I. And really–it took every lesson I had learned before to get to this point. At Cajueiro Claro, the kids were going to start practicing a mime presentation for Easter. But when asked about Easter–they could not give one soild answer–not even something like “Chocolate.” Nothing. Raissa and I agreed we needed to have an Easter explanation lesson.

My very special family (Thanks Aunt Robin and Uncle Roger!) provided me with an attic (grandma Coombs) gift before I left–it is a dozen plastic eggs–each with a little “part” of the Easter story in them. I printed out the verses in Portuguese and put them in their respective egg. And today, I taught a class in Portuguese. I must explain that these children are A.D.D., live outside most of their lives, hardly ever wear shoes, and don’t sit still. Let alone for a 12 part story.

It was amazing. And a God thing miracle as well. Everything came together. I have been in Brazil for over three years now, but it has just been these last couple months that i’ve really been able to communicate from my heart without stumbling over my words and sending the children to one of the other workers to understand the “important stuff” better. At the end of the class I could see the connections the children were making: “So that is why we sing about resurrection in that song!” “So that is why it is called Good Friday…” When I asked “So what does Easter mean?” at the end–every child had an answer. And it wasn’t “Chocolate.”

I just recently found out that I will be getting another opportunity with Supercamp this summer: in Hong Kong. I will be teaching there this July. Teaching opens doors. And not just for the student.

So I got this e-mail saying that since I had a good GPA and so forth, I could apply for doing the commencement speech at graduation. For like 7,000 IUPUI students and family members. And I thought to myself…what would I say to all those people? And then I wrote it down and sent it in. And forgot about it.

Just got an e-mail: they want a final interview–I have been chosen as a finalist! Yea! Boo! So I explained I was…slightly out of the country. Awww. Apparently, that means I can’t do it. They don’t think that speech classes and interviews and meetings and whatnot can be done over skype. Too bad, so sad. Actually…this sorta means all the fun without the work–I get to bask in the glow of being chosen, without having to really do anything about it. So that is fine with me.

While I may not have such a big audience…here’s the speech–for you–the important audience. I really am excited out of my socks to have graduated. It has meant so much to me. And it is pretty neat that it is working out that I will be able to go to the ceremony. Hope to see you there: May 15, 3:30pm at…opps. I don’t know where. But somewhere. I will tell you later.

*

“You are 67% normal” says the Facebook test.  Apparently, not everyone agrees with me that life as we know it would be better with ice cream.  I laugh when I say this now, but it wasn’t always like that. I used to want to score 100. There was a way that things were supposed to be done, and I was going to follow it. And then God laughed.

Most of us have heard of “the plan:” Go to school. Get good grades. Turn 18. Go to college and four years later sit in this room and feel really good about it being over. It didn’t work that way for me. In fact, it didn’t work that way for at least 40% of the students here (http://imir.iupui.edu/). Life happens. You learn things. The plan changes.

For those of you who have worked hard and completed your degree in four years—a hearty congratulations. I am sure in that in those years you have found ways to break out of your own normal and grow into a bigger person. As Whoopi Goldburg said, “Normal is nothing more than a cycle on the washing machine.”

To those who might have taken the scenic view on the road through college, congratulations as well. After nine years, four different colleges in two different countries, with various credits in various subjects all over the board, I came to IUPUI and put all my cards on the table. And the kind people in the General Studies office helped me put together a new plan: to finish.

They helped me write a new definition of normal that fit me. A finisher. An achiever of my objectives. We are all here today, united by this new definition—the one that says it is normal for me to attain my goals and celebrate a job well done. Congratulations.

Like all good lessons in life, they are meant to be applied liberally and eaten with ice cream. My journey required learning that being 67% normal was just a number, and that I was in charge of writing my own definition of normal. The challenge today is being able to take the definitions we have written about ourselves, about what our normal is, and take that out into the world with us. Good luck.

Someone told me that if it is worth doing, it is worth celebrating. We have done it, and so now let us celebrate. Life doesn’t always give us opportunities to stop and enjoy what we have done—it is a decision we have to make to take the time to do. But today we have our moment with Pomp and Circumstance. Remember it, treasure it, repeat it. Often.

*

I hated cold showers. Never, ever, ever took them growing up. Hot showers are so nice. Baths are even better. And then Brazil. To tell the truth, I think it was the only part of the “missionary” thing where I really felt like I was ”suffering for Jesus.”

Half the time I took cold showers in Brazil because you have to turn on a switch to make it hot. I either couldn’t figure it out (and was too stubborn to ask), or scared that it would shock me. It only takes a few good electric shocks to NOT want to go anywhere that might cause another one. Showers in Brazil have one knob. If you have a hot water heater thingy, you normally have a choice: water pressure, or heat.

The hot water heater thingy in Brazilian showers consists of a big bulb-like thing on the showerhead. It looms there above you, with various wires going various places. And yes, it is run on electricity. I have not figured out the logic in this yet.

When I lived at the Alcance, my hot water heater thingy died, and kept dying every time we got it fixed. So I said what the heck. Rachel is a happy person if she starts her day off right. Starting her day off right includes a shower. But since I only liked taking cold showers if I was hot and sweaty–that meant I had to wake up and go jogging every morning. Hmmm.

It turned out to be the best thing ever. I think my body is officially addicted to the endorphines, because I am hooked–I love jogging. And all because of cold showers. Now I have to go and find something else that is “suffering for Jesus.” MAN.