God's Grace

The other night, Sunday night to be exact, I was robbed at gunpoint. It’s not as bad as it sounds, God is good.

I had just gotten home from church and dinner with friends and was sitting outside my Brazilian Family’s home. Along with one of my friends, we were waiting to Skype my parents. While talking and waiting for my dad to get home, a stranger approached the locked gate of the house (most houses in Brazil are gated). My friend blocked my view and the first thing I thought was that this stranger was begging for money. When he slightly moved to the side is when I saw the gun in the stranger’s hand directly pointed at my friend, Guilherme. The stranger demanded we hand him our cell phones, my laptop, and my backpack (which held a couple cables and a book), to him through the slots in the gate. That’s when I saw two other men approach the other side of the gate, one of them using his jacket to cover his face so that only his eyes showed.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, us handing our things over to the stranger, s l o w l y. No sudden movements.

I think I was in shock… was this actually happening?

Thoughts rushed through my head, should I be saying something? Should I share The Gospel? Seriously…

 

I stood up and stood to the side of Guilherme, the gun still pointed in his direction.

It clicked- There was a gun pointed at my friend… my thoughts switched from talking about Jesus to “maybe I should just be quiet and do whatever they wanted.”

The man with the gun had already looked around us, looking to see if we had anything else he might want, it seemed. He walked the length of the gate with us, the other two men just a bit ahead of him. Again, this seemed to happen s l o w l y. Guilherme behind me, slightly nudging me to the front door. Before the stranger disappeared out of sight and we entered the house, I said, “Jesus loves you man.” my voice faltering. I felt like I needed to say something… 

Guilherme and I entered the home I’ve been staying, apparently our faces were something to behold. One of our friends questioned what had happened and upon hearing we had been robbed at gunpoint, exclaimed, “No, seriously?”  and immediately called his father who was just a few minutes away from arriving home.

God’s grace. Can you see it?

His protection  - in that no one was hurt. We are safe.

I am thankful I wasn’t alone and that the gun was never pointed in my direction. Thankful that Guilherme was there and lead us through the situation. I am thankful.

It is disappointing that our things were stolen. With my computer, I lost almost all of the photos I had taken with my phone when I was home in California. I lost things that I had written. Both of us lost nice phones. But I am thankful that a majority of the things I had on my computer are saved on an external hard drive.

I am thankful that all these things are just that – things.

I am thankful that I am with a family that cares for me and protects me here in Brazil. I am thankful for the church here full of friends who sympathize and pray and who offered to let me borrow their laptops (which is how I am able to write all this out now). I am thankful for parents who responded in prayer rather than fear when they heard what happened.

I am thankful.

How you can be praying:

•  Peace, for me, Guilherme, and the family I’m with
• The men that stole from us, they would come to know the love of the Father and love Him back
•   Replacement of items that were stolen
•  That God’s name would be glorified in this situation

I am so thankful for your prayers! 

2 Weeks in Brazil- God is Faithful

Just the other day marked two weeks since I've been back in Brazil. I wanted to share a little of what God has been doing, how I'm doing here, and what I've been seeing. 

Overall, I want to share with you just how faithful God is. From a stamp in my passport giving me permission to stay in the country until my visa expires (not a thing to be taken for granted) to a pile of new clothes that were simply given to me; from Jesus enabling me to speak a language not my own so that His name may be glorified, to Him speaking to my heart reminding me of my purpose and calling in life and here in Brazil as well as speaking new things, He is faithful. 

Speaking at a local church on God's heart for the nations. I was translated into Libras (the Brazilian Portuguese equivalent of Sign Language for the deaf and hard of hearing!) Such a neat opportunity... to meet another community- of people who sign- it's another language and I do have a desire to learn it! When I was a child and in high school I learned American Sign Language (ASL) and loved it, it was fun trying to communicate in Libras with the sign-language I remembered and be able to see the differences and learn new things! 

As a group and individuals, we prayed for God to speak to us a country He wanted us to sort of "adopt" in prayer. The response was beautiful.

A map full of post-it notes with names attached to them- names of Brazilian believers who are adopting the nations in prayer! 

On my way home one day I saw this and had to take a photo- a reminder that I'm in Brazil- hard to see, but the photo is of a group of men and boys playing soccer in the middle of the street in the rain. Love this.

I got to be a tourist in our big city and go to the art museum with a couple friends. It was so neat to see originals of Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso, what a treat and so much fun! The artwork was beautiful and the friends amazing! 

Brazil, your food is simply amazing. Arroz e Feijão (Rice and Beans) you are my favorite. :) 

So thankful to be here. Thankful for the familiarity. God, you are good. 

I got to skype with my daddy on his birthday- he was showing me the letter and photo I sent him via Facebook (that my mom printed out). Love him. 

A dear neighbor and friend gave this book to me right before I left. I'm so thankful for the daily devotions, God has used them to speak to my heart and bring comfort and remind me to trust Him. Thank you, Pam! 

My Brazilian family and friends and I have been trying to run/walk when we can- I am being reminded of how much I love to run (even if it does take me awhile to get motivated.... ;) The company is pretty great too! This reminded me of when I would walk with my mom and our friends and their dogs on occasion, while back home- "little" things that are so huge and important and remind us of home. God, you're awesome. :)

The church I am attending while with my Brazilian family. 

Reminders that I live in a tropical country. This a fruit known as jaca or "jack fruit"

This is the part of the jack fruit that you eat... it has a rather interesting taste. I don't dislike it, but it's not something that I think I would find myself craving. It's pretty sweet and tasty, though the texture would probably throw some people off! 

New clothes that were given to me! I'm thankful for God's provision. :)

The prayer "Our Father" that Jesus taught the disciples to pray- I'm learning it in Portuguese- "Pai Nosso"
So beautiful... it can be found in Matthew 6. 

Have Questions? I (may) have answers!

Can I be honest?

This is when you state the obvious, “Yes, but of course.”

There have been so many thoughts, emotions, feelings, and what else? STUFF. In my heart and mind these last few weeks. How do I work through it all, how do I express what’s inside for the outside to know?

It seems like so much has been a haze. A haze of misunderstanding of not “getting” what God seems to be trying to tell me, but then, like those tiny cherry bombs (you know the ones you buy in China town and then throw on the ground and they make a semi-loud noise), there seems to be tiny “explosions” in my heart, mind, and soul of revelation. But it’s still so much to process.

And that’s where part of me is at – the processing stage.

I want to write, I want to inform, I want to tell and share. Sometimes, I just don’t know where to start- or where to end.

“How was Brazil?” People ask me.

How much time do you have? How much do you want to know? Can you ask me a specific question? That helps me stay focused and saves us both time if all you wanted to know was “how was your first full-year abroad?” and I begin to tell you how my heart handled Brazil or vice versa.

So please, ask away. I actually quite enjoy answering questions. It also helps me process this whole thing myself. (Comment below or send me an email or message on Facebook). 

And if you live within driving range, let’s get together for coffee and I will tell you how good Brazilian coffee is. Seriously though, message me, email me, call me, text me; however we communicate, let’s get together.

Thanks for doing life with me.

Passionately Jesus’,

Brittaney :)

Thanksgiving in Brazil

If you’re wondering whether or not I got to celebrate an American holiday, here in Brasil, the answer is yes. I was invited over to an American/Brazilian family’s house for the evening to celebrate with them and a bunch of other Brazilians.

The best pumpkin pie I have ever had. No kidding.

FOOD!

The food was pretty much what you’d see at a typical Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, all made from scratch and appetizers such as deviled eggs. The only non-typical food was that of a Brazilian favorite- coxinhas (basically a shredded chicken mixture, rolled in dough, which is then fried- delicious, then again, what fried thing isn’t delicious?) We didn’t have the typical cranberry sauce or anything made from sweet potatoes as those things cannot be found here. Even with all the great food however, I still found myself thinking of rice and beans (only briefly, though).

My favorite part of the day however was when Ramona (another American missionary- who has been here for 30 years, more or less, and is married to a Brazilian) told us that if we wanted to, we could write out what we were thankful for on a paper leaf and hang it on the tree she had made from a branch (my mom does this!) I love stuff like this. Traditions like this where we stop and take time to reflect, together, on the goodness of God.

 

This Thanksgiving, what am I thankful for?

Praying before our meal.

1. FAMILY here and there. I’m thankful for the “family”- being defined as families and people that have adopted me and welcomed me, and of whom God has given me here in Brasil and I’m thankful for my family in the states who will always be there for me with whom I can talk to about the spectacular and mundane.

2. PORTUGUESE. Honestly, sometimes I don’t want to speak or try to understand and though, at first, I thought of it an “injustice” that we would be celebrating Thanksgiving, an American holiday, in Portuguese (I was being a bit dramatic), it was a lovely thing. Though it’s not always easy, it is a part of my life now, each day I’m learning, and not just the language itself.

Youngest and the oldest.

Love these faces!

"Britt, we haven't played football for the last 5 years." was the response I got after asking if they had continued our family "tradition" of playing (American) football every Thanksgiving.

3. This SEASON OF my LIFE- Specifically in being single. (I wrote about this same thing almost exactly a year ago...)

While at the Thanksgiving dinner, missing familiarity and family, I looked around and found myself wishing I was like the young married couple sitting across from me- wishing I had someone to hold onto and an “automatic” person with whom I could turn to or talk with.

I looked to the left of me to the family with two young kids and found myself wishing that I was even like them- with children to look after and care for. God challenged me to not look around me and wish I had something I didn't but to see the beauty and the things I could be thankful for in being single.

Once I opened my eyes, my perspective changed. I saw that I could easily insert myself into any of the conversations going on, or I could choose to be a “fly on the wall” and quietly observe all that was going on around me. I could dismiss myself easily to go Skype my family and I could be lost in my own thoughts and talk with God about them. This is a beautiful season.

~*~

It was a great Thanksgiving spent in Brazil, I would love to hear how yours was spent and what you are thankful for during this season!

Now it is time to start thinking of Christmas... ;) What are your plans?

different

For the last month and a half, since being in Brazil, I have been pondering off and on what to write “back home” about.

How do I describe what has become so “normal” to me?

Yet, at the same time, or at times, feels so incredibly foreign?

The truth is,

This is different.

Brazil                                                                            America

Food, culture, language, land, thought processes, church, people, traffic, roads, dress, houses, ways of cleaning, laundry, ways of relating, names of guitar chords…

Everything.

Yet, again at the same time, it’s not so different.

*A note on the word different- when I say “different,” I am not saying “bad.” I’m not even saying, “better” or “worse.” I am simply saying

different.               

At times these differences make me grin so wide and laugh to myself that I wonder what those around me are thinking and if they think I’m crazy.

Other times these differences overwhelm me and I begin to long, even more so, for “home,” in this case, being the place of familiarity.

So how would I describe Brazil?

One thing is for sure- a simple blog post cannot describe the intricacies of a culture I am just beginning to know and the depths of my heart and feelings in reaction to this understanding.

As I sift through these things I’m experiencing, both similar and different, I will do my best to write about them, so that hopefully you can see a bit more of this adventure we’re on together.

If you have a specific question, please don't hesitate to ask, just comment below or send me a message. :)

Where's your heart? A Change of addresses

A couple weeks ago I went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) with my mom to add her name to the title of my car. When I received the paperwork to complete, one of the questions I most dread was asked of me. Staring at me, refusing to let me bypass its glare, read the word

Address

Why do I hate this “question” so?

I hate this question because it reminds me of the unknown. It takes what I thought I had finally come to terms with and had found an answer to and reminds me of how I really don’t know the answer at all.

When you ask me my address, I immediately understand that to mean,

“Where is home for you?”

A question I've been struggling to come to terms with since my first adventure in missions when I was 16.

In the last two years, Chico had become my home, but now I was moving to Brasil… with a heavy heart I put the address of my parent’s home. Fighting back tears, I heard God speak to me,

“Brittaney, where’s your heart?”

We've heard it many times, the saying, “Home is where your heart is.” With a tinge of frustration, I answered God’s question with, “My heart is in Chico, in Brasil, and in India for that matter!”

“No, Brittaney,” God gently replied “Your heart is with me.”

My heart is with God. My home is with him.

In a world of unknowns, where nothing is constant, and where even stability is insecure, I will rest in him, my Jesus, clinging to him with all I have because he is constant, he is stable, and he never changes.

May God’s peace that surpasses all comprehension, guard your heart and your mind in our precious Christ Jesus,*

Brittaney :)

*Philippians 4:7