More from the other side...

I'm going to share some stories about Free Flight, the youth centre/mission that Jake and I visited in Aguas Lindas.

Adenaide in the padaria (bakery)

 Adenaide came to Free Flight desiring to learn the art of sewing.  When she heard that God had given the association money to start a padaria (bakery), she begged the staff to let her and her son be trained as bakers.  Now they are the ones who run it, and what a fine job she does.

Showing off her oven

  Another one of her children, a daughter, is deaf and mute, but now she is coming to the mission to attend the sewing class.  She will not only have gained a skill, but also a means of supporting herself where her disability would otherwise limit her options.

Adenaide's daughter is in red

Nyce works at the ice cream shop (which also sells the baked goods).  She makes the ice cream right on site, and sells it by scoop, in cones, or by the bucket.  Jake and I actually got to go with a staff member to deliver the delicious ice cream to one of the small little shops in Aguas Lindas, where they would not necessarily have the capabilities of making it like Free Flight does.

Nyce, proudly displaying the equipment she uses to make ice cream.  Being of small stature, she's had to build muscle to heft the 20lbs worth of ice cream every day.

 The day we arrived at Free Flight, I thought I recognized her.  It turns out, she was one of my students when I taught ESL there!  She was only 16 years old at that time, but we're both married now, and she's been able to get a job at the ice cream shop due to her connections with Free Flight.  She still takes classes when she's not working at the shop.

Former teacher and student reunited

Free Flight is blessed by having the income from the bakery and the ice cream shop, but they are also blessing others by giving them a 'hand up' and literally working with the community to improve quality of life.  Not only do they educate the mind, but they also minister to the soul, and that's the only way to touch someone with the power of Jesus Christ!

Love,
Ashleigh

Let It Go...

One of the hardest things about being a teacher, for me at least, is learning how to learn.  Ironic, isn't it? I expect such perfection from myself, especially in the classroom, and don't give myself any breathing room.

Tonight was one of those nights.  The lesson that I had prepared turned out to be much more difficult for the students than either Jake or myself had anticipated.  I started holding tension, was getting frustrated with a student, started taking over the class i.e. wasn't letting Jake do anything in an attempt to gain control of the situation.

When the class ended, I let out a whoosh of a breath, and started being negative with myself.

I'm a terrible teacher.
They didn't learn anything.
How did I not anticipate that?
Why was the handout so difficult?! 

I need to just let it go.  There was enough information there that they will take away something, even if it's one word.

Plus, now I can prepare better for next week's class.

Love,
Ashleigh

Cannelloni and Some Updates...

The cottage cheese here is more like ricotta, and so much cheaper! 

Mozzarella first, then the filling

All rolled up!

Perfectly delicious and filling cannelloni!

As you can see, lunch today was delightful.  Both Jake and I agreed that this was the best meal I've made since getting here.  I think I'm getting the hang of cooking in our tiny little 'kitchen'.

I was a little bit lax on the blogs last week, and I know some of you were waiting for me to fill you in on our lives down here.  Last week was quite an emotional one, filled with ups and downs of adjusting to various things.  I'm happy to say that this week has gotten off to a wonderful start, including planning our ESL lessons a day in advance.  This has helped to alleviate much of the stress that I felt last week.  Thanks for your prayers!

Jake and I had the chance to visit Joyce Hancock, a missionary with CBM, and Free Flight Association, where I was teaching ESL when I lived in Brazil 6 years ago.  It was a blessing to see all the things that God has been doing there, including providing enough finances for there to be a bakery and ice cream shop.  (I'm sad that I forgot to get a picture of us with Joyce!)

The weekend seemed to fly by, and before we knew it, we were back in Anapolis looking forward to our fourth week here.  I'm glad, though, that Jake was able to see a different part of Brazil.  It was so good to visit and be with some of my friends that I've been missing for so long, including these beautiful ladies:

From L to R: Gisele, Soraia, Lilihanna, Jorcina (she's expecting her first baby in February!)

On Friday, we had to say goodbye to the Bacheller's, who we've been working with closely since we got here.  Ben and Becky flew home to the States on Saturday night, where they'll stay for a couple of months.  

From L to R: Caleb with the kitties, Leo and Cleo, baby David, and Samuel

We've been missing them this week, and things have been especially quiet around here.  Thankfully we have their dog, Nina, to look after and keep us company:

Nina (on the right), and her mom Nega

Anyways, that's about it for now.  Hope everyone is having a blessed day!

Love,

Ashleigh

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Last week was the exception.  We had just arrived, it's Jake's first visit, so why not consume greasy pasteis, and have ice cream and chocolate every day? (Don't worry, it didn't happen every day!)

Now it's time to straighten out again, before the bad habits take over. 

The difficulty is that I, who considered myself to be quite proficient in the kitchen, have completely left my recipe ideas back home.  In Canada.  In my mind, it's as if we moved to a different planet.

Granted, there are quite a few things you can't find here (including some of the natural/vegan type foods I was accustomed to buying).  For the most part, however, you can find a 'natural' section in the grocery store.   I was happy to find some ground flaxseeds to help keep me, um, regular.  Praise the Lord for that!

My customary way to do things was to plan the recipes for the week, then do grocery shopping with that in mind.  Perhaps I should get back to doing that again.  I think it might help me focus.

Love,

Ashleigh

Days Like Today...

You expect to have everything in order by the day you begin teaching a class.

You plan everything as best you can.

You organize your notes and ideas.

You dialogue and mull things over with fellow teachers. 

And yet you still can't agree on how best to draw a "running" stick figure...

Days like this are best filed under the category 

"TRIAL AND ERROR"

Until next time,

Ashleigh

In the Stillness...

The busyness of this trip has yet to come.  Amidst the prep for our ESL classes, there are pockets of time like the one I'm in now, sitting on our little porch with the birds calling to their mates, the clothes on the line gently swaying in the breeze, and thoughts of last night's sermon echoing through my head.  

Experiencing church in Portuguese was a bit harder than I remember.  It's difficult when you so desperately want to be fed God's Word, and yet the language barrier holds fast.  A typical Sunday in for evangelical Brazilians usually begins with Sunday School at 9:30am, then the main church service at 7pm.  Last night, I prayed that God would enable me to understand, not only for my sake, but also for Jake's.  I was grateful, for what I did understand was absolutely something I needed to hear.  

The pastor was preaching about the four types of soil.  You know how it goes, the farmer sows the seed on the rocky ground, the shallow ground (where the seeds grow but have no roots), the thorny ground, and finally the good soil, where the seeds not only grow, but also produce fruit.  

I feel like I've been stuck in the thorny ground for a bit.  That's the one where the Word of God becomes choked out by the cares and worries of this world.  How can I produce any fruit when I let the thorns choke out the words of life?  

One thing the pastor reminded me of is this:  

Don't worry about anything, but pray about EVERYTHING.  (Phillippians 4:6,7)

I'm so thankful for some time to meditate and think about that this morning.

Love,

Ashleigh

P.S.  Happy thanksgiving to all my friends and family in Canada!!  Jake and I talked about doing a mini thanksgiving here...we'll see what we come up with.

P.P.S. You might notice the new poster to the right of this post.  I've been following the blog of this wife and mom, Sarah Bessey, and she has the opportunity to go to Haiti with a team of fellow bloggers to experience life there and share the stories of people who would otherwise not be heard.  Please feel free to click on the picture and check it out.

Things Jake Says...

(Just a normal day, chit-chatting...)

J: A chicken wing just floated through my head and I wanna know why.  (pause) And if there are others. (pause) Maybe it was just a lone one.

A: You're so weird!!

J: Doesn't that ever happen to you? Isn't your brain a subspace highway for transient chicken wings?

~August 24/12

>::<

(After commenting on how stiff and sore his back was after falling into a hole...)

J: My dear, I think you married a pencil.  I'm useful with words, but I don't bend.

~October 4/12

>::<

'nuff said...I love the guy!

Love,

Ashleigh

A Kitten Story...

The precious little kittens in this picture deserve their own blog today.  The Bacheller's just got them last week, and something happened to them on Monday, a day after we arrived.  No one could figure out if they had eaten poison or if one of the children had squeezed them too hard, but it looked as if their nervous system was shot.  Their entire bodies were shaking, and their legs were so out of control they could barely walk.  Ben and Becky were pretty upset about it, and he took them to the vet to see if anything could be done.  They were given an anti-inflammatory, but the vet said if that didn't work within 24 hours, it might be for the best if they were put down.  

Everyone was so sad, and we prayed that God would heal them.  Within the 24 hour period, they were chasing each other again, albeit with some shakes still, but everything was basically back to normal.  

We often forget that God orchestrates everything perfectly, even in our day-to-day mundane activities, or the lives of small kittens.  He is faithful in the small things.

>::<

We went to our Wednesday church to do English level testing last night.  I was not prepared at all for the amount of people that showed up.  There were 24 people initially, yet when we were finished the testing, we had counted close to 50 people!  It's really great, because some of these people  could never have afforded the cost of a regular English-learning school.  Through the church, they only have to pay around $5 a month to learn or improve their skill.  The majority of people were definite beginners (they couldn't speak any English at all), and then there were about 7 intermediates and 3 advanced.  

In order to place them at the correct level, I printed off an basic intermediate multiple choice test with 10 questions (the written part), and then conducted a short 'interview' with questions like:

1. Tell me about your family.
2. Do you serve in your church? If so, how?
3. What do you like about missions?
4. Why do you want to learn English?

These questions gave me enough of a guage to judge their level of comfortability with the language.  If we had to speak Portuguese during the interview, I would only ask them questions 1 and 4, just to get an idea of who they are.  

I really enjoyed hearing their stories of why they want to learn English.  Many of their reasons included travel, to gain knowledge, or to connect with family or friends in the US.   One woman told me it was simply because she loves the sound of English (and she loves the accent of English-speakers who speak Portuguese-that made me happy!).  One of the oldest women there (I'd guess her to be around in her 60's or 70's) told me her grandsons in the US don't even want to speak Portuguese, so she wants to learn English in order to have some semblance of a relationship with them.  

Both Jake and I were really encouraged, and he told me he's really excited about teaching ESL now, especially after hearing why people want to learn.  

So far, we will be teaching classes on Tues, Wed, and Thurs evenings, and possibly Sunday School once or twice a month.  All the classes are starting next week.  

That's all for now...Jake and I are headed to the shopping centre to buy some eggs.  Ministerio OASIS didn't have any free-range eggs left for us when we were there yesterday.

Boa tarde!

Love,
Ashleigh

Tranquilidade...

Today Jake and I went to Ministerio OASIS, the part of the Brazilian missions agency MAEB which cares for missionaries and pastors who are burned out or in need of counseling. They have chapel services, a swimming pool, and massage therapy, not to mention the prime location. It's situated just outside of Anapolis, and the countryside is a perfect place for the soul to mend and heal.  The other part of MAEB includes the preparing and sending of missionaries, and it's in it's beginning stages in the adjacent property to OASIS.

It was good to come out here today, to see the properties, meet the staff, and better understand the facets of ministry we're working with. We don't actually start teaching until next week. Part of our teaching, though, is to promote MAEB to our students, so that they know who to contact if they feel God calling them to do missions.

(Just for clarity's sake, we're with TEAM (The Evangelical Mission Alliance) , and MAEB is the Brazilian equivalent.)

Suffice it to say, we've been learning a lot about how Brazilians are caring for Brazilians, and learning how to work with people who have different giftings from ourselves.  God is doing a good work here.

Jake also discovered the tranquility of this Spirit-filled place...as pictured below.

Love,
Ashleigh

Happy...

Among other things, I went for a run today with Becky and two of her little ones.  Can I just say, I'm grateful for the freedom to run? Everyone kinda looked at us funny, apparently they don't have double strollers in Brazil (or the ones they have are super expensive).  It was nice to have a chance to get to know her a little bit better.

I think I may have mentioned that I was a little bit nervous about coming to Brazil, especially because their food isn't the healthiest.  Even in the short amount of time that we've been living here, I've learned that it is possible to find better options.  The family that we're living with made beans and rice with brown rice today, so I took that as a good sign.

Love,
Ashleigh