Seasons of Love

"525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life? ...measure in love" ~'Rent'

This song has so many great insights, and so many that I can currently relate to. At times is seems as though I've been here forever, and other moments, time is only a concept. Every morning comes like clockwork, the hours proceeding move like molasses, and the evening slips away like quicksand. I picture it like those movies that show time lapses each day, showing flowers opening and closing and sunrise to sunset.

We've been in Salvador for two weeks now, and it's just flown by. A single minute can be an hour, and yet, I'm finding it hard to remember all that I've done, during my stay in Brasil. My memory however, tends to come and go as it pleases. So I'm sure that it'll conveniently return while I'm recalling past events.

I'll start with the adjustment I wasn't expecting, especially living here during the "wet season". There are three showers that we’re; two of the families are, sharing. Two of which, use the water from the city, and the other get its water from the well. I experienced, for the first time in my life, running out of water. I had just started my shower, and I had to turn the faucet off and on, to get a little burst of water that was left, to wash the shampoo out of my hair. The experience really made me put in perspective the amount in which I, and others as well, take advantage of access to water. I had to think about how to prioritize my water usage. It's humorous to think about, although not so humorous at the time. I literally thought, what do I have to do first? Wash my hands, take my contacts out, and THEN if there is enough water left, flush the toilet.

Brin and I were in the mall one day looking around, and I turned to her and said "This looks like gold!" I was referring to a dishwasher of course. I've never hand washed so many dishes in my lifetime, and I think after this experience in Salvador, it'll probably be enough to count for the rest of my time on Earth. Our "kitchen" is about three feet by nine feet. This includes, a microwave, refrigerator, stove, and sink. Tonight Brin kept telling Mia to get out of the "kitchen", which was very humorous to me, because all she had to do is take two steps backward. I really like doing the dishes, when there aren’t people in the "kitchen" with me.

The phrase "Silence is Golden", is not just a phrase to me any longer. I never really felt an urge, or need, to have a "quiet time". That was almost a foreign concept to me before, but only because I always had an opportunity to be in silence. Of course we always want what we can't have. So now, I make it a goal to leave the house, once a day, and walk to the overlook. I can see the ocean from there, and the breeze helps drown out any other sounds, overwhelming thoughts even, floating around me. You would think that I could get a quiet time in my room, but even that is a hard thing to achieve. As much as I enjoy the many sounds of the culture, right out side my window, it's not always fun to hear music blasting so loud that the bass vibrates me in my sleep in early hours of the morning. Although I do look forward to the day when I'll hear a song that I've heard while living here, and smile at the memory.

God has really met me in those now treasured quiet times that I've experienced here. I was frustrated one afternoon, because I wasn't feeling that God was really listening to me, and wanting to speak to me. Even though I know that practice makes perfect, I can be impatient, and I want to hear Him when I want to hear Him, and how I want to hear Him. God likes to work in a slightly different manner, than what we expect Him to. He also knows me and my heart, and how to speak to me individually. So He's been speaking to me through my i pod and through nature. I was riding on the bus while listening to my music, and I saw a guy drumming to the beat of the song. Every song preceding the former had some relation to my experience at that moment, and I felt that God was literally talking to me and relating to me through the music. Another moment I wanted Him to show me that he was hearing me, and wanted to respond. So I asked that He would show me hearts in my surroundings. I began to see them, in the clouds, trees, water and even the sidewalk next to me. He is truly a personal God.

It's also been challenging watching and teaching the girls. However hard it may be, it also has its rewards. At first the girls did, and still maybe, put me through a testing period. I think that they're understanding more about the reason why I'm here, and respecting me more for it. I overheard Mia talking to Josh the other night, about her family, and she included me. It was so sweet! Yesterday I took the girls to the beach, instead of doing school with them. There was an understanding that, if they were really good, got along with each other, and didn't cause any trouble that morning, that they could go. When I told them that I decided to take them, Ava threw her arms around my waste and told me she loved me. That was such a huge change from how she related to me before. I received hugs and kisses, and they held my hands and trusted me. It was so nice not to be thought of, and treated like, just a teacher, but like a member of the family.

God has been very merciful and gracious to us. There have been a couple of sick times, but that didn't last long, and didn't spread to everyone in the house. He's really provided for us, and watched out for our well being. I had never really had anything stolen from me, until yesterday when I took the girls to the beach. We were swimming and I had my eye on our things the whole time. When went back to our towels, two guys told Ella, in Portuguese, that we should be careful. There was a girl that had been walking around and she looked suspicious. I wasn't really worried about it, but then when we were getting ready to go, I couldn't find my flip flops. I thought they had just been buried under the sand, but they never turned up. This really surprised me, because of the things that were there, she took my $3.00 pair of Old Navy flip flops. They weren't even new, or good looking. My purse was maybe one foot away, and even though there wasn't any thing much of value in it, she wouldn't have known that. The only bad thing that came of it, was having to walk back barefoot. I got a perspective of how people have to live without convenience of protection of their feet. It was painful, but not nearly as much pain as people experience everyday.

Salvador is the biggest African city outside of Africa. They had ten times as many slaves brought over than America. That's outside of my comprehension! There is a martial art that started here, called Capoeira. It started out being a form of fighting, but after the slave masters saw it as a threat, the slaves were forced to stop. It then was turned into a dance, in which there is no physical contact.We took a trip to the historical area of the city, and we saw the exact spot where the whipping post was. All that stood, in its place, was a stage for people to celebrate 'Carnival', which is Brasil's Martigras. As much as Salvador is such a beautiful city, there is so much pain and heaviness relating to the dark religion that is practiced here. The religion is a mix between Catholicism and Black Magic, or Witchcraft. On one of my walks around the block, I stopped at a spot where Brin had pointed out to me the night before, to take pictures. There had been some kind of sacrifice and offering taken place on the hill, down the street from our house. I felt such a weight on my back just standing there. Spiritual oppression is definitely prevalent here.We all have felt, just in these past two weeks, that God has a different purpose for us here. He didn't just take us here to learn Portuguese, home school, or clean, but something much greater that hasn't been revealed to us just yet. We might not ever find out, but we know that we are here helping further His kingdom, just like everywhere else He has put us. We are to be here now.

Back in Altamira, I'd been reading a book about 'Love Languages', just so that I could figure out what exactly mine was. If you don't know what a love language is, it is the language that translates love to you. The love languages are, physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, and acts of service. Everybody has all of them, but there are one or two that mean more to each individual. Even though I pretty much knew what mine were, they didn't really make themselves relevant to me as much as they have here. I realize that my biggest love language is physical touch. Not being able to hug my friends and family, has caused me to realize how important it is to me, and how much I really need it to be healthy and happy. This has made me even more a vulnerable person, if that is even possible. I've shared this with Brin, and she asked me if she was going to have to give me cuddle time like she gives her daughters. I laughed, but I thought it wasn't all that bad an idea! It makes me realize how much more I need God to make me feel whole again.

God has really showed His love, and promises of love, for me through flowers. I have a favorite flower, which I'm not going to say what it is, and I may or may not explain why later. I've only told a few people, that I trust, what it is. It isn't a common flower. I associate this flower with a promise between God and I, and He reveals it to me on few occasions. I've seen it more frequently here and every time I see it, it reminds me of God's great love, and His promises to me, His daughter.I'm also reading the book "Captivating". It's about how women were meant to be cherished, loved, appreciated and captivating. I'm really enjoying it, and I think God's opening my eyes up to my own life, and how broken I am. Slowly He's allowing me to trust and become fully vulnerable with myself again. He's showing me how He wants us to become like we were as children, carefree and joyful, dependant on Him alone.

Ok, enough seriousness! I'll share with you now, some sweet and silly quotes, and experiences that I had, and some that I got the pleasure of over-hearing.

*Pronunciation in Ava & Mia's World*

~"Shrorol" can mean either Cereal or Stroller
Ava asked me where the "shrorol" was, and I told her it was in the cabinet, so she proceed to open the cabinet door, and came back to me asking where it was again. I listened carefully, and realized that she was referring to the stroller.

~"Ticker" is a Sticker
"Mia, what do you have on your forehead?" I asked one day.
"A ticker!" she replied.

~"Pork-a-cheese" is another name for Portuguese
Both Ava and Mia like to use this term.
Ava says "Now you say it in English, and I'll say it in Pork-a-cheese"

~"Top" means Stop
"Top it!" Mia told me today, when she didn't like me playing with her hair.

~"Popped" means passed gas
Apparently some little boy said it once, and the word stuck.
Ava asked me today "Did you pop?"
I told her no.
She said "I think Ella popped."

The best is when Mia gives the sweetest angry face you've ever seen, and says "I's sewious!", with that little lisp she has. It takes all of me not to laugh over her cuteness, and if I do, watch out!

Here are a couple examples of their understanding of pronunciation of words.

"I's ok momma!" Mia referring to when she fell in a pile of plastic balls in a game room at the mall.

"Her's bein' mean to me!" Ava or Mia have both said from time to time.


Ella and Meredith spotted a cruise ship out by the lighthouse last week, and were talking about all the amazing qualities it most likely held.
Meredith says to Ella “I bet they don’t even have to sleep on redis!”
Ella responded “I bet you’re right!”
A redi, pronounced heggie, is a hammock, and on the boat trips, that are taken on the Xingu river, for the mission, we sleep on redis.

I caught Ella and Meredith, one of the Kubaki's daughters, acting out a scene from the TV show 'Monk'. I hadn't realized it was from the show, until I heard it stated later on in their conversation. I think they made up the script for it, but they were extremely creative, and intelligent, in what they were talking about. Also, they both can imitate great English accents, better than I can. I wouldn't expect two nine year old girls to be so knowledgeable! I'm not sure why they were using English accents, but that usually happens when this type of acting occurs. This is what I overheard them saying, outside of their script.
"I can't have a boss Meredith, I'm running for election!" Ella stated in all seriousness.

It's a real treat for me to live with three different families, and see kids from 7 month old, to 14 years old relate to each other. I love seeing the kid’s perspectives again, it reminds me of how I felt when I was their age. It gets hard to remember those things when you're outside of that perspective. It reminds me of how smart kids really are.

Welcome to Salvador! A place where unicorns exist, hospitals look like castles, and churches look like hotels. Where God is alive in nature, and meet us where we are. Where you can walk next door, literally, and get belly dancing lessons, jazz dancing lessons, or whatever your preference may be. People are really friendly here, and watch out for us. I feel safe, and covered by prayer. Thank you for your time, and all your love and prayer.