One Month Under My Belt

I have been here for one month already, sometimes it seems like more, sometimes less. Overall, my time here has been wonderful. I have made some great friends, the church is very young because of its focus on children's ministry, so there is a plethora of young guys my age and they are a very tight knit group. Italia (pictured below) is a guy that I met 5 years ago when I was here.  He's become my closest friend here and a huge encouragement to me on a daily basis. The ministry is very much the same as I remember from five years ago, yet more developed. The family that I live with is hilarious and very hospitable, and the two guys my age both speak very good English. Speaking of English, I am able to talk to a few staff members in English just enough to figure out what's going on, and my Portuguese is coming along quite nicely. Definitely still a barrier, and its obviously frustrating at times, but I feel like I am improving every day.

Communicating with people back home has been a blessing thus far. I have been able to talk with Kristy more than expected, although the internet here is very spotty which makes communication very frustrating at times. My parents are close to becoming experts of webcams and skype. I got to watch the Twins make the playoffs on TV here, while being on skype with my dad and cheering with him. I even got to watch the Vikings-Packers game with all my closest friends back home via skype. It was telecast here on ESPNBrasil, but announced in Portuguese, so during commercials I would get to visit with my friends about how bad the Vikings were killing the Pack...sorry Lance.

The Lord has for sure blessed me in my time here, and besides missing a certain someone lots, I have made a near seamless transition into Brasilian culture. They love to joke with people, they love to laugh, and they are very carefree (especially with time). Probably the most difficult thing has been trying to curb my desire to always be efficient, and waiting on people everyday for one reason or another.

Thank you for your prayers, they are very much needed as I continue to minister here in Brasil. There is definitely a battle being waged to make my time here a failure, please come beside me in prayer.

Love to all, Steve