Goings on in Rio

Hello all!
Sorry I haven't updated you guys before now. I've been trying to wait for consistent internet access, but I have given up. It will come in time. My first few weeks (which have turned miraculously into over a month! Funny how quickly time flies!) in Brazil have been wonderful; I am so happy to finally be back home. After a road trip to Houston , I arrived in Rio on October 16th. My first team was a construction team from Hermitage Hills (right outside of Nashville ) Baptist Church . We, along with several Brazilians, laid block for 6 new showers (3 for men, 3 for women/children) at Igreja Batista Farol da Lapa (Lighthouse Baptist Church at Lapa), which started as a rescue mission. This church has a service for 75 homeless people every day, and following the service they receive a hot lunch and can take showers. These six new showers will make it much easier to handle the number of people who want to take a shower. We had to sift dirt to make the cement (dirt doesn’t come pre-sifted here!), and they mix the cement on the concrete floor.
On the 22nd I took a bus to Campinas , where most people come into Brazil to go through language training. My main purpose in going was to register with the Federal Police (everyone who isn’t a tourist has to do so) and test for my language level. Thanks to your prayers, my language came out at a higher level than I expected, though I will still do some formal training. I also got a crash course in Brazilian history and holidays, which was good, because now I will recognize and associate street and plaza names with historical figures and holidays. My registration with the Federal Police was easy and painless, praise God! For those of you who know a little about Brazilian culture, you know that it could have been pure insanity. I am back home in Rio , and got back just in time for Brookwood’s medical clinic (my home church). We had an amazing week in São Carlos , and I was so glad to see everyone!
One of the things that I noticed when S and I were coming over the mountain a couple of weeks ago was the abundance of offerings to spirits. They are certainly there all the time, but I think it was the man with the live chicken in his hand that really made me sit up and pay attention. I don’t know which spirit he was offering to, but some of the people here make offerings to spirits to appease them or to convince them to curse others. It’s actually a pretty complicated system, because a lot of it comes from the slaves and their African religion mixed with Catholicism (think: Haiti ), and it’s been around for so long. Please pray that these people will know the power of the one true God, who has the ability to subject all things unto Himself. Pray that they will know that He is more powerful than all of these spirits, for He created them in the beginning.
We don’t have a whole lot going on over the next couple of months (recovering from our teams and cleaning up the pharmacy), but beginning in January we will begin meeting with pastors and churches for next year’s teams. Please pray for the pastors and churches, that they will be willing and able to bring in and disciple new believers as a result of our teams. Pray also for R and S, that they would have the wisdom and discernment to choose exactly the right places for us to go. Please pray for me as well, for though I am so glad to be back home, it’s hitting me that I am here and that this is my life for now, away from family and friends in the States. Praise God that He has blessed me with a wonderful team to work with (American missionaries and interpreters), and that He reminds me daily that obedience is all He asks of us, and though grace may be free, it was not cheap for Him to give. Thanks so much for your prayers!
For He alone is worthy.