Symphony or Jazz?

D and I went to hear the OSB (that's Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, or the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra) last night. As the orchestra was playing with decided precision, I started thinking.
Symphony and jazz are very different, both with their own merits. Symphony is very orderly, the same notes are played every time the piece is played, the piece was written with a specific intent by the composer, and there is no straying from the music. Each musician knows what is coming before they even look at the notes. The director, on his little stage, with his little baton, knows exactly what he is going to hear (and if he doesn't, the next practice session may not be pleasant).
Jazz, on the other hand, while always rehearsed beforehand, never comes out the same way twice. It is improvisational at its core. It is full of unexpected riffs and grace notes that some would never dream of putting in. It is laid back -- mistakes are all part of the beautiful fabric of the piece, so go ahead! Mess up! It's not the end of the world!
God is a symphony composer who is a master at the art of jazz, I think. He has ordered so many things before the beginning of the world, and He is outside the time of this music we are playing called life. He has already written a beautiful symphony, and He knows what is going to come out every time a life is lived. But as a jazz master, He knows that things do not always go according to plan. Our lives are full of screw-ups, unexpected moments, and wonderful grace. Most of the time, I feel like I am improvising, but that I am still not very good at it.
When it comes time to choose whether I want symphony or jazz, my perfectionist nature screams "SYMPHONY!", though underneath I scream to experience jazz without stressing out (or screwing up -- ha!). I want to play that music exactly how it's "supposed to be" played, when improv is called for most days. And so my prayer is that God would keep me bumbling around and learning how to play in this life lived like a jazz piece -- not always great to the untrained ear, but perfect to the composer and musician.

A world without books

So like my friend Soj, I could (not feasibly) blame my no-blogging on hp (the wait is finally over, just later today). But I won't. This post is about something else that has been on my mind.
I act pretty frequently like I live in a country that gives me no access to books. Amazon probably thinks that, what with all the ones I've been buying lately. They're all being sent to different people to take up precious weight in their suitcases to bring to me so I can have something to read. (HP was a true emergency -- I could have very easily bought it here, but I want #7 to match the rest, which means Scholastic and not Bloomsbury, or for those of you less informed, the US over the UK version)
I am thankful that I am a citizen of a country (and to live in one, lest anyone think I don't have these opportunities outside of my own country) that has free speech. As much trash as the press publishes, I am free to choose what I read. I am free to choose things that I enjoy, and things that are edifying and uplifting, things that feed my soul.
I imagine being a believer in a country that has no access to a written Bible, that the crime of being found with a Bible is punishable upon death, and I think that I would be much more motivated to store it in my heart and mind. I must admit that that particular motivation is difficult for me -- I live in a country that is free to choose God, that is free to choose to store His Word in our hearts and minds, yet we do not. We'll get to it later. It's not pressing. If we knew that our Bibles would soon be taken from us (or our lives, for that matter), what would we do with the meantime?
I don't ask these things to scare anyone; I don't have any inside info. I just wonder, why are times of crisis filled with turning to God and times of normalcy spent procrastinating to spend time with Him later?

Someone has it out for us. Friday evening, the radar in Brasil went down and all planes were prevented from coming into the country. Our group coming in Saturday was not able to come in until Sunday morning, and our group going out Saturday was not able to go out until Sunday (even with some extra unexpected happenings, everyone got out Sunday night).
Yesterday, as we were going out to our job site, we heard a sudden "POP!", and what was it? One of the back tires on the bus shredded and burst. Thankfully, it wasn't the front tire, and the bus company was able to send another bus to come and get us. I can't wait to see what's going to happen today.

La la la la la la (I can't hear you)

So for Harry Potter fans all over the world, the final chapter has been written, published, and sold. Unfortunately, my copy has not yet come to me. It is currently in Tuscaloosa, AL (or will be before midnight tonight), and I will get it next Saturday from a volunteer coming down (props to Susanna who bought it as my birthday present).
In the meantime, I want no one telling me how good it is, or who dies -- that's as bad as the internet spoilers. I am staying away from articles about the book, and I will come out of hiding and join the discussion sometime after I have finished reading it. Until then, happy reading, and I want to know nothing!

Though we are out doing evangelism this week, we managed to find some time to get some tickets to one of the Pan Am events. We even got to see the US play, though they lost. It's kind of weird watching beach volleyball when it's freezing (relatively speaking) outside. The wind from the beach makes the temperature drop from 22C to about 17C (that's about 62F).
One thing I noticed was that most of the spectators were booing our players. Now I know that we are not always well looked-upon by the rest of the world, but I am sorry that our athletes are having to reap the consequences of things like this. Living in another country, seeing how the rest of the world sees us, makes me want to do everything I can to expand the horizons of our citizens.

The world is here!

Or at least the Americas. The Pan American games started on Thursday and there are people everywhere. I must say that it is very strange hearing so much English and Spanish, when one is used to hearing Portuguese all the time, every day (except from our volunteers).
I'll take the Portuguese, please.

Happy Birthday

to no one in particular. Or to everyone whose birthday is today.
I love the fact that when singing "Happy Birthday" in English and Portuguese, the atmosphere automatically gets louder when the language switches. You guess which is louder, and therefore, more fun.

So it's been awhile....

It's not that I have lacked things to post; I have lacked time.
We are currently at our general meeting in Atibaia (a small city outside of São Paulo) and I am trying to kick a cold. It's interesting what the body will do when it's worn out. I love being the only one here under 30 (except for the missionary kids) because I get my own room to rest and be quiet and be apart. And because I get to soak up wisdom that the older missionaries have in so many areas. And because I actually get to listen to sermons in English. So often we missionaries are feeding, feeding, feeding others simply because we are in the position of leadership. We are also sheep. It is so easy to forget that those in leadership need to hear the words of God from others just as much as others need to hear it from them.
Remember that when the opportunity comes up to give your pastor or leader a word of encouragement. They need it more than you think.