A Day in the Life

So I decided that instead of a quick overview of the highlights of several events, I'd give you a better taste of my mission work by painting you a picture of a day in the life of a mission intern in Salvador, Brazil.

My morning started about 8:30 where I got up, grabbed some breakfast and headed out the door about 9:30 to head to the church building to meet two of my readers that I am studying the Bible with in English. The apartment where I live with Randy and Jennifer is on the tenth floor, so as I'm waiting for the elevator, I pull a R$2 bill out of my purse and tuck it into my jeans pocket so that I don't have to rifle through my cash on the street in order to pay my bus fare. It is about a twelve to fifteen minute walk to my bus stop, up a hill and down the other side. I pass by many other apartment buildings, a couple of schools and several shops on our quiet street before I hit one of the main thoroughfares, Avenida Paulo VI where I catch a bus. The bus takes me within about four blocks of the church building, and I walk the rest of the way and into the former restaurant storefront that now houses ICOS (Igreja de Cristo O Salvador).

The reading sessions were great. I had incredible spiritual conversations with both readers, although we really had to struggle through the first because Arnon's English is not terribly strong. Sometimes I try to revert to Portuguese to discuss the spiritual content, but he wants so badly to practice his English that he usually answers my questions in English. About 12:15, when I finished my session with Jorge, I asked Ian, one of the LST campaigners, and Francisco, Ian's reader who is quickly becoming my friend as well to accompany me to the little market just around the corner from the church to buy food for our benevolence project this evening. The boys, after insisting on carrying all the groceries, helped me pack 29 lunches to pass out to kids and adults on the street.

Around 1:15, I start to head home, this time walking a couple of blocks down the Orla, which is the street that runs parallel to the shoreline. It's hard to tear my eyes away from the Atlantic waves crashing as I walk. They are so beautiful today that my inner child just wants to run into them and start splashing. My bus comes quickly, and I get back to the apartment about 30 minutes later. I have time to heat up some leftovers for lunch and relax for a few minutes before Laura and I have to brave the heat again to walk to Matt and Mary's apartment for our small group Bible study.

On the walk to Matt and Mary's, I filled Laura in on my reading sessions. We breeze right past the porter at the gate of the apartment because we're white and so they automatically know who we are here to see. Our Bible study today centers around John 6, talking about how Jesus is the bread of life. We discuss the passage and share prayer requests, and then Matt gives us a ride to the church building to do the benevolence project.

We gather up all the lunches and get ready to hit the streets. But where can you find homeless people when you really need them? We checked the park where we got rid of all our lunches two weeks ago, but no one is there. We have to walk several more blocks to find some kids trying to sell candy to passing cars for pennies. Their mother and grandmother are sitting on the curb across the street. The mother helps point us in the direction of some other street children she knows, and after making a huge circle, we still have 1/3 of the lunches we packed. We decide to load them in the car and hit up the corner where our bus stop is because there are always children there. On the walk back to the building, we found an old woman standing on a street corner and when I handed her the sack, she didn't say a word to me. She just lifted her hands to the heavens and began praising God aloud for his provision for her. Tears stung my eyes as I walked away, and Laura comments, "I think heaven is going to be full of old women."

After delivering the rest of the food to the kids at our bus stop, Matt gives Laura and me a ride back to our apartment. We are greeted by a three-year-old's cries of "You ome!" and the enthusiastic hug that follows. Kelton is loving having two big sisters for the summer! We eat dinner and spend the evening relaxing and recuperating from a tiring but worthwhile day!

Now, I do have to say I picked a good day to describe for you in this post. Not all days are this glamorous. In fact, most aren't. Many days, my work is not as visible as it was today. Sometimes my work is sitting in front of a computer typing a VBS story or washing dishes after Sunday potluck. But I am thankful for those tasks too because I know that God works in and through all things, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity he's given me to work here in Salvador this summer.

Thanks for bearing with me through a long post, and thanks for all the prayers! I could not be doing what I'm doing without all the support from home! Please keep it up! Ate mais, gente!