Steven Wiley We Need You Now!!

In 1986 a man named Steven Wiley recorded the first Christian Rap song released on Brentwood records and then promptly disappeared.

I'm here to say now:
Steven, if you're out there, the teenagers of 1986 have grown up. We have kids now. We're trying to teach them the books of the Bible. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Everybody chant together:

RE-RELEASE! RE-RELEASE! RE-RELEASE!

Note to feedreaders: click on over and watch the video--it's worth it, especially if you're a child of the 80s like me.

Helpless

This video is a great portrayal of how sometimes we missionaries feel at the task looming in front of us that is so much bigger than ourselves.



In the end we just have to hold to God's promise in Isaiah 52:15
Those who have never been told of Him will see and those who have never heard will understand.

Will You Watch and Pray?

Recipe: Simply Baked Apples

This is another non-recipe recipe.
Core and quarter 2 apples. Place in microwave-proof baking dish.
Nuke on high for 3 minutes. Cool slightly.

Recipe: Roasted Vegetables

This is really a non-recipe recipe.
I took a bunch of vegetables, washed them really well, chopped them into 1-inch chunks and put them in a big bowl.
Then I whisked 1/3 cup of olive oil with 1 teaspoon of salt and some ground pepper and tossed it in with the vegetables.
I spread them out into 2 9x13 casserole dishes, covered them with foil, and baked at 400 F for 40-50 minutes. Then, I took off the foil and let them brown for 10 minutes.
I turned out really yummy.

I used:
1 large tomato (or 5 cherry tomatoes cut in half)
2 sweet potatoes
2 large white potatoes
3 carrots, peeled
2 large zucchini
2 portobello mushrooms
1 HUGE red bell pepper

I think the only 2 items that were indispensable were the tomatoes and the red bell pepper. They really gave the other veggies a good flavor.

This isn't as much work as it sounds, since you're not peeling (except for carrots) and the chunks are big. It's a quick put-together and one person can get 3-4 FULL meals from it if they aren't eating anything else. I would think that as a side dish it would feed 8-10.

I will try to add a picture tomorrow.

May 11 -- Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization

May 11 is a big day this year.
If you're following what's going on in Lakeland, you know it's a big day.
If you're a participant in a church that follows the liturgical church calendar, you know it's Pentecost Sunday.
If you're a Mommy Blogger, then you already KNOW it's REALLY BIG. (PSST -- you, clueless Dad there: It's Mother's Day).
It's also the single biggest day of the year for the US restaurant industry.

It's also the Day of Prayer and Fasting for World Evangelization, with a special focus this year on South America.

Since Mother's Day, restaurants, and fasting don't go so well together (if only they would just consult ME before they go planning these things!), I have decided to invite you all to join me in a week-long fast (type of your choosing) PRIOR to the Big Day.

So, while you're praying for an outpouring of God's glory on our nation, or your moving, contempletive worship service, or your Mom, or My Mom (who gets really bummed on Mother's Day because her children ran off to South America), you can also pray for the Unreached People of the Amazon Basin.

Let's start on Sunday, May 4th at 6 a.m. and end Saturday, May 10th at 6 p.m.

I haven't yet answered the question of whether Daniel would be drinking Diet Coke.

Once Upon a Time - Like Last Month

I promise this is true.

One year ago, I began physical therapy for some back pain I was having. The pain was really getting worse and I finally gave in and began PT, which in Brazil is an endless endeavor.

Anyway, so I worked hard and STR-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-ECHED and really enjoyed getting to know my physical therapist who, I thought for awhile there, was going to get saved in the process. BUT,

I spent so much time on her treadmill I got hip bursitis. This happened in September and I got really discouraged. I couldn't do anything, it was pretty much all I could do to hobble around and get my work done at home. My back was feelling somewhat better, but my hip was ruining any joy I had in that.

Months went by.

In November, I really began to discuss this seriously with God. One day, I was praying about it and I heard Him say, "You need to clean your own house."

Of course, I thought He was talking about the falling US dollar and the ever-increasing amount of money I pay to have a lady once a week clean the house. With a move to the South of Brazil and the fall of the dollar, my ability to support a widow and her family of four on Coke money and pocket change was gone.

I thought God was just changing the subject on me. BUT, I wasn't sure.

See, the main reason I still had a maid was that I was afraid to try and keep my own house. I was afraid I couldn't do it because of my back. My mom had given me a little booklet in which the author says God told her to clean her own house and not use her health as an excuse not to. SO,

I decided that, as soon as my hip was better, I would clean my own house. Anyway, all my maid's other employers were at the beach for the Dec-Feb summer, and she was totally dependent on me for her income in those months.

I changed doctors (twice), changed physical therapists (twice), and took a series of injections for the bursitis. Some small progress was made, but I finally gave up on all of them. By mid-March, it seemed I would have to clean my own house in pain. I told the maid how much I liked her, how pleased I was with her work, and blamed it all on the value of the dollar (remember, I still thought God had changed the subject on me).

The following week, armed with a new ironing board, US-branded cleaning products, and MUCH prayer, I set out to clean my own house. This was also the day the last of the injections wore off.

The first day of cleaning (it takes three mornings and one evening to clean the apartment--things get dirtier here), my hip pain went totally and completely away.

Gone. Completely Gone.

That was March 20 or so.

Hasn't been back since.

I feel like Naaman.

I'm From Delaware

OK, so I'm not really. . . just married into it.

Once Upon a Time - Readiness

In my first ministry job, I had an office mate. Now this guy was INCREDIBLY BLUNT. He said exactly what he was thinking, all the time, with no flowery words or disclaimers attached. He loved God, he loved people, but he alienated most of them by being so very direct.
I never understood why people got so upset with him. Couldn't they see that he loved God? Couldn't they see that he just wanted the best for them? Didn't they know what scripture said about those who don't listen to criticism?
Anyway, every time Al corrected me, I listened, examined, prayed and, frequently, changed.
One day we were working late and I was telling Al the latest saga of my adventures as a CSDS (Christian Single Desperately Searching).
"Cam, you are so manipulative." He went on to point out how this is sin.
"No," I responded, "I'm not! I'm not at all manipulative." I then went on to explain, in depth, how very UN-manipulative I was.
Nevertheless, I took his words to heart and went home for prayer and self-examination. After MUCH prayer, and MUCH self-examination. I decided that he was really off-target and there was NO TRUTH WHATSOEVER in that particular rebuke.
Twelve years later, I was doing some mindless task at home and reminiscing on my days as a CSDS. Absentmindedly, I found myself thinking, "WOW, I was SO manipulative back then!"
Oh, my goodness. Al was right!
Why hadn't I seen it then?
The answer: I just wasn't ready to.

Precious Plankton Remembers. . .

It was Spring of 1989, Charlotte, NC. The business establishment doesn't really matter as I'm sure it's long gone by now. We had traveled to see They Might Be Giants play a show that evening. Now, at that time, to my 21-year-old eyes, those guys looked SO OLD. I remember wondering where my college radio crowd would be in 20 years. How would we age?
Would we ever really grow up? Would we make suburbanite families? Would our kids have damaged hearing because we dragged them all over the southeast to see our favorite bands play? Would we ever have real jobs? What would it all look like?
Fast forward to Spring of 2008. I have my answers, at least a lot of them. Those of us who aren't Baptist missionaries, or Episcopalian priests, or high-powered D.C. bigwigs, or the Hasbro VP in charge of all the Star Wars toys, or Hootie, are doing this.
Cool.
Maybe you can't go back to Constantinople. . .
. . . but Istanbul's pretty cool, too.

Eric Reese-Braving Bullets

Eric and Ramona Reese are IMB missionaries serving in Rio de Janeiro. They have a beautiful rapport with Brazilians. They love Brazilians, the Brazilians know it and love them back.
One thing I didn't realize about the Reese's ministry is the dangers they face in the slums of Rio. The IMB recently featured their ministry in this video short that is part of their Commission Stories series.

HT:Pascal and Amy Stowell

Ministering as Jesus Did

Recently, we had the opportunity through our mission to request some college students to come and work here in Metro PoA for a semester. In an admirable attempt to make us fuddy-duddy missys seem more hip, hop, and happening to the "Millenial Generation," we got the following primer on how to word our job requests:

What are they [today's students] looking for?

• For ministry that will help people both spiritually and physically. They really want to see people helped in both ways.
• For an opportunity to minister as they see Christ ministering in the N.T.
• For the opportunity to build relationships with both the people they will work among and with the missionaries they will work along side of.
• For a request that sounds less like a project and more like an experience.
• For ministry reflecting a real cause and a real need - not statistics but a need.
• For specific types of ministry. They respond to ministry with orphans, a chance to help hurting people or projects that require "roughing it".

It's specifically the second phrase that caught my eye: "For an opportunity to minister as they see Christ ministering in the N.T."

Here were my thoughts, in this order:

1. DUDE! wow...

2.I wonder, given the current pentecostaphobic climate of our mission, if whoever wrote this gave any thought to what he was actually saying,
and

3. That opportunity would depend much more on the student than the job description he came to.

See, I've spend a good many hours these past two and a half years listening to those who regularly see the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead raised to life again. There are some amazing consistencies in their stories:
1. This kind of annointing requires TREMENDOUS amounts of time spent in the presence of our Lord. TREMENDOUS. Like A LOT more than just a WHOLE BUNCH. It also requires a complete sellout to our Lord. COMPLETE.
2. They saw, on average, two full years of TOTAL, COMPLETE, HUMILIATING FAILURE before they ever got any results on this type of ministry.
3. The persecution they have faced from the church is ASTOUNDING. For a few, the scars still show.

See, I'm still trying to figure out if I'm up to/called to/brave enough for that kind of ministry. I'm pretty sure that, even if I am, I won't be up to leading college students in it by Spring of 2009 and I'm definately sure they can't get there in 4 months.

Of course, probably what they are talking about is hanging out with friends cooking a few fish on the beach. THAT I can handle. or are they? . . .

Dude. wow.

Prayer request update

Here is an update to yesterday's prayer request. Jeff wrote it early this morning before leaving to be with the team.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We’ll write with more details later, but suffice it to say that your prayers are already making a major difference. The team did manage to get to the city where they were working yesterday without major difficulty, and even though we were down two translators, everything ended up meshing together in the end. The team led about 29 Bible studies yesterday, and many indicated a desire to follow Christ, including the president of the neighborhood association, who was like ripe fruit falling off into our hands – it was a wonderful thing to see. The kickoff service for the new church plant was a success, with a number of visitors present to sing and hear a story from the Bible. In short, God turned many of the difficulties on their heads and brought blessings. However, we still need your prayers – there is a lot of week left. We appear to have lost one of our translators for the duration to sickness, and there are still many challenges ahead of us.
Please continue to pray for God’s protection over the team, translators, missionaries, church planters, and the families of all involved. Pray that God would anoint us with His boldness, wisdom and protection, and that Satan would not be able to gain any foothold or have any influence at all in the work that is going on or in the lives of those involved. Thank Him for the fruit that we have already begun to see, and ask Him to bring a great harvest in the next few days of work, for His glory and honor.
Thank you for your prayers – they REALLY DO make a HUGE difference – we can tell.
Love,
Jeff

Prayer Request - Urgent

Greetings from Porto Alegre. We would like for you to pray for the work of our volunteer teams from Oviedo, Florida and Belgrade, Montana, who are currently here working with us. They arrived on Saturday, and will be with us throughout the week working to evangelize alongside a number of our national church planters.
We are only one and a half days into the trip and we are already experiencing major resistance from the forces of evil. Translators are getting sick, Jeff is suddenly sick and has barely slept, there are several other major problems going on, and to top it all off, and we just got notice that the main interstate highway which is the only route to the neighborhood in Novo Hamburgo where we will be working to start a church from scratch today is blocked both ways because of an accident. This is interesting, as the last time this same group from Florida came to work in the city of Novo Hamburgo, the exact same road was blocked both ways on the very morning that the team was on their way to the church plant – this is obviously more than a coincidence.
Please pray that the forces of evil would be rebuked by our Lord and would not be able to interfere in any way in what God wants to do here in Metropolitan Porto Alegre this week. Pray that God would protect the teams, the missionaries involved, the church planters, and the people who will be receiving the Word this week – not just physically, but also relationally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. Pray that God would bring much fruit, and that all of the forces of evil would be pushed back and would be completely powerless to interfere.
We are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes, and we have seen many of these exact same things happen time and time again when there has been a major push to evangelize and bring light to the darkness. People are already being saved, and God has great plans for this week.
Please join us in prayer for God’s light to shine brightly, and ask that the forces of darkness would not be able to stand against it.

My Life as a Tomato

I just love ITunes. Especially free Itunes.
Anyway, I was searching tonight to see if VeggieTales had a podcast and found this.
Phil Vischer speaks to Seattle Pacific University students on what happens when God give you a dream, fulfills it, and the dream dies. 21 minutes, given sometime in late 2004 or early 2005.

It actually makes me a little nervous, since we're coming in the middle of the story of Joseph in Parker's nightly Bible reading (he had the dreams last night, and was sold into slavery tonight) and then I end up listening to this. I think I'll go check to make sure the children are still breathing. . .

Blog Makeover?

The super fun people over at TheTrendyMommyBlogDesigns.blogspot.com are giving away 5 free blog makeovers - go visit them!
They have some really cool designs.

Change of Address notice

ANNA MAE LOUISE WOLLERMAN

12/13/1910 - 2/18/2008

Anna Mae Louise Wollerman has moved to heaven.

Once Upon a Time -- Inside the Union Tornado

This amazing testimony is from a student who was at Union University the night of the tornado. This was circulated to me by email, but it appears to have been a post to her blog or a mass email. I have removed her name to protect her privacy.

Well, most of you have probably heard by now, my school, Union University was hit by an F4 tornado this past Tuesday night (Feb. 5, 2008). Thanks for all the calls and messages. I will try to talk to you all as time and my emotional state allows. I don't know what reports you have read, but I was one of the 15 students who got trapped in the wreckage. I was in my dorm room with one of my roommates (K), the 3 girls from upstairs, and my mentor from church. About 2 minutes before the tornado hit, my other roommate (who is an RA) ran in and told us to get in the bathtub. We barely made it. Our ears popped, my mentor (J) looked at me and said, "We have to get in, NOW!" -- then the lights went off. I was the last one in. My legs didn't quite make it before the building collapsed on us. I have not yet found words to describe the actual tornado, the noises, and the pressure. Maybe one day I will. We felt our bodies being compressed and compressed, and then it stopped. I couldn't move. We made sure everyone in the tub was alive. It felt like we were miles from outside -- it was pitch black . My initial thought was, "this is where I'm going to die -- there is no way the rescuers will get to us in time". Then, I assessed my physical state. My body was twisted and contorted into a position that I plan on never attempting again...I think God placed me in there just so, because I don't know how else I could have fit. I had a pocket of air against J's legs. I couldn't feel my legs because they were pinned between the edge of the tub and all the debris on top of us. I thought through what my death was going to be like. I realized I was probably going to pass out first, and then I would be with Jesus. I've always wondered what my "last thoughts" would be. As one who has struggled in the past with doubts about salvation, I have always wondered what my last moments would be like. All I can say is, God was there. I knew He had me. And I knew He was either going to save me unto Himself or He was going to save me for a little more time here. I began to pray aloud, I prayed for peace, for the ability to trust Him. I started accounting for everyone who was in the tub.

At that point I realized that someone under me was near the point of death (from her breathing). Then, I called out J's name and realized it was her. My heart sunk at that point. I didn't think my heart could bear losing another friend. I started praying for her out loud, telling her to keep breathing, God was with her. I was so afraid she was going to die underneath me. I think I even asked God to take me if He took her. Every time I moved, she either couldn't breathe or she had excruciating pain. I tried to stay as still and calm as I could. I know God was managing my thoughts for me at that point. I could NOT panic...and by His grace, I didn't. I found out later we were trapped for 45 minutes. One of the other girls in the tub had her cellphone and was actually able to call 911. I honestly only felt like I was in there for 10-15 minutes. I don't know if I ever lost consciousness or if God just allowed it to seem shorter. I was told later the rescuers had to use a backhoe to remove the initial debris. None of us remember that -- again, that was by God's grace. We would have been terrified had we heard that. When the rescuers started digging us out, it was terrifying. J's neck was exposed in such a way that one wrong move and it would have snapped...she was still having lots of trouble breathing. At one point, the rescuers could see my face and I was screaming out to them...telling them I was not panicking but there was a girl under me and I could not move or she would die, and that they needed to lift the debris and not slide it. Once they broke through to us, they got everyone out in about 10-15 minutes. I was the last because my legs were stuck, and I couldn't feel them or move them.

J and I ended up needing to go to the hospital. But neither of us had to stay overnight. It was a night of chaos. And yet, God was in the midst of us. We were buried in a tangled mess of wreckage and yet He knew how each board, each piece of brick and rubble was placed. For example, right next to my legs was a 2x4...it ended up keeping just enough pressure off my legs so that I did not lose them. I haven't gotten all my feeling back, but I'm walking around.

I know I have mentioned God a whole lot throughout this note. I know many of you who are reading this do not know Him and may think I'm a bit odd. But it comes down to this, there is NO other explanation as to why I am alive today other than, God had His hand over us. He kept just enough pressure off. He didn't let me panic. Was I scared?? Yes -- terrified at first. But at one point, my friend K said "It's gonna be okay". And a sense of peace came around us. I know God was with us that entire time. And He did give me a sense of peace -- it kept me from panicking, it all owed me to speak up for J when the rescue started.

My life has been a little screwy recently. I've struggled with trusting God. I've struggled accepting the fact that He loves me unconditionally. But God was with me. He showed me how to trust Him in the rubble -- in the chaos. I know I have some long days ahead. There are sounds stored in my memory that I'm not aware of until I hear them again. I freak out at some very random times and I'm not sure what all the triggers are. But this is what I'm holding onto -- God is not finished with me yet. He still has a purpose for me here on earth a little while longer. And the One who sustained me through the nightmare of Tuesday night will continue to sustain me, to love me unconditionally, to comfort me, and to hold me when I'm scared. And knowing that is what allowed me to get out of bed this morning. He is a good God. If you don't know Him, you need to. He loves you.wants to know you intimately, and He wants you to know Him intimately.

Like I said earlier, I want to talk to each of you. I am quite fragile emotionally -- so it may be a while. I'm at home -- have some fabulous painkillers -- will probably not have to take them except for at nighttime today. So, my body is healing. Just feels like a building collapsed on it...:) I love each of you.

HT: Berdie Hope

Friends, Acquaintances, and People I Stalk, Part 2

In my last post, I mentioned the members of FBC Blogtown, or at least those in my Sunday School class. Actually, I resided in this little shack on the backwoods periphery of Blogtown for over a year before I met anyone here who is NOT Baptist. (and Yes, non-Baptists, I AM aware of how creepy that sounds).

Anyway, this past November I ventured over into another area of town. I found it really interesting and now head for afternoon walks over there frequently. It all started when I decided to try to participate in NaBloPoMo and ended up joining all these groups of Mommybloggers, SuzukiMombloggers, HomeschoolingBloggers, IOnceLivedInHawaiibloggers, Expatbloggers, and so forth and so on.
Most of these bloggers had the sense to blog anonymously, so I don't know their names, but it has amazed my how interested I can be in their adventures.

Alison, a very nice soup-loving lady in San Diego, is trying to have a baby. It's amazing how complicated this can be nowadays. I understand almost none of Alison's modern-day medical acronyms, but the drama grips me nontheless.

M~ homeschools her kids and is one of the adherents of the Urban Chicken Raising movement, a phenonmenon I understand even less than Alison's infertility lingo.

Alice is one of many Erma Bombeck successors. Naming all her family members for Alice in Wonderland characters, she gets the award for most consistent use of a metaphor. Mrs. Fussypants, another, blogs over at fussypants.typepad.com. The name pretty much says it all.

Paul and Lori Vernon are Four-Square missionaries in Thailand ministering to the Ankh people. I found them on Missionary Blog Watch and have really enjoyed praying for them and their ministry.

One of the reasons I wanted to begin blogging was to reconnect with old friends with whom I'd fallen out of touch. I haven't been able to do this but twice, but I've enjoyed the two chances I've had.

The Excogitating Engineer is an old friend from grad school who actually is Baptist(an IMB MK at that), but he fit more neatly into my category of "old school friends." He's passionate about adoption and has some great insights into life in general.

One thing I really have enjoyed in my meanderings in this area of blogtown is reading the thoughts of those that are decidedly Un-Baptist. My old college friend Tim grew up Southern Baptist, and boy is he mad about it! He got so mad he's off to become an Episcopal Priest! I enjoy Tim's blog, and those he links to, because of the viewpoints I don't often get in the conservative evangelical bubble that I live in. It's kind of like watching The West Wing, ya' know?

So, folks, there you have it. My RSS Feeds folder for all to see.

Friends, Acquaintances, and People I Stalk - Part I, First Baptist Blogtown

I LOVE my email program! In July, we got the new Outlook version and it has the best feature. It will check for me all the blogs that I like to read and put any new posts right in my inbox (actually, right in my Feed box, which is right near my inbox. . .but I digress).
Anyway, I thought I would share those blogs with you.
Since I live on the periphery of the backwoods of Blogtown, just across the river on the other side of the tracks, my neighbors are varied. I'll introduce you to them in the order that I found them.
The real estate developer who sold me a spot in blogtown is
Guy Muse, because of his ingeniously visual use of the blog as a medium to raise awareness/prayer support of his ministry and people group. Linda is Guy's wife.
I would consider Dorcas Hawker to be my first "friend" in blogtown, although she couldn't really be called a neighbor because her real estate is in a much more swanky part of town. I met Dorcas because we were interested in some of the same issues that would come up in the Blogtown council meetings. She had some really brilliant contributions to the discussion. She has since changed interests, as has absolutely Everyone. Else. In. All. of. Blogtown., but Dorcas and I have continued to keep in touch.
Tim Sweatman is the real reason I'm excited to have a reader in my inbox. He only posts about every three months, and I got really frustrated typing in his address over and over. Now, if he should post I know it right away!

Of course, there are some friends in blogtown that I have actually met face to face. I'm speaking here of my IMB colleagues here in South America. It's always excited to spy on them to see if we can steal their ideas see how God is working across Brazil. Chris and Melody Julian work with students in São Paulo. I'm always glad to read their posts because they remind me how glad I am I don't live in São Paulo.
Pascal and Amy Stowell are about the nicest people you'll ever meet. Being from Louisiana, I guess that's to be expected. They serve in an interior area of São Paulo state and post a lot of videos of local folks and scenery.
Ron and Alana Greenwich work in social ministries in Florianópolis and are currently digging out from under a flood which recently hit their recovery center.
New Missionaries are the best, because everything is so new and fresh and exciting. They haven't had time to settle in and get complacent. Not that ANY of US ever do THAT! The Holemans, who I haven't actually met face to face, are Peru-bound, having just arrived in Costa Rica to learn Spanish. The Everetts are notIMBers but are ABWEers, are new to Porto Alegre and they have about 18 children. Or so it seems. . .
Kerri Hamilton is a mother of 4 and prolific blogger. She and her family are headed down here sometime next year, aiding Rio Grande do Sul to take the "Fertile Crescent" title away from the Amazon area--something which was inevitable given the arrival of cable TV up there (again I digress) and the arrival of the Greens down here.
Of course, no Baptist roll would be complete without a Pastor. Pastor Curtis Hill , aka CHill, is new to Ogletown Baptist in Newark, Delaware. I've learned a lot about Ogletown and Delaware by seeing them through his Georgia eyes.
Anyway, that's a pretty complete roll call for those attending FBC Blogtown, at least the ones I know of. I'll mention a few more residents in Part 2.

Homeschooling - Triple Time!

There's 51 days of summer vacation
and school comes along just to end it;
So the annual problem for our generation
is finding a good way to spend it!

I've mentioned before that I've been homeschooling our oldest son, Blake, in 3rd grade U.S. History this year. Blake attends an international school here in Porto Alegre, but they don't teach US history as a subject this early. Sonlight's two year US history curriculum was recommended to us by our regional educational consultant. We did the history curriculum, the readers and the read-alouds.

WE HAVE HAD THE BEST TIME! Blake finished the 3rd grade curriculum yesterday. We had started September 1st on a ten-day training trip we took as a family. Basically, he worked on Saturdays and holidays (we're in summer break now, remember) for 2-3 hours each day and we finished up just in time for the end of summer break!

We both learned a LOT of US history and some really good American values (that I never realized were American until I moved overseas) like productivity, independence and determination. I also think it really improved his reading comprehension skills, as he had to be ready to face my questioning at the end of each reading session!

It was also a great way to keep him stimulated though the summer break.

We had a party with toasts, homemade ice cream (chocolate peanut butter ice cream and grape juice DON'T go well together, by the way), a new episode of Phineas and Ferb from ITunes, our giving him 7 free hours of video game time, and hamburger and french fries for supper.
"It's like my birthday or something," he said.

Pioneer Woman, that's me!

"You need to make your own yogurt." I promised you, that's what I found myself telling myself one afternoon last month. Did you know that with about 30 minutes and Senhora Google, you too can become a yogurt-making expert?

All you have to do it take some milk (1 liter), warm it (if you're in the states and don't have MilkInABox, then you have to sterilize it first) to 120 degrees, put it in a clean glass jar and add a couple of tablespoons of yogurt. I then set it in a cooler that has some hot tap water in the bottom. I cover it and leave it for 12 hours. Then, I put the jar in the fridge and let it cool. After a couple of hours, I added some vanilla flavoring (about 2 tablespoons), and some sugar (about 1/2 cup).

It turned out great! It also supplies us with some lactase, that enzyme that helps us digest milk. Blake and Jeff loved it. Parker still doesn't recognize it as food, but he will soon.

I also made butter last night. I was getting ready for our "end of the homeschooling year party" and made some ice cream base. The leftover cream would have gone bad in the fridge so I put it in the mixer with some salt and whisked it into butter. It's really good.

Once Upon a Time, a doozy

Last night I was stalking googling old friends, a fav internet pasttime for me, when I came across the following story.

Jeff and I were in missionary orientation with Mike and Jeanne Melon and their kids, Jeanne and Gregory, back in 2001. They served an ISC term in Paraguay. I'm just proud to know 'em. This article is from a blog called "Remember Me".

Jeanne and Gregory left New Orleans mid-day on Saturday before Katrina hit. Mike, a bi-vocational pastor, completed his work shift and got home just after Jeanne had left. He had planned to leave immediately. But, when he got home he discovered that two senior adults had no way out of the city and would not leave. Mike purposed to ride out the storm and try to take care of them.

Mike’s . . .house began taking water about 8:30am and he watched as the water came up the road. He said it was almost surreal. He and the dog relocated to the attic with some food and an axe in case he had to cut his way out. About 1pm in the afternoon after writing his name and [wife's cell phone] number on his body, Mike and his dog came out of the attic. He waded in chest deep water to see how the two women had fared. He went first to Ms. Shirley’s. She had been standing on tiptoes for several hours unable to get out of the flood water. He then went to Ms. Connie’s. Carrying both women and his dog he swam to Mirabeau and Press Drive. It was all he could do to keep their heads above water. Exhausted, he saw a boat and was able to get all of them into the boat and to dry ground on Gentilly Blvd.

Mike stayed through the week and did not leave until Friday. He worked with Bethel Colony out of their building in Indian Village trying to get as many people to high ground as possible.

Now that, folks, is a pastor!

NOTE: The BP version of the story is here

Not all issues are created equal

I just did the Presidential Candidate Calculator. It's a little self-test that tells you which presidential candidate you're most in agreement with on certain issues.
Mostly, I learned that I know NOTHING about the major political issues being discussed in the US right now. [They do offer good explanations of the pro- and con- side of each issue.] My result was very surprising.
The only thing I can figure is that, even though they weight issues, they don't weight them strongly enough.

Either that, or I've been watching too many Alias episodes. . .

An Igreja by any other name. . .

I'm taking advantage of Parker's loooonnnng summer break to teach him his letters. We can't start our reading program until he can recognize both upper- and lower-case of all letters. He has learned some letter names in Portuguese, which makes for some interesting interchanges.

We're up to I.

Mommy: This is a Big I and this is a Little i. What's this (pointing to Big I)?

Park: EEEE!

Mom: No, it is pronounced EE in Portuguese, but we say I (aye) in English.

Park: Aye!

Mom: This is an igloo. I makes an ih sound like in igloo. What other words start with the ih sound?

Park: CHURCH! Church starts with I!

[clicking sound is heard as pieces fall into place in Mommy's brain]

Mom: Very Good! Igreja starts with I.

Merry Christmas, all!

Sorry, I'm running a little late.

I hope that everyone had a very happy holiday season. We really did.
We spent our December in Porto Alegre as a family, just the four of us.

We had never had Christmas with just the four of us, so I wanted to take the chance to really teach the kids about Christmas, what it means, and start some traditions for them to enjoy through the years. (This was all inspired by the fact that we spent the entire day of Thanksgiving in the car rushing to get to Florianopolis that we totally forgot to ACTUALLY GIVE THANKS or EVEN TALK about the holiday with the kids). [BAD missionary mom, BAD, BAD missionary mom]

Anyway, we did have a good season. Here are some things we did:

We listened to LOTS of Chrismas music. I DO recommend Charlie Brown Christmas, I DO NOT recommend Christmas with the Rat Pack (they change a lot of words to things that were apparently cute back in the 1950s). We really enjoyed, as much as anything, the weekly Free on Itunes holiday choices.

We watched some Christmas specials, but not nearly enough. Surprisingly, I DO recommend Mr. Bean's Christmas. I think it will turn into a family tradition. It's the funniest I've ever seen of Bean. Next year, we'll get on Amazon in September and order some DVDs.

We re-created, sort of, my mother-in-law's tradition of a Christmas Eve hors d'oeuvres buffet. We called it our "Feast of Festive Finery." Of course, "Finery" is a lot easier to pull off when the audience is 3 and 8 years old. Vienna sausages and cheese cubes are very chique.

We discovered we owned two Christmas trees. How this happened? I have no idea.

I learned how to NOT buy a Christmas ham in Brazil. After 3 tries I DID learn to:
a. Make sure that the wording "pre-cooked" is on the package. (if you don't, you'll defrost 10 pounds of raw pork that takes approximately 18 hours in the oven to cook).
b. Avoid anything that comes in a perfectly spherical shape, especially if they have 30 of them in a row on the shelf.
c. Enjoy turkey for Christmas.

Although, we did enjoy a great "Week of Pork" following Christmas, in which I made Barbeque from the mistaken ham attempts.

I did make some resolutions for Holiday Season 2008. I resolve to:

Put up the decorations earlier. This always trips me up, as we travel for Thanksgiving. We frequently don't get them up before mid-December. Next year, I'll try for December 1st.

Order the holiday special DVDs earlier, probably September.

Shop all year long, putting items in my "gift idea list" on Amazon. Then, fill the cart and place the order on December 1st. This year I left all shopping for the last minute and almost missed some gifts getting there on time, not to mention my gift-giving discernment probably wasn't at it's best. [Didn't you know 2008 was the UN declared "Year of the Polartec Vest"?]

Use Amazon's wrapping service. My best friend used this service this year, and it really works well. Gifts come in a nice pretty box with a label. This eliminates the need for a cryptic email sent weeks prior in which you try to describe whose gift is whose without actually describing the gifts.

Enjoy turkey for Christmas. Continue the Barbeque week tradition following.

Well, I hope by posting those to hold myself to them next year. Have a very Happy New Year!

What Holiday are You?

In case you hadn't guessed, we're out of town. We're on our annual South Brazil Missionary Thanksgiving Retreat in Florianopolis, SC (motto: "Nothing says Thanksgiving like a beautiful South American beach filled with Argentinians")

Here's the post for today:

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

Floripa

And we're off!
We're off to our annual South Brazil IMB Missionary Thanksgiving Retreat in Florianopolis (SBIMBMTRIF-motto: "Nothing says Thanksgiving like a tropical beach paradise filled with Argentinians").
I don't think I will have internet access at the hotel. If I do, I have drafted a host of postjunk for your holiday perusal. If not, I may backdate it when I get back or just "keep moving forward".

Here are some pics, just to rub it in:

Urban Jungle! II

In an attempt to make it through NaBloPoMo, many folks are googleearthing their homes.
Here's ours:


And closer up:

Once Upon a Time -- Games People Play

Once upon a time I had a Boss Brilliant. A brilliant person and I really learned a lot from him. He was known far and wide for his people skills, his ability to work with difficult people and resolve conflicts. One day I sent an email to my co-workers at our office and apparently I came across as bossy. I was fully in my realm of authority to send the email, I had cleared it with Boss Brilliant (BB) and I was merely communicating a decision BB had made to everyone else.
Well, the tone of the email didn't sit right with one of my co-workers and he reacted. He responded by sending an email tirade to the boss about my dictatorial attitude.
What did BB do? My wonderful BB, acclaimed for his people skills and conflict resolution abilities? He forwarded the tirade to me and left on vacation.
He had to come in on his first vacation day to resolve the conflict between me and my co-worker.
All of a sudden I realized:
1. How did I know that my co-workers required someone of such exceptional skill to lead them? How did I know how very dysfunctional they were?
BB had informed me on the first day of the job.
2. Who was able to step in as the hero and solve these conflicts between these horribly dysfunctional people? BB--who had encouraged the conflicts in the first place.
BB had set himself up as the great peacemaker. The only stability amongst such incredibly unstable people.
I suddenly wondered how many of these heroic peacemaking opportunities had actually been conflicts started and fueled by BB himself.

The other day I had someone try to instigate a conflict between us and another family. When we said, "Please don't say that, it could lead to a conflict." He responded, "It seems you two families have a history of personality conflict and I just can’t get into that."
I wanted to say, "I've got your number, buddy, and I'm not playing that game. There is no history of conflict and there won't be unless you insist on trying to make one. I refuse to let you."