Chapter Ten of Cats Are Cool

Special Friends

It wasn’t easy, for Baby was not enchanted with his little sister, Dolly, but gradually he did learn to accept her. Not only did he learn to accept her, but the two of them became inseparable. Dolly was so relieved. Not only because Baby stopped beating her up, but because she had been lonely at our house. Soon Baby began to clean Dolly with her tongue (a sure sign of friendship between cats) and Dolly began to curl up and sleep in Baby’s arms. One day I even saw Dolly cleaning Baby. Wow the two of them had come a long way. The two of them even worked out a system of eating together without fighting.

I began to notice that Baby thought Dolly was his baby kitty. He watched over her and even seemed to protect her. One day Dolly was able to squeeze out of a window we had left partially opened. She was so small it wasn’t too hard for her, but of course the ever chubby Baby wouldn’t begin to fit. He ran to me and began to cry and cry. He would walk away and then back to me and cry. I finally got the idea he wanted something, so I followed him to the front door. I found Dolly on the other side of the door, crying to get back inside. What a good babysitter he turned out to be.

The two of them run all over the house together. The both sleep together in the same chair. When Dolly had surgery, the vet said she should be separated from Baby because he might accidentally hurt her, since she was still groggy. I put her in a special bed in the bathroom where she could sleep in peace. Baby cried and cried. The next morning when I went to check on her, I found Baby sleeping by her side, protecting her again. Somehow he had climbed to a window that led to the bathroom and pushed on the window until he got it open and crawled in to be at her side.

With so much love, Dolly has really grown. She is taller than Baby now. Of course, with so much special care, you could expect such growth. She has a safe house to live in. She has food. She has a special “body-guard” and she gets a lot of love.

That kind of reminds me of my church. I’ll explain. Dolly grew and is healthy because she had just the right ingredients. People in my church also grow because of the right ingredients. For instance, Dolly needs food. Christians also need food to grow spiritually. That food is what we call spiritual food. It is things like Bible study, sermons, worship services, discipleship classes, all that help a person understand more about God. When someone understands and acts more and more like God wants, we say that this person is growing spiritually.

Another thing that helps Dolly to grow are the games she plays with Baby, and the special friendship they share. People in church also need the attention of other church members. New Christians in the church need that kind of friendship in a special way. When someone new arrives at church, they are happier and more willing to return when others treat them kindly, like a friend. People in church should be friends. If the folks at church are fighting, or just don’t care about each other, you can be sure that church won’t grow. Just like Baby accepts and treats Dolly with respect and love, so people at church should treat one another.

Now I have a question for you. Are you helping your church grow? Are you growing spiritually by participating in Bible study and worship and other activities? Are you being a friend to others? Are you praying for the other members of your church? Is there someone in your church that you can help? I hope you are being a wonderful friend to others in your church, like Baby is being a wonderful friend to Dolly.

When Sin Gets Personal

In the aftermath of 9/11, many religious leaders (including Anne Graham Lotz) made statements about America suffering punishment for their many sins, that included things like taking prayer out of schools, acceptance of homosexuality, etc. That, in fact, is NOT good theology, because if a country's sin were the cause of God's punishment, then countries like Sudan would have been blasted off the face of the earth, or even Brazil with all their carnality and idolatry would have bombed as well. That doesn't mean I don't believe that 9/11 was NOT the result of sin, or even the consequence of sin, but I don't believe that God killed those 2000 people to send a telegram to Americans to put prayer in public schools! Nor do I believe we can make an analogy between Biblical Israel and America. Israel was the nation-elect, the people God chose. America is anything but that.
What is so ironic to me is that so far I haven't heard a single preacher talking about America's punishment with this recent financial crisis that is being faced. Haven't heard too much on personal moral failure lately. Have heard some on how to cope with the financial crisis. I think I know why. It's about personal sin, not about some collective failure or sin we can blame on the legislature or the "heathens" or other groups, so we don't feel to comfortable pointing the finger at anyone when it points at us too.
Today, as I read in the book of Isaiah, it was like the the words popped out at me - this is what is happening right now. Isaiah 5:8-9 says: "Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. The LORD Almighty has declared in my hearing: "Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants." Seems like unmitigated greed is not a good thing.
Hum... now how might that apply to America's current crisis? Now let's see? Why in the world does any human being need the kind of space that many American families posses? Why in the world is it necessary to acquire the kind of debt that many American's have? Could it be GREED? Could wanting more than you can afford possibly be a sin? Could it be saying that most Americans don't believe God isn't all sufficient and they need something more? Nah... couldn't be that. It's just the great American dream - I can have it all. Or is it?
Maybe there is a price to be paid for spending what we don't have. Maybe the financial crisis all of America faces is the result of personal sin. Maybe we religious leaders have failed when we have not called our people to task for a sin so often condemned in God's word. Maybe I too am guilty of this same sin when I casually say "put in on my VISA", when I don't need "it", but I WANT it.
Oops, getting too personal there.
I have watched and sometimes worried and sometimes been very sad at seeing the debacle that is happening in the US banks. What I have not done is pray to be more holy. I have not prayed for repentance for my nation and for an uprising of Christian leaders who say that this ridiculously luxurious lifestyle MUST stop. Nor have I been willing to say that I and many others are suffering for the sin of greed and its horrible consequences and taking many innocents in its wake. The sin is personal. The results are global.
And that's my sermon for the week.

Chapter Nine of Cats Are Cool

Baby Gets a Sister

Baby was creating quite a problem at our house. He REALLY hated being alone. When I left for work in the morning, he followed me to the door and then he began to bite me at the heels. In fact, whenever we got ready to leave him, he became quite aggressive, biting us. It was beginning to worry us. Obviously he was unhappy about being alone, but we couldn’t stay home all the time, just to be with him.
One day my husband and I came home with a big box. Inside the box, was supposed to be the solution to our problem with Baby. When I walked in the door, I sat the box on the floor. As usual, Baby was waiting for us. When Baby saw the box and what was inside of it, he lost interest in us. He began to examine the box and its contents with a thoroughness I had never seen. He sniffed. He looked. He got close. He backed off. He cried a little. He acted absolutely terrified and was very nervous.
You probably have already guessed what was inside the box. It was Baby’s new little sister. She was a small white cat, with black patches all over her body. She was ten weeks old, just the right age to be Baby’s little sister. Her name was Dolly. She was so small and scared to be in this new house. All she wanted was to be loved and cared for. On Baby’s part, nothing doing! It was definitely hate at first sight.
I was so disappointed. I thought that he would be thrilled to have another cat to keep him company. I should have known there would be problems. After all, Baby hadn’t been around cats very much. Remember, he was abandoned by his mother and raised by a dog. Poor Baby just didn’t know what to do with another cat. Dolly wasn’t a dog and wasn’t a human, so what was she? He decided very quickly that she was the ENEMY! He was terrified of her, but determined to be rid of her as soon as possible.
During the first few hours, Baby didn’t exactly get close to Dolly. He circled her, he smelled her scent, but he didn’t touch her. He just wasn’t sure what to do with her. He soon began to growl and arch his back. He didn’t take long before he attacked. He quickly reached out his paw and gave her a good swipe across the nose. Dolly simply cowered in the corner. Soon we began to think we would have to change her name to Scar-Face.
Baby just wouldn’t accept Dolly because he was afraid of her, because he wanted to defend his own territory and because he just didn’t know what to do with another cat. He actually was showing prejudice. He didn’t know what she was, so he rejected her.
We sometimes do exactly the same thing. When someone has skin a different color, speaks another language or even has different habits than we do, we may feel curious, but we may also reject them. In most cases we don’t growl or scratch them, but we may tell a joke, make fun of them, or simply snub them as a friend. Sometimes we may even demonstrate fear when a person is really different.
The Bible teaches us that “if you show favoritism, you sin”. That means that you treat people differently based on appearances. And that is prejudice – forming on opinion about someone without really knowing him. That’s how Baby acted when he met Dolly. I felt kind of ashamed when I remember the times I had rejected someone that I didn’t yet know. I am, after all, a person who can think before I act, different from a cat!
Things got so bad between the two of them, that I couldn’t leave them alone. Dolly slept and ate in a room that was separated from Baby’s. Too bad, for Baby was missing out on a lot of fun and some very good company. Still, I couldn’t very well force him to be Dolly’s friend. God doesn’t force me to treat people fairly, but he does help me to conquer my prejudices. Why don’t you look around and see if there isn’t someone near you who needs a friend? Hopefully you can be different than Baby!

Nature at its best

This weekend I was in Espírito Santo to speak at the Baptist Women's Camp. I hadn't been back to speak at one of their events for over 10 years. My very first field of service in Brazil was in Espírito Santo, but I left there over 20 years ago. I was pleased to see several very old and dear friends, sad to know many others were no longer living or well enough to be active. Time does march on! When they asked the women who remembered me, there were few at the camp who did. I consider that a very good sign, because most of the women at the camp were far too young to remember someone who led the work 25 years ago. The Baptist camp was little changed, although some upgrades had been made here and there. I was especially happy that we hot showers and electricity after 10 PM! Definitely a big improvement!
I had worked very hard to get ready for the four messages. Since I don't do much speaking anymore, it seems I am out of practice so it took more time than ever to prepare the messages. One of the hardest parts is deciding on what Scripture passage and what message to preach. That was a challenge with the theme presented to me. It had to do with the centenniel of Baptist women, together with the challenge of reaching new generations.
I had my afternoon free on Saturday, so I enjoyed the nature at the camp, which is smack dab on a mountain range. It was very cool, since we are just into spring here. When I get out of the asphalt jungle I live in, I am glad to see green. I thought I would share the photo of the banana tree (isn't it beautiful?), the lagoon at the camp (sorry the swans wouldn't cooperate to get in the photo), and the azaleas. Now the big question... do you know what fruit I photographed on the left photo? I know, but do you? I am so sorry they weren't in season as I love them! I have also thrown in a photo of a green coconut, on a palm tree, just so you would know what they look like. They have an organic garden at the camp and we enjoyed lots of vegetables fresh from the garden. Some you would recognize, others would be foreign to you.
On Saturday night we had out "blow out" party to celebrate the 100 years of our Woman's Missionary Union in Brazil. I am posing with one of the young women at the camp. Isn't it great that our women's work there isn't just lol (little old ladies in tennis shoes)?
I had lots of talks with old friends and made a number of new friends. I had forgotten how very warm and friendly the folks of Espírito Santo really are. Made me homesick for those days.
It was a great experience and I am thrilled I had it. It's good to have old memories and make new ones too.

Chapter Eight of Cats are Cool

Baby, the Sheep

“Run, Baby! It’s our car.” And there goes Baby streaking down the steps like a bullet to arrive at the front door before his “master”, my husband gets there.

He is so cute, because it’s just about the only time he moves really fast. Baby likes to lie around, especially close by me. When I am working on the computer, he likes to lie in my lap, or in the chair right beside me. When I’m not home, he lies right on my husband’s feet. The thing he hates most in the world is when we are both gone. When we leave, he follows us to door, tries to go with us and when he can’t, he jumps up onto the windowsill and watches us leaving, crying the whole time. As soon as we get home, he is at the door, doing his little “coming home” dance.

One of the things we noticed is that Baby knows the sound of our car. When any other car comes up the hill where we live, he could care less. He only budges when he is sure it is our car. I don’t know how he does it. For a short time, one of the neighbors had a car just like ours. Whenever I heard it, I was sure it was my husband coming in the driveway. Not Baby. When he heard that car, he would lift his head, cock his ears, then lie back down. The sound may have fooled me, but not Baby. He only runs downstairs to the front door when it is our car.

Sometimes, when the house was all closed up, with the air conditioning on, and Baby was sound asleep, I would be startled to see him jump up and go to the door. I didn’t know why until I heard my husband calling out his greetings a few minutes later. I didn’t hear a thing, but Baby did. He knows the sound of our car and when we are arriving home.

Jesus said in John 10:14: “"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” (NIV) The shepherd cares for his sheep and the sheep know the shepherd’s voice. That’s like Baby. We take care of him and he knows us. He can distinguish the sound of our car from all the other cars on our street.

Jesus doesn’t really talk to sheep, however. He’s talking about his followers, those people who believe in Him. He’s comparing himself to the shepherd and the Christians to the sheep. The Christians love and know Jesus, like the sheep love and know their shepherd. Jesus cares for the Christians like the shepherd cares for the sheep. The sheep know their shepherd, so the Christian should know Jesus.

How can the Christian know Jesus? There are a lot of ways. How does the sheep know the shepherd, or how did Baby get to recognize the sound of our car? By spending time together and association. That is to say, Baby paid attention to the sound of our car every time we arrived, because that was important to him. He waited and listened for us. After so many times, it just became easier and easier for Baby to recognize the sound of our car.

We can spend time with Jesus by reading the Bible, which is one way he “talks” to us. We can spend time with Jesus talking to him, through our prayers. We can even learn more about Jesus through classes and worship services at our church. The more time we spend with Him, the better we get to know him and the more our friendship grows.

So, how well do you know Jesus? Would you like to know Him better? Go for it! Just like Baby knows us well, we can know Jesus well and feel like He is our best friend.

Every time I see Baby at the door, waiting for me to come in and play with him, I am reminded of the fact that Jesus is waiting for me to spend time with him. Baby is my “sheep” waiting for me to care for him, and I am Jesus’ sheep that cares for me. Works out nicely, don’t you think?

The Black Hole Where Socks Go

I bet you didn't know we also have a black hole where missing socks go, here in Brazil! I know we do in the US and in Canada. I attributed it to the use of dryers there, thinking that the dryers eat socks, but I don't use a dryer here. Occasionally João's socks go missing in action. Last time I was in the US I bought him an expensive pair of socks (dumb thing to do) to go with an odd colored suit he has. Of course that was one of the socks to go missing. He has one, but not the other one. I looked all over the house, behind the washing machine, in his other drawers, in my sock drawer, etc. But no olive green sock. Sunday he wore a new suit, that is about the same color and I lamented that we didn't have his nice, but missing, sock to wear. (By the way, isn't this fascinating reading all about my husband's wardrobe?)
Today, an odd thing happened as I pulled out a pair of pants to wear. I haven't had them on for a couple of months. As I was walking down the hall, I felt something swinging. I looked around and I had a tail. Yes, an olive green tail. Yes, this is the tale of a tail. But now I come to the tail-end of my tale of a tail. It was his missing SOCK stock to the velcro on the back pocket of my pants. Just had to share my discovery. A real miracle. A missing sock was found. I didn't throw a party, but I did laugh for a long time. The Black Hole where socks go lost out this time.

A Sunday to Remember

Sunday was a historic, memorable day in the life of our church. It was the installation (induction) of our youth minister. He is our second minister at our church, our music minister having come in February. You can see him seated to the left of João. I forgot to take pictures, or I was involved in the most moving parts of the service, so I didn't get many photos. This photo shows the president of the seminary, who preached at the service. There were many touching elements during the worship service. The whole service was based around the theme of God's sovereignty, which was important as a basis for ministry. It was a very worshipful experience, as contrasted with a mere formality. We sang contemporary, but beautiful music and one of our young adult groups sang. When we called all the youth up to the front for a commitment, there must have been about 300 or people. We commented that his flock of youth is bigger than many churches!
Two especially moving moments were when his father prayed, the whole church on their knees and Junior (yes, it does seem appropriate that a youth minister would be a "junior") slightly inclined is head on his father's shoulder. His father is also a pastor. His father's prayer was very moving. At the end of the service, Junior and his lovely wife, Juliana, spoke a few words and they were well thought out and I felt very appropriate when they both read their commitment to the ministry, based on God's word. It was very meaningful to us all and the church is very happy, as they already know and love Junior, who has been the chaplain of our school for about two years.
Just to add some fun into the mix, we had a baby presentation service. That is done a little differently here in Brazil. It usually happens the first time a baby comes to church, and there is no previous planning. It is just a spontaneous event. We give a Bible to the family, a letter for the child to read when she/he turns 12. João holds the baby and prays for the family. Sometimes there is one than one baby, so I get to hold one. Once we actually had TWO sets of twins on the same Sunday. Now we all had our hands full that day.
To close our service, João called up all our ministers and directors of departments, as well as the coordinators, to "install" them for another year of service. There are 12 in all, but only one was really new, as that was the new coordinator for Religious Education. His father also prayed for him in this task. The young man who accepted the position (volunteer) is a third year seminary student, and grew up in our church. I couldn't get everyone in the photo from where I was sitting, but you can see in the photo, from right to left Youth minister (Junior), Music Minister (Eduardo), Evangelism and Missions (Marcelo), Administration (Fauzita, full time position), Deacons (Mario), Religious Education (Felix).
You can imagine it was a rather long service... lasting almost two hours. (Good luck to our communications department that has to reduce the service down to one hour for our weekly radio program.) Still, we all left gloriously happy. It was, for sure, a Sunday to remember!

Chapter Seven of Cats are Cool

Baby Takes a Bath

Poor Baby! He was so little and underfed when he came to me. He had been abandoned by his mother when he was just 10 days old. He survived by nursing a dog. I knew I needed to take him to a vet to have him checked out. He wasn’t crazy about the experience. When we got home, he wouldn't even get near me. He was very upset.

Little did he know that worse was to come. The vet had given him a prescription for his ear infection and some pills for worms and some liquid vitamins. Twice a day I had to put Baby on my lap, open his mouth and put the medicine in. I also had to put a creme in his ears. Me oh my, how Baby hated that. He tried to run from me, he scratched me and even tried to bite me. He got smart and would hold the pill in his mouth and then spit it out when I put him down. Did he ever make trouble for me. I tried to explain to him that it was for his own good, but he just didn’t listen.

Still something more awful awaited the two of us. He needed a bath, not just to clean him up, but to help get rid of his fleas. Generally cats hate baths. Baby really hated baths. I put on a raincoat and gloves. I brought Baby into the bathroom and locked the door. I talked gently to him. I had the water just the right temperature and it was a nice hot day. What a disaster. You can’t believe how strong a kitten of 1 ½ pounds can really be. Baby got his bath (and so did I).

Now he was really put out with me. In fact, I thought he would never forgive me. He sought solace with my husband. That just shows how upset he was. He couldn’t understand that I did all that because I cared about him. He didn’t know that without all those things he would never really be healthy. To save his life, I had to suffer his scratches and growls and anger. I did it for his own good.

It’s really like that for us too. At times we have to take some medicine to help us get well, but we complain the whole time. We also get irritated when our parents make us go to bed early when we would like to stay up all night. We need to sleep for our health. Our teachers at school give us assignments and homework so that we can learn.

Even more than doctors, parents and teachers, God knows what is best for us. He gave us rules, in the Bible, to live by. We need to obey Him for own good. It really is for our own, in the same way all the things I did to Baby were for his own health. At times the things God wants us to do, like loving our enemy or being totally honest, are just as hard for us, as taking a bath was for Baby. While I might accidentally make a mistake in the treatment of Baby, but God never makes a mistake. We can always be sure that God is too good to be unkind and too wise to be mistaken.

Happy Birthday Dear Mia

Suco da Luz do Sol

Sunshine Juice! It's all the rage here in Brazil. After seeing it on a news program, we decided to get a juice extractor and try it out. If you haven't heard about it, or it's not all the popular in your area, here are all the details you need to make it yourself. First you need to "germinate" some kind of nut or seed. I used sunflower seeds. You can see how they are germinated on the right. Then you need to clean your fresh fruits and veggies. The recipe calls for an apple, a cucumber, fresh mint, a very green leafy veggie (I used kale and found it bitter, but found spinach very nice), a carrot (or another root like beets or ginger, but I found ginger a bit too pungent for me), a vegetable (I have used chayote-chocho, squash and broccoli) and the sprouted seeds. I have added a few slices of melon to make it slightly sweeter.
You blend them all together in your blender and then you have to use a sieve and cheesecloth, etc. to strain the pulp. Me, I prefer the juice extractor. You don't even have to core or peel the veggies. God bless the store clerk you suggested putting a plastic bag in the pulp collector, because otherwise you have a huge mess of nasty pulp that sticks to the sides of the collector cup. With the garbage bag on the side you just lift it out and throw away the pulp. Of course, that seems a waste and we are trying to figure out how to use it, since we can't very well compost up here. I am amazed at the quantity of juice that is comes out. And it is so green. Only the carrot throws in another color.
I expected the juice to be kind of thick and chunky. Since I am so sensitive to textures, I was afraid that I would be revolted by that, but surprisingly, it is not thick. It is like any other juice. The apple and carrot (and with a little bit of melon) make it quite sweet. They say not the refrigerate the ingredients, but I do, since I hate anything lukewarm. Both João and I were quite apprehensive about how it would taste and so we both kind of had to work up some courage to actually do a taste test. I don't think we are too used to drinking anything green, although I don't know why that is so. Frankly I wouldn't say it's the most delicious juice I have ever tasted, but in it's own unique way, it's kind of good. I have tweaked the recipe some and tried to make it more palatable for us. That may not meet up to the standards of the LifeFood people. This juice comes from the raw food movement, called Lifefood. Me, I like everything well cooked, but I do know it loses vitamins in cooking. I also know I am not very patient to make and eat salads. So I figure this juice is a way of getting a good portion of the fruits and vegetables we need each day. Surprisingly the health clinics here in Brazil are recommending this juice to lower cholesterol and blood pressure and to lose weight. I know nothing is a panacea, but this little drink actually is very filling. So much so, that I am not hungry for hours and hours afterwards. I sure would be happier if it did lower my cholesterol! My bp is fine, thank you very much. Still, it doesn't hurt to try something new once in a while. So now you know all about Sunshine Juice. If you try it out, let me know what you think of it. We drink it for breakfast. Try it! You'll like it.

Chapter Six of Cats are Cool

Baby, my Special Present

When I finally came back to Brazil, things had changed very much in my life.For one thing, I was married! My new husband didn’t much like cats and I was very worried about what would happen to Princess and Muffet. I went to see them right away. They were happy with Susan. I thought for a while about the whole situation and decided the best thing I could do for the cats, for Susan and for my husband, would be to let Susan keep both cats. They had been together for two years now and we couldn’t very well separate them now! Susan lived alone, except for the cats. Yes, the best thing would be for them to stay with her. So I got used to living without cats.

That is, until one day, I received a wonderful present. I was working upstairs when my husband arrived home saying he had something to give me. I came running downstairs. Who doesn’t love a present?

What a surprise! The present was a little kitten. He was in the arms of a friend, because my husband didn’t want to touch a cat. I was amazed. He was such a little fellow. He was shaking all over and cold and a bit dirty. I knew just what his name would be: “Baby”.

He and I didn’t take long to make friends when I held him in my arms and fed him some homemade food. He began to purr and quickly fell asleep. Even my husband thought he was rather cute.

Since I had just learned that I wouldn’t be able to have children, I was going through kind of a hard time. My husband thought a cat would help me. He was right! What a wonderful present. After all, he didn’t much like cats, but he knew I did. It was such an unselfish gift, because now he would have to put up with a cat underfoot day and night! I really was touched, because I hadn’t even asked him for a cat.

The neat thing about his present is that he didn’t give me the cat because I deserved it, or asked for it or so that I would love him better. He gave me the cat because he loved me and wanted me to be happy. All I had to do was to accept the gift.

That reminded me of another gift I once received. Even better than Baby. I also didn’t ask for or deserve such a present. It was also given with much love and affection. Do you know who gave me that gift? God did. The gift was his son Jesus Christ who saved me. I didn’t have to do anything, except accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. That really is the best gift I ever received. It’s a present that never stops giving to me, every day of my life. Even after I leave this earth, I will still be with Jesus in heaven.

I was glad when my husband gave me Baby. The reminder of how much God loves me and his wonderful gift was a bonus.

Chapter Five of Cats Are Cool

When Princess and Muffet Made Me Sad

Princess and Muffet usually made me very happy. There was one time, though, when they made me cry. You will recall that my friend traveled to China and I was keeping Muffet for her. When she came home, it was my turn to travel to the United States and for her to keep both of the cats.

Boy was that ever a sad, sad day for me. First I gathered up all of their things, like the feeding dishes, combs, pillows, etc. and took them over to Susan’s house. Then I put Muffet and Princess in their traveling cages and drove over to her house.

When I arrived, I opened up the cages and Muffet started for just a minute and all of the sudden came running out of her cage, as if to say: “Home, I’m finally home!” Princess wasn’t so sure. She had been to this house before, and even stayed here when I went on vacation. She didn’t seem to remember anything though.

I stayed a long time watching to see how the two of them would do in the “new” house, but finally it really was time for me to go. I had to catch a plane. I knew that Susan loved both cats and would take very good care of them. Still, my eyes filled with tears and my lips trembled when I hugged each cats. Princess had lived with me for three years and Muffet for a year. It was hard to leave my friends.

There are those who say that Christians should never be sad, but that just isn’t so. When certain things happen, we have every right to be sad. God made us to feel happiness and sadness as well. Did you know that even Jesus cried when his good friend Lazarus died?

I must admit, though, it doesn’t feel very good to be sad. It was not a wonderful moment in my life when I walked out the door of Susan’s house and left the cats behind.

I sort of felt ashamed, but Susan reminded me even Jesus cried. I knew then that I didn’t need to hide what I was feeling. It’s okay to be human and feel sad when sad things happen. When I could admit what was going on inside of me, then I could talk to God about it. That surely felt better than trying to swallow my tears. I told God that I would miss my cats and my other friends as well. I asked Him to help me to be able to stand so much sadness. As I prayed, I felt God’s love for me. I knew he cared and that he understood my sadness. Then I knew that I was going to make it. I was sad, but I was okay.

I knew that during the year that I was away from Brazil I would have a lot of sad moments. I also knew that God would help me over those rough times. Susan would take good care of Princess and Muffet and God would take good care of me.

Winter time and the living is windy

This week João had a speaking engagement in Cabo Frio, which is a beach town, so of course I made the supreme sacrifice to go with him. It is only a little over 2 hours from Rio, but you seem to be in another world entirely. The white sand dunes, blue sky, mountains in the background, the sound of the ocean, all of it makes you forget the noise and crowds and hectic life in Rio. It was a great overnight getaway.
We left a couple of hours early so we could have a very late lunch on the beach. When we arrived around 3PM, we were absoluely starved. As we parked on the beach, we saw them carrying up a large fish. That's where we want to eat lunch we thought! We had a crabcake appetizer with fresh coconut water to stave off the hunger pains and then we had wonderful fish and shrimp. All that for less than half of what we pay in Rio. In addition we were eating right on the beach, watching the wind surfers, being peppered with salt water and hearing the sea gulls. The only fly in the oinment is that we were cold. Yes, I know I am whimpy, but it was around 60 degrees and very very windy. I actually enjoyed feeling all shivery, for a while anyway. We walked for a few minutes after lunch and enjoyed the beautiful beach. Brazil is so blessed with so much beautiful scenery.
The worship service was to celebrate 30 years of ministry of a seminary colleague of João. There was a crowd at the church, that included around 40 pastors from neighboring churches. It was a wonderful celebratory experience. After the service there was dinner for all. Now get this, the service ended at 10PM! We ate supper around 11:30, since the dinner was elsewhere in town. I enjoyed the company and the chit-chat, but by midnight I was fading fast.
The church hosted us at a charming little beach hotel. The owners were so nice to us (even waited up for our late arrival). We had a really good night's sleep and then had to head home the next morning. What a great break from our usual routine, however. Isn't it great to have these little intervals in our life? I didn't know the pastor in Cabo Frio, but I was delighted to get to know him and his wife. They are lovely people. I saw a number of people I knew from years ago, as I used to travel so much and preach all over. I am still discovering the fruits from that work. That is so great and so much fun. People look at me... scratch their head and then you see the light dawn. Peggy Fonseca... ah, weren't you Peggy Smith? Guilty on all counts. I don't miss the constant travels, the perpetually open suitcase, stress of travel and all that, but I do miss making friends from all over Brazil. Everything, all decisions, come with a price tag. I am more than happy to remember those friends and retouch with them once in a while, and at the same time continue to invest in my very own eccelsiastical community. (How's that for some big words?)

A bump in the road

I haven't mentioned my drawing too much lately because I have hit a bump in the road. We recently entered into the arena of colors in our classes, and I was so excited to buy my colored pencils and pastels and just took them out to look at them. When it came to actually working with colors, I felt frustrated and lost. I just couldn't make it work. I think I bought cheap pencils, but they don't flow on the paper. They can't be erased (I am the eraser queen) and there is no blending to be had. ARGH!
The exercises did not go well and I was on the verge of just quitting, deciding that I had hit by "peak" and my "artistic" phase was over. To make matters worse, one of the classes involved drawing a cluttered room. If there is anything I hate, it's drawing furniture, walls, scenery. It's just boring to me.
This week, however, our teacher abandoned the book she is using, that has served us well up to this point, and took things into her hands. She bought fruits and let us pick them and draw them last week. Everyone was feeling a little like I was, that we had suddenly regressed and couldn't draw anymore.
We all began to draw, and suddenly there was silence as we all fell to work. Gabi gave us suggestions and, at first, we all felt strange building the layers of color. We couldn't see our fruits emerging. Near the end of the class, there they were. Live and in color. I used over 6 shades to work on the gourd. (Actually it's a kind of baby pumpkin or squash.) I finished up the tangerine (also with 5 or 6 shades of reds and yellows and oranges) at home and then added in the shadows. Unfortunately I had sketched in the shadows with an orange pencil (the table was orange, so that was the color of the shadow) and the line was too heavy making my shadows funny looking with the artificial lines. I still have to learn that you can't bear down with colored pencils, as the lines are uneraseable.
At least I felt there was something recognizable in the drawing, the shading is there, along with the right coloration. So maybe there is hope for using colors. First we have to master the colored pencils. Then on to pastels and watercolors. On my, there is so much to learn. So far, I am finding color theory the greatest challenge. I still don't look at something and see the light and all the colors that go into making the shades. Practice, practice, practice. (And buy some decent colored pencils!) Friday we will be drawing plants. How many shades of green do you think I will use then?

Chapter Four - Cat's Are Cool

Princess, the Beauty Queen

When people come to my house, Princess usually comes sauntering into the room and everyone stops to look at her. “What a beautiful cat” everyone says. They want to pet her and hold her in their laps. Of course, Princess knows just how to play them for lots of attention. She is charming and elegant and everyone notices her. Even her name sets her apart. She is royalty.

You will recall, however, that another cat, by the name of Muffet, came to live with Princess. She, unlike Princess, is timid. When visitors arrive, she hides, trembling, beneath the covers until they leave. She doesn’t do cute little things to get people to notice her. She doesn’t have long silky fur like Princess. She is rather chubby around the middle, but has skinny legs, tiny ears and a short, thin tail. Everyone notices, right away the difference between the two cats. More than one person has commented, “I would like to have a cat like Princess, she is so beautiful. But I wouldn’t want a cat like Muffet.”

That always makes me a little sad, because it seems as though people have judged Muffet’s value, based on her appearance. I guess I relate more to Muffet than to Princess on that score. I am short and fat and no one would call me a beauty queen. It has always made me sad when people made fun of me or when they don’t want to be around me because I’m not beautiful.

That whole experience of the comparison between Princess and Muffet set me thinking about a verse in the Bible. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 - NIV). That verse is really true. God cares about our attitudes, how we act, about our thoughts. Those are things we can control. I can’t much control the way I look. I know for sure that God loves those who are short, tall, thin or fat. He really doesn’t care what I look like, because what I look like doesn’t determine what kind of person I am. That’s a nice feeling. Sure has changed how I think about myself.

Try taking a mirror and looking at yourself. Then think about how God sees you. What you look like isn’t that important. It’s what’s inside that counts.

That has made such a big difference for me. It makes me feel good about myself. And it makes me treat others differently. I try not to base my friendship on what people look like on the outside. God is helping me to learn to love people like he does.

Sometimes I give just a little extra love to Muffet. I want her to know that I think she is special and I like her just the way she is. That’s the way God loves me!