Pumpkin Spice Latte

I made it home safely and soundly and had a reasonably good trip. Through God's providence I sat beside one of the nicest people I have ever met. She was a lovely Christian (Brazilian) woman going to Indianapolis to visit her daughter. So we had lots to talk about. We enjoyed the journey. I arrived in Miami on time, where I had 7 1/2 hours to "kill" . So I had my first (but not last) Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. I walked and walked and walked. I now know every store at the airport. I found a table and chairs and I sketched. I found an internet center and went on the internet. I read my Bible. I did Sudoko. I ate lunch. And I still had time on my hands. I was so tired, and just wanted to stretch out and sleep. Fortunately the next leg of the journey went quickly, I arrived ahead of schedule and very quickly I was home, where I could have a bowl of soup, a hot shower, and then hit the sack. I was asleep by 8:30, their time, which was 10:30 on Brazilian time.
Since Tuesday, I have done some odds and ends of things. I have gotten my Kindle up and running (Yeah!!! I love it!), and have already filled and packed one suitcase with things I had ordered and other people had asked for. That's it, for the other suitcase is for Elly's wedding dress. I have picked up a few things, but not much. I have ordered new glasses, including new sunglasses and that's been the big expense. Mostly I've been reading and visiting and have done some cooking for the family.
One day my sister treated me to a " spa" pedicure. It was definitely an experience! I felt like the Queen of Sheba in my massage chair, with the fancy foot pool and the massage of the feet, as well as the paraffin treatment. My toes never felt or looked so good.
Today was Halloween and I did enjoy seeing the kids in their costumes, out with their families and having fun. I did not like, however, the ever so flagrant display of greediness and gluttony.
Tonight we turn back our clocks, so everyone gets another hour of sleep. That's grand, except for the fact that there is now a three hour time difference between here and Brazil and when I return I'll lose not one, but three hours of sleep with the change. Oh well, it's a small price to pay...

I’m Going Home

I am heading for home. In every sense, because Monday night I am getting on the plane and flying into Northern Kentucky where I’ll get in a car and head to my mom’s house. So I really am going home. What am I looking forward to there? Well, duh… being home!!! Even though the house in Walton, Kentucky is not where I grew up or ever lived, it has my mom and that’s enough to make it home. And it has all my “mom” stuff that makes it look and smell like home. All those touches that are stored up on my memory banks, that make every house she has lived in be my home too. So I can hardly wait to hug her neck and throw myself on her couch and talk to her, my sister, brother in law and my nephew. Then, a couple of days later see my other sister and my niece and complete the circle of catching up. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

Now there are other little benefits I’ll experience, but they really are just “gravy”, because I would be excited about being home, even if all this stuff wasn’t part of the package. Lucky for me they are. What are those things?

Cool weather. Fall. Still a few leaves turning colors and falling. I love fall. Pumpkins and cranberries.

Driving an automatic transmission car in a relatively small place where the expected attitude is that of obedience to traffic laws. Ah……the little things of life.

Quiet. Dark. The silence of where Mom lives, as well as total darkness at night. Not waking to hear hammers over my head (my neighbors are remodeling right now).

Being me. Yip, my family knows me and loves me. I don’t have an image to keep up. I can just be me – not even having to wear make up, do my hair or wear decent clothes.

Getting my new Kindle up and running and READING lots of new books under the covers late at night.

Visiting Starbucks Coffee. (Yes we have them here, but not all the good flavors and ridiculously expensive – even my Starbuck’s standards!)Ah… Pumpkin Spice Coffee. I can taste it already.

Shopping. (I’ll not elaborate on that, nor mention all the stores I enjoy.)

Talking in English. Speaking “Smithese”, which is my family’s brand of shorthand, fill in the blanks, interruptions,  amd hoosier expressions that is our unique way of talking.

Eating out. Restaurants with a different variety of food than I have here. Restaurants where you don’t have to yell to carry on a conversation.

Did I mention I LOVE my family and can hardly wait to see them? While I’m home we’ll do my birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas all wrapped up in one. We may eat too much, talk too much and spend too much, but we never love each other too much!

Sissy the Carpenter

Sissy the Carpenter

Today we finally got around to getting another bookshelf for João’s books that seem to be stacking up everywhere around the house, threatening to run us out of house and home. While at the store, we also picked up a bookshelf for Sissy. Since none of us are handy with a screwdriver, nails, or a hammer, we asked about them assembling them. The delivery and assembly charge was just ridiculous and they just kept assuring us of how easy it was. So to save $80, we stuffed it all into our car (I almost had to ride home on the roof), drug it all upstairs and then told Sissy she would have to put together her own bookshelf. She looked slightly panicked for a minute and then started opening the box. I separated the material for her and we figured out what the assembly would be. She was nervous about the hammering at first, but with a few pointers, she quickly got the hang of it and was assembling her very own furniture. She was totally successful as you can see by the photos. I thought you might get a kick out of seeing her work, although you might not understand all of our conversation. As you can see, the finished product turned out perfectly, as she is a careful, thorough worker, very different from me. I think quick, careless and dangerous might possibly describe my carpenter skills. Our biggest disappointment of the night was being unable to put together João’s new bookshelves as we somehow managed to get home without any of the screws to put it together and the store had closed by the time we realized that tiny little detail. Oh well, something to look forward to for tomorrow. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Cactus in Rio

We have this cactus. What kind I don’t know, for I am no botanist. We acquired it when João was visiting a family and admired their cactus. They snapped off a piece and he brought it home and planted it the planter where my very dead palm had been. Since it’s a cactus I sort of ignored it and it stayed small. Then one day João planted a watermelon seed and it started growing. So I began watering it. Lo and behold the cactus took off growing (it starting growing about where you see the nick on the left side of the larger arm). And it grew fast for about a year or so. Then around the time of our vacation, it just stopped growing. It got a little mushy on the top and all brown and ugly. I thought it was going to die. Then about a month ago, these little yellow flowers appeared and gradually fell off. Two weeks ago we went away for a week, and upon returning, what had happened? The crazy cactus had grown, a lot! To top it off, it had put off two side arms and all these shoots on the top. All of the light green growth you see has been in the last two weeks. It almost seems like I can see it growing. It’s incredible. The only change I made was pushing it over to the corner of the balcony where it gets rain and southerly sun. ONLY… as if that was a small thing. Although it’s in a planter, it still likes being closer to more natural growing conditions.

Things just grow better with sun and rain. In a very loose analogy, I might add that I too grow better close to my natural growing conditions. This weekend, through a conference speaker at our church, I began to think about the whole process of sanctification – of spiritual growth. About real worship being worship that transforms, impacts, takes root in your life so that you might become saintly. I realized that I need even more of God’s Word and of prayer – my version of sun and rain. I have been a believer for 50 years and I am still so teeny tiny. So I guess I just keep trying to shove myself over closer to the source of life and maybe I’ll green up some, produce some flowers and others will see my growth. I crave that in my life.

P.S. My ever so patient sister scrolled through pages on cacti, to learn that this kind is a Cereus Jamacuru, or Mandacarú here in Brazil. Cool.

Bible Translation

I guess we all want to have heroes, but actually for the most part we don’t ever get to meet or know “real” heroes. Last night I had that very rare opportunity. Missionaries Guenther and Wanda Krieger spoke at our church. They have been missionaries with the Xerente Indians for 50 years now. They are both brilliant people and have poured out their lives in sharing the gospel with the people to whom God has called them. If that doesn’t make them heroes, what does?  And faithful they have been, as they have seen a tribe nearly decimated (around 400 people), be restored to strength (now over 2000) and be transformed by the Good News. They have totally invested in translating the Bible into the language of their people, which first meant writing the language! They have used these fifty years to learn the language and culture and be able to totally translate the “Word Given By the Supreme Creator” (as the Bible is called in Xerente). The New Testament has now been published.

They brought with them a copy of the Word of God that you see on the right. I felt I had the most precious thing I had ever seen in my life. Fifty years of love for God and his people.  I love the story he told about translating the flight of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, in that he translated the verb, “fled”,  in the plural. His consultant (one of his converts), told him it was conjugated wrong, since their language uses one conjugation for plurals and another for when there is one person and yet another when there are but two. The consultant told him that only Mary and Joseph fled, for Jesus was a baby and he was “taken” on the journey, but was not actively involved in the process. Fabulous! Years and years of tedious work to make sure it was accurate according to the Greek and Aramaic, and also to show it communicated accurately in Xerente. Wanda, his wife, (in the pink dress in the photo to the right) explained that the women have no rights at all and when she began to teach them read, the men told them they would never learn. They did, of course, since women usually have strong language/verbal skills and now the women read the Bible, out loud, in the worship services. I could have listened to their stories for hours as I sat enthralled. I drew a quick and dirty sketch of Guenther, which João says probably resembles someone somewhere, just not Pastor Guenther. Ha!

I am grateful to have met this wonderful couple. I am inspired by their lives. I am in awe of how God has used them. They are my heroes. Real heroes of faith. THEY deserve the Nobel prize, for they have sought to bring peace on earth where they live.

Friends!

Don’t you love being with friends? Old friends or new friends, it’s just great! Yesterday, October 12, was children’s day here in Brazil, in addition to being a catholic holiday, so we had the day off. João and I took advantage of that to drive over the mountain to the Barra and take Hilda Cowsert out for lunch. She and her husband were my supervisors (read: mentors) when I first got to Brazil. They did so much for me and made a huge difference in my life and ministry. Her daughter is a missionary here in Brazil and so she was in town visiting her daughter, since she is now retired and living in Florida. She came to our church Sunday night and I was so excited to see her. It was even better to be able to go out to lunch and have a good time of talking and catching up. She is still, at 81, so active in ministry! What a blessing in my own life and the lives of so many others. It was a great treat to be with her.

I am still enjoying the memories of last week and the conference. I am only sad because somehow I lost or misplaced all my notes and my ‘wonderful’ ideas for my blog. I am sure they would have been insightful entries, but alas I simply cannot remember them. I remember vaguely, but I confess that my ideas are of a very ephemeral nature, so that if I don’t jot them down, the essence flies out of my head like the fur falls off of Mia. Fortunately we ordered a CD of the messages and when I listen to them again, perhaps my ideas will be restored to me.

At any rate, what I really wanted to focus on here was the joy of being with friends at the conference. At the photo on the right (above) you can see Marilene, Gabi (my art teacher), and Bia (Mari’s daughter) at a park in Águas de Lindoia. I stayed right next door to Marilene at the hotel, so we had a nice chance to talk at the meals, visit the pool together and do some shopping.  To the left is photo of João and me with Roberta and Joel. Roberta studied art with me last year. Her husband is a Presbyterian pastor and although we are actually neighbors we never see one another. Surprisingly on the trip (eight hours) down to the conference we ran into each other at lunch and also at a gas station along the way. We joked that it was predestined for us to be together, since it turned out we were also in the same hotel. We ended up spending a lot of time together and getting to know one another. They are good friends’ of Marilene and Franklin and that made for some extra special community time. As you can see on the photo on the right (taken by Bia, who always seemed to have the best ideas for photo ops), we joked and laughed a lot around the table. That was good for us. Sometimes we get into a rut, and there is NO time to be with people outside our own church, so this was a great blessing. One of my constant struggles here in Rio is to make friends and to make time to be with friends. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in everything there is to do and forget about “be-friending”. I hope last week serves as a reminder to me of how important that is. Friends don’t just happen. You have “work” at being a friend. But it is fun work.

It’s a Done Deal

No thanks to you who didn’t share your opinion (with the notable exception of Elly!), I have made a decision about buying a Kindle. I am glad I waited on deciding. Guess what? The price was lowered again. And this time to sweeten the deal, they have launched an international edition. Yes, those of us poor slobs who live outside the US can now have access to the wireless network to immediately download the books. Do I hear a woo-who???? Someone? Anyone????

It is currently on pre-order status, but should be available by October 19th. Since I don’t arrive for another couple of weeks in the US, I have already preordered, so as now to lose out on this chance. For sure, this will be very popular. I don’t know what date it was first advertised, so I don’t know if I am far down on the waiting list, but I hope not too far. I am so excited. Are you excited for me too?

Home Again

It’s been a week since I’ve written, but what a week! I absolutely will NOT bore you with all the details, but now that I am home again and trying to settle back into a routine I thought I would say hi and fill you in on where I’ve been.

This week João and I have been in Águas de Lindoia in the state of São Paulo, roughly eight hours from Rio (by car) attending a theological conference. It was a terrific week. The speakers were great. Later this week, I hope to find some time to write some articles about some thoughts I had on what I heard. D.A. Carson (a Canadian who lives near Chicago) and Mark Dever (an American who lives in DC) were the main speakers, so it was a treat for me to hear English!

On the lighter side, look at my treats I got for my birthday. An orchid, a bromeliad (my very first in my life), and a fruit basket. It was nice to arrive home and find these treats. Actually, though, the bromeliad was waiting for me in my hotel room and I brought it home! In addition, one afternoon we drove over to a little town with a porcelain factory. About 26 years ago I had gone there and bought a pitcher I just loved. When I went to Canada, I sold it and had always been sorry, since I loved the pitcher. Anyway, we found the factory and I replaced my pitcher. João, generous as he is, also got me a teapot, cereal bowls and a vinegar and oil set. I just loved the blue and white dishes. They are artisan, so no two pieces are absolutely identical. If I ever go back there, I may decide to get a complete set of dishes. The the public square, there is a natural fount (this area is famous for the mineral water) flowing through this porcelain water bottle. The town is famous for these dishes.

While the conference was the main attraction, I just loved being there right next to Marilene in the hotel, as well as meeting up with my friend Roberta from my art classes and getting to know her husband. Everyday at meal time we all had lots to talk about and there was so much laughter. By the way, food was very good (and included with the hotel), so we all ate way too much – then spent the rest of the day sitting around listening to lectures. Not good for the waistline. Near our hotel was a “water” center, with the “radioactive” water for health treatments, as well as a natural mineral water spring, so one day we had to visit there and you can see Joel (Roberta’s husband) checking out the water. My friend Gabi (art teacher) was also there, but working so we didn’t have time together, except for a short time shopping and visiting a park.

It was a lovely little town tucked away in the mountains. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together there. It was hot when we arrived, but then it began raining and it was quite chilly. I ended up buying a red sweater, as the region is well known for the knits, that are really very inexpensive.  João, of course, brought home a trunkload of new books from the conference. Well… that’s an exaggeration, he only bought ten new books! But two of them are encyclopedias!

As you can tell, a good time was had by all, but as always, it’s also good to be home. We hit really horrible traffic as we arrived in Rio. since it’s a long holiday weekend. It took us two hours to travel 10 kilometers. Trust me, when I say our apartment surely looked grand to us when we got home.