2 MORE in the KINGDOM!!!!!!!

My favorite roosters!

The waterpark

The kids' favorite--the slides!

Sam is dancing in the pool.

The hotel where we stayed!

George's Birthday party at school!

The vacationers!

The Beach where Fabiana and Fabiane got saved!

Hi everyone,

I hope you are well. Wow, the last few weeks have been an adventure! Let's see...You will see a picture of roosters. Those roosters live outside my apartment and they crow at all hours of the day. So I thought they would be appropriate right before Easter. I thought the palm trees would be appropriate for Palm Sunday too. Guess what, I saw a donkey, palm branches, crosses, roosters and I even in live in Bethlehem-Belem. So I am living out the Bible right here and the best part--2 people are going to live with Jesus because Cindy and I told them about the Lord this week. I went on vacation this week to the beach and we shared the gospel and our testimonies in Portuguese to four people. They were selling jewelry, quail eggs, and various other things. We had some left over lunch and we gave it to them and then we had the opportunity to tell them about the Lord. Two of them received Jesus on March 30th. We even drove through the town of Thessalonica, so I truly felt like Paul this week.

"Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!" Acts 28:28

Amen! Praise the Lord for those who respond to the Gospel!

Nova

Spirit Week

Hi everyone,
I hope you are well. The last few weeks have been extremely busy. We celebrated Spirit Week for my school. One of the days, we had crazy hat day. I even wore a snake on the top of my head. It was very appropriate for Brazil, don't you think? I led a Bible study, taught, worshipped the Lord in Portuguese, took Portuguese lessons, among other things. We are coming upon the Resurrection season. I am so thankful that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and arose from the dead. I am doing this all for Him. Also, I taught my children about St. Patrick and how He was a missionary to Ireland. He was actually British. He got kidnapped by Irish pirates and worked as a shepherd for 6 years and he accepted the Lord when he was taking care of his flocks. He escaped back to Great Britain and then felt the Lord calling him to be a missionary in Ireland, so he went back to Ireland. He told the gospel using a 3-leaf clover to represent the Trinity. He emphasized that the people needed to worship the Creator and not the creation. My children made and cut out a clover and wrote the names of God on there to help them to remember our God 3 in 1. It was cool! They enjoyed it! By the way, St. Patrick wrote something called "The Breastplate Prayer." Here it is:

I arise today through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Wow, that prayer is really powerful!

It reminds me of one of my favorite Scripture verses:
"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."
Romans 11:36

Praise the GREAT I AM!
Amen!!!!
Nova

Language Help

Hi everyone,
I hope you are well. This week has been long but it has been good for learning Portuguese. Also, I started a Bible study called One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer. It is a study through the promise land. Wow, this week it talked about complaining! The Israelites had complained about the manna they received and how they missed the Egyptian food. It was a good reminder to me not to complain about anything the Lord has blessed me with. Anyway, as you know, I am getting tutored by one of my parents in my class in Portuguese. As a treat, I went out to dinner with her and spoke to her in Portuguese for 5 hours. Yes, I said 5 hours! I can't believe I can hold a conversation in Portuguese for 5 hours now. We had dinner on the docks of the Amazon River. The Amazon River is so beautiful at night! I even got to eat my favorite new dessert since arriving in Brazil, acai ice cream! I love it! We spoke about her family, the history of Belem, school, my parents, my faith etc. She gave me the Brazilian tour of Belem! That was special! God has truly blessed me with great friendships here! Also, continue to pray for Chile and the people there as they are recovering from that terrible earthquake! Please pray for a new ministry I am getting involved with-Children's Church! It will give me an opportunity to speak in Portuguese to Brazilian children. Praise the Lord!
There is truly nothing to complain about. Thank-you Lord for how You provide!

Psalm 139:7-10:
"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

Thank-you, O LORD for knowing every part of me! You are there and You provide for my every need and I do not need to complain because You know what is best for me!!!

Amen!!
Nova

I feel like Kevin from Home Alone! My HANDS ON MY FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone,
Let's see...I killed a tarantula (Yes, a furry leg spider!) this morning at 5:30. I have killed cockroaches today. I have laughed all day. I need my paint cans and everything. By the way, did I tell you my door to my classroom is broken? My kids and I got locked in. Classroom Alone or should I say Classroom Alone with 9 first graders! I love my First Graders! I must have looked like the crook on Home Alone trying to open the door only to finally get the door open with a paint can upside my face. Oh yeah, did I tell you that we got locked in again. I had the door open and one of my students needed to go to bathroom. I tell them every day to close the door. I am so glad I have trained them well. Slam! The door is closed again! We are locked in again. By the time they got us out, I used a chair to keep it open for the rest of the day.
(Okay, Okay the chair wasn't my idea it was another teacher's idea) But I praise the Lord for her!
The upside..I had pot roast, carrots, and onions for dinner and even apple pie. God is so good!
Laughing with my students! Also, I need to become a exterminator when I return to the States!
Nova

St. Valentine and Tutoring

Hi everyone,

I hope you are well. I wanted to let you see my first graders! Aren't they cute? We just had our
Valentine's Day party today. Brazilians do have a Valentine's Day but it is more for the adults than for the kids. So I decided to talk about the real St. Valentine in class today. He was a bishop in Rome under Claudius II. He would marry Christian couples and share his faith. He began sharing the gospel to Claudius II and He got upset and put him into jail. He was killed for sharing his faith. He was beaten to death. There is one story that He shared his faith to the jailer's blind daughter and gave her a letter signed Be my Valentine right before his death. He was a martyr for the faith. I spoke of God's love and how God loves us with an everlasting love. My kids enjoyed acting out the story of St. Valentine. Also, I am getting tutored by one of my parents in Portuguese! Praise the Lord for her! She is enabling me to share my faith even easier!

In Jeremiah 31:3, it states:

"The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."

In Romans 5:8, it states:

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

In Proverbs 15:13, it states:

"A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken."

Anyway, there are many verses but I shared about Christ's love to my students today. Thank-you Lord for giving me the opportunity to share YOUR LOVE! Thank-you for YOUR SACRIFICE! Thank-you for godly men and women everyday who share about You and die for the FAITH!

Amen!

Nova

P.S. Don't you like our silly pictures? It was actually my idea! They loved it!

Our Days are Numbered

Hi everyone,
I hope you are well. I have been teaching for about 3 weeks now. I have encountered some new challenges with teaching ESL (half my class) and native English speakers too all in the same classroom. Here are some of the things I have experienced and that I never thought about:
1. Brazilians (unless they have traveled outside of their home don't know what it means to feel cold)
2. I teach an American curriculum and I have to teach American money when Brazilians use the Real for money
3. teaching an English measuring system is hard since they use metric

But the Lord has convicted me lately that these things really don't matter but it is about sharing His Word and being an example to these kids, so I might be able to lead a child to the Lord (through His Leading Me) Enough of my pity party! Here is what the Lord said to me in His Word.

Psalm 90: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generation. Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man back into dust And say, "Return, O children of men." For a thousand years in your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night. You have swept them them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades and withers away. For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed. You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence. For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished ours years like a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. Who understands the power of Your anger and fury, according to the fear that is due to You? So teach us to number our days, That we might present to You a heart of wisdom. Do return, O LORD; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your servants. O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, And the years we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants And your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands."

Lord, help me to look toward you and to be eternally focused at all times. Our days are numbered to tell about You. Let me use every opportunity to tell about You! Confirm the work of my hands. Help me not to be prideful over my work or dwell in sorrow but to focus on Your Work!

He is using every second of my life for His purpose!
Redeeming the time! Amen!
Nova

The Longest River Now

Hi everyone,

I hope you are well. I did something really cool today. I went to the Amazon River with one of the missionary families and we had lunch on the port. The missionaries informed me that the Amazon River is now the longest river in the world because about a year ago the scientists found another tributary that makes it the longest river in the world. Isn't that cool? Sorry to all my students who I taught that thought the Nile River was the longest! I sampled some of the local foods here--pineapple pudding with a flan type bread, crab, and fried fish. It was so good and of course I had rice.

Updates on my prayer requests:

My leg is healed and I am able to wear my prosthetic leg again. Praise the Lord. It helps so much when I can teach on two legs instead of just one leg. But please be in prayer for my class still and for the daily language barriers that we face. I think that I found a local church here that I can be a part of, so pray that I can get involved and find my second ministry outside of school.

Once I have a full class with no students absent, I will post pictures of my class too.

Thank-you, Lord for your answered prayers!

Nova