I am a locked garden
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Wen Yu Fre Fal Fyndd iff Heven Wates
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Archive for May, 2009
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Mais Fotos
0[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="268" caption="I found a stairway heaven"][/caption][caption id="" align="alignleft" width="576" caption="Purple"][/caption]
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Fly
“Step off the edge and Fly…” (jonathan david helser)
As I realized how close I am to going to Brasil, I decided today that I needed to get some things done before I go. First thing, typing up my itinerary and all my important information for myself and my mom, as usually do before going anywhere.
So I go on Orbitz to check my itinerary. Looked fine until I checked the details. Apparently my flight back to the US had changed considerably from what I had booked.
I was supposed to be flying out of Rio, to Sao Paulo, and on to Newark.
My itinerary change was as follows: Fly out of Sao Paulo, to Rio, then to Houston. Then get beamed back down to Sao Paulo 10 hours later to catch a flight to Newark the next day. Yeah, they had me somehow getting back to Sao Paulo, but no flight there, and also flying out of Rio using the Sao Paulo airport.
Who knows.
I mean, I wouldn’t complain about getting a few more days in Brasil or getting stuck there forever, but it would have been nice to know about the change. Good thing I checked my flight online and not just from my email. Or else I would’ve had an adventure in August.
My flight is fixed now. I’m going from Rio (yes, real Rio, not the Sao Paulo airport in Rio) to Houston, and on to Newark.
Houston is a good entry airport– they have Starbucks. I believe its on concourse D. Haha, that was Jacob and my re-entry point from Ecuador, we spent like 3 hours in that Starbucks. Ahhhh, fun times. I remember we called my mom and looked at funny names in the Bible.
Moral of the story, check your flights online if you ever fly. Or you may go on a little adventure.
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Dogs
Fairly frequently the dear child I work with will sing “Who let the dogs out? Who? Who?” Sometimes he screams it. A rather old song, but I have found the answer.
While babysitting here for 2 boys and 2 big black labs, I was surprised one day to see the dogs run into the front yard. I was sure I had put them inside so we could play in the front without the dogs barking and eating the kids’ soccer balls.
So my question was “Who let the dogs out?” Well, my dear autistic friend, I have the answer. No one. They let themselves out. Yes, one of the dogs has learned to open the front door, seen it happen myself, he pushes the lever with his paw.
As for letting himself back into the house, well, he got that down today. I was downstairs with the kids, and I heard someone walking around upstairs. Not their grandma, she wasn’t due in for another 20 minutes. I went up and checked, sure enough, the dog had let himself inside the screen door. I had closed it and let the dogs out. And the dog let himself back in.
Nothing profound. I just have an answer to the song I hear from my little buddy.
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tenho saudades
I just found out from a friend in the Peace Corps that it usually takes 3 years for former peace corps workers to re-adjust to their home country while they are in the peace corps for 27 months. YEP, you read right, more time to re-adjust back to the US than they were in the other country. My theory is that they go on living, but never fully go back to who they were.
Case in point: 60 or 70 year old man who works at my school was in the Peace Corps in Uganda back during Idi Amin, and he recognized my African print skirt as such and spent 10 minutes telling me about being there. I don’t think he ever fully got over being out of Africa. He seemed to miss it still and mentioned he’d like to go back to see how things changed.
So if I was in Africa almost 3 months, then one could reasonably say that 5 months is long enough to re-adjust, long enough to be able to forget about it, long enough to not cry when you see those photos of those kids. Nope. Its been nearly 5 months. And I just realized I had another picture of little Carlito, my favorite baby, and me, that a friend had given me when she was visiting. I saw it and realized how tiny he was. And how cute. And how much I love him. All over again.So maybe 6 months will be enough. By then I will be in Brazil. Hah. Can you imagine, me being home in Brazil and still dreaming about Africa? That’d be wild. And un-expected.
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Brasil 2009
Cristo Redentor- Rio de Janeiro
“Forgetting what is behind, and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.” Philippians 3:13/14
If I was planning my life out two years ago, I never would have dreamed of where I was headed. The unexpected twists and turns on this road of life is what makes it interesting. After coming back from Africa to a crashed economy and unemployment rates rising, I prayed diligently as to what I was supposed to do, if I was to find a job or just to escape to another country again. The new reality of America shocked me, but all things work for the good of those who love God, and God brought me a wonderful job in an unexpected place. I have been working with an autistic seven year old boy in the local public school these past few months. I love the kid and working with him is always interesting.
However, another unexpected turn has come in this road-trip of a lifetime to God’s heart. I’m going back to Brazil!
I’m going to a completely different place in Brazil, and with different ministries than I have in the past. I will be going there to visit the two bases that Iris Ministries has there, in Rio de Janeiro state and in Sao Paulo city. I will be visiting these bases to find out if I could see myself working there long-term in the future. I will be helping out with the projects that they have, teaching some art classes, helping with a feeding program, and working with kids in large and very poor favelas (slums).
In addition to the two Iris bases, I will also be visiting a church in Rio de Janeiro and helping at some projects they have with women, youth, and children in the favelas.
I will be in Brazil for 2 months, from June 17- August 23.Please pray for me, the Iris bases, and the children that I will be working with. Pray for:
Good health and safety for me and the Iris base leaders
Discernment to determine where God is leading me to work with Iris
Greater ability to understand and communicate in Portuguese
That the children would know God’s love above all else
Open doors and windows where God wants to share His love through meYour prayers are needed so much!
I will be updating this blog from Brazil. I will post further prayer requests on here as time goes on. I will also be sending email updates to those of you who are on my email list. If you would like to be on this list, please send me your email address.
Thank you so much for your continued and faithful support!
Vai com Deus!
-Emily BairFor tax-deductible donations to this trip or the projects I’ll be working with:
Go to Support page on this blog. Use paypal. Or…
Or if you would like to use a check, make it payable to Harvest Christian Center, with Brazil on the memo line. Send all checks to: Harvest Christian Center, 302 Soundview Ave, Shelton CT, 06484.
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