Happy Early Valentine's Day!! :-D

Yes Valentine's Day is upon us again... my favorite holiday! :-D (which i know some people think is strange b/c i never have a date hahaha but it is my favorite holiday, if ya were wondering :) it's always fun to see the many different expressions of love) anyway here in Brasil, they have the same holiday but it's called "Dia do Namurado" which roughly means day of the boyfriend/girlfriend... it's also on June 14th, not in february... sad sad day for nikki who will not get to celebrate it :( haha i'll miss it in america AND in brasil... ah well, there's always next year :) i will be spending this valentine's day playing volleyball with a lot of yth/college kids here and then spending the nite with one of the girls. good times - we're planning to use igoogle to attempt to translate each other since neither of us speak the others' language very well haha oh and today i found out the difference between the words "caminhar" & "passear" - see in my dictionary (which i have already given up b/c it is no where NEAR accurate - one of the guys here alisson lent me his english/portuguese dictionary which i'm so happy about by the way haha and also b/c he is one of the only people left who knows quite a bit of english) but in my dictionary, both of these words said "to walk" so i've been trying to get the pastors to go walking with me cuz i'm not good enough with the language to go wandering amuck in the country by myself haha but she never would for some reason... until today *dun dun duuuuun* haha today she asked if i wanted to go for a "caminha" & i was like "yes!"... apparentally "passear" means to stroll, like maybe go for a stroll in the mall or something like that which they had tried to explain to me earlier but i didn't get it... but "caminhar" means a brisk 3 mile walk all over the country, a lot of it uphill haha i felt like my legs were going to fall off but it felt good :) i'm glad i know the difference now though haha anyway i wish i could put up pics, which several people have asked about, but i'm currently using pastor elza's computer b/c we don't get wifi til next week... and her comp just cannot hold the photo content or much of anything else really :/ so until then, no pics but hopefully we'll get it soon & then be able to load up recent pics. this week, elza has been working on finishing making shirts (yes she makes, as in buys the fabric & sews together on a machine, tshirts for the kids here for the retreat we have next week during Carnival. that's like some 200 shirts plus the adults?! crazy... so i've been helping her run errands & such and then next week will be the rest of getting everything together & much practice!! (the college guys want me to sing a song in english so we're supposed to practice some hillsong music next week - i sing, they play... can you imagine me doing this on my own back home?! ha! ;) but it gets easier the more i sing in front of people, especially acapella... maybe one day i'll actually be used to it haha) and there's also... my birthday!!! :-D all i want is emails or messages from everyone so i can read them & not feel so homesick! ;) anyway i'm getting tired - i hope everyone has a great & romantic valentine's day! and for all of you single people out there, well i am as well :) and ya know? it's not that bad, not that bad at all... especially when you know how much God really longs and waits for you :) more than any guy will ever chase after you and more than any girl can fill your heart with - His love has no bounds and is pure love :) so just remember, whether married, dating or single, there is ALWAYS a God above that longs for you, waiting passionately for the day you'll let him rescue you :) that's the kind of love i'm looking for (and have) :)

São Dade Anne Gabrielle!!!! ;)

Oh so much to say, so much to say... I went to the Indian reservation here which is called Dourados. I wish i could upload pics from my computer but alas i'm on someone else's computer :/ The Indians are very... uh not so advanced in their thinking... would be the best way to say it i guess... We brought food to the family of the Indian pastor for casa do oleiro and a bag of lollipops for the kids. There was no hint of air conditioning, and their house was smaller than my old apartment with no doors, only openings. 2 rooms and a kitchen/living room. Although they had no A/C and no lights, they had a nice television. Ask me how that works out?? i have no idea... When we gave the kids their lollipops they immediately opened the bag & started eating some. No surprise there. Then they would throw their trash on the ground and eat another one. Ok worried about a sugar rush now but they never get candy so whatev. ;) Then they throw it the trash on the ground and still keep eating. I asked Anne why they were doing that, if they never get candy, then wouldn't they logically want to ration it, to make it last longer?? She said no, that they didn't want to share with the other kids in the reservation so they were going to eat it all right then. I was like "what?!" She said that when the other kids get something special, then they immediately consume it so that no one else can ask or attempt to receive some of their treasure. So if no one else shares, then why should these kids? But I said, "since they're a pastor family now, wouldn't they want to share, just to show more love to the people?" and she said no, that they didn't understand that concept at all. Aghast, I wondered, how can they truly understand what kind of a gift Christ gave us if they can't even share lollipops? Anne said they have to preach Christ like they would to children because the concepts involved are too complicated for them. I can't even imagine a life like that... After we left the reservation (which is 3 hours away from Campo Grande), we got home just in time to hear that Pastor Geraldo (Pastor Elza's husband) had been in an accident and so we rushed to the hospital. Now all day, for some strange reason, I had been plagued by thoughts of death. Not sure why, maybe b/c I've been thinking about Aarin a lot. Who knows? So when I was praying for Pastor Geraldo, although i was praying for health, i kept imagining worsecase scenarios and then i just stopped and told myself NO! If God is the God I believe in, if he is all powerful and full of mercy and grace and that anything i ask, can and will be answered, then i BELIEVE IN FAITH that Pastor Geraldo would be healed, only scrapes and bruises, nothing serious. And I claimed that in Jesus name, completely serious. I was like, there is no "if" here, there is only healing. So we got to the hospital and had to wait around for awhile and finally found out that he was ok! Only scrapes and bruises!! Praise Jesus! :) What happened is that he was coming home on his motorbike (apparentally half the population in Brasil drive motorbikes) and a car ran into him on his side (it was raining pretty badly) and he ricocheted up onto a curb and ended up plowing into a giant pile of dirt and brick that was by the house. Although the bike was worse for wear, he was ok. :) Whew! Close call! Things never go as planned here haha Anne even said they have a word for it - imprevicivo (probably spelled horribly) which pretty much means things change constantly. Later on that week, I got to play volleyball with some of the youth and college kids here. We played 2 on 2 & then 3 on 3. My teams won about half of them. :) I felt good about it haha there was no real competition which was nice - everyone just laughing and joking. They think it's strange that I only drink water but it's hard to explain the whole reason why i don't like carbonated drinks haha. We spent the whole day there at Pastor Baptista's and I got to hang out w/some of the college guys before we had night service. (Did i mention there's a service practically every night somewhere?? To these people, church is more of a lifestyle then a service... it's crazy how interconnected they are & the pastors and church families all go to these different mini services i guess) :) Anyway I was talking (and Anne translating) :) to the guys about the differences between things in America and in Brasil and we got on the subject of dating and here it seems like guys get into relationships that turn serious quickly cuz everyone has like a promise ring after a few months or one month and that's like a pre-engagement ring here. But a lot of them aren't that serious even though they give the rings and act like it, etc. And so i was just curious and opening my mouth like always haha and was asking why they jumped into things, especially when they know it wasn't meant to be serious? Like one guy said he dated a girl for i think 18 months just to date and i was like... "why...???" or people that dated just for passion and nothing else. i pretty much said passion doesn't make a marriage - love does. but anyway that was just nikki being nikki, always interested to know diff people's opinions, etc, didn't think anything of it. Pastor Maricela came over a few days later & wanted to tell me that the guys had thought a lot about what I said and had really changed their mentality towards dating. One guy (her son) even broke up with his girlfriend the next day, b/c he pondered what i said & prayed about it & knew the relationship wasn't fruitful (much to his mom's delight haha) How crazy is that?? People listening to me... huh... haha ;) Pastor Maricela actually told me that I may think I'm here to minister to kids, but that God is also using me in the youth/college. I'm here thinking i'm just talking but the people here really listen to what you have to say. They're so open and loving. But there's the yucky side as well. When we were outside Dourados (the Indian reservation) we had stopped at a store for something and I was waiting in the car with Anne and this awful looking lady was outside the door, pretty much propositioning herself... awkward... then she spied our car and started walking toward us. anne told me to lock my door which i did but i was like "why?" i found out 3 seconds later when she came to my door and tried to open it. it was the weirdest thing - i looked at her through the window, thinking maybe she would say something, like what she wanted. but no... never said a word... standing there in tattered clothes, not much teeth and crazy eyed, she just kept pulling on the handle and then banging on the door and side of the car. when i guess she realized she wasn't getting in, she just started walking off in the opposite direction. later we saw her in the middle of a busy street, just wandering aimlessly in front of huge trucks that almost ran her down (praise God they stopped in time)... it was just... creepy... and obviously some men are not so nice and continue to stare and make gestures toward you - sometimes i'm thankful i don't understand portuguese haha... in other news, my Anne Gabrielle left me yesterday :*( she and pastor antonio finally went off to their other destinations (i'm praying she'll be back in april like she thinks she will be) :) but it was a very sad day indeed... although yes it was a blessing to have her translate for me, it was more of a blessing to have a good friend here... Now i am back to square one haha like i said though, the people here for the most part are very friendly and loving. they all want to learn english and i'm like "but i have to learn portuguese!!!" haha they don't seem to understand that for me to translate something to them in english, i first have to know what it means in portuguese hahaha but cés la vie! I've done more puppet shows and one of the college kids here wants me to sing a song with him and his band in english for the retreat coming up. Carnival is the last week of February and the schools are out... ya know, so all the kids can partake in the debauchery... no seriously... it's like mardi gras times 10 so i've heard... lots of drunk and (half)naked people... so they've rented a campground for us and we are having a youth/college retreat. :) They really like hillsong, so the guys are going to learn "Lead Me To The Cross" and i'm going to sing it... Yes you heard... I'm going to sing in front of an audience... go me! haha ;) the kids here adore me for some strange reason haha and are always trying to talk to me or get me to sing for them. I actually understand them best, b/c they understand you have to speak portuguese SLOWLY for me to catch all the words haha. um let's see... not sure what else... hope you found some sense in my jumbled thoughts and stories :) remember, feel free to email me at korean4christ@gmail.com - i love news from home! ;) and mom if you're reading this - EMAIL ME BACK!!! i miss you :)

As Crianças!!! :)

Ah today i finally did a puppet show for the kids aka "as crianças" and it was good... I gave my testimony yet again - do i ever get tired of it? No! haha cuz i know who and what i'm proclaiming :) I must say though... i love kids... they are so cute and fun is not something bound in a language! they were entertained by my story and loved the puppets. everyone said a prayer of salvation together and afterwards the kids couldn't stop staring or trying to talk to me. it was good... tmrw - as plans are right now haha (always subject to change at will) are to go do a puppet show for the indian reservation here so that will be neat. and then thurs tentatively my annie-gabrielle as i've come to know her, is leaving alone and isolated in this portuguese spoken land haha sad day.... anyways its late so i bid you good nite - boa noite!!

heat, lightning and a multitude of stars

First of all, let me just say that a kid falling asleep on your shoulder is the cutest thing ever... ok not EVER but still... it's pretty stinkin cute haha :) Well the rain has past and the heat is here!! And it's back with a vengeance! Ay! I can't even begin to tell you how Texas humidity has NOTHING on Brasil's heat wave... bleh... And although the stars at night ARE big and bright deep in the heart of Texas, i gotta tell ya, in Brasil country, looking up at the sky... i never knew i could see so many stars!! it was like the sky had exploded and there was a smattering of pinpricks of light everywhere! and in the far off distance, with lightning flaring up, highlighting the unseen clouds... just beautiful... i wished then that i had a camera that could fully give justice to the picture i would take but alas, all i have are my memories :) in other news, as i think i've mentioned before, everything in Brasil seems to alwaysbe up in the air. plans change hour to hour, day to day. instead of doing the puppet show for the 250+ kids last nite, we went to a different church out in the country of Campo Grande (where i am currently and will be until i come home) where i got to sing a worship song acapella. ok if any of you really know me, then you know that i have horrible stage fright hahaha no but seriously, i was ok until about a minute before i went up and then i started shaking... it was pretty bad and when i started singing, i could hear my voice quivering and my hand holding the microphone was shaking and i was like "oh no..." haha but as i started to sing, i just concentrated on the words, about giving my worship to God and once i did that, i was fine... but yes, i can't remember a time when i've actually sang solo, let alone acapella in front of an audience... yay for God helping me haha... Everything here is slow paced as well... we arrived 2 hours early for service last night as well as with others in the church... everyone just sits around talking and then we actually have service and multiple people are allowed to talk or preach or share and there doesn't seem to be a time limit which is very strange for my American sense of church haha it took some getting used to but i kept thinking that when Jesus was preaching, people would sit and listen for days without leaving, whether they had food or not... we should always be ready and willing to listen to a word of our Lord and Savior :) um let's see, what else? i've given my testimony at 5 or 6 churches now? and then i sang last night... who knows what i'll end up doing tonight haha things are good and i hope everyone at home is doing great - that school or work isn't too much of a burden for yall :) oh and a side note to leave you with - when pastor kevin had told me how in Brasil, stop signs and red lights were more caution lights than actual laws... i thought he meant like out in the country where there's not much traffic... but no... as we drove back into the city last night, we definitely blew through or "cautiously" drove through an assortment of red lights and stop signs... if i didn't know that God was with me, i would come home right now hahaha