Well, we made it safe and sound! We're here in Brazil to begin this long awaited journey and adventure! We arrived on Sunday night and our first two days have certainly been eventful. Many of you have asked about MayVa stories from Brazil like the ones I sent from Europe. So, here's the first one... We have a kitchenette in our hotel room and the Porter family and Matt and I were trying to cook our first meal in Brazil, a frozen pizza. (We wanted a meal that didn't take three hours to cook or three hours to wait on at a restaurant.) Jennifer had packed a pan and we had done well for our first trip to the supermarket on our first day in Brazil. The only problem was that we couldn't figure out the gas oven since it was different than any one we had ever seen.
Therefore, I was nominated to call for help. I called what I thought was the front desk and explained in broken Portuguese / Spanish that we needed someone to come and light the oven. The woman I was speaking to transfered me to the front desk and I explained again. The man at the front desk didn't know what I was talking about so he handed me off to someone else. Finally, someone who spoke English. When I explained he said, "Okay, I send someone up." Thirty minutes later, two maids arrived carrying pots and pans. Through sherades we communicated what we really needed and the laides radioed their supervisor. Matt and the two ladies found instructions (in portuguese) and while they rattled off things in portuguese that he couldn't understand, Matt lit the oven - just before the supervisor arrived. By the time all of our visitors left and we cooked the frozen pizza, it was still a typically long Brazilian meal.
As I think about how many miscommunications we'll have while we're here, I'm reminded of how our heavenly father understands us no matter what. He knows what we're going to ask for even before we ask it and it doesn't matter what language we ask it in. God understands us and knows us better than we know ourselves. So when you have one of those days when you feel like you can't communicate your thoughts and feelings, even in your own language, remember that God understands and is waiting for you to come to Him.
P.S. Thank you for the wonderful send-off and the gift that you gave us! It means so much to kwow that we have such a caring church behind us. We miss you all already.
