Rita, Layane, Natalia and I before we head out.

Ponta Negra stop. “We were so hungry,” they told us.

Everyone gets a Bible.

“Hey! Your feijoada is pretty good, for a gringa!”

“Can we have more?” (Yes!)

Waiting in line. Rita dishes out the beans, I scoop the rice, Natalia sprinkles the farofa and puts the spoon in the bowl. Mark gives out the Bibles.

So many happy faces, lots of hugs and everyone had plenty to eat.

On Friday morning, we set out for the clinic again, at 6am with Lizandra, Dona Geralda and Natalia & Layane. We dropped them off at the clinic and ran some errands in the meantime – bank, bills, Nordestão (the major grocery store here). Lori picked out 60 fresh rolls from the bakery, planning to make ham & cheese sandwiches for a young group of street kids that appeared at a street corner in Natal a few weeks ago.

Why only 60 sandwiches, you ask? We usually take 500, yes. Unfortunately, last Wednesday morning, Mark’s truck wouldn’t go into gear. Welcome to Brazil. The mechanic told us it would take 20-30 business days for them to get all the necessary parts to fix the truck. So, street feedings like we normally do won’t be possibly for the next month (or more). Please pray for a speedy repair job for Mark’s truck! Thankfully, the day after we arrived here, we rented a little four-door Ford car for me to use for the month, so we still have two operational vehicles.

After our errands, we drove back to the clinic and picked up the ladies. Dona Geralda got a good report from the cardiologist; he wants to see her back in two months to ensure the lower doses of medications he prescribed continue to work. Now, back to Dona Geralda’s house to drop off her and Liz, and then back to our house with Natalia & Layane. After lunch, Lori, Nonna and the girls put together the ham & cheese sandwiches (I was napping in the hammock 😳😴). At 4pm, we set out for the city with the sandwiches, looking for the kids on the street corner that Lori had seen them. It was still light out when we got there, and the stores on the corners were open – the kids wouldn’t be coming until the shops were closed up for the night and it was dark. So we sat in the car at the corner for about 20min (sunset here is around 5:30pm, so we weren’t waiting too long). The shops closed up, but still no kids. Determined to find them, we drove around the city for a half hour or so, looking. Just as we were about to give up, a family showed up at the corner – parents with two young girls, sitting against the wall, packing up peanuts in little bags to sell at the traffic light.

We hopped out and started handing out the sandwiches, chocolate milk and tracts. Natalia immediately hit it off with the two little girls, and played peekaboo with them using their cardboard mat. It didn’t take long for some other people across the street to come over – adults, but homeless nonetheless. They told us that usually the kids hang out here at night, and that they should be coming soon. We stayed out there for awhile, chatting with the people and offering refills on the chocolate milk.

Coincidentally, one of the ladies from the favela Leningrado walked by, with her husband and 5-month old baby, Anna Luisa. They were on their way home from the city, walking to the bus stop. Lori talked with Sabrina while Natalia held sweet Anna Luisa.

Unfortunately, only two more little boys showed up – not the usual 20-30 kids that Lori had been seeing. But, we made new contacts, and handed out the Word. God had in mind some different mouths to feed than we had intended. His ways are higher than ours.

Leaving the city, we headed straight to Aningas to bring home Natalia and Layane. Nonna & Papa had come with us for the street feeding, so it was a full car- them, the girls, me and Lori. We crossed the bridge out of the city, and made it onto the BR-101, which is the main road to Aningas. All of a sudden, we heard a very strange, loud noise at the back of the SUV, like a whirring, whistling sound of a wire vibrating in the air. Haha, sorry for the bad description… but was very strange. And less than a minute later, ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk – we had a flat tire! Dead flat.

We pulled over to side of the BR, and put on the fourways. Let me take a quick detour to tell you a few things about the BR…it’s a one-lane highway, speed limit 80km/hr, with ZERO lights, and about 8″ worth of space for a “breakdown lane.” And the cell phone service on the BR is next to none. Yeah. And our back right tire was flat.

By the grace of God, we were in a spot with just enough cell service to call the house and inform Mark & William of our state of emergency, who immediately came to our rescue (which was 20min later). Luckily, this wasn’t Mark’s first rodeo, and with William’s help, they had the tire changed in less than 15 minutes! Lori, William, and Nonna & Papa drove home in the SUV, and Mark and I took the girls home to Aningas. We got home around 8:45pm. Not too shabby, considering the day’s events!

We take His provisions for granted far too often. How great, and gracious is our God. We are so thankful for His protection. There are so many other scenarios that could have played out last night. The fact that we got the flat tire in a spot on the highway WITH cell service is a miracle itself. Changing a flat on the BR is exceptionally dangerous, but we all made it home safely, thanks to His preserving hand. We’ll see what tomorrow brings for adventures!

Every horse and donkey here has a burn on its nose from the heat and pressure of the metal noseband it wears, working all day. Here are the first 3, of hopefully many more, that I’ve been able to fit with a cotton piece that velcros over the metal, to protect the animals’ noses.

And of course, this lends the opportunity to send them on their way with a Bible in hand!

Yesterday was great. We get used to our trips out to the streets and sometimes it can just be a routine we go through. Yesterday God reminded us why we’re here.
We pulled up to our last stop and there was a crowd of kids. We handed out the sandwiches and the ice cold lemonade, along with the Word, greeting and chatting with them all. One of the boys grabbed me and said, “There’s two kids over there, but they’re too ashamed to come get food.” So, I grabbed some sandwiches and juice and went to them.

“You don’t have to be shy or ashamed,” I said. “This food is from God and there is plenty. Eat all you want.”
The two boys just stared at me for a bit. Finally, one said, “We’ve been out since early this morning and we haven’t eaten. We just said, “God, if You care, please send us some food.”
In one quick second, our focus got readjusted, our resolve was strengthened and we felt heaven’s arms embracing us and reassuring us. He is here. He is real. And He can use us in all our weakness.

… I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be). (‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭20‬ AMP)

I didn’t choose Brazil…I wasn’t looking for an opportunity to do missions work or to serve. I didn’t even know about the work Mark and Lori were doing in Brazil until about two weeks before I committed to going. God brought the opportunity right to me, and then, in amazing ways, He made every provision. God brought me here, and He brought me here for a reason.

My perception of what my time in Brazil would look like before I arrived was entirely one-dimensional.  I thought I would be a practical help in the work in feeding the hungry, distributing clothes and other necessities to the needy, and of course speaking of God’s love. I was entirely unprepared for the profound effect it would have on me…how completely I would fall in love with what God is doing here, how complete I would feel in fully surrendering to God using me to convey His love, and how thoroughly my life would be changed by it all.

When I try to convey what I experienced in Brazil and the profound effect it had on me, my words seem so terribly inadequate. This area of Brazil is like no place I have ever been. It is a land of breathtaking beauty and abhorrent squalor; towering and exorbitant residential skyscrapers and rudimentary mud huts. The types of needs vary so greatly and yet they are the same. From the gospel meetings in the poor village of Aningas, to providing medical care within the favelas, to feeding the homeless, to seeing drug addicts through rehab–the underlying need is the same. There is an exceedingly great need for hope and love; their need for a Savior.

Showing God’s love and mercy to people who have lost all hope is a humbling and incredible feeling. To be God’s hands and feet took on a new meaning for me here in Brazil. It used to be about doing what God would want me to do. As I stepped back and humbled myself, God used me to do His will. It’s not really about what we do, but what God accomplishes through us–His love displayed. And there is no feeling like it, to be right where God wants you and to be used to proclaim Jesus’ love and mercy…to be used to bless others extravagantly.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”  (Matthew 9:37-8).