Churrasco (Shur-ha-scoo) - BBQ Brazilian Style

During a lunch conversation I had recently with a precious Brazilian friend of mine, she told me that she thought I'd do very well in Brazil. She said that I had the 'lingo' down.  I loved Brazilian food.  I was goofy and I liked to laugh. 

Then I told her that I thought she'd do very well in America too.  She so sweetly tells me, almost daily, "Nina, I LOVE YOU!" (In English...just about the only English she knows!)  She despises apples dipped in peanut butter, but loves peanut butter balls.  She loves to have cook-outs (or "Churrasco" in Portuguese) and she's the most giving person I know.----To my surprise she told me that she found Americans a bit 'cold' and 'stand-offish'.  After she spent time in 4 major American cities....Houston, Denver, Miami and one other that I can't remember...she said that she didn't really enjoy her time in America.

Churrasco at our home a few weeks ago

Her neighbors weren't very friendly in America.  ---This made me pause to think......

What would I have done had a Brazilian family moved into my neighborhood when I lived in the States?  Would I have been stand-offish, judgemental, mean?  Would I have allowed my kids to play with theirs?

I want to say a loud YES to all these questions....but I'm not so sure I can.

I'm ashamed to admit that.....especially now.  Knowing what I now know and being where I am has changed me for the better.  My adorable, goofy, precious, giving, thoughtful Brazilian friends have made such an impact on my life.....and the lives of my children.

Now, we are the foreigners.  I know how it hurts to be treated badly, or even worse...ignored.
Americans are proud.  Sometimes this is good, I believe.  But mostly it's bad.  Lord, help us.

4th of July

Our first time in 4 years to celebrate America's day of Independence on American soil.

We spent the day at our home church with a BBQ and games. It was a beautiful day.




Fireworks in Knoxville later that night:



























We have been resting the last week. A much needed time to sleep in, fellowship with our pastor and his family, and of course, eating Krispy Kreme donuts way too frequently.

Our three oldest girls will be going to camp next week, so Daddy and I will just have Justice and Trinity with us for the week. It will be fun!

Still missing precious friends in Portugal, but soon our time will end here, and before we know it we will be on a plane back across the Atlantic.

Prayers from Knoxville,

Nina

Furlough Frenzy

Time is winding down, and preparations are in their final stages.....less than two weeks before we leave for furlough.  Lists have been made and many things already crossed off......

• Get furlough vehicle to Birmingham.
• Find a sitter for all my gorgeous Orchids.
• Organize the dungeon. (our junk room)
• Decide what luggage to use and how many pieces will be needed.
• How many vehicles will be needed to take us + our luggage to the airport?
• Find a Dog sitter, cat sitter and turtle sitter.
• Buy 60 kilos of dog food for Major. 
• Leave fridge running, or shut it down?
• Make checklist for house watcher & dog/cat sitter.
• Install electric fence to keep dog from wandering.
• Decide what songs the kids will sing and in which language. (I stress THE KIDS, not me.)

This is only a sample of my to do list.  My schedule is in high gear lately, and the work in the ministry is showing no signs of slowing down.  (Praise HIS name!)


Trinity helping instal the electric fence.

Justice trying to be sweet.

He asks me daily, "Mom, are we going to Amewica today?"

Last weekend we had a Convívio das Casais. (Couples meeting)

It was a precious time of fellowship, prayer and of course, Eating!

Some of the dishes.  Michael made the dish on the left.  It's called Baclhau à Brás. (Cod fish and Potatoes)

Salad is amazing in Portugal, once you get used to olive oil and vinegar.....Now, I'll have it no other way!!

I'll certainly miss the fresh, daily bread!

Singing praises!

Ms. Dawne stayed upstairs with the kids to give us parents an evening with other adults.

I'm going to miss these people.

So...since I'm thrilled to be visiting my homeland, but torn about not seeing my friends and church family here.....does that mean I'm officially insane, or officially a missionary? 

I think the two go hand in hand.

Heat Waves, History and Homeschool

The Portuguese Summer Heat has set in. Projected temperatures are frightening when considering we have a few fans and nothing more to keep us cool. Even the little kiddy pool out back with it's mysteriously developed hole offers no hope of reprieve from the heat. One of the advantages to such heat is that when I hang out a load of wash, by the time I'm done with the last article of clothing, the first one I hung out is nearly dry! Which means I can get lots of clothes done in record time. I just sweat like a dog while doing it!




4th of July was fairly uneventful here. We didn't even see a firework, or smell the delicious aroma of grilled hamburgers and BBQ. But we did enjoy watermelon....



..and we tossed around the football.



This morning, in between going out to hang out laundry and blogging, I'm being a very mean mother. Summer school is in full force.



When we discuss what we do in the summer with our friends here, I am always met with frowns and disbelief. Other parents cannot believe I 'make' my kids do school work in the summer! After all, 'children are not machines', we've been told.

However, much to my shame and embarrassment, my 11 year old could not accurately tell how many stars were on the American flag when asked by a Portuguese man at church on Sunday. This man knew the correct answer and she did not. He also knew what the 13 stripes represented...and again...she did not.

Now, to her credit, she can correctly conjugate just about any Portuguese verb thrown at her and she fills me in on the history behind each of the 2,000 Portuguese holidays when I wonder why the stores are closed again for the third time in a week. This was one of the concerns when we prayed about whether to allow them to attend a Portuguese school, or continue to homeschool. The decision was made to go to school and to supplement during the summer with American history, English and any other necessary American teachings that they lacked. They actually enjoy it....other parents don't believe me though.

We've been told by another American missionary family who raised their children here and sent them to the schools that one day one of their children (teenager) came to them and asked, "Dad... now is Denver a city or a state?"

Don't laugh...hearing something like this hurts a parents heart. It's one of the struggles families raising children in a foreign country experience. This family shared this story with us as a way to encourage us. They told us to not be surprised when something like this happens cause it will happen. Well...I had my day on Sunday when Brooklyn could not tell or even guess how many stars were on the American flag....on our day of Independence no less......

So...with this all said...we keep on....We teach when we see opportunities. We encourage when they get frustrated. We smile and laugh when we don't know what else to do.......

So goes the Life of a Missionary Wife.

Basketball in a Land of Soccer?

Last Friday we took the girls to basketball practice for the first time. Brooklyn, Faith and Liberty all 3 said they were interested in playing....well, at least trying it a few times in practice to see if they wanted to play.

The coach invited the girls to attend practice for a few weeks to see if they liked it....then they'd discuss prices with us. *gulp* I'm not sure I'm going to like the amount they give me, especially since we'll have to times it times three...(And now 4 times since Trinity wants to play too! Would it be wrong to hope some of them don't like it?!) Yes, that would be wrong.

There are a few things that I don't want my kids to do and one of those is not be able to enjoy something simply because they come from a large family. It's not their fault that have several siblings. Another thing is that I don't want them to ever blame the ministry. Which can be tough at times...even for me.

In a land that knows very little about basketball, our girls had a blast playing a game that makes us feel like Americans!

So here are a few pictures from a proud mama......


Faith and Lib looking on. Not sure what to do!


...still looking on.....


Liberty shooting....


Faith trying to dribble left handed....



Half way through practice the coach came over and asked Trinity why she wasn't playing. Trinity said "no thank you" and turned away. Five minutes later she decided she wanted to try, so Brooklyn walked her out to the coach.


Trying to run past the "pro" players without getting 'out'.......


Trinity trying to shoot....


She spent almost the entire time running across the gym to get her ball where she dribbled it off her foot!



But you can't tell me she wasn't having fun!



Brooklyn stayed home from school sick this day, so we didn't let her play.....bless her heart.


I always loved playing basketball in PE. My grades were never good enough to play on the organized team at the school, but boy I was the "queen" of PE basketball. I was always the tallest. I got to be the center, which I thought was the coolest position. I kept jammed fingers and broken fingernails, but I treasured that ribbon my team won at the end of the 6 week grading period. I never had a problem 'dressing out' when I knew I was going to get to play basketball. I couldn't dribble to save my life but I towered over all the wimpy girls on the other team....intimidation was my strategy. And it worked. We won first place.


My babies......"Lord thank you for these precious gifts!"


Have a great week ya'll

Just Plain Beautiful

Man....this makes me homesick!



The Army vs. Navy football game is this weekend!

Go ARMY beat Navy!

Unworthy Blessings

Missionaries sacrifice.

They sacrifice family, friends, culture and customs. They miss the fellowship of like minded believers. They do without certain frills & foods that define us as Americans and they normally never complain.

I'm not complaining now, but rather sharing with you my blessings.

Tori, fellow missionary wife in Croatia posted recently about No stick Cooking Spray.

What? No Stick Cooking Spray? You ask.

Yep...that's one of the things we wives sacrifice.

We don't have fast food options like you guys do in the states. So that leaves us wives in the kitchen each and every lunch and dinner trying to come up with a meal. Neither do we have the convenience foods that one American family may have their pantry and freezer chock full of. So we start from scratch. And this usually doesn't even include no stick spray. ---I know...ouch!

Tori couldn't buy it in Croatia until recently. Her husband just about sprinted through the store to show Tori his fantastic discovery. She jubilantly filled her buggy full till she saw the price, exchanged it in her head and discovered that each can of "Pam" spray would cost her about $16. So with much sadness the cans, every last one of them, went back on the shelf.

I just about cried when I read this.

To have it so close.......

Not having it at all is one thing, but having it so close and not be able to afford it is another. It's worse I think.

You see Missionaries not only have to keep themselves 'afloat', but most have to pay the rent, utilities and furnishing of the new church plant that may or may not have a few folks attending. For us in Portugal the Euro/Dollar exchange rate is terrible. It's better than it was last summer, but still it's not good.

$16 Pam spray just isn't in the budget. Even if it does make life in the kitchen just a little easier.

My heart goes out to her. She had a friend send her some last year, but those cans are long gone....sniff, sniff.

I too had some cans sent to me at Christmas time from a dear friend. She sent three cans. Liquid gold I call them. One is almost ku-put and I have two more precious cans left. I don't use as much as I did in the States spraying as little as I can get away with. My nightmare is to be without this stuff again. I don't want to think about that....



Hazelnut coffee creamer....an absolute treat for me!



Chili, Ranch, taco, cheese, and gravy mixes. Ahhhh...the convenience!



Don't forget peanut butter. How do you raise kids without it?



A huge "Thank You" to everyone that sent packages this Christmas. You know who you are, and so does our Lord. May His blessings be upon you!


Monday Michael went in search of portable tables. The kind most churches use in fellowship halls. We were told how difficult they are to find them here. We were so excited and thankful when he found these 6 foot folding tables! One step closer.....


And look at these cuties waiting for school to begin. I better go...



God is so Good!
Have a great day!