Packages and Love!!

We have been blessed in many by ways by our friends, family and churches back in the states. We have received numerous packages from friends and families with candies, seasoning packages and much more! We received a huge envelope recently from the Memorial Road Church in Edmond with numerous blessings, prayers and encouragements. We received a similar package from our supporting congregation, Park Plaza in Tulsa, a few months ago as well. The Garriot Road Church in Enid, OK recently sent us three large boxes full of goodies. We receive emails and text messages from numerous family and friends. Hardly a day goes by without receiving an email, text, or phone call, or using one of the things or foods we have been sent, or reading one of the notes we have received. We feel extremely blessed and encouraged and we want to thank you all. We appreciate your love! And we also know you are constantly praying for us and we appreciate those even more! This may be how Paul felt when he wrote these words in 2 Corinthians 7:4 these words: "...I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds." We definitely take great pride in you all and love to tell people about our awesome supporters. Our hearts are full! Obrigado por tudo!

Kelly and Kelci

Praying in Portuguese

I have recently started praying in Portuguese more. In team and staff meetings, when I study with someone, at dinner with our friends and in my personal prayers as well. I feel like I always apologize before doing so because I know that it will be rough and that I will make some (ok...many) errors. But I still like to try and I have learned, and been reminded of, many things and I thought I would share them here with you all.

Quite possibly the first word that I learned in Portuguese back in February of 2013 when we visited was "obrigado" (meaning thank you). This is a pretty elementary word in all languages and when traveling, it and "hello" are usually some of the first words that people learn. In my Portuguese prayers, it is always an easy word and/or start to a phrase to go to when I find myself stuck. However, it has reminded me of the importance to thank God. Sometimes in my prayer life, it is really easy to fall into a pattern of asking for things. We even often teach our kids and teenagers this as well. Health, safety, assistance and help with our problems/needs, opportunities, and many other things. We ask for a lot in our prayers. This is not at all bad, however, we must remember to thank God as well. I often find it easy to do so in Portuguese and because of this have been reminded to do it throughout my prayer life.

When speaking in Portuguese (and maybe in English too), there are many times when I say something completely wrong, yet everyone understands it still. I will often even say something like "I know I said that really terribly, but you understood, so whatever." Now I do not say that vocally to God, however, I think he knows that is what I am thinking during some of my prayers. However, I have been reminded often times of Romans 8:26 where it says this: "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." How cool is that. I know that whatever I say in Portuguese, the Spirit is speaking my heart for me through "wordless groans." We don't always have to have the exact words in our prayers. The important thing is that we are in prayer. That we are presenting ourselves to God and coming into conversation (vocally and non-vocally) with Him. 

When I was growing up at the Columbine Church of Christ in Littleton, Colorado, there was a man by the name of Ray Grahn. He was the guy at your church who had the long prayers. You know you all had one or have one and I will be honest, as a kid, it was hard to pay attention through the whole thing. And since I have preached some in my life, I know for a fact that our preacher growing up was probably cutting stuff out while Ray was up there. Or he would just preach long over and hear all the complaints later. Anyways, as I became a teenager, there was something I always found so neat about Ray's prayers. It was not the length so much, but the pace and relationship that he had with the Father in his prayers. His prayers were on the longer side because he wasn't rushing through it like a fast food meal. He was having a conversation and he realized the unbelievable opportunity he had and we have to be in conversation with the Lord. In praying in Portuguese, I have to slow down or I will get way too ahead of myself and make even more errors and get stuck. I have been reminded that when I pray, I am conversing with God and that I do not need to rush through it every time

It is pretty neat to be able to pray in another language. I am blessed to have this opportunity and to refresh my prayer life this way. It is amazing to think of the thousands of languages that God hears and to know that he understands everyone equally without problem and even more than that, that he understands the words not spoken in our prayers too. 

Thank you for your prayers and know that you all are constantly in our prayers as well. 

-Kelly and Kelci

Pray Over Our English Course

As we have discussed greatly on here and in many other ways and with almost everyone we have talked to on the phone or on Skype or in text messages...learning a language as an adult is both fun and quite difficult. However, as Americans who speak decent English...we have a great opportunity to meet people and teach people who want to learn English, practice English or improve their English. In doing this, we can read the Bible together and both study the Bible with somebody and help them with their English.

Well tomorrow we will start our English Classes back up. We have revamped them, we have advertised them more, the church passed out flyers last Saturday and we have been hyping it and talking about it more with our members. We are very excited for tomorrow and really do not know what to expect. We have had already had about 20 people sign up and we could have a lot more show up tomorrow or in the coming weeks. Please join us in prayer in the following ways:

• We are asking that the people searching for God come our way.
• We are praying that we will be able to make relationships with whoever comes our way and...
• That we are able to turn those relationships towards God.
• We are offering one-on-one English Bible Studies.
• For wisdom and boldness.
• For our church to participate in these classes as well and that they ask their friends to join.
• For God to be at the center of this course and for us to point everything towards Him.

We are all anxious, nervous, hopeful and excited to get these classes going! Thank you for joining us in prayer over our English course!

Kelly and Kelci

6 Months Already!? Wow!

Wow is right!

Well first of all...this is probably the 3rd time that I have "returned" to the blog world. I often think about it, but it gets pushed aside. This is also probably the 3rd or 4th or 5th or whatevereth time I have said this...but...I wanna do it more. Gonna try it again! If at first...you don't succeed...try...try again! Right? Ok cool then.

So today, August 19th marks 6 months that Kelci and I have lived in Brasil. What a whirlwind it has been. We can't believe it has already been 6 months. It seems like just yesterday that we were making the rounds from Dallas, to Edmond, to Colorado, to Tulsa and many more places to say goodbye and to raise support and funds for this amazing work here in Niteroi. But alas...we are here. And we could not be happier about how it has all worked out.

When we went out to dinner last night with Chad and Micah we talked about the things about Brasil that we are still getting used to, the things we have grown to love about Brasil, the things we miss from the states (mostly the 3 F's: Food, Family, Friends...maybe in that order...kidding), the days we have had here where we just wanted to cry or yell or whatever, and the many many joyous days and successes we have had. At the end of dinner, we all realized again just how blessed we were and how much God has taken care of us and gone in front of us and how we have had many more victories than difficulties. We attribute that all to God and to your prayers, we thank you all so very much! Please continue to pray. It is a continued encouragement to know that you are praying for us.

Another success came today. The four of us had to get our Temporary Brasilian Identities renewed. Up to this point, our only real Brasilian Identity has been a piece of paper with a stapled on picture of us. It works, but it is not very official at all. We went knowing that in all likelihood we would just be given another one of these. However, there was a chance (in my mind a 1% chance) of getting our Temporary Identity Card. Just to show how difficult this process can be, one of our team members still only has the paper identity...he has been here for 5 years. Now you know why the chances were slim. But...some how...some way...all four of us left with Temporary Identity Cards and we were the first ones to leave the office. When we did this in February, it was almost a full day event. This time it took us a little more than an hour. Just another reminder of God leading our way and the power of prayer. We love you all!

Kelly and Kelci

Adjusting to Culture Part III

Well I have been meaning to write this for a while and I have known what I was going to write about too. But I got a little sidetracked by this little thing known as the World Cup! It has been quite an experience for sure the past couple weeks. I want to write more about that later. So I will leave it for another day.

Today I wanna talk about probably our most difficult adjustment...language! Since arriving on February 19th, we have had many good moments with our new language and many frustrating moments. We have had some nights and days where all we wanna do is try and speak Portuguese and other nights where we did not want to see another Portuguese word, let alone speak one. It is both a fun process and stressful process all in one.

Some nights we study flash cards.
We both like using flash cards.

Perhaps, my most frustrating moment was one night when we were trying to go to this store that we have frequented much to often (it's a  home furnishing and decorations store). We were returning a curtain rod (not the easiest thing to carry around everywhere) and I had attempted to call for a Taxi. We were waiting on the taxi, curtain rod in hand, and then it started raining...hard. I then received a call from the taxi service saying that they were not going to be able to send a taxi (I think), but honestly I am still not entirely sure. We waited a little longer and then we thought we would walk until we found an open taxi, which in the rain, is extremely difficult. Finally we found one, were about to enter and then he said something to us in Portuguese and the message was basically "you can't get in." Evidently he had arranged to wait on someone or pick someone else up. At this point, we were soaking wet, carrying this curtain rod around and looking for a taxi. In truth, I don't think all that is what did me in. I think I was just kind of over it all that day and so we turned around, went back home and didn't think about Portuguese one more time that night. We knew there would be days like this.

We recently went to a "fair-like" party
here in Niteroi with some friends. We tried some
new portuguese foods, spoke portuguese and had a blast. 

Through the frustrating times, there have been many many good times and moments as well. Many moments of celebration and joy. For example, a couple weeks ago, we went shopping for some things we needed and while shopping that day we only spoke to each other in Portuguese...and we understood each other!! It was quite cool! There was another day a month or so ago where we went to the bank and were able to make many changes and find out a lot information with our account by ourselves (all in Portuguese). Then we went to lunch with the bank manager, it was an all Portuguese lunch (and day) and afterwards we felt very good about it all. We hoped there would be days like this and are glad a few have graced us with their presence.

I often tell people that if I can control the conversation with people, I feel much better about things. However, the truth is I cannot always do that. We will have many more days in the coming months of both joy and frustration. We will have days where we feel like we learned a lot and days where we don't want to learn anything. We will have days where Portuguese comes easy to us and many where it just doesn't click. But we will continue to work hard, study hard and try. We both feel more confident every day and we know that is due to the power of God and prayer. Please pray for us as we continue to study Portuguese. Pray specifically that we be bold in trying to speak our new language. Pray also that we continue to have many friends here that help us. We have been blessed so far with many people who have been very patient and helpful with us as we learn Portuguese. We believe in the power of prayer and we very much appreciate everything you continue to do for us. Obrigado por todos!

- Kelly

Adjusting To Culture Part II

If you visit Brasil...
Have a "Salgado!" Trust me!

We have now lived in Brazil for a little more than 3 months and we are loving every second. We have enjoyed getting to know the people here at the church as well as many others in the community. Some of the questions that people often ask us both here and back in the states regard the food. "How is the food?" "What is the food like?" "Do you have a favorite food yet?" "How about a restaurant?" The answer to all of those questions is something similar to..."I like food, so yes." The food here is very good. However, it has taken some getting used to (I'm sure that anytime you almost completely change your diet and the things you eat...it takes some getting used to).

"Por Kilo" restaurants here are very common, maybe the most common of any type of restaurant here but I won't say that with certainty. It is a buffet style of restaurant but totally different at the same time. There is a buffet bar, however, instead of paying one price and being able to eat as much as you want for virtually as long as you want, you grab a plate and get what you want and put it on a scale to see how much it will be. So, you can have a small amount or get things that are on the lighter side and spend little or you can get a lot and spend a lot. All depends on what you want. There are also many differently priced restaurants like this. These types of restaurants make for good opportunities to try many different new types of food. However, it would help to know what we are reading on the name plaques next to each dish. We ARE getting better at this!

Found these import gems...but they were a bit too pricey.
None of them were important enough for us to buy.

One thing that is still a bit difficult is the price of many of the foods. Some things seem to be relatively close in price as to what we are used to. Some things seem cheaper (fruits and veggies especially...which is awesome). However, many things are more expensive. We expected this, but it might take a little more time for us to be used to it. I am used to paying $1 or a $1.50 for a 2-liter of coke, however, I am getting used to spending closer to $2 or $2.50. There are just a few items like this and with some of them (like coke) it's not a big deal. With others though (like ice cream), it's taking us a little more time to get used to. But we all gotta eat and sometimes we even need a little ice cream!

Eating with a napkin...I will master this art!

The other thing that has taken some getting used to is the difference in the way people eat here. Kelci does a lot better than me with this. I still often forget. People rarely eat using only their hands. If they are eating a hamburger, it is with a napkin around it. If they are eating a subway sandwich, they hold it with the paper. Many things that we are used to eating with our hands, they use toothpicks or napkins. Honestly, when you think about eating this way, it makes a lot of sense because our hands are very dirty. But if you did not grow up that way, it can be difficult to do and difficult to remember to do. The first time I tried eating a hamburger with a napkin, it was an utter failure. I often joke that we americans eat like cave men, but in reality it is just another different thing about each culture.

I would be lying if I said that I did not miss some of the food back in the states. We for sure miss some things. However, I know that there will be day when we are very old that we miss the food here too. Both places have great food, in my opinion. And like culture and like everything else with culture, it is just a little different! We are having a blast trying new foods and restaurants and everything. We welcome new things and know there will be many more to come.

- Kelly and Kelci

Adjusting To Culture Pt. 1

Kelci and I have now been here in Brazil for a little more than 3 months and we have already adjusted to some of the cultural differences here. We know there will be many more adjustments to come as well. There is no way around culture differences, however, Kelci and I have tried approaching every difference as simply just that...different. They are not bad and there is nothing wrong with the way that we do things or the way that people from other cultures do things. Different is simply different. In three installments, I am going to discuss some cultural differences that Kelci and I have adjusted to, are adjusting to, or are having difficulties adjusting to.

This picture has nothing to do with this story...
But oh well...

This past Friday was a friend of mine's birthday. His brothers had told me a few days prior to it that they were planning to do something for his birthday and that they would let me know what the plan was, where it was going to be and when it would be. All week, I was waiting for them to text or call me with the plan. However, I got nothing. Friday rolled around and I had assumed that either nothing was happening or that I was not going to be a part of it. I had texted them and tried calling them to see what was going on, however, didn't get a response. So Friday night at 8:30, Kelci and I were about to have dinner as we assumed nothing was going on until the phone rang. They had just made a plan and were heading to dinner at a restaurant nearby. I am not ready to say that in the states a plan would have been made days in advance, because certainly there were many instances where that was not the case. However, usually when it came to birthday parties...plans were passed along a little earlier than minutes before. That is just a cultural thing here in Rio though. Time is not as pressing. Schedules are not set in stone and are always very flexible.

That was not the only cultural difference we came across that night. When we arrived, there were probably 8 people already there and we figured that the was the whole group. However, going along with the difference in schedules and plan-making here...people show up to parties and events kind of...whenever. I think it is just assumed that most people will be a late.

Likewise, Kelci and I are used to ordering our own meals at restaurants pretty much every time. I would say that is pretty normal in the states. However, for dinner that evening a plate of chicken tenders and two plates of cheese fries were ordered for everyone (10ish people) while we were there. Smaller dinners and bigger lunches are common here so we found that to be pretty typical. However, Kelci and I are still getting used to that. Lastly, we are used to going out to dinner and then going to a movie afterwards or going back to someones house to watch a movie or play a game or something. However, the expectation at dinner this night was to just stay at the restaurant and be together and talk and hang out. We loved it! However, there were some added difficulties because of the whole language thing (helped by the fact that a couple of the people spoke very good English).

Culture can be tricky thing and as you can see there were some differences that we encountered this evening. Like I said, none of them are bad but we are still adjusting to some of them. We actually like many of the cultural differences here and will continue to encounter many more over the coming months and years. We look forward to every adjustment, because that only brings us closer to our friends and our community here.

-Kelly and Kelci