Brazil Update! #1

Isaiah 55:6 – “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.”

I arrived in Brasília on Monday at 3:15 in the afternoon, which is 12:15 in Dallas.  I went straight to my school, BIS, and was warmly welcomed by my fellow co-workers.  The whole traveling process was very safe, and relatively easy.  Except for the fact that I was planning on checking 3 bags, and the American Airlines associate, Kathleen, informed me that there was a freeze on taking excess baggage to Brasília, not anywhere else in Brazil, and I was unable to check my third bag.  However, she was very gracious and allowed me to exceed the weight limit and stuff as much as I could into my 2 bags that I thought were already maxed out!  When I finally put my bags on the scale they weighed 76 and 80 lbs! :)  Awesome, eh?  However, I honestly had no clue of what did or did not make it on the plane.  Apparently, the other bag had a lot of shoes (specifically my rain boots, which I will need when rainy season comes), my dress pants (oh no! Remember, I have to dress professionally!), candy, and other clothes.  Luckily, I had socks and underwear though!  That could have been horrible!  I have seen that even in the small stuff, God has provided… like my hairdryer, a few pairs of shoes for work, and I have 2 pairs of dress Capri pants! It’s totally not really “me” to sit here and talk about clothes, but I would have been either in trouble for wearing jeans to work, or spending tons of money replacing clothes, because apparently everything in Brasília is very expensive, except for fruits and vegetables.

For the first couple of weeks here, I am going to stay with the Thompson family.  The father is the high school science and Bible teacher at BIS and his wife volunteers as the school librarian.  They have two children that are in the 9^th grade and have been extremely hospitable.  They are great chefs and pianists as well!  Amanda, another teacher at BIS, will be helping me work out where I will be staying for the next couple of weeks, whether that will be with a Brazilian family or in an apartment, I don’t know yet. 

So far, my days have consisted of following the foreign policy agenda here in Brazil, getting my Brazilian Social Security number to open a bank account, workbook (legal document, similar in appearance to a passport which allows me to be paid here), Brazilian ID card, and taking care of other necessary things so that I can be totally legal here in Brazil.  Apparently, this procedure typically takes days and mine was completed in less than 24 hours!  Thanks to Daniel, who is great with people and had numerous connections throughout the whole process.  I have gotten to spend some time with my class, not much, and get more and more excited each time I am with them.  Right now, I currently have 12 students, 6 boys and 6 girls.  Continuing to grow, the class size should reach 15 within the next week or so. 

Today, we had chapel at 1:50 and I was able to lead the worship time for the 3^rd through 6^th graders.  The kids were amazing!  They participated, laughed, sang, and everything!  I am literally seeing the nations stand up and praise the Lord.  The kids were challenged by Jonathan, the youth minister of the International Baptist Church who has been subbing my class, to do Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.”  They are from various backgrounds, many of which are not Christian, and are daily hearing the word of God. 

Here are some specific things that you can be praying for:

            My housing situation

            Connecting with the kids in my class on individual levels

Language Barriers (Representing at least 8 countries, my class will most likely not understand all of my Texas slang!)

Language Acquisition (I really want to learn Portuguese.  Pray for me to find a teacher and friends to practice with.)

Discipleship and Salvation for my students (Some of them have already committed to follow Jesus, others have not.  Please pray for God to move in their lives and bring them to Himself.)

Continued safety and healthy-ness

For me to build friendships with my co-workers and not get lonely (I have gone to the park with Amanda, the Pre-K teacher at BIS, for the past two nights and have had a great time!)

For the past few days, I really have seen God’s faithfulness and provision as he has made this transition pretty much flawless.  Thanks for your prayers.  I should have more time to Skype and email soon, but I currently am not able to do so. 

Until next time,

Dawna “Dreds” Duke