A day late :)

(NOTE: This is a blog I wrote yesterday, but am just now posting.  I will post another update soon.  Sorry there aren't pictures, it takes a realllllllllly long time to upload them! Watch for them on Facebook  :)

I made it!  I am safely at Juca and Rosemary's home in Brazil.  It is beautiful here!  I am praising the Lord for his goodness and his faithfulness to bring me here for a few weeks.

Here's a quick recap of the last couple days:

Yesterday morning I left for Dallas at 7:15am.  I had asked everyone to be praying for opportunities to minister while traveling and God was faithful to answer.  I ended up meeting an older gentleman from Alaska who has an incredible testimony.  We talked the whole plane ride and laughed lots.  He thanked me for serving the Lord and even offered to buy me breakfast on the plane!  What a blessing. 

Later on in the flight, there was a young mom  sitting behind me who had a 15-month-old daughter named Adelaide.  Right around 11 in the morning, this sweet little girl hit nap time and it was game over!  She wanted to be up walking around, but there was turbulence and it forced us to be in our seats.  After screaming for about ten minutes straight, I remembered that I had brought a tiny little stuffed animal.  I offered it to sweet little Adelaide and she took it and cuddled it until she fell asleep on her mom's lap.  So cool how God used something so small to serve a purpose.

I arrived in Dallas around 1pm their time.  My flight for Sao Paulo wasn't until 8pm, so I had a fair amount of time to kill.  I spent some time sleeping in the airport and I rode the tram around the airport full circle twice...ahaha.  Hey, it was a great time-killer!

I was so ready to go when the time came.  The airplane to Brazil was HUGE!  I had forgotten how large planes are for international flights.  I was blessed with a window seat and it was lovely.  God had his hand on everything...as I started to talking to the woman sitting next to me.  Her name was Maria.  I found out that she was born in Brazil, moved to the states and learned English.  She is now a professor at the University of Iowa and TEACHES PORTUGUESE!!!  So, I took advantage of this God-given opportunity to learn a little bit of Portuguese!  Ahhhh.  God is so good.  I got to share with Maria about YMI and what I was going to be doing in Brazil.  We had some great conversation!

Upon arriving in Sao Paulo, Rosemary and Juca greeted me with warm smiles and big hugs.  I love them already!  We made it to their house around 10am this morning (6am Seattle time).  It is beautiful here.  They live in a mountainous part of Sao Paulo covered in exotic trees and flowers.  I'll post pictures later  :)

They have been gracious to give me some down time to rest today and then tonight starts full-time ministry!  I can't wait to see what the Lord has already done here and to see what he is going to do in the next few weeks.

Prayer requests:

1. That the Gospel is well received tonight during church ministry.  I will be giving my testimony and presenting the Gospel.

2. That I am able to serve well in Juca's home.

3. That I can get some rest today and tonight so that I may serve best tomorrow and in the days to come.

4. For God to be lifted HIGH!!!

Praise reports:

1. God used me on my flights, just as we had prayed!

2. I made it safe and sound.

3. I am still healthy!

4. I was able to get about 5 hours of rest on the flight to Sao Paulo.

Thank you for supporting me through this!  As I serve here, be encouraged to serve wherever you are!  The same God who is working in Sao Paulo is working in Seattle, Federal Way, Kent, Simi Valley, Santa Barbara, Torrance and everywhere else  :)