so...

i suppose i have to post again.
being stuck in brazil is definitely post worthy material.
my flights have been worked out...but i'm stuck here for another day still.
working on getting my textbooks ordered.
i leave the day after i get home now for vaca...
then we get back two days before school starts...
aka...need to get my textbooks ordered!
i slept all day today...
i went to the airport on sunday night at 3 am with silvia...we only slept about 1.5 hours before that...we went to pick up her sister...then i went back to the airport at 5:30 am cause i was supposed to be getting on a 7 am flight...i didn't have a ticket for that flight...
so...after making some phone calls...decided we couldn't do anything else til i talked to the travel agency...so we went back to the hrubik's and waited to hear from the states...
so...had only slept 1.5 hours and the night before only got 4 hours of sleep...
then yesterday...had to sit by the phone all day waiting for phone calls about my filghts...
finally everything got worked out...
we had a fabulous lunch too...stroganoff...one last time...
then...randomly at around 5 pm, decided to hop in a car and drive to alter do chao one last time...
silvia, paul, juliana and i swam at the pier one last time...watched the sunset...then just chilled by the pool...
went back to santarem...had some fabulous pancakes...becky is such a great cook!
i want to be just like becky...she's so awesome...i just love her...
she's basically wonderwoman too...she never stops. she travels all the time...still takes care of her house...always knows whats going on with her kids...keeps in touch with all those important people for the mission...and is still always full of energy!
she's just amazing...
then...we watched a movie to pass the time until 2:30 when we needed to head to the airport...
took paul and becky to the airport...took a while, but finally were allowed to put 4 of the 5 bags on the plane and only had to pay about $75...which for 2 extra bags doesn't sound like a bad deal...
went home...slept until 2:30...now i'm at the bluniers...aldine gave me some chicken leftover from lunch..it was nice to get to talk to her again...and she's letting me use their computer to order my textbooks...
i'm so happy with the way my flights worked out!
i get to leave in the afternoon and fly into bloomington now...it cuts my travel time down to less than 24 hours!
and i only have to fly to manaus...less time on airplanes.
i do have 9 hours in manaus all by my lonesome...but it's all good...i'll spend some time with Jesus!
i'm glad that my dad doesn't have to drive to chicago now too...mom and jaylyn can come pick me up!
well...gonna finish ordering my books!
love y'all...see you soon!
becca

last post...

I'll just officially declare this as my last post.
I don't think anything too exciting has happened in the past week or so.
I've been helping out a lot around the Hrubik's house.
Actually am going to be heading upstairs here to help Paul pack up for his move to Fortaleza.
I'm still doing well, I'm still really covered in mosquito bites and such, but I'm healthy.
I am so sad to have to leave, but I am looking forward to getting home.
You will all be so amazed...I absolutely love mornings now. This morning I woke up at 5:30 just to have some coffee and a quiet time before our 6:30 prayer.
I plan on keeping up this early morning quiet time thing, it's so great. Here it isn't hot yet...one of the advantages of the early morning.
I'm looking forward to Michigan. It's going to be a crazy week trying to get everything ready to go back to school as soon as I get back from Michigan.
I am not looking forward to my 30-some-odd hour trip home. That will be unpleasant.
Well, I have no other thoughts, nothing else to say.
Going to go help Paul. See y'all in a few days!

well...it's almost over...

i can't believe i have less than two weeks left.
i'm so sad to be leaving.
don't get me wrong...i miss y'all...but i really just love it here.
how about we all move to brazil? yeah? sounds like a great plan to me!
i have been doing so much since i posted last...
went on a boat trip with some canadians...it was so much fun...
a bunch of the younger missionaries went on the boat trip too...so we just had a blast hanging out and working...it was lots of fun...
y'all would croak if you could see what my job was at the church...i don't think we have any photographic proof that it happened though...
but basically...the church is on stilts, about my height above the ground...and currently it is flooded...probably waist deep water...so we were painting the church...inside and outside...
around the outside of the church was some lovely scaffolding of some boards just placed on support beams...probably about my height from the ground...
someone had to get the top of the wall...so i was given a ladder...and ladder is being used rather loosely in this case...it was a few boards nailed together...and i painted the wall...it was a rather precarious position...but i survived. :)
the following day, i was inside...on scaffolding...same deal...boards supported by "beams"...that was about nine feet up...every time a wave would come...it would knock the speed boat into the beams out front and shake the whole building...it was a blast...
the paint was also oil based...we mixed it with gasoline...and the only way to get it off was to use a wonderful dirty sock (okay, it was probably clean) soaked in gasoline...only in brazil! haha.
we also bathed by just jumping off the back of the boat all soaped up...haha. i love boat trips!
the amazon isn't even remotely clear...someone said it looked like chocolate milk...haha.
we went alligator hunting. we didn't catch anything...a few trees caught us...the current in the amazon is so strong that it would push us into a tree and we would just get stuck...it was pretty hilarious...our paddle man, paul, was in quite a lot of pain the following day...
hmm...we also worked at camp again...i think that was before the boat trip...yeah...pretty sure...anyways...at camp we laid the cement floor in the back part of the auditorium...i got the wonderful responsibility of running the "buffalo" or bull float...whichever you want to call it...it's this giant thing that you pull across the cement to make it smooth...quite the responsibility...i usually called in some reinforcement from joaquim...
let's see...climbed the mountain in alter do chao...we slept on top...i actually slept in a hammock hanging off the cross at the top of the mountain...you can't really see the cross...but you can google alter do chao and get an idea of where i was...you can see the "mountain"...
the other day we climbed a "mountain" in santarem...wait...that was yesterday...days are so long here...right after prayer (~7:30 AM) we headed to santarezinho to climb the "mountain" there. (it's a big pile a sand with a flat top).
the locals told us there wasn't anyway to climb to the top...but we found one...after creating several rock avalanches...we made it up to the top...took some pictures...then more or less slid back down the side of the mountain...
then...since we were so filthy dirty...we went down to the filter project and jumped in the tapajos for a while...it was quite fun.
i'm sure i've done many other things since i last posted...lots of church services and cell groups and stuff...
i have many many stories that i will tell when we are on vacation!
i don't have quite so many pictures...i've dropped my camera a few more times and it just keeps losing more functionality each time...it was even broken before i came...oh well...it happens.
my friends i have made here have taken gobs of pictures...i'll be able to get a hold of a bunch of those so i can really tell my story...
ohhhh!!! i held a snake.
it was awesome.
we found it...on the road.
and...i forgot to say that we did get an alligator...but it had gotten caught on a fishing line....the villagers gave it to us the morning after we had gone hunting...he wasn't very big...so we didn't eat him...we ended up letting him go...but...i got to brush my teeth standing next to him on the back of the boat...
bet you wish you could say that you've brushed your teeth standing next to an alligator.
haha.
i'm kinda scared...the printer just started making noises...odd.
hmm...what else do i need to tell y'all? i don't even know...
oh goodness!
i almost forgot the congresso!!
the congresso is amazing...i am so blessed to have had the opportunity to go!
there is a video about it on PAZ's website...check it out: www.projectamazon.org
it was such an amazing experience.
and i got to help set up for the whole thing...haha. we filled the little ice box things with the sodas each day in the morning...it was hard work...it was hot!
but it was a lot of fun...
there was a bird in our apartment this morning.
it pooped on sally's bed.
oh....and sally broke her nose working on the wall in the river village.
a board fell on her face. it was very tragic...okay...it wasn't very tragic...she took it like a champ. she's awesome....
i think i've reached the point where i can write no more...
i think i should learn how to write well before i try to post again. :)
love y'all...miss y'all.

it's a post...with a picture!

this is a picture of me and my friends.
enjoy.

eventful few weeks...

sorry it's been so long...and this isn't going to be a long post...i am leaving for alter do chao in about an hour to go up and sleep on the mountain tonight...it's going to be a blast...i'm really excited...

okay...i really actually have to go like right now...

i promise i will post sometime in this next week...it's been crazy and i haven't really been in santarem for the past two weeks anyways...

well...love y'all...miss y'all...i'm safe and alive and just as crazy as ever...

slow internet...

today...the internet is being extra slow...i think ben is eating up the bandwidth...
we are going out to alter do chao this afternoon with the two new short termers. they are gonna be here for two weeks...
we had the encontrinho last weekend...it was a ton of fun...y'all know how much i love kids, so i had a blast! they all thought i was hilarious cause i'm so goofy. i was dancing around all the time and they just loved to laugh at how little portuguese i know...i know a bunch of phrases that are completely useless, and i love to say them just to make people laugh...
i really do understand a lot...i just can't speak it...it's hard...
anyways...sorry for not updating. i've tried a couple of times, but with the internet...it's hard.
yesterday, we worked at a church that was just an hour and a half drive away...it was a lot of fun...i am a pro painter now. we had to paint straight lines around windows that had already been painted with very unstraight lines. it was fun...we did a lot of just smaller tasks with the construction...and had a blast doing it...
i'm pretty tired...i stayed at silvia's house last night...and we had to get up at 6 to be at prayer at 6:30...can you believe that i get up every morning and am some place...awake...at 6:30 am??
i'm turning over a new leaf! :)
it will be good for me though...it will help me get into my crazy schedule this fall...i gotta get used to the early mornings...
i'm thinking about talking up walking in the early mornings for exercise...if anyone wants to join me this fall! :)
hmm...it's been hot here...y'all will laugh at me in michigan cause i'll probably think it is so cold after adjusting to the heat here...i probably will think it's too cold to swim!
ok...i love to swim...i probably won't think that...
i looked at a bunch of the snapfish pictures that y'all sent. the babies are all so cute...i can't wait to see them! they seem like they've grown so much...
jay is a stinkin' babe...but i know y'all already know that...
umm...hmm...the rest of my time here is going to be stinking busy...i have an opportunity to go on a survey trip for a new base...which would be an absolutely amazing experience...but it would cost more...and it would eat up a lot of the rest of my time here. and i love this city and the people here...so it would be sad for me to be gone for so long...
i guess i'll just have to wait and go on a survey trip once i move here!
well, i think we are heading down to the office to get some money here pretty soon...and sally's computer is about to die...
love y'all! miss y'all!
later,
b

sorry...

i'm terribly sorry for not keeping y'all updated...i've gotten super lazy. :)
i've been laying in my hammock reading my Bible for the past two days...you can't get mad at me for that! ;)
so...since last thursday...hmm...let's see...we'll have to work backwards...
today, i went to prayer at 6:30 AM...as every weekday morning...
went to visit a girl from the cell group with Silvia, had lunch at Ken and Joanne's house, visited with the CBF team...and laid in my hammock.
yesterday...laid in my hammock, reading my Bible, we went out for lunch to this fish place...got some steak with rice and lemonade for the equivalent of about $2.50. it was great. last night was TADEL, the leadership training meeting/service thing. it was really cool. i just love being at anything at the church, it's just great to be there...and not just cause it's air conditioned! ;)
i also went out with silvia and her family to micro lanche and had a burger and some amazing fresh lemonade...yummy!
monday was a holiday...santarem's birthday...we had a meeting about the encontrinho (a children's weekend retreat that we are helping with this upcoming weekend) then we went to silvia's house and swam in her pool and played volleyball and ate spaghetti and played soccer and played uno...and played uno in the pool...and got really really sunburnt...oh, well that last one was just me...oops! y'all are gonna love my crazy tanlines in michigan...i might have to only wear a one piece suit...my stomach will cause too much reflection...it will be blinding... :)
sunday, we went to church service early...well, that's a long story...i'll explain sunday morning as part of saturday...i went to service at 9 at santarezhino with micah and then we all went out to silvia's to eat churrasco and swim and play uno and hang out...it was very fun. then we went to church at 7 pm at central and then afterwards went over to somebody's house that was supposed to be a party or something...ended up leaving and going to micro lanche and having burgers...had some creme de cupuacu at the party thing....
umm...saturday was a crazy night...after aviva jovem, the youth/young adult service, we went to micah's to watch a movie and jokingly said we wanted to sleep over because he has air conditioning...long story short, we tried to go home and were locked out...so we returned to micah's and slept on his floor...it was like 3 am...we were so exhausted at church...i don't really remember what else we did on saturday...i think i did laundry or something...i don't know...haha.
friday...we cleaned a rug for becky and helped clean up at the water filter office too. :)
i don't know what else happened since then...i probably went to micro lanche about 5 more times...haha.
and...i think that's all i have to share....i am thinking about typing up some stuff about the people i've met. :)
i'll see how far i get before i have to go take a shower before cell group tonight...
i'll start with the roomies...
stephanie is the spunkiest person i know. she is absolutely adorable, i envy her mad makeup skills and her amazingly gorgeous blonde curls...she is so in love with Jesus and she lets it show in her actions every day...
lauren is a goof...she is so funny to be around and can always make me laugh or smile at all the goofy thing she says...
sally is fabulous...she is letting me use her computer...so you know she's awesome! she's such a sweetie...she lived her before...so she is great to have around cause she knows portuguese...she also used to pray to be a gnome when she was little...she's full of fun random stories...
benjamin is the other intern...he's a goon...he's sitting here right now trying to remember his home phone number...it is quite comical...he has chocolate from the states...so he's been my best buddy...
micah is one of the MKs here...he's from illinois originally...well, i guess techincally he's originally from south korea...he's so funny. he has been a little cornfield goodness in the middle of the amazon rainforest...he's really helpful to have around too...he speaks portuguese and english also!
silvia is wonderful. i call her mom (sorry mom, she's my other mother!) and she is such a sweetheart...she's brazilian but speaks perfect english and she's one of the nicest people i have ever met...i love her. i will dearly miss her when i have to come home. :(
chai...she's crazy!! chaiene is her real name...and she doesn't speak much english...our conversations turn out to be quite comical...she thinks i'm crazy and that's her nickname for me...she is so much fun to laugh with and is great to hang out with...we have conversations between a small bit of english and me trying to speak portuguese...i sometimes need a translator...one time, she asked me what i did for ministery in the church...and i told her, in portuguese, i sing, i play piano and "brinco com meninos"...what i should've said is "brinco com criancas". what i said was, "i play with boys" not "i play with children". she was adament that she was going to tell my pastor that i play with boys at church. :( oops! she also told me she was going to call my mom and tell her i wasn't wearing sunscreen!
more friends:
paulinho (in portuguese, means "little paul") little paul is 6'3" tall by the way...he is the son of the directors of Project Amazon. he's a really neat guy and has been really helping out with getting us into the culture and stuff. we attend the cell group that he leads and he invites us along to all the fun things...lots of swimming. he's great...he is moving to fortaleza in august though...so he's really busy getting everything ready for him to leave...but he still finds time to spend with the interns (a few of them knew him from when they all went to ORU together)
becky and jeff are the directors of the mission and are absolutely wonderful...we don't get to spend a lot of time with them, but every second we have with them is great...they are so much fun and have such a vision and a passion for the people here and they are so amazing. i love working with them.
ruth and nate are another couple of MKs turned missionaries...they are currently pregnant with twin baby girls! :) i'm very excited for them...she is naming them rebecca and anna...after me, of course! i love ruth and nate...they are a very fun couple...and i love to tease them about naming the babies after me!
ken and joanne are the missionary couple that we live in the back apartment of their house...that sentence was really clumsy...but you get the point...they are from illinois too...so it's fun to talk about illinois things with them...they are a really neat couple and she does a lot of work with children and so we always have a bunch of kids running around the house...i love it!
i've met a ton of other wonderful people too...i am too tired to get into any more people...i'm sure you are sick of reading this anyway...
tonight is cell group and we are having stroganoff to celebrate the cell group multiplying! it's going to be great fun....hopefully we will have some intense uno games going tonight too...i love that the brazilians love uno...it's great...they do have some crazy rules though...but it makes it way more fun...