slightly better internet

well, today i am down at the office. where the internet works much better than at home.
but currently i can hardly focus my eyes on the screen. which i hope just means i'm leaning too far away and not that my eyes are getting worse.

i'm gonna try to post a lot of stuff today, some older stuff that i didn't really have time to go into detail about before.

well...for starters...my pops apparently got facebook.

i'm proud of him...mom, you are next!

so...the past couple of days have just been a time to relax and fellowship with the missionaries and some of the brazilians too.

we went out to alter do chao to the house that some of the missionaries own that has a pool and just hung out in the patio area and swam. it was a lot of fun. and we ate hot dogs...lots of hot dogs. hot dogs for dinner, hot dogs for breakfast (with scrambled eggs) and hot dogs cut up in rice for lunch. i don't want to eat any more hot dogs for a while. haha.

we also swam in the tapajos again. it is so high right now. it has never been this high...and it's actually gone down a lot.

we went to what would've probably been an area normally bustling with tourists which was completely empty and abandoned. we had a bunch of fun...i assume you will be able to see some pictures from this soon on facebook if you are my friend.
i don't have the ability to really post any pictures right now...i really wish i could...i just don't have the means...i will try to get some of mine up...but if you are my facebook friend, the team i have been working with will tag me in photos for sure.

the team left yesterday. it was really sad to see them leave. i have really become rather fond of those boys...they were my little bros and i will miss them dearly.
i'm gonna have to visit new orleans when i get back...i have to make an appearance as the girl who did a better belly flop than one of the boys. haha.

i have also inhaled so much of the tapajos river that my friend micah has diagnosed me with "tapajitis". it's similar to pneumonia...it's having a lot of water in your lungs...it's actually difficult for me to breathe...i'll live though...i think i forgot how to swim or something cause i have inhaled so much water and gotten so much in my ears...i don't normally have that happen. oh well.

i still haven't bought my rede (pronounced "hedge-y") yet...(hammock) which makes me really lame. i have just been borrowing one...it's so fun to just be able to throw up a hammock on hooks anywhere to sleep. i just slept in like a patio last night...it's so great. i love the brazilian culture. everything is so laid back.

the street i live on isn't paved. i need to make sure i get a picture for y'all...cause you won't believe this...it has a river that more or less runs down the middle of it...and cars can barely even drive down it...it has like foot deep ravines and drop offs that make it interesting to drive down...most of the time anybody giving us a ride tells us to meet them at the corner where the road is paved again. haha.

i am bruised from my thighs to my ankles. and have four spider bites on my left fore arm alone (aka my body is covered in bites). the skin on the bottom of my toes isn't really there any more. i got pushed out of the tree we were chilling in on the tapajos and lost much of my skin on my left shin. my right ankle may or may not be infected/growing gnat larvae. and i have blisters. and i probably have worms.

and i'm loving life right now and couldn't be happier. i love the hard work, it's insane that i have energy to wake up in the morning and that i'm able to even walk. it's really neat to see how God restores my body every day and allows me to continue to do His work. it's also really neat that He restores my attitude and spirit and allows me to have patience and endurance to continue even when i feel like falling over. my attitude hasn't been positive at all times, i have gotten frustrated over a few things, but i always am refreshed and restored and am able to continue on.

i've come to realize that people in every culture enjoy some good slapstick comedy, so i have been able to communicate through just been the goofball that i am without any words.

joanne (the woman who's house we live at/near) has a cell group of children that she leads. i was at the house the other day when they all landed...and it was the most fun i've had in a long time. i played some pass the basketball around the circle, we played hide and seek, they decided they were gonna put a bunch of braids in my hair...it was just insane. i also had just finished a load of laundry. there are no dryers here in brazil, so i was in the process of hanging my clothes on the line when the kids decided they were going to help me. apparently, my underwear is hilarious.

the other day when we were coming home from alter do chao from working at camp, we stopped at a little gift shop for the boys to look for some gifts for their families and friends. i was explaining how the jewelry made from coconut shells and acai berries was a perfect gift for any girl and that that was what they needed to get for any girl they were buying for. pastor marco, the leader of the team was looking at some of the earrings and asked me which ones i liked best. i pointed out a pair and said they were by far the best and that he should definitely get them for his wife...so, he picks them up and takes them to the counter...pays for them and then walks over and hands them to me and says, "they're yours, sister." it made my day. he is such a sweet man of God and i am so glad he was the leader of the team, it was such a joy to work with him.

i think i maybe have gotten out a lot of the stories i wanted to share. i did get to stand on a bus ride to alter do chao. it's about an hour ride and the roads are absolutely trash with hills and curves and the bus was soooo overcrowded (which is why i had to stand) but i really enjoyed the experience. haha. and it only cost me R$2,30. (approx. $1.15) haha. everything seems so cheap here. which is a nice change over home and europe.

if you are looking for a souvenir from here...let me know what you want. i can hook you up. the jewelry is all really really neat. just let me know.

love y'all. miss ya.