sunday in rio...

Today was my first Sunday in Rio. I went to church with Ben in the neighboring favela where Jenna lives. Ben and Jenna go to one church and the Nichols attend another church in another part of the city. I will go with Rich and Rebecca next week. This morning I really appreciated the worship and music at the church. While I don’t yet understand the Portuguese, the time of singing with these Brasilian brothers and sisters in Christ was a special worship time this morning. It also occurred to me sitting in church that I can practice Portuguese by learning songs and reading scripture in Portuguese side-by-side with the English Bible. Multi-tasking at its best!

One goal during my time here is to continue to grow in my understanding and practice of taking a sabbath! I have gained so much from a little book called, Catch Your Breath: God’s Invitation to Sabbath Rest by Don Postema. The author spends some time talking about Sabbath as a time to pay attention to holy things. “Sabbath helps me celebrate a ‘there’s-more-than-meets-the-eye’ reality… ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy’ is an opportunity to sense the sacred, to open ourselves to the reality of the holy, to realize there is more than meets the eye. Much more. Sabbath is a time for being in the presence of the holy and letting the holy shape our lives.”

This sabbath Sunday I tried to pay attention to God’s presence here in Brasil and its people! Here is some of what I noticed and appreciated:
- Worshipping with Brasilian believers
- Cool “winter” breezes (when it gets below 80 here, they call it a “cold front”)
- Thunder, lightening, and big drops of rain (as I speak)
- A neighbor boy flying a kite from the roof across the way - his faces of both intensity and joy when he got it up really far and high! (some hard core kite flyers here in the favelas!)
- Reading Psalm 27 in Portuguese – God’s dwelling place of safety and rest is found here in Jacarezinho (the favela community where I am staying)

I am thankful for these first days here and the hospitality of the WMF peeps here! This week ahead I continue my steps into life here with Portuguese lessons each day and putting it into practice with those I meet. More soon…