It’s only been a week since I got
here, and yet it feels like so much time has gone by. I have gotten into a nice
rhythm and am (mostly) managing to not stress. I get up early in the morning and
sit outside and get to feel the sun slowly warm up the air. Although rainy
season arrived with me, so some mornings it’s more a matter of not getting
drenched as I walk between buildings here on base.
I have drunk maracujá juice
(passion fruit), eaten mousse de limão (lemon
mousse), eaten açaí na tigela com granola
e banana (açai pulp with granola and banana)- to which my friend after
eating it for the first time exclaimed: “it’s...it’s like.. chocolate!!!... I
mean, not like chocolate, but good like chocolate.” We laughed. I have braved
driving in Brazilian traffic (this city has been at the top of the list of
worst traffic in Brazil for 10 years in a row someone said the other day) and
driven to the shopping centre and shopped at Lojas Americanas. I have been to the beach.... oh, how love that
God created sea and beaches. Havaianas
are what I wear on my feet most of the time, and I’ve eaten rice and beans-
every day. I have drunk guaraná Antarctica,
got bitten by probably thousands of mosquitoes (maybe a slight exaggeration,
but they really like me- a lot), and enjoyed fresh mangos and siriguela just off the tree.
Did I mention that I love this country?
But I think apart from filling my stomach with so many delicacies in the
name of having to try them again (not sure it’s the best strategy to keep up
for the whole time I am here), what strikes me the most being here is the
beauty of the people. Not so much the outward beauty (don’t get me wrong, this
is a stunning people), but the beauty of their personalities. There is so much
love and laughter that bubbles out of people, and so much love coming from their
eyes when you talk to them. Even as we were waiting for our açaí I was just observing the way the
woman making it was interacting with people, and making everyone feel so at
easy and welcome. It’s definitely a gift that this people carry. And it’s so
contagious. I am smiling more.
Finding more of myself.
As we spotted the skyline of Fortaleza I could feel my excitement
increasing. I love the city! I love Fortaleza, and heading into the centre of
the city for the first time since getting here filled me with joy! Don’t get me
wrong, I am very content here on the base, I love the quiet. I love the rhythm
and the absence of traffic and lots of sound and pollution. Yet..I am a city
girl! And I think I was created for cities. At least that’s what it feels like.
After driving around for much longer than necessary (due to road works
googlemaps wasn’t aware of), we finally reached our destination. It was a
lovely afternoon of sharing hearts and testimonies and hearing how much God
loves Fortaleza and the people, who for whatever reason, find themselves on the
streets at night. A time of agreeing that the solution, to everything really, is
Jesus, and the way to see transformation is prayer.
It was such a refreshing time and as I listened and shared about the
privilege to work with women who are so very broken, I could feel life in my
heart. It doesn’t really matter what nation I’m in or where I am, I am still
me. And my heart finds life when I can give life to those who are broken and
hopeless, and show them that it is never too late and that change is possible.