Roommates and everyday life in Belém

(notice, my procrastination has rendered this "new" post about a week old, sorry, I'll update soon!)

Thanks everyone so much for the prayers! I am having a wonderful time here in Brazil and am being very blessed as well as challenged.
The first thing I need to do is talk about my living situation and my amazing roommates! My two roommates are Nova Glass from Virginia and Anna Hatchette from Alabama. They are here in Brazil with the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist convention as “journey-girls.” They have committed two years of their lives to serve the Lord as missionaries, specifically in the field of education. Nova teaches 1st grade and Anna teaches 4th grade. They are my wonderful encouragers, my comic relief, and my tour guides/Portuguese translators. I am so thankful for them and cannot even express how much they have already been such a tremendous blessing to me.
The rest of the IMB missionaries and the family of staff at AVA have adopted me and have made me feel so welcome. We are now in our second week of school, and things seem to be moving along smoothly.
The school days start with teacher-prayer meeting at 7am, and first hour begins at 7:30 am (my family and past roommates will be proud to hear that I have not slept through a single meeting yet!) Because of the small size of the high school, I only teach the first 3 hours of the day. This gives me time to do planning, grading, and any other preparations for the next day. I have also been attending one of the Portuguese classes at the school, which is a huge blessing, and I am hoping to learn a lot while I am here! Two days a week I am also helping teach an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class that the school opens up to the community. I co-teach with two of my high school students. It has been very fun, but it is definitely different to teach English in a country where it is a foreign language. ( : Good TESOL experience though!

Here are some prayer requests for you prayer-warriors:
· Me as I learn to teach, plan, and manage a classroom.
· My co-ops, Mrs. Tara Gilpin and Mr. John Moon.
· The students, that I would teach them well and be Christ to them.
· Amazon Valley Academy, as they deal with accreditation and location issues.
· The English service held every Sunday on campus. (I’ll write more about that next time!)
· That, God willing, I will be able to visit southern Brazil before I come home to see AFLBS friends.
Would love to hear from any of you if you have the time, I will do my best to write back!
Go with God every moment of every day.
In Christ’s love, Julia

Life at AVA

Hi there!
We have been having some internet difficulties here, which is one of the reasons why I have been slow to update this blog. I do not have any pictures right now, but thought I would write a little bit.

This week was the beginning of school at Amazon Valley Academy (AVA). It is a Christian International school that started out (from what I understand) as a school for missionary kids, but now it is becoming more of a school focused on teaching Brazilian kids in English. The atmosphere of the school is very unique, and the small-ness of the school adds a closeness amongst the students.

I am working in the high school history classes, 7-8 World History, 9-10 Geography, and 11-12 American History. This week has been a lot of observing and getting to know the students.

So far I am loving living in Brazil, loving the Brazilian family (of both Americans and Brazilians) God has placed around me, and am looking forward to the challenges I know will come to me in the classroom.

Thanks so much again for the prayers! I do not know what I would do without you all! I will post pictures soon! (I hope).

In Christs view,

Julia

First week in Belem

Hello everyone!
Just so you all know, I did make it out of the airport and have been in Belém for a week now. I am living with Anna and Nova who are missionaries with the International Mission Board who also teach at Amazon Valley Academy. They are so sweet and have been wonderful friends to me. This week I have been spending most of my time with them and the other IMB missionaries here learning about Brazil and the city of Belém. I have gone out into town a few times (they have an amazing Pizza Hut!), both by car and bus. Belém is a city of 2.5 million people, we live kinda in the suburb area of the city.

On Sunday we went to church with two of the missionary families. It was so great to be with Brazilian believers, but still difficult for me not knowing Portuguese. I hope I will continue to learn as I am here and I spend more time with people.
I start teaching next Monday. This week will be full of preparations for school next week. These days I am helping with pulling curriculum, decorating classrooms, and doing whatever is needed for the beginning of school.

So far my student teaching experience has not found me teaching yet, but I am so thankful for the time to adjust, and when I get worried I’m remembering Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Why "In His View"?

I thought I would write a post just to explain the name I gave my blog. (This post was on my profile, but I moved it for organizational purposes).

"In His View" has two points to it. I first took it from Genesis chapter 16 in the Old Testement. In this story, Hagar, a maid from Egypt, has fled from her jealous mistress Sarai's home, after becoming pregnant by Sarai's husband Abram (according to Sarai's plan, mind you). As Hagar flees from her mistress, an angel of the Lord comes to her, tells her to return to Sarai, and gives her promises of blessing from the Lord. After this, Hagar (the despised servant) gives Yawheh, the God of Israel, her own name for Him, which translates as "You are the God who sees me". The Lord God sees all, the high and low, the praised and the despised, and no one is ever out of His view. I know that this is true for me (whether I am at home in Minnesota, lost in an airport who knows where, or here in Brazil) and it is true for everyone who trusts in the Lord.

The other part is that I (and we all) would desire and pursue a view of life which is like God's. "Man does not look at the things man looks at- man looks at the outside, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). As I am here in Brazil I am asking the Lord to help me see the people I meet and the situations I am in as He sees them. I know that His way is perfect, and I want to choose His road.
May we all be in His view.