Bacalhau a Bras...

It's something I swore I'd never do. For six months, I inhaled the smell of it every time I entered the store and was positively convinced the smell alone might possibly kill me...but after being up to my elbows in it during camp...it won me over. And today, as I was walking through the supermarket, I did the unthinkable and bought a bag of frozen codfish. So I got home and decided that this was it. Do or die. Actually it was more like "do this or I might not remember how we made it during camp."
So here it is...you are witnessing a major step in my life here in Portugal...are you ready for it? :)


First, the balcalhau, onions, and garlic simmer in lots of olive oil...




Next, potato strings are added....



The finished product...after guessing the quantities of eggs and parsley :)



And for an added bonus, check out what I got for free at the store today. That's right, a hat that says, "Sanex, for Men." I'm not sure I know what Sanex is...and I'm not sure I want to know...but the two construction workers in front of me were pretty excited about it. I was rather confused when she gave me one too... I do look like a girl, right? :)

I made it through another week of camp. It was exhausting...but so much fun.
I don't even know how to put into words really the way I am feeling now. In an odd way, I kind of feel like I'm a bit in love. Maybe "at peace" would be a better way to describe it...I don't know really. I just am so in love with where I am. I love getting to know people, being able to communicate with them, laughing with them, and working side by side with them.

I love that my world is getting bigger here. I love that I am getting to the place where I have actual friends that aren't with my mission. I love that I am getting the opportunity to hang out with them. I love discussing things from the Bible with them. I love feeling like I have friends outside the bubble that has been my world for a year. And when I'm with them...I just feel so happy...so content...so grateful.

I'm excited to go home in just a little bit...I truly am. But underneath...there is this slight fear that if I leave, all the work it's taken to get to this place will come undone... and I'll have to start all over again when I come back. Part of me just wants to stay, just to make sure everything stays the same...which I know is ridiculous.

Nonetheless, I'm so grateful that God has brought me to this place...and given me such a tremendous peace and love where I am.

Large piles of pots and pans stress me out.
Getting yelled at for cleaning them because it is not my job but the job of the workers also stresses me out.
But seeing them grow to mountainous heights with no sign of them stopping stresses me out more.
So...I've been getting yelled at a lot.
But...in the long run...I feel so much better when I see the piles decrease.

Also...juice and blood from raw meat stress me out.
Seeing the juice and blood from the raw meat left on the counter tops freaks me out.
Watching someone lick their hands after touching the raw meat grosses me out.
I don't care who's job it is...I don't trust anyone but myself to clean up after raw meat. Why? Yes, that's right....because I'm a little OCD. As was pointed out by at least three people today.

But you know what? I'd rather be a little OCD than die of Salmonella, or Hepatitis... or whatever other diseases raw meat carries...

I'd better stop or I'm just going to start gagging...
Bleck.

Rantings...

Maybe I shouldn't...but I'm going to....
Can I just say...
Don't come to a foreign country for six days and complain about what you miss "back home" or talk about how much you can't wait to eat such and such and drink all your favorite beverages or how hard it has been to be away from family for all this time...

It just doesn't sit well with me.
Ok?
Ok.

Glad we got that cleared up.

Coffee Grounds...

For some reason, I've been thinking a lot about Amy Carmichael and the coffee grounds. I told the story to a group of teens one day when we were standing around talking and they looked at me incredulously and asked, "Would that really work? Are you sure it would make her dark enough to pass for Indian?"

So...last night...it was too much. I had a huge tub of coffee brewing cold (for iced coffee....because that doesn't exist here....and I miss it oh so much). I finished straining it and then looked at the remaining tub full of grounds.

And then, because my curiosity was out of control, I dug my hand into the wet grinds and started rubbing them all over my other arm.

It works.
But man...she really would have reeked of coffee.
Because I still do...
:)

Going to the Chapel...

Yesterday I sang at a wedding. I'd never met the bride. Or the groom. But I picked out their wedding music...helped translate their vows...and sang at their wedding.

I've been to a lot of weddings. I've been in at least nine. Let me tell you...this was unlike any other wedding I've been to.

The invitations stated that the wedding would start at two in the afternoon. At 1:55, I rehearsed the songs in the auditorium....in the presence of a handful of people. At 2:30...there were still very few people...and no sign of the bride or groom. At three o'clock, the family of the bride began to arrive. At three thirty, the bride and groom showed up.

The wedding ceremony itself was fairly traditional, with the exception of Portuguese vows and an English translator (for the groom...who didn't speak Portuguese). After the wedding ended, we all walked outside for a group photo with the bride and groom...and then we all had to take individual photos with the bride and groom. Which...felt kind of awkward since I'd never officially met them. Thankfully, Cal and Joyce let me slip in with them right as the brother of the bride started trying to insist that I needed to go alone and have my photo taken with them.

Then we all walked into a feast of appetizers. We stayed there and talked with people for about an hour or so. When we realized this was only the beginning of the night, we decided to head out since part of my ride wasn't feeling well. Rumor has it, the wedding was not over till midnight...

Just another interesting experience... :) I feel like life is full of those here.

I think it is absolutely fascinating when I see a small, tiny piece of God's plan. It amazes me. For example, I was asked to step into a roll that, were God not amazingly sovereign, would have been impossible for me to do.

Monday morning when I arrived at camp and began to freak out about the responsibilities that I had, I remembered: I worked at IRBC...I can do anything camp related. Toilets, pots, pans, mops....you name it, I've cleaned it. Multiple times.

Sure enough, Pastor Phil and Pastor Dave's words and expectations came to my mind. While I sincerely loved working at IRBC, I really never thought it would play a part in preparing me for my future ministry (other than giving me a high expectation for cleanliness and a burning conviction to "see the need and meet the need.") As people started coming to me in English and Portuguese and asking me what I expected them to do and how everything was going to be organized, the IRBC in me took over.

When Monday ended, I sat on my couch in shock that:
1) Contrary to what I thought would happen, things actually went fairly well.
2) I actually loved what I was doing...even though I was in charge.
3) God gave me IRBC experience to prepare me for a ministry I never thought I'd do.

Pretty amazing to see just a small part of how God used my past to prepare me for my future...which...honestly makes me thrilled to know that regardless of what is next for me, these two years in Portugal will never be wasted, even if I never come back.