Sunday Funday September 13
You guys! Last month I got to do something awesome—as a missionary, I went with my church in Brazil to visit the missionary we’d sent to a new place—kind of like a mission’s trip within a mission’s trip? It was really super amazing. I am not into calling these things “short term mission trips” because it was really short (3 days) and not about missions (thanks Covid), but definitely was a vision trip to see what God was doing, and a reunion trip to get to see our beloved pastor Flavio and his family. But when you think of it, shouldn’t all of what we call short term mission trips really be vision/reunion trips anyway? Here is part 2 of the trip:
Prayers and Praises
September 7 was that rare time when it was a holiday in the USA and Brazil—but completely different holidays (Labor day and Independence day). We were so grateful to enjoy a day trip to the beach (where I got horribly sunburnt under three layers of sunscreen).
The International school had the whole week off of school, enabling me to get ahead on planning and filming classes, as well as finishing a really big personal project I have, putting together English Teacher Resources (more information to come).
It was a lovely, productive week, and we are grateful!
Interweb Reads:
Kids in Poverty adapt to the strange new world of school at home: A good read, just to open your eyes a bit more to what quarentine means to kids all over the world. For my kids at Living Stones, it means NO SCHOOL. And homeschooling was illigal in Brazil, so parents don’t even have a mindset of home education and what that looks like. My kids can rarely get access to internet or online learning tools, and most of the public schools in our area aren’t equipped to even provide any kind of online learning. The plan now is that all kids, regardless of whatever schooling they actually recieved, will be moved forward to the next grade in 2021. For private school kids, it means many do not have any push to work hard—they will pass anyway. For public school kids, it means they will feel even more behind than they were before—especially the children who were just getting ready to learn how to read. I am seriously still trying to unpack the consequences in my head. But- at the same time- this is exactly why Living Stones exists, and next year, when hopefully school starts up again and kids are all in the next grade not knowing what to do, our tutoring program will be there to help pull them out of this nose-dive of loss. (Compassion)
One of the very best goals for every parent: what if we started off every day with these seven words: “Do you remember the story of Samuel? God spoke to him as a young child, but he confused it for the voice of Eli, the High Priest. Evidently, their voices sounded very similar! Do you remember what Eli said? He instructed Samuel to pray a very simple, very brave prayer: “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” What if we started every day that way? Those seven words encompass our job as parents. God speaks in lots of different languages.” (Ann Voskamp)
This is what we mean when we say “Character is Destiny”: “We will debate for years why the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nation, a nation chock-full of many of the best doctors and hospitals in the world, experienced such a disproportionately staggering death toll. But here’s one reason: A man who millions of people trust and who sets the tone for communications from massive right-wing news outlets and for massive right-wing celebrities told a series of lies. Those lies were transmitted and believed. People acted on those lies.” (The Dispatch)
On the use and abuse of Critical Race Theory in American Christianity: Not only did I not have a clear idea of what Critical Race Theory was, I also wasn’t sure about anything else around it—I am so grateful for the the Dispatch, which is where I’ve been getting my Biblically sound opinions about the news lately. A really good and important read. (The Dispatch)