Finally....

Well, it is about time that I wrote something again. :) As many of you already know, the last few days/weeks have been very busy for my family and I. Two weeks ago, we started packing up our house in Brazil. Amazingly, in that one week, I sorted though and gave away or packed all of my personal belongings! It is kind of strange to know that everything that I own is now in two suitcases!
Last Tuesday, my family and I boarded the plane headed for Miami. After a day of flying and being in airports, we finally arrived in Miami, only to wait more than an hour for the shuttle to take us to our hotel for the night! Even though the wait tested our patience, once we finally did arrive at our hotel room, we were able to order Papa John's pizza--fabulous pizza, by the way!!! We spent the night in Miami, and left for Kansas City the next morning. We did almost miss our flight, but...God was good, and we were still able to get on, even though the door had already been closed! We arrived in Kansas City right around noon, and it was great to be with my aunt and uncle, and cousins once again!
Since then, we have gone camping, eaten Mexican food, and gone shopping at Wal-mart and Target! Yay! Although all of the these things are fun and we miss being able to do them when in Brazil, I miss all of the people I left behind in Brazil. I still can't believe that I am actually in the U.S., thousands of miles away from everyone in Brazil. But I guess the cold weather is trying to make to wake up to reality and realize that this really is the U.S.! :)
Tomorrow we are heading out to Nashville for a conference. Pray for me, as I will be helping with sessions for 12-15 year-old girls by leading a small group. This is the first time that I am doing anything like this, so I really appreciate your prayers! I'll try to get some pictures throughout the week and post a few.

In Christ alone,
Angie

Yummy Brazilian Torta (Impossible Pie)

This recipie is a family favorite! It is quick and easy to put together. For some reason, my family calls this "Angie's torta" :) ( I guess because I like to make it!)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk


• 1/3 cup oil


• 2 eggs


• 3/4 cup flour


• 1 tablespoon baking power


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 cup mozerella cheese

Filling: My family likes just tomatoes, onions, and green oinions suteéd with a little salt and olive oil, but you can add whatever sounds good to you (like ham and cheese, sausage, etc)

Directions:
Mix the milk, oil and eggs in a blender and add the dry ingredients. Put
half in a greased 9x9 pan, then half of the filling. Add the rest of batter and the rest of the filling, topping it with the cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Although the pie may look "soft"and not done, a knife should come out clean when it is done. Serve over rice.

Serves: 6

His Way is Perfect

Here are the lyrics for a song that I love. It encourages me soo much when I feel down and discouraged, wondering if God really does have a plan for my life, and if so, why did He allow ______ to happen? This song reminds me that He DOES have a perfect plan for each one of us!!

His Way is perfect
by Betsy Kistler

When my way seems dark and drear and the future I don’t know.
My heart feels so empty as the tears unending flow.
When my heart breaks with sorrow and a tempest fills my soul,
This one thing I know for sure: my God is in control.

His way is perfect, His way is perfect.
Though I don’t understand, His
wise and loving plan,
His way is perfect. His way is perfect.
Take my life and make a vessel purified.
God makes no mistakes, His way is best.

When the toils of life are come and my heart is worn with care,
I faint ‘neath the burden of a cross I cannot bear.
When the joy has departed from my sorrow stricken soul,
This one thing I know for sure: my God is in control.

A Full Moon and God's Enduring Love

It was Sunday night. The back of our truck was full of people. The cool breeze of the night blew full-force into my upturned face as I sat in the back of the truck. It was then that I noticed something beautiful: the full moon. The sky was cloudy, yet even then, the moon shone bright and clear; it was perfectly round--a glowing ball of light. Several stars twinkled between patches of clouds. It was so breathtaking!

This display of God's handiwork gave me such a sense of peace and contentment. As I continued to gaze at the moon, I realized something: God is in control. He has made the sun and moon to keep their courses day after day, month after month, and year after year since the beginning of time. If He controls the sun and moon, isn't He also in control of my life? Like the many clouds on Sunday night, my life, also, seems to be somewhat "cloudy" right now--full unanswered questions and countless decisions to be made. But God loves me and cares for me. I can trust in Him to work everything out, to give answers for my many questions, and to guide me in the many choices I have to yet make. He keeps the universe in order; He can keep me in His care! What a wonderful peace to know that! Just think: the great God of the universe is so personal that He used a full moon, on a cloudy, breezy night, to show me that He cares for me and is in control!

Institute Pictures

I said that I would post a few pictures from some of the Institute get-togethers. Well, here are a few:

This picture is a little small, but these are all of the students. I think there is a total of about sixteen students or so. There are a few more people than that in this pictures because it includes the family of one of the students (his wife and two daughters).

The cool thing about the Institute is that it is like one big family. This couple became officially enganged at one of their OMIBA (the name for the missions prayer group that they started this semester) meetings.

Sometimes chapel is combined with OMIBA, and then a supper afterwards. When they have suppers, they always have to invite the director's family! :)

It is then fun to go to the praça (the Brazilian version of a park) and sit around and talk or sing.

Showers of blessing!

Thankfully, this year has proven to be a year with a little more rain than the previous few years. After several year with hardly enough rain to make the planted fields grow, much less fill the dry wells and rivers, this area of Brazil is in desperate need of a good rainy season! Today, when going to a nearby town to work on some more of my Brazilian documents, the river that we had to pass over was full and over-flowing! It is interesting to note though, how just a month or so ago, this same river was hardly more than a little stream! Last Monday, it also began to rain about 4:00 p.m., and it rained steadily until midnight or so! If our rain gauge is correct (which I think it is!) in that one afternoon/evening, we had more than 5 inches of rain!



Rains, however, are not the only blessings lately. Like I already mentioned, I have been working on trying to get my Brazilian documents before we go back to the U.S. To make a long story short, what I thought would take, in the least, several hours, just to start the process and fill out the forms, took hardly an hour! Better yet was the fact that I was able to leave with the document in my hands!



Due to some Mission business that my parents had to do in Fortaleza, we all went to Fortaleza last week. The highlight of that time was the opportunity to get together with some of the other MKs. It was such a blessing to be able to go to the Tapioqueiras (an outdoor restauraunt) for a "girls' outing" with one of my dearests friends!



Before signing off, I wanted to add a poem that I read recently while reading the book Goforth of China, by Rosalind Goforth. I think it accurately reflects the attitude that each one of us should have when it comes to serving the Lord.



And as the path of duty is made plain
May grace be given that I may walk therein.
Not like the hireling for his selfish gain,
Making a merit of his coward dread,
With backward glaces and reluctant tread,
But cheerful in the light around me thrown
Walking as if to pleassant pastures led.
Doing God's will as it if were my own,
Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone.



Continuing to seek His face,
~Angie

An Identified citizen! yay!

Hi! It is about time that i write something again....:) Right now I am in Fortaleza, so I have a little more time. As of yesterday, I now have an official Brazilian "identity" card (carteira de identidade). Yay! Now the only other documents that I need to get before I leave Brazil is my CPF and my voting título (title). (Don't you wish you lived in Brazil and had to carry around all of these documents?) Anyway, I am glad that I was able to get my identity card...if I would leave Brazil without it (and the other documents that I still have to get) I could run into a lot of trouble when I would return to Brazil.

This is a picture of our dog Muffin. She died a year ago, but I still miss her...she was such a sweet dog!