Brazil, Day 17: A Better View of the Area

Accidentally woke up too late to do any exercise this morning, and I couldn’t have run even if I wanted to. There is a couples retreat going on at the seminary, so the whole campus is all decorated and the road is kind of taped off.

Getting in there is hard enough because most of the time they don’t allow people who aren’t involved in the retreat to enter. Several years ago when Pastor Jim was president of the school, he tried to get in just to go to his office, and they wouldn’t let him! So, I can’t run there again until Monday. Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 16: ALL the Neat Stories!

So, as the title indicates, today I heard a lot of great stories. In order to remember them later on, I’m gonna write them all down.

First of all, my day began with another 6-kilometer run. That’s not much of a story, but it happened. For breakfast we had yummy bread with fried cheese and guava jam again, pineapple, and papaya. We finished by reading a chapter from “The Red Sea Rules,” a devotional book by Robert J. Morgan that the Leonard family reads from time to time during breakfast. It’s a good reminder of the importance of trusting God during hard times. Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 15: Odd Jobs and Leadership Conference

Ugh…I don’t like waking up in the morning! Well, I do, but I don’t like to wake up early and I especially don’t like to exercise alone. But I had to do what I had to do, and I ran 6 kilometers.

My devotions were in Acts 10. In this chapter, Cornelius and Peter both have visions which lead to Cornelius’ conversion. I didn’t actually read about the conversion yet though. I read the first 23 verses, detailing the two visions and the entourage that was sent to summon Peter. Wow, God works in interesting yet exciting ways sometimes! Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 13: A Little Assistance and a Little A

This morning I ran four kilometers, but I tried to pick up the pace so I was running harder than I had on previous mornings. For breakfast I had tapioca (a tapioca wrap) stuffed with sun-dried meat and cheese, and for dessert I had a slice of papaya. I think that is one of my favorite breakfast foods so far. Perhaps because it’s like a breakfast eggroll. Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 12: Several Thoughts on Missions

I woke up and almost considered skipping a second straight day of exercise. I did not want to get up, and I had an almost unnoticeable headache that lingered from the night before. But I finally got up and ran a kilometer before doing some hill runs, tackling the hill on the seminary’s road eight times with minimal rest in between each one. Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 11: Church, Day Two

Slept in today and woke up refreshed and excited for Sunday, a day of worship and rest. No services at church today because we had them yesterday, so we are going to a different church tonight. But most churches only have Sunday School and no morning service because the evening service is when most people attend, opposite of the churches I’ve attended in the US. Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 10: Giving to Brasil

When my alarm went off this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. I wasn’t necessarily tired although I definitely could have slept longer. Rather, I just didn’t want to get out of my really comfortable bed and go running. But I took a break two days ago, so after laying there for almost an hour, I finally got up and ran. Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 9: Last Day of School

Because I slept in with no exercise yesterday, I determined that I had to run today…and I did. My legs felt much better, so I ran five kilometers (three miles), and it feels like I’m starting to get back into the running shape I used to have. The sprinting isn’t there yet, but the endurance is coming back. Read Full Post

Brazil, Day 8: From Portuguese to Ingl

I woke up to run…and I didn’t run. My legs were so sore that I decided I should take the day off after breaking them back in the last couple days. So back to bed I went, and it felt good to sleep in for the first time all week.

Acts 5:33-42 was the passage for the day. For anyone who didn’t pick up on it, I’m reading through Acts right now. It seemed like an appropriate passage of Scripture for Brazil, and just the right length too. If I read half a chapter each day, I could start shortly before I left for my 50-day trip and finish shortly after I return. Read Full Post