A Special Shower!!

Last Saturday night, I threw a bridal shower for Jaqueline who will be getting married later this month. Jaque works with us at Fiel and her parents are part of the backbone of our church. Her father is a british missionary that has been in Brazil 50 years like my in-laws and her mother is one of the sweetest God-fearing women I have ever met. I was excited to do something for her and to have all the ladies of the church over for a typical American shower!(I am talking about the food.) They loved it!
The games, however, were planned by a couple of girls from our church. They really like to embarrass and humililate the guest of honor. When Jaque answered questions incorrectly during some of the games, they painted her face and made her do silly things, such as sing songs and make a wedding dress out of toilet paper. Brazilian humor is definitely different! I was pleased to see everyone laughing and enjoying themselves.

Mercado Municipal

Rick's brother Mark was down once again working in Sao Paulo and we met up with him last weekend. Mark took us to the old Municipal Market where they sell fresh fruit, cheese, spices, and meat for super cheap. Below is a photo of the beautiful building. Inside the building are individual stalls where venders come to sell their goods. We went on a Saturday and it was a little crowded.As we walked past this stall, I was a little horrified of the little piggies hanging in the window. Rick then noticed that the sign reads "Porco Feliz", which means happy pig. They don't look too happy to me!Did you know that the cashew nut comes from a fruit? This photo is for our Pastor Spivey in Melbourne, Florida. Pastor, this is what a cashew fruit looks like. The stem on top of the fruit is where the nut is located. Brasilians love to make juice out of the caju fruit. When you and Patricia come visit us one day, I will make it for you! :)Here is a neat photo below of the many different varieties of hot peppers they sell. Generally speaking, brazilian food is not hot at all. Actually, I have never tried anything really spicy here. Who buys these peppers anyway!? We later went to the old train station and then to the park next door to take some photos and to enjoy the beautiful "winter" weather. James loves his Uncle Mark! Little kisses are the best!


The happy family photo! Here James is tried of his mommy taking pictures!

Answered Prayer!

We received news that the father of these dear sisters, has accepted Jesus as his Savior. Both Antonivan and Ana Paula, who work with us at the Fiel Ministry, are currently back home in the North of Brazil caring for their father who is terminally ill with cancer. Although difficult to see their loved one sick, they can rejoice because they now have the hope of seeing him again in Glory! We miss you girls and can't wait to see you back in Sao Jose. We are praying for you and your family.

James the Super Baby!

My friend Rosilene and her two daughters came over last night for tea. This is the family that I mentioned earlier that just moved in to our building. What a blessing to have them close by. We take turns watching each others kids when we need to run some errands. And the girls absolutely love playing with James!

Shame on Me!

I have allowed way too many days pass by without a post. Please forgive me blogging buddies and friends alike! This past week has been filled with children birthday parties, baby showers, and a wedding shower. It is the season. And there are more to come..........2 more on Saturday and 1 more on Monday. Not to mention, I am putting together a bridal shower next Saturday for a girl named Jaque who works with us at the Fiel ministry. Below are some photos from one of the baby showers. Let me just tell you they are completely different than what you would expect in the States. Read the captions below. Here are the ladies playing a game after the devotional. Who can dress the baby the fastest?
When you are given an invitation for a shower, you are told what present to buy and what food to bring. This really shocked me when I was first invited to a shower. For example: bring something sweet, and a baby bottle. Kinda funny, huh? I guess they want to have a variety of food and to save the guest of honor from getting repeat gifts. No such thing as a baby registry here! Most gifts are baby shampoo, cottonballs or diapers and sometimes clothes are given. Below is a photo of a women cutting a "salty cake". This is a common treat made for showers or special events. It is layered with white bread and has a filling of chicken salad with eggs, olives, corn and such. It is then iced with mashed potatoes and topped with potato sticks. I usually avoid it as I am unsure of the amount of time the mayonnaise has been out of the fridge.
Below is a photo of James staring at the cake. This little boy loves sweets! Another common occurrence is there are never plates or forks at showers. (Mainly because these items are expensive and they can do without them.) One is expected to eat cake off of a napkin. So I usually volunteer myself to bring these items!!
Here is a photo of my dear friend Rosilene and a little girl from her church. She was the one that invited me to this shower at her church. Rose's husband works with Rick at the Fiel ministry and just recently went with Rick to a Christian Booksellers expo in the US. She and her family just moved to our apartment building and James has been spending a lot of time with her two little daughters. I have a video clip that I want to post of them playing. Look for it soon.
This little girl followed me around like a little puppy. She kept asking me to say something in English all night! She was so cute that I had to take a photo of her.
Here are all the children at the shower. They noisily played behind the church. And of course, my blondie is a favorite among the girls.