Last June Sunday Funday

Here is our weekly vlog:

Last week, for those of you who didn't know, was Juneteenth and World Refugee Day (for my woke folk). It has been a frustrating week on social media as I have strong views on those seeking asylum, and many people I love disagree with me. I feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place as I do not agree with, and cringe at much of what is said by many Republicans, but am horrified when I see how many Democratic friends respond to them--the hatred stuns me as much, if not more than the heartlessness they are reacting against. I finally posted this: 

Because almost everyone who posted things, I knew personally--at least a bit. And I knew they were loving, caring people--even if they were calling for more separation of families, or even if they were calling those calling for those things "evil and undeserving of life." There is always more to the story. There is always a story, and as Brene Brown says, "Everyone has a story or a struggle that will break your heart. And, if we’re really paying attention, most people have a story that will bring us to our knees." So I will continue to apply this principle to my life as I listen to stories of those seeking asylum. And I will continue to apply this principle to my life as I watch people don "Make America Great Again" hats. 

On a lighter note, Jessica is now six months old, and Sofia is three today:

Last week was the end of the first semester of Living Stones, and finals for all my English classes:)

Reads from the Interwebs:

1. What to do in a crisis of faith: I enjoyed this perspective, because I think other people's crisis of faith often rocks me more than my own 

2. When the world feels like it's on fire: Sit. Listen. Cry. #Choose Welcome

3. I think it is okay to be an alien: As I read the articles this week around the word "Alien," I realized I've now been serving in Brazil for 15 years (not in the country that whole time, but since 2004). Wow. 

4. The weight of inequality and the baby right in front of me: Tears and YES--so heavy sometimes, but our weight to carry and then do as God calls us to. NEVER FORGET.
5. I am not a racist: This starts with me realizing me.
6. Ending on a lighter note: How many words do you need to speak a language? 50, it seems:) YESSSSSSSSSSS!

Ten Years as a Single Missionary

Ten years as a single missionary
Living off $350 a month
Public transportation anywhere and everywhere
60-70 hour work weeks
I loved my life

Met a man
First time I saw him I called a friend
Said there is this great guy- but just too young for me
Second time I saw him I gave him my number
We were married two years later

He came to Brazil to propose
He spoke Spanish not Portuguese
He loved Jesus and kids and music and sports and multi cultures
And I loved him
But he was not called to Brazil
So after the wedding we returned to the USA

I remember crying, a week before my wedding
This was my goodbye to my kids, my life, my ten years as a single missionary
All wrapped up in walking down the aisle and giving myself to someone else
We don't know the turns our paths will make

When God brings you back
It doesn't look the same
He always adds new colors and rhythm and rhymes

You learn something in the letting go
In the realizing that you don't control the times 
He always adds new colors and rhythm and rhymes

For my Woke Folk

As a white, middle class gal married to a Jamaican immigrant with two tri-racial (Brazilian) daughters, living outside of the USA, I have a unique (sometimes confusing) perspective on some things. Perhaps you also don't feel like you really fit in anywhere either.

A current trend is to be "woke," which the urban dictionary says, "Although an incorrect tense of awake, a reference to how people should be aware in current affairs." I also see a trend towards social justice, and so for those who want to help, but just aren't sure how, here are two important things to know THIS WEEK:

June 19th is a holiday. Maybe not your holiday--but Juneteenth is an important part of our history, and one I just learned about recently. You don't have to celebrate it, but you should know about it!

June 20th is World Refugee Day: it doesn't matter what politics you hold: if you want to be like Jesus, you love your neighbor: and Jesus said our neighbor is the one who isn't like us (and in his example--beat up and from another country--sounds like a refugee to me). 

I know people seeking asylum on our boarders is a hot button topic right now, especially with the separation of children in the past six months. One political side said it was done under Obama too, is just enforcing the law, and was over exaggerated (like the picture of kids in cages). The other side said how awful this was and the right was using scripture to justify it. I see the validity of most all of these arguments from both sides.

But it doesn't matter if WRONG was done under what president: wrong is wrong. It doesn't matter if we are just hearing about it--WHEN we hear about it and do nothing--WE ARE WRONG.

I am not there in the USA, and I might be missing something, but what is happening needs to be changed. I do not know the solutions (although some were mentioned here), but the system is broken, and enforcing the law is enforcing a broken system which the CHILDREN pay for. Don't use scripture, and don't just say you are enforcing the law. On the other end: don't whine about the president and the broken system (which has been broken for many, many years). Foster care, volunteer for non-profits who are making a difference, put your money where your mouth is.

Here is an excellent article about what you can do and what is happening: please read it with an open heart. Below is a video I made about refugees with my friend Em Bricker. Let's make a difference instead of getting angry or staying silent:

Father's Day Sunday Funday

I finished the vlogs when my sister and goddaughter were here:

and

And then on Saturday we had the pleasure of going to our friend's wedding--on the beach:

Fellipe is the one who heads up the project at the Trash Dump community. It was beautiful to see some of the kids and their moms at the wedding--and the flower girl (seen above) was Taina, and the ring bearer was Werik. If you don't remember, they were the children who were orphaned last November when their father killed their mother. It is beautiful to see how this community came around them and is raising them! 

Holidays are all confused: we celebrated Valentine's Day on June 12th (not February 14th) and in the USA you celebrated Father's day on Sunday, while here Father's Day is the second Sunday in August. But anyways, there was a group of men from Brandywine Community church here last week, and they had a great men's conference which was very encouraging to Caid, and to our pastor, Flavio. I am really excited to see how God is showing Caid more and more of his passion and calling to music, and what that might look like in the next couple of years. 

Reads from the Interwebs:

1. Fair Trade Guilt? Yes Please: written by me:). Finally got some of my thoughts together on this subject! 

2. What is going on with separating families: so I started hearing from my very vocal friends on both ends of the political spectrum about these almost 2000 children separated from their families in the past six months. One side said it was done under Obama too, is just enforcing the law, and was over exaggerated (like the picture of kids in cages). The other side said how awful this was and the right was using scripture to justify it. I see the validity of most all of these arguments from both sides. But first, it doesn't matter if WRONG was done under what president: wrong is wrong. It doesn't matter if we are just hearing about it--WHEN we hear about it and do nothing--WE ARE WRONG. I am not there in the USA, and I might be missing something, but what is happening needs to be changed. I do not know the solutions (although some were mentioned in the video linked), but to be locked up separately when you are trying to be heard for your case of asylum...the system is broken, and enforcing the law is enforcing a broken system which once more the CHILDREN pay for. NO. Don't use scripture, and don't just say you are enforcing the law. Also, don't whine about the president and the broken system (which has been broken for many, many years). Foster care, volunteer for non-profits who are making a difference, put your money where your mouth is. Ok, this is going to end up being its own blog.
3. Four word prayer that changes everything: spoiler--the words are "Reduce me to love"
4. An open letter to Focus on the Family: more about refugees/ people seeking asylum
5. Confessions of a black sheep: going against "ministry expectations" is a big deal for all people in ministry...and so hard, specially when you feel God leading you other ways.
6. I am sorry you had to see this mess
7. What's different about being an expat family? I needed this article after listening to last weeks podcast on third culture kids...whew.

Fair Trade Guilt? Yes Please!

In the last ten years there has been a huge rise in interest and purchase of fair trade products in the USA, and I am so glad! It is wonderful to see people really caring about how their products are being made, and thinking of others--thousands of miles away--and how they are affected. I love Mercy House and their blogs that have opened my eyes to how important our purchases are. I love chatting with friends about their discoveries and talking about how we will make real-life changes.

My personal journey has been a bit different from many of those I know. Fair trade issues have mostly been centralized around the three Cs: Coffee, Chocolate, and Clothes (and accessories). My practical (and lazy) way to ethically deal with these is that I don't like (or buy) coffee or chocolate, and I buy all (about 95%) my clothes (and accessories) used. Who knew my mom was so progressive when taking me to Goodwill my whole life? (Go mom!)

I basically avoided being unethical in my choices because of personal taste (not liking coffee and chocolate) and not having enough money to buy new clothes/accessories. Thinking of others and how they are affected by my purchases is mostly a developed country issue (I am choosing to use "developed and developing countries" rather than "first and third world countries" as terms here) and I am grateful we can have the discussion, rather than having all of our energies focused on just surviving and finding enough food for our kids (as many in developing countries are). It is a privilege to have the time and money to consider our purchases: it is also our duty.

While I do have effective solutions to many fair trade questions, there is always more I can do, and deeper I can go into the issues: what about buying local? What about recycling (what happens after I purchase my goods)? And many other questions. While my solutions in Brazil may look different than yours in the USA, I have found they mainly revolve around two practical issues: TIME and MONEY.

My current struggles with buying local and recycling are mostly with time. I can go to local vendors for amazing fruits and vegetables, but it is more walking and carrying heavy things around--with one or two kids--which makes it rather miserable. It is washing containers that are gross while my baby is crying. It is driving the recycling to someplace I am not sure where. In general, it is hard.It takes extra planning. And in all my good intentions, it is slow-going. But baby steps, slowly relearned, is the key with TIME.

Money is a very motivating factor, and yes, it is cheaper to buy things that are unethical and unhealthy and un-recyclable. It is normally pretty easy to ignore those things as well. But, as my cousin graciously put: for many things, it is even cheaper to just use/buy less in the first place. To learn how to appreciate and care for what we have. That is the secret with MONEY.

Who knows how far the rabbit hole goes, and what fair trade issues will come up next: but they will probably always involve time and money. Good luck to your own journey in making ethical choices and becoming more aware that what you buy and use effects those around you: near and far. And as we all struggle a bit with fair trade guilt, I hope we use it to make change.

Sunday Funday June

Last week was a whirlwind! The girls left on Friday, but not without leaving lots of love and memories. Two more videos of their time (middle days and last day) are coming soon:).

Basic outline of their time here (and then a weekend of sleeping):
Saturday: (see last week's video) arrival
Sunday: (see video above) church and pitch-in with lots of acai (thanks Lillian!) Pizza with good friends
Monday: (see video above) MMA class, Guadalajara Living Stones, the family with 9 girls
Tuesday: (see Middle Days video) Cajueiro Claro Living Stones, trash dump community outreach, Taco Tuesday and an early celebration of Ana Sofia's birthday
Wednesday: shopping around town and speaking to the English classes at the International school
Thursday: (see Middle Days video) Lagoa de Itaenga Living Stones, Olinda for sightseeing
Friday: (see Last Day video) the beach and the airport. They got home safe on Saturday.

We loved having them here. It meant more than we can say. Thank you to everyone who made it possible

Reads from the Interwebs:
1. Podcast about missionary kids starring missionary kids: important for anyone who is or has missionary kids! Disclaimer: it was hard for me to listen to this...parenting is hard enough without lots of other issues added to it--but we MUST do our best as missionary parents. Many parents from the last generation found this out the hard way. If we are not INTENTIONAL in parenting, and SPECIFIC in addressing the additional issues that come up in being missionaries, we will fail. 
2. Ten things to remember on furlough: Six months and our home assignment begins--plan now:)
3. What to expect on furlough: I much prefer the term "home assignment." As the article says: "Our supporters and perhaps friends or family, on the other hand, may have a different idea for our furlough.Um, you’re not gonna use my money to just sit around all year, are you? All those trips you have planned? That costs a lot! My family doesn’t get to just travel around for a year, why should you? You’re going to take some classes, too? Are you going to get a job to help pay for all this?"
4. A long hard article on LGBTQ+ and Christian faithfulness: I felt this deeply.

June Funday Sunday

In all the craziness, we ate ice cream:

The strike, thank goodness, is over and things have returned to normal. Unfortunately, they didn't really return to normal until Wednesday, and my sister and goddaughter were flying out Tuesday. So they changed their tickets and arrived on Saturday. We really missed having those three extra days, but are just so glad they have made it here safely! First adventure: opening bags!

Not too much more to say, as we are loving being with our family:)!!!

Reads from the Interwebs:

1. Returning stronger than before

2. Risk and the cultural worker: "A theology of risk answers how I am to act on the opportunities presenting themselves in risk: Risk equals opportunity for both great loss and great gain."

3. Family mottos to live by