along life's narrow way

post by~ Brin

 One of the job hazards of foreign missions work is loneliness. After the first year, at least for me, it lessened considerably but still cycles in and out just like the rainy season.  I truly enjoy meeting new people and exploring new places but for only so long and then I yearn to be with people I know and know me back. God is so very aware of my heart. So under His provision, our family enjoyed our first official visitors to our new home in Manaus.  Luke and Debbi Porritt, along with their twin girls Anna and Aleia, enthusiastically jumped into the sights, sounds and (as seen in the picture below) the smells of our new city.

 

And to add to the encouragement, their visit occurred over Easter.  Which for me turned Easter into fun (and work) and, I recently realized, inadvertently left out the sacred. I am thinking about that now. Thinking that, as if it were not enough to be saved from hell, I also have an ever-present friend in Jesus.  He abides in me. Jesus knows the real me, the ugly me that I try to hide from new friends and old friends alike. And yet He loves me, the most actually. And because of what Jesus did on that Easter morning we have hope of an eternity in heaven where there is no death, tears, fear and no cycles of loneliness. Little bubbles of renewing hope rise up in me and give me a boost to keep striving forward even though we are still challenged daily in our new life and ministries and still cannot guess where God will take us next.  Whatever happens during our time on Earth, at the end of our story there is hope. A refreshing, renewing, encouraging Hope that I want to motivate all I do.

 So to help celebrate Easter our two families, along with Andres and Camila (teammates with Asas), gave an Easter breakfast, program and egg hunt at the hangar. The hunt was likely a first for all the Brazilian participants.

 Luke and Debbi brought along their family's Resurrection Eggs to tell the Easter story,which turned out to be an excellent cross-cultural tool.

It was a race out in the expanse of Asas property to find the eggs. And avoid the fire ants; my foot still showing the evidence of stepping into a nest. Does this count as suffering for the gospel?

 Children from our home church in Tremont sent along the plastic eggs as well as a good supply of M&Ms.

 And we finished out the morning with a dip in the river and subsequent sunburns. The ramp makes for a great place to swim and the boat for jumping.

 Just like everyone back home, we posed for an Easter portrait.

 A big plus of having the Porritts was Mia and Ava being able to share the Brazilian side of their lives with Anna and Aleia. So just like the girls do at least 3 times a week, they walked over to the neighbors house and bought popsicles. Flavor choices could be peanut, tucumã, tapioca, roasted coconut, açai, and green corn, grape or strawberry. The twins nibbled a cautious bite on green corn but then settled conservatively on strawberry. Ava was often left to translate for the bunch which she did with vigor, however odd the translations came out.

Here are the girls cooling off in the outdoor shower and playing with my squeegees that I use to clean my floor. They had probably never seen one so big. Mia took it upon herself to educate her visitors in Brazilian (Amazonian, I should say) culture. At one point she picked up an industrial type scrub brush that I use to clean my rugs and informed Anna and Aleia that it was what they should use to scrub their feet. Ouch!

So after 7 days of showing the Porritt family a glimpse of our life, (albeit somewhat distorted because we consumed a years worth of good food and fun), we said goodbye and I missed them the next day. 

We are not meant to be loners on this planet. That is why I yearn to know and be known. And that is how Easter alleviates loneliness. Jesus' death restores a relationship with a pure and perfect God that had been muddied by just living life on this earth. And we, being equipped with God love, can reach out to others. We share, care, love, and serve because He did it first.