On my way...

This is what I wrote in a notebook while at the airport...enjoy!!!

Wow- I made it. Here I sit at gate C20 in O’Hare airport, about to head off, finally!! Surprisingly, I am calm but also excited beyond belief. Somehow, I already feel at home with Portuguese flowing all around me and being just about the only one with real blonde hair sitting at the gate. The friendliness of Brazilians is making its impression again, having just had a neat conversation with two Brazilians. Speaking Portuguese just makes my heart so happy!

It’s funny because I was in this exact terminal 4 ½ months ago when I embarked on another adventure to Perú – somehow it makes me miss him. It’s amazing how many times I said the phrase – “We’ll keep up on facebook and Skype,” when hugging people goodbye. I am so thankful for technology that allows me to keep up with my wonderful friends and boyfriend. Also, I found out we’ll have pretty reliable internet at the school, so Skype will be a frequent activity. 

Getting through check-in and security was breezarific. I feel like I’ve travelled so much in my life and even the last year, that I feel so at home in airports! Two of the United personnel asked me what was in my 2 check-ons, and as soon as I said “Clothes. Books. Memories. My life….I’m moving,” they smiled and waved me on. Hehe… One suitcase was just 1 ½ pounds over, so I quickly switched those to my carry-on, and said goodbye to Joel. I’m so glad he was able to see me off!

The line for security was virtually nonexistent, I guess because people don’t really travel overseas in the winter? Who knows…God does.  There are some things I really appreciate about Brasil, like free carts at the airports. Goodness, they made me pay $4 here at O’hare for a cart I only used for like 20 minutes!

It’s so funny, looking around, even if I wasn’t blonde, my tennis shoes would give away the fact that I’m American. Brazilians girls enjoy going through extra pain by wearing cute shoes while they travel….crazy! Goodbyes were not quite as painful as I thought they would be, though I’m sure I will miss people more in the days to come. I got some fun pictures at early eats, which I’m sure I’ll treasure forever.
For now I will close this. I am looking forward to the journey I am starting with God right beside me. I am certain He has amazing, and even difficult things planned!

And so, I enter the sea of Brazilness, a wonderful place to be!

Tomorrow!!!

OH my word, my last night at Moody is here! I never ever thought this day would come, but it did!

I spent the afternoon and evening doing a spectrum of different things. I went out to coffee with Meghan to the WhaWho Cafe, and she treated me to a chai latte. Yum! We took tons of pictures, and soon Brittany came by to say goodbye. :( It was bittersweet, because I honestly have no idea when I'll see her again. Brasil...?

Meghan and I BOOKED it back to Moody, because it was about -10 degrees wind chill. Awful. We were so out of breath and she was on the phone with Marius, who was laughing at how cold she sounded. :) After a quick dinner with dishcrew, I ran up to the room to finish editing my paper and organizing my stuff a little more. Things have seriously not been too stressful. Each detail has divinely fell into place, or been put there pretty easily (I'm not sure how theologically sound that is, but interpret that as you will :). Very happy thing.

And I got to talk to Aulo tonight, which was wonderful. Our Skype connection was amazingly good, and we got to video chat for about 2 hours, without interruption! That doesn't happen very often...we were both so excited because yesterday I bought my PERU TICKETS!! I am very stoked, and will spend 2 months there- mid-May to mid-July,...visiting different people, meeting his family, and seeing Bethany and Nelton before and after they have their baby, hopefully! We had fun planning and dreaming about the summer.

Mel and I had a fun time too making a crazy music video for our guys. Oh, what we do instead of going on dates with them. haha... I also printed off my crazy long paper, talked to my mommy, who convinced me I should bring the quilt she made me along with me....it will be such a comfort on rainy, slightly chilly (70 degrees?) nights! I am very much looking forward to the warmer weather...today was miserably cold.

Well, that's about it for tonight. Next time I write I will probably be in flip flops and shorts, hurray! AND soon I will have lots of funny kid stories for you all. :)

"Final Countdown"

Today I was able to go to the Moody girls' basketball game, (which they completely WON!), and during halftime, they were playing the final countdown song. It reminded me that I am in my series of "lasts" here at Moody, as I leave in 6 days. I am beginning to feel that, and I confess it has been a hard past few days. However, I really want to enjoy the last few days I have with my great friends here, and also arrive in São Paulo with an attitude of excitement for the future. The first few days will probably be hard, though.

I have been able to spend time with some of my closest friends, while still trying to balance the homework for this 3-week class. God has been challenging me in more ways than one these 2 weeks, and I am so thankful for it. I think He is getting me ready to move on to a new course of life and be able to focus solely on Him, even if I'm worried or sad or uncertain about tomorrow.

My packing is coming along well. I have everything mostly in something at least, I have just been working on making sure I'm not taking anything unnecessary or over the weight limit. Amazingly, God provided me with more weight because I'm allowed two 70-pound bags; Brazil is United Airlines' only exception to their 50-pound limit. :) Yay, praise God!

This next week is going to bring SO much! I still have class every morning, then in the afternoons I will hopefully get in some hangout time with friends, then organize, finish homework and pray for good closure before I leave. Pretty crazy! I have been imagining what PACA will be like, but I can't wait to finally see where I'll be spending a couple years. I was actually able to meet a few girls at the MK snow camp who just graduated from PACA, and they showed me some pictures from the yearbook, how cool is that? God seriously is incredible at preparing His servants for what He has planned.

Prayer: for continued times with the Lord next week and focused prayer for the classroom I'll be in!

Have a wonderful week!

This is just a quickie to share a couple of things that the Lord brought to mind yesterday. I listened to the song, "He's Able," and it really impacted me. "God is able to do just what He said He would do, and He's gonna fulfill every promise to you. Don't give up on God 'cause He won't give up on you." No matter where I'm going, God's promises remain true and He will NEVER give up on me, no matter how much I mess up, worry, or lose sight of His plans! I pray He will continually remind me of how great those promises are, and to just keep "bringin' it back", to use a bbaxter phrase. :)

Also, my parents and I were having a prayer time together last night, and we read part of Psalm 18, beautiful psalm!

Psalm 18:30-32
"This God- His way is perfect.
The word of the Lord proves true
He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.
For who is God but the Lord?
And who is a Rock, except our God?
the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless."

I'm so excited about heading into a whole new pattern of life, but still have my fears and sadness. These verses reminded me that He always keeps me grounded in Him!

By the way, there are piles of snow outside. Crazy to think I'll be in tropical rain land in a few weeks. I'm so glad!

Odds and ends

This past weekend I've been working a ton on compiling my email list for my prayer updates. I was able to send out the first edition of "Sarah's Scribblings" :) The title was actually a family consensus....on our way to Cracker Barrel, I said, "Ok, guys, we need to come up with a good synonym for 'news" that starts with an "S." We came up with all KINDS of words, for example: sentiments, (Mom), serendipity (Dad), surmisings (Dad), segments (me), silliness (Dad), and so on and so forth. Finally, we all agreed on "scribblings" because it kind of goes along with what I'll be doing: helping kids scribble, and hopefully write well eventually. ha! So that was a definite accomplishment this week, praise the Lord!!

Now I am working on my Portuguese version, and my email list is almost complete, as is the letter. I would appreciate prayer for that one to be sent out by the end of the week. It's been interesting making two versions, but I think it's really important, as I have many wonderful Brazilian friends who have walked with me on this journey too.

Today I bought a huge sturdy suitcase, and, even thought it was a bit pricey, I decided to use some of my Christmas money for this investment. I didn't have any suitcase big enough or strong enough to move a 70-pound load! So, thanks to God's help in finding it, my mom and I decided it was the right one. We're so funny when we shop, we have to talk through everything and make sure it's a good purchase....check if it rolls right, consider how many years I'll use it and if the price is actually worth it, wonder if the brand name "Embark" is actually even a good one, ( doubt it :), but overall, I think it was worth it.

I am thinking about buying my tickets to Peru this week or the next! That is a very exciting thought! I've been researching prices for the past month. I would probably spend about 2 months there, from mid-May to mid-July, visiting my boyfriend's family, checking out ministry opportunities in Lima, and visiting Bethany and Nelton, (if they're there...) Pray for me also as I consider the exact dates I'll be there.

Sounds like my mom's cooking up some jambalaya, so I'd better close for now. Until next time...

Getting closer

I can't believe I leave for São Paulo in less than a month! I am getting really excited but also a bit overwhelmed at leaving my friends. I had to say goodbye to a dear friend in December, and that brought me to realize that I have to do that so many more times. Crazy!

Well, right now I'm in Amarillo, Texas at a Super 8 Motel. We decided to spend the day here instead of trying to drive the rest of the way to Kansas City today. The snow was coming down pretty heavy and the entire I40 is having storms today. So.....looks like a relaxing day catching up on some emails, reading, maybe a movie....it's not too hard to wait another day. : ) It's pretty crazy how I have no idea when I'll be back in the States again. I'm actually ok with that part, it's just all the people I don't know when I'll see again! Especially because so many of them are spreading around the world in a year or 2.

I had an interesting and very fun Christmastime. I got to see my Grandma, brother and sister-in-law, aunt, uncle and cousin! We had a BLAST! We did a "Christmas pageant," did some lip sync (soooo much fun!!!), and ate so many goodies. We counted how many kinds we had: 20!!!Since it was a bit warmer in Arizona, it was a wonderful relief from all the snow and freezing winds of Chicago and we went on walks and runs. One thing that happened though was my Grandma ended up having to go to the hospital a couple days after Christmas. She has some lymph node problems, and was having a lot of pain in her arm and a fever. She is still in the hospital and they found out she had torn her rotator cuff in her shoulder and may have some infection also. We would appreciate prayer for that situation. She's somewhat discouraged about having to be helpless for a while.

In comes the New Year!! I pray it will be one that brings glory to God's kingdom! There seems to be so much craziness in the world right now and it's hard to stay focused....it's so important to remember that each year that goes by brings us closer to seeing Him!!!

Sorting and packing and Romans papers

And so it comes to a swift close, this college life of mine. Last night I wrote papers for a few hours, then went back to my room and packed for a couple of hours. It is funny to go through all of my stuff and find such random things....seashells from vacations past, bracelets some little girls made for me, old rocks from the river I swam in for 5 years in Flexal, and so much more. Letting go of some of these things has been good for me, because in the end, what will they matter? Not much.... :) The people I experienced these memories with are so incredibly special and I don't need rocks to remember it.

So, I will probably not miss the long hours of research and writing in the library, but I have certainly learned a lot through all of my different papers. Looking back, I have written about so many different topics, including post partum depression, abortion, existentialism, Eastern mysticism, repentance, and the effects of divorce on children. I do not regret a single topic I chose.

Praise God for running! I'm off to do that since I just finished one of my papers. My thoughts are so scatterbrained right now and I'm ready for a break!