Piracicaba Continues

Yesterday Jessica and I went to meet with the lady who runs a well-known English school here in Piracicaba. She's actually about the same age as we are, so don't think lady as in old lady :). Marli (the friend we are staying with) had already made the contact for us, which was great. Neither Jess nor I were thrilled about the meeting, just because it's a little nerve-wracking to meet with someone who may be hoping to hire you when you still haven't figured out just what you're doing here, or where you're going, or how long you're staying . . . But it turned out to be so much better than we expected, that I'm still a little blown away by everything that happened during our conversation. Essentially, all the fears and doubts that had built up over the last two weeks about being able to work here in Brazil were were not only calmed, but my expectations of teaching situations here were far surpassed. This lady is willing to help us in any way possible, whether or not we end up teaching in her school or not. She has offered to send us to an all-expenses training course for one month, which would essentially set us up to teach in many different areas of the country. For this particular school, the hours are great and the pay is just right. The school atmosphere was extremely comfortable . . . the kind of place that makes you want to teach. You can be a real person with the students as opposed to just being "the teacher". She was super understanding of our current inability to commit to anything. Actually, she articulated our situation quite well for us - we hardly had to say anything. I walked away with a better understanding of what I'm doing right now in terms of job searching. We don't have to make any quick decisions - we've got over a month to continue travelling and feeling out different cities and schools before she needs an answer from us. And to top it all off, she gave us her personal email at the end and told us to contact her anytime we need anything or if we just want to hang out as friends. Brasilians never cease to amaze me with their friendliness!

Today we went to school with Marli. She teaches English in a private school. Jess and I did a Question and Answer sessions in English with five of her classes. It was a lot of fun, and it was especially great getting to see a school here from the inside. We have lots of schools back home to compare to! A lot of the stressful parts of being a teacher back home just don't exist here. Again, you can be a real human being with the students.

Yesterday and today we were able to spend time with Davi and Camilla, oh, and of course Giovana too! It was really nice. Giovana is the Brasilian Aeden - she's got blue eyes and curly blond hair. It's cute because I remember how much Camilla loved playing with Aeden when they lived with us.

The current plans are as follows. Marli's family has invited us to spend the weekend with them at their beach house, and then we will be going to a city called Barretos on Monday. We're looking forward to see what Barretos is all about because everytime (without fail) we tell people we are going to Barretos they either laugh at us, or ask, "WHY are you going THERE?" When we say we're visiting a friend, everyone's like, "Oh, okay". Apparently Barretos is well-known for a big rodeo that unfortunately just ended a little while ago. My curiosity is piqued . . .

Today the Lord's word to me is this:

"But now, this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O [Joy], He who formed you, O [Joy]: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."
(Isaiah 43:1)

I wish I could explain the impact it's having on me to realize and see and know that I belong to Jesus , but I hardly understand it myself. It's hitting something deep in my being, and I'm really at a loss for words.