Adventure - Parque Lage (with ALL pics-second attempt)

Today, WE WENT on a field trip with our dear friend Amy!  My sweet sister-in-law has "gotten on to me" for NOT posting enough pictures since we have been here in Rio...So this BLOG is dedicated FIRST dear our friend Amy who went out of her way to take us on a WONDERFUL adventure...it was SO MUCH fun and I know we will be back to Parque Lage (did I mention this place was FREE!)!  Praying we will have a car...because the bus issue seemed so complicated....(she drove us there!)  Secondly, I am dedicating this blog to SARA....and all of our friends and family!  We miss you all...and we would like for you to NOTICE the SWEAT on all of our faces!!!  LOL!  Love y'all!

Jaca - a fruit found here in Brazil.  It is YUMMY!!!!  It was growing all over this place....  

This was an old sugar mill.... in the 1920's it was owned by Henrique Lage.  He fell in love an an Italian opera singer. He built her many places and gardens where she could sing opera!  It is an AWESOME place to visit!  Today it is an ART SCHOOL and a public park.  How cool?!  

I picture the opera singer singing here next to this pool in the courtyard to a crowded home!  If you look up you can see Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer).  

Kierra and Amy...

Raegan being .... well, Raegan....  LOL!!!!  She is posing as a statue!!!!  A beautiful one, I might add....  :)

Jon had to get in on that action too....  :)  

Shutters made out of metal..so cool!

What is behind the wall????

THE WASHING MACHINE!?

Really!!!!  Slaves would come down into this cave and use the water from a waterfall to wash the clothes.  It is nice and cool in this cave....

Mawmaw and Pawpaw Griste would be jealous of these fish!!!!  :)  They were HUGE!!!

Thought this picture (above) was interesting...so many times I forget how common it is here for people to offer "sacrifices" to nature and so forth ...please continue to pray for people around the World who DO NOT know about our Savoir Jesus Christ!  Pray that we will be bold in sharing HIM with all...BOLD in sharing TRUTHS...

AAAHHHHHHHH.....Tarzan!!!!!

Okay...so this was my favorite!!!!  Lage build a torre (tower) for his Italian opera singer to sing songs out of ....LOVE IT!!!!!  So did the Raegan and Kierra!

Two Beautiful Princesses!

These huge palms our tour guide "Amy" tells us are imperial palms and a long time ago they used to only plant them when you had a royal child (or was it when you had a royal child)....anyways....thought these were beautiful...now they are all around this area....

So, if we have any visitors come...you too will get to enjoy this WONDERFUL Park!!!!  :)  Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!  Amy, thanks for being our tour guide today!  

A Month of Contrast!!!!

A Month of Contrast!!!!

(Pictures Below!!!!)

There have been SO MANY things that have happened over the past month and a half since our last update it was best just to write it all here.  It is so overwhelming when you think about it!  How can you pray for us would be the first question....pray that we stay grounded...that we not react on emotions and that we remember the calling the Lord has placed on our lives....especially during this time of year.  I am going to begin with the most recent and work my way back.... :)

Last night, Jon and I were reminded why we LOVE Rio and the people who live here....
I have said it over and over again God is teaching me patience...we stand in lines ALL the time for buses, for ATM's, for groceries, for food, for ANY type of shopping, for taxis, for movies...these lines are NOT your typical lines they are the lines that take at least 20 to 30 minutes...no matter the time of year but they get even worse during holidays.  Well, last night, we stood in a taxi line for over an hour...it was pouring down rain and it was as a Brazilian put it "emotional".  As it finally got down to us being in the front of the line a mother and daughter in front of us asked where we were going...we told them and they said that they were going across the street from us...they said we could share a taxi...HUGE blessing because they were in front of us...we could have stood in line for at least another 20 minutes!  So, we jumped in the taxi with them.  The mom's name is Marcia...pray for them...I do not know much else about them, but I do know that God allowed us to laugh in the taxi with them as we went through VERY flooded streets with them!

(I am posting pics of this trip at the bottom of this blog with LOTS of other pics!)
On Thursday, as a family, we went on  a trip that is still impacting our family...we went to Gramacho (the largest city dump in the world) a community has been built up around the trash.  The people that sort through the trash live in this dump.  Our school collected food for 25 families and we had the privilege along with some other teachers to take the food.  It was the most precious site I have seen.  We got to the community center and there were 50 kids singing with the biggest smiles on there faces!  Of course, we walked in and Kierra and Raegan were big hits because they had blond hair and blue eyes.  They sang a song in English for us....Oh, I can't tell you how many times I held back tears!  At one point the missionary that runs the community center said lets pray and all of the sudden all the kids got on their knees to pray...WOW...can I say humbled!!!!  Later on while we were standing outside in the rain with the kids....one little girl had disappear for a time and then suddenly she came running up with a brand new pink purse.  She handed it to Raegan!  Once again, I am holding back tears!!!!!  This little girl was so proud that she could give something....yet you look around and they live in homes that are made of trash...oh, how can WE ever say we do NOT have!!!!!  Forgive ME Lord!!!  It was completely overwhelming!!!!  I am still trying to take it all in!!!  We are praying about a way to be involved in this minister.  To share Jesus with these kids and their families...they will always have physical needs but we CAN meet their spiritual needs....BUT...  Our FIRST minister is our school....which is my next story...

So the STARK contrast is our school...our students have EVERYTHING....  and this minister sometimes is the hardest because many times if you do not want for anything .... this will include Jesus...why do you need HIM...if you have all the nice luxuries of life?  Praise God, I do see that many of our students are realizing that material things are NOT making them happy.  It is just temporary joy!  It is so strange how some of those kids in the dump had MORE joy than our kids who have everything....why???  b/c some know the Lord???  Anyways, I want to share one story of ONE student and her family that have been making an impact on my life.  She is an MK, so of course I relate.  In my Bible class we spent some time talking about what it means to have a quiet time with the Lord...reading His Word...praying etc.  Well, after several weeks of talking about this....one morning this young girl come up to my assistant and I and said that she realized while reading her Bible that she had all the knowledge (which she does...she knows ALL the answers) but she didn't know Him in her heart.  She told us she realized it and had made THE DECISION that day!!!  Talk about JOY....as a parent to MK's (and I am sure many of you can relate) I do not want my kids to ride my coat tails ....having the knowledge but not KNOWING the Lord!  We celebrated with HER...just as the angels in Heaven were celebrating!!!!  :)  She shared with the 5th grade class and it was such a huge testimony to her friends! Some of her friends are from European countries where Jesus is just a religion NOT a relationship, so for her to share ... was HUGE!!!   Please continue to pray for her and her family.

Wow....I told you I had LOTS to share!  We ask that you continue to pray for our school (Rio International School) and students.  We are on our Christmas break right now.  Students are traveling around the world, some teachers are traveling back to the states, and some are here in Rio.  Pray for our families who miss us and WE miss them!  I do ask that you pray for my 5th graders.  My team teacher's husband was relocated so this means we have been interviewing for her position, pray God will place WHO HE wants in the classroom.  Pray for rest over the break.  Pray that we will continue to be a witness to those we encounter on a regular basis.  We LOVE and miss you ALL!!!!

check out the pics below for a view through out eyes...  :)  

EXTRA INFO:
To Make a Donation to the NICS ministry go to...
www.nics.org
DONATE
Missionary Support
our account number is 001833 or look for Isbell Family

A gallery of pictures taken over the past month and half!  

The is the FIRST TIME Jon drove in Brazil!!!  We borrowed the school van to go for a short weekend to Buzios for Thanksgiving with some friends.  ONE of my favorite parts was us ISBELL's riding in a car together....Man, I have missed that!!!!  

In Buzios, it rained every day except the first...but we had fun with the Rice Family...playing games and just hanging out.  :)

Yes, we have a Christmas tree...  :)

At Gramacho...Rio's city dump...I became fast friends with most of the kids!  

Everyone wanted a picture and then wanted to see the picture....I wonder how many times they get to see themselves?  So beautiful are these children!!!!

All the boys LOVED talking with Jon...they thought he was the funniest guy...especially when they could make fun of his Portuguese!  LOL!

Do you see the pink purse?  It was brand new.  The girl with the pink shirt on gave it to Raegan.  She was so proud...I had tears in my eyes as I took this picture...Raegan couldn't believe they were giving it to her!  Notice the homes in the back ground....they were the nicer homes!

Everyone wanted to touch Kierra and Raegan's hair and they ALL wanted a picture with them!  :)  

Beautiful GIRLS!

Such cute girls!!!

Some of the boxes RIS donated with food for the families.  They were VERY heavy and the families had to carry them to their houses.  It was very quickly realized that the men were not around so guess who came to the rescue?  Jon, Scot (teacher from our school), and the local missionary...they carried the boxes to the homes!  Some of them were far away!

I fail in LOVE with this little boy.  The local missionary carried him in off the street.  He had no shoes on and was walking around in the rain outside.  I never saw his mom or anyone taking care of him.  He would never speak to me...but I did get him to smile for me right before we left!  

My sweet little friend helping her parents carry food to their home!  

Jon helping a family carry food to their home.

An elderly lady who had been waiting for food for hours.  She was not on the list to get the "boxed" food, but fortunately the local missionary had extra food that someone else had donated to give to her.  

Thought is was interesting.....

a little boy was sitting singing after all the kids had left and all the adults had left...he was singing the song they sang in English to us....so I had to go and join him....we sang "Hallelujah, for the Lord God Almighty Reigns...." a least 5 times...in English and Portuguese!

Then, Raegan joined in on the Fun!  :)

Before we left we prayed for the missionary and the ministry...His name is Felippe..he is holding my little angel!  :)  

Some of the homes across from the community center

HUGE contrast...the next night....we went to a typical Brazilian wedding...Raegan's teacher got married...and here a wedding is a HUGE FANCY event!!!!  

Please continue praying for the people here in Brazil and the families that we come in contact with! God Bless and Feliz Natal!

The baby with the brown eyes....

A thought from Rio….

Today one of the sweet ladies from our school that cleans was showing me pictures of her 4 month old baby.  Oh, the baby was so cute!  He has big brown eyes and the cutest smile.  She showed me the pictures with the same pride that every mother has.  As I was looking at the pictures with her…tears began to form in my eyes for two reasons.

One, it hit me how fast my two baby girls have grown up!  Oh, how I want to protect them and keep them safe.  I do not want to let them go…they are making some of their own decisions now, like what clothes to wear, how to wear their hair, and who to be friends with.  As we continue to guide and direct them I continue to depend totally on God for wisdom.  I pray for His protection over His daughters.  There are so many things I want to say to both of my girls like,"Watch out for this," and "Do this," and "Don’t do that," but I have to be reminded, especially with our oldest, Kierra, that I need to allow her to start making her own decisions (which will have mistakes) with me supporting her….continuing to point her to God’s Word.  If it was up to me….she would just stay away from all mean/rude/disrespectful/ people….until she was 22, but she would never learn how to be bold and stand up for what is right and most importantly for our Lord Jesus Christ.  Kierra wouldn’t learn that others will have different opinions and beliefs, and she will have to learn to rely on Holy Spirit that lives in her and sets her apart.
Man!  I just realized how much strength I need for the next 15 years…WOW…it is tough being a parent.

Second, I was reminded how BLESSED we are…as I looked at the pics of this precious baby I realized that my friend from work has a VERY HUMBLE home.  There were a couple pictures of her bathing the baby in a bucket….the same size bucket that I use to wash my floors.  It looked as if she was bathing her precious baby outside her home in this small bucket.  The baby was full of joy and for her this was normal....  BUT for me it really HIT home!  How can I complain about some of the silliest things!?  We live in a mansion here according to some Brazilians (compared to American standards it is just a college size apartment, nothing special), yet millions here live with WAY lesson than what we do, and a small percent live like millionaires.  God is continuing to remind me to find contentment in what HE has given us, with the most important thing being the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
  

As Christmas comes may you too be content with what you have.  May you NOT conform to the world.  May you think of the less fortunate and find ways to bless them. 

WHY AM I GOING TO CHURCH?!

For the past several of months, I have REALLY been struggling with Sundays.  They have just been a tough day because it is the day that as a family we would go to church (in the States) and we would go and worship our KING of KINGS, we would visit with our closest of friends, and simply said, we felt at home.  It was a place to laugh, cry, pray, and most importantly we would ALL leave filled up spiritually.  Since we have been in Rio, we have all been struggling.  The church we have been going to has been GREAT, but none of us understand WHAT is going on!?  Kierra and Raegan sit patiently through the service with no little friends to talk to.  Jon sings the songs he knows and reads the scriptures that are referred to in his English Bible.  Many times I see him praying ... "deep prayers", yet I know that he, like me is struggling to understand what the pastor is saying.  We do not feel like a part of this church and it has been a struggle. 

I have been praying, God we need to be feed at a church...I prayed this prayer specifically during my quiet time today. ( I must say, I have been having some AWESOME quiet times)!  Well, when we got to church this afternoon, I was convicted!  (Honestly, I have been convicted almost every time we go, I do not understand WHAT is being SAID, but the Holy Spirit has a WAY of just knowing WHAT to say to me!)  They were singing....

"Eu estou voltando ao coração de adoração
E é tudo sobre você
Tudo sobre Você, Jesus
Me desculpe Senhor para a coisa que eu fiz isso
Quando está tudo sobre você
É tudo sobre você Jesus
Seu tudo sobre você
Jesus
Você procura muito mais fundo dentro"

Which is The Heart of Worship .... I had tears the ENTIRE song...I felt the Holy Spirit saying, "Rachel, you have been so worried about YOU being fed at church and you have forgotten that it is ALL about ME!  You are to come to church and WORSHIP ME...through song, through listening to the pastor...YOU, Rachel are to WORSHIP ME! NOT a pastor and worship leader feeding YOU!"

WOW!!!  Needless to say, I left church today, completely humbled!  Reminded that even if I am not completely sure WHAT is being said, what is being sung...that it is NOT about ME...but it is about MY SAVIOR and what HE did for ME on the CROSS and the WORSHIP HE DESERVES from ME! 

My prayer is that YOU TODAY...went to church to WORSHIP HIM...and for NO OTHER REASON!!!!!

check out the song... :)

http://youtu.be/RFK08Wu_oSI

Feeling Sick...

(Park Day - This was a park close to our house (about a 35 minute walk).  We went to it a couple of weeks ago.  It was great fun!!!)

So, I decided since I have not updated the blog in a while, today would be a perfect day!  I am sitting in bed, not feeling 100% trying to rest my voice.  I sound a lot worse that I feel.  Jon and the girls just went out to enjoy our new mode of transportation…BIKES!  It has been such a blessing that God provided us with extra funds this month through support and us saving some money from my first “pay check” to get the bikes, Praise the LORD.  This has been the highlight of the girl’s weekend.  This will be a great free activity to do on the weekends.  Jon already tried to see if we could ride them to school, which is possible, BUT not so easy with young ones.  We do have to cross several busy intersections.  One of the intersections does have a walkway over the road that we could walk the bikes across, BUT Jon said when he rode over the walkway there were several “shady” teen boys hanging around.  While Jon rode past one boy decided that he would relieve himself and exposed himself for everyone to see.  Do not know if this is the best idea to take the girls this route, since we have heard there are several teens that “hang” in this area.  Just normal life in a big city…any big city!  (My mind is already thinking…”Oh, I wonder if they know Jesus!”)  Of course, I am being wise and will not approach them…I will leave it up to Jon and other men.  So, for now, we will use the bikes for weekend activities that are held at the school and for getting around some areas of town.  Praising God for how HE provides!  J

Other happenings here in Rio…well, Saturday, we had our Spring Fling.  It was a great time at a local park not too far from our house.  Jon and I couldn’t figure out which bus to ride, so we opted for a taxi.  I had to call, with my voice sounding really bad…and my still broken Portuguese.  The sweet lady on the phone asked if I was Japanese!!!  So funny!  What is so neat about the Brazilian culture is how KIND everyone is!  When we were getting off the phone it was as if we had been friends for months.  She said “Abraços”  = “Hugs”, this coming from the lady that answers the phone for the taxi service.  If she only knew how she made my day!  The Spring Fling was lots of fun, seeing families outside of school.  I wish I would have been feeling better and then I think it would have been better.  It was neat just to see families and teachers visiting with each other.  If anyone knows me, I am NOT a big crowd person.  My personality is I will speak with a big crowd…ANY DAY…but once that part is over…put me in a corner and I will just speak with one or two people.  I don’t like a big crowd, so that was kinda the way the day went.  I did speak with the families, Praise the Lord, I got to remind everyone that we were not there to simply celebrate “Trees” (Arbor Day in Brazil) but that we were there to celebrate the CREATOR of the trees!  I love how our God is seen in ALL of His creation!  We saw an almost extinct butterfly in this park, we saw several sloths…man, they move SLOW… and some even saw alligators (or is it crocodiles?).

   (I spy a SLOTH!!)

I can say that today, I wrote in my journal that I am feeling lonely.  I guess because Sundays are the hardest, when we all would be so excited about going to church to have cooperate worship.  As a missionary, I know that this is the COST of being on the mission field…being patient and waiting on the right time to join others (or to be the ones that step out and say, “Join us!”) where HE wants us.  We continue to pray.  I am SO thankful for the godly teachers He has placed at our school.   They have been so open to sharing their struggles.  It has been tough and we are all seeing the signs of the Enemy!  He is attacking…it is funny how now I am SO MUCH more aware of when it is the ENEMY!  It is almost so obvious!  I can say that I have spent A LOT more time in prayer…praying for myself, for Jon, the girls, for others….and it is not for “things” but for protection from the ENEMY.  We ask that you pray for us…as it is a constant battle.

We are in search for a car.  It would make life A LOT easier…but then I battle with…He didn’t call me to an easy life!  So, praying through and asking HIS WILL!  We will be selling the car in the States, but we are currently trying to locate the title.  Hopefully, all will work out.  It is funny how a car here is so expensive…for a cheap, old one we will need about $8,000 to $10,000.  Selling the car in the States will be a good start and praying God will provided the rest in His timing.  We have to learn to be humble….asking for a ride is my toughest thing to do.  I do not want to put anyone out, but then God was like, that is not ALL of the truth, it has to do with your pride!  You simply don’t want to be humble enough to ASK!  Ouch!  That hurt!  But it is true…I am continuing to pray that I will be humble!

I LOVE teaching my 5th graders and I am so blessed by the assistant that God has placed with me.  Without her being the lead teacher over the elementary would be quite difficult, but God knew what I would need before I arrived and HE provided.  It is such a blessing meeting students and parents from Holland, Columbia, Brazil, UK, Bolivia, U.S., Germany, India, etc...so many families, so many different beliefs and yet, GOD has brought them here so that WE could share His Truth!  Praising God!  May I be a teacher that makes my King proud.  It is wonderful to be tired when working so hard for our King! 

The 5th grade "team"!  :)  So grateful for these ladies and ALL the other elementary teachers and teachers at our school!  They ROCK!!!

Jon loves teaching his 7th and 8th graders.  Some days he comes home discouraged because of their beliefs and attitudes.  One thing that I continually remind myself of is this, "They must have a heart modification BEFORE they will have behavior modification."  Thanks, George for the reminder! :)  Continue praying for Jon and I for a FRESH Word from God.

Kierra has joined the newspaper club afterschool.  She LOVES it.  She LOVES to write and it has been a blessing for her.  She has been blessed with great teachers and she is thriving under ALL that is going on around us.  She is working very hard and being Jesus to her friends.  There has been one young girl from Germany that has struggled because she is like Kierra, quiet.  God has really placed Kierra and this young girl together for such a time as this.  I am excited about what the Lord will do with their friendship and our families!  I know Kierra praises God for her new and OLD friends here in Rio.  It has made her transition a lot easier.

Raegan has started ballet for her afterschool activity.  Oh, she LOVES it.  If any of you know her…she is dancing, dancing, singing, singing!  She is still trying to adapt to the school routine and we are praising God for her teacher that has experience with students just like Raegan!  Most of her students ARE like Raegan, learning to adapt to new environments.  Raegan seems to be having a harder time than Kierra.  We were VERY proud of her this week.  On her spelling test she got ALL of them correct after almost failing the first two tests.  J  Like I said, she is as a first grader having to learn WHAT it means to study and she is having to become CONFIDENT in WHO God created her to be!  Her little friend who has been recovering from cancer is going back to the UK on Tuesday for a couple of months for some more treatments.  I do not think Raegan completely understands this, but we are praying that GOD will do something MIGHTY in this little girl’s life so that her entire family will come to know HIM! 

Well, I have written so much…goodness…you would think I was lying around doing nothing in a quiet house!  Oh, wait, I am!!!!  What an honor to be able to sit and simply write, uninterrupted….I am sure you were thinking…”When will this end?”  Thank you for checking in on us!  Continue praying for us….strength…healing….protection….wisdom….discernment….BOLDNESS!

p.s. I have been reading Shadow of the Almighty (Life and Testament of Jim Elliot)  a couple of quotes I want to share with you that I am loving….

“Father, let me be weak that I might loose my clutch on everything temporal.”

“Father, make of me a crisis man.  Bring those I contact to decision.  Let me not be a milepost on a single road;  make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.”

(A seed that grows ... shaped like a heart...Raegan LOVED this!)