Chove chuva...

The classic first day of school picture!
I'm off to my first Portuguese class. :)

Gui and the double rainbow in Miami.

Miami sunset, the day before we set out for home.

I woke up this morning to a pounding rain so powerful it was too distracting to go back to sleep! Lucky for me, today is the anniversary of São Bernardo do Campo (our city) and it's a holiday here so I don't have to teach classes this morning! Might even get a nap in sometime this afternoon. :)

Makes me think of a Brazilian song about rain.

Today is an exciting day marking the first time that Gui and I will have friends meeting in our house to start a church out where we live. I know what you're thinking, “Wait, woah-woah-woah, Maggie, YOU are going to start a church?!” We say this and get funny reactions from people. Maybe the reason it seems so strange is because starting a church sounds like some kind of huge undertaking, but I think that's due to cultural baggage we have after centuries of establishing traditions and institutionalizing church practices. The simple answer is yes, we will have a church gather on Saturdays at our house. Friends and people searching for God who live nearby and don't have a church family will be able to create one with us! What is especially exciting is that people who wouldn't otherwise go in a church building will hopefully feel more comfortable coming to sit in our living room and encounter God's word and His people in a more easy, friendly setting.

Soon I'll post pictures of our meetings. I wouldn't be being honest with you if I didn't say that I'm a bit nervous about starting. I know it could be awkward at times and we may have only a handful of people- which we're so quick to label a failure- but we feel led to take this step of faith with God and to be the light in the place He has put us. For 2 years now, we've attended a wonderful house church of about 20 people in São Paulo. Our church, Zoe, is a young group of believers spanning from high-schoolers to young professionals. Gui and I have come to be some of the leaders there being so old and mature as we are (that was a joke, you can laugh now), and we decided along with the other leaders' support and encouragement to start something out here in São Bernardo. Already at Zoe we have 4 or 5 regular attenders who all journey across to the city (averaging about 4 hours round trip!) just to participate in Christian community. When you put it that way, it just seems silly. After all, shouldn't we try to build community in a place near where we live and work and go to the grocery store? I put it to my Mom like this- “Wouldn't it be silly if you were traveling to Atlanta every week and trying to participate in church and maintain relationships with people in your congregation so far away?” That's pretty much what we've been doing the whole time I've been in Brazil. For these two years we've learned a lot together and seen God moving among us, but it's always been sad when I wanted to invite a friend from home to something our church is doing or I didn't have time to meet with friends on the weekend. I've had to pass up opportunities to build closer relationships with co-workers and friends in our neighborhood. Hopefully now I can be available to be used by God here in the area where we live. :)

Zoe will be sending people to help out periodically on Saturdays and once a month we'll all meet at Ibirapuera Park (like the Central Park of SP) for a picnic and gathering of all the members. Together both churches will be going through the book of Acts which is quite fitting as a book all about the early efforts of small, young, passionate churches. It's going to be a wild ride this semester, and we're ready to get started!

So we ask friends to please be praying for us that God would give us wisdom and guidance to make disciples, teach us more about Himself, transform us more and more into His likeness, and glorify His Name!

Ah, and now the rain has stopped! Things are shaping up to be a nice day! Now to get crackin' on cleaning house and making cookies for this evening!