Being Fed

Beth and Miriam buying some fruits and vegetables at the Saturday produce market

Our last blog entry was about a few recipes we have come to enjoy during our first few months in Brazil.  Jonathan and I are serious food people.  I blame it on my wonderful cook of a mother from Georgia.  Jonathan only likes two kinds of pie – hot and cold.  In fact, I find that our Portuguese vocabulary grows faster in food words than in others.  We are still trying to learn all the names of fruits here, many of which we have never seen before.  We are relearning how to feed ourselves in a place that doesn’t have the same ingredients as what we are used to.

Beth made an apple pie to share with everyone at the language school on Thanksgiving. It was some people’s first apple pie.

Thankfully, we are in no danger of going hungry.  Brazilians appreciate their food as much as we do.  And they are more than ready to share.  So far, we’ve been given a banana and part of a fruit salad at the Federal Police station, a partial bag of chips made from manioc on the bus to São Paulo, part of a box of popcorn on the way back, all the kiwi in our language teacher’s fruit salad (for Miriam), and part of a stuffed potato pancake at the Hippy Faire (because Miriam was eyeing it).  Although everything is new to us, we are still being fed.

God is funny like that.  He knows what food you need even before you ask.  Jonathan, Miriam, and I will be spending our first Thanksgiving and Christmas abroad.  We definitely will hunger for our favorite holiday foods (like my Mama’s sweet potatoes, which we can’t find here!).  But what is more, we will hunger for our family and our loved ones back home.  God knows, and we will still be fed.  A couple in the church we attend has invited us to spend Christmas with them. It will be different, with new ingredients, but we count it as a blessing.

Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time for reflection as we celebrate and bring the year to a close.  Search for the ways God is feeding you.  It’s easy to overlook, but He does give us our daily bread.  Sometimes it’s as simple as sharing a favorite family recipe. But always, it is food for your soul.  When you see it, give thanks!  Our Father is oh so good and always provides for His children, even if it is in new and different ways.

We are still in need of a few more financial partners. If you feel led to partner with us, click the picture above to go to our online giving portal. You can also call Debbie Taylor at 1-800-848-2464. We are Project# 42.10039