5 years old

My blog is 5 years old!

I started this blog when I was a freshman in Montemorelos. The title was Back to Normal, because it was during my frustration months in MM after Thailand. For three years, the title remained the same. In the summer of 2009 I changed it to My Adventures because I had a great summer! and was heading back to Thailand (Yeys!). Enough reasons to be more positive. Then in October 2010 I changed the title again to Brazil Mission and More... 

Back in October 2006, little I knew I was going to be in Thailand again in 2009, and then in Brazil in 2010. Looking at previous posts makes me want to say thank you LORD over and over again. His blessings in my life have been great! as well as the challenges and teachings from Him.

What's next? I do not know, but of what I am sure is that life is an adventure and it is greater if we live it with Christ!

My cute student

"Happy Mother's Day!" A kid came to me last Sabbath afternoon during the orchetra/choir rehersal and said this to me and gave me a heart balloon. I was like, I am not a mother but thanks. And then he told me "but you are an excellent teacher." That was so sweet! We had just had one class up to that day but every time he sees me he tells me he's practicing his violin!

A wasted talent

Today one of the kids from the orchestra gave back his violin to the church. Even though he was not my student, it made me sad that he won't play anymore. It is not that we have lost our best violinist in the orchestra either.

Those kids, they all learned to play their instrument in church and develop their talents playing for the Lord every Sabbath in the orchestra. They did not even have to pay for their instrument! The church (and a sponsor family) bought all the instruments for them to learn and use. If it was not for what God has given to them through this church, I don't know how many of them would still be in church now.

God allowed Sandrinho to develop a beautiful talent > music. And what a better way to learn to play the violin than in church, worshiping our Lord every Sabbath?! Sadly to say, after a few years of classes in the conservatory, he decided he did not want to play for the Lord anymore. There, he saw that other kids from the conservatory play in orchestras on the weekend. Last year he was invited to be part of a group that practices on Friday evenings. He started missing orchestra practice in church some Friday evenings hoping his mom would let him go to the conservatory. Since he saw his mom was not going to let him go, he decided he was going to give back his violin. Around November last year he started saying he was going to quit. We all prayed for him, talked with him and his mom, encouraged him to continue, but he has finally decided to quit.

God gave Sandrinho one talent. For a while, he developed it and it looked like he was going to make it into two or three. But, he finally did like the servant in Matthew 25, he gave up and has "hid his master's money in the ground" (25:18, CEV). I pray that Sandrinho changes his mind and takes back that one talent and use it for the Lord.

Give your best, God will do the rest

"And [David] took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:40)

Just as God used David & the sling to kill Goliath, just as God used David & his arp to calm the furious king Saul, He can use you with anything you have, as simple as it may be. You just need to be willing to give your all to God.

You can be big or small, weak or strong, pray and God will be with you and win your battles.

"No problem, I play :)"

It is of good use that I can play almost any hymn from the church hymnal by heart with my viola. And I am not saying this to show off. I just want to emphasize the importance of being prepared to worship our Lord with our instruments (or voice).


Today I was asked last minute (or second lol) to play a special music in church. We are in evangelistic meetings in church so there has to be special music every evening. The person in charge of the music this week decided to go for a social event today instead of being responsible. Since there was no one to play for special music, I was asked to play. So what did I do? I just opened a hymnbook in a random page, saw the hymn it opened at, gave it to the pianist and checked in which key the hymn was. Praise the Lord, He showed me which hymn to play at that moment, because it was all in a rush! And I was NOT nervous at all!! I actually enjoy a lot playing the "good-old" hymns in the simple hymnbook style (it makes me feel free lol).


But, what if I did not know any hymn? What if I was too shy to play a solo? 

Whould I had to say "I'm sorry but I can't"? Thank God, people see in me a person who can praise the Lord with my music. Thank God for my parents who encouraged me, since I was little, to play hymns (that was a Friday-evening thing at home).


Although I prefer things more organized (as in, I prefer when I am asked ahead of time) it is good when people add some excitement to my life asking me to play "ao vivo" (*).


(*) An expression in portuguese that, though it is literally translated as "live", it means, as far as I've understood, last minute or like always ready.