This was actually written end of October, but I neglected to post it earlier! Sorry!
Greetings family and friends!
Most of you are about to fall back while we sprung forward last week. Our past month has presented some challenges - a series of illnesses and final exams. However, it has also been a time to deepen some of our new friendships and rejoice in God's faithful provision. I finished my first quarter at FGV and have begun a new quarter. My new classes are stimulating more ideas about future work, particularly with regards to international development/social entrepreneurship. Joyce's Bible study group is going strong, the boys are becoming great friends, and the weather continues to fluctuate wildly. We also mailed our absentee ballots this past week (Joyce's first time to vote as an American citizen!). With that brief summary, I've chosen three things to highlight from the past month...
Cidade Tiradentes
Approximately 1 million people live in the neighborhood Cidade Tiradentes here in SP. Yes, that's right, it's a neighborhood near the eastern edge of the city of SP. Since our arrival, we have become friends with a missionary family that has been planting churches in Tiradentes for the past several years. A few weeks ago, I got to tour the neighborhood and learned that it is one of the poorest and most dangerous parts of the city. It is the home of Brazil's largest organized crime group and the largest public housing development in Latin America. It is a favela (slum) in which the government built thousands of housing projects that cover the hillsides everywhere you look to replace the shacks and small homes built by the area's squatters. There are still thousands more "irregular" homes/shacks as the neighborhood continues its rapid growth. As I saw the expanse of the neighborhood, which also includes a massive juvenile detention center, my mind raced...what are the solutions for a place like this?
Nine
Nine years ago, on Oct. 19, 2003, I had the joy, privilege and responsibility of becoming Joyce's husband. When we first met, I was interviewing candidates for a pioneering mission team in Northeast Brazil. She was the ideal candidate - mature, wise, composed, spirited and fluent in Portuguese. I was reluctant to select her for the team because I felt she would be a distraction to me, but my director insisted that she had to go. Sure enough, Joyce thrived on the mission field in uncertain and even risky situations and proved to be a great asset to the team. A year and a half later, I made sure that she would always be by my side when I made her my wife. These past nine years have taken us from Florida to Brazil to Texas to New York and now back to Brazil. I am incredibly grateful for the gift of a woman with whom God has united me for these adventures and look forward to many more to come.
Could You Endure Strep Throat for Four Months?
Last week I came down with a bad case of strep throat. It was the worst illness I've had since catching dengue a decade ago. My fever lasted three days, my throat ached for a week, and I could barely talk, eat or sleep. This experience helped me appreciate the incredible struggle my dad has gone through over the past several months fighting throat cancer. I am certain that my symptoms were a mere taste of what he endured for at least four months while going through and recovering from his chemo/radiation treatments. He is a warrior who has battled through a lot of pain this year. He is on the upswing now and I am confident that he will vigorously embrace the life that God has granted him.
Psalm 119
For the past several weeks I've been starting my prayer times with a few stanzas of Psalm 119. The entire psalm is a profound declaration of the value of God's Word. The following is just a tiny, but beautiful, sample: "I long for Your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight. Let me live that I may praise you and may your word sustain me." (vs.174-175)
May you all be blessed with purpose and joy until we meet again. Go vote!!!
With love,
Aaron Pierce
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