rebel against the box

so tonight i fly back to rio...im looking forward to it actually...ive loved my time here in goiania with the gang...but i am excited about really starting life there in rio....feels like the last 6 weeks here in brasil have been on the go..if i wasnt travelling around doing stuff with martin scott and the posse or 24-7 i was apartment hunting and crashing with friends....but now i will actually begin to live out life in one place for a few weeks at least....ha ha. run along the beach, study portugues full time, teach a little english on the side, pray on the streets, dream about 24-7 here in brasil and rio, meet more people, have more god connections, explore the city more and frequent my fav hangouts in my new neighbourhood which i havent had the chance to discover yet.

im feeling better now too which is a relief... it wasnt dengue fever...but some strange virus. im never ill so for me to be out of it for a few days was strange....but after some strange red herbal pills, apparently for your liver if i understood correcty, im feeling good.
a relief cause that was a drag.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO4z2rWXh34
hilarious...

my new bedroom...all my very own...i donthave to share...although i do miss jillyvanilly and tan tan...currently shaken things up in africa....miss you guys!

no furnature yet...a borrowed bed and i am currently using the door to the kitchen as my clothes shelf...kinda like it actually....i might paint it and turn it into coffee table....gotta love being forced into creativity eh?! outside of my window is a huge tree and the sun shines in all day...i am also surrounded by 4 favelas and one, called borel, i can see from my window which i love...im praying for a way in....there is a big sign on one of the building there whichs says borel for peace....they need it at the moment. i would like to do a week of 24-7 in te favela and see what comes of it....man i would love that.

this is my kitchen....add an ancient fridge that sounds like a plane landing on the airstrip...and old stove that only works on one side...a large plant, a lamp and table....and you have quite the cozy little hang out corner....as of yet i havent made anything but coffee..surprise surprise....oh and the roaches came with the move but im feeling confident that we are winning the battle.

apparently this is going to give me a hot shower....no idea how to work it yet and the gas man needs to come and hook us up...so cold showers all the way baby....not bad when its hot outside....but when its not....

so at the moment im in the city of goiania...middle of hte country..nowhere near the ocean unfortunatly...
i came here to hang out with some guys doing 24-7. hang out, pray, chat about the movemento, etc, etc....but one day into it and i fell ill...not sure what it is...i was in bed all day yesterday, no food, fever, chills, weak, literally up to use the bathroom and thats it. strange for me as im never ill...today a bit better but still feeling ill...the people im staying with think its dengue fever...from mosquitoes...similar to malaria but not the same thing, apparently. im not convinced... but either way its not fun trying to meet new people and wanting to have fun but feeling like death. hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

i am now holding in my possession the keys to my new home here in rio...ekkkk doesnt say enough. was a fight to get to this place let me tell you...one thing after another but i officially move in tomorrow morning. life is gathering momentum here for me...which is welcomed. i move in, clean, find a bed, set up home, hang out with new friends this weekend and then im off on another flight, another city, and another new set of experiences....i fly to goiania on monday for a week of 24-7 brasil..no idea what that is going to look like but im interested.
the difference is this time i have a place of my very own to come back to....kinda sweet.

bought a cake for my hosts to say thanks for having me for the last 3 weeks here in rio...managed to get it home on the bus in nearly one peice...the nice thing about riding the bus in brasil is that if you are carrying bags and happen to be one of the unlucky ones standing (or shall we say swinging like a monkey) on the bus...there is this unwritten rule that the person sitting nearest you holds your stuff...very cool. only this time i had to try and get the message across that this was a cake....not a ball(very similar word in portugues, and i often get it wrong) please dont sqwish it...not sure of the word squish yet either...
...in other bus ride news, saw some wicked mullet action and some guy wearing a shirt that said 100% negro on it was trying to hold my hand... i think...hard to tell on a really crowded bus...COULD have been the only place left on the ENTIRE bus to place his hand..but i have my doubts...

walked around this amazing part of rio...centro...cleverly named as its the centre of the city...had a pot of hot chocolate in the oldest cafe in rio...beautiful place with a guy playing the grand piano...kinda made you feel like columbus should make an appearance at any moment.

then i walked past the oldest church in rio... it was here, several years ago, that police came in the middle of the night and shot the street kids while they were SLEEPING...horrific and brutal...this still happens everyday but apparently not to this degree...i read recently in a book that they used to round the kids up and throw them in the trunk and drive them away to torture or kill them...because they could...

.......apparently now there is a law that you cant put kids in the trunk....

right.

when you walk past this church now there are red paintings outlining where the children slept....so that noone can forget this injustice.

i stood there with anger and sadness...not sure which one was stronger...the injustice is everywhere....and for starters, so much of it could be avoided with a little less corruption... starting with those holding the highest positions and the most influence.

we´ll this has been a week of pushing through for those things im really wanting to see happen this month...and today i got word on one such thing...we have been accepted to move into the apartment! was jumping around a lot this morning...tomorow we (meaning me and my new housemate camilla) will spend the day running around getting keys, signing contracts, etc. this was encouraging for me to keep pushing in for those other things im hoping for.

love seeing god move behind the scenes...step by step..or sometimes...leap by leap...where things seem slow one day, the next im running like pheobe from ´friends´ trying to keep up.

for a few things...one being the phonecall to say we can move into the apartment and offically sign the contract. i hate waiting.

saw this weird possom type creature walking around the back garden last night...here they call it a gampa or translated skunk...but its not a skunk...it looks nothing like a canadian skunk. and it doesnt stink. it has huge paw like feet things, really spiky hair and a long nose....sort of like a cartoon rat but bigger and slighty more hilarious looking. not sure but i htink its been attacking our garbage...i´ll take a racoon over this guy anyday of the week.

well thre you have it another riveting post about strange creatures...like i said, im waiting.

first...is it really the 11th of may?!!! i am not believing.

second...had another horrendous bus 601 journey today...the bus was so full(i have GOT to stop going home at rush hour) that i had to stand 3 across the aisle for an hour before a seat opened up. much bumping and grinding ...ugh. lucky for me everyone put on deodorent today. finally the seat opened up and i got it...ive learnt the art of sensing who is going to get up first and then sticking my butt and elbows out in order to ensure the seat is mine before anyone else gets there...ahh haaa.

unfortunately this time the man sat next to me decided he HAD to have a really animated and LOUD conversation to the guy behind him(was about god i think...couldnt really get all that he was saying..but i heard gloria deus a few times) this would be fine except for the fact that he was yelling in my ear, encrouching on my new found personal space, had really bad breath...and kept spitting on me while he made his important opinions known. i was about to give him a few of my own until i noticed that the bus had stopped and on walked ... MRS. BIG BOOBS HERSELF.... seriously just about freaked out.

tomorrow i am NOT going anywhere near the bus...and i dont have to because i have found the perfect apartment and submitted all the paperwork...all i need to do now is wait for the okay and i can move in the next few days....sooo totally stoked. the place is amazing. its in a good location, great price, space for visitors...hint hint.
the only potential drawback is that its surrounded by 3 favelas that apparently are at war with each other....hmmm....but do come and visit! :)

first thing im going to do when i move in...buy a bed all of my own and crack open a bottle of vino! CAN WAIT!!

so this woman got onto the bus with the LARGEST bos-ies i have EVER seen. balloons i swear. and of course...she had to come and stand right next to where i was sitting...in a very over-crowded bus...are you getting the picture? everytime someone else got on the bus and tried to squish past her they went straight into my face. not so nice after a 2 hour bus journey in the 33 degree heat.

nothing else to declare...

sunday in rio means the beach...so off i went. loving that i can pray, read, write, watch surfers all from my very own beach...well mine and the MILLIONS of other people there....was cool.
have been trying to figure out all day why there were fireworks since 8 this morning....just figured out it was due to football...i think botofogo won...which mens mayhem in the streets.

noone has commented on the clucking turtle phenomenon...im putting it down to just needing to watch the discovery channel more.

tomorrow resumes my apartment hunt....i have a good feeling about it.

current top 5 list of things i loved today....
-samba playing in the streets
-the sun and 30 degrees
-my flip flops
-grape juice
-riding in a vw campervan with an automatic door opener

top of the list for things i DIDNT like today....man sitting next to me in the vw campervan....i guess he figured that since i had dreads and he had worn his bob marley shirt today his luck was in...i think he got the hint pretty quickly.

so was walking out of the gate this morning to go for lunch with a friend and a lizard feel onto my hand. realised they are way cuter when they are not touching you.

in other random nature phenominons...i heard a chicken cluck only a moment ago and looked over because the area im visiting isnt really the chicken keeping type of area...and it was a turtle!! is this normal? has anyone else ever heard of turtles clucking? it could be the heat...

found loads of monkeys living in the trees by the house. that was a cool find.

enough of the wildlife tour...in other news....still looking for that apartment but have a few in mind and following a couple of leads...so im feeling encouraged and hopeful that by this time next week ill be in my own place.

the girl i have been apartment hunting with got ill on me the other day in the middle of bustling rio...not fun. one moment she was fine the next moment shes on the floor with no energy...like she went into shock or something. so im like uuhhhh....what to do...get her some juice and fluids...call for help....in portugues? we ended up getting kicked out of the restaurant thing we were in because apparently people dontlike looking at someone lying on the floor when they are eating. fair enough...so we went outside and lay in the street. a little exception to the rule would have been helpful at this stage people.
all is well and she is fine for those of you who were worried. food poisoning or something.

rio is amazing...so intense. i bus through city of god regularily to get to where i need to go and under the largest favela(slum) in latin america called rochinha with over 250,000 inhabitants. both of these favelas are beside some of the richest areas in rio. why is it always like this? i am waiting for the opportunities to enter in to these places. but there you need an invite otherwise you are a target.

life under the key is pulling at me once again. the tourist map here leaves out the favelas completly..they just colour in green instead with nothing marked. all i hear is how dangerous all the places are that i feel a pull towards. dont go there, dont live there, dont do this, you cant do that...i am not naive and i dont take my safety forgranted in a place like rio or anywhere else that ive lived...but i will not live under a spirit of fear...surely this just perpetuates the cycle of fear and what it all entails.

and so once again the angels assigned to my camp get a run for their money. thank you god for your protection every moment of every day.

i am beginning to understand more nad more why many people have no choice but to move to the favelas...and once they are there there is little choice about how things are run inside hte favelas...the police dont go there...they are completely run by the drug lords and gang leaders. its like they are their own entities...completly seperate from the laws of the rest of brasil and rio. but hte system here forces so many into this situation...the minimum wage is about 170 usd a month....not enough here for one person to put a roof over their head and food on the table..then you add in family costs and medical needs...its impossible. why does it have to be impossible for so many people?

so at the moment im surrounded by a city that pulls on everything in my heart that im passionate about and fuels that burning inside my throat to fight for the freedoms of others and against the injustices around me..but where to start here in this place in this moment? one divine appointment at a time i guess, one day at a time, one random act of kindness at a time, i dont know, but i think it will become more clear here in this place...it must.

and so continues the apartment hunt...tijuca, gloria, lapa, fatima, centro, santa teresa....some fo the areas im becoming familiar with...but still no place. a few potentials...but in good ol brasilian style, just when you are about to do someting important they go and have a holiday in the middle of the week and everything shuts down. today was one fo those days...i think it was workers day or something...apparently this is a day where if you work you dont have to and you get to drink beer and listen to old men play bad samba music in the streets. but thats just a huntch.
the good news is that most places are within my rather tight budget..the bad news is most want me to sign a contract for more than a year plus they have no appliances. so een if i get an apartment i will be camping or the next few months...no stove, fridge or bed. this may work out to my advantage tho because i have gotten so used to living out of my backpack over this last year that the thought of a place of my very own leaves me feeling both excited and totally claustrophic. so perhaps tricking myself into the whole renting an apartment thing again by camping in it first will ese the transition? this is one way of embracing the four walls.

having said all that i really feel and have total faith that i will indeed purchase property here in the future. this has been confirmed by others...and as of today i have been given $2000 to put towards my future purchase. you see i found out that i only need to spend a minimum of $60,000 here in brasil on property and i am given a permanent visa forever to brasil. this is my plan....and im pretty confident its gods plan too. so i am eagerly awaiting that day. only a few centavos off from the total then, eh?! ha ha. its crazy what you couldnt find the faith for in the past... looks completely ridiculous compared to the things you are praying for in the present.

classic.

felt a sense of accomplishment today...took buses all over the city by myself today and didnt get too lost! in a city this size it felt good. getting to know how things connect up, how to ask for directions, say im not a tourist, and no im not from germany...all handy things to learn within the first few weeks here...

in other news...in an effort to become this bold and courageous individual that god keeps yapping on about..i have come up with this challenge...every few weeks i and a new friend here in brasil will meet up and sit in a nail salon(we are women of brasil now you see) and share our stories of prophetic encounters that we initiated. people on the bus, or at the beach, or in the shops, or waking on the street...people who god highlights to us and we begin to pray for and get encouraging prophetic words for. you see...i have been impacted hard these last few weeks here in brasil by the intense need for god here, the incredible diversity of the issues and problems, the proverty and the hunger for freedom...that mixed with the knowledge that god wants to speak to people and the desire to see this happen in the natural outflowing of our everyday lives..i have decided to challenge myself to step out prophetically nad take the risk...i know im going to make some serious mishaps and get it totally wrong sometimes...but thats how you learn eh....and at any rate people will onlybe encouraged by the crazy woman who knows no portugues and has interesting cabelo. its a win win situation...i encourage someone, practise the prophetic, become more humble in the mistakes, and hopefully somewhere in it all god is glorified and i am not...hopefully somewhere in it all someone is impacted by god and disarmed to the potential of his love for them. did that last phrase make sense? or am i speaking portug-laise again.
the challenge is out there now. i better get cracking...do something scary everyday right?