All change!

Yesterday I had a good experience travelling to pick Andrew up from school.   I now have to reconsider my opinion of the Sao Paulo metro and the people who use it.   Given my previous comments regarding the metro, it is only fair that I share this with you.  

As I arrived at the metro station in Sao Joaquim I could see that there was a train waiting on the platform, so I pelted down the stairs as fast as I could and ran towards the open doors.  As I got near I heard the beeps which warned that the doors were about to close and so I stopped in front of them and made a kind of, 'Oh well, I will just have to wait for the next train', kind of face to the three men standing in the doorway.  However, the three men beckoned me on and so I jumped onto the train and found that not only had the men cleared a space for me to get on but they had actually been holding the doors back for me.  I said, 'Obrigada', and we all settled into our journey without another glance or word.  However, I noticed that one of the men was wearing a silver cross around his neck and I wondered if I had been helped by one of God's angels....

It has been a while since I have written on this blog.  Things have been a little hectic since October.  I had an unexpected stay in hospital and then two weeks later P and I received Farewell Orders from Sao Miguel Paulista.  Working for The Salvation Army often brings surprises but this was the biggest surprise of all!

The Salvation Army operates an appointment system whereby the leaders at Headquarters will decide where each officer willl work and when they will move.  As The Salvation Army graciously provides a house or an apartment for each officer to live in it means that officers can move from one appointment to another with a certain amount of ease.  In the UK there is a process of consultation and each year everyone knows which day the new appointments will be announced and whether or not they will be moving but here in Brazil, in November 2011, no-one knew who would be moving or when they would find out.

The email said that we were to be the Corps Officers of Corpo Central which is in Liberdade, a tourist area in the centre of the city and not far from Avenida Paulista, the main commercial hub.  So, on February 8th 2012 we said a fond farewell to the people of Sao Miguel Paulista and handed over the work to two experienced Brazilian officers.  We were sad to leave but we realise that this is not our ministry, it is not our work and the Corps at Sao Miguel Paulista was not ours to keep.  The work is the Lord's.  He was working in that place before we arrived and He will continue to work long after we have gone. When we arrived in Sao Miguel Paulista in August 2009 we had little knowledge of the culture or language and wondered how we would be able to lead a church without these basic skills.  We were amazed at how the Lord went before us and enabled the work to be done and we are grateful for the patience and encouragement of the people there.  

And so now we are at our second appointment in Brazil; Corpo Central.  Our apartment is in the same building as the church hall, Divisional Headquarters and a Social Project called Tres Coracoes (Three Hearts).  There are exciting things happening here and many opportunities for urban mission.  However, before I write about this I am going to have a holiday - after almost three years in Brazil we are coming home for a long holiday and we are looking forward to spending time with family and friends.  I am praying we will be renewed in body, mind and spirit so that when we return to Sao Paulo in June we will be ready to work in the centre of the biggest city in the southern hemisphere because we have signed up for another three years.