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  • ivanildotrindade 11:03 pm on May 25, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , father knows best, leaving college, norther brazil, satere people, SIL International, Wycliffe   

    Dad Knew More Then… And Now! 

    When I was in my sophomore year of college, I met some Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) missionaries who simply managed to turned my world upside down. Through their influence, I became passionate about going to Africa, but God had other plans. Now, I am not one of those people who say, “The last place I wanted to go to was Africa and guess where God sent me as a missionary?” I don’t particularly like that because it almost sounds like a punishment.

    In my case it would be: “I wanted to go to Africa but God sent me to America instead!” And that is definitely not a punishment either. My God is not a cosmic-kill-joy-sadistic-old-tyrant wringing his hands as He anticipates delivering bad news to unsuspecting believers! James said that “He gives us good and perfect gifts” and Matthew went even further: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Coming to the U.S. was a gift for me and despite all of its shortcomings, I have learned to love my adopted country.

    How I ended up coming to the U.S. is quite a story, but how I ended up not going to Africa is even more interesting. One of those missionaries was a man by the name of Al Graham, whom I met for the first time on a side street of Belém — he gave me a free loaf of bread the first time I ever met him! A little later I saw him walking on his hands — on the street! This man was the first grown man I met who cried openly without shame. He cried every time he talked about the people of the Satere tribe in northern Brazil – with whom he was working to translate the Bible in their language. He was always moved by how far removed from God they seemed to be.

    Mr. Graham’s attitude touched me so deeply. I wanted to understand where that kind of love for people without God came from. So with his other other people’s help, I went to the Capital city of Brazil three summers in a roll to get training in Linguistics, Anthropology, and jungle survival so I could become a Bible translator. And in my mind, I was already in  Africa.

    That is, until I went back home on a summer break and had a talk with my dad. I said, “Dad, I believe God is wanting me to go to Africa. I want to quit college and become a Bible translator.” My dad said, “That’s great, son, but if you want to do that, you will have to finish college first.”

    End of conversation. In the Trindade family the children never acquired any skills in the area of contradicting their parents. Fifteen years later, when I had already completed my Masters Degree and found myself without financial support from my church job, I had to thank my dad for telling me to go back to school and finish college. I was able to get a job teaching at my alma mater because I had completed my education.

    So a warning to kids: Sometimes moms and dads do actually know what they are talking about!

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 11:36 pm on May 24, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: being nosy, , king solomon, North Region Brazil, Proverbs and Sayings, proverbs of solomon, Short-term mission   

    A Modern Version for the Origin of “Being Nosey” 

    Have you ever wondered where the expression “being nosey” came from? I know that we use it to refer to people who have the habit of getting into other people’s business. But it is curious that we say someone is “nosy” but we don’t say she is “eyey” or “eary,” even though it is obvious that some get into other people’s business by means of eyes and ears as well.have my own modern version for its origins.

    Well, I don’t have time to Google “nosey” tonight but I have my own modern story that may illustrate how it came to be and it happened one lazy afternoon in Macapá, the city in northern Brazil where I spent 12 years of my life. I was taking my morning walk on one of my summer trips there leading a short-term mission trip. Suddenly, I heard some noise coming from across the street. It turned out it a fight was starting inside a house. People were screaming and bodies were being thrown around. I stood up and watched from a distance. The house was built on a little mound and there was a big window that opened to the street.

    Now, before I tell you what happened, you have to know that people in northern Brazil love to watch a fight. In fact, it is so irresistibly attractive that there were a couple of time when I was riding the city bus when the bus driver stopped the bus on the side of the road, people got out and walked right up to watch whatever fight was going on in the streets. Free entertainment. Except it was not totally free — a friend of mine was hit by a stray bulletin once when he tried to separate two guys who were fighting. As a result, he became a paraplegic and a bitter man to this day.

    So some people naturally joined me on the up other side of the road, trying to get a front row view of the fight. Some were even jumping and down to try to see the action a little better, since the house sat a little higher from the road. But there are those who always want more. One guy was just strolling down the road on his bike when he noticed the commotion. Quickly, he dismounted, launching his bike onto the ground and taking a little sprint toward the house. He climbed the little mound and stuck his face right in the middle of the big open window.

    Then it happened — baaam! Somebody threw a hard punch, right down the middle of the guy’s nose. Having nothing to hold on to, he rolled back down to the bottom of the mound. He put his hand on his nose, looked around as if checking to see if anybody noticed, quickly picked up his bike and rode away a little discombobulated but get out of there with a little bigger nose but a lot less noisy (you would hope).

    So now you understand the modern origin of the expression “being nosey.”

    And now comes the shocker: About 3,000 years ago a wise king had already warned against “being nosy.” Here is what he said, “Like one who takes a dog by the ears is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.” (Proverbs 26:17). 

    Question: Doesn’t the way he writes sound like it was he and not me who was standing across the street when that “free punch” was being thrown across the window? It is amazing to me how the Bible is still applicable to today. And that is one of the reasons I read of chapter of Proverbs every day. It helps me to keep my nose to myself. A proverb a day will keep stupid away…

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

    “… he who hurries his footsteps errs.” (Proverbs 19:2b).

     

  • ivanildotrindade 12:51 am on May 24, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Cleveland Clinic, Skype, international friends, brazil soccer apparel   

    Kuwait via Lodi, OH 

    Not too long ago my wife and I were shopping at a mall not too far from our home. While there, we spotted a young man wearing full Brazilian soccer apparel. We both thought he was from Brazil but it turned out he was from Kuwait. He just loved Brazilian soccer that much!

    Well, we connected well with him and I invited him to come to our house and share a meal with us. Instead, he surprised me and invited me to come to his house in Cleveland. After getting lost, I found the apartment where my new friend, Ahmed, lived. I was ushered into the multi-apartment complex where he lived (400 apartments!) and was brought inside a unit that looked like it was empty.

    Soon, his friends began to arrive. They were family members, acquaintances, even a rental car agent who came to do business as we were talking. Turned out the entire apartment complex was filled primarily with people from the Middle East, whose relatives were being treated for various conditions at the Cleveland Clinic. In Ahmed’s case, he had a younger brother who was treated for a brain tumor, and he also had an uncle, whom I got to meet that evening, who was back in the U.S. for a follow up visit one year after his heart surgery there.

    I found out that the Kuwait government-funded the entire trip for Ahmed and several of his siblings, including two of his sisters and his mom to accompany his brother. And all their expenses were paid, including the apartment they were living in and the one where I found myself, which was used only “to receive friends”!

    We sat on the floor, all the men were smoking and speaking in Arabic, and I was being introduced to everyone who came in. I tried to sit cross-legged, and finally gave up, asking politely if I could spread my legs away from everyone’s view, which they allowed me to do, not without laughing at my feeble attempts to feel comfortable in that position.

    The only time I saw the women was when they came into the room to bring the food – freshly made lamb, salads, breads, tea, rice, etc. – a veritable feast. I sat there with my new friends, taking in the sight, enjoying the food, which I ate with my hands like everybody else, and then stayed a long time afterwards until my wife called me to see if everything was okay.

    I came home, not expecting to see Ahmed again, but soon before he returned to Kuwait, he invited me to another feast. Months later, as I was checking my messages on Skype, I got a live connection via video with Ahmed, all the way from Kuwait. I still think and pray for my friend Ahmed and his family on a regular basis. Maybe one of these days I will go see him in Kuwait. Wouldn’t that be sweet?

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 10:04 pm on May 22, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , amazon adventure, amazon river, brazil quiz, brazil world power, history of brazil, northern brazil   

    TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BRAZIL 

    I am leading a short-term mission trip to northern Brazil July 4-18. We will be on the Amazon,  baby! In preparation for this trip, I’ve put together this quiz for my team. I am giving you a chance to take this quiz and win a free copy of Jay Milbrandt’s new book Go and Do. Okay, here are the rules:1. Submit your answers via e-mail to me by Friday, 5:00 p.m. EST. itrindade@woostergrace.org.

    2. If you have already taken this test, don’t bother to take it again. :) . “Amazon Adventure’s” team members!

    3. If your last name is Trindade, or was formerly Trindade, you’re automatically disqualified from taking the quiz. Lucas!

    4. You are not allowed to Google, Wiki, Bing or otherwise use the Internet to answer any of these questions, unless you use a Commodore 64 to surf the net.

    5. Include your mailing address with your answer. We will mail anywhere with an address written in Roman characters.

    Good luck!

    TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BRAZIL

    I. Multiple-choice:

    1. Brazil produces more cars than the following country:

    O U.S.

    O Great Britain

    O Mexico

    O Germany

    O China

    2. The currency of Brazil is called:

    O Real

    O Cruzeiro

    O Cruzado

    O Riel

    O Pataca

    3. The following is something Brazil is NOT famous for:

    O Bypassing the giant drug companies to produce cheaper, generic AIDS medicine.

    O Giving to the world the classical composer Heitor Vila-Lobos.

    O Revolutionizing the music world by creating a new sound, “bossa nova.”

    O Producing famous soap operas, known as “telenovelas,” which are broadcast around the world.

    O Being the first country in South America to elect a female president.

    4. Which country is NOT among the top 10 most populous in the world

    O China

    O Russia

    O Japan

    O India

    O Brazil

    5. Which city is NOT among the top ten most expensive cities in the world for expats?

    O Tokyo, Japan

    O Moscow, Russia

    O N’Djamena, Chad

    O New York, U.S.A.

    O Sao Paulo, Brazil

    II. True or False:

    1. Brazil is the 6th largest economy in the world, having surpassed the U.K. at the end of 2011 in terms of GDP.  T       F

    2. The Amazon basin covers some 60% of Brazil’s surface.  T       F

    3. Sao Paulo is the second most populous city in the world.  T       F

    4. 5% of the population in Brazil owns 85% of the country’s wealth.  T       F

    5. Outside of the G-8, more scientific papers from Brazil are quoted than from any other county.  T       F

    6. Brazil’s land area is bigger than that of Continental United States.  T       F

    7. The Amazon represents over half of the world’s remaining rainforest.  T       F

    8. There are 200 nations within the country we call “Brazil.”  T       F

    9. The Amazon River is the longest river in the world.  T       F

    10. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world in volume of water with an average discharge greater than the next seven rivers combined.  T       F

    11. More than one-third of all species in the world live in the Amazon rainforest.  T       F

    12. The current President of Brazil is the daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant.  T       F

    13. Cocoa, beef, sugar cane, coffee, orange juice are just a few examples of commodities that Brazil is the #1 producer in the world.  T       F

    14. Through Embraer, Brazil is the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world.  T       F

    15. In spite of its great economic progress, Brazil is still ruled by a military dictatorship.  T       F

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 10:50 pm on May 21, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bridge making, ethnic dialogue, ethnic politics, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine Le Pen, minority babies, multicultural cities, tear down walls, white babies   

    Make Bridges, Tear Down Walls 

    Few people paid attention to a little piece of news last week in the U.S. newspapers. It turns out that minority babies are no longer in the minority in the U.S. So it’s official now — white babies are being born at a slower rate than non-whites.

    Maybe people didn’t bother that much because the news is not surprising. Maybe they are resigned to the reality of a multi-cultural world, but I doubt it. In fact, there is a chance that one day there will be a party in the U.S. like the one founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen in France. The angst of people against immigrants will rise to the surface. And don’t be surprised if the ones leading the charge end up being the non-white babies being born today, who by then will be fully integrated into the minority culture.

    This reminds me of the time I lived in Southern California and voters in one district managed to pass an open air initiative which basically barred farming families from selling their land to developers without the express consent of voters. The irony of that initiative, though, was a lot of the people who voted for it would have not even been there if the initiative had been passed ten years earlier. Most of them now were living in sprawling suburbs built on former farm land — the very land they now wanted to keep from being developed!

    I think the reason people didn’t pay attention to the baby story is that they are distracted by an election and a sluggish economy. But that story may still enter the fray in this volatile year of Presidential politics, especially in a year when there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the presumed opponents.

    Now I know that many people in the U.S. don’t necessarily think of England as a model to follow and I would not be surprised if racial tensions in there might still result in some version of a civil war some day. But I am somewhat optimistic that they may still avoid it. And what gives me some hope is a place like the district of Dalston in East London.

    I haven’t been there but I read about it recently and saw some cool pictures. One street illustrates the possibility of peaceful diversity at work. On one side of the street a sign in vibrant orange advertises Indian and Caribbean cuisine. On the other side, an Arabic sign advertises halal food, which indicates foods that have been prepared according to the Islamic customs. And what is even more interesting is that this neighborhood was for the longest time traditionally Jewish. But they started attracting immigrants from the world over, thus becoming a truly multicultural place.

    So my question is: is this the future of us all or should we expect more rough waters? Chances are it will be a mix of both.

    I don’t know whether you think this is important or not, but as a follower of Christ one of my favorite expressions is “at the foot of the cross we are equal.” The apostle Paul, speaking of the work that Christ did on the cross, put it this way: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups (referring to Jews and gentiles) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” 

    And I hope I can reach the end of my life and be remembered as one who built more bridges than walls.

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 10:26 pm on May 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: against all odds, cleveland plain dealer, david boone, graduation story, high school senior, student accepted to 22 colleges, student sleeps in park bench   

    David Boone — a story of tragedy and triumph 

    From the pages of the Plain Dealer come an unforgettable and sobering story today. David Boone, an 18-year-old high school senior broke a record so many can only dream about — he was accepted into 22 of the 23 universities he applied for, including Yale, Brown, Penn State, Princeton, and Harvard, where he is headed this fall to study engineering and computer science.

    The story wouldn’t be so eye-catching if David had not had so many odds against him. His parents split up when he was young and neither of them could take care of him. When he was in elementary school, David had severe medical problems that landed him in the hospital frequently. He was targeted by gang members who tried to force him to join and even took violent measures against  his family, an event which event resulted in the permanent split of his family.

    David had to resort to sleeping on a park bench for long stretches of time when he had no place to go. He would shower in a friend’s house after the friend’s parents left for work. David is the ultimate survivor. He observed trends in inner city Cleveland and determined that people frowned at the sight of someone sleeping on a park bench in the evening but they didn’t mind if they slept there during the day — they were just taking a nap. So he changed his approach. He would sleep during the day and study at night.

    Through the advice of a couple of key people who recognized early on how intelligent David was, he ended up going to a specialty high school in Cleveland which teaches science and technology. Not surprisingly, he excelled there and he is now headed to Harvard to pursue his dreams.

    This story carries the elements of a perfect storm that could end badly. In fact, it ends badly every day on the streets of many towns and cities across the world. No child should ever have to endure what David did. Most would never have the resilience to keep going like he did. Somehow, he had the strength to stay focused. As he said, “I didn’t know what the results of not giving up were going to be, but it was better than nothing and having no advantages… I wanted to be in a position to have options to do what I want to do.”

    Another aspect of this story that caught my attention was that some key individuals came alongside David at critical junctures in his life. Yes, you could say that they should have done more or were needed to be a little quicker taking action. Everyone has to share different levels of responsibilities for this near tragic experience. But the fact remains — some people stepped in when there seemed to be no hope. They gave him temporary shelter and helped guide him through decisions regarding his academic life.

    My guess is all of us have at least one David-like youngster in our lives. What are we doing to help them?

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 12:16 am on May 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: addicted to cigarette, , cigarette addict, coffee addict, coffee cup, creative thief   

    Addicted to Coffee or Cigarettes? 

    Ah the weekend. Time for some coffee at Starbucks. And time for some diversion. I read this week (in Portuguese) that two guys walked into a store in Manchester, England, and robbed it at coffee point. You heard it right: not gun point or knife point but coffee point.

    The cameras don’t lie. The only weapon used during the robbery was a cup of coffee! I’m assuming the guy got the coffee at the store, but there was no word on whether it was cold, hot, decaf or robust. The guy simply told the clerk, “Do everything I say. If you make a move, I will decaffeinate you!” No, he didn’t say that, but he did threaten to kill the guy if he didn’t cooperate. And he may have said something about how bad the coffee tasted…

    Now, I don’t agree with robbing, but if you are going to do it anyway, I have to say that is the way to do go. Yes, creative, non-violent, caffeinated thieves are in short supply. Imagine if this caught on. “Open the safe or I will spray Birthday cake on you!” “Give me the money, I got green tea!”

    But as impressed as I am with the plan, I am disappointed at the object of their covetousness. Not money, not gold, not even lottery tickets. Instead, the thieves made out with cigarettes! How disappointing. I mean, I can understand if they walked into the store, used a pack of cigarette as a weapon, and robbed all the coffee available. But use coffee to rob cigarettes? Come on!

    I don’t know if there is a moral to the story, but if I had to choose between a thief addicted to coffee or one addicted to cigarettes, I think I would definitely go with the bean, not the nicotine.

    Have a nice weekend!

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 10:52 pm on May 18, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: belem, bus trials, help in a nick of time, miracle, perfect timing, public transportation, street miracle, time of need   

    A Small Miracle on an Eight-Lane Highway 

    Belém, where I went to college, is a city of about 2 million people. Most of these people don’t own a car. They have to rely on unreliable public transportation. And when you have children who are still on diapers, it is virtually impossible to go long distances without wasting hours fighting against the

    People pack the buses like sardines. They wait long until a bus shows up — there is no set schedule. Next, they have to step into the road to flag a bus and hope that it actually stops. Then they have to allow themselves to be shoved inside with the surge of the people coming behind them. Once in, they have to hold on to whatever appears to be standing in one place for a few seconds — peoples’ umbrellas count, especially if they are attached to a purse by the handle. They have to make their way to the guy sitting on the chair who collects the money. And they have to keep moving toward the front so they won’t miss their stop.

    Women struggle more. They have to endure the stares and “lazy hands” of dirty men who are interested in another kind of trip. And if you try to bring small children into the bus, the experience can turn quickly into a mental breakdown. And such was our fate on a Sunday morning when I pastored a church located 45 minutes away by bus. We were running later than usual. I had one of the girls on my arm and Naza was pushing the other on a stroller.

    In order to get to the bus stop, we had to cross two sets of four-lane highways. I was running ahead,  straining my eyes, trying to read the letters on the front of the bus to make sure we didn’t miss our Halley comet. Sure enough, as I got closer to the first set of highways, I spotted our bus. Instinctively, I sprinted toward the middle of the road, where a shallow divider was. Stupidly, I left the wife and the other daughter behind and in the process dropped my glasses. As I unsuccessfully tried to save it from reaching the pavement, I lost my folder and my notes flew everywhere. “Oh no, my sermon notes. How will I preach today?”

    But that didn’t matter anymore. The bus didn’t matter anymore. The only thing that mattered now was for me to hold on to my daughter and find my glasses so I could see where I was headed, and more importantly, what was headed in my direction…

    Thankfully, I put myself together. As I lifted my head, though, I saw something I had never witnessed before: The bus was still there and people were peering at us through the windows. Some were laughing, some were shaking their heads, but all were being entertained. I took another look. “This is not possible. Buses don’t wait for anyone. Elderly? No! Disabled? No! Maybe a young woman in a short supply of clothes, but that wasn’t me!”

    But it was true, the bus was not moving. We came in, entering the bus to a round of thunderous applause. We made the way to the front, only to find that in a city of two million, one of my brothers, for whatever reason, was on the same bus, at exactly the same time we were trying to cross the highway. He standing next to the bus driver, doing something all Trindades are famous for — making conversation with a total stranger. He simple asked the bus driver to stay put and he did!

    That was the sweetest ride on the way to church ever and it reminded me of the words of the author of Hebrews: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  (Hebrews 4:16). In the original language, “in our time of need” literally means “in a nick of time.” It’s the kind of help that comes “just when we need it” — not a second too early, nor a moment too late. That is the nature of my God and I never cease to be amazed by it.

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 12:37 pm on May 18, 2012 Permalink | Reply  

    Sowing Hope in the Heart of Wooster 

    I am so excited that today we will be dedicating a house in downtown Wooster, called the “Sowing Hope,” to celebrate the last few years of ministry, advocacy, physical, financial, counseling, mentoring assistance to some people who struggle with the challenges of daily life in our community. If you live in Wooster, come on over at 6:00 pm (329 South Street). And if you have a few minutes, read the article in the Daily Record today. And thank God for loving us so we can love others!

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

     

  • ivanildotrindade 8:38 pm on May 17, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Akron University, E. J. Thomas Hall, god's gifts, Itzhak Perlman, life's little surprises, little surprises   

    Life’s Little Surprises 

    I consider myself a cultured man but I don’t have enough money to be cultured enough. Growing up poor in northern Brazil I didn’t have any of the natural advantages of kids born to nobility. So I knew one thing for sure — education was my ticket out of poverty. So from the time I was little, I had no option but to excel in school.

    Without the built-in advantages, the public library was the best I could do. So after school, I spent many hours reading whatever was available in the little library in my town. I always thought of that place as a sanctuary. I remember excerpts of poems from the famous Brazilian poet Castro Alves, stamped right atop the façade of the building: “Oh blessed be the one who sows/ books, books, by the handful/ and commands the people to think.” “A book falling upon the soul/ like a germ that makes a palm tree/ a rain that makes the sea.”

    Going to that hot, musky place of learning was like a ritual. I soaked in all the learning I could and dreamed of intellectual prowess unknown to man. One moment I was Don Quixote; another, Dante Alighieri. Since my family didn’t have money to pay for preparatory school to enter the university, I got my education on my own, between the library — an odd place that didn’t even loan books — and my own efforts getting my hands on whatever I could. I entered the university at 17 and vowed that nothing would stop me.

    But then I ended up being a poor missionary, heading back to the public libraries of this world. I was living from paycheck to paycheck, so high culture came in small installments — an occasional trip to the theater with my daughters, a concert here and there, and lots of free lectures at local colleges.

    But from time to time God gives you a break. I was living in L.A. and whenever I would come to Ohio I would stay at my sister’s house. On one of those trips I was driving, listening to an NPR station, when I heard that Itzhak Perlman was going to perform at E. J. Thomas Hall in Akron, Ohio. My head began to spin. Ever since I was introduced to his work on the sound track of Schindler’s List, I was enthralled. I wanted to have a chance to see him perform one day.

    Then my chance came. But when I called the ticket office, I had sticker shock. $50 for a ticket in the back of the theater. Abort dream. Without missing a beat I began to plan for my road trip to Indiana, where I would be speaking at a church in a town called Berne. I drove there on Saturday and came back Sunday afternoon after church.

    On Monday I started packing for my return trip. As I was folding my suit to put it in my bag, I went through the pockets, something I never do. To my surprise, I found a spanking new fifty dollar bill. I had no idea where it had come from. Then I remembered: Some guy had thanked me for my message. He was moved, he said. And he must have made a fast move too! He slipped that bill into my pocket. At least that was the only explanation I could come up with.

    The concert was on Tuesday and my flight was on Wednesday morning. I didn’t hesitate. I called the ticket office and ordered my ticket. I went in early to take in the lecture from one of the professors at Akron University. Moments later, there he was, alone on stage with his violin. It was as if my spirit had been elevated to another dimension. Unforgettable.

    James said that God is the one who gives us “good and perfect gifts.” Now, I know that life is not always filled with Itzhak Perlman’s moments, but when it is, it makes it all worth it. Thank God for the little surprises in life.

    “… He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” (Paul in Acts 14:17, speaking to people who didn’t even believe in the God of the Bible).

    Ivanildo C. Trindade

    P.S. Do you have a similar story? I would love to hear about it!

     

    • Julie 9:32 pm on May 17, 2012 Permalink | Reply

      Ah, your timing. I like your story a lot. It makes me think of what’s going on with me now. Isn’t it amazing to be part of that energy — the one where God just gifts you out of the blue? Thanks for sharing a piece of your growing up. And … weird… the verse that’s so stuck in my head lately is “Every good and perfect gift is from above,…” So much funner to wait for God to sneak His blessings into our pockets or drop them on our laps. I think He really gets a kick out of it.

      • ivanildotrindade 10:15 pm on May 17, 2012 Permalink | Reply

        “he gets a kick out of it.” i love it. a divine conspiracy of kindness. kind of reminds me of a reverse of psalm 2, where the almighty scoffs at the nations of the world trying to get rid of his annointed one. david simply says there, “the one sits in the heavens laughs.” so god has different kinds of laughs for different occasions. i wrote this in between mowing and cooking… would like to take credit for the timing, but not my doing. thanks for the kind words anyway.

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