The Atlantic Pearl

I have been looking at this empty sheet of paper for so long. Every time I try to write about my trip it never comes out right. I needed some time for God to show me what to say.


 




                                     
     
"God doesn't fail in his good purpose. Trust in Him and in His time He will open your mouth and give you the words to speak." I read that in a book once. It taught me to trust in Him. I don't have the gift to speak to people, yet Moses didn't either. God gave him the words to say and he was able to lead thousands of people out of Egypt, with God's help.

How is a 15 year old going to convince people that the One True God still lives. I have learned I don't have to, God will. All I have to do is plant a seed. God will water it and it will grow.

He taught me that when I went to Madeira ( an island off the coast of Africa). I have been there twice on an mission trip. I was challenged to start a journal from the moment I stepped off the plane to the moment I stepped back on.

I was in Madeira for a week and met some awesome people. Everyday we would go to two neighborhoods to teach the kids about God. Most of them came to us excited and curious, yet some were shy. A small two-year-old stood to the side. I went out and talked to her, than picked her up and brought her to where we were telling the story. Everyday after that she would stand nearby with her arms stretched out waiting for me to pick her up and bring her to where the group was.
The next year I went to Madeira, I saw her one morning in a broken window. She held her hand out to me and called my name. It was like an angel calling me. How would a two-year-old remember a person that came to her island for only seven days a year back?

The little girls in the neighborhood followed me around everywhere. One of them asked for me to show her a story in the Bible. When I showed her the story of Jesus resurrecting Lazarus, she was amazed. She asked for me to pray with her to receive Jesus the next day.

During a lot of the stories the older boys threw things at us and were loud, ditsurbing the others from hearing about Him. I prayed that they would go away or play Basketball with my dad. Three minutes later they got up and went to my dad, and he got to share his testimony with them. After that, even more kids came to hear the stories we were telling.


 

God gave me a voice to speak to the people. That year three people prayed with me to receive Christ.

The second year we went, God used the other people on the mission team to teach me stuff. My dad taught me that it doesn't matter who you are you can still speak to others about God. A Basketball player that went with us taught me that anyone can recieve Christ and to not lose hope when they don't listen at first. The director of our mission team taught me to not be embarrassed about talking to people about God but to take pride in talking to them about the best person ever.



                                                         

  
  



So if you pray for a voice to speak and for ears to listen, God will answer your prayers. I had so many great memories I shall never forget. Here is my last diary entry:

"I am on the plane flying back to Lisbon, I honestly don't know how to feel. My heart is divided in two. The children on this island are so great and are open to hearing. It would be awesome to come here again soon. God bless every person, place and thing on this island. You really don't  know how beautiful it is until you leave it. I know I will dream about the green mountains full of bright colors and the sunrise that I saw right before I was swallowed by the airport. Someday I will return to this island, yet until then I shall never forget this Atlantic Pearl."

The sunset I saw!

Inspired Courage

Elizabeth was a courageous woman. She met her husband Jim Elliot in college. In the years that followed their marriage, they moved to Ecuador and participated in Operation Auca which was an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani tribe. Since the tribe was full of cannibals, they just flew over the village and dropped down gifts.

One day, they were sending down gifts when one of the tribe members waved at them. They decided to take Operation Auca to the next step. The men would land the plane and try to talk to the tribesmen. The next morning, the men got out of the plane and were immediately killed. Jim Elliot died but his faith did not. One of his quotes found in his journal was;
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose."

Jim Elliot lived that way and so did his wife. She later went back to the Huaorani tribe in Ecuador and shared the Truth to her husband's killers for two years.  After she left, most of the tribe members were Christians. Elizabeth Elliot passed away June 15th this year.

When I hear these stories it inspires me not to be scared of sharing the love of God with others. I am not as brave as the Elliots. I have no clue if I would have done what either of them did. Then again, maybe they didn't realize they had enough courage to do what they did either. The courage that God gives us is enough, we just have to be willing to use it.

The bravest person on Earth died on a cross for us. He is the greatest inspiration of all. To be honest, sometimes I do not have the courage to be a light in dark places. Not yet, anyway. But I am willing to try. Sometimes to decide to be brave IS being brave.

Behind The Scenes

On the outside you might even consider me as a simple person. I never got in the drama that surrounded me. I don't find it amusing to gossip all the time about other people. Maybe that is why I know everybody's else's secrets, sometimes they tell me, yet most of the times I put the pieces together myself. I have no need to gossip, I already have amazing stories to tell, I don't have to make one up or tell somebody else's.
On the inside I am a complete mess. I wouldn't consider myself an open book, but it takes me longer to figure out my own feelings than it does for me to figure out other's. To communicate my feelings is an even bigger challenge. That is part of the reason I am a mess inside, because I could have felt  angry toward's someone three years ago and still feel that anger toward's them today.
It takes a lot for me to get fed up or angry with someone. When I do feel that a certain person is a jerk or annoying, I don't tell them that I don't like what they are saying. I hold it in! If the same person really reaches my limit I explode and scare people that thought I was to shy or nice to scream. It is not good to hold it in and explode, but the advantage of that is that they will never do whatever they were doing again.
I get taken advantage of, by people who know me, because it is so hard for me to reject any favor, or to be mean and not give other's what I have. This is good in a sense that I give to other's, but bad in a sense that I can't stop, it is so hard for me to say no. I am not telling you this so you will take advantage of me, I am telling you this because it feels great to get this off my chest.
I am now discovering my likes; dislikes; who I am; how I am to other's and how other's influence who I am. As I said before it is so hard for me to figure out how I feel about stuff, well now I have. So what better way to communicate it than writing it down on a piece of paper to let my pencil and God guide what I need to say.
This is me, behind the scenes.

What are you Waiting for!

                                       
This is an Intro to a devotional that helped me 31 verses every teenager should know…Hope:
Some people have been let down and disappointed so often that they've become hard toward the idea of Hope. Is that you? Perhaps promises made to you in the past have been broken. Maybe your expectations and dreams have been dashed against the rocks. Whatever the case, whatever you may have experienced in the past, you need to know that there is a source of unending and ultimately satisfying Hope.




                                            What are you waiting for!


There comes a time in life when you start to doubt. Why you are here? You start to question your own existence. When you start to feel invisible to others and invisible to God. When you realize you are an alien in this world. ( 1 Peter 2:11)
That time for me came in January 2014. I started to ask myself if I really believed in God or if it was just a tradition passed down from generation to generation.
 My faith was tested time and time again. Sometimes I fell, yet I have learned that there is always a Hand to pick me up. (Psalms 139:23) Always someone. Something that is motivating me to move forward. If you are reading this now just know that you have touched me in some sort of way. I hope my story will touch you and make you feel important. Make you realize that there is always a hand sticking out to you from God. Know that you are not alone, you are not the only person who feels invisible or out of place.
If you feel like you are doing great, maybe you know someone that isn't or that needs help. Help them! Let them know that you and God are with them.  Remember that someone helped you up when you were down.
I look around and see all the faces of people who care about me, who love me, who want what's best for me. I feel so blessed, but yet so empty, I feel like there is a part of me missing. Apart of me that I haven't seen in so long…HOPE. ( Isaiah 40:31) Hope for those who are broken. Hope in my relationship with God. Hope for all those people who have doubted themselves, who think they have nothing else to live for. Well, you do have something to live for, it doesn't matter what you believe. We were all sent here for a purpose. Find out your purpose.
I know why I am here on this earth. I have found my purpose to my very existence. Sure, it took awhile, but I got there. Now it is your turn. Once you figure out why you are here, you can change the world. So What are you Waiting for! ( Hebrews 12:1)

Make sure you listen to: What are you Waiting for!-  Natalie Grant

Over the Tracks

When I walk to Basketball or look outside my window. I can see the broken down neighborhood just over the tracks. The buildings are old and worn down, the streets are slanted and covered with potholes. Yet the people are happy. Walking up and down the streets stopping at every window they see a familiar face in. I like walking through the neighborhood, smelling the fresh fruit when I pass the fruit stand, the meat at the butcher or the pastries at the pastry shops.


                                                              Over the Tracks


It's amazing how little kids can be so nice to you in broken-down neighborhoods. They come up and hug you and you don't even know them. The fifth graders at school never do that. They walk around the school and think that they are the coolest ones there.
Would you believe it or not if I told you I share to the kids over the tracks, by being a pirate. I know what you are thinking, you are picturing me in a pirates costume with an eyepatch and would probably pay to see me. Honestly, it is a little embarrassing walking through neighborhoods dressed as a pirate. Faces turn, people laugh. If I a saw a girl my age dressed as a pirate on a Sunday I would probably laugh to. I have to ask God why am I doing this, but then I realize that I am doing this for him. That's about all the inspiration I need.
You see, I am the bad guy in this skit, along with other pirates. I try to tempt kids in the neighborhood that are watching to be lazy. Then the "Soldier of the King" beats me up and so on. It is a simple play that they understand.
 I have so much fun in these poor neighborhoods because after the skit I get hugged a number of times, yet I also get attacked by sword balloons. I get to experience with them the most fun they have ever had, even when I am a pirate.
Sometimes it isn't the kids that are listening the most, but the people in their apartments looking down or the little old gypsies, even some of the teenagers and troublemakers.
I would rather go to a neighborhood to be a pirate than going and seeing a movie. And that is saying a lot since I love movies.
Sometimes I don't teach the kids they teach me even when I don't even realize it.
My cousins were here for two weeks, and we went to two of these events. They showed me that even when you don't know a word of Portuguese that you can still love on these kids like never before. Who knows you could've given them there first Bible, hug or basketball.
I always pray that there will be children right over the tracks that are opening there bibles for the first time, wondering if someone really does care enough to die for them. Rejoicing after they find that the answer is yes, someone does care enough to die for me.

Almost Portuguese

Hi! I'm Elaina, I'm an ordinary 14 year old high-schooler. Well sort of, apart from the fact that I live on the other side of the globe. When I was only nine years old, I moved from Orlando, Florida (the place I called home) to Portugal. I created this blog for my family, for the people that need inspiration and for the people who feel invisible. I have been there, I know what it feels like.
Some people think it is weird that I was learning my fourth language by the age of twelve or that I have been to over eight different countries. For me, it's completly normal for my parents to go to Switzerland for a week. Some people are jelouse of what an awesome life I have.
It is true, I am really lucky. But, I didn't come here just for any reason. I came here so that others might follow the one person who I trust and put my faith in completely. God!
To do that I have to be Almost Portuguese!

Let It Go

Nine year old me

I was only nine years old when I moved here. It was the first time I felt completely alone. No cousins to play with, no friends to talk with. Sure I had my family and that was great, it just wasn't the same thing.

The hardest thing for me wasn't learning the language or the culture. It was letting go, letting go of all the people that were thousands of miles away, letting go of living in a small town, to living in an apartment in the city.

Just when I thought  my life couldn't change anymore, my Mom found out that she was pregnant. I love babies, but this was crazy, number five. Everything would be different, it wasn't going to be the CC's and EE's, it was going to be like CC's, EE's and Kevin or Hannah. Now that was the last thing I wanted.

My family before number five

Apart from my Mom being pregnant I had an even bigger problem, no a huge problem…SCHOOL. I couldn't believe my parents were going to dump me in a native school when I didn't even know the language. The problem is that my school was only a block away from my apartment. Not only would I see my strange classmates all the time, I would see my teachers to. It couldn't have been any worse.

I remember it well, walking in with my parents. My teacher came up, she was pregnant too. Great, I thought all I need is more pregnant women in my life. She was nice but I din't know her or understand her. The worst was when my parents kissed me goodbye, I begged them to stay, which is the opposite of what I would have done if we were still in America. I think they were more nervous than I was about school. My Mom says it was the hardest thing she has ever had to do.

I would agree.

I remember locking myself in the bathroom at school. It was the one place I could be alone from the crazy portuguese kids, but once again I had to let that go. I realized I was here for a reason and locking myself in the bathroom wasn't going to get me anywhere. For the rest of the year I tried to learn Portuguese. All I wanted to do was to be able to understand them so that I could share with them in their heart language.

They say your fluent when you dream in another language. I remember waking up realizing I had been dreaming in Portuguese. It was like the clouds just parted and I could finally see the sun and the blue sky. I can't remember if I actually believed I was fluent or not, but I knew I was on the right track.

Now I am in high school yet I still look back to the fourth grade and think about what I would have been doing in America if I hadn't moved here. I wouldn't have learned that letting go means saying hello to something new.

24 suitcases and counting

Me after my first year