Simple Life

At Last...we have left São Paulo!

It's been almost a month already since our move! Everything happened so fast and so perfectly, so God-driven.
- Our house rented really fast and for a price we never imagined we would rent it for.
- I packed with peace and sanity, until the last couple days, when I just shoved anything in front of me in a box or in the trash. Thank God my mother-in-law helped the first couple days witht he more fragile things.
- We got everything here nice and safely, had amazing help from my mom and Marcos' aunt, Marcia, I don't know what I would have done without them.
- We managed to get the things from 3 houses organized (when my parents left for the US, a lot of their things were brought here, and there was already a lot of stuff here!) by selling some on garage sale (still going to have another one), putting some things in the attic, giving others, etc.
- I met some really nice people during the garage sale or by friendly visits! I even joked that I've had more people in my house here in a month than in a whole year in São Paulo. I guess people have more time here, no traffic, not soooo much to do!

Now I'm praying for God to direct us to the church where he wants us to grow and serve. Already have a list of them to visit!

Here are the reasons why we came to Atibaia:

- I decided that the best career for me right not is to be a mom (and wife). This is the moment when I can most dedicate myself to Tiago, since I have no friends, school or activities to compete with. I will definately use these precious years to create a lifetime bond with my little boy! My family is my biggest ministry, and what a priviledge that is! This decision convinced me to stop working for right now, so we decided to rent our house in order to have the extra income we would be missing.

- We got tired of the hectic life. No time for friends, no time for family, no time to just breathe (and no clean air to that too). Now Marcos leaves an hour later and gets home an hour and half earlier! More time with us, less city stress.

I could list a thousand more reasons...like having fresh air, pure water (I shower with mineral water now, not chemically treated water!), beautiful sunsets, peaceful lakes, sound of birds, grass, calmer lifestyles, breakfast outside, prayer on a hammock, Tiago reaching for the leaves, etc.

I'm not saying city life is horrible, it's just that São Paulo can be described in one word: stress. It seems like you get sucked in to this race, this way of thinking, an endless pursuit of something....and when you get to the core of it, you realize this pursuit is just vanity. You don't even realize it, but you start competing and striving for things you don't really need. I know that this is real anywhere, since the Devil is always trying to complicate our lives so that what's simple and true is not seen, but I'm thankful that for this season of my life I can retreat to a place where simplicity is easier to find and achieve.

"Purity of heart is to will one thing." Soren Kierkegaard
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need for only one thing." Luke 10:41-42.