Getting Our Volleyball On...

I realize I've mentioned here and there that Nick and I have been playing volleyball, but I thought maybe I should explain how all this came into be.  When we moved down here, we spent our first month asking around if anyone knew of a place to play volleyball....and NOBODY did!  Soccer, or should I say futebol, is by far the most prevalent sport and people would suggest places we could play that.  But we were persistent :) Our language tutor knew of a high school student that comes to her school (she teaches English classes as well) who liked to play volleyball.  She got the info from him and we drove to the lone gym in town one Saturday night and the rest is history :)  A group of guys plays on Saturday evenings, a group of women plays on Tuesday/Thursday nights, and another groups of girls play on Saturday afternoons/Wednesday evenings.  And each group is surprisingly good! Nick's been playing on Saturdays and I've been playing Tues/Thurs/Sat!  I come home pretty tired and absolutely drenched, which is always a sign of a good night of volleyball :)

Two weekends ago there was a sand tournament in town.  I played in the women's competition on Saturday and Nick played in the men's on Sunday.  It was a LONG day, beginning at 9am and finishing at 10pm!  Thankfully things were a little more organized for the men's tournament the following day.  We didn't finish the best...but it was a great opportunity to meet new people, spend a whole day practicing my Portuguese, build relationships, and experience something new!  We later found out this was the first of 7 sand tournaments for this year....

Also, this coming weekend, I am traveling to another city to play in an indoor tournament with the team I play with on Tues/Thurs.  Can you believe it?  It's going to feel so strange to put on a uniform again and play in an actual organized tournament!  But I'm looking forward to it ;)

  

God provides so many opportunities to build bridges toward sharing the Gospel.  I'm so excited to have found these new friends that I can connect with through a common interest.  They have been so welcoming and kind to me, and as I learn more and more Portuguese, I look forward to sharing more and more about why I'm here.  Please pray for these relationships and that Nick and I would be bold in our witness.