Obrigado Deus

I have been received here with uncommon hospitality. The stranger has been embraced and accepted into a family and community, treated as a brother. Their inner confidence allows them to be what we often regard as too vulnerable. I am tentative and reluctant to speak the language, wanting to speak perfectly with singular/plural and gender agreement every time. I need to be willing to risk errors and just speak, trusting in the generous spirit of my friends. What are mistakes other than the opportunity to learn? Living abroad I have always been in countries where English is the first or second language. That is not the case here, and very few people speak English. Being in community, my desire to learn Portuguese with some degree of fluency is all the greater. There are gifts in the challenge. I have become very dependent on others for most of my needs. In that disempowerment, I am learning something of the challenges faced by the under educated, illiterate, and those with no voice. I am learning to ask for and receive help with gratitude and humility. I'm going deeper into my resevoir of courage as I take on the challenge. And, it is an opportunity to practice patience.
Brigado Deus.