Part of what we're doing right now is creating contacts. We try to befriend everyone we come into contact with. We don't do it in an overwhelming do-you-have-a-close-personal-relationship-with-Jesus kind of way, we just try to show interest in them and in their lives and try to give them glimpses of our life. (There will be a time for Serious Evangelism; right now we're just trying to figure out how to say, "Do you have a close, personal relationship with Jesus?") Anyway, sometimes it's hard. And sometimes by the end of the day, we're tired. Many nights we get into a taxi to head home and we're just in auto-pilot. We're tired and, if we talk, it's to each other. Some nights we recognize our taxi drivers and other nights we don't. If we remember them, we try to step up the conversation a little. But many nights, because I'm sitting behind the driver and don't really get to see his face, unless he has a big Virgin Mary sticker on the dashboard, I don't remember if I've ridden with him or not. But they remember us.
So tonight I didn't think it was a familiar driver. He didn't know where we live, there were no large foil stickers, he had no distinguishing physical characteristics. It was a long day--we'd been out shopping and we'd had a team meeting--so I mostly just zoned out on the way home. When we pulled up in front of our apartment, Russ pulled out a R$10 bill to pay him. The driver offered back double the amount of change. At first, I thought he was just offering us two different ways to take our change. But when we asked him, he responded, "The last time I drove you, I didn't have change for you. You let it go, so here's your change now."
My mind flashed back to that night several weeks ago. He was short on change and offered us a R$5 instead of the R$2 he owed us. That was just silly to us, to take extra back, extra that meant a whole lot more to him than it did to us (R$2 is less than $1 US). It was really no big deal at the time.
But tonight it drove an important message home. We are remembered. Our actions are significant, whether we are trying or not. So when we're not trying, when we're in auto-pilot and just doing whatever comes naturally, what are we saying to people? Are we truly being ambassadors for Christ? For Russ and I, our actions bear a lot of weight because we're "those crazy gringos", but it applies to everyone. If people know you're a Christian, you are always a Christian. When you are not making a conscious effort to communicate Christ, you are still communicating something. The only question is- what?
I'm not saying that tonight was some watershed evangelistic experience with the taxi driver. We may never see him again. But it was a vivid reminder for me that I am always working and that people notice what we do. My prayer is that we always act in a way that represents the beauty of our message.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Pick-Me-Up
I said I was going to continue telling you about our trip to the beach but there's just not much to tell. We went to the beach. It was fun.
I'm pretty unenthusiatic right now- I've caught a nasty headcold. Alicia has one, too, and there's reports of a few sore throats among the team. Oh, the dangers of team missions! I did go to the pharmacy to find medicine for it. What they gave me isn't as good as my trusty Dayquil/Nyquil combo but seems to be getting the job done.
On our way home for supper this afternoon, we stopped in our corner market. We were just going to pick up some potatoes, which are kept along with the other vegetables outside the main part of the store (you have to carry your vegetables the wrong direction through the checkout stand to get to fruit, bread and anything else you might need). Anyway, we wandered into the main part of the store. There is a glass case in the middle that usually has a variety of sweets in it. Russ glanced in the case, which, usually, is full of cakes with prunes and other unidentifiable fillings. But today he discovered...doughnuts!!!
You have to understand, doughnuts are a rare find here. Dunkin' Donuts once opened a shop here in the city but it quickly closed, apparently due to lack of interest. (Sidenote- one day when we were out shopping, I noticed the old Dunkin' Donuts sign and insisted we had to go check it out just on the off chance that it wasn't an old sign at all. It was an old sign.) But whether you eat them American style (for breakfast) or Canadian style (for dessert), doughnuts have been a big part of our lives. Until now, of course.
So imagine our shock and delight upon finding a tray of doughnuts in a small corner store in the middle of Salvador. We immediately bought some then raced home to eat dinner so we could eat them for dessert. (I know, we could have just eaten them outright, but I'm sick and I just figured I needed something a little better on my stomach before that!)
As we bought the doughnuts we briefly acknowledged that these might not taste like North American doughnuts. They might be horrible. They might be like the packaged brownies we bought or like the fake cheddar cheese. But we quickly pushed those thoughts to the backs of our minds and took the chance.
The verdict? Definitely doughnuts. As Russ said, "They tasted like a very fresh Wal-Mart doughnut." I prefer Tim Horton's to Wal-Mart, but I'll take what I can get! That's not to say there wasn't a Brazilian spin on them- they had been sliced open and filled with chocolate (the one with chocolate sprinkles) and doce de leite. But actually, the modification was quite good!
So yes, this is a Val-getting-very-excited-about-nothing post, but I'm on decongestants! What do you expect?
In other news, today we paid our deposit to attend the missionary conference in January. We'll share more about it as it gets closer, but I'm already looking forward to it!
I'm pretty unenthusiatic right now- I've caught a nasty headcold. Alicia has one, too, and there's reports of a few sore throats among the team. Oh, the dangers of team missions! I did go to the pharmacy to find medicine for it. What they gave me isn't as good as my trusty Dayquil/Nyquil combo but seems to be getting the job done.
On our way home for supper this afternoon, we stopped in our corner market. We were just going to pick up some potatoes, which are kept along with the other vegetables outside the main part of the store (you have to carry your vegetables the wrong direction through the checkout stand to get to fruit, bread and anything else you might need). Anyway, we wandered into the main part of the store. There is a glass case in the middle that usually has a variety of sweets in it. Russ glanced in the case, which, usually, is full of cakes with prunes and other unidentifiable fillings. But today he discovered...doughnuts!!!
You have to understand, doughnuts are a rare find here. Dunkin' Donuts once opened a shop here in the city but it quickly closed, apparently due to lack of interest. (Sidenote- one day when we were out shopping, I noticed the old Dunkin' Donuts sign and insisted we had to go check it out just on the off chance that it wasn't an old sign at all. It was an old sign.) But whether you eat them American style (for breakfast) or Canadian style (for dessert), doughnuts have been a big part of our lives. Until now, of course.
So imagine our shock and delight upon finding a tray of doughnuts in a small corner store in the middle of Salvador. We immediately bought some then raced home to eat dinner so we could eat them for dessert. (I know, we could have just eaten them outright, but I'm sick and I just figured I needed something a little better on my stomach before that!)
As we bought the doughnuts we briefly acknowledged that these might not taste like North American doughnuts. They might be horrible. They might be like the packaged brownies we bought or like the fake cheddar cheese. But we quickly pushed those thoughts to the backs of our minds and took the chance.
The verdict? Definitely doughnuts. As Russ said, "They tasted like a very fresh Wal-Mart doughnut." I prefer Tim Horton's to Wal-Mart, but I'll take what I can get! That's not to say there wasn't a Brazilian spin on them- they had been sliced open and filled with chocolate (the one with chocolate sprinkles) and doce de leite. But actually, the modification was quite good!
So yes, this is a Val-getting-very-excited-about-nothing post, but I'm on decongestants! What do you expect?
In other news, today we paid our deposit to attend the missionary conference in January. We'll share more about it as it gets closer, but I'm already looking forward to it!
Monday, August 22, 2005
Fun Day
We're so glad to have more visitors, Mary Virginia's mom, Cindy and MV's cousin, Ashley. They arrived last night bearing Splenda, hand sanitizer and pancake and muffin mix, among other things.
This morning we all went on a day tour, heading out north of town. We did a similar tour with the Parkers right after we got to town but it was fun to go again with the whole gang. It was also great because there were enough of us that we filled the mini-bus and received group rates.
The day started out quite rainy so we didn't get to make the same first stop as we did on our other tour. Instead we went to Arembepe, an old hippie village. Apparently hundreds of people used to live there. Now there's just a few dozen, but there's several huts around- a school, a restaurant, a couple of hotels and some houses. The hippies do crafts and have a big open hut in the middle where they sell them to anyone who wanders in. I can't say I'll be checking out the hotels any time soon, it was all a little rustic for me. But it's an excellent place to visit!
Our next stop was Praia do Forte, where Projeto Tamar is located. It's a huge sea turtle preservation effort. Projeto Tamar is a great place, with touch tanks (not for the turtles though, just starfish and snails and such) and lots and lots of, well, turtles. It's located in the town of Praia do Forte, which is the neatest little (very commercial) village. There's a lot of great shopping (we had to drag Cindy out kicking and screaming) and a wonderful ice cream place. Since we'd already been there, Russ and I skipped the shopping (I can't believe I'm saying those words!) and had some ice cream. The ice cream store is by quilo, so you load your bowl up with whatever of the fifty or so flavors you would like and then have it weighed. I had mango, graviola, coconut and papaya ice creams- all were delicious.
From there we went to the beach; I'll blog about that tomorrow. The picture above was taken at Praia do Forte. You can see many more of our pictures on Flickr.
This morning we all went on a day tour, heading out north of town. We did a similar tour with the Parkers right after we got to town but it was fun to go again with the whole gang. It was also great because there were enough of us that we filled the mini-bus and received group rates.
The day started out quite rainy so we didn't get to make the same first stop as we did on our other tour. Instead we went to Arembepe, an old hippie village. Apparently hundreds of people used to live there. Now there's just a few dozen, but there's several huts around- a school, a restaurant, a couple of hotels and some houses. The hippies do crafts and have a big open hut in the middle where they sell them to anyone who wanders in. I can't say I'll be checking out the hotels any time soon, it was all a little rustic for me. But it's an excellent place to visit!
Our next stop was Praia do Forte, where Projeto Tamar is located. It's a huge sea turtle preservation effort. Projeto Tamar is a great place, with touch tanks (not for the turtles though, just starfish and snails and such) and lots and lots of, well, turtles. It's located in the town of Praia do Forte, which is the neatest little (very commercial) village. There's a lot of great shopping (we had to drag Cindy out kicking and screaming) and a wonderful ice cream place. Since we'd already been there, Russ and I skipped the shopping (I can't believe I'm saying those words!) and had some ice cream. The ice cream store is by quilo, so you load your bowl up with whatever of the fifty or so flavors you would like and then have it weighed. I had mango, graviola, coconut and papaya ice creams- all were delicious.
From there we went to the beach; I'll blog about that tomorrow. The picture above was taken at Praia do Forte. You can see many more of our pictures on Flickr.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Longing
Have I mentioned yet that I miss having a bathtub? In light of yesterday's depressing yet necessary ramble, I bring you something much less serious:
This morning I woke up with the makings of a monster headache. My headaches usually come from tension in my neck muscles. I make a point to use a special pillow and try to keep my neck in good shape. But this morning it kept building and building. I wanted more than anything to relax in a nice hot bath.
But, unfortunately, this is what we have. Showers. We don't have hot water in our building, instead the showerhead electrically heats the water. The cord running into the wall provides the juice. The water will get nice and hot, but something is lacking. I wish that we had a place to sit down and soak. I used to love taking long baths, sometimes reading, other times just zoning out for close to an hour.
It's funny to me that you can find bath salts and bubble bath in most stores but very few people actually have tubs. What do people do with them?!?
One of these days, when I'm really tired and stressed out, I'm going to go get a hotel room for a night and sit in the bathtub for hours. My fingers and toes will be completely pruney when I am done, but it will have been well worth it. And if we stay with you when we are on furlough, you'd better have the bathtub ready- I will be using it!
This morning I woke up with the makings of a monster headache. My headaches usually come from tension in my neck muscles. I make a point to use a special pillow and try to keep my neck in good shape. But this morning it kept building and building. I wanted more than anything to relax in a nice hot bath.
But, unfortunately, this is what we have. Showers. We don't have hot water in our building, instead the showerhead electrically heats the water. The cord running into the wall provides the juice. The water will get nice and hot, but something is lacking. I wish that we had a place to sit down and soak. I used to love taking long baths, sometimes reading, other times just zoning out for close to an hour.
It's funny to me that you can find bath salts and bubble bath in most stores but very few people actually have tubs. What do people do with them?!?
One of these days, when I'm really tired and stressed out, I'm going to go get a hotel room for a night and sit in the bathtub for hours. My fingers and toes will be completely pruney when I am done, but it will have been well worth it. And if we stay with you when we are on furlough, you'd better have the bathtub ready- I will be using it!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Prayers Needed
It's the end of of the week. One more week has flown by. Today marks the five-month anniversary of our arrival on the field. Our inaugural service gets closer and closer and the workload and number of meetings get bigger and bigger. One part of me wishes we could open our doors tomorrow, the other part is completely terrified of all that will mean (and realizes that we don't even have doors to open!)
We're all starting to feel the effects of culture shock. Let me rephrase that: we are all overwhelmed by culture shock. I think. See, that's part of the problem. Culture shock isn't like chicken pox or some physical disease with set and clearly defined symptoms. It doesn't limit itself to one area of your life. Instead, we're all feeling it in different ways. Some people get moody, others tired. Some feel depressed, others just feel cranky. Some need to be around people, others need to be alone. At times, we don't even think we're experiencing culture shock. Instead, we blame it on our moods, our teammates, whether we got enough sleep the night before. I'm not writing as someone detatched from the situation- I have found myself in tears several times this week for what would at any other time be nothing. So, I ask you, our friends and family (and kind strangers) to keep us in your prayers.
Pray that we successfully manouver through this time. Pray that Satan doesn't use our feelings to drive wedges between us. Pray that we don't kill each other, or at the very least, don't wound each other verbally. Pray that the couples on the team find ways to help each other cope. Finally, pray that this time will make us hungrier for God and more desparate for Him, and that we will turn to Him to meet our needs.
While you're talking to God about us, please mention our financial situations. When we came on our survey trip last year, the exchange rate was about R$3.00 to US$1.00. All of our budgets were set using those figures. When we arrived five months ago, the exchange rate was R$2.75. The drop was difficult, but not too drastic. In the months since our arrival, the exchange rate has dropped to and hovered around $2.35 (and sometimes lower). The past two weeks have shown huge swings, with the value of the Real dropping and rising R$0.10 several times. It's made things like taking out money and paying bills very unpredictable. Budgets are becoming insufficient- they have dropped by a couple thousand Reais a month!
I thank the Lord that Russell and I are doing okay. Our finances aren't as good as we would like, but we feel abundantly blessed. (Though if the exchange rate continues to drop it will affect us greatly!) My concern is for others on our team. Money concerns are being brought up more and more as prayer requests. Families are finding it hard as more and more expenses keep popping up as budgets get tighter and tighter. I know that God is taking care of them, but sometimes I wish I had a better answer- one that would help them pay their bills on time!
I'm being quite candid right now, and I apologize if it bothers anyone. I am not bringing up the fact that people on the team are struggling financially to embarrass them. I am asking for your prayers. We need every member of this team. God brought us here to do an amazing task. I don't want us to be defeated before we get started. Please pray that the exchange rate will go back up and stabilize. Pray that new money is found so our teammates can relax and focus on the task at hand.
I'm so thankful that we serve a mighty God who is able and willing to supply our needs! Thank you for going to Him on our behalf.
We're all starting to feel the effects of culture shock. Let me rephrase that: we are all overwhelmed by culture shock. I think. See, that's part of the problem. Culture shock isn't like chicken pox or some physical disease with set and clearly defined symptoms. It doesn't limit itself to one area of your life. Instead, we're all feeling it in different ways. Some people get moody, others tired. Some feel depressed, others just feel cranky. Some need to be around people, others need to be alone. At times, we don't even think we're experiencing culture shock. Instead, we blame it on our moods, our teammates, whether we got enough sleep the night before. I'm not writing as someone detatched from the situation- I have found myself in tears several times this week for what would at any other time be nothing. So, I ask you, our friends and family (and kind strangers) to keep us in your prayers.
Pray that we successfully manouver through this time. Pray that Satan doesn't use our feelings to drive wedges between us. Pray that we don't kill each other, or at the very least, don't wound each other verbally. Pray that the couples on the team find ways to help each other cope. Finally, pray that this time will make us hungrier for God and more desparate for Him, and that we will turn to Him to meet our needs.
While you're talking to God about us, please mention our financial situations. When we came on our survey trip last year, the exchange rate was about R$3.00 to US$1.00. All of our budgets were set using those figures. When we arrived five months ago, the exchange rate was R$2.75. The drop was difficult, but not too drastic. In the months since our arrival, the exchange rate has dropped to and hovered around $2.35 (and sometimes lower). The past two weeks have shown huge swings, with the value of the Real dropping and rising R$0.10 several times. It's made things like taking out money and paying bills very unpredictable. Budgets are becoming insufficient- they have dropped by a couple thousand Reais a month!
I thank the Lord that Russell and I are doing okay. Our finances aren't as good as we would like, but we feel abundantly blessed. (Though if the exchange rate continues to drop it will affect us greatly!) My concern is for others on our team. Money concerns are being brought up more and more as prayer requests. Families are finding it hard as more and more expenses keep popping up as budgets get tighter and tighter. I know that God is taking care of them, but sometimes I wish I had a better answer- one that would help them pay their bills on time!
I'm being quite candid right now, and I apologize if it bothers anyone. I am not bringing up the fact that people on the team are struggling financially to embarrass them. I am asking for your prayers. We need every member of this team. God brought us here to do an amazing task. I don't want us to be defeated before we get started. Please pray that the exchange rate will go back up and stabilize. Pray that new money is found so our teammates can relax and focus on the task at hand.
I'm so thankful that we serve a mighty God who is able and willing to supply our needs! Thank you for going to Him on our behalf.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Daily Life
At first glance, it may seem that Russell is enjoying some kind of naughty tropical drink. On further examination, you will realize there is not tiny umbrella sticking out of the coconut. He's drinking an agua de coco (coconut water). You can buy one on almost every street corner. One morning we saw the delivery truck with thousands of green coconuts in the back. It was amazing.
The best agua de coco is bem gelado, or well chilled. The vendor will then hack the top off with a machete or, if you're at a nicer stand, use a little hand drill. After that, just drop in a straw and you've got yourself a great drink.
Most people on our team aren't yet into the taste but Russ and I love them. It's especially handy if you've been sick. Agua de coco is one of the world's best sources of electrolytes. It's got more potassium than a banana and also does a great job of keeping your digestive system working properly. We keep bottles of it in the freezer just in case, but the best way to have it is on the street. The other advantage to buying it on the street is the cost- Russ paid 70 centavos, or about $0.30 for the one he's drinking.
The best agua de coco is bem gelado, or well chilled. The vendor will then hack the top off with a machete or, if you're at a nicer stand, use a little hand drill. After that, just drop in a straw and you've got yourself a great drink.
Most people on our team aren't yet into the taste but Russ and I love them. It's especially handy if you've been sick. Agua de coco is one of the world's best sources of electrolytes. It's got more potassium than a banana and also does a great job of keeping your digestive system working properly. We keep bottles of it in the freezer just in case, but the best way to have it is on the street. The other advantage to buying it on the street is the cost- Russ paid 70 centavos, or about $0.30 for the one he's drinking.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Makeover
Friday afternoon we headed out to Itinga, a town just on the edge of Salvador, where the oldest Church of Christ in town is located. Their building was not looking its best so we pooled our money to give it a little makeover. The women of the church chose beige as the new color. A respectable color choice (not bold enough for me, but it would be quite daring for my mother!) Most paint here comes white and you have to tint it yourself, so much time was spent discussing what beige is, exactly. We agreed on a color and then did the second coat much, much darker.
It was tricky to paint. The front of the auditorium is against a hill, so the wall is usually wet. You don't have to work at Home Depot to recognize that it might not be the best wall to paint. After four coats or so it looked decent.
Sunday morning, the Sasses, Keith and us went back to worship with the Itinga church. They were so grateful for the help. The front wall was soggy again so the paint looked splotchy, but looking at the before pictures, I know it's an improvement.
Visiting churches here puts so much in perspective. So many North American churches spend so much money making their buildings perfect but cut other budgets (like missions!). Some churches here can't even pay their ministers and their buildings are falling down around them, but they are sharing the good news with everyone they know and are using their money for evangelism. What we do with our money reflects our priorities! I know God is pleased by these little congregations that are working so hard for Him!
It was tricky to paint. The front of the auditorium is against a hill, so the wall is usually wet. You don't have to work at Home Depot to recognize that it might not be the best wall to paint. After four coats or so it looked decent.
Sunday morning, the Sasses, Keith and us went back to worship with the Itinga church. They were so grateful for the help. The front wall was soggy again so the paint looked splotchy, but looking at the before pictures, I know it's an improvement.
Visiting churches here puts so much in perspective. So many North American churches spend so much money making their buildings perfect but cut other budgets (like missions!). Some churches here can't even pay their ministers and their buildings are falling down around them, but they are sharing the good news with everyone they know and are using their money for evangelism. What we do with our money reflects our priorities! I know God is pleased by these little congregations that are working so hard for Him!
Monday, August 01, 2005
Party!
Friday morning we had a party at school. We'd been planning on having a party anyway because it was Jaci's birthday, but then we found out that Erika was moving to Mexico so it just snowballed.
We used it as a chance to have zucchini cake (a team favorite and my specialty). There were also Brazilian snacks, some of which we enjoyed.
Birthdays are a big deal here. The birthday song lasts for over a minute at times, with multiple verses and choruses, not to mention chanting and clapping. We're still working on learning all the words. The Parker kids love it- Brock sings it several times a day! We like birthdays, too, but really, we just enjoy a chance to miss class and eat!
We used it as a chance to have zucchini cake (a team favorite and my specialty). There were also Brazilian snacks, some of which we enjoyed.
Birthdays are a big deal here. The birthday song lasts for over a minute at times, with multiple verses and choruses, not to mention chanting and clapping. We're still working on learning all the words. The Parker kids love it- Brock sings it several times a day! We like birthdays, too, but really, we just enjoy a chance to miss class and eat!
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Monkey!
We spent yesterday afternoon painting the little church in Itinga. (More about that later, I'm just eager to share the monkey experience!) Some members of the church live right behind it and afterwards, we got to play with their pet monkey! Alicia and I have had a bit of an obsession with monkeys since we first came to Brazil. Any time we get to see a monkey is a big deal. So imagine our delight when we not only got to see a monkey, but we got to stick our fingers into the cage as well. Caco (the monkey) held our fingers and we were pretty content and went back to the church building. But then Russ came in and told us they had the monkey out of the cage so we went running back up to the house.
Caco was pretty shy and reluctant to go to anyone but when I held out my hands he came to me. I snuggled him up to me like I would any small animal. It was awesome. Awesome until he decided he was done. He started squirming and I started panicking, because at the back of my mind, I was thinking, "This monkey will bite me and give me some mysterious monkey virus." When he decided to jump, I gave him a little help, ultimately making him land on the head of a nearby baby. He bounced off the shocked baby's head and landed on the sofa, where he sat perched for the rest of the time. He would let us sit and hold his hand, but wouldn't let anyone hold him again. But I didn't care- I got to hold him! (Okay, I felt a little bad that no one else got to, especially Alicia. And I do feel bad that I scared the baby, who was really closer to a toddler. But the kid's okay, I promise- he was just a little startled!)
And that's just a fraction of what we did yesterday. More to come.
Caco was pretty shy and reluctant to go to anyone but when I held out my hands he came to me. I snuggled him up to me like I would any small animal. It was awesome. Awesome until he decided he was done. He started squirming and I started panicking, because at the back of my mind, I was thinking, "This monkey will bite me and give me some mysterious monkey virus." When he decided to jump, I gave him a little help, ultimately making him land on the head of a nearby baby. He bounced off the shocked baby's head and landed on the sofa, where he sat perched for the rest of the time. He would let us sit and hold his hand, but wouldn't let anyone hold him again. But I didn't care- I got to hold him! (Okay, I felt a little bad that no one else got to, especially Alicia. And I do feel bad that I scared the baby, who was really closer to a toddler. But the kid's okay, I promise- he was just a little startled!)
And that's just a fraction of what we did yesterday. More to come.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
A Day at the Beach
Okay, they tell us that we shouldn't let supporters see pictures like this, that we should act like we live in a barren, God-forsaken place, but I just can't help myself. We live in an incredible place. God did a pretty good job when He made Salvador! This beach is less than a 15-minute taxi ride from our apartment.
Most of the team met at the beach this afternoon. The waves were rough, the water was cold and it was no hotter than 85 degrees but the beach was packed. (And it's winter, so what do you expect?) At the beach you spend the day at one of forty or so barracas, full service little cabanas with tables, umbrellas, food and drinks. As soon as you get out of the cab, you're swarmed by guys trying to get you to come to their barraca. We've been to a couple different ones and have yet to notice much of a difference. And it's one seamless line of tables and umbrellas so you're pretty much getting the same thing at each one.
We walked a little, swam a little and sat a lot. As we sat at the table, vendors approached us selling anything you could want, from sunscreen and sunglasses to necklaces and hammocks to mussels and roasted cheese. The cheese is one of my favorites. It comes on a stick and is roasted over coals. For lunch we ate carne do sol, little cubes of salted steak. When I was little the beach meant salt-water taffy and seafood, now cheese and steak are flavors I associate with going to the beach. (There is plenty of seafood to be had, it's just not my thing!)
It was a great day. We've all got a little more color now and we're a little more relaxed. Above all, we're thankful that we are privileged to serve God in these beautiful surroundings.
Most of the team met at the beach this afternoon. The waves were rough, the water was cold and it was no hotter than 85 degrees but the beach was packed. (And it's winter, so what do you expect?) At the beach you spend the day at one of forty or so barracas, full service little cabanas with tables, umbrellas, food and drinks. As soon as you get out of the cab, you're swarmed by guys trying to get you to come to their barraca. We've been to a couple different ones and have yet to notice much of a difference. And it's one seamless line of tables and umbrellas so you're pretty much getting the same thing at each one.
We walked a little, swam a little and sat a lot. As we sat at the table, vendors approached us selling anything you could want, from sunscreen and sunglasses to necklaces and hammocks to mussels and roasted cheese. The cheese is one of my favorites. It comes on a stick and is roasted over coals. For lunch we ate carne do sol, little cubes of salted steak. When I was little the beach meant salt-water taffy and seafood, now cheese and steak are flavors I associate with going to the beach. (There is plenty of seafood to be had, it's just not my thing!)
It was a great day. We've all got a little more color now and we're a little more relaxed. Above all, we're thankful that we are privileged to serve God in these beautiful surroundings.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Recovering
It was hard to get up this morning. Is it possible to have a food hangover? Last night was Stacey's birthday. When the Perkins came a couple of weeks ago they brought the team a brick of Velveeta and a huge bottle of Pace so we decided to bust them out for the birthday celebration. We made fajitas, Randy made a ton of tortillas, Matt and Mary picked up two kilos of tortilla chips from the Mexican restaurant and we ate ourselves sick. I never thought I'd be so excited to eat processed cheese, but the queso was incredible. I think we put on an excellent birthday spread for Stacey (topped off by my zucchini cake).
Food has a new significance here. It's one of those things that connects us with "home". A familiar taste brings back a flood of memories and feelings of comfort. I don't want to have American food every day, but once in a while it's so exciting to eat the food of our homeland. In moderation of course. Not like last night. Unless there's queso involved.
Food has a new significance here. It's one of those things that connects us with "home". A familiar taste brings back a flood of memories and feelings of comfort. I don't want to have American food every day, but once in a while it's so exciting to eat the food of our homeland. In moderation of course. Not like last night. Unless there's queso involved.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Milestone
Sometimes the milestones we celebrate might appear minor to our friends and family in North America (and sometimes even to our teammates!) but today was a significant one for me. I went to my first Portuguese movie.
Most American movies that come out here are kept in English but have Portuguese subtitles. This has been great for us because we've been able to keep up with the new releases (especially since movies are much cheaper here). Animated films are always dubbed, that is, the original audio track is replaced with Portuguese voices. Occaisionally a film will be shown both ways- then you have to be careful you ask for the right showing!
As a result, the team's kids (because they truly belong to the whole team) have missed out on the big new movies. Robots came out shortly after we arrived. Madagascar has been widely advertised; there's even a special Madagascar playland in the mall complete with a climbing wall. We've had to explain to them that they wouldn't understand the movie so they'll just have to wait for the DVD to come out.
I knew Lauren had been dying to see a movie so I told her when Herbie came out we would go see it together. It's live action, so I figured it would surely be subtitled. It came out last week. Dubbed. I passed the disappointing news that we couldn't go see it on to Lauren. She was sad that we weren't going to get to go the movies. A day or two later, she said, "I want to go see Madagascar."
"It's in Portuguese like Herbie is," I said. "The whole thing. No English."
"That's okay," she told me. "I just want to see it."
So today we went. Lauren said she understood some of it. And I think she really did. I had to explain a lot of the movie to her, but we usually have to explain shows and movies to her regardless of what language they're in. What was awesome, though, was that I was able to explain it! I caught about 75% of the dialogue, was able to laugh at several of the jokes and enjoyed the experience thoroughly. I had been worried about seeing a movie in Portuguese but today I proved to myself that I can do it!
Good thing, too, because as we were walking out, Lauren saw a Wallace and Grommit movie poster and is already making plans...
Most American movies that come out here are kept in English but have Portuguese subtitles. This has been great for us because we've been able to keep up with the new releases (especially since movies are much cheaper here). Animated films are always dubbed, that is, the original audio track is replaced with Portuguese voices. Occaisionally a film will be shown both ways- then you have to be careful you ask for the right showing!
As a result, the team's kids (because they truly belong to the whole team) have missed out on the big new movies. Robots came out shortly after we arrived. Madagascar has been widely advertised; there's even a special Madagascar playland in the mall complete with a climbing wall. We've had to explain to them that they wouldn't understand the movie so they'll just have to wait for the DVD to come out.
I knew Lauren had been dying to see a movie so I told her when Herbie came out we would go see it together. It's live action, so I figured it would surely be subtitled. It came out last week. Dubbed. I passed the disappointing news that we couldn't go see it on to Lauren. She was sad that we weren't going to get to go the movies. A day or two later, she said, "I want to go see Madagascar."
"It's in Portuguese like Herbie is," I said. "The whole thing. No English."
"That's okay," she told me. "I just want to see it."
So today we went. Lauren said she understood some of it. And I think she really did. I had to explain a lot of the movie to her, but we usually have to explain shows and movies to her regardless of what language they're in. What was awesome, though, was that I was able to explain it! I caught about 75% of the dialogue, was able to laugh at several of the jokes and enjoyed the experience thoroughly. I had been worried about seeing a movie in Portuguese but today I proved to myself that I can do it!
Good thing, too, because as we were walking out, Lauren saw a Wallace and Grommit movie poster and is already making plans...
Friday, July 15, 2005
Tongue-Tied (rated PG)
Well, it finally happened. I made a huge language blunder. Last week I told Jaci, our teacher, how excited we were that Rachel Perkins had made brownies for us. She had never heard of them and loves chocolate so I had the perfect excuse to use my oven! I baked a nice batch of brownies last night and brought them to class today to eat during our break time.
After the break, we were talking further about brownies. I told Jaci that I have seen brownies here in Salvador, both fresh and packaged. I tried to explain that packaged brownies aren't as good because they have so much other stuff in them. The English word I was thinking of was "preservatives". I guessed that this was a cognate and just changed the ending and said I don't like all the preservativos in packaged brownies. As soon as I said it, I realized my mistake. (If I hadn't realized right away that I'd said something wrong I would have quickly figured it out by looking at Jaci's face!) Preservativos is the word for condoms. I was looking for the word conservante. (For the record, I don't like either one in my brownies!) It took about five minutes for us to stop laughing. I'm a little relieved though- I know that making big and embarrassing mistakes is an inevitable part of language learning so I'm glad to finally have the first one out of the way!
After the break, we were talking further about brownies. I told Jaci that I have seen brownies here in Salvador, both fresh and packaged. I tried to explain that packaged brownies aren't as good because they have so much other stuff in them. The English word I was thinking of was "preservatives". I guessed that this was a cognate and just changed the ending and said I don't like all the preservativos in packaged brownies. As soon as I said it, I realized my mistake. (If I hadn't realized right away that I'd said something wrong I would have quickly figured it out by looking at Jaci's face!) Preservativos is the word for condoms. I was looking for the word conservante. (For the record, I don't like either one in my brownies!) It took about five minutes for us to stop laughing. I'm a little relieved though- I know that making big and embarrassing mistakes is an inevitable part of language learning so I'm glad to finally have the first one out of the way!
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Have you been wanting to call your favorite missionaries in Brazil but don't have a good long distance plan? Try Enjoy Prepaid! We'd love to hear from you! (Though we don't have an answering machine, so it helps to warn us if you're going to call!) Right now, we are just one hour ahead of Eastern time.
The Porters made it back from Itu and they came bearing gifts. Oh the joy that Dr. Pepper and blueberry muffin mix brings to the weary missionaries! It's not that we can't live without that stuff- we're doing fine. But every so often, it's nice to have something familiar. (The things I really miss can't be shipped- cheddar cheese, sour cream, my mom's pot roast.) But we get by. We have a wide variety of tropical fruits with which to console ourselves. And Friday we're headed to the churrascaria, an all-you-can-eat-meat-extravaganza. Yet as I'm typing about our wonderful food here, I can't help but look at the newly-arrived brownie mix and wonder if I should stay up to bake it!
The Porters made it back from Itu and they came bearing gifts. Oh the joy that Dr. Pepper and blueberry muffin mix brings to the weary missionaries! It's not that we can't live without that stuff- we're doing fine. But every so often, it's nice to have something familiar. (The things I really miss can't be shipped- cheddar cheese, sour cream, my mom's pot roast.) But we get by. We have a wide variety of tropical fruits with which to console ourselves. And Friday we're headed to the churrascaria, an all-you-can-eat-meat-extravaganza. Yet as I'm typing about our wonderful food here, I can't help but look at the newly-arrived brownie mix and wonder if I should stay up to bake it!
Monday, July 11, 2005
Nothing to Report
I just realized it's been almost a week since I posted (it might have been less if Russ would ever get around to posting). Anyway, there hasn't been much going on. I've been cooking- hooray!- but I won't bore you with the details of our menus. This morning we made coffee for the first time. We have a french press coffee maker so we had to wait until we could boil water to do it.
This weekend was, quite literally, a wash. It rained and rained. Torrentially. And the wind howled. (We had it better than Mary Virginia's friends and family in Alabama, but it was enough to keep us in the house.) Palm trees, especially little ones, are so dramatic in the wind. The fronds are whipped around in every direction. It definitely doesn't encourage one to go out.
Last night after our team worship time we made mini-pizzas. It was such a flashback to my childhood, when that was a common get-together food. I just love the community feeling of everyone around the table getting their food ready. (Of course then there's the chaotic moment when the pizzas come out of the oven and you have to figure out whose is whose.) We were missing the Porters though. They're in Itu right now with a campaign from Highland. They're coming back tomorrow and bringing Heather with them. Heather is an ACU student whotook our Portuguese class with us made us all look bad at Portuguese. I'm excited to see her and to show her how much we've all improved.
We just emailed out a copy of our newsletter. If you didn't receive one but want to, please let us know.
This weekend was, quite literally, a wash. It rained and rained. Torrentially. And the wind howled. (We had it better than Mary Virginia's friends and family in Alabama, but it was enough to keep us in the house.) Palm trees, especially little ones, are so dramatic in the wind. The fronds are whipped around in every direction. It definitely doesn't encourage one to go out.
Last night after our team worship time we made mini-pizzas. It was such a flashback to my childhood, when that was a common get-together food. I just love the community feeling of everyone around the table getting their food ready. (Of course then there's the chaotic moment when the pizzas come out of the oven and you have to figure out whose is whose.) We were missing the Porters though. They're in Itu right now with a campaign from Highland. They're coming back tomorrow and bringing Heather with them. Heather is an ACU student who
We just emailed out a copy of our newsletter. If you didn't receive one but want to, please let us know.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
One More Thing
Okay, this is the last you'll hear about it, at least for today, but tonight we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli, all made using, you guessed it- the once-useless stove!
Hooray!
Look at the sheer joy on Russell's face. He gets to have an egg for breakfast. Tonight we're having meatloaf. We are so thankful to be liberated from our steady diet of nuggets. Thanks for all the prayers sent up on behalf of our fogão!
Monday, July 04, 2005
Good Things Come...
Three months later...
IT WORKS!!!
That's all I'm going to say about it right now. I've got to go boil water or fry an egg or try to remember how to use a stove/oven.
IT WORKS!!!
That's all I'm going to say about it right now. I've got to go boil water or fry an egg or try to remember how to use a stove/oven.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Back on My Back
Grr. Last week, our extra-long holiday weekend, I was healthy. Russ was sick. But then he got better and we got to enjoy the holiday.
Now I'm sick again. Food poisoning, we think. I spent yesterday evening throwing up but now I'm doing much better.
What is frustrating about me having food poisoning is that I'm not a very risky eater. I don't buy acarajes on the street. I have been deliberately careful about not introducing to much funky new food to my diet all at once. And yet here I am, missing Portuguese class once again. It was totally a random incident- we've eaten at that restaurant several times but, just as happens in North America, they were having an off day.
On another, much more positive note, Brazil won the Confederations Cup (soccer) the other day. The tournament itself was pretty rocky- loss, loss, tie. Finally we won our semifinal game putting us in the final with Argentina. It was a very exciting game- the last time we had played Argentina (for the South American championship) we lost, not to mention some general old rivalries of a historical nature with Argentina. But there was not contest. Brazil showed why they are one of the best teams in the world.
It's incredible to experience Brazil during a game like this. Stacey and I were with Alicia in her apartment when the first goal was scored. Fireworks went off outside the window. (I mean RIGHT outside, which startled all of us immensly). People were shouting "GOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!" and horns were honking. It was so exciting. We weren't even watching the game at that point. When we got to Keith and Stacey's a few minutes later, the boys were watching the game. Every time a goal was scored we ran out on the balcony to watch the fireworks and listen for the yelling. Did I mention this game was at 4:00 in the afternoon? At the end, when our victory was finally official, the fireworks started again. It was dusk by this point, so you could really see them. From the Parkers' balcony you can see very rich neighborhoods and very poor neighborhoods. On Wednesday afternoon it didn't matter which was which- the whole city was celebrating the win!
I can't wait for next year's World Cup!
Now I'm sick again. Food poisoning, we think. I spent yesterday evening throwing up but now I'm doing much better.
What is frustrating about me having food poisoning is that I'm not a very risky eater. I don't buy acarajes on the street. I have been deliberately careful about not introducing to much funky new food to my diet all at once. And yet here I am, missing Portuguese class once again. It was totally a random incident- we've eaten at that restaurant several times but, just as happens in North America, they were having an off day.
On another, much more positive note, Brazil won the Confederations Cup (soccer) the other day. The tournament itself was pretty rocky- loss, loss, tie. Finally we won our semifinal game putting us in the final with Argentina. It was a very exciting game- the last time we had played Argentina (for the South American championship) we lost, not to mention some general old rivalries of a historical nature with Argentina. But there was not contest. Brazil showed why they are one of the best teams in the world.
It's incredible to experience Brazil during a game like this. Stacey and I were with Alicia in her apartment when the first goal was scored. Fireworks went off outside the window. (I mean RIGHT outside, which startled all of us immensly). People were shouting "GOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!" and horns were honking. It was so exciting. We weren't even watching the game at that point. When we got to Keith and Stacey's a few minutes later, the boys were watching the game. Every time a goal was scored we ran out on the balcony to watch the fireworks and listen for the yelling. Did I mention this game was at 4:00 in the afternoon? At the end, when our victory was finally official, the fireworks started again. It was dusk by this point, so you could really see them. From the Parkers' balcony you can see very rich neighborhoods and very poor neighborhoods. On Wednesday afternoon it didn't matter which was which- the whole city was celebrating the win!
I can't wait for next year's World Cup!
Friday, June 24, 2005
Even More São João
Just had to share one more picture. This is where the taxi let us off. Incredible. It was so beautiful I almost cried. It's not that this is a "good" photo- the place just looked so incredible any idiot with a camera could snap a picture of it!
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