November 26, 2005

Mikey and Friends

I could not resist posting this picture of Mikey with a couple new friends after the recital. Too cute for words.

Posted by Andrew at 11:39 AM
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Seminary Recital

Several of the seminary students, as well as some people from surrounding churches, gathered last night at the recital. Many of them are students of Renato (playing the violin in the picture above), while others study with a couple of the MKs here.

I am trying to upload some video of the event, but I think the file must be too big. In the meantime, you can check out other pics of the recital here.

Posted by Andrew at 11:36 AM
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Thanksgiving with the Missionaries

On Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving with the BMM missionaries here in the Cariri Valley. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Posted by Andrew at 11:31 AM
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November 25, 2005

Skallybu

This is a perfect illustration of how language changes and evolves. It is also pretty funny.

On Wednesday we were driving through a little town called Missão Velha on our way from Fortaleza to Juazeiro do Norte. As we went through the downtown area, I noticed a little eating establishment off to the side with the word "SKALLYBU" emblazoned across the top. I had never run into that word before in all my time in Brazil. Curious, I turned to my wife and asked "What is Skallybu?"

"I think it is some sort of magic sword," she replied.

"Magic sword...you mean Excalibur?

"Yes, Skallybu."

All I know is that the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table will never be the same.

Posted by Andrew at 9:17 AM
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Home Sweet Home

I apologize for the lack of communication recently. In this period of transition, internet access has been a very low priority.

To give you guys an update, we are currently in Juazeiro do Norte. We arrived here on Wednesday evening. We spent that night in our new home. We were unable to figure out how to get the air conditioning unit to work, so we sweltered that night. I must have lost at least five kilos (yes, everything is in metric now).

On Thursday we spent a good part of the day with other missionaries celebrating thanksgiving. Later that day we called an electrician, who came and showed us the little switch we have to flip to turn on the a/c unit. He got five reais for that service.

Today we are in town getting supplies for the house. We are still waiting for our sea container to arrive. It is in port, it just needs to go through customs and be shipped to us. Among the things on our shopping list today is a transformer so we can plug in our American appliances.

We will have some pictures up later on. Tonight we are going to a concert being put on by some seminary students.

Posted by Andrew at 9:04 AM
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November 21, 2005

The Best Laid Plans...

We were supposed to head out to Juazeiro tomorrow. However, at the last minute some extra paperwork (and the accompanying fees) appeared, so now it looks like we will not get interior until Wednesday. Sigh.

Not that we don't enjoy Fortaleza. It is wonderful, and the people at Fortaleza Academy have been wonderful. However, we are quite sick of living out of suitcases. If you find it in your hearts, please pray that everything will go well tomorrow, and that we will be able to leave for Juazeiro on Wednesday.

On the bright side, we did get all the paperwork for the truck finished today, and with no extra trips. Veteran missionary Doug Reiner was with me, and knew how to make the system work.

Posted by Andrew at 4:07 PM // Comments: 1 //
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November 18, 2005

Lunch with Seminaristas

My favorite part of the trip we took earlier this week was getting to know some of the students with whom we will be working in the coming months. We had lunch at the seminary on Tuesday. This is a great group of kids...very fun to be around.

Posted by Andrew at 8:49 AM // Comments: 2 //
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Our House

Here is a picture of the back yard of the house we have rented in Juazeiro do Norte. More pictures can be seen here. More to come in the following weeks.

Posted by Andrew at 8:45 AM // Comments: 1 //
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The "New" Truck

Here is a picture of Mikey and I with the truck God has provided for us. It is a really nice ride, perfect for the type of ministry we will have, as well as for dealing with Brazilian roads. More pics of it can be seen here.

Posted by Andrew at 8:37 AM // Comments: 3 //
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Sr. Chico, the Postmodernist

The road between Juazeiro do Norte and Fortaleza is hot and dusty. We had just stopped for gas in Russas, one of the larger of the small towns that dot the landscape, when a thin old man wearing a battered leather cap walked up to the passenger-side window.

“Are you going to go by Pedras?” he asked. Pedras is a smaller town, between Russas and Fortaleza. We allowed as how we were going in that direction, so he asked for a ride. We told him we would take him there, and he climbed in the back of the truck.

As we started off, I watched him there in the rear view mirror. I remembered times when I had ridden in the beds of various pickup trucks along similar roads in northeastern Brazil. I could tell, as he took off his hat and wiped his brow, that he was not comfortable at all. I stopped the truck.

“Hey, why don’t you come up and sit in the cab with us. It’s air conditioned.”

“Really?” his weather-beaten face brightened at the suggestion.

After he was seated comfortably, we resumed our journey. He told us his name was Francisco, Chico for short.

“Where are you from, Senhor Chico?” I asked, in an effort to make conversation.

“Bahia,” he replied. “Where do you live?”

“We are moving to Juazeiro do Norte.” His face brightened once more into a toothless grin at the mention of that name.

“I have much adoration for Padre Cicero and Saint Anthony,” he said excitedly, obviously expecting us to share in his enthusiasm.

“Don’t take this wrong,” I responded after a minute, “but we reserve all our adoration for Christ.”

“Ah, you are believers!” he said with equal excitement. “That is the right way to go.”

“But you just said you were an worshiper of Padre Cicero and Saint Anthony.” I said.

“They are all correct,” he explained. He then told us of how, when he had been in Fortaleza for medical treatment, he had spent time with some believers.

“I thought the ‘pastors’ were really great,” he concluded.

About then we arrived at his town, so we stopped and he got out. As we pulled away, he stood there at waved to us, a microcosm of the belief system of this region. The exclusive claims of Christ are completely lost on them.

Posted by Andrew at 8:14 AM // Comments: 2 //
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Freefall of the Dollar

The following graph illustrates just how much the dollar has dropped here in the past months.

Posted by Andrew at 8:00 AM
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November 15, 2005

Hugo Is At It Again

This is cool. Hopefully Mr. Chavez will be successful in alienating even more Latin Americans in the future.

Posted by Andrew at 8:19 PM
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Quick Update

Just a note to let you know that we made the bus trip ok, were able to purchase a pickup. We then made a four-hour trip from Petrolina (in the state of Pernambuco) to Juazeiro do Norte (Ceará) where we will be living. This evening we closed a rental deal on a house here. Tomorrow we will be driving from Juazeiro do Norte to Fortaleza--about eight hours. We will have more details/pictures at a later date.

Posted by Andrew at 8:13 PM
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November 13, 2005

Start the Bus

We are less than an hour away from boarding the bus for Petrolina, a city about 12 hours from here. While there, we hope to look at the truck I mentioned in an earlier post and, if all goes well, buy it.

Incidentally, we will be taking the same bus line and route where the bus drove into a lake a couple of years ago. Of course, your prayers for our safety are much appreciated.

Posted by Andrew at 2:44 PM // Comments: 1 //
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November 12, 2005

Preaching at the Mocidade (Youth Group)

I'm sorry the quality of this video is not that great--it had to be taken with our digital camera instead of our video camera.

I was invited to give the devotional to the youth group at this church here in Fortaleza. The pastor went to school with us at the Cariri Baptist Seminary, and the missionary working there was in BMM candidate class with us at Cedarville. The kids were pretty responsive, and we had a great time.

There were at least a couple kids there who are unsaved, and they heard the Gospel tonight. No decisions were made, but the seed was definitely planted.

Posted by Andrew at 9:01 PM // Comments: 1 //
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November 11, 2005

Blogging from McDonalds

I am writing this from a McDonalds in Fortaleza, where Mikey and I have taken a break from chasing down paperwork. The service here is excellent, and my purchase of a McMix (that´s McFlurry in the US) entitled me to fifteen free minutes of internet use here in the McDonald´s lobby. Most McDonald´s here in the city have them. Very cool.

Posted by Andrew at 2:24 PM // Comments: 1 //
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November 9, 2005

The Receita Federal

This is me standing in front of the Receita Federal building in Fortaleza. The sign behind me reads that the employees of this government office are on strike, and that there will be no service. Well, there was service, but it took us three hours to get it. Below are a couple videos we took of the occasion.

This is but a portion of the line at the Receita Federal. You can see Mikey playing in the foreground. Eventually, it was Mikey that saved the day for us, because his presence allowed us to go to another, more comfortable section of the building.

Because we had a child in tow, they took us to a special area for people with children. We still had to wait, but at least we were able to sit in chairs and watch Sponge Bob (Bob Esponga, in Portuguese)

Posted by Andrew at 8:30 AM // Comments: 2 //
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Ladies' Meeting

On Monday, Itacyara taught a ladies' and girls' class at the Igreja Batista Nova Vida here in Fortaleza. There were over 30 in attendance. Here theme was "The Privilege to be Holy." She reported a marvelous time.

Posted by Andrew at 8:24 AM
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A Pickup Man?

In our search for a vehicle, we have come accross this 1999 Toyota Hilux. It seems like a good deal, and would definitely be adequate for the roads we will be travelling, and for the things (and people) we will need to be transporting. Please pray for wisdom on our part as to whether or not it is the right car for us.

Posted by Andrew at 8:18 AM
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November 7, 2005

The Doctor is In

Congratulations are in order to my pastor, Richard Piatt, on the completion of his doctorate.

Posted by Andrew at 11:44 AM // Comments: 1 //
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Red Tape, and Other Adventures

Adventures in Brazilian red tape, the past week of ministry here in Fortaleza, and what happens when a Fiat hits a horse.


MP3 File

Posted by Andrew at 7:51 AM TrackBack: 1 //
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November 6, 2005

Why We Are Here

This is the Catholic cathedral we saw on our way to church this morning. Notice the big building and full parking lot. Those who say the Catholic church has no influence in Brazil anymore are speaking from ignorance.

This is the church, just two blocks down, that we went to. The people were wonderful, the lessons were great, but I could not help but notice the difference in size (and parking space!) of the two churches. There is much to be done here.

Posted by Andrew at 8:15 PM
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Say What?

Many of my Brazilian friends have reminded me today that the U.S. president (for whom I voted, and would do so again) is here in Brazil on a diplomatic visit. I had not intended to blog about this, but when I got home from church just now, I found this article waiting for me on my computer. The article also contained the following picture:

Now, whatever your political leanings, one would hope that protesters would take the time to make sure their signs were correctly translated. In this case, it is obvious that the Brazilian protester here wanted to say volte para o inferno--"go back to hell". However, the word volte can be translated "go back" or "come back", depending on the context. So, instead of telling Bush to leave and making a commentary on life in the US, he invited the president to return, and expressed an opinion about his own country (one which I do NOT share).

Moral of the story: If you are going to protest and want your sign to be read and understood by foreigners, HIRE A GOOD TRANSLATOR!!!

Posted by Andrew at 7:53 PM // Comments: 4 //
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November 5, 2005

Laptop Issues

I am having difficulties with my laptop. Hopefully, it will be taken care of by Monday so I can send out a prayer letter. I am writing this on another computer.

Posted by Andrew at 12:40 PM
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November 2, 2005

Happy Dead People's Day

Today is Dia dos Finados (Dead People's Day) in Brazil. It is not an official national holliday, but most businesses and government offices are closed anyway. This is a day where people here in Brazil remember those who have passed on. They take candles to the cemetary, and say special masses at the church. It is kind of like Memorial Day in the US, only with greater religious overtones.

Jim over at Cottrill Compass has an interesting article about the Mexican traditions surrounding this day.

Posted by Andrew at 6:51 AM // Comments: 1 // TrackBack: 1 //
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Red Tape Update

This is a good-news-bad-news update on an earlier post. The good news is that yesterday I was able to get all the documents taken care of and successfully apply for my Brazilian i.d. card. The bad news is that the i.d. does not include my CPF number (similar to a Social Security number). In order to do that, I will have to prove residency somewhere. In order to prove residency, I actually have to be living somewhere. So, it appears that we may be taking a trip interior to look at the house that has been offered to us, and see about moving in. I need to talk to those more experienced than I about this.

Posted by Andrew at 6:42 AM
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