April 29, 2006
Donations
For the moment it has become necessary for me to remove the "Donate Now" button on the website. This is due to some ambiguity as to how such contributions will fit into our mission's tax policy. At the present, should you desire to make an online contribution to this ministry, you can do so at the Baptist Mid-Missions website.
In light of this, and in an effort to offer as many options as possible to potential donors, I am re-opening the Comings to Brazil Cafepress Store. There you can find unique and quality products designed to help you remember this ministry in prayer. Also, when you make a purchase, a portion of the proceeds comes directly to us. Look for many new products and designs in the very near future!
Important Note: Unfortunately, purchases at the Comings to Brazil Cafepress Store are not tax-deductable.
Posted by Andrew at 10:51 AM
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April 27, 2006
Blessings
Today we discovered that one of our supporting churches has increased their monthly contribution, taking us once again to the 100% mark! A big "thank you" to the folks at West Windsor Baptist!
We also recieved some timely special gifts which are helping us make it through the month budget-wise. Praise God!
Posted by Andrew at 11:35 AM
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April 24, 2006
Gratuitous Cuteness
I figured we needed to augment the cuteness factor of this blog, so here is a picture of Mikey in his Sunday best, ready for church yesterday.
Posted by Andrew at 5:23 PM
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Islam and Brazil
This morning I went to our bi-monthly missionary prayer meeting at a little. While there, I had an interesting converstaion with some of my colleagues about the flirtation of Brazil with Islam. The leftists here see it as a way to tweak the US, and feel better about themselves. There is even a city here that erected a statue to Yasser Arafat. On a more sinister level, Islamic infiltration here, especially in the Iguaçu Falls area, could very well serve as a base of operations in the western hemisphere.
Brazilians need to understand the true, terroristic nature of Islam, as compared to the blessed truths of Christianity. Please pray for us as we work here to show the way to the true "religion of peace".
Update: And in related news, Hugo Chavez was here in Brazil recently, singing the praises of Iran and telling us all how they should be allowed to continue their nuclear program. The guy is clearly nuts.
Posted by Andrew at 1:22 PM
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April 22, 2006
Support Update
We are pleased to announce that Brooktondale Baptist Church in Brooktondale, NY, has taken us on for financial and prayer support. This brings our support level back up to 99.5%--or $21 per month short of 100%. Praise God!
We would still like to encourage people to pray for the sale of our home in Florida, as this is a huge financial drain on us right now. We are confident that God will have it sold in His perfect time.
Posted by Andrew at 12:15 PM
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Original Sin
Today started off with a bang. For the past several months my G5 iMac has been on the sick list with a broken disc drive. As a result, I had not been able to get it online with it. Today, however, I was able to fix the drive all by myself and connect it to the internet. Now we have a working desktop at home! Now my wife and I can communicate while I am at work! Now I can start making DVD's for the puppet ministry, the seminary, and anything else that comes along!
A friend of mine who shall remain unnamed is less than thrilled, feeling that the above symbol represents original sin. Biblically, however, it must be remembered that nowhere did it say that Eve ate an apple. It could just as well be that the logo represents the fruit from the tree of life, which Adam and Eve--Microsoft users that they were--were not allowed to partake of.
And yes, this entry was composed on the Mac.
Posted by Andrew at 9:19 AM
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April 21, 2006
Playing with Pelé
Ok, here is one more soccer related video. This one is kind of long...and in Portuguese with English subtitles. But it is very good and very heartwarming.
I feel it is my duty to bring you quality items from Brazil, and this is an item, it is quality, and it is from Brazil. Hope you enjoy it.
I just watched this again, and I was struck by two things. First, this is a great look into life in Brazil (particularly Southern Brazil) in the early '50s. Second, I was interested in how the fateful 1950 World Cup Final against Uruguay fit into the story. It is difficult to find a Brazilian today who will talk about that game, where Brazil was upset by underdog Uruguay in the then-new Maracanú Stadium in Rio. You can read more about that event and it's impact on Brazil to this day here.
Posted by Andrew at 3:31 PM
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Happy Tiradentes Day
Today is the Brazilian national holiday in honor of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier--commonly known as Tiradentes. Below is the Wikipedia article about this hero of Brazilian independence.
Tiradentes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes (1746-1792), was part of the Brazilian seditious movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira.
Born in São José del Rei (now called Tiradentes), Minas Gerais, Tiradentes was adopted by his godfather and moved to Vila Rica (now Ouro Preto) after the deaths of his parents (mother in 1755; father in 1757). He practiced several professions: cattle driver, miner, dentist (hence his nickname, Tiradentes or "tooth puller"), and was a member of the Regimento dos Dragões de Minas Gerais militia. As Tiradentes was not a member of the local aristocracy, he was systematically overlooked for promotion and never rose above the rank of alferes (2nd lieutenant).
Influenced by the writings of Rousseau, and by the American and French Revolutions, Tiradentes joined with a number of like-minded citizens in the Inconfidência. Rejecting Portuguese taxation and rule, they wanted to found a republic with its capital at São João del Rei and to create a university. The proposed flag for the new republic bore the Latin motto "Libertas quae sera tamem" (liberty, even if delayed).
The plot was betrayed and Tiradentes and 11 others were sentenced to death. Other members of the Inconfidência were sentenced to public whippings and life imprisonment. Of those sentenced to death, only Tiradentes was executed. He was hanged on April 21, 1792, in Rio de Janeiro. His body was quartered and his head displayed publicly in the Vila Rica square as a warning to other revolutionaries.
He began being considered a national hero by the republicans in the late 19th century, and after the republic was proclaimed in Brazil in 1889 the anniversary of his death (April 21st) became a national holiday.
I found the motto of their proposed flag to be interesting. It kind of amounts to "better late than never"--only in Latin it sounds alot better. It may be more appropriate to the culture than the current motto: "Order and Progress".
Posted by Andrew at 2:05 PM
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April 20, 2006
I Can't Help It
World Cup fever is gripping Brazil, and I must post another video of the national team.
Enjoy.
Posted by Andrew at 8:39 AM
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New BMM Bloggers on the Block
It is with great pleasure that I present to you the brand new blogs of a BMM missionary couple on deputation. Not only are Jeff and Robin Malin fellow missionaries with Baptist Mid-Missions, they are also great friends from college days (wow, that last phrase makes us sound ancient!). Please welcome them to the blogosphere, and check out the information they have about their ministry.
Posted by Andrew at 7:17 AM
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April 19, 2006
Laugh Break
If your day was anything like mine, you need a good laugh about now. So here it is, the now famous "German Coast Guard" video.
Posted by Andrew at 3:44 PM
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Prayer Requests
Here, once again, are prayer requests given by our students with regard to their practical ministries:
Michel would like us to pray for his church, and for a new convert named Cícero.
Samuel asks that we pray for consistency in attendance for teachers and students.
Carlos Heron asks for prayer regarding the behavior of the youth group in his church.
Rosangela needs prayer for her health.
Aldamir asks that we pray for the church in general where he is working, especially for there to be an eagerness in learning the Word.
Posted by Andrew at 2:19 PM
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April 18, 2006
Ronaldinho Gaucho
A couple days ago I posted an article which praised some of the off-court activities of Brazil's (and the world's) star soccer player. Here is a video showcasing some of his on-court activities.
Posted by Andrew at 12:15 PM
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Ladies Retreat
Over Easter weekend my wife attended the Ladies Retreat at the camp in Iguatú. I was with Mikey in a small town not too far from Iguatú called Lavras da Mangabeira. However, as my wife had the camera, I did not get any pitures of our ministry there.
For more pictures of the retreat, click here.
Posted by Andrew at 8:21 AM
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April 15, 2006
The Dance that Scandalized Brazil
Rank and file Brazilians are known for their dancing ability, and their willingness to try any new steps that come along. However, the clip below has even Brazilians up in arms.
The setting is in the Brazilian congress, where one of the members (the guy on the phone at the beginning of the video) of the ruling socialist party is being tried for corruption. The whole country knows that he is most obviously guilty, however he is absolved. The voices you hear in the background are the "no" votes of legislators who are voting not to indict him.
Enter the lady in the beige jacket. She is a coleague of the man being tried, and she does a little dance to commemorate his victory.
The whole country is in shock at her brazen show of contempt for the justice system.
Posted by Andrew at 8:19 AM
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April 14, 2006
Student Prayer Requests
I am a little late getting this out, but here are the requests given my our students this week in their ministry reports:
Michel, a first year student, asks that we pray for his students who are taking the Source of Light course.
José Tadeu would like prayer for his congregation in Alto Vermelho, especially for the opportunity to start a Sunday School program, and to be able to expand the children's ministries.
Edson would like us to remember his son, Giovanne, who is having some health problems.
Aldamir would like to see more dedication on the part of his youth group.
Likewise, Francisco Everaldo wants us to pray for the spiritual life of the youth of his church.
Posted by Andrew at 3:01 PM
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Single Parenting is NOT FUN
My wife is away at a ladies retreat (I'm convinced that ladies retreats are a communist/feminist/liberal/illuminati plot to separate families), so Mikey and I are spending some Quality Father-Son Time (tm) together. I would like to once again express my extreme admiration for anybody who finds themselves in a permanent single-parenting type situation.
Since my wife got on the bus early yesterday morning, Mikey has:
- Attempted to cut the cat's hair.
-Thrown up three times (no, he did not eat any of my cooking)
-Tried to feed the cat his pizza (apparently in atonement for the attempted shearing)
-Refused to sleep when it would have been most convenient for me, and then fallen fast asleep when I needed him to be awake.
-Watched "Shreck" 10 times. If I hear the song "Hallelujah" one more time, I'm going to go nuts.
Mommy...we need you back!!!!!
Posted by Andrew at 12:44 PM
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April 13, 2006
Film Night
I just got back from an evangelistic outreach at Nação Santa, the congregation being started by the church we attend here. We got together at about four to go through the neighborhood passing out tracts and inviting them to come watch a film about the life of Christ--in keeping Easter. The film started, and I counted over ninety people in the little auditorium--the great majority of them unchurched kids from the neighborhood. I was happy to be able to use our video projector for the event (although the church would desperately like one of their own), and was pleased that the film gave a clear presentation of the Gospel.
After the event, I was talking with the pastor about the possibility of showing a movie every other week or so at the congregation. It would certainly be the main event in that neighborhood--most folks there could never afford to go to the Cinema that is across town anyway--and there are many good films available in Portuguese. Please pray with us about this opportunity.
In other news, Itacyara is gone at a ladies retreat until Sunday. Tomorrow Mikey and I have a swimming party planned, and then we will spend some time at a co-worker's house along with several seminary students. On Saturday we are going to the nearby town of Lavras da Mangabeira to present another Easter film.
Posted by Andrew at 8:09 PM
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April 12, 2006
FOCUS Team
This is the team from Fellowship Baptist Church that will be coming to visit us in May.
Posted by Andrew at 5:44 PM
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FIFA and Anti-Semitism
Living as I do in a soccer-mad country, I was very interested in the following article which my brother alerted me to. All in all, it is a dismal look at the attitude of the international soccer community. At the end, however, there is a bright spot which involves the greatest soccer player in the world today--who happens to be Brazilian. I have hi-lighted that part.
By Tom Gross
Outrage and disbelief as world soccer body condemns Israel, not Hamas
Israel is used to being singled out for unjust criticism and subjected to startling double standards by the United Nations, the European Union, much of the western media and numerous academic bodies. But now FIFA--the supposedly non-political organization that governs the world's most popular sport, soccer--is getting in on the act as well.
FIFA has condemned Israel for an air strike on an empty soccer field in the Gaza Strip that was used for training exercises by Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa martyrs brigade. This strike did not cause any injuries. But at the same time FIFA has refused to condemn a Palestinian rocket attack on an Israeli soccer field last week which did cause injuries.
With the soccer World Cup, which takes place only once every four years, just weeks away, it is a time of mounting emotion for the hundreds of millions of people across the globe who passionately follow the game.
As FIFA meets in the next few days to decide what action to take against Israel, the double standards involved could not be more obvious. Up to now FIFA, which sees itself as a purely sporting body, has gone out of its way to avoid politics, and has refrained from criticizing even the most appalling human rights abuses connected to soccer players and stadiums.
NOT A WORD ABOUT SADDAM AND THE TALIBAN
When Saddam Hussein's son Uday had Iraqi soccer players tortured in 1997 after they failed to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup Finals in France, FIFA remained silent. Uday, who was chairman of the Iraqi soccer association, had star players tortured again in 1998. And in 2000, following a quarterfinal defeat in the Asia Cup, three Iraqi players were whipped and beaten for three days by Uday's bodyguards. The torture took place at the Iraqi Olympic Committee headquarters, but FIFA said nothing.
Again, FIFA simply looked the other way while the Taliban used UN-funded soccer fields to slaughter and flog hundreds of innocent people who had supposedly violated Sharia law in front of crowds of thousands chanting "God is great". (Afghan soccer coach Habib Ullahniazi said that as many as 30 people were executed in the middle of the field during the intermissions of a single soccer match at Kabul's Ghazi Stadium.)
FIFA equally failed to speak out when soccer stadiums in Argentina were turned into jails.
AND CHILE AND CHECHNYA
FIFA's silence was no less deafening when, according to the International Red Cross, about 7,000 prisoners were detained (and some tortured) in Chile's national soccer stadium after Augusto Pinochet seized power in 1973.
Nor did the organization threaten Russia with sanctions after Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov was murdered by a bomb explosion at Grozny's Dynamo stadium.
As for the Middle East, FIFA refused to criticize the decision to name a Palestinian soccer tournament after a suicide terrorist who murdered 31 people at a Passover celebration at the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002. (At the tournament, organized under Yasser Arafat's auspices in 2003, the brother of the suicide bomber was given the honorary role of distributing the trophies to the winning team.)
FIFA also failed to condemn the suicide bomb at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa in October 2003 which injured three officials from the leading Israeli soccer team Maccabi Haifa.
ISRAEL IS DIFFERENT…
But then last week, FIFA finally found a target worthy of its outrage, and leapt into action. That target was Israel.
The international governing body for soccer condemned the Jewish state, and announced that it was considering possible action over the Israeli air strike last week on the Gaza soccer field that had been used for terrorist training exercises. The field, which had also reportedly served as a missile launching pad, was empty at the time; the strike itself came in response to the continuing barrage of Qassam rocket attacks directed at Israeli towns and villages.
Only a couple of days earlier, one of those Qassam rockets landed on a soccer field at the Karmiya kibbutz in southern Israel, causing light injuries to one person. Several other Israeli children and adults needed to be treated for shock. The attack was claimed by the Al-Quds brigades, an armed wing of Islamic Jihad. The soccer pitch is regularly used by children and it was only a matter of luck that there were not greater injuries. (Since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last year, several members of the kibbutz, including a 10-month-old baby, have been wounded after their homes took direct hits from Qassams. Israelis elsewhere have died after being hit by these weapons.)
… BUT NOT QASSAM ROCKETS
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Jerome Champagne, FIFA's Deputy General Secretary, who had personally condemned the attack on the Palestinian soccer pitch, refused to extend a similar condemnation to the attack on the Israeli pitch.
Champagne said he had discussed the matter with FIFA president Sepp Blatter and that a decision on what action to take against Israel would be announced soon. Champagne, a French national, also sent an official letter to the Israeli Ambassador to Switzerland. (FIFA is based in Zurich.)
A FIFA condemnation of Israel is no small matter. The incredible passions that soccer arouses in most countries around the globe seem to have few boundaries. For example, it was said that the only time the guns fell silent during the Lebanese civil war was during the 1982 World Cup matches.
Individual Israelis, outraged by FIFA's blatantly one-sided decision, have been sending emails to FIFA asking why "they care more about the grass on an empty soccer pitch than the human lives saved by strikes on the Qassam launching pads."
ANTI-SEMITIC BANNERS AND CHANTS
They have also asked where FIFA is when anti-Semitic banners go up in European soccer stadiums, and there are chants from spectators about sending Jews to the gas? And where, they wonder, are the FIFA sanctions against the Arab or Asian countries that refuse to allow Israel to compete in Asia?
Other questions have been raised, too — why, for instance, FIFA has moved games from Israel because guest teams were afraid to come to Israel, but has never banned any other national teams from playing home games on account of local Islamic violence. Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey were allowed to continue playing matches at home.
In response to some of this criticism Champagne — perhaps unaware of the phenomena of some radical Jews being at the forefront of whipping up hate against the Jewish state — wrote to the Jerusalem Post saying he couldn't possibly be biased against Israel because his wife was Jewish.
AP FAILS TO MENTION QASSAM ATTACK
In its widely circulated report on the FIFA condemnation of Israel, the Associated Press also failed to mention the Qassam rocket attack on the Israeli soccer pitch. As a result, and not for the first time, AP gave its readers around the globe an unbalanced impression of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The popularity of soccer ensured AP's story was used by dozens of news outlets — among others, Al-Jazeera, CBC News of Canada, and the Los Angeles Times. Only the Israeli press mentioned the Qassam attack on the kibbutz Karmiya soccer pitch, an attack which the Islamic Jihad website admits to carrying out.
"WE ARE NOT IN POLITICS"
The outrage felt in soccer-mad Israel at these astonishing double standards is all the greater since FIFA president Sepp Blatter has made it clear that FIFA should not become involved in politics. Following calls last December from German politicians that Iran should be banned from participating in the forthcoming World Cup (which starts in Germany on June 9, 2006) because of repeated Holocaust denial by the Iranian president, Blatter said "We're not going to enter into any political declarations. We in football, if we entered into such discussions, then it would be against our statutes. We are not in politics."
Indeed so emboldened does Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad now feel by FIFA's support that he announced last week that he will likely attend Iran's opening match against Mexico in Nuremberg on June 11. Holocaust denial is a serious crime punishable by a prison term of up to five years in Germany, but Ahmadinejad no doubt feels that powerful international bodies like FIFA will protect him.
A BLIND EYE TO DUBAI
Meanwhile FIFA (and other sporting bodies) continually turn a blind eye to boycotts of Israeli sportsmen.
In February, Tal Ben Haim — the Israeli national soccer team captain, who plays his club soccer for the English Premiership team Bolton Wanderers — was banned from joining his Bolton teammates for their training matches in Dubai. FIFA pointedly ignored this. So did Bolton despite the fact that the team claims to be among the leaders of the campaign to "Kick racism out of football" in the UK.
Only last week, another English club, West Ham, left their two Israeli players, Yossi Benayoun and Yaniv Katan, at home when they went to Dubai. FIFA naturally had nothing to say.
Whilst Israel is often slandered as an "apartheid state," (despite having several Arabs playing in its national team), Dubai has received no criticism for what appears to be a clear "apartheid" policy.
Indeed, were Israel allowed to compete against other Asian teams for a World Cup berth, rather than against the likes of England and France, the relatively strong Israeli team would most probably have been able to qualify for this year's World Cup.
RONALDINHO AIDS TERROR VICTIMS
Not all is rotten in world soccer. Some individuals still seem to know right from wrong. Last week, Ronaldinho, the Brazilian superstar widely regarded as the best current player in the world, donated signed footballs and shirts to Israeli child suicide bomb survivors, saying he hoped his gifts would "warm the hearts of the children who have suffered so much."
* * *
But FIFA, meanwhile, apparently thinks it is OK for Palestinian terror groups to continue targeting such Israeli children, firing missiles from the Gaza Strip, even though Israel has left the area.
Shame on FIFA. Shame on the AP. Well done, Ronaldinho. You demonstrate class on and off the field--quite unlike many of your counterparts in the worldwide soccer community.
**I seldom get this worked up over an article I read. I just sent an e-mail to FIFA asking for an explanation. I am waiting for a response. If you would like to send an e-mail as well, here is the address: contact@fifa.org
Posted by Andrew at 4:20 PM
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I'll Have That Litigation With Pepperoni, Please!
One thing we have here in Brazil is a...um...creative legal system.
Ananova - Pizza award for humiliated worker
The Brazilian aviation authority has been ordered to pay £10,000 and a slice of pizza to a disgruntled former employee.
A court in Sao Paulo told Infraero to pay the compensation to the ex-worker who claimed he had been humiliated by his boss.
The worker, who did not want to be identified, said his manager nicknamed him 'bin cleaner' for retrieving a slice of pizza from a bin.
The judge ruled that the former employee deserved compensation for the humiliation of the nickname - and also a slice of pizza.
Judge Eduardo Vieira de Oliveira told UOL: "The slice of pizza was to make the boss think better the next time he wants to make fun of someone in the work place."
Posted by Andrew at 8:41 AM
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Early Morning?
I was reminded this morning of the difference that exists between American and Brazilian cultures when it comes to time. I put the truck in the shop on Monday, and was told it would be done by "early morning" on Wednesday (today). I popped into the shop at 8:30 (which is not really that early for me), and was told that the truck would be done by noon.
Hence, early morning=noon.
Posted by Andrew at 8:14 AM
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April 10, 2006
Top Fish
This video goes out to my friend Rich, the fishing maniac. The narration is in Portuguese, but you should have no trouble seeing the flying fish jump over (and into!) the boat.
Oh yes, and that IS the theme from "Top Gun" playing in the background.
Posted by Andrew at 11:57 AM
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The (Brazilian) Orkut Phenomenon
This morning I took the neighbor's kids to school along with Mikey. On the way we started talking about Orkut. I had an Orkut account for about a year and a half before coming to Brazil, and when I arrived I had about 30-some "friends". In the few months since I have arrived, the number has more than doubled. And it is only that low because I don't spend that much time there. My neighbor has been on for a couple of weeks, and has over 100 friends.
Today, an article appeared in the New York times, portions of which I have reprinted below:
A Web Site Born in U.S. Finds Fans in Brazil - New York Times
By SETH KUGEL
Published: April 10, 2006
RIO DE JANEIRO Ask Internet users here what they think of Orkut, the two-year-old Google social networking service, and you may get a blank stare. But pronounce it "or-KOO-chee," as they do in Portuguese, and watch faces light up.
"We were just talking about it!" said Suellen Monteiro, approached by a reporter as she gossiped with four girlfriends at a bar in the New York City Center mall here. The topic was the guy whom 18-year-old Aline Makray had met over the weekend at a Brazilian funk dance, who had since found her on Orkut and asked her to join his network.
Orkut, the invention of a Turkish-born software engineer named Orkut Buyukkokten, never really caught on in the United States, where MySpace rules teenage cyberspace. But it is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon in Brazil.
About 11 million of Orkut's more than 15 million users are registered as living in Brazil — a remarkable figure given that studies have estimated that only about 12 million Brazilians use the Internet from home. (And that 11 million does not include people like Ms. Makray, who clicked on Hungary as a nod to her heritage, or someone named Mauricio who wrote in Portuguese but jokingly registered as being from Mauritius.)
Expect Brazilian Portuguese dictionaries to add "orkut" to upcoming editions. O Globo, Rio's biggest daily newspaper, refers to it without further explanation. And the Brazilian media routinely measures the popularity of music groups and actors by the number of user communities dedicated to them on Orkut.
"Surto," a popular comedic play showing in Rio de Janeiro, is peppered with references to Orkut. And the site's jargon has entered the Brazilian lexicon, like "scrap" (pronounced "SKRAH-pee" or "SHKRAH-pee"), meaning a note that one user leaves in another's virtual scrapbook for everyone — including jealous boyfriends and girlfriends and curious suitors — to see.
But the sheer popularity of Orkut, which people can join by invitation only, has had several unexpected consequences. Almost as soon as Brazilians started taking over Orkut in 2004 — and long before April 2005, when Google made Orkut available in Portuguese, English-speaking users formed virulently anti-Brazilian communities like "Too Many Brazilians on Orkut."
...
In general, though, Orkut fanatics seem undisturbed by illegal activity on the site, which most of those interviewed said they had never come across personally. They were more interested in finding long-lost classmates and friends, one of the site's most lauded abilities. Schools, workplaces, even residential streets have "communities" joined by people who have studied, worked or lived there.
And everyone has stories of romance foiled by a telltale posting. Ms. Makray once found the page of a man who had flirted with her in a club. "He hadn't told me that he had children or that he was married," she said. "I discovered it on Orkut."
Erika Laun, 23, checks Orkut every day from work to keep an eye on her boyfriend. "When we were first going out," she said, "a girl who liked him was always sending messages and making fun of the messages that I sent him." The rival's sister, whom he didn't even know, helped out, sending messages like "Hey big boy, love you, 1,000 kisses."
"I was really angry," Ms. Laun said.
No one quite knows why Orkut caught on among Brazilians and not Americans, although the fact that it is an invitation-only network might explain why it exploded in Brazil. In a 2005 interview with the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, Mr. Buyukkokten said it might be because Brazilians were "a friendly people," and perhaps because some of his own friends, among the first to join the network, had Brazilian friends.
Fernanda Leon, an architecture student eating at a Middle Eastern restaurant here with her boyfriend, said she thought Brazil had gravitated toward Orkut because of the country's inherently social culture. "Brazilians really want to interact with other people, both old friends and new people," she said. She has 379 friends on her network.
Mr. Nunes de Oliveira of SaferNet stressed that he was only against the illegal uses of Orkut. "It's a fantastic tool, an excellent service," he said. "We do not want it gone."
The school my son attends has an official Orkut community, the Seminary has a non-official one. I get at least one invitation a day to join communities of people who happen to know another person. These become mini-fan clubs.
I have personally found Orkut to be a good way to get in touch with friends I have not seen in some time, and also a good way to remember people's birthdays. However, many here take it to the extreme. My neighbor told me of a classmate of hers who loves Orkut so much she actually starts shaking in anticipation as she is about to log on. As for me, I find talking to my friends face to face to be much more rewarding than reading what they say on Orkut.
Posted by Andrew at 10:18 AM
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Exciting Plans Update
Accoding to a note I just recieved from Jim Leonard, director of our seminary, it looks like plans are moving forward for the formation of a "college of theology" and the subsequent accreditation of the school. Praise God!
Posted by Andrew at 7:25 AM
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April 9, 2006
First Brazilian in Space--the Video
Col. Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian in space, has landed safely. In his honor, I would like to present this short video tribute (not of my making). It also has cool background music!
Posted by Andrew at 1:40 PM
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April 8, 2006
More on Chavez
While we are on the subject of Hugo Chavez, I thought I would post these videos to show the type of madman we are dealing with there in Latin America. Perhaps it is because I just finished reading The Gathering Storm by Winston Churchill, but I find these to be eerily reminiscent of the rhetoric of pre-war Germany and Italy. Chavez even looks a little like Mussolini!
In this video, Chavez issues a direct challenge to President Bush--whom he refers to as "Mr. Danger"--calling him a donkey and a murderer, among other niceties.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan forces prepare for war. The soldiers interviewed claim they are preparing to defend their country against the US invasion--speaking as if it were a foregone conclusion. I would just like to remind everybody that Germany's re-armament before the secont world war was excused as being defensive in nature.
People who belittle my comparrisons of Hitler and Chavez might want to take a hard look at his anti-semetic leanings.
What does this have to do with missions or Brazil? As far as missions go, we have already seen that Mr. Chavez is no friend to missionaries. He is also investing heavily in Brazil, and courting the leadership to his side.
I am sorry for all the recent posts on Hugo Chavez today. I just have a recurring nightmare about a grand alliance of the Islamic nations and crackpots such as Hugo Chavez against Western Civilization as we know it, and particularly aganst Christians and Jews.
Posted by Andrew at 8:13 AM
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And Meanwhile...
The situation with our neighbor to the north continues to escalate.
BBC NEWS | Americas | US accuses Venezuela over attack
Motorcyclists chased the convoy for at least 10 minutes
The US has accused city officials of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, of complicity in an attack on the car of US Ambassador William Brownfield.
The ambassador's convoy was pelted with eggs, onions and tomatoes and chased by motorbikes for some miles by supporters of President Hugo Chavez.
US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said the attack had been condoned by the city government.
However, the mayor's office in Caracas denied any involvement in the incident.
The BBC's Greg Morbasch in Caracas said Mr Brownfield is accustomed to verbal abuse from supporters of the president but this latest incident is the first time he and his team have had objects thrown at them.
Mr Brownfield - who was visiting a low-income neighbourhood in Caracas to donate baseball equipment to underprivileged children - had recently stated he was concerned for his safety.
Diplomatic consequences
The US under secretary of state told Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez that if such an incident happens again there would be severe diplomatic consequences, department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Supporters of Hugo Chavez are said to be behind the protests
Mr Burns said the attack was a violation of the Vienna Convention and that the action was clearly condoned by the local government, the spokesman said.
US Embassy spokesman Brian Penn said the Venezuelan police escorting the convoy did not intervene to stop the incident.
"The motorcyclists were throwing things at us for at least 10 minutes, and the police did nothing... It was serious," he said.
Mr Penn claimed the incident was organised by the mayor's office in Caracas, which has denied any involvement in the incident.
"No official authorised by the mayor's office participated," Luis Martinez, a spokesman for Mayor Juan Barreto, told AP.
Officials said the incident was organised by local residents who wanted Mr Brownfield to leave the area.
Strained relations
Relations between the US and Venezuela have been strained for some time, and Mr Brownfield has faced protests at recent appearances.
The American embassy has also asked the Venezuelan government to improve security for the ambassador, saying it is legally bound to do so.
President Chavez has been at loggerheads with Washington, accusing the Bush administration of orchestrating assassination and coup attempts in order to get at Venezuela's vast oil reserves, our correspondent says.
But US officials say Mr Chavez is causing instability in the region with his fiery anti-Bush rhetoric and autocratic style of leadership.
I have been following the rise of Hugo Chavez for some time now, because I feel like he is having a detrimental impact on this region--and has the potential for making things very difficult for missionaries in all of Latin America. There are some very strong voices here in Brazil against him (one of which is Veja magazine--the most influential news periodicle in the country), but many more are being drawn to his anti-American, anti-Christian rhetoric.
Of course, as the Scripture tells us, "the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord...", but please be in prayer for Venezuela.
Posted by Andrew at 7:46 AM
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How in the World did THAT Get There?
This has got to have American and Brazilian officials alike scratching their heads.
Breaking News: Brazil: Police Find Missile In Favela - The Post Chronicle
Brazil: Police Find Missile In Favela
by UPI Wire
Apr 7, 2006
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 7, 2006 (UPI) -- Brazilian police Friday discovered an American-made missile in one of the city's most notorious "favelas," or slums, O Globo reported.
Police entering the Cidade de Deus (City of God) favelas were able to confiscate the weapon -- along with drugs and a homemade bomb -- after receiving a tip.
The make of the missile was not determined by authorities. It was said to be about 18 inches long.
The missile was supposedly going to be used in a revenge attack against a nearby police station, following the Wednesday deaths of three drug traffickers at the hands of police, O Globo said.
Posted by Andrew at 7:32 AM
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April 7, 2006
This Is For Those Of You...
...who have way too much time on your hands. You know who you are.
Posted by Andrew at 2:49 PM
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April 5, 2006
Student Prayer Requests
The following are prayer requests given by our students this week in regard to their practical ministries:
Taisa, a first-year student, and Elizabeth, a second-year student ask for wisdom in organizing their time.
Francisco Fabiano, a student from Itacyara's hometown of São Luís, asks for prayer for Hamilton, João, and Flávio--all of whom are recent converts and recovering alcoholics. He also asks for prayer for financial support.
Francisco Fabiano (same name, different person) is asking for prayer for choices he will have to make regarding his future ministry.
Marcos Paulo asks for prayer for a young man in his congregation who struggles with depression and has numerous family problems.
Hamilton would like us to pray for growth for his congregation, for the provision of a sound system, and for the people of the city where he works to recognize their need for Christ.
Edenilza is working in a children's ministry that is outgrowing it's space! She asks for prayer for the provision of a larger place of worship
Vitória is beginning a new children's program in her church called "Warriors of the Faith" and asks for you prayers.
As you go to your prayer meetings this evening, I would ask that you remember these students and their ministries.
Posted by Andrew at 3:51 PM
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April 4, 2006
Surprise!
This evening, after the AMEN (Missions Society) meeting at the seminary we held a surprise birthday party for Itacyara. It was a great success...except when it came to blowing out the candle!
Posted by Andrew at 7:44 PM
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Happy Birthday Itacyara
Today my lovely wife turns...well...a year older. I'm sure she would love it if people would drop her a line to wish her a happy birthday.
Posted by Andrew at 8:19 AM
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April 2, 2006
First Choir Presentation
I am pleased to present the choir of Peace Baptist Church in their first performance. I was very pleased with the way it turned out. The video is a little jumpy, but the quality of the singing comes through well. I feel like God was glorified through their ministry this evening.
Posted by Andrew at 10:09 PM
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New Film By Brazilian Director
Not too many people know that the director of this flick is a Brazilian named Carlos Saldanha. He was actually nominated for an Oscar for the pre-historic squirrel character. It may also explain the appearance of piranha in the clip below.
While we're at it, why not show another clip.
Posted by Andrew at 4:29 PM
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April 1, 2006
Prayer Request
I would appreciate your prayers for me tomorrow as I bring the evening message at our church, and perform the communion service. Here in Brazil, the evening service is the principal one, with the potential for many unsaved people to be in attendance.
Posted by Andrew at 4:17 PM
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Exciting Plans
This morning we had an excellent faculty meeting at the Cariri Baptist Seminary. One of the biggest items on the docket was the possibility of starting a "Theology College" which would run parallel to our seminary program, and be open to the general public ( whereas the purpose of our seminary is to train workers from Baptist churches here in Brazil). The advantages of this project would be tremendous:
1. It will allow us to be an accredited college. This in turn will open the door for our students to further their education at a university level, expand ministry opportunities into schools, law-enforcement, and other public offices, clear the way for us to be able to receive foreign students, and enable us to comply with laws that are being put on the books as to the issuance of bachelor's degrees.
2. It will extend the influence of the seminary to people of other confessions--or even to people of no confession. One of the most exciting aspects of this is that our teachers and area pastors will have yet another forum from which to proclaim biblical truth.
3. It will serve to subsidize the cost of the seminary. Because the "theology college" will run little overhead, and utilize part-time teachers, and because there is a high demand for such a school in this region, this has the potential of being a source of income for the seminary itself.
4. It will serve as a sort of training ground for future professors of the seminary. Area pastors who demonstrate particular skill in teaching at the "theology college" will be considered for positions at the seminary when current professors move on to other ministries.
Right now we are praying that God will supply the R$30,000 (about $14,000 at today's exchange rate) needed to process the paperwork with the Brazilian government. A third of this is needed by the middle of this month. If we are able to process this right away, we should be able to open the doors of the college by January of 2007. Otherwise, it will not be until 2008 or 2009. Please pray with us that God would supply the necessary funds. Should you feel compelled to contribute to this project, or if you would like more details, get in touch with me.
Posted by Andrew at 1:18 PM
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