November 30, 2009

And What Problems Would Those Be?

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com Paulo Roberto Vieira stumbled into the Brazilian consulate on L Street NW bedraggled, nearly broke and at the end of his rope. he had just ridden his motorcycle from his home town in southern Brazil to Washington, a monumental, 18,000-mile quest for official recognition of his life's proudest work, a vehicle accessory he says he invented. "I decided to come here because Washington is where things get done," he said. "Barack Obama is already solving so many other problems, how much more trouble would it be for him to solve mine?"

Talk back to the missionary: Is there a sermon illustration in this somewhere?

Posted by Andrew at 9:02 PM // Comments: 2 //
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Back to the Shack

Because of the intense popularity of William P. Young's book The Shack here in Brazil I recently published an evaluation of it on my Portuguese-language blog. This generated some interest, so I made a pdf version of it which is available for download here.

If you have any Portuguese-speaking friends who are reading the book, this might be a good resource to share with them.

Some have asked me to do an English translation. If I get time I will do that. For now, here is my summarized opinion:

The Shack is wrong on three main points: Who God is, what He says (the Bible) and what He does (salvation). Other than that, it's a great book.

Talk back to the missionary: Have you read The Shack? What did you think?

Posted by Andrew at 3:08 PM
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Brazil, US Face Off Over Honduras

clipped from news.yahoo.com Honduras' disputed presidential election is likely to set Washington against emerging Latin American power Brazil over whether to recognize the winner of a vote promoted by the leaders of a June coup. Brazil, which is increasingly flexing its muscles as its economy becomes more powerful, refuses to recognize the vote. "Brazil will maintain its position because it's not possible to accept a coup," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday.

Talk back to the missionary: Since Lula's government bet so heavily on the "losing horse", do you think there is a graceful exit strategy?

Posted by Andrew at 2:36 PM // Comments: 1 //
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November 29, 2009

Don't Try This At Home

Going through some archived pictures on my laptop I came across these taken by my Mom while she visited here two years ago.

This is actually a fairly common sight here. Back when I had a pickup I would often look in my rear view mirror to find a cyclist hanging on to the tailgate.

While I never pulled this particular stunt as a kid, I did do some pretty crazy stuff--like trying to play "chicken" with a parked car. The car won.

Update My friend Tom, who grew up here in Brazil, left his note on my Facebook page:

My younger brother and I used to do that all the time on our bikes while growing up in Brazil! Actually is was easier (in a way) to hang onto the metal handle at the rear door of a bus with your left hand. A bit more dangerous 'cause the bus drivers would sometimes see you through their rear-view mirror on the passenger side and then they would try to ease closer to the curb to wipe you out!!! We'd hold on and even tilt our bikes so the wheels were in closer to the bus and get as long a ride as possible before we were forced to let go. lol Brings back fun memories from my missionary kid childhood days!!!

Talk back to the missionary: What was the craziest thing you ever tried with a bike? What were the results?

Posted by Andrew at 2:30 PM
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November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving at the "Whizz"

This morning I was invited by the owners of a local English school--called "Whizz"--to give a talk on Thanksgiving. Of course this is a great opportunity to talk about the faith of the Pilgrims, which just happens to be our faith as well.

Yours Truly with the owners and staff of Whizz English School

There was a fringe benefit for Mikey, as the event was held at a local club which features several water slides.

Mikey, aka King of the Mountain

After the presentation the owner asked me to put my talk in written form so it could be published in their school newsletter--which I am doing right now.

Talk back to the missionary: If you were given a chance to talk about Thanksgiving to a group of people to whom it was a foreign concept, what would you emphasize?

Posted by Andrew at 4:19 PM
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November 26, 2009

Cruisin' Nathan

In our backyard...

Posted by Andrew at 5:45 PM
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Animal Kingdom in My Backyard

As I have mentioned before, our son Mikey is turning into a real nature photographer. Here are some of the pictures he has taken recently, along with the "scientific names" of the animals.

honkingus bigabus lizardum

snakis deadis thankthelordeum

babymonkeyum freeloadeum

Posted by Andrew at 3:58 PM // Comments: 2 //
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God's Sense of Humor

clipped from www.time.com In 1942, London's Westminster Abbey held Thanksgiving services for U.S. troops stationed in England. More than 3,500 soldiers filled the church's pews to sing America, the Beautiful and The Star-Spangled Banner — the first time in the church's 900-year history that a foreign army was invited to take over the grounds. It was an ironic gesture given the holiday's origins as a festival for pilgrims fleeing religious tyranny in Britain.

Posted by Andrew at 2:53 PM
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November 25, 2009

Meet Mr. Dog

Given to my sons by a friend, he has taken up residence in our lawn.

My big problem with dogs is that they don't stay this cute, or this small.

Posted by Andrew at 2:02 PM // Comments: 5 //
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How Effective is Appeasement?

This week Brazil received and official visit from Iranian president dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Brazil's president Lula tried his hardest to rationalize his reception of a brutal anti-semitic tyrant into this country. The ever-observant Riogringa has some very lucid commentary about this which you should read.

As for me, I will leave you with the following two pictures:

'nuff said.

Posted by Andrew at 9:39 AM // Comments: 0 // TrackBack: 0 //
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Analysis of Sean Goldman Case

clipped from riogringa.typepad.com I found this odd because of another case making its way to the Supreme Court, the Goldman kidnapping case. In the United States, a similar case involving a Cuban boy was resolved in less than year due to intervention on behalf of the executive branch, and the boy was returned to his father. But when Brazil had the opportunity to take a similar approach, the executive branch repeatedly stated that Brazil is a sovereign nation with an independent judiciary, which would be the sole entity responsible for deciding the American boy's fate. They also stressed the judiciary would perform its duties in a timely fashion, which has not been the case. Meanwhile, a similar kidnapping case with a Canadian child in Brazil was resolved in the courts--they ordered the child to be sent back to his father in Montreal--but the order was never executed, and the child is still in Brazil, over two years later.

Posted by Andrew at 9:36 AM
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November 24, 2009

Not Again!!!

clipped from www.breitbart.com Rio de Janeiro's posh beach neighborhoods lost power for hours in sweltering summer weather Tuesday, prompting restaurants to toss out spoiled food and business owners to send their employees home. "I've never seen anything like this," said Perreira, 40. "If this keeps happening, how can this city host big events? You can't leave Ipanema without electricity." Organizers of the 2016 Olympics are pitching host city Rio as a potential "power island" immune from blackouts, though experts have said the creation of such a safe energy haven would require large investments.

Posted by Andrew at 4:02 PM
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November 23, 2009

Book Review: The Well-Behaved Child

The Well Behaved Child by John Rosemond is, as the title suggests, a parenting book. In it the author enthusiastically challenges parents to return to the philosophy of their parents and grandparents, before the "psychobabble" of the sixties took over the culture.

Rosemond starts with a shocking premise: Children are bad. Of course this will only be shocking to those who have never had a two-year-old, or, if they have, it was so long ago they have forgotten what it was like. With this premise firmly on place, he proceeds to offer seven "fundamentals of effective discipline". Highlighted among these are the "agony principle" and the "godfather principle".

The Agony Principle

Parents should not agonize over anything a child does or fails to do if the child is perfectly capable of agonizing over it himself.

The Godfather Principle

To activate the Agony Principle, you simply make the misbehaving, irresponsible child an offer he can't refuse.

After laying down the basic principles the author provides specific tools and methods (charts, tickets, etc) to help implement the principles. The book is chock full of anecdotal accounts, mostly of parents who implemented the principles with impressive results. Rosemond's style is witty, conversational, and especially biting--especially when he touches on the prevailing "psychobabble".

Before receiving this book via the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program I had never heard of John Rosemond. Before I was halfway through the book I had decided to add every book he had written to my wishlist. As the father of an eight-year-old and a three-year-old, I began to see areas where my parenting skills needed honing. Of special interest to me was the section where he describes how to get your child to do his homework without a parent at his side. Others may find interesting the sections about potty training, tantrums and other, more bizarre behavior.

It was refreshing to read Rosemond's rejection of medicated treatments for behavioral problems. He is merciless in his criticisms of those who perpetrate this travesty on American families.

There are times when Rosemond seems to exaggerate in order to make his point. But his point--that American families need desperately to return to common-sense, biblical parenting methods--is well worth making.

If you have kids, or know someone who does, you owe it to yourself to read The Well-Behaved Child.

This review was written in participation with the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program. Though I do receive a free book for my participation, I am under absolutely no pressure to write a positive review.

Posted by Andrew at 5:34 PM
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Musical Interlude: Four Hands, One Guitar...

...playing Tico Tico no Fubá.

In my humble opinion, this style represents Brazilian music at its best. And these artists do it great justice, and have a lot of fun at the same time. You can learn more about them at their site.

HT Biblical Christianity

Posted by Andrew at 2:26 PM
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Mikey and the Monkeys

Our son Michael, who is a budding zoologist, has been thrilled with the monkeys that inhabit our backyard. He has been slowly making friends with them, and the photographing them. Here are some of the recent pictures he took:

Here the camera catches Mikey just as the monkey grabs the cracker from his hands.

A closeup in case you couldn't make out the little guy in the first shot. Obviously, this picture was not taken by Mikey. All the rest were, however.

The monkey (who has been named "Bob") eating his well-earned crackers.

Mikey got this great closeup of the monkey as it concentrated on the food.

I thought this silhouette shot was fantastic.

Posted by Andrew at 1:29 PM
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November 21, 2009

Final Puppet Program of the Year

This morning the Amiguinhos de Jesus puppet team went to the Philadelphia (as in "brotherly love", not theUS city, home of the World Series runners-up) Baptist Church. There we gave our last "performance" of the year.

Here are some pictures:

Renata warms up backstage.

Nathanael waits in eager anticipation. There were almost 70 kids in attendance.

Max and Junior warm up the crowd.

The puppeteers talk to the kids. Don't forget to pray for the Cape Verde project, for which fundraising has begun in earnest. If you do not know what I am talking about, click here.

Posted by Andrew at 7:03 PM
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Scenes from the Banquet

Our 2009 Seminary Banquet was a smashing success. The junior class outdid themselves in preparing and organizing the event, and the results were spectacular.

It also served as a "breather" for Itá and I, offering us the chance to relax a bit and fellowship with friends.

I did not get too many pictures, but the ones I did get were good:

Me with my date.

GQ, here we come!

Itá and "The Girls"

Posted by Andrew at 6:14 PM
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Brazil Gets an Auspicious Visitor

clipped from faustasblog.com About 1,500 people took part this Sunday afternoon, November 15, in São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, in a protest against the visit to Brazil of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad scheduled for November 23. The demonstration occurred in Arcos square and reunited several social movements and religious groups. Besides São Paulo, other nine Brazilian capitals also had demonstrations against the Iran leader’s visit. They happened in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais), Cuiabá (Mato Grosso), Curitiba (Paraná), Goiânia (Goiás), Manaus (Amazonas), Boa Vista (Roraima), Belém (Pará), Rio Branco (Acre) and Porto Velho (Rondônia). The protests were called by the Front for Freedom in Iran, a just-created organization that brings together pacifist, anti-racist and human rights organizations. Jewish groups and evangelical and afro-Brazilian leaders also participated.

Posted by Andrew at 4:32 PM // Comments: 0 // TrackBack: 0 //
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November 17, 2009

New Sharper Iron Review

Sharper Iron, the premier Fundamentalist forum, gave me the opportunity once again to publish a book review on their site. This time I reviewed "Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible" by M. Daniel Carroll R.

A big thanks to Aaron Blumer and the Sharper Iron crew for this opportunity. If you missed my first review you can find it here.

Posted by Andrew at 9:11 AM
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November 14, 2009

A Quick Visit to "A Cabana"

Hey everybody, I just posted my review of the book "The Shack" at my Portuguese language blog. You can see it here.

For those who are not Portuguese speakers, I might do and English version if there is enough interest.

Posted by Andrew at 9:00 PM // Comments: 1 //
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November 12, 2009

Cristo Redentor Blastoff

clipped from www.economist.com

Posted by Andrew at 3:58 PM
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November 11, 2009

Brazilian Attends Own Funeral

clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by turning up alive and well at his own funeral. Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves, 59, had identified him as the victim of a Sunday night car crash in Parana state in southern Brazil. What family members didn't know was that Goncalves had spent the night at a truck stop talking with friends over drinks of a sugarcane liquor known as cachaca, his niece Rosa Sampaio told the O Globo newspaper. He did not get word about his own funeral until it was already happening on Monday morning.

Posted by Andrew at 3:19 PM // Comments: 2 //
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Pictures of Rio Without Lights

clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Much of Brazil was plunged into darkness last night as a problem at a hydroelectric dam left millions without electricity. A few candle-lights provide atmosphere for residents who popped for dinner at the Copacabana beach portable food stands were perhaps the only outlets providing hot food

Posted by Andrew at 3:11 PM // Comments: 0 // TrackBack: 0 //
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Blackout in Brazil

Those of you in the US have probably heard of the blackout that hit southern Brazil last night. Rio Gringa has some great commentary about it. She also linked the following video, which shows the lights coming back on. Awesome.

According to news reports I am seeing it would appear that this was a minor problem which created a domino effect. So much of one, in fact, that the entire country of Paraguay was plunged into darkness.

Here in the northeast we felt no effects of this. I only found out about it when I turned on the computer this morning.

Posted by Andrew at 9:35 AM // Comments: 2 //
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November 4, 2009

Romaria 2009

As we have done every year since our arrival in Brazil, we participated last week in the Evangelism Outreach to the Romeiros (for previous years, see here, here, and here). This ministry is aimed at evangelizing one of the most difficult demographics in Brazil--religious pilgrims who have traveled many miles to worship Padre Cícero.

As always, I was in charge of the puppet team. This year we also had help from three young ladies who work with Child Evangelism Fellowship. I am indebted to them for the pictures below, as I was two busy to think about being a shutterbug.

Pilgrims come from all parts of Brazil, many in makeshift "buses" like the one above, called a "Pau de Arara".

This is the mother church, which is the center of activities for the pilgrims.

We set up our puppet stage beside this building: the Padre Cicero Elementary School. If he only knew...

Here is the puppet team. If you have not already, please take a minute to read about an exciting opportunity they have next year.

One of the CEF missionaries gives a Bible illustration, with help from our very own Bruno the Brazilian.

This was the scene every time we put on a presentation. All we had to do was start, and there was an immediate crowd.

It is a special privilege to be able to share the Good News with these wonderful people. Please pray with us that the message that was proclaimed last week will bear much fruit.

Posted by Andrew at 4:28 PM // Comments: 0 // TrackBack: 0 //
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