A Glimpse into Brazilian Mentality

It's been a while since we've posted a blog - we apologize! We have got into the routine of daily life here in Brazil, and there's not always much different going on to inspire a new post.

Most of you who read our blog are familiar with Brazilian culture, but I wanted to share a few incidents that illustrate the Brazilian mentality. A couple weeks ago, we got into the car and drove up to the back gate that opens onto the road (our only way out). We were shocked to see the entire street had been dug up and the dirt and cobble stones were piled at least a meter high all the way across the entrance to our gate. There was no way we could get out with the car. David asked to speak to the man in charge of the operation and he told him that we had to leave because we had somewhere we had to be. The workers around us laughed and one of them said, "well, there's nothing we can do about that." David told them that they needed to advise the residents before digging up the street and blocking exits. (we ended up calling someone to give us a ride)

The road has been in a semi-drivable state since then until a few days ago when they dug things back up. Thankfully, our neighbor across the street was smart and befriended the workers, giving them water and such. He asked them to fill in part of road with dirt so he could at least drive in and out of his drive way. This benefited us too, as well as our church members who would have no other way to get their cars onto church property.

Today we left our house for a few hours and when we came back, wouldn't you know that things were dug up again and we couldn't get inside our gate. David called a worker over and explained our situation and after a few minutes, we had a path we could use to get inside. Who knows how long this will go on because Brazil is notorious for taking their time with such projects. As David told somebody recently, "That's Brazil for you. If things were any different, it wouldn't be Brazil."

Here's another story. Because of problems we've been having with people jumping over our wall and stealing our stuff and beating up our dog, we had an electric fence put up all the way around the walls surrounding our house. That was a situation in and of itself that I won't go into. After it was put up, we still had the problem of our gates being too short since the walls were raised for the electric fence. The space between the gate and the fence was too big and somebody could get through it, so we hired a guy to lengthen our gates. (in case you're wondering, our other gate isn't big enough for a car to get through -- otherwise, we wouldn't have the problem or getting in and out of our house) Back to the gate guy, David paid him part of the fee in advance at least two weeks ago. Everyday, the man would say he would be here at such-and-such an hour and everyday, he wouldn't show up. The one day he did show up, it began to sprinkle slightly and he said he couldn't work in the rain so he left and, you guessed it, didn't come back. I guess David went and talked to him and was pretty firm with him about finishing the job because yesterday morning, a few minutes before church, I heard loud banging on our front gate. It was the man with two of the gate extensions which he had brought over on his bike. I told him we had church in a few minutes and wouldn't be back until later. He said he wanted to go ahead and get started on the job since David was "aperriado" (annoyed/frustrated) with him. This was two weeks after he was supposed to do the job! So he left the gate extensions in our yard, promising to be back later on in the day. He finally showed up this morning and got the job done. Who knows how long he would have taken had David not kept after him.

I could tell you more stories, but then this post will get too long. :) It's not the easiest thing to live here in Brazil as adults responsible for our home and our family. We were just talking today about how we didn't realize a lot of things about Brazil when we were here as kids growing up. We still love it here, but we're still learning things about this country we now call home. Keep praying for us.

Camp

God blessed us with two excellent weeks of camp. A group of 14 came from West Cannon Baptist Church in Michigan. The theme was "The Rules for Life" based on the Ten Commandments. Pastor John Nixon's messages were excellent placing emphasis not only on the Ten Commandments, but also the practical implications of submitting to these commandments as God's authority and for our greater good. Many children and teens recognized areas of weakness and sought the Lord for help in specific areas. This past week, Bia repented of her sin and trusted Christ for salvation! Pray for her as she lives with her grandmother - a staunch Catholic. Many times she will not allow Bia to attend church. May Bia follow the Lord as a testimony of the grace of God.
You may know that we have a particular interest in camping ministry. These two weeks were good for me. I learned many things as program director, one of which is that I am only one person. It is really impossible to do it on your own, and to go that route is nothing short of absurd. God gave me a good group of counselors and musicians who took their role seriously. They were servants of the Lord and worked hard without complaints or issues. In fact, the look on the faces of the three girl counselors after they dealt with Bia was priceless. They were amazed with the power of God. They even offered Bia something in the canteen if she would rather not become a Christian. She refused it all and made herself clear with the desire to follow Jesus. The grace of God combined with the power of His Spirit is indescribable!
I am also extremely grateful for my wife! She has been a faithful help meet as well as mother and assistant to many of my needs at camp. She is ready and willing to give of herself and her ability an any role necessary. I am indebted to her and I thank God for 4 years of marriage as of this past Thursday.
Thank you all for praying as we have taken some follow up measures with the teens this year. They all jotted down a few things they learned during the week and placed them into an envelope and labeled it to their home address. I plan to mail those out in a few months as a reminder and encouragement to them! My prayer is that they will come to camp in January having had spiritual victory and maturity!
We currently do not have a camera, so if you would like to see some pictures and a running commentary of the two weeks, you can go to: http://stepbrazil08.blogspot.com/ This is West Cannon Baptist Church's group blog.

Current Events

We have settled down and our ministry is taking shape. The bulk of our time is spent in connection with the church we are assisting - Valentina Baptist Church. Tuesday evenings is evangelism and Wednesday evenings is prayer meeting. On Thursdays Sharon and I have tried to make visits to get to know the members and be of encouragement. On Saturday afternoon the men play soccer, and then Saturday evenings the men, women, and teens each have their own meeting. Of course there is Sunday's regular events and services.

I have an increased awareness of Communion as I have performed it twice now. Performing vs. participating has a humbling effect. Watching Dad perform it as I grew up was one thing. Stepping in as the leader in a congregation brings a great weight of responsibility! To realize that as a shepherd I am directly under the "Chief Shepherd" (I Peter 5:4) attempting to carry out His will for His church through this ordinance is no light task. Each communion my mind goes back to Christ and his disciples and I wonder why He would allow me to perform such a glorious reflection on the most incredible act of love ever! As a child, it seemed like Dad was always so joyful after communion. I understand now as this is the only possible response to such an event "as often as ye do this in remembrance of me".

Camp season is coming up and we are excited to help out there. We will host a teen camp, and a children's camp in July. A church out of Michigan will bring their youth group and the pastor will speak. The theme is "Rules for Life" based on the Ten Commandments. May the Lord use this camp to edify His church and bring souls to a saving knowledge of Himself!

What Gabriel Has Been Up To

Gabriel is adjusting to life in Brazil quite well. The Brazilians love him, especially because he's very chubby and white, "branquinho". I often have to stop when I'm out with him so that people can talk to him and ooh and aah over him. He usually gives a big smile and tries to talk back to them. Everyone at church loves to hold him and sometimes the younger girls even fight over whose turn it is!
It didn't take long for the mosquitoes to discover his sweet American blood! We quickly learned that he has to sleep under a mosquito net over his crib every night.


His johnny-jump-up is one of his favorite toys. We like it too, since it keeps him occupied for a bit while David studies and I do housework. He jumps all the time, even if he's not in it. If we hold him in a standing position, he uses our legs as a trampoline and continues jumping.We splurged and bought him a walker. At first, he wasn't quite sure what to do with it and would just play with the toys on the "dashboard." Very soon though, he discovered it could take him just about anywhere he wants to go and he zips around the house getting into all kinds of trouble. His favorite place to be in the kitchen if I'm in there is right at my feet. That or by the trash can, trying to pull the bag out.

Once in a while, Gabriel enjoys some cartoons on TV. It keeps him occupied for a few minutes but then he's ready for the next adventure.
His latest new adventure was going to the beach for the first time. At first, he wasn't too excited about being there. Everything was so different for his little mind to process! But he soon began to enjoy himself, playing in the sand, splashing in the water and even eating some sand before I could catch him! Oh well, it's good for the immune system, right?

It's not all fun and games though. Gabriel goes with us everywhere since we don't have anyone to watch him at home while we go out visiting. He is a good sport though and only gets a little grumpy if it's way past his bedtime. Here he is visiting a one-day-old baby at the hospital three weeks ago whose family goes to our church. He wanted to hold the little baby boy (Andre) and he stopped long enough to pose for a picture with Andre's big brothers, Mateus and Davi.


Bath time has become a favorite activity for Gabriel. He's very glad that we put in an electric shower head so he can take a bath with warm water. Even though it's hot here, taking a bath with cold water isn't the most pleasant thing and I was having to heat up a pot of water to mix with his bath water.

Sometimes he does take a break in his busy day to settle down and relax a little. Here he is enjoying my new hammock.


At last he's asleep! But then I'm tired too and take advantage to catch a little shut-eye with him.

Here at Last