Church Anniversary

Last week João and I took off for Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, about 8 hours north of Rio. We went for him to preach at the 76th anniversary of First Baptist em Vila Velha, where he had been a pastor back in the 1970's. In addition, his parents are still members there. I was still feeling pretty punk when we headed out last Wednesday night, but as the weekend wore on, I grew stronger and was feeling much better by our return on Monday night.
It was nice to stay with his parents and have a good time visiting with all the nieces and nephews, as well as brothers and sister-in-laws. A real highlight for João was seeing so many people he had baptized 25 years ago, still active in churches of the region. There were lots of visitors who came out to see him. I also know another exciting moment was on Sunday night, when he baptized his nephew. Filipe asked his pastor if his uncle could baptize him and of course he accepted. He is 11 years old, but small for his age, like his uncle. These are the special moments in life that you would never like to miss. Since we live far from family, we feel privileged when we do get to share in such times. He is such a sweet little boy... as are all my nieces and nephews. Jessika, the youngest of the crew is just nine, and she came with us to all the meetings. She sat by me and I helped her understand the messages. Everyone thought she was our child! I threatened to just bring her home with me.
On a lighter moment, on Saturday we met up with a friend, Pastor Baltazar, and drove up to the mountains (about an hour away) to see an area where he goes for all his vacations. It was chilly, but fortunately we had some sunshine. We had a nice visit in the little town where folks don't ever lock their doors. I just kept taking pictures of the flowers. Can you imagine, orchids just growing wild? We visited the little Baptist church and there was a coffee plantation in the backyard! Have you ever seen the blossoms on coffee bushes? Look at the photo on the left and you will see them! Everything grows in Brazil... you put a stick on the ground and soon something is popping out of the ground. This flower was growing in our host's front yard. It did make me wish we could retire to some place like this... where I could have a house and a garden. Wouldn't that be "loverly"?
I just wish the gospel would grow like the plants. Some day I will wax eloquent on the ecclesiastical trends and my disappointments. But for now, I just want to enjoy our lovely trip up to Espírito Santo. It's nice to get far away from the "Madding Crowd" for a while!