Really a blast from the past

Today we will be heading home to spend our last few days of vacation time catching up at home. In the last week here, however, we were able to visit almost all of my aunts and uncles, as well as visit the graves of my ancestors in Spencer County, Indiana. In preparation for the visit, as well in conjunction with the geneology work of my mother's cousin, I got working on Ancestry.com to look up some names and dates of my mother's relatives. One thing led to another, and very soon I was totally hooked. I suddenly became a geneology junkie, staying up until 3AM, researching the family on both sides. Amazingly, the sides of the family we knew the least about were the ones easiest ones to get information on. I discovered our family goes way back in the history of the US - obviously among some of the first settlers, arriving int he 1600's in some cases. Our origins, on both sides, seem limited to Welsh, Irish and English - not diverging from the family stories. On some sides I only go back to about 1800, but on other lines I've gotten back to the 1400, 1500 and 1600's. It's a fascinating study on who we are. I know I have just touched the very surface, but I am so overwhelmed.
Considering that our family goes back to the earliest pioneer days of Spencer Co., it's not surprising to discover Mom and Dad have at least one common ancestor (if not two). It's been an interesting journey to say the least. It made me realize how much we "move-abouts" have lost. As I listened to Mom and my aunts and uncles talk, I thought about the 200 years all of these families lived on the farms on Indiana (even my married relatives have a long histories in the area). Now there is no one left in Spencer Co. and no more ties to the past. My cousins are all over the US. On this trip I saw a cousin I hadn't seen in almost 40 years and felt so strange as we talked about my counsin's grandchildren. I can't describe the sensation of being linked and yet cut off at the very same time.
After all of my very fine adventures, now it's time to return to the present. I have to say good-bye to my loved ones here and move on to my loved ones there. I'll miss my mom and sisters. As a friend told me one time, the only moments in which you are truly happy are on the airplane there - because you are anticipating seeing those you love. So off I go to leave and to see those I love.

Back to the past

Bet you thought I had forgotten how to blog! Of course, you know how vacations are - not inducive to sitting down and writing things on the computer. This past week we were in Canada, reliving our past. As someone said, it was almost like we had never left. At the left we are in front on our old house (which the new family has done wonders with), with our host family. Sunday João preached at the bilingual services and I was able to do the children's message. It really felt like old times.
It was a great feeling to see everyone again. Being able to fly in gave us a little more time (and energy) in Ottawa.
It was not only a delight to see old friends, it was terrific to make new friends as we met the new pastor of Eastview. We were so pleased to see how God had answered our prayers through this wonderfully dynamic family.
I know we gained a lot of weight, as we ate out almost every meal to meet with friends - breakfast, lunch and supper. Here we are (at left) at a breakfast date. I wish we had had more time to see people, but actually it was just about the right amount of time! Didn't want to wear out our welcome.
Our hosts, Sidney and Roberta, just opened up their home and made us feel like part of the family. One interesting thing is that it was the first time we have stayed with a family that has a dog and it helped me, at least, to learn something about how it is to live with a dog in an apartment. Of course, it helped that Pompeu was such a good dog.
We even enjoyed a Brazilian-style cook-out (churrasco) with some nice Canadian summer weather (although some days later the temp dropped to about 10 (45F)degrees and we almost froze to death.
When our plane circled over Ottawa, as we arrived, I was moved to tears by a vast wave of homesickness. As our visit went on, however, I came to a gradual sense of gain and not loss! That is to say, I was grateful for the five years in Ottawa and for so many wonderful friends (although I didn't get see or call all of them) and grateful for all the good memories. I realized, however, that all of our lives have moved on and that really is a good thing. I think I will be a better Brazilian because of this visit. It was an important time to look back so I can look forward with more joy. It was a visit of joy and not of sadness. Thank you, Lord, for a life well-lived.

He's Here!!! Yipee.

After 18 days apart, we are together again. I think you can see that we were happy to be reunited at the airport.
My whole family turned out and we had lots to talk about!
For a minute there, I thought he and my brother-in-law were going to fight over who would carry the luggage.
When João got in and caught his breath, then we had a mini, late birthday celebration for him. That was definitely fun.
After grabbing a bite to eat, I think he felt the effects of the looooooong trip and right now he is conked out. That's okay. Just having him nearby is good enough for me. I am glad we are back together again. Life is good. I think I understand even better the old song: "You are my sunshine. My ONLY sunshine!"

Ma Momma

Today was Mother's Day. For the first time since was 1992, I was with my momma on Mother's day. It was so much fun to wake up and give her a hug and a card and a gift. After church, we went out for lunch with Carol and Curt and Chuck. Then we were able to spend the afternoon together.
All that after being able to be at Megan's graduation last week and then spend a week at Jeri's house made the whole trip worthwhile. I am really enjoying being with the family. I am anxious for the next 10 days to pass, however, so that I can share this with Joao.
For so many years Mother's Day was not a day of celebration for me as I dealt with my own sterility. However, gradually God has taken that burden away from my heart and I have moved on.
I also know not everyone still has their mom or can be with her. I've spent 24 Mother's day without my mom, making today more special. For my friends who are childless or without their mom, I do hope that God will comfort your heart and He will give to you the ability to rejoice with others.

Sunny, sunny day

Even if I couldn't believe it a few days ago, it really all happened. Arrived in US on Friday afternoon, right on schedule. I was delighted when the trip was over and I was off of airplanes and out of airports. YEAH!!! It is a long 22 hours. On Saturday we got up bright and early to travel up to Ball State for my niece's graduation. It was also her birthday. What a day for her. We were 5 of us in the car so we didn't have much wiggle room. It was rainy and dreary and we were concerned about the outdoor at graduation at 10AM. Jeri says it has never rained on Megan's birthday, but I was skeptical that since I was present, the string of 26 years of good luck would be changed.
Nope, it was bright and sunny for the graduation (a little too bright and sunny at times). I enjoyed the band and the speakers. Got a little warm, but what else is new, right? After the group graduation, then we moved to a gymnasium for the jornalism school's graduation. At that part they called each graduate to the stage and we got to see her hooded with her master's degree.
Then the entire entourage took off for Indianapolis for a lovely luncheon (albeit late lunch at 3:30) and lots of talk around the table. What else would be expect from my family???? These moments when the entire family can be together are rare and I enjoy them. The last time I was with Megan on her birthday she was one year old and was licking icing off her fingers from sticking them in her Barbie cake. This was definitely a more sophisticated setting, although she's still my cutie pie.

I am glad I came in for the graduation. It's nice to be able to share in these "Kodak" moments. I have feeling they will be growing rarer as time passes. Speaking of Kodak moments, I am sorry but I am having a hard time adding a picture to this post, although I have over 100 of them. I forgot that dial-up connections are on the slow side.

Enjoy your sunny sunny day today, even if there is no sun in the sky - hope you feel it in your heart.

Up, Up and Away

I am looking at lists and more lists. Lists of the things I need to leave ready here in the apartment before travelling. Lists of people I need to talk to. Lists of files to copy. Lists of clothes to pack. Lists of things to do and buy. Lists of things I am supposed to buy for people in the US. I am listing very badly. (Sorry for the pun).
I can't believe I am going to be travelling in just two more days. Can't believe I'll be gone for almost two months. Can't believe I will be without my sweetie for 18 days! I can't believe I am going to see my baby niece (who was 2 years old when I came to Brazil) graduating with her master's on Saturday. I really can't believe how expensive the plane tickets were (talk about sticker shock). Can't believe I am might be heading up to Ottawa in June to see our friends there. Can't believe we have been here in Rio for a year already (but that must be true because this photo was taken on Sunday to celebrate our one year anniversary).
I am excited. Hope I get some sleep on the plane... that's a big hope. Guess I might as well get some sleep tonight in my own bed. There is just one more night in it. Cheers... hope you see you during my travels.

As Time Goes By

Take a deep breath. I am going to try to catch up on the last 3 weeks.
First of all, Easter was FANTASTIC. We had a sunrise service that everyone thought NO ONE would attend and in fact almost EVERYONE who is ANYONE was there. It was a great service, followed by breakfast (ah, you miss out when you don't live in the tropics - fresh mangos, papayas, watermelon, etc.) and then a 10AM service. Although the 10AM service was a repetition, in part, lots of people stayed through for the second service, so the church was full again!
That evening the Cantata, "HE LIVES" was presented to a full, packed out crowd. There were 200 in the orchestra and choir, but even so it really was Standing Room Only. The presentation was just fantastic. The surprise of the evening was João's solo. He was narrating and then at one point, he sang the introduction to the choir's piece. This was planned, but people didn't know it. They kept looking around to see who was singing! What a hoot. They didn't know he could sing and some choir members told me they were really nervous when they heard the pastor would be singing, until they heard him sing.
We were on a high from that experience for several days.
Then I began working with the family life group on the Couple's Retreat to be held at the end of June. We have booked a small retreat center that is quite charming. We have now hammered out most everything - from fees, to menus, to activities, to schedule to speakers. But it has been kind of consuming working on this. It is one of my favorite activities to work on, however. I love family/couple ministry. Since it will be the week we get back from vacation, I want to leave as much as possible ready - and the rest I can work on during vacation. We will only be dealing with about 60 people, but it's still a great deal of work. The photos, obviously, are of the retreat center.
In between getting this ready, I have also been madly working on getting ready to travel next week. I wish I could just snap my fingers and get on the plane, but there is lots to do before travelling. Just buying the tickets requires lots of research and time these days. In addition, I am trying to leave things organized here. Since I do the worship services, I am working on that for part of the time when I am gone. Today, I have a cook here at the house making about 40 meals to freeze so that João and Sissy will have food while I am gone. That is wonderful, but also required a lot of time to plan the menus and buy all the food. But the family will eat better when I am gone, than when I am here. Hahahaha.
I continue to do physiotherapy on my left leg, that is a little bit stubborn in terms of healing. I can now walk without pain, which is wonderful. Believe it or not, that consumes a lot of time, by the time I wait and wait my turn and then do an hour of PT.
We have had a number of deaths in our church lately and that has made us quite sad. It does remind me, that I too am on the way out. I mean I know that, but when you stand before the closed coffin and watch the families' pain, it is a much more visible reminder!
We have been so busy that even our little excursions to the Tijuca Forest have been put on hold for a while. We are really looking forward to seeing lots of nature and being able to breathe deeply while on vacation.
It seems that I must go and freeze containers of shrimp and chicken stroganoff and serve some shrimp/fish stew (muqueca) for lunch. So I am closing out this entry. As momma always says: "It's a great life if you don't weaken."

The Blue Lagoon

Today, our day off, we decided to make a daytime visit to the large "lagoon" (a salt-water lake) on the south side. We headed off to cross "under" the mountain in front of our house (via two tunnels) and there we were. I have actually only been there one other time (although I've driven by hundreds of times). We had just a great time. It is often described as a huge mirror, reflecting the mountains of the city. It is just that. They have managed to make it a very nice tourist area with lots of outdoor restaurants, where we ate some great fish ( a la Cleopatra). On the walking/biking/skating trail around the lake you get a 360 degree view of the Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado. If you look carefully, you can it in the background behind João.
After lunch, we met Elly and Bernardo (he is Elly's boyfriend, obviously) to go biking. Elly chickened out, since it had been 10 years since she had been biking! So they walked the path and João and I biked back and forth. We thought about doing a whole turn around the lake, but the kids were walking and we hadn't biked in almost two years.
Surprisingly, we all held up quite well. João and I didn't even get trembly legged. But then we only biked for 40 minutes and not even uphill. I didn't want to stress my ankles too much, either.
After all that effort, we figured we deserved some nice ice cream, so we enjoyed some (with a hot caramelized banana on top).
Since it had rained here yesterday, the weather was just wonderful. Not too hot and a nice bright blue sky. When we left, night was beginning to close in on us and Elly and I both felt chilly with the breeze coming in off the lake. It was a great way to spend our afternoon.
When we came home we stopped to see Marilene and Franklin and Bia, where I shared Easter Eggs with them. That is fun to do. Yesterday I took chocolates into the church staff (not a small task with about 17 people involved). Tomorrow I will be sharing with the workers in our apartment building (about 10).
I am especially looking forward to Sunday. We have three services at church. We have the 6:30AM, 10AM and 7PM. At the 7PM service we have a cantata with 200 participants (between choir, orchestra and drama). I can hardly wait to see "He Lives". I know it will be a terrific day because He is Risen. Yes, He is risen indeed. Hallelujah.

Ford Every Stream

Despite the odds, we are still at it. I mean to say, we are still walking in the Tijuca National Forest. Last week, however, I had a small... or perhaps large, setback as I got a little too happy about walking, too ambitious. I walked too long, too far and too uphill. I knew I was tired at the end of the walk, but the next day I knew something was wrong as my leg was swollen in an odd place - behind my ankle. Yup, you already guessed it, an injured achilles tendon. After lots of ice, some physiotherapy sessions (8 sessions left to go), it's much better and I am back to walking, albeit with much caution. I have to avoid hills and steps still and I am being very good about lots of stretching. I just couldn't stand the thought of giving up this paradise. It's like my own little personal link to complete sanity in an insane world. Those photos are from today's trail walk. We are always finding new little places that are loops and easy walking for me right now. I just can't get over the joy of seeing this beauty.
In a pragmatic way, neither of us really has time to do this. However, we have decided we don't have time NOT to do this for us. We both feel so much better, that we intend to plug away while we can.
It's been a really hectic week that has been hard on both of us and I think we need this time to decompress.
This weekend we both led part of the sessions for a Religious Education Congress that was held at our church, although not organized by us. It went very well and there were about 1000 participants, but we both came to the same conclusion that we will not be accepting anymore conferences. It's too stressful, in terms of preparation and trying to catch up on Saturday night. I was completely exhausted. I have been saying all along that my days as a religious educator are really over and this was a confirmation of that. It's good to move on and in new directions. I now know that when I feel totally drained and down after I do something, I am working on my own, not with God. It's hard to say no sometimes, but amazingly, it's getting easier. It's all about a long obedience.
Saturday night, despite my tiredness, I was at Bia's birthday party, which we held here in the party room of my building. She is Marilene's daughter. I can hardly believe she is six years old. I was there when she was born and then never got to participate in any of her birthdays. So this was a special moment for all of us- especially so since they are moving out of state in July. By the time we took our photo together, I was so tired I was hardly making any sense. In fact, I had already gone upstairs and changed clothes and we were cleaning up when we recalled that we hadn't done a photo together. Marilene had to work hard to do the decorations with a Dora Explorer theme, as this material is not available here in Brazil. In the end, it turned out to be quite cute. I think I am still in denial about the fact that they will be moving in July. That's definitely more than a stream I will have to ford and a mountain I will have to climb.

Light in the Forest

João and I are working on getting back in shape (together) and now that I am really over my virus, we tackled getting back to more regular walking last Monday. After a couple of discouraging days of traffic, noise and heat, he had the bright idea of driving up to the Tijuca National Forest. The temperature is much cooler there and it is so soothing to hear birds instead of cars. Now it seems we are addicted. We just keep going back, even though we have to drive 14 km to get there. We are trying out different paths and routes, all with caution, as there aren't many makers, so I have downloaded maps and instructions and we are taking only the asphalted or easy/well marked paths for now. Our eventual goal is to get in enough shape to climb the Tijuca peak, the highest peak in the Forest. It's not considered even a hard climb, just about an hour, with 117 steps carved into the rock to reach the top. I know, however, I wouldn't have the resistance to keep climbing right now. The other day, I took a look at the path and it looked pretty rocky and a pretty steady walk uphill. Today we did about a 2 mile walk, with a pretty steep incline and I my legs are very tired, so I know I have a ways to go yet. We found a nice little path in the middle of the woods that was very very easy for me (which I needed after the hike up). I was just disappointed that the swinging bridge was just way too swingy (it's actually broken) for me. There are no safety precautions here, so you just use your own good sense (or fear) to guide you.
We crossed a creek on one of the trails the other day, and as I walked on the rocks, one started to move on me. I was quite startled, but heaven only knows why because the water wouldn't even have covered my ankles it was so shallow.
I cannot begin to tell you how tranquilizing it is to see the green, smell the leaves, hear the monkeys and feel the wind. At times it is downright dark and chilly (I have gotten shivery a couple of times) and then you come to a clearing and see the sun come out. The beauty takes your breath away. I have taken that to be a metaphor to where I am right now. I must learn to enjoy the chill, so I can anticipate the thrill.
I will try to remember to carry a camera (along with water, towels, food, matches, etc.) so you can see some of the sights with us. I hope someday to even see the famous monkeys, sloths, quatis (relatives of racoons) on the trails. I don't care to see the snakes. I have seen glorious butterflies and birds, but it's always too dark or too quick a glimpse to photograph. Hope you enjoy the sites along with us and that you too have your Light in the Forest today.

At long last

Thank you for not nagging me that I haven't written anything for a long time. It's not that I have abandoned my blog (not this time, at least) or that nothing has been happening. Frankly, I have just been sick. Don't know with what, but wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy! It's been a month now and finally I can get out of bed in the morning without the sensation of lifting dead weight. Most days getting out of the bed was about the best I could do. I didn't have energy for anything, not even to watch TV. I suspect a case of the flu, with a nasty cough that has decided it likes me and taken up semi-permanent residence. Yesterday, however, I actually cleaned at the house and went walking, so although I was really tired at night, it seemed a more normal tired.
I like writing in English and my blog is basically one of my few outlets for that, so I have missed it. What energy I mustered these days, was for preparing meals, getting dressed (my family thanks me for that), my speaking engagements (incredible, but I had 5 speaking engagements during this period) and breathing! I had to turn in a book I have been writing (it's a Vacation Bible School), but I had to give up on that project and rework the publication date for January instead of July. I just couldn't do it.
Here I am again, however. I just have to write about our experience this past weekend. We flew up to Vila Velha (yes add that trip into my super high energy level!) where his parents live, so that João could perform a "wedding". It was just a fabulous experience.
Lest you think it strange I tagged along, let me explain that the couple had been a part of the young adults that I participated in and also led back in Vitoria (which is just across the bay from Vila Velha) back in 1984-1988.
João performed the ceremony because he had been invited to do their wedding back in 1986, when he was their pastor. Because of circumstances that were very sad, they were unable to marry in the church. They married at the courthouse, but she, in particular, always wanted a church wedding. Finally after 20 years of marriage, they decided it was time to realize that dream. So they invited us to be there and participate in the wedding. It was so so beautiful. Their 18 year old daughter was the ring bearer, their 16 year old son entered with the "bride" and their 10 year old daughter was the Bible bearer. Everything was like a dream, as it was so beautifully done.
There was even a wedding reception afterwards. I decided that this is the way to go. Skip all that expense when you are young and don't know what you want (or if the marriage will even last). Once you are established and know who you are and what you really want, then you do your church wedding. Everyone was so deeply touched, that there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Even my hard-hearted (hahahaha) husband who has done hundreds of weddings, was having to dab his eyes. By the way, in the photo of the reception, João is sitting beside a gentleman for whom he performed his very first wedding! The other couple are good friends of João from his very first church (back in 1977). She is the sister of the "bride". We do live in a very small world, don't we?
It was very warm (to avoid the "hot" word) and so we were thrilled there was air conditioning in the church, although with an outdoor reception, we did get in our fair share of sweating.
I have been struggling with the weather. There are days I wish I could teleport myself back to Canada. I have seen the -35 and found myself drooling. At times I feel like the heat is sucking the life out of me and I am dying. I don't mean to be over dramatic (okay, yes I do), but for me the heat is life destroying. I have prayed that I would adapt and learn to love the heat and stop complaining. That hasn't happened yet. I know I need to change my attitude, but when I get hot I just want to lay down and die! I have decided this is to be my thorn in the flesh and must learn for God's grace to be sufficient. To say his grace is not sufficient to learn to deal with the heat is to sin and deny God's grace is sufficient, so this is a really big issue for me. I know it sounds trivial, but you cannot imagine how hard it is for me to face even small day to day tasks knowing the temperature is over 100. This morning when we went walking at 8:00 it was a mere 85, with a heat index of 109. That's at 8 AM. Imagine 3PM! This is a huge, huge battle for me, so when you pray for me, pray about this, since it affects every single aspect of my life - physical, emotional, and spiritual. They guy who said "don't sweat the small stuff" didn't live in Rio, obviously. I am at a total loss of how to learn to live in joy when I am miserably hot. No that is not true. It truly is God's grace. God's grace to you.

The Living' Is Easy

Here in Brazil we "party hardy". Carnaval (perhaps better known as Mardi Gras to you) is actually only one day (Tuesday), followed by Ash Wednesday. But we manage to stretch it out to 5 or 6 days! João and I took off on Thursday, to head to Espírito Santo (state) where his parent's live. Along the way, we stopped in Campos to pick up Sissy and her boyfriend Junior. Even though it was a full day before most people would be travelling, the traffic was not good. That was compounded by a detour due to a fallen bridge. An 8 hour trip lasted 10 or 11 hours. So our first night at his parent's house we slept like logs - even without air conditioning!
The next day we headed out to the beach. Of course getting Sissy going is never an easy proposition, so it was almost noon when we hit a scaldingly hot beach. The sand was literally boiling hot - it blistered your feet! Since we hadn't been to the beach in years (I mean 7 years!), we had no equipment. We rented a beach umbrella and chair. I did have sunscreen. So I spent lots of time slathering on sunscreen and under the umbrella. Still, I did venture down to the water to cool off. Cool off I did, as the water was really cold. The waves were really rough, so as you can see by our photos, we often ran from the waves!
One of the beautiful sites were all the hang gliders (kite sailing) around us. A couple of them landed right beside us. Also we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch of "muqueca cabixaba"- which is fish stew made in Espírito Santo. Oh my that was good. By around 4:30 or so we were roasted enough (but not burned!) to head home for a shower. The sand and salt do tend to wear on you.
The next day we followed basically the same format. Only on this day Junior brought along a very large tent-like shelter and we rented two chairs. In addition we chose a spot with no waves. I spent most of the day in the water. Sissy and Junior rented a kayak and had a great time. It was REALLY hot and we all got just a little pink after 5 hours, but not really burned. I think it was from the reflection of the sun off the sand. It was so relaxing hearing the waves roar. I especially enjoy all the vendors that come around with various offerings. We bought coconut water, grilled cheese (they have little portable charcoal burners where they grill cheese on a stick), freshly roasted cashews (divine) and sunglasses ( I thought I was going to go blind with the glare). What a wonderful, wonderful day.
Sunday came and went, with two worship services and lunch at João's brother's house. We enjoyed the family time.
Monday we scheduled a family barbeque (churrasco) in his brother's garage. We had a total of 28 people present. I never was able to gather everyone for a good photo. On the trip up to Espírito Santo, I kept saying I wished we could all get together and so João made it happen. He bought all the meat, a cousin grilled it and everyone else chipped in with side dishes and drinks. We ate until we popped. On the right is the photo of the sausage grilling and to the left is João's mom serving his dad and his uncle (who is 96 years old!). One of the relatives (his brother's brother-in-law) turned 38 so we celebrated his birthday too. He is profoundly deaf, but João had two cousins who are also hearing impaired (one only slightly), so they translated for us and we all "sang" Happy Birthday in sign language. I hate myself for not photographing that! Afterwards the kids played UNO, some of the "old folks" napped, but João and his brothers (minus one brother who was on vacation) sat around and sang. As I was swinging in the hammock I listened and chimed in when I could (my repertoire of folk songs in Portuguese is limited), I was moved. The three of them sing so beautifully! I felt so satisfied to see the family having such a good time. I love to see people "in union" as we say in Portuguese! It was a very happy day for me.
All good things do come to an end, so on Tuesday morning we got up early and headed for home (minus Sissy and Junior who were going to stay until Friday) to avoid the Wednesday traffic jams. We had the road to ourselves enabling us to make a leisurely trip, stopping as we wished. We bought a stalk of bananas along the road and ate tiny little bananas for almost 8 hours. I am sure the car reeks of banana oil! We stopped and bought a special earthenware pot for cooking fish, as well as buying a footstool at another place. One of the landmarks on the way home is a mountain that is called the "Monk and the Nun". It has a legend accompanying it about an illicit affair and being turned into stone, etc. If you look carefully, you can see the monk (left) and with some imagination you can see the nun bowed to him. I have never gotten a shot of the rock formation and I was finally able to snap it, even at 60 miles an hour!
We arrived home by 4:30 or so, two tired puppies by the time we unloaded and unpacked. It was great to get away and it is good to be back. I know this was a long entry, but I thought you might enjoy our living easy adventures of Carnaval 2007. Did it make you want to come visit us????

My first visit to Maracanã

Saturday night a member of our church graciously ceded tickets for us to go to a soccer match at the largest soccer stadium in the world - Maracanã. Believe it or not after all these years in Brazil, I had never been to a game. That is really a crime, but I don't do well in the midst of tumult and huge crowds. Our friend knew this would be a calm night to go, and so made us the inrefusable (is that a word??) offer. We had a great time! It was a fun game, as we didn't care who won (in the sense that neither team was one of our favorites)and there was a very small crowd (11,000 as opposed to 100,000).
The stadium has just been remodeled, preparing for the pan-american games. It was a little on the hot side, so I got some water and just sprinkled it on me throughout the game. Also enjoyed a wonderful coconut popsicle. I felt just like a kid again. João remember to take radios so we could follow the commentary and know what was happening. We especially enjoyed seeing the father of one of the players (Sebatião Lazaroni, who had been the coach of the Brazilian soccer team) watch his son make one of the goals. I took my "cheapo" camera, but even so, you can watch a small snatch of the game and appreciate what a great time we had!

It's good to get out of the house once in a while, isn't it? Enjoy life and have fun.

Flowers in Floripa

You may not understand the title, but the reason for it is that the name of the city where we were for the last week or so is, Florianópolis, which loosely translated means Flower Capital... and Floripa is an abbreviation for the city. It is a totally beautiful city (the cleanest city I think I have ever visited) with great beaches. We travelled there, together with 1800 Baptists from Brazil, for the annual Brazilian Baptist Convention.
The photo to the left is a nice shot of João and I with Fausto and Dionne, our immediate predecessors at First Baptist in Rio. On our one day with some free time, we were able to do some sight seeing with them, as well as have a great visit with one of our church members who was on vacation there. They prepared a great meal for us and I actually learned to love oysters, which I had never eaten in my life. That together with the shrimp was yum-yum good. I especially enjoyed the seafood pilaf - squid and oysters and muscles and shrimp with rice. Don't you envy us? I ate till I nearly popped.
Most of the time, of course, was spent in meetings. Better than the meetings, for me, was the reunion with old friends after five years away from Brazil. At times it seemed impossible to even find our way to a seat as we were stopped every few feet to greet someone else. It was so rewarding - especially a long lunch with a pastor who had been a part of my adolescent group in Vitória back in 1984! I also had a long conversation with a single missionary friend here in Brazil. I was inspired by her work and reminded me how far God can lead us if we but follow his call.
I was very edified by two great messages during the convention - two out of five... I guess those aren't bad odds. Those two messages will stay with me a long time because I found them to be embued with the Word of God. I was, however, very discouraged with the format of worship and the quality of some of the messages. Made me feel like I don't belong in this midst anymore- or maybe I was born in the wrong century or something. I don't like street dancing in a worship service. I don't like musicians who talk for 10 minutes between songs. I don't like 90 minutes of singing before a one hour long message that is read. That's just me. I was discouraged by some of the politics and people who feel their face must be seen and their voice heard. I was discouraged by the HUGE financial debt of many of our institutions... and in many ways my feeling that denominational structure is a white elephant were confirmed. My heart was sick with some of what I saw and heard and I am still processing what I should do with this. I know with increased surity that denominational work is NOT the place for me and that feels surprisingly liberating after 21 years of such work. I am tired of institutions and fights over money. I just want to love God's people and help others discover how to serve God in their lives.
I am still on the journey to discover exactly what this really means. I received a number of invitations to teach or do leadership in children's work, but I responded by saying that this is no longer my area of ministry. That seems funny because I am so identified with children's ministry, but that was then, NOT now. It felt good to know I was being obedient in speaking the truth. (Those who know me well, know I struggle to say no to anything). God has confirmed this is where He wants me now. Being quiet. Taking a back seat. Contemplating. Praying. Watching and observing. I am a little anxious to discover what is going to happen, but he keeps telling me to wait. So wait I will. In time I know His dreams will become my dreams and they will be granted. For now, however, this is my circle of quiet.