The RoadtoBrazil Newsletter, posted 10/30/06

Hi Folks,

We are doing well, although I’m a bit late in getting this posted.

As you know, from reading my past newsletters, things don’t work here like they work there, and I’ve been working on getting a broadband connection installed in the house where we live for quite some time.

Twice, the appointed day for installation came and went, and I kept putting off the posting of this newsletter, waiting for it to happen so I wouldn’t have to pay for the internet time by the minute as is necessary for dial-up, and so I wouldn’t have to pack my laptop in a book bag and travel across town by bus to my friends house.

The good news is,

The Romance of the Mission Field.

Catchy title, HuH?

I hope it stirs visions in your head of great revival meetings and crowds of people getting saved, healed and delivered from the grasp of the evil of this world.

After all,that’s what we came here for, right?

And we’ve had a little of that kind of stuff. Maybe not “great revival meetings” but we’ve had some pretty good little ones. We’ve seen people healed, saved and delivered. We’ve seen the Holy Spirit give us the word, then confirm it with signs and wonders, amazingly enough, just like He promised He would.

And when the time is right, I’ll write about some of the meetings we’ve had.

It is, however, the other 26 days of the month I’m writing about now.

Reflections and stuff

There are times when the words literally fly out of my mind, through my fingers onto the screen of my laptop and I know that what I am writing is good, perhaps humorous, or informative, and I can’t wait to get to a place where I can share it.

Then there are times, (like now) when I can’t think of anything that I believe would be interesting to anyone.

When I have times like that,

Words, Busses and Cooked Chickens.

Words, Busses, and Cooked Chicken

Identity. Importance, Information, Intelligence, Influence; all these things and so much more are measured and judged by words.

Those of us who aspire to be writers, to paint a picture, to tell a story or to influence your perception of an event or object know the importance of words.

Public speakers can use the same set of words and portray something either negatively or positively simply by inflection and posture and intonation.

Writers can create unity or dissention in the hearts of those who read their work if they properly use words.

Words are one of a few things that set man apart from the rest of creation, and in fact the spoken word is so powerful that man, once bound by a common language, had that language scattered and confused by God Himself in order to diffuse a rebellion against heaven.

Being fairly comfortable with the English language, and having some confidence in my ability to communicate has not made our current adventure any easier.

Daily I discover the value of words and the disadvantage of not having the words to use in even the most familiar of circumstances.

Being a romantic at heart, and further,

friends and partners

Hi all.

As you know by reading the newsletters and blog articles, we’ve begun to find our place here in the northeast of Brazil

We are seeing some results of the ministry God has given us here, we are adjusting to our surroundings and we are finding out what it takes to live here.

The RoadtoBrazil Newsletter, posted 9/12/06

As with all things new, there is a learning curve to be negotiated. In our coming to Brazil we knew that we would encounter that curve and had many conversations about whether we were ready.

We did everything we knew to do in preparation, we studied the culture and the language as much as we were able with the limited resources we had available to us, and then launched into the unknown.

We’ve been here three times previously, but in short-term visits, you are never able to go past the stage where you are a tourist and visitor. Relationships are difficult to build, even with people as friendly and outgoing as the people of the Nordeste.

While it was no surprise to us

This is Why!! (sandra writes)

Why did I come here?

I see her lying there, her thin 11 yr old body under a sheet in the heat of the day, her hair disheveled, her long thin legs trembling.

I stood there beside her

Why Am I Here? (sandra writes…)

Too Comfortable.

I thought I was too comfortable with my T.V. and when I went to Brazil that would be my greatest challenge and the thing I would have the most difficulty with.

I was soooooo wrong.

if you read this article, please take time to read the following article, “This is Why!!” one is not complete without the other.

Take away the T.V. and the sound of

Family Camp II, Sept 7-9

Tropical winter rains greeted us Friday morning as the sun rose on the second day of Campo da Familias sponsored by Casa de Meu Pai and Igracia Agua Viva Anglicana. (My Father’s House and Living Waters Anglican Church)

(see photo stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/theroadtobrazil/sets/72157594280953390/ )

The focus of the camp was to introduce

Documents, PART THREE

GETTING OUR PAPERS,

A BRAZILIAN ADVENTURE, PART THREE

The Police.

It is possible that I am over-using the ‘guard with the gun’ illustration, but in every business here, especially those large enough to have ATM machines, there are armed guards. There are armed guards on the gates of most businesses, There are at least four different varieties of police, The Federal Police, the State Police, The Metro Police and last but certainly not least, the Tourist Police, all of whom