The End.

Well, folks, this is it. In a matter of hours, we will be on a plane headed back home. Okay, we'll be on a plane headed to São Paulo, then to the States, and eventually back home. What you are reading now will very likely be the final post on this blog. If I get a chance at our Dallas end meeting, I might post again, or maybe when I have a day or two at home to see everything from a different perspective. No promises, though!

Our last weekend has been a good one. Friday night was our final party. We had lots of pizza and games, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. A lot of our readers came to say goodbye, and we even got some neat presents! We also posed for so many pictures that my eyes still have dots in front of them. All of our readers were so great, and they all told us how much it meant to them for us to come and share our time and our faith with them. I'll miss them a lot, and I will continue to pray to God will keep working in their lives as He has during our time here.

Oh, and exciting news about Christiane! I think I told you before that she traveled to another state a couple of weeks back to take a test for a job. She was my very first reader, and my very last session on Friday was also with her. When she came to the party, she told me that she got the results from her test--and she got the job!! Actually, when she told me, she just said, "I win!" I am so happy for her. Not to be selfish, but it was really cool to have that kind of bookend to my experience here.

Today, we went to see the sunrise over the ocean. That's what we went to see, but we really saw some very nicely backlit clouds. Later in the morning, we spent some final time on the beach. The tide was very low, and we walked around on the reef. We found a spot where the waves were hitting against the side of the reef and sat near the edge. Let me go on record as saying that I thought it wasn't a great idea, especially for Kensey. The waves were pushing me around, and I'm a bit heavier than she is. But, to appease William, she decided she needed to join him out there, and I went along, too. That adventure lasted about three minutes, at which point a huge wave came and pushed us all along the reef for a few feet. William and I felt some pain, but nothing we couldn't laugh off. Kensey was destroyed.

Destroyed.

Okay, maybe that was dramatic. She cut up her feet a little, and got a nasty scrape on her elbow that will probably leave an awesome battle scar. But she's a tough girl. She walked it off, laughing the whole time. As bad as I feel for her, she refuses to accept my pity. Now she's got a story to tell and some Spider-Man band-aids to show off.

We spent the rest of the day at Dayanne's house with her and Pietro. We had lunch and dinner there, watched a Brazilian comedy, and played some card games. Kensey won first, I won second. I also learned that I'm not good at making sad faces, which I count as a strength. Dayanne and Pietro have been really great, and we've been lucky to be able to spend time with them over the past weeks. We'll really miss them!

Now we're almost all packed and ready to go. Tomorow, the church will have a big farewell lunch for us, and whoever wants to (including some of our readers, we hope!) will go with us to the airport to see us off. Kensey will probably cry, and I will try to find a couple of last-minute souveneirs.

In case you're interested, here's our basic schedule starting tomorrow. Our flight from Recife to São Paulo is at 4:30p. We will get into Dulles airport on Monday morning, then it's off to Dallas for our end meeting. We'll be there with a few other teams who are finishing their trips. We will stay there overnight and leave for home sometime Tuesday afternoon. There's a short stop in Atlanta (because who has direct flights anymore?), and then back in good ol' Memphis, Tenn. sometime late Tuesday, maybe early Wednesday.

Thank you so much again for reading our blogs and keeping in touch with us during our trip. We have been greatly encouraged by your love and support, and the trip wouldn't have been the same without you. We are all very excited to see you again!

Thank you for being a part of our adventure here in Brazil. I hope that you all will have similar opportunities, and that you'll let all your friends and family be a part of them, too. Wherever God leads you, know that everything done in Him and for His will can be an adventure. Whether He sends you to another country, another part of your city, or even to your church, Jesus has promised us life to the fullest in Him, and I honestly believe that God wants us to be able to feel like our lives are exciting and meaningful, even if we have a routine that we're used to. Never give up on the idea of adventure, and never doubt His ability to equip you for it.


PS- I did take a fair amount of pictures here, though nowhere close to Kensey. I'll probably put them in an online album soon, and you can see them then, if you're interested. I'll post the link here when I do that.

Penultimate

I feel like today was a very busy day, even though I've had several days with the same schedule. I guess because we're getting so close to the end, everything seems like more of a big deal. It's kind of like when we first got here, but now things are a little crazy because everything is about to change for us all over again.

I had a few readers' last sessions today. The last sessions have been sad, but really more awkward than anything. I don't know how to end it. It's just kind of like, "Well, thanks for coming by for the last six weeks! It's been a lot of fun!" Several of them will be at the party on Friday or at the airport on Sunday, so that will probably be a better situation for goodbyes. Just getting up from our reading session like normal doesn't seem very final, especially since we have so much left to do in the next few days.

Tatiane gave me a present today! She and Quesia (William's reader who is friends with Tatiane) bought us both shirts that look like the flag of Pernambuco (the state we're in). They were the two that came to church last week. Neither of them are believers (or maybe haven't thought about it all that much), and we're very glad that we have been able to share the Word with them. Pray that God will equip the people here to continue His work in them, and that they won't stop asking questions.

Tomorrow is our last day of reading, as well as our last party. It's going to be very weird not having the same responsibilities anymore, especially since I don't have any solid responsibilities lined up when I get back home. I think it will be good for me to have a few days to relax and process the trip, but I can't really say I'm looking forward to it. I just don't know what to expect, and I'm going to miss this place and the people. Even though I'm sad to leave, I am excited to see what God has lined up for me at home.

Speaking of which, if anybody knows of a good job for a recent college graduate (it's official--my mom said my diploma came in the mail yesterday!), I'm open to suggestions.

For all my friends and family, I do look forward to seeing all of you again! Especially if English is your native language. Thank you again for all your love, support, and prayers while we've been gone. Oh, and if you don't get a souvenier, it's probably not because I forgot you, just that I ran out of money before I found anything you would like. And if you're Kensey's family, just pick one from Kensey and pretend that it's from me. :)

Tomorrow is a big day! Pizza Party!

Sweeping the Clouds Away

Today is a bright and sunny Brazilian day! No hint of rain, and everyone is all dried off from the past two days. Yep, things are back to normal here in ol' Recife.

Eliane is my last reader tonight at 5:00p (we end early on Wednesday because of church). It's her final reading session. :( Our work here really is ending. Over the next two days, we'll be saying goodbye to lots of people. Not everyone will show up to the party. (--or will they?!... No, they won't.) I am glad that God has been using us to reach His people here, and I know that His work in their lives will continue, even if our part is done. But it's still sad to say goodbye to everyone!

Okay, enough depression for one post. We went to the beach on our lunch break today. How awesome is it that I can even say that? Saturday is our last day off, and we might just spend it relaxing on the beach with some açai one last time.

If you want to see something cool, go look at Kensey's first post and then the last few posts with pictures of us. You wouldn't even know those were the same people if they weren't on the same blog!

If you want to see something cooler, stay on my blog. It's just cooler overall.

The Final Countdown (Ba-na-naaa-nuh! Ba-na-na-na-nuhhh!)

The past two days have been rainy and slow. Yesterday, it rained all day long! It was the first time we've experienced that kind of rain here. Usually, rain comes for a few minutes, then it clears out. Our rainy days up to this point have been on-and-off with some sunshine mixed in. But this was a Memphis rain. A hard, drenching downpour for hours and hours. Of course, that meant that some of our readers couldn't make it. Not that they didn't want to come, but traffic is so bad here when it rains that it takes some of them hours to get here. But we still did all the work we could, and those that could make it had very good sessions.

Today wasn't rainy all day, but it comes and goes. The sun hasn't come out all day, though, and I think that has stopped everyone from recovering from yesterday. Pray that we have a bright and sunny tomorrow so everybody can get back to normal!

It's really starting to set in that our time here is almost over. Some of my readers only have one session left. It's hard to believe that we have to go back to the States. To me, it seems like we have been here for much longer than six weeks, but in a good way. We have gotten to know several people here well, and we are comfortable spending time with them. We have also gotten used to our living arrangements and how things work in daily life around here. I will have a hard time using water from the faucet when I get back home. I'll also get a sudden craving for suca de graviola or cajá or some delicious Guaraná, but, alas, there will be none to be found.

We decided that our final party on Friday will be a pizza party. We wanted to have a talent show, but everyone's too shy to perform! Hopefully, we can convince Dayanne to play her violin and David to sing, but most of the time will probably be spent playing games and having fun with the group. That's fine with us--last week's party was a lot of fun!

Sunday, the church is having a farewell lunch for us, and everyone is going to see us off at the airport. We are hoping that as many of our readers as possible can come, because we want to see them before we head back.

I have one last reader tonight (Ronaldo), and then it's back to the apartment for dinner and some much-needed sleep. One week from tomorrow, we'll be back in Memphis, Tennessee!

PS- My sunburned arms are peeling. Gross!

Missing Pictures

I know I haven't kept my promise about the pictures, but I have a good excuse. Kathy made an unplanned visit to the States, and she took her laptop with her. That's where I had all my pictures so far saved. I haven't uploaded them again (or any of the new ones I've taken), because I am very impatient. And don't tell me that Kensey has done it, because she uploads pictures three times a day.

This weekend, we spent some time with a few of our readers. Since this is our last full weekend before we leave, it was really good to be able to do that. Yesterday, after our reading sessions to make up for our day off on Monday, we went to a movie with Dayanne and Pietro. We had our first (but not last!) Brazilian bus ride! It was pretty much what you'd expect, except there's a cashier sitting there when you walk on, and the bus flies down the street about 6 inches from obstacles such as other buses and pedestrians.

The movie, by the way, was The Happening (or Fim Dos Tempos, as it's called here--"End of Times"). I know this isn't a movie review blog, but I'll just tell you anyway. Don't go see it. If you want to see it, wait for it to come out on DVD. But if you never see it, you're not missing out. This is coming from a huge M. Night fan. I don't know what he was thinking, but this is is worst movie so far.

Today, we went with Everton, David, and Thalles to their home city, very close to Olinda. We actually rode the bus through Olinda on the way. It was beautiful and historic, from what we could see out of the bus windows. Then we spent the day at Everton's house. His mother made us a delicious lunch, and we went down the the beach. Kensey found two dead crabs. Her hands probably still stink.

After that, we hung out at Everton's house until it was time for church. There were lots of people there, and we went to what seemed to be a service for younger people. Today was their Valentine's Day (Dia dos Namorados) party. We had a couple of people translating for us, and it was fun to watch. They played a few couples games, and some people told their stories of how they met. Everton's sister sang a song she wrote for her boyfriend (awww). She has a beatiful voice, and he was very happy about his song!

Thalles and his dad drove us all the way back to Boa Viagem. That was very nice of them, as it's about 40 minutes from there to here. Now, we're all very tired. Tomorrow starts our last week of work. It's very strange, and it hasn't sunk in that we'll be leaving here in 7 days. I'll let you know when it does.

Happy Father's day, dad! I tried to call, but it was busy. Love you!

Masters of the Universe

This was my reading schedule last week. We have a break in the middle of the day because our readers come in the morning and late afternoon/evening. As you can see, most of mine come later. This wasn't my busiest week, but it's pretty normal. I took a picture of all three of ours, but I didn't want everyone else to be embarassed because they had so little work to do compared to me. Ha ha. Ha.

Actually, we're all pretty busy most days, and our schedule never actually happens as planned. People show up for surprise reading sessions, readers cancel, schedules get mixed up, it rains. All part of the exciting, ever-changing world of mission work!

Yesterday, we had a little bit of a scare about our visas. We noticed before we came here that our visas were only for 30 days. Our trip is for six weeks. In order to get an extension, you have to go to the consulate (or whatever that place is) 3 days before your visa expires. For us, that meant yesterday (since we were in Porto de Galinhas on Monday). So, we went with Lee and Enaus. When we arrived, we were informed by the guard that you can't wear shorts in the building. Guess which two Americans were wearing shorts? William and I waited outside while Kensey went in with Lee.

While we waited, we saw lots of people coming in and out, and none of them were wearing shorts. However, we did see a big American guy with a tank top and lots of tattoos. If you're keeping up with the rules about Brazilian federal buildings at home, remember:

Shorts, unacceptable. Sleeveless shirts, totally fine.

When Kensey came out with Lee, she said, "We have to leave tomorrow." I stared at her in disbelief. Then she started laughing. Yes, that's right. Kensey got us. She played a little prank, and it worked.

By the way, here's a picture of Kensey telling me to turn off the camera.

Anyway, Lee and Kensey explained that it was all fine. Even though our visas from the States said 30 days, they had been stamped for 90 days. Well, mine and Kensey's had. William's customs officer was obviously paying close attention, because his was only stamped for 30 days.
So, he had to go back today (with pants) and get an extension. But he got it no problem, and we're good to go for the rest of our trip!

Right now, we're listening to a CD of songs from Northeastern Recife that João, one of my readers, made for us. It's great! So far, it's what you'd expect if someone told you they were going to play a CD of traditional Brazilian music. We don't understand a word of it, but it's fun to listen to!

My sunburn is slowly going away and revealing the bronze skin of some sort of mythical hero. Okay, it's not much different than it was before, but the burn is getting better. And in case any of you are wondering, no, I have not learned capoeira, and, yes, I am sad about that.

PS- I told William about this and he thought I should put it on my blog. One of my readers was talking about Lazarus and how, after a few days in the tomb, he was starting to stinketh. She was trying to explain how he was starting to decompose, and she wanted to say that we was turning into a skeleton, but she just said, "He will become... Skeletor." If that made you laugh like I did, you had a great childhood.

Not My Type

I complained about using a funny keyboard here, and Paul Skidmore wanted to see a picture of it. This is the Brazilian keyboard at the school. I don't know if they use this all over the world or only in Portuguese-speaking countries or what, but it takes some getting used to. The most obvious change is the Ç in place of the semicolon/colon. That doesn't affect much, though I do use semicolons more often than you'd think. The biggest annoyance is the apostrophe/quotes. Can you find it? It's waaay up in the corner, next to the 1. I don't know how many times I've typed a tilde instead of an apostrophe. A close second place is the return (Enter) key. It's shaped all funny to make room for the extra keys, and you have to stretch farther to hit it.

I can see how it's handy for typing in Portugese, though. It's very helpful when I want to type words like açaí or Guaraná.

Yes, that's really it for today.

Burned

I was going to post this on Saturday, but I ran out of time. All these PICTURES just took too long to upload. I haven't been on a computer since then, so this is a belated post. Hopefully, the PICTURES will make up for it.

Friday night (after our reading sessions, of course), we had our party. It was Game Night.

See? Told ya.

We had a lot of fun. First we played Uno with the people who helped us set up while we waited for everyone else to arrive. I officially declare that game So Not Fair.

Before the party!

Kensey realizes she's about to play against me in Uno.

Then, we played Pictionary, Catchphrase, and a couple of other games. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, even though some of them couldn't understand what we crazy Americans were talking about. We really enjoy spending time with our Brazilian friends. They're a lot of fun, and they're always smiling!

Everton proving my point

Kensey and me, as drawn on the Pictionary board by Pietro

Saturday morning, we got up very early to go play with some awesome kids. The Torch mission group is in town for a few days, and they (along with the Faulkner men's soccer team) were having a game day for kids at the camp where Torch is staying. It was kind of crazy with all the kids running around, but they loved it. It rained a bit, but they didn't seem to mind. I think some of them actually preferred playing games in the mud than in the sun. I may lose man points for saying this, but those kids were cuter than should be allowed by law.

This guy would be a felon.

Child Sits on Balloon by K. Harris. Pixels on computer screen.

Red team rules!

Kensey with a tiny Brazilian

William and Kensey stockpiling the ammunition

Catching water balloons on sheets

On the way home, Randy bought some fruit from street vendors for us to try. One was pinha (PEEN-ya, as in piña colada). It wasn't my favorite, but it made me really want some pineapple. The other was pitomba. Pitomba is basically a giant seed that really wants to be a fruit. It's like sucking on a slimy rock. You're supposed to just kind of get as much fruit as you can off of it and spit out the seed (which is about the size of a large marble). Unfortunately for me, as I was trying to eat it, the seed shot like a bullet to the back of my throat, at which time I promptly swallowed it. I honestly felt it fall into my stomach a few seconds later. If something bad happens to me, I want William to have my blog.

Sunday, we went to Porto de Galinhas again. This time, though, we got to stay much longer. The Torch group was planning to spend the day there today, and they invited us to come. So, we went down the night before. We spent the night and had a great time on the beach! Then, the group came and we all spent the day together. Most of them (and William) took a boat out to the reef. Kensey and I decided that we'd rather just relax on the beach for a while. The bad news is that I didn't take a single picture the whole time. Sorry, I was just way too relaxed. Luckily for all of us, Kensey takes lots of pictures.

By the way, I got sunburned. Ouch. No pictures of that, though you'll probably notice in pictures later on. No worries, though, I'll be fine. I have lots of aloe. It's my fault; I forgot to wear sunscreen. Sorry, mom!

In case you're wondering why Monday was a day off for us, we rearranged our schedules so that we could spend time with the Torch group. So we'll be working with our readers on Saturday. Some of them are very excited, because that's the day they have the most free time! We think it will be a great day for reading.

Oh, I almost forgot. Saturday, we met up with Dayanne. Her aunt is an awesome painter, and we wanted to see some of her work, so she brought some to Dayanne's house. We also had dinner with her family. It was so great! They were very excited to meet us, and they welcomed us very warmly into their home. I'm so glad we got to have that experience! Kensey and I both bought one of her aunt's paintings. They'll be great souveniers. If I think about it, I'll get a picture and post it.

Speaking of pictures, I hope this post satisfies your craving for photographs. Don't say I never did anything for you. But don't worry, I'll stick to my promise about this week. A picture a day, or my name isn't Jarrod Q. Taylor.

100% Real Juice

I know I say it a lot, but I really mean it: Thank you all for reading our blogs and keeping in touch with us. It makes us feel very loved to have friends and family that are thinking about and praying for us. Some days are harder to work than others, and your encouragement really helps us keep a good perspective.

PS, we love our mommies.

Yesterday was raaaaaaiiiiiny. At one point, it was raining so hard that Fernando, Dalmo, and I were yelling at each other just so we could hear. Fernando is Dalmo's uncle, and he doesn't want to read by himself, so they come together. At first, Dalmo was too shy to talk much, but he's starting to open up. It's always fun to have a younger person and an older one together. The older person has usually known English for longer, but the younger person has been learning it since they were little. So they stop every couple of minutes to correct each other's English. Sometimes, I don't even have to talk!

Last night, Sport played Corinthians. We watched the first 30 minutes or so of the game. It was on pretty late, so we didn't stay up to watch the whole thing. When we left, Corintians were up 2-0. I just searched online, and I don't speak Portuguese, but I think Sport lost 3-1. I already guessed that they lost, because I only heard the entire city shout once. If they had won, people would still be honking out the Sport chant on their car horns today. They do that anyway, but it's nonstop when Sport wins.

So you probably read about our juice on Kensey's blog, but here's my version of it. My favorite juices, in a very particular order, are as follows:

1. Graviola
2. Cajá
3. Mangaba
4. Acerola
5. Açai

For the record, açai pudding/mushy fruit stuff: delicious. Açai juice: less delicious. I think it's just because it's not as sweet, and we've been spoiled by our sweet juices. If there was some more sugar in it, I'd probably love it. Also, I left out uva (grape) because we haven't had it fresh, only from a carton. And I didn't drink pêssago (peach) and it's in a carton anyway. Only fresh blended juice gets on this blog.

Tomorrow is party night. We're going to teach our Brazilian friends a bunch of party games. We don't know how they'll respond, but we hope it will be a lot of fun! I'll let you know how it goes, and maybe even take a picture or two.

I know, I know. Pictures. I just can't remember. Okay, I'll make you a deal. No promises about this week, but next week, I'll post at least one picture per day. They will probably have nothing to do with whatever the post is, but at least you'll have something other than text. And I'll try to put some on sooner than that... if I remember.

The Early Bird Waits for Three Hours

So far, all of my readers have shown up today. I mean, really shown up. When we got back from our afternoon break at 4:00, two of my readers were sitting there. Since three o'clock. Their reading sessions were at 5:00 and 6:00. So, they had to wait while I had my 4:00 session with Myriam (who brought me Whoppers from Holland). After that, though, I went ahead and got them done early so they wouldn't have to wait any longer. What's really weird is that it rained all day, and that usually makes everyone late.

Reading sessions are much easier now that I'm used to talking to my readers. At first, I struggled to make conversation. Some of the lessons are easy to talk about for a while; others last approximately 30 seconds. Most of my readers are comfortable enough to talk now, so we can go beyond the questions in the book. It's great to get to know them better, and they seem eager to share what they think.

One downside I noticed today is that I'm used to hearing them talk. That's great for me, because I can understand them more easily. But they want me to correct them when they pronounce something incorrectly. Since I notice it less, I have to be very intentional about making myself do it. Sometimes, they'll ask if they pronounce a word right and I'll say, "Yes." Then they ask me to pronounce it and I realize that they weren't saying it right after all.

Hey, I've never claimed to be an English teacher, no matter what anybody from Brazil tells you.

I have been taking my camera around the past couple of days. I'll get some pictures up soon, I promise. Awesome pictures. Of things. And people.

PS- Kensey is putting lots of technology on her blog. Be sure to tell her how neat it is, or else she'll feel like she wasted her time. Don't tell her I told you.

Half Way

It's hard to believe we've been here three weeks. Not that time has flown by for me exactly; it kind of depends on the day. Sometimes, because we've done so much, I feel like we've been here for a year. But when I look at some of Kensey's pictures, I can't believe a week has gone by since she took them. It's a very weird feeling, and I'm sure it will only get weirder as the six weeks comes closer to ending.

This weekend, we went to Casa de Cultura, a former prison that's been turned into a tourist tra--I mean, shopping experience. It really is neat, and it is probably the best place in the area to buy souveniers. I also spent some quality time in my hammock, which I've decided is my favorite part of Brazil.

We're about to head to the school to start another week of reading. Some of our readers are moving along so quickly, it's hard to keep up with them! But with most of them, we've moved past only talking about the text and awkward silences, and we're actually having real conversations. By now, we know some of our readers pretty well (not their deepest personal secrets, but we've talked to them a lot). They are inviting us to things and helping with our parties. One of my readers said that her friend told her last year, "It's not good. Just when you're getting to know them, it's time for them to leave." I guess that's just the way it is with short-term mission work.

But it's not like we're leaving tomorrow. We've still got lots of work to do!

Meus Amigos

As promised earlier, here's a list of all my readers. I haven't seen or heard from one or two of them in a while, so I don't know if they're coming back or not. In any case, as far as I'm aware now, these are all my readers in no particular order.

Mirella, André, Ronaldo (oh-NAL-doh), Ludymila (loo-dee-MEE-la), João (jz-WOW... kind of), Diogenes (dee-OH-jen-eez... maybe), Myriam, Tatiane (tah-tee-AH-nee), Eliane(eh-lee-AH-nee), Christiane (cris-chee-AH-nee), Marcelo, Gilmar (JEE-ooh-mah), Adelson (ah-DEH-oo-son), Ivamar (AYE-vah-mah), and Pietro. Today, I have two new readers: Fernando and Dalmo. Also, don't forget Giovanni. He's not a reader anymore, but he could use some prayer.

Don't bet any large sums of money on those pronunciations. I ain't a dictionary.

Please pray for my readers!

Now in Color!

I have been blowing my nose a lot. Just thought you should know that.

I've had an icky cold-type thing all week, but it's going away, so that's good news. I hope this counts as my turn to get sick. Everyone else has had...other problems.

I had almost a full day of readers today. They all enjoy practicing their English a lot. Several of them have told me that they've lost some of the English they've learned because there's no one to speak it to. And if they practice it on their own, they don't know if they're pronouncing it correctly. We're very happy to be here to help them for free!

Today, I read with Pãulo, one of Kensey's readers who she didn't have an open slot for this week (he can only come at 7:00p). His English is very good. He is not a believer, but he was very excited to be in the LST program. He doesn't want to lose his English; he said it was very hard to learn it. He thinks Jesus was a good guy and agrees with some of the things he says, but he doesn't believe in religion. We talked about our foundations (building your house on a rock, etc.). He said his was his education and experience. I told him that God has to be my foundation. When a flood comes and I rely on myself, I'm always disappointed and confused and scared. But when I allow God to be my foundation, I always have something stronger than myself to build on after the storm. He said that he thought what Jesus was saying was a good thing. I pray that God will use this opportunity to reach Pãulo in a way that he hasn't been reached before.

Daniel and Everton, both readers of Kensey, have been getting me to read a lot of Portuguese lately. I can speak a few words. The most important include phrases like, "I speak a little Portuguese," "I don't understand," and "Where's my donkey?" Evidently, though, my pronunciation is very good. Whenever they get me to read, they say they are very impressed. Unfortunately, I rarely understand what I'm reading. That helps me empathize with my readers a bit, even those who seem to speak English well.

Kensey is also learning Portugese, but she's way too American to speak it as well as I do. :)

I finally thought to upload a couple of pictures. Nothing too relevant to tonight's post, but they're pretty to look at, nonetheless.

View of Recife from Danny's apartment. The beach is about six blocks thataway.

On the way to the beach, we saw lots of sugar cane. There were hills and hills of it!

My closet at Danny's house. Don't let it fool you, that's a sweet pad.

And of course, my beatiful team:

William just before his nap. His name in Poruguese is "Sehnor Grumpé Pants."

Kensey was attacked by bats on the stairs!

That was a lie.

Okay, so maybe not the strongest start for pictures. But I'll have some better ones later. If I ever remember to take my camera to the Escola, I'll try to get some of my Brazilian friends.

Thanks for your emails and comments! We miss you!

Juicy Fruit

Today is bright and sunny! It's a welcome change from yesterday. It rained aaalll day. The worst part (for me) about that is that I have been a little sick recently. Not the "oops-I-drank-the-water" sick, mostly sinus-type stuff, and it's worse when it rains. But I've got my trusty Sudafed, and today I feel better.

It also helps that I got more sleep last night. William and I have been adjusting to our new quarters since the move, and I missed out on some quality shut-eye for two nights. But we have things worked out now, so I slept like a bebê.

Today, I had two new readers (well, new for me... they were reading with Missy). Mirella owns a video store, and she comes first thing in the mornings so she can go to work afterwards. She was wearing an I Am Legend shirt today, so I decided we could be friends. Ronaldo works for the military. His English is very good, and he said he loves to come and talk about God's word. I had great conversations with both of them, and I'm glad they're my readers!

We are getting to know some of the people here better. Yesterday, Tatiane asked me lots of questions about myself. When we started talking about music, she was shocked that I hadn't heard of some of the big Brazilian stars. She gave me some musicians to check out: Fenini, Vanessa da Mata, Maria Rita, and Chico Buarque. If you get a chance to listen to them before I do, let me know what you think.

Ryan & Melissa (or whichever of them posted the comment) asked me earlier if I had tried any strange foods yet. I wouldn't say strange, but some things that are different. Like I said before, the juice and fruits here are awesome. Our favorite juices so far are cajá and graviola. We tried some açai a few days ago, and it was delicious. Evidently, it's very expensive in the states, but it's cheap here because this is the only country it grows in! I think Kensey's going to post about it on her blog, so see that for details. Lee (Danny's fiance) cooked us some couscous one day, and it was delicious. And of course, Guaraná, the best fruity soft drink this side of the Equator. I think the biggest thing here so far isn't the kinds of foods, just that they taste different from the States. If I get anything really neat, I'll be sure to share (the experience, not the food).

Speaking of food, it's lunch time soon! Thanks again for your comments and emails. We feel very special to know that you're thinking of us!

Adaptation

I've got a few minutes free, so I figured, why not post an update? I had Giovanni scheduled for 10:00a today, but Adriana and Lee just told me that he called and said he wouldn't be able to participate in the program anymore, because he got a job! He was coming here to practice his English while he was trying to get work in tourism, so I guess he accomplished his goal. I'm sad that I won't see him anymore, but I'm very happy for him--I know how much he wanted that job. He still has some questions about God that he hasn't quite sorted out yet, and he's still dealing with some big issues, so please pray that God will continue to push him to ask those questions and not be satisfied until he finds the answers in Him.

We're starting to get into a kind of rhythm here. That's probably not the best way to describe it. Actually, that's probably a terrible way to describe it. There's really not much of a steady pace at all. I could just delete that first sentence, but I've put so much effort into these following ones contradicting it. Let's say instead that we are finally adapting to the way things run around here. I think that's a good thing. It's not that we aren't surprised by anything or always know what to expect, but we were a little more stressed out when we had to deal with surprises in the beginning. Now we are learning how to quickly adjust to meet to needs of our work.

Please pray that God will continue to give us His strength and help us depend on Him to keep us going strong, and that we won't run out of things to talk about! :) Also, please especially pray for Kensey. She won't say it on her blog, but she has a busier schedule than William or I (not on purpose, that's just the way it worked out). She can definitely handle it, though, so don't worry. Just pray for a little extra endurance for her.

I want to let everyone know that my team is great. I am very thankful that I get to work and live with them. We work together well, and we haven't had issues yet that we haven't been able to deal with. We'll surely get annoyed with each other at some point during the trip, but overall, things are excellent. Our personalities and gifts really complement one another. Kensey and William are both hard workers and have shown great dedication to serving here. Missy also worked very hard to prepare us to be here on our own. Praise God that He chose us all to come here together!

I will be posting a complete list of my readers a little later on. Please pray for each of them, and for our team!

PS- It just started raining very hard. Where did that come from? Oí, Brazil!

Overdue

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I haven't been online in a few days. Guess I've just been keeping busy!

The rest of the week went well. Some of my readers come every day; others I've only had once so far. Starting this week, I'll have some of Missy's readers. Most of them are in the Acts book, so that will be a change (not too drastic though--same author, right?). Three of them--Mirella, Pietro, and Marcelo--already scheduled times with me for next week. I'll meet the rest later.

Some of my readers are really progressing. Even a couple of them who are basically fluent have become more natural in their speaking and can more quickly find the words they need to express their ideas. I'm glad they're getting the practice! Also, some of them are beginning to think about spiritual issues that they haven't really put much thought into before. God's working in their lives, and it's really neat to see that in progess.

Our first party was Friday. We had a lot of fun. William made a much better Elvis than I anticipated, even though he wouldn't dance or sing. He did eat a lot of peanut butter and banana sandwiches, though. Some of the Brazilians were afraid to try them--they thought the peanut butter was weird! They have something called peanut butter here, but it's nothing like what we brought from the states. I forgot to bring my camera (again), but you can see some great pictures on Kensey's blog.

Saturday, we went with some of the people from the Escola da Biblia to Porto de Galinhas (the Port of Chickens). It's been voted the best beach in Brazil several times. It was beatiful, and really enjoyed it. We can't always communicate the best with our Brazilian friends, but it's easy to have fun, even if you can't talk to each other very well.

Today, as you might have read before, things changed around here. First, Missy is gone to the states. As a matter of fact, she's probably getting into Memphis soon, if she's not already there. We went to the airport and saw her off. Our quartet's a trio now, but I'm sure she's happy to get back to her family. Thanks for all your hard work, Missy!

We also moved in to Randy and Kathy's house! We're very happy to be together under one roof. I think our team will only get stronger now that we are so close to each other and to the school. Our reading sessions will probably improve, too, since we won't have to get up quite so early to get ready and get over there. Anything that adds to my sleeping time is an improvement.

That's it for now. Sorry I had to cram so much into one post. I'll try to stay more current with this thing. Also, I've been taking a few pictures, so maybe those will find their way on here, too.

If you're not reading Kensey's blog, check it out! It's super neat!

Ch-ch-changes

First of all, Kensey told me today that I forgot to sign out of Blogger yesterday, and she implied that she did something to my blog. I think she's bluffing. If you notice anything crazy, please let me know.

And it will be crazy.

In the past couple of days, I've had some new readers: Tatiane, Eliane, Ivanmar, and Ludymila. They are all very excited about the sessions (like everyone else!), but their level of English conversation varies tremendously. But I'm glad to have them all!

We have some readers who can barely speak any English at all. If I was in their position, I would have decided about three minutes into my first session that I had come to the wrong place. Thank you for your time, have a nice life. But even though it's very difficult for them, they want to keep coming back. In fact, some of them just want to come more often so they'll get more practice. Of course, no matter how much they struggle, we're here for them. If my reader wants to come try his or her hardest for 45 minutes just to form a sentence, I'll help them as much as I possibly can. I won't lie, it's exhausting to have that kind of session. But seeing them smile when they say they are happy to be there is well worth my effort.

We have had some (just a few) people who signed up not show up for their sessions. That's very common in this kind of program. The weird thing is, most of them have been my readers. I'm not scaring them away--no one I've read with has dropped out--they just never show up for their first session. We still have plenty of readers, though. Missy is leaving this Sunday (she was only staying for the first two weeks from the beginning), and we'll adopt her readers. I'm looking forward to meeting them!

Another big change is that we're moving! When Missy leaves on Sunday, the rest of us will be moving in with Randy and Kathy. We're very happy about this, because it means our team will be together all the time, and William and I will be much closer to the Escola da Biblia. Danny has been a wonderful host to us, though, and we will miss living with him. He's shared everything he has with us without even a second thought. We'll still see him a lot and he'll hang out with us, so we don't have to be too sad. Thanks for sharing your home, Danny!

Everyone's reading sessions have been going very well, and we're all getting to know our readers better. Our first party is Friday. ("What's the theme?", you ask? Why, it's an Elvis party, of course. And yes, William has a costume. Expect some wonderful pictures.) We hope a.) lots of people show up, b.) we'll be prepared to entertain lots of people, c.) our readers and their friends will get connected with Boa Viagem Igreja de Cristo, and d.) everyone will have fun!

Please keep praying for us, our readers, and our hosts. And keep sending messages! We love to hear from all of you at home. Let us know how you are, too!

Sick Willy and André the English Giant

Well, today was eventful!

Last night, William went to the doctor because he had a bit of a fever. He didn't have enough clear symptoms to diagnose anything, though, so they just told him to do the plenty-of-rest-lots-of-liquids thing. So, he was out of commission all day. No worries about his readers, though; we got in touch with them and rescheduled. Hopefully, he'll feel better tomorrow. (PS- Every time I touch an air conditioner, it stops working. Ask me about that later.) The rest of us went to lunch with Theresa Boyce (that's her and Chris's last name), which was great--it's always good to see more of the city, and she's wonderful company.

I had some repeat readers (Christiane and Giovanni), as well as some new ones (Myriam, Ivanmar, and André). Christiane and Giovanni are both beginning to share more of their personal stories, and I feel like I am getting to know them very quickly. Later this week, Christiane is going to a different state to take a test to qualify for a job. Please pray that she will do her best, and that God will help her see His will for her.

Myriam is great. To be honest, I was a little afraid of her before she came today. She's 79, very small, speaks broken English, and is not afraid to tell you what she thinks in any language. At the information session, she got mad at me because I wouldn't let her sign up for more than one reading--she even told on me to Kensey and William! "Remember my name," she said, "because I want to come more than once a week!" I thought I wouldn't have any time for her later this week when she's available to come, and I wasn't looking forward to telling her that. But all was well, and we had a very good session. She's very sweet, but if we got into a fight, I'm pretty sure she'd win. There are already a couple of stories to tell about Myriam, but we'll save them for later.

André's session was very encouraging to me. When I came to meet him, he was in the process of making fun of Kensey, so I knew he and I would get along well. He is one of the most fluent English speakers I've met here. The amazing thing about that is he taught himself. Not from books or Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone, either. He watched American DVDs with English subtitles. No exaggeration, he speaks better English than some of my U.S. friends (albeit with an accent). We were hardly into our first lesson when he stopped me and asked, "Why are you here?" I told him there were two main reasons: 1.) Many people here want to speak English, but lessons are very expensive, and usually not very good as far as real conversation goes, and 2.) It gives me a way to share my faith in a way that won't turn people off, regardless of beliefs, and actually gives them a good reason to keep coming back to talk to me about it. He told me that he wanted to learn English because he feels like God is calling him to be a missionary in South Africa, and he just wanted to know that other people in the world believe that doing such a thing is worth it. I told him it was, and that God has blessed him greatly. Our sessions will be more like total bible studies (with an explanation of slang words and why there's a "gh" in "through"). Even after our first 45 minutes, I know God is going to use that to bless me, too.

I just ate some leftover Chinese food (don't think too hard about that), and I'm ready to sleep for a long time. By the way, if you've noticed Kensey and I assaulting each other on our blogs, please know that we aren't actually having team drama. You probably picked up on that, but I don't want someone calling LST and demanding she be brought home for making me cry.

If she needs to be sent home for anything, it's stealing babies. They're not souvenirs, Kens!

Defamation

Kensey just accused me of lying on my blog. I got a couple of facts wrong on my last post, but I went back and corrected them.

I may be a lot of things, Ms. Harris, but an Internet liar isn't one of them.

Cultural Weekend

Yesterday was a nice change of pace for our team. We all did our own thing in the morning (Kensey went to a children's program, Missy caught up on her communication to home, William walked down to the beach, and I just hung out at Danny's place. Some people just aren't cool with mornings, okay?) Then we met and went to the supermarket. It was great. We went to the big one around here, which is very much like a Wal-Mart, except with great fruit. Roberto (pronounced Ho-BEH-toh), our taxi driver, went in with us and told us what fruit was best to try. He stayed with us the whole time, and didn't even charge us for it! Brazilians, as a whole (from what I've been told), are very receptive to others and are generally very helpful.

That night, Kensey and I went to a bible study with Chris. It was in the home of a young lady who lives in one of the more impoverished parts of the city (which is actually where 70% of the population lives). The whole night was a great experience. Even though the study was in Portuguese, Kensey and I were amazed at how much we could actually understand (Chris translating also helped). Everyone was very warm. Even though they don't have much, they were just so full of joy. Their love for God and each other is very apparent. I hope that I can be more like them.

We also enjoyed spending time with Chris. He's been a missionary here for almost a year, and he is very passionate about helping the people, especially those that others often overlook. Talking to him was very encouraging and energizing.

This morning, we attended the Boa Viagem church service. Of course, we didn't understand a word of it (well, okay, maybe one), but we tried our best to sing along to some of the songs. Since it was the 10th anniversary, they had a big traditional meal. It was delicious (of course)--especially the fruit.

If you've never been to South America, it's worth it just for the fruit. Evidently, Brazil is famous for its juice. I can see why; every time I try I new kind, I wonder why I ever drink anything else.

Later today, we're going to a street market. I don't really know what to expect, but I'm sure it will be a new experience, just like everything else.

Tomorrow, our reading sessions start again! It's hard not to look forward to them; our readers are just so excited. Friday, Gilmar said that he wanted to have me over for dinner sometime! That will be great. I'll let you know if I get to do that.

I have some new readers tomorrow, but I don't know their names. I'll let you know when I see my schedule tomorrow.

Dinner with the Shorts (and Friends)

My reading sessions today went very well. Seeing how excited they are to be there is very encouraging, and it makes me feel very satisfied with all the hard work we've been putting into this trip for so long. I didn't have any new readers (a couple signed up late, but they missed their sessions), but I'll have plenty next week.

Tonight we had dinner at the Shorts' home with Danny and another missionary couple, Chris and Theresa (plus their far-too-cute 4-year-old daughter Sara... I can't remember their last name). After dinner, we had a short time of worship and Chris shared some encouraging words and prayed for us and the work we're doing.

Tomorrow is our first day of rest since we began working. We're going to take some time to get to know the city a little better. Kensey and I are planning on going with Chris to a bible study. It will be in Portuguese, but he promised to help us understand the gist of things. Sunday, we'll be worshipping with the local church that the Shorts are a part of. It won't be their normal Sunday (as if we'd notice)--it's the church's 10-year anniversary, and they're celebrating with a traditional Brazilian... something. We don't really know all the details, but it should be an adventure all the same!

It's been a rewarding week, and I'm thankful that we have some time to rest and refocus our energies. Have a great weekend! (And don't tell me ANYTHING about Lost. We can't watch it online here! Tragedy!)

Rice and Beans and Spaghetti

There's a little cafe-like place in the same building as the Escola de Biblia (where we're doing our reading sessions). It's great because it's so close, and the food is very good. Everything comes with rice, beans, steamed vegetables, and spaghetti. Yeah, evidently that's kind of a side dish here. The thing is, you have to tell them the day before if you're going to eat there, because each day they buy the food they'll need for the next day. We forgot to tell them yesterday, so it looks like we'll be searching for lunch somewhere else.

My reading sessions have been going very well today. Christiane told me that it's hard to learn English because not many people here can speak it well enough. But she is very interested in learning. I'm glad that we're able to help her for free.

Two new readers for me today: Gilmar (the second one) and Allan. I'll see them this afternoon. Bom tarde!

First Sessions (and Lots of Rain!)

Today we had our first one-on-one reading sessions. I didn't have any in the morning, but that gave me time to do some team errands and prepare for my busy afternoon.

One thing you need to know if you're planning on coming to Brazil this time of year: it's the rainy season! It rained off and on all day, but it's a different kind of rain than we're used to in the southern US. It doesn't really storm; it's more of a heavy drizzle, even when it's really coming down. Even the weather here is more relaxed than the States!

I had four readers today: Christiane (a young woman), Giovanni, Gilmar, and Andelson (all men). I think I had every level of English speaking skill today, from practically fluent to just learning. I even added a reader (another Gilmar) who spoke so little English that it took me 10 minutes to figure out that he hadn't already signed up to read! I'll be meeting with him tomorrow.

Everyone is very eager to learn English. They all wanted to sign up for as many sessions as possible, but I had to limit them to make sure I have time for my other readers. I've still got about 12 more people to begin reading with! Even though some of them don't understand the language very well, they are willing to struggle through as long as we are patient. But it's so fun helping them learn, I don't think we could get impatient if we tried! They're awesome to read with.

Some are Christians, some are not, some aren't sure. The great thing about the LST program is that they want to keep coming and talking to us even if they don't agree with us. For example, Giovanni is trying to improve his English for a job. He doesn't believe everything in the bible. He mostly likes the parts about being a good person, but isn't so sure about some other parts. But he's very interested in psychology; we had a discussion today about how Jesus thought. How cool is that?

God is doing a lot of work in His people in Recife. We don't even have to do the hard part. I was so nervous before my first session. I had no idea what to say or how it would go. But God makes it easy for us. All we have to do is be open to allowing Him to work through us, and He does the rest!

Thanks for your prayers! Please pray for my readers. And leave your comments! :)

PS - Please especially pray for me and my morning readers. I've never been much of an A.M. guy, but I hope their sessions won't suffer because of it. :P

Goooool!

Okay, I just had to share this.

There's a soccer game on TV (more than one, actually). The funny thing is, every time someone scores a goal, you hear shouts rising up from the entire city. Viva futebol!

Meet the Readers

I decided to start a blog to let the whole wide world know about what's going on during our mission trip to Recife, Brazil. Actually, I saw that Kensey did that, and I decided to steal her idea. You can see her fancy picture-y blog at kenseylynne.blogspot.com. I don't have pictures yet, but you'll see them once I take some.

We've been here for about two days now, and we're just getting settled in.

Yesterday (I think!), Randy and Kathy Short, the missionaries hosting us here, picked us up at the Recife airport. Our flights were all good, and we and our belongings were all in tact. Also with them was Danny, an American (from Nashville, even) with whom William and I are staying, and Christina, a native Brazilian hosting the girls. I was kind of hoping to stay with a Portuguese speaker before we got here, but after meeting Danny, I don't think we could ask for a better host! We spent the rest of the day resting and getting introduced to life in Brazil.

Earlier today, Randy took us on a short (Short?) tour of the city. We went to a national park with a great view of Recife. It really gave us a good idea how big the city is; 4 million people live here! Unfortunately, we don't have time to take a million readers each, but we'll do what we can.

Then we had our information sessions. We met the readers and told them about the program. They signed up for their first reading sessions. As of now, we have about 60 readers among the four of us! Some of them are almost fluent in English; others struggle to make sentences. Luckily, God speaks Portuguese. He knows what they need from us, and He'll provide it for them. One-on-one reading sessions begin tomorrow. I'll let you know how they are!

We're very excited to get started working with our new friends. I'll try to post updates as often as I can. Please pray for us as we begin reading tomorrow!