Brazil Trip Day 6
09/23/2010
Elder Alvear and I went back to the little shop to eat Egg Sandwiches, Passion Fruit juice and of course the Brazilian Coffee.
Missionary Ryan Thompson was to pick us up around 11 or so. Since I left Jonathan to sleep I purchased an egg sandwich to go and a cup of coffee. They didn’t have a cup to go so they gave us a glass with coffee. They cups here are very thin plastic, the napkins are small squares. Anyway, we went back to the Church Compound to pick up Jonathan and meet Bro. Thompson in Downtown Maceio.
Elder Alvear had to have some documentation notarized and sent to Bro. Raul Alvear, Jr. We drove downtown to the Notary and spent about 20 minutes there. When we left Bishop Alvear wanted to show us the hundreds of people around the corner. It was another area with street vendors and actual stores. The shoe store was displaying Nike, Reebok, etc tennis shoes for up to $599 Real’ each, or about $350 - $400 US dollars. Insane. The pricing in Brazil isn’t balanced, the prices can be all over the place from food to cars. One thing that we saw was a blind beggar in the middle of the way, playing a tambourine and a Ganza (similar to maracas). It reminded me so much of Biblical times being laid out right in front of us. Very say.
We then left and headed to the Church compound. We ate a very good Brazilian lunch made by Sis. Alvear and the ladies of the church of a beef, fried potatoes, “field” corn, rice and beans. Very good!
After we finished we loaded up the car and headed Arapiraca, Brazil where the Headquarters of Bro. Thompsons work is located. As we drove from Maceio to Arapiraca the scenery of the land was absolutely Beautiful!
Luziapolias and Teotonio and Vilela are the 3 villages we visited before we got to Bro. Thompsons home. The homes are in the back of the churches that we visited were clean but very poor. One of the homes when you walk from the sanctuary you walk directly into their kitchen/dining area. To the right you step outside, the homes are so close together there is only 3 foot wide walkway between the homes. When you step outside, immediately to the left is there restroom. Back inside you continue on to the kitchen, then to the left is an open are where the children sleep and to the left again is where the parents bedroom is. Even in the most uncomfortable situations and tight quarters, I noticed some Brazilians try to be as clean as possible. It’s not what many in America would consider to even be sanitary, but when you see these people, their lives, etc. one starts to look at things a little differently. By the way open sewage was running on the street right in front of the church. Oh and just about 2 or 3 houses down was a prostitute house. The immorality of this country is everywhere you look.
On our way out of this little village children were playing in the streets at one time I saw the children playing Futbol or Soccer with a little ball of sorts no bigger than a tennis ball, Bro. Thompson said they will use cans or trash of sorts just to play the game. Naked children were to the right playing in the streets as well. Fireworks were going off and I found out that means a politician is nearby, and there was. A former President of Brazil was in the area, this particular president was impeached back in 1994 for his corrupt ways. He was making a comeback and running for senate. As we were nearing the paved road you saw several people then on the other side of the road a helicopter had landed in the Sugar cane field. It was the senate candidate and people were in awe and were getting their pics taken with the helicopter and quite joyful at the whole situation.
When we left this village we took the Pastor of the church with us to a village on the way to Arapiraca. I was inquiring about all the sugar cane and how it tasted. Well the Pastor that was traveling with us had worked in the Sugar Cane field so we pulled over and he cut down a stalk. He intended to press it in the next town so we could drink the juice. As we were going through the streets of the little village heading towards the church service that was in progress, we stopped by a street vendor who carried sugar cane. He had a little motor that had a little contraption that you would feed the stalks of sugar cane into and it was crush each stalk. Out flowed a whitish/grayish substance that ran into a pitcher. The vendor filled our cups and we drank the sweet, thick waterish substance. Oh, just a side note, this particular vendor wasn’t the cleanest fellow I met. Before he started his motor he sort of tried to wash the unit down and then proceed. One thing I have learned to do when growing up and having to eat or drink in rather unclean places is to turn a switch in my mind to kind of block out what I’m eating or drinking. You really need to be able to do this in a 3rd world country at times. Just so you know there are times when it’s very difficult to do this. Anyway, I digress, he poured our ups from the juice and Jonathan said is sort of reminded him sweet tea, it sort of reminded me of a liquid medicine that wasn’t too bad. It had a different flavor and consistency than just about anything I’ve had before. Jonathan and I drank about a ¼ of a cup each. The Pastor that was with us drank his cup and he finished of my cup. They don’t think twice about drinking after someone else.
Church was in progress when we pulled up. This was a new work that was started in February of this year; I believe there were about 22 members. About 10 or so total in attendance since everyone else was at work. We had a tour of the church, front and back and here the Pastor and his family lived as well. The poor living conditions were not much different. We stayed for a few minutes to encourage and pray for this daughter work. Jonathan spoke here as well. He’s getting quite good at it! We left the Pastor of the previous town here and headed to Ariparaca.
Bro. And sis. Thompsons place is about 8 Km outside of town in the country. It sits on 14 acres, fruit trees, tilapia and fresh shrimp in tank. Fruit trees of several types, I think it is something like 30 plus different kind of fruit grows in its natural state here. They have a family that helps them who lived in the adjoining area of the home with them. They have a mule and cart for work around the farm, a couple of dogs, a black cat that will not leave and turkeys. Yes, wild turkeys that live around their home. In fact Wild turkeys are all over the area.
They were so embarrassed because the water ran out, especially Sis. Thompson and we told them not to worry at all. They tried to get a truck full of water delivered but it wouldn’t be there until morning. They do have a well, and I have pics on FaceBook that is their backup water supply through most of the year when it doesn’t dry out. Sis. Thompson said they have to use this if they run out of city water supply or if they run out of money and they cannot afford to have it delivered. By the way both the Alvears and the Thompsons are very frugal with their funds and neither family live a life of luxury. They make do with what they have and are most hospitable folks. I enjoyed staying with both families so much and a week just isn’t enough.
The Church was beautiful! Right above the baptistery hung a banner with a pic we had taken in Maceio welcoming Jonathan and I. It was another humbling experience. Jonathan Played drums in the service so he is officially a Brazilian drummer! He testified and he’s opening up quite a bit more! Several men were there from the drug rehab were in service. Bro. Thompson wanted us to stand up front so we could meet with everyone. Oh when you meet with everyone you get hugs from EVERYONE, men, women and children. A 95 year old man came up and gave me a hug and then started worshiping the Lord with all his heart, he jumped up and down and danced. It was beautiful and if I live to be 95 I too want to worship like that!
After the service the ladies gave me a bed spread to give to my wife (it was hand-made). This is a form of showing their appreciation and love. The ladies choral gave it to my wife. I could not stop the tears from flowing and was thinking they have so little yet they sacrificed so my wife could have the beautiful bed spread. All the ladies gathered around Jonathan and me for pictures.
Oh, the 95 years old man had lost his 1st wife several years ago and had remarried. He was married to his current wife, who was in her late 70’s, for several years and they acted like a young Honeymoon couple in love. He showed me the Red Tie he was wearing and was very proud of it. Bro. Thompson translated that Bro. Beard, the brother who just left to go back home in Mississippi, had given it to him. I had to give him my tie, so now he has a Red and Blue tie. It was so funny, Bro. Thompson tied started to tie it for him around his neck, then left it loose, then placed it on the elderly man’s neck. You would have thought he won a million dollars with the smile on his face. It was a priceless moment!
After church we went to Downtown Ariparaca to a juice and sandwich stand that served several different juices and sandwiches. Bro. Thompson recommended Suave. So we had the Suave and another drink, Frutas. The Suave reminded me of the old Orange Juilius back in the 70’s. It was simply the best fruit drink we have had.
Suave - (Swa-vay) melon, pinapple and orange. Did I tell you it was out of this world?
Frutas – Had SEVERAL different fruits/vegetables, but wasn’t as good as Suave.
The Suave was so good we had one to go. Bro. Thompson said “you’ll get a kick out of the way they make it to-go.” He was right, LOL, they had these plastic bags and doubled them up, poured the drink in with 2 straws and tied a knot at the top. That was it…. No cup. Ha!
We headed back home where I tried to access the internet on Bro. Thompsons laptop, but it took 5 minutes just to post an update on my FaceBook account. So in an sense we didn’t have internet access for the first time on the trip.
Elder Alvear and I went back to the little shop to eat Egg Sandwiches, Passion Fruit juice and of course the Brazilian Coffee.
Missionary Ryan Thompson was to pick us up around 11 or so. Since I left Jonathan to sleep I purchased an egg sandwich to go and a cup of coffee. They didn’t have a cup to go so they gave us a glass with coffee. They cups here are very thin plastic, the napkins are small squares. Anyway, we went back to the Church Compound to pick up Jonathan and meet Bro. Thompson in Downtown Maceio.
Elder Alvear had to have some documentation notarized and sent to Bro. Raul Alvear, Jr. We drove downtown to the Notary and spent about 20 minutes there. When we left Bishop Alvear wanted to show us the hundreds of people around the corner. It was another area with street vendors and actual stores. The shoe store was displaying Nike, Reebok, etc tennis shoes for up to $599 Real’ each, or about $350 - $400 US dollars. Insane. The pricing in Brazil isn’t balanced, the prices can be all over the place from food to cars. One thing that we saw was a blind beggar in the middle of the way, playing a tambourine and a Ganza (similar to maracas). It reminded me so much of Biblical times being laid out right in front of us. Very say.
We then left and headed to the Church compound. We ate a very good Brazilian lunch made by Sis. Alvear and the ladies of the church of a beef, fried potatoes, “field” corn, rice and beans. Very good!
After we finished we loaded up the car and headed Arapiraca, Brazil where the Headquarters of Bro. Thompsons work is located. As we drove from Maceio to Arapiraca the scenery of the land was absolutely Beautiful!
Luziapolias and Teotonio and Vilela are the 3 villages we visited before we got to Bro. Thompsons home. The homes are in the back of the churches that we visited were clean but very poor. One of the homes when you walk from the sanctuary you walk directly into their kitchen/dining area. To the right you step outside, the homes are so close together there is only 3 foot wide walkway between the homes. When you step outside, immediately to the left is there restroom. Back inside you continue on to the kitchen, then to the left is an open are where the children sleep and to the left again is where the parents bedroom is. Even in the most uncomfortable situations and tight quarters, I noticed some Brazilians try to be as clean as possible. It’s not what many in America would consider to even be sanitary, but when you see these people, their lives, etc. one starts to look at things a little differently. By the way open sewage was running on the street right in front of the church. Oh and just about 2 or 3 houses down was a prostitute house. The immorality of this country is everywhere you look.
On our way out of this little village children were playing in the streets at one time I saw the children playing Futbol or Soccer with a little ball of sorts no bigger than a tennis ball, Bro. Thompson said they will use cans or trash of sorts just to play the game. Naked children were to the right playing in the streets as well. Fireworks were going off and I found out that means a politician is nearby, and there was. A former President of Brazil was in the area, this particular president was impeached back in 1994 for his corrupt ways. He was making a comeback and running for senate. As we were nearing the paved road you saw several people then on the other side of the road a helicopter had landed in the Sugar cane field. It was the senate candidate and people were in awe and were getting their pics taken with the helicopter and quite joyful at the whole situation.
When we left this village we took the Pastor of the church with us to a village on the way to Arapiraca. I was inquiring about all the sugar cane and how it tasted. Well the Pastor that was traveling with us had worked in the Sugar Cane field so we pulled over and he cut down a stalk. He intended to press it in the next town so we could drink the juice. As we were going through the streets of the little village heading towards the church service that was in progress, we stopped by a street vendor who carried sugar cane. He had a little motor that had a little contraption that you would feed the stalks of sugar cane into and it was crush each stalk. Out flowed a whitish/grayish substance that ran into a pitcher. The vendor filled our cups and we drank the sweet, thick waterish substance. Oh, just a side note, this particular vendor wasn’t the cleanest fellow I met. Before he started his motor he sort of tried to wash the unit down and then proceed. One thing I have learned to do when growing up and having to eat or drink in rather unclean places is to turn a switch in my mind to kind of block out what I’m eating or drinking. You really need to be able to do this in a 3rd world country at times. Just so you know there are times when it’s very difficult to do this. Anyway, I digress, he poured our ups from the juice and Jonathan said is sort of reminded him sweet tea, it sort of reminded me of a liquid medicine that wasn’t too bad. It had a different flavor and consistency than just about anything I’ve had before. Jonathan and I drank about a ¼ of a cup each. The Pastor that was with us drank his cup and he finished of my cup. They don’t think twice about drinking after someone else.
Church was in progress when we pulled up. This was a new work that was started in February of this year; I believe there were about 22 members. About 10 or so total in attendance since everyone else was at work. We had a tour of the church, front and back and here the Pastor and his family lived as well. The poor living conditions were not much different. We stayed for a few minutes to encourage and pray for this daughter work. Jonathan spoke here as well. He’s getting quite good at it! We left the Pastor of the previous town here and headed to Ariparaca.
Bro. And sis. Thompsons place is about 8 Km outside of town in the country. It sits on 14 acres, fruit trees, tilapia and fresh shrimp in tank. Fruit trees of several types, I think it is something like 30 plus different kind of fruit grows in its natural state here. They have a family that helps them who lived in the adjoining area of the home with them. They have a mule and cart for work around the farm, a couple of dogs, a black cat that will not leave and turkeys. Yes, wild turkeys that live around their home. In fact Wild turkeys are all over the area.
They were so embarrassed because the water ran out, especially Sis. Thompson and we told them not to worry at all. They tried to get a truck full of water delivered but it wouldn’t be there until morning. They do have a well, and I have pics on FaceBook that is their backup water supply through most of the year when it doesn’t dry out. Sis. Thompson said they have to use this if they run out of city water supply or if they run out of money and they cannot afford to have it delivered. By the way both the Alvears and the Thompsons are very frugal with their funds and neither family live a life of luxury. They make do with what they have and are most hospitable folks. I enjoyed staying with both families so much and a week just isn’t enough.
The Church was beautiful! Right above the baptistery hung a banner with a pic we had taken in Maceio welcoming Jonathan and I. It was another humbling experience. Jonathan Played drums in the service so he is officially a Brazilian drummer! He testified and he’s opening up quite a bit more! Several men were there from the drug rehab were in service. Bro. Thompson wanted us to stand up front so we could meet with everyone. Oh when you meet with everyone you get hugs from EVERYONE, men, women and children. A 95 year old man came up and gave me a hug and then started worshiping the Lord with all his heart, he jumped up and down and danced. It was beautiful and if I live to be 95 I too want to worship like that!
After the service the ladies gave me a bed spread to give to my wife (it was hand-made). This is a form of showing their appreciation and love. The ladies choral gave it to my wife. I could not stop the tears from flowing and was thinking they have so little yet they sacrificed so my wife could have the beautiful bed spread. All the ladies gathered around Jonathan and me for pictures.
Oh, the 95 years old man had lost his 1st wife several years ago and had remarried. He was married to his current wife, who was in her late 70’s, for several years and they acted like a young Honeymoon couple in love. He showed me the Red Tie he was wearing and was very proud of it. Bro. Thompson translated that Bro. Beard, the brother who just left to go back home in Mississippi, had given it to him. I had to give him my tie, so now he has a Red and Blue tie. It was so funny, Bro. Thompson tied started to tie it for him around his neck, then left it loose, then placed it on the elderly man’s neck. You would have thought he won a million dollars with the smile on his face. It was a priceless moment!
After church we went to Downtown Ariparaca to a juice and sandwich stand that served several different juices and sandwiches. Bro. Thompson recommended Suave. So we had the Suave and another drink, Frutas. The Suave reminded me of the old Orange Juilius back in the 70’s. It was simply the best fruit drink we have had.
Suave - (Swa-vay) melon, pinapple and orange. Did I tell you it was out of this world?
Frutas – Had SEVERAL different fruits/vegetables, but wasn’t as good as Suave.
The Suave was so good we had one to go. Bro. Thompson said “you’ll get a kick out of the way they make it to-go.” He was right, LOL, they had these plastic bags and doubled them up, poured the drink in with 2 straws and tied a knot at the top. That was it…. No cup. Ha!
We headed back home where I tried to access the internet on Bro. Thompsons laptop, but it took 5 minutes just to post an update on my FaceBook account. So in an sense we didn’t have internet access for the first time on the trip.
posted by Roy Ballard @ 12:37 PM
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