Old Friends

We arrived in Vitória last night “sem problema,” as we say in Brazil. (I’m finding it difficult to think in English here.) The airport is on the far side of the city. By the time we got to the shopping center at the base of the mountain, we were ready to stop for supper. The “shopping,” as it is called in Portuguese, is just like any mall you would find in Minnesota or Seoul or Johannesburg, except that the signs are in Portuguese. They have a food court where we could have gotten McDonalds, Subway or Burger King, but opted instead for Girafas where we could get a plate of arroz, feijão preta, faroffa, bife e salada (rice, black beans, toasted manioc flour, steak and salad) for five dollars.

I wasn’t watching the time, but it was still a couple hours to get to our friends' town of Pedra Azul on a winding road that sometimes included a passing lane. It is the main highway to Bela Horizonte in Minas Gerais. It's much less travelled after dark, which it was for us, so we didn’t get stuck behind slow vehicles very often, although the speed limit was only 60 kph (less than 40 mph) so I guess we were all slow traffic. 

The guys talked non-stop. There's a lot to catch up on when your relationship goes back more than three decades. We first got to know the Guimarães family in Mozambique in 1985. Their little girls were the same age as ours, plus they had a little boy. We were fast friends and prayer partners. Our lives have intersected constantly since, as they later taught at our old seminary in Mato Grosso,  even marrying into one of the families we knew best! 

Rosalee and I talked, too, but did stop eventually as I was falling asleep. My tongue gets tangled up from time to time with the language that is almost, but not quite, there, but I am pleased to understand most of what is said to me and mostly be able to communicate what I want to say.

It was dark when we arrived, so the view that greeted us this morning from the bedroom window was a surprise.

This place is delightful! And SO Brazilian. It is a large, steeply sloped property almost at the end of a dirt road, planted here and there with fruit trees, pineapple, orchids, roses, whatever, in tin cans, plastic pails, pop bottles, discarded tires, etc. The property backs up onto state park lands, and the trees Lúcio has planted on the upper part are specifically to attract wildlife. The floors of the house are all tiled, including the wide verandas with hammocks, chairs, table, an extra kitchen sink and more plants. 

No screens interrupt the flow from indoors to outdoors and back again; the door stands open from kitchen to veranda; this part of Brazil doesn’t have mosquitoes like our Northwoods.

David and his Grandpa built this backyard fort that doubles as a shed for firewood below.

Lúcio and Roselee bought this property when they first returned from South Africa and added verandas, an enlarged kitchen and a master suite (where we are sleeping). Eunice (the same age as our daughter Erika) and family settled near-by when they returned from being missionaries in South Africa. David (age 9) has allergies like Simeon, including ones that do a number on his skin, and the mountain climate has been good for him. Sara was a newborn when we last saw them in Cape Town six years ago. They came over for lunch. There were times when we were all talking at once, and I found myself grinning from ear to ear. I would have said I liked this family, but I truly had forgotten how much!

David and Sara in their fort.

Marcus is worship pastor in a local church. It was fun to hear stories of how that church has changed in the past three years as they learn to reach out to a very traditional Catholic community with music and children’s programs that feature Christian values without attaching the name “Baptist Church.” It’s a small city; everyone knows it’s the Baptist Church that puts on the spectacular Christmas program in the praça and sponsors the children’s activity tent at the local festival. Attendance has tripled; baptisms are approaching monthly. People are coming to church who previously would never have considered associating with evangelicals. Very exciting. Of course, there are evangelicals who want nothing to do with these “liberals” and forbid their members to attend so called “Christian” services in worldly venues like the praça. Reminded me of Handel’s Messiah that was scandalous for being performed in concert halls.

It's good to be "home."

The "Blue Rock" for which the town is named. Note the "lizard" climbing up the side and the claw marks of the panther that tried to get the lizard.