On to João Pessoa

It was easier to say farewell to Queila and Vicente since we convinced them to look seriously at the possibility of a visit to the US in the coming year. But after Queila left for work we realized we had failed to get a picture of the four of us together or even of them with their son Natan. Too much chatter and too much time watching football or eating pão de queijo.

We caught a mid-day plane to João Pessoa on the eastern-most tip of the Americas. Steve has been here many times before and enjoys the people involved in theological education in the region. For me it is the first visit. We could see some tall buildings down at the shore as we landed, but the city is much smaller than Rio. The seminary, Betel Brasileiro, is inland, close to the airport, so we haven’t gotten into the city center yet. Tomorrow I’ll have to get some pictures around here. It is very simple, reminding me of Mozambique in the old days. They had saved lunch for us even though it was three inthe afternoon, and it was delicious--spaghetti and chicken with Brazilian seasonings or ground beef, salad.

Several schools came together tonight to hear Steve speak on challenges in theological education in Brazil today. Judging by the reaction of students and faculty, he hit some nerves. We'll see how many come back tomorrow.