Where the Sun Rises First in the Americas

Steve taught for two and a half hours this morning. It was supposed to be just seminary leadership from the various schools that were here last night, but the Betel Brazileiro students were so enthusiastic about what they heard last night that they asked to be excused from their regular classes to come. It was a good and enthusiastic group; Steve loves teaching with such a receptive audience.

I worked in the room sitting directly in front of the fan. I took a bit of a walk to explore the campus. We are staying on a suite in the left here where the car is parked. We have a tiny sitting room, a kitchenette, a much larger bedroom and bathroom. This evening I heard a baby crying at the other end of the building, which made me think this might be married student housing. The dining hall is on the left. The ceiling is high and open under the eaves to let out the heat.

 The library is tiny by US standards, but reminds me of what we first had in Campo Grande or in Mozambique.

It's the best place to get Internet access, so here I sit. Not bad in the evening, but pretty hot during the day.

After lunch Pastor Ildemar took us out to see the city. Well, it was for me to see the city; Steve has been here before. Several points stick out into the water with beautiful beaches in between. The point you see here is Cabo Branco (White Cape), the eastern-most point of South America. Beyond is the Atlantic all the way to Africa.

We couldn’t drive out to the point due to erosion that is undermining the road although we could get near enough to take this picture looking back at the city. The tide is in or the beach would be much wider.

The tip of the point is also eroding, which I suppose means that the Americas do not extend as far east as they once did. We parked and walked out. The old wall has collapsed, and we were not allowed near enough to look down although you can see the sand cliff in the background.

Ildemar took us by a very modern event center and museum out on Cabo Branco.

We loved this 6x9 meter painting of the history of the city where the sun rises first in the Americas. You see some of the indigenous peoples to the left and then various hstorical personages, including famous authors, in a setting of the oldest buildings of the city. The Atlantic (with Cabo Branco) is to the left, the Paraíba River to the right.

And of course, we stopped for ice cream on the beach before returning to the school. They had some unique flavors. Steve had carmelized banana; I had brigadeiro, a Brazilian sweet--chocolate made with sweetened condensed milk rolled in chocolate pieces. I could try to tell you they weren't very good, but I would be lying.