Tuesday

Today we slept in...until 6. It has been a bit darker the last few mornings with the stormy and cloudy weather, which I think has helped cool things off as well. One thing I do notice is how nothing ever feels quite dry. For example our bedsheets. And the humidity in the air and the lingering dampness to all our clothes and bedding makes for a very unique musky smell. It does seem like everything in Brazil smells the same, and now I'm fairly confident that the water here just gets kind of....well, stinky. But we all smell the same, with that sheen of continual sweat from the heat and our slightly damp clothing, that I don't think anyone cares. At least, I hope not.

Anyways, today we left for Recife at around quarter to eight in the morning. Shaun was supposed to meet with a lady that works for the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Recife to give him some ideas of what to do next. He was going to drop us off in Aldeaia and let us visit with the Wieskes and Vanspronsens. The drive I believe is usually around a 2 -2 1/2 hour drive, but we however, missed an exit and then couldn't find the dirt road to get to the Wieskes, as it had mysteriously moved a 1/2 km over since the last time we were here. By the time we got there it was the time Shaun was supposed to be in downtown Recife. When Shaun phoned her she thought it would not be worth it for him to drive down there, as it would be busy because of the soccer game. Brazil played their first game today and everyone is in celebratory mood. In fact, many businesses this afternoon shut down while the game was on.

So we spent the day at the Wieskes, catching up with Tamara, Karen, and Ken. Seth and Hazel had a marvelous time running around the property and getting to know everyone again. We had a delicious lunch and then who should arrive, but guests from Canada. We went halfway around the world just to see Uncle John! Reverend Van Raalte, or as he's known here Pastor Teodoro, and Presbyterio Joao (the a has a squiggle over it and you kind of say it like Zho-ow, with an almost "n" sound at the end), are spending some weeks here to encourage the missionaries and see all the amazing work that is happening in this part of the world. Tomorrow the two families and the Canadian guests are making the trek to Marigogi, so we'll all have dinner tomorrow. Uncle John can then check out our living quarters and reassure my mom and dad that we haven't dragged our children to a jungle at the end of the earth! On Thursday all the men are making their way down to Maceio to see the mission post and visit with Rev. deGraaf, while the kids and I get to visit with their wives and kids!

We drove home at around 3:30, the same time the game started, and the roads were fairly empty. As we were driving through a little town we suddenly heard tons of fireworks go off and cheering like crazy, so we knew the Brazilians had scored. We are hoping to buy some Brazilian shirts and flags and have some fun getting into the spirit of the World Cup. I assume I'll know a bit more about soccer by the time it is over.

And speaking of fireworks, here in Brazil is a month-long celebration of some Saint. In Maragogi there are fireworks constantly going off at night, and no one seems to care where or how they light them. On Sunday when we were in church, the Roman Catholic church had a huge procession going down the street right outside. Many people were wearing long white robes and singing and lighting fireworks. They were so loud that we couldn't hear Pastor Alessandro preaching and we even stopped at one point to sing. I have come to the conclusion that this is a very loud and rambunctious culture.

So there is our little update on our present week. Hope everyone else is doing well!

Love Brenda