Kids play during a worship service.

Vitoria.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2005: BACK ONLINE
I arrived in Brasil on Thursday, roughly at about noon. Customs moved quickly. Before coming here I had heard so many horror stories — they're fingerprinting and photographing Americans, they're going through our luggage, they're making it all a nightmare — but it hasn't happened. This is my fourth trip; each time customs has been a breeze.

The flight was uneventful, except I saw Hal Holbrook in the Memphis airport. I recognized him but he didn't appear to recognize me, even though my photograph is prominently displayed on the World Wide Web. I spoke to him, referencing his appearances on Designing Women and The Firm. He seemed a bit aloof, but that might be attributed to my calling him "Mr. Holcomb"— close to "Holbrook", but different enough that he no doubt noticed.

I had some computer problems after arriving. I brought a new computer with me, a full size PC (without the monitor), intending to use a friend's monitor here. The monitor didn't work. Turns out the settings on my computer were for a higher frequency monitor than one usually finds in Brasil. I suspected I could change the settings, but I wasn't sure -- all I knew was I couldn't see anything when I booted up the computer.

I knew I needed a new monitor, but I couldn't merely enter a store, buy a monitor, take it back to my apartment to test it out—apparently returning merchandise for a refund or store credit is a first world concept. But those wonderful Brasilieros, always eager to help — the salesman offered to let me bring in my computer and test monitors till I found one that worked. On a Saturday! (The place was packed.) Third try, we got it.

The monitor issue delayed getting my internet access going — but that's done now, as well. Now that I have a permanent office/apartment here, I won't have to spend the first 3 or 4 days of every visit trying to get all my proverbial ducks lined up.

Speaking of apartments, I have a great one. It's simple, and it needs some paint, but it's great. It's a one bedroom apartment in Largo do Machado. The building is 80/20 commercial / residential, which is good, because I'm using it for both. I can sleep here and work here. When I'm gone, it will be used for English classes. (We'll have rotating terms that begin and end while I'm away.) The best part about this is that next time I arrive, I will be able to walk in the door and start to work immediately. No lost time.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2005: MORE ABOUT MY APARTMENT
I haven't gotten around to fixing the place up yet, but you can see my power desk and my executive style lawn chair. My phone table cost $125USD, but it came with a free monitor. Eventually I'll get around to buying some real furniture here. It'll get better. For now, at least, no one is mistaking me for a rich American.

This place is right next to the AA meeting room, so the hall is always cloudy with cigarette smoke. An AA woman spoke to me yesterday. When she found out I'm an American, she invited me to a meeting! I guess she just assumed. Of course, I tried to explain to her that I don't have a drinking problem, but the more you say that, the less people believe you. (I'm a teetotaler, by the way.) I also noticed that in Brasil AA attracts the same eclectic demographic as in the US.

Today I bought what must be the ugliest couch in South America. I just needed a small one, one that also folds out into a bed. (This floor is hard.) I found one that fit the bill, paying only $80 USD, but what it offers in comfort and affordability, it sacrifices in aesthetics. I'll post a picture when the guys get here with it.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2005: BURNING BUSH
It's a perfect day in Rio — for me, anyway. Overcast and 72. The Cariocas are freezing; everyone's in jackets and heavy sweaters. But I'm comfortable.

George Bush was here earlier this week. If I had realized he was coming I could have caught a ride with him. It may be better I didn't, though. The Brasilians weren't all that happy to see him. Several hundred gathered outside the US Embassy in a protest endorsed (if not organized) by the Catholic Church. Bishop Demetrio Valentini told the media, "Bush represents war...and that opposes the main features of the Brasilian people. We are for peace." To underline their point, the crowd defaced government property, desecrated an American flag, and torched Bush in effigy. Ah, so that's what peace looks like.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2005: FIREWORKS
I just heard a string of firecrackers go off in the hills near my apartment, then I heard approaching helicopters and the sound of gunfire, so it appears that there is a crackdown today in one of the nearby favelas. If it's my favela, I hope our people there will be careful.

Actually, Morro Azul is remarkably safe, with only a few exceptions. A few months ago the trafficants (drug dealers) shot down a Navy helicopter, causing it to crash into the Methodist university across the street. (At least, those were the rumors.) It was pretty tense for a while after that, but things seem to have calmed down.

For the last several weeks there has been a war in Rocinha (the largest favela in the city). The police's energy has been focused there. I believe that's over, too. It ended with the top two trafficants being gunned down in the streets. Both were in their twenties.

About the firecrackers. There's a sentry posted at the foot of each favela. His job is to set off firecrackers to alert the neighborhood that trouble (a rival gang or the cops) is on its way. When you hear a string of fireworks in the early morning hours, gunshots usually follow.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2005: BUYING SOCKS

Just got back from buying dress socks. This appears to be the only item I forgot to pack. I have plenty of white socks to wear with my running shoes, but no black socks. I didn't notice the omission  until I was getting dressed last Sunday, and then it was too late. I wore white socks to church, thinking my pants were long enough to allow me to get away with such a fashion offense. It would have worked, except it was communion Sunday. During the sacrament, as I knelt at the altar I felt the hem of my garment rise above the heel of my shoe, and I remembered my socks. I wonder if taking the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner includes being distracted by the fact that I knew I looked like Jerry Lewis.

 I mentioned my couch earlier. I've decided it's not so ugly after all. Actually, it looks like it came from a 1958 Buick. And it folds out into a bed. Just don't ask me to bring you one when I come back.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2005: TRANSLATIONS
Yesterday was a holiday, so I was able to spend some time with a translator working on my upcoming message. (Have I mentioned that I'm speaking at a Leadership Conference this weekend?)

Speaking through a translator can be tricky. I don't see how speakers try it without spending time in advance clarifying terms. For example, in my message I use phrases such as "Popularity Contest" "Settling Scores" and "Control Freak" — these idioms don't translate well into Portuguese. We had to spend some time redefining these (and some others) in order to find the Portuguese equivalent. The man who will be translating for me this weekend, by the way, speaks excellent English (he lived in the states for three years) — but translating is a much more complicated process than it appears (especially to an obsessive control freak like me).

We also developed a handout and a powerpoint for the seminar sessions (I'm doing two). That's how I spent the holiday. No problem, though. The great thing about Brasil is there's always another holiday around the corner.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005: LUNCH AT SPANDA
I haven't said much recently about the work I'm doing here. For those who want to read the backstory, the newsletter section at the Project Brasil site is pretty detailed.

During this visit I've mainly been going to worship services and meetings. Earlier this week we nailed down the plans for the Pediatric-OB/GYN office in Morro Azul. The estimate has been delivered and approved. If I have the money, construction begins in January. The dentist office is ready to go, as well. I hope we able to kick it off in January, too. We still have some particulars to settle with the computer classes, and then we'll have to get government approval to fund it (since we are resurrecting a failed program).

Last night we had a worship service. Attendance was a little low (we've been having 15-20; last night was 7!) I led worship. I know about 15 Portuguese worship songs well enough to lead, so I'm able to bring enough variety into the services to get by. Ricardo spoke, but I didn't have a translator, so I don't know what he talked about. My Portuguese is still so limited; I catch a word here and there and just when I think I'm making sense of the person is saying, I lose them. I can understand basic phrases, and can converse fairly well if the person speaks slowly, but I still can't understand the TV or someone preaching.

I've also had a ton (more than usual) of Sermon Notes related work to do in the last few days, so I spend 9-5 here doing the same things I do back home. The only difference is that here my desk is a microwave table and my chair is a lawn chair and I don't have air conditioning. But I'm not complaining. I wouldn't trade what I'm doing here for anything in the world.

Last time I was here I ate frequently at a restaurant called Spanda. They offer typical Brasilian fare—salad, fruit, rice, black beans, grilled chicken, and the omnipresent stroganoff. The prices are incredible: I stuffed myself today for $3.00 USD. But what amazes me about this place is when I walked in the waiter approached me, gave me the thumbs up and said, "Coca Cola Light, senhor?" (i.e. Diet Coke; it's what I drink.) It's been months and he remembered me. During my meal the owner came over and spoke to me, patting me on the back and saying what I'm certain were nice things to me (again, my Portuguese stinks.) Great food, great service. In my experience, this is typical of restaurants in Rio. It's one of the reasons I enjoy being here.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2005: LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

This weekend I am speaking at a Leadership Conference near the city of Petropolis, in the north of Rio de Janeiro state. There are about 250 people here this weekend. I did a workshop this afternoon and will be preaching at the service tonight.

Since I'm also leading worship some, I began with Trading My Sorrows, teaching them the "Yes Lord" chorus (in English) — telling them that effective leadership begins with these two words. So they stomped their feet and clapped their hands and sang "Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Yes Lord!" Then we sang some songs in Portuguese.

I eventually talked about 6 Things Every Leader Must Forget from Numbers 11. Guillerme (the bishop's son) translated for me; he speaks excellent English. Overall, it was a good session.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2005: WORSHIP
The worship this weekend has been great. Joâo (pronounced zhoo-own) has been leading the music. He's young (maybe 19) but he understands worship and understands how to lead. When I got up to speak, I could see that the Holy Spirit was still moving; we weren't ready to stop worshipping. Instead of beginning my sermon, I just said, "Let's sing some more." We sang Espirito de Deus Esta Aqui and Espirto Enche Meu Ser. We finished with no instruments; just voices. It was beautiful.

When I finally got around to preaching, I spoke on Ep 5:1-2 where we're commanded to imitate God. The theme this weekend is leadership (everyone here serves in some kind of leadership capacity), and so I talked about how leaders imitate God by loving others.

LATE NIGHT WORSHIP SERVICE...Later last night, around 10:00, I found another guitar player and we sat down outside with a half dozen people and began playing songs. Brasilian worship songs are great—they tend to have fairly predictable chord progressions and simple, profoundly beautiful, remarkably singable melodies (Chris Tomlin, take note).

After we'd been singing a while, I realized there were about 40 people gathered around us, worshipping. It lasted until after 1:00 a.m. We sang probably 60 songs last night and, amazingly, everyone knew all the words. I've noticed this before, and I don't understand it. How is it that the people here seem to know the lyrics to countless songs and can sing them spontaneously without needing slides and music sheets, and most American worship teams can't get through a 5 song set without their eyes glued to a music stand? One reason is that American worship songs (the ones that are popular now) often aren't conducive to spontaneity. They require unique voicings of guitar chords, special cut capos, and use progressions that aren't intuitive for average musicians. I think this is one of the reasons why American worship music seems to be more about performance than intimacy with God. But, I digress.

Today I went to find the kid I played guitar with last night. I asked him if he leads worship at his church. If he had said no, I would have begged him to join me in Morro Azul. Unfortunately, his pastor already has him plugged in.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2005: BUSY WEEK

No Monday memo today. I got back from the retreat to discover that Christianity Today decided to schedule the merger of my site and theirs next week. I also learned they need the Sermon Notes data customized a certain way — and it has me scrambling this week to get it done. I had had misgivings about being gone on a mission trip during the Thanksgiving holiday, but as it turns out, it's a good thing I'm not traveling this week; I would never have made the deadline.

It's amazing how easy it is to do business from anywhere on the planet. It honestly makes no difference if I'm here or in the states. I spent an hour on the phone with Kevin from CT this morning. My phone card costs 4 cents a minute to the US. I have high speed internet here, I see my family on MSN all day long. And I have Fed Ex when something definitely and positively has to be there in two days. (No overnight service from South America.) This is amazing; I couldn't have dreamed of doing something like this ten years ago.

I have meetings with lawyers this week (regarding the Non-Governmental Organization) and I'm trying to get some new furniture for the school in Morro Azul, so there's more than enough to keep me busy. Thursday isn't a holiday here, so I've got all week to get things done.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2005: BRASILIAN LYRICS

Today I think I have what might be the worst headache in the history of the human race. I have a ton of work to do both in Morro Azul and on the website, so the timing for this is perfect.

I wanted to follow up on something I said earlier this week about Brasilian songs being more singable than American worship songs. Part of this is due to the melody — Brasilians seem to have a knack for it. The other part is the lyrics. One reason our group could sing 60+ songs from memory Saturday night is that Brasilian lyrics tend to be memorable. Songwriters here use alliteration better than their American counterparts; the words to Brasilian worship songs tend to flow out. (And they do all this without benefit of the letters K and W.)

I realize I'm speaking in generalities, and I imagine a number of people disagree with me. It's today's opinion, not a doctoral thesis. Regardless, I wonder if there are others familiar with both types of music who have something to say about it.

Well, time to take a few more aspirin and see what I can do with this wretched database.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2005: COMPUTER CENTER
I went to Morro Azul this morning to look in on the English class and meet with Vanda, the CEMASI director here. (Centro Municipal de Assistencia Social Intregada) Everything's in place now. Next Tuesday we meet with her boss in Sao Salvador for approval. I'm hoping this is a formality; the computers have been sitting in the room unused for well over a year since funding cuts eliminated teachers and internet access. I don't expect there will be much resistance to my wanting to re-instate this project. In Brasil there is an enormous amount of red tape, but there are also many people involved in social work who just want to see something good get done. I'm hoping Vanda's boss is one of these.

It's in the mid 90's today. When I got to the church this morning (where the English classes are), they didn't even have the fan on! I guess to them it's not hot yet.

Today is Thanksgiving. It's not a holiday here, so I'm able to work. I hate not being home with my family, eating turkey and watching football. I called this morning and sent them my love. They seem to be taking my absence well (no wailing that I could hear). Actually, they all support me and encourage me to pursue the vision that God has given me. They understand that I need to be here right now, but of course, it doesn't change the fact that I would like to be there with them on Thanksgiving Day.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2005: MY LUNCH SPEECH
It's not quite as hot today. It's in high 80's. I met with Dr. Felix this morning to discuss the Pediatrics and OB/GYN facility. Then we were invited to lunch at the CEMASI center. I agreed to go because he indicated he would go, but he got called away. This left me alone with about a dozen people who don't speak English. The people there are so nice, they tried to talk to me, but my comprehension skills are nonexistent. I can speak reasonably well, but I don't "hear" very well. (I have the same problem with English.)

During lunch Rodrigues gave a brief speech and asked me if I wanted to say anything. I said, (in Portuguese) "I am happy to be here. I want to make a good work here. We can make a good work together." No one will mistake me for Winston Churchill, but I did receive a polite round of applause. That's about how well I speak Portuguese; I can get by. I always speak in present tense—I have to use my hands to indicate whether I'm talking about past or future.

Dr. Felix lived in the states for 3 years, worked at Johns Hopkins, and speaks excellent English. Still, he has trouble understanding me sometimes. I said something about a doctor we'll be working with, a woman named "Augusta." I pronounced her name like I pronounce the city in Georgia. He didn't understand. I said it again. He didn't understand. "You know her!" I said, "The doctor!" "Ahhh," he said, "you mean 'owgoooshta'." That's why knowing vocabulary isn't enough here. You've got be able to say it right. This is also why I have such a hard time understanding what I hear. I haven't yet connected the vocabulary words with their proper pronunciation.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2005: SHARK TALE
Had shark for lunch today. Ate with some friends in the home of Ana Claudia after morning worship. I have church again in just a couple of hours, so now I am squeezing in some database work so I can beat this deadline. I spent most of the day yesterday hacking away at it. I wasn't too bitter about having to work yesterday because it rained all day. Today, however, the weather is perfect. I would much rather be sipping coconut water at the beach. (That's a joke; I'm not built for the beach.) Back to work now, but I just had to make a post — how often does one have shark for lunch?

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2006: CHURCH LAST NIGHT
Great service last night. We had 28. (Remember a couple of weeks ago when we had 7?) Worship went well except I broke a string and had to limp through the last couple of songs. The kids did special music also. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera. I took a few pictures with my phone, but I won't be able to post them here till I'm back in the states. After they sang, some of the kids announced what they were thankful for: "My mom is well now," "God protects me at school,"  "For my life," "When my mom takes me on a picnic."

 We also had a new family: Fernando and his wife and son. It was their third visit. Fernando lived in the states for 5 years and speaks excellent English. He and his family want to be involved in a small mission type of church, and they're willing to come to a favela to worship. It looks like they'll be part of our work here. This is great. He's another key to helping us reach men. One obstacle is that most men don't want to be the only man (besides the preacher) in the meeting. The attitude here is that religion is for women, and when a man comes to church and no other men are there, it confirms the notion. So once we consistently get 4 or 5 men coming, it will be easier to attract more. This is 100% evangelistic work. There's not any hope of "transfer growth" from within the community. This is the only church in Morro Azul, and there are very few (if any) men in this community who are devoted followers of Christ.

UPDATE: Here are a couple of pictures—they'll make you want to rush out and spend $300 on a Motorola camera phone. But they work in a pinch, I suppose. I love these kids. In the top photo the little girl on the left appears to have decided not to participate; in the bottom picture the little girl on the right appears to be fully engaged in the worship.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2006: COMPUTER CENTER UPDATE
I met with a CEMASI director today. Her name is Gloria and she speaks English. The meeting went well. We agreed that Project Brasil would contract with CEMASI to use their facility for a community computer center. There are some computers on site that were donated a couple of years ago but haven't been being used (due to the funding cuts I mentioned a few days ago). We will upgrade those machines, add 5 more, add internet access, schedule classes, provide teachers, and make the computer center open to members of the community at certain times (under our supervision, so that the machines are taken care of).

I've been working to get this set up for a year. Now it's finally come together. The computers are in remarkably good shape (they were donated by IBM) and so this is a great opportunity for us. Not only will we be helping teenagers and young adults learn to use a computer (improving their job prospects), we will establish relationships with people in the community, giving us the opportunity to impact their lives in other areas as well. We're ready to go. We'll do the maintenance and upgrades this month, get the internet installed in early January, and begin the classes.