The Jacaré - Postcard from Brazil

    Here in the center of South America, we have plenty of Jacaré, a type of Caiman of the Crocodile family. (Wiki)  Although we don't necessarily have them here in our suburb of Cuiabá, you don't have to go far out of town to start seeing them!  They supposedly do not harm or interfere with humans, but I prefer to keep my distance just in case!

Mahalia and Friends

     If there is one thing our kids do not lack, it is attention.  Mahalia especially gets an overload of attention, mostly because of her extra-white skin and the fact that she's still small enough to be picked up!  

    Though she'd often just be left to run on her own, getting all the attention does have it's benefits at times - like an occasional lick of a friend's candy . . .  (eeew!)

    We really do appreciate that the Brazilian people are so nice to us and our kids!  It is such a blessing to have so many friends here in Brazil!

Mugshots and Fingerprinting

      Every year when we re-apply for our visas, we have to get fingerprinted and mug shot - (how on earth do you make that into a verb?!)  Last year was all ink, and it was such a mess, that with a 2 year old and 7 month old, no one had a clean hand to take pictures. :)  
      

     This year they're a bit more sophisticated. We only had to ink our right thumbs. Everything else was done digitally. It might have been less messy, but it took FOREVER! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of the kids (and the fingerprinter-er) being patient through the long process. I think it took about an hour for all four of us to get done.

Futebol Americano - Open Doors

     It is interesting how the Lord, at times, gives us desires and then uses those desires to help us serve Him joyfully.  I've always enjoyed football, though if you've ever met me, you know by my stature that I've never been a star player!  I've also always enjoyed photography.  However, it wasn't until recently that I've been able to mix the two.

     Soon after arriving here in Cuiabá, Brasil, I discovered that our city has a "football" team.  If you've ever traveled outside of the U.S., you know that that usually means, "soccer."  However, our city has a "Futebol Americano" team (American football)  I was even more surprised to find that our team is actually very good!  In fact, this weekend they play for the National Championship!

     It all began when I visited a practice session and was invited by the president of the team to photograph a game from the sidelines - I was excited!  I have now had the opportunity to photograph several of their games and have had some of my photos published both in the local newspapers and on the AFAB website (American Football Association of Brazil).  Before I make it sound bigger than it is, I should mention that football is a newer thing here in Brazil and so they are looking for any publicity as they can get.



     Now here is the best part: the Lord has used this opportunity to open the door for me to meet and make contacts with a completely different side of Brazil!  I've been able to meet and befriend people in the Education system, Lawyers and Law Students, Physical Therapists and Medical personnel, various Journalists and Photographers, as well as a number of players!  I was even invited to hold regular Bible studies with the team, but for various reasons (language, etc...) I was not able to accept at this time.

     I was also reminded of the importance of living the christian life day in and day out.  Although I am obviously all for handing out tracks, many people are not interested in your ability to hand them a piece of literature.  They would rather see that you live the christian life than that you merely talk the christian talk.  It's been amazing to me to see the doors that have been opened as a result of just a little bit of "community involvement." Please pray with us that God would continue to develop these contacts he has given us!  What an exciting adventure it has been and I look forward to seeing what all the Lord will bring about as a result of these opportunities!

Here are a few photos that I've taken of our team, the Cuiabá Arsenal.

Arsenal vs. Botafogo Espectros - 21-20

Playoffs Semi-Final

Arsenal Vs. Rio Preto Wielers

W 55-0

TOUCHDOWN!

Arsenal Vs. Porto Alegre Pumpkins (yes, that is their team's name!) 

W 41-7

      I am definitely looking forward to taking photos for the Championship game this weekend vs. the Coritiba Crocodiles!

Venícius - People of Brazil

Letícia - People of Brazil

      Letícia is another one of our friends who attended Vacation Bible School this year.  Though she and her brother had come last year and had attended Sunday School for a while, they moved to another house and we hadn't seen them for quite some time.  Finally when we found where they moved to, Johnathan, Mahalia, and I visited them a couple times and let them know the dates for the VBS this year.  Though they may have come even if we hadn't invited them, Johnathan was very excited to see some of his friends at VBS that he had invited himself!

Henrique - People of Brazil

      On one day of this year's VBS, the kids were told to dress up as someone from another country.  This little boy decided to be an Indian - what do you think?