The plane began its descent on American soil, and shortly before 6am EST we were on the ground in Atlanta.

A new day, a new month, a new city…and a new perspective.

My ministry trip to Brasil is over, but life continues on. I could not just come back the same person that I was when I went there. But I’ll talk about that later.

I had to go through customs, and I anticipated that process to be quick and painless, based on my previous experiences (returning from the Philippines in 2005 and entering Brasil 7 weeks earlier). Sure enough, it didn’t take to long and I breezed right through…

Until I got to the part where they check for food products or soil that anyone might be bringing back.

When I filled out my customs form, I indicated that I was bringing back some fruit, but that wasn’t an issue. They did not seem to mind that I was bringing those back. But because I was bringing back a couple containers of sand (white sand from Treasure Island and red sand from Seminario Batista do Cariri) I had to declare that I was bringing back foreign soil, and that’s what slowed me down.

I was sent to a separate line where our luggage would be open and inspected and the people in front of me took awhile. However, once I finally got to the front, they quickly opened my suitcases, and found nothing suspicious.

They asked why I was there and I explained the sand that I brought back, and they said it was no problem and sent me right on through! Sigh. Oh well…I’m thankful I got my sand.

I like to collect small samples of dirt or sand from other countries. It’s an inexpensive souvenir that friends can bring back for me. But this was the first time I brought back any myself, and it was beautiful colored sand.

Finally through customs with only about a half hour to spare, I found my next gate. Expedia did a great job planning my flights both ways with minimal layover downtime, especially on the way back. Of course, I could have used some more time at Sao Paulo on my trip to Brasil, but God worked out those details and I didn’t miss my flight.

This last trip was a short one (about an hour-and-a-half) on a really nice jet. Every seat in the plane had its own TV! I have grown accustomed to that on the longer flights overseas, but not on these short jaunts across the country!

So on the way to Minneapolis I found some nice music and enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, I never got my free snack though! Because the flight was so short, by the time we reached cruising elevation, we only had about 40 minutes or less before we started to descend!

Because I sat near the back of the plane, and because they didn’t start handing out the peanuts and drinks right away, they only reached the passengers a couple seats ahead of me before they had to put everything away for landing. Oh man…that was kinda disappointing.

But hey, Delta has amazing customer service. I contacted Delta at a later time and kindly told them about the incident, and shortly thereafter they gave me 3,000 frequent flyer miles as reciprocation for what happened. Forget the peanuts and cranberry juice…I’ll take those 3,000 frequent flyer miles any day!

Minnesota looked quite different than it had seven weeks earlier from the air. No more flooded fields. Several of the fields were still barren, unable to produce a crop because of the heavy rains earlier in the summer. But many others were green with corn and soy beans and whatever else.

I touched down around 9am CST and not long after I was reunited with my family who had come to pick me up. A few hours later, I was back home in good ol’ Mason City, Iowa!

What an experience!

Without repeating a lot of what I already said in the past 49 posts, I will try to summarize the highlights of the trip.

First, I am so thankful to Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie for asking me to come down and spend the summer with them. It was not something I had ever considered doing, but God quickly made it clear that it was the right thing for me to do. God used them to teach me so much about missions and life and ministry in general, and they may never know the full impact they had on my life.

They treated me as family before I even arrived, and they included me in so many valuable activities and learning experiences, even in the mundane tasks of daily life. Daily life there is similar in some ways to my life here in the US, but in some ways it is so extremely different…a good different though.

Second, I cannot talk enough about the Semana de Musica Sacra. It was by far the best week of my entire year. I absolutely loved it, and it was a huge blessing to me.

Not only did I get to spend the whole week as the official photographer for the event, but I got to play my violin in one of the orchestras, and I watched as a group of 200 people with minimal musical experience put together a beautiful, God-glorifying concert in less than a week. It was unlike any musical event I’ve ever participated in, and I hope to go back for several more in the future.

What do you get when you combine 16 violins, 18 recorders, 19 guitars, 2 trumpets, 2 violas, 8 flutes, 1 cello, 1 string bass, 2 pianos, and 3 electric keyboards? A powerful orchestra that brought tears to my eyes.

I get goosebumps just thinking about it!

Third, as Danae mentioned in her final blog post about Brasil, I formed and strengthened many other relationships that I am so grateful for.

I met and worked alongside of several other great missionaries like the Reiner’s, the Atha’s, and the Wilson’s. I met and worked alongside an amazing musician in Olivia. I met Destiny and worked closely with her on the Aventura Brasil team for two weeks.

After knowing Danae for four years at college, we ministered together for several weeks and enjoyed many, many jokes and hysterical laughter, often at the expense of ourselves. Then there was Stephen, another friend from college whose dad has become a good friend of mine over the last few years. But after spending only a couple weeks as a roommate, orchestra member, and fellow traveler of Stephen’s, we learned that we have a lot in common.

Stephen and I would joke together and read each other’s minds and intentionally set each other up for some hilarious comment. Yes, we did ministry together, but we also spent a lot of time laughing together and giving other people reasons to laugh with us.

Then there was Neto and Joy, the soon-to-be-wed Brasilian couple that took me under their wings on multiple occasions, showing me around, feeding me new foods, telling me about the country, and also teaching me different things about ministry.

I served with them at the Semana de Musica Sacra and at Ilho de Tesouro, and a few months later I had the amazing privilege of photographing their wedding in New Hampshire at Searles Castle. It is fun to see how God causes the paths of certain people to cross during certain seasons and for certain reasons.

Fourth, I am thankful for all the people from Brasil who welcomed me to their country. Yeah, many of them looked at me and thought I was already a resident. But I was also welcomed as an American, and they just thought that was really neat. Having a camera helped too.

So many of my new friends still keep contact with me via email and Facebook, teaching me Portuguese, learning English from me, and asking me questions about the US or God and spiritual things. They are an extremely hospitable, loving people. If I have the opportunity to go back, it will definitely be because of the people.

Finally, the ministry opportunities God gave me were incredible. I visited over a dozen different churches, preached seven times, helped with VBS, counseled at camp on Treasure Island, helped teach American English, assisted with two youth activities, and played the violin, piano, and musical saw on several occasions. I even go to use my camera for ministry purposes on several occasions!

Someday, I would like to go back. I don’t know when or for how long, but I would love to return.

In 2016 I hope many more people will participate in Aventura Brasil because the experience and ministry is amazing.

Well, that’s the end. What more can I say? God is good, and He blessed me. Words cannot express how awesome it truly was.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me and those who also financially supported me! Your prayers were a huge ministry to me.

Hello, Fortaleza.

We arrived at the massive bus station in Fortaleza shortly before 7am and disembarked with our stuff.

We found a couple taxi cabs that took us to the BMM apartment office where I stayed during my first night in Brasil, and we dropped off our stuff there so we could go shopping.

After a light but tasty breakfast of granola, mamo, coconut yogurt, and caju juice, we went to a large mall a few miles away. Man, once again I was reminded of the CrAzY traffic and terrible infrastructure of that rapidly-growing city.

It took us SO long to get to a place that would normally take only five minutes with better-designed roads. But it was fun to look around at the intriguing sights that I could only see there.

The purpose of this trip was to purchase anything else that Danae or I wanted to take home with us. Up until this week, I really had not made any effort to get stuff, although there were things I knew I wanted. I especially wanted to get some things for my family, but since that was not my focus during the summer, I had not really gotten anything yet.

It reminded me a lot of the cluttered, colorful stores at the malls in the Philippines. Quite welcoming, actually. I like the small little shops, and I don’t get claustrophobic, so it was fun to look around.

A lot of the stores had the exact same stuff, so I walked around several times with Uncle Jim until I found the cheapest options, and then we negotiated the prices down a little more, as is the cultural norm.

I bought another hammock, a Brasil soccer jersey, and I think another small item that I have now forgotten. My only regret is that I didn’t find a large Brasil flag to bring home with me. Someday I would I hope to have one to hang in my room or somewhere.

The Leonard’s also bought some stuff to send home with me for other people, so I had a nice collection of Brasilian merchandise by the end.

On the way out of the mall we looked at some small models of future apartment buildings as the developers were trying to pre-sell living spaces in order to get enough money to actually build those places.

Those were interesting to look at…some of them were quite ambitious. It was fun to hear Uncle Jim explain how they try to sell these places before building them, sometimes finding success and sometimes not.

Oh! I almost forgot! Uncle Jim bought me a coconut so I could drink out of it one final time. It was so delightful.  Man, I love that stuff.

So, let’s see. When I first came to Brasil I arrived in Fortaleza, drove through the city in CrAzY traffic, went shopping for a hammock, and ate my first meal at a churrascharia (by far the best meal of the entire summer).

So now I’m ending my trip by shopping for a hammock, driving through the city, and flying out of Brasil…oh! Well, my bookends wouldn’t be complete without one more visit to the churrascharia, right?

So, my first and last meals in Brasil were my favorite, and they were both at the same restaurant. I filled up on sushi, cheese, chicken, pork, beef, wild boar, pheasant, and coconut water. Oh yes…loved it!

I don’t know what’s better- the huge sushi bar, half a dozen selections of cheese, or a constant barrage of various meats brought to your table on large skewers.

Probably the meat…that’s what it’s all about. Man, Brasil just does its meat so well. I love meat in the US, but it is so much better in Brasil. They know what they’re doing.

My flight was scheduled for mid-afternoon, so after lunch we went directly to the office, picked up my stuff, and went to the airport.

Getting into the airport was difficult because the airport was undergoing renovation in anticipation of the World Cup (hosted by Brasil in less than a year). At the airport we got in line with several other cars, but the going was so slow that a couple of us finally got out and just walked my stuff to the terminal while Uncle Jim went and parked the car we were borrowing.

As we waited inside the terminal, we suddenly heard a loud commotion approaching us. We turned to see a mob of airport workers walking through, carrying a banner and loudly blowing some shrieking plastic whistles. It was deafening!

Apparently they were upset with the government and all the money that was being poured into the World Cup preparations while other parts of the economy suffered

I was so glad when they had moved on…my ears didn’t like that!

We got my stuff checked in and still had lots of time before my flight, so we talked a little and then spent some time praying.

Off to the side in one area of the airport was a small chapel, complete with a few benches and an altar. We went in there and Uncle Jim prayed specifically for me and my trip and my ministry. That was a really special moment of that day.

Well, almost all good things come to an end, and I walked through security, leaving my Brasil family behind.

My first flight was a short one, only taking me to Brasilia on a Gol Airlines jet. In Brasilia I got onto a huge Delta jet that would fly me through the night to Atlanta, home to the largest airport in the world.

I ate a good meal of rice, beans, chicken, a dinner roll, lettuce salad, lime cheesecake, and orange juice, and I did a little reading. But most of my time was spent sleeping.

Also, I’m not afraid to admit that my eyes released a few tears as I looked down over the brightly-lit Brasilia during take-off.

Good-bye, Brasil.

So, Tuesday morning I woke up enjoyed Aunt Julie’s homemade carne de sol tapioca for breakfast one last time, and spent the day packing and cleaning up any loose ends in the house. Other than that, not a whole lot went on.

For lunch we had mashed potatoes, chicken, and vegetables, and for supper we had a yummy macaxeira casserole with lettuce. (Notice how I still made sure to record what we ate. I’m weird like that.)

In the evening we left the Sitio Alegre and the seminary and went to the bus station in Crato. Once in Fortaleza, I was going to fly to the US, Danae was going to fly to the US, and Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie were going to fly south to visit their daughter and son-in-law. So, rather than driving to Fortaleza and leaving their car there for awhile, we purchased tickets for a sleeper bus that would drive us through the night.

I had never traveled or slept like this before. In fact, I don’t recall the last time I took a public bus somewhere.

But this was a great experience! Our bus had seats that reclined all the way back so we could sleep the whole way back to the big city. I think we had to wait about an hour for our bus to arrive because it was late. But once it got there, we boarded quickly and were on our way.

Several times throughout the night I woke up when we made various stops, but I fell asleep right away again. I slept really well and really enjoyed the ride.

Good-bye Crato.

One of the beautiful things about new experiences are the new relationships you form. Indeed, for an experience to be enjoyable, relationships are one of those necessary elements. Well, I enjoyed several new relationships during my time in Brazil, and it was time to start saying farewell to some of the more significant people I had met  during my trip.

At around 4am I woke up to go to the airport with Uncle Doug, Aunt Renate, William, and Destiny. We took Destiny to an airport just down the road where she would leave to fly back home. It was so sad to see her leave! She was the one who had been with us the least amount of time, and we weren’t ready to let her go!

It took awhile, but we finally got all her baggage checked and sent her on her way. William and I watched as she walked out onto the tarmac to her plane, and then the Reiner’s joined us to watch the plane take off. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, we all headed back to the Reiner household and fell back into our beds.

After sleeping in, I woke up to do a little packing and read some more from the book of Acts for my devos. I think I was in Acts 20 where Paul said farewell to a group of pastors before heading to Jerusalem, knowing he would probably never see those men again.

The passage was so appropriate for the day, and it made me even sadder! But just as Paul was doing what he knew God wanted him to do, I needed to follow God back home.

For breakfast we ate manioc cake, sweet bread, French rolls with fried cheese and raspberry jam. Man, it was so good! I had those various foods on multiple occasions during my trip, and I loved them all.

We finished eating, packed up our stuff, and I took a few pictures of the place before joining Danae and Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie in their little Fiat. We bid farewell to the Reiner’s and reluctantly drove out of their place.

We left Petrolina, and after awhile Danae was given a turn to drive in the Brasilian countryside. She had declined the invitation to pilot the car the week before, but this time she got behind the wheel and did a great job bringing us closer to our destination, good ol’ Crato in the Cariri Valley.

Along the way we stopped for an amazing meal of goat, beef, chicken, rice, beans, fried macaxeira, noodles, and cajuina. Oh man, I ate so much. I would not get a meal like that again for a very long time, so I enjoyed it until I was too full to enjoy anymore. Meanwhile the four of us enjoyed some good conversation as we reflected back on the events of the last 4-5 weeks.

We resumed driving, and at one point along the way we came upon an interesting phenomenon. There were some large mountains in front of us that Uncle Jim described as magnetic mountains.

There was no one else on the road around us, so he brought the car to a complete stop on the highway, and a few seconds later, we started to move in reverse! In fact, we were going down an incline, so gravity should have pulled us down. But rather, the magnetic field of the mountains was repelling us back up the road! CrAzY!

Some time later we also saw a humorous sight. In front of us was a motorcycle moving slowly, and it appeared to have three people on it. Sure enough, as we passed it, we saw three men on the bike, and they gave us strange looks as we passed them. It was hilarious.

A few hours later we arrived safe and sound back at the Sitio de Alegre at the seminary in Crato. Home sweet home! Oh how I loved that little place that had become a home to me in only a few weeks.

After a chili supper we went shopping for some groceries and some food that Danae and I would bring back home to the states. I drooled over the stacks and stacks of cajuina and guarana at the stores. I wanted to bring loads of them back!

Alas, such a feat is impossible, so I opted for a few small bottles of cajuina and some cans of dulce de lece that I absolutely loved.

That night I packed up rest of my stuff and got it ready for my upcoming flight. Crato was merely a short pit stop on our way to Fortaleza. I slept one last time in my bed at Seminario Batista do Cariri, and the next day the four of us would travel once again.

Preface: This post (and the next four) are LONG overdue. I completed my ministry in Brasil in July 2013, but I never finished writing about it. After spending time with Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie tonight in freezing Iowa, and soon to embark on a new ministry experience, I decided I need to get on here and finish recording my Brasil experience.

Sunday. One last Sunday in Brasil. Hard to believe it had already come to that, but it had. I loved Sunday’s in Brasil, and this one was no different. I only wish it had not come so soon. But God controls time, and in His perfect plan, we would have one more amazing Sunday ministry before heading home to the states.

As mentioned in the last blog post, Saturday was a late night, but I woke up on Sunday excited. For breakfast I enjoyed more sweet bread, a ham/egg/cheese sandwich, manioc root cake, and some splendid maracuja juice. Man, I still miss that maracuja so much. Anyway, breakfast was great, but before long it was time to head out.

This morning we got to visit Igreja Batista Esperanca (Hope Baptist Church), and it was such a great experience! The people welcomed us just as warmly as the beautiful building, and we prepared to present the program of music/testimonies/preaching that we had shared at two churches just a week earlier.

As the service got underway, Uncle Doug got up and introduced our Aventura Brasil team to the congregation, and Danae and I picked up on a good portion of his Portuguese as he told the church how he hoped we would return to Brasil and stay there. Of course, we laughed a lot because he is so animated and humorous, but I also wished that I would indeed have an opportunity to come back someday. But only God knows when and for how long it might be.

When it was our turn, we sang and talked and preached with just as much energy as we had before. Once again, the people responded well, and they joined in their Portuguese dialect as we sang the well-known songs in English. Ah, it was so great! Afterward I enjoyed visiting with some of the people. Just like many of the other churches, it was hard to leave after only one visit.

For lunch I had chili, cornbread, and cajuina, and then I rested a little before the evening service. One more ministry opportunity…one more.

After a light supper of sweet bread, manioc root cake, and Coke, we loaded up and traveled to a larger church that was a little farther away. The building was packed that evening, and I recognized faces from Seminario Batista do Cariri.

As we got up to sing, I was overwhelmed. Not by the number of people- crowds don’t scare me. Not by the task at hand- we had done this three times already at three different churches. Not by weariness- I was full of energy. No, I was overwhelmed by the significance of the moment. Here, at the end of seven weeks, I was standing with three other people who I had become close to over the last several days, and we were about to expend ourselves one last time in a ministry setting before heading home.

As we sang, and as the people started joining in the tune, I had to fight to keep from crying as I stood up there. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…” I was sad, but at the same time, I was SO happy! Thank you God for bringing me to Brasil this summer!

We finished singing, we finished the testimonies, and I preached one final time with Uncle Jim as my interpreter. It was a great night. It was an absolutely great night, and we lingered a long while outside that building before leaving that evening. It was such a huge blessing.

For supper we went to a bustling pizza restaurant and enjoyed pizza and guarana. Of course, like a good American, I ate my pizza sans ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, even though the opportunity presented itself. I just couldn’t bring myself to ruin such a good piece of food, so I saved the condiments for those who like it.

We had a good time of fellowship and fun. It was nice to spend a little more time with the missionaries, especially with the Reiner’s.

Finally I was tired. The day was good, the food was good, and God was best, just as He always is. The rest of the week would consist of a little fun, a little relaxation, and a slow march back north, first to Crato, then to Fortaleza, then to Iowa.

Wow, what a CrAzY, long, exciting, bittersweet day! Once again, it began shortly after 4am with the crowing of the rooster and lots of prayer until the sun came up. I walked around on the beach for awhile, looking around and enjoying the island. It was really cloudy all morning, so the sunrise wasn’t anything too spectacular. It was barely even noticeable aside from the fact that my surroundings got lighter as the morning progressed.

For breakfast we ate bolo (cake), bread with butter, cuscuz with eggs, and mamo. We had our fourth and final chapel service after breakfast, and the gospel was presented one last time. Well, I think it was. It was in Portuguese so I didn’t understand it all, but that’s what I got out of it. 🙂

Afterward we had our last activity time, went swimming one last time, and signed the Ilha de Tesouro guest book. We had a scrumptious lunch of rice, black beans with sausage, pasta, lettuce salad, and guarana, and soon after we packed up to leave. We took several pictures together and then I climbed some huge rocks with the campers. We looked around the island one last time, wishing we could stay but thankful for the memories we had made together.

It wasn’t long before we loaded up the Noah II, boarded the water vessel, and waved good-bye to our beloved camp. As we sailed around the island and saw the parts of it that we had not explored, I looked on with sadness, wondering if I would ever return to what had quickly become my second camp. We watched as storm clouds covered the island and poured rain on it behind us, and soon a rainbow appeared. Wow!

Soon I heard singing down below the deck, so I went down to see what was going on. There, Mrs. Atha was leading the kids in songs that we had sung on the island that weekend. The kids sung as loud as they could, chasing away the sadness of our departure. The smiles on their faces were so big that it was easy to tell they were genuinely worshiping God. It was SUCH a blessing! I stood down there and watched, took pictures, recorded a few videos, and almost cried with joy at the sight.

Unfortunately the trip ended, and we arrived back at the mainland. We unloaded the boat quickly, and I could barely say good-bye as the campers drove away, back into the harsh world. But there was no time to ponder the significance of the moment as Danae, Destiny, William and I were quickly whisked into another vehicle and taken back to Sobradinho.

We had a youth activity that evening, so we had to quickly change gears and prepare for our next ministry. We went to a facility that houses a deaf church, but tonight it was holding a youth activity for three different churches. Neto and Joy led the group in singing and then Danae, Destiny, William, and I shared our testimonies and told the teens a little bit about our lives (similar to what we had done at the Hope Encounter). Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie met back up with us again, and they translated for us when we spoke.

Then, we split up into different groups and did a scavenger hunt in the dark town around us. The clues they gave us were written in English, so we Americans were in charge of helping them know what to find. Fortunately, some of the people in my group knew English well enough to help the others figure out what they were doing. It was a whole lot of fun, and we laughed a lot along the way.

Back at the church, we ate hot dogs for supper. I talked to some of the students who spoke English and then Uncle Jim told me about the history of the church and its property. It is always exciting to hear how God works. When the activity was over, Uncle Doug and Aunt Renate took us all to a past restaurant called La Pasta. It was like the pasta version of Subway. We picked our noodles and meat and vegetables and then we watched as they cooked it all together. Man! It was SO good!

The four of us “kids” stayed up late, talking outside in the cool grass. It was one of our last evenings together, so we took advantage of the time together and talked a lot about different things in life. Eventually we did go to bed though because we had one last Sunday of ministry awaiting us.

Woke up this morning to a rooster crowing somewhere on the island…shortly after 4am. The one thing about roosters functioning as alarm clocks is that you can’t hit the snooze on them…especially when they are not within reach and don’t belong to you. So I had no choice but to just lie there in my hammock for awhile. I didn’t even need William’s alarm to wake me up, but I still waited until it sounded before I got up.

I grabbed my camera and hiked over to the large rock formation where William had led us the previous evening, and I sat down at the top, waiting for the sun to rise. It was shortly after 5:30, and the sun was still well-hidden. While I waited, I looked around at the surrounding island and took some low-light pictures and spent some time in prayer.

Finally around 6:00 the sun started to show itself, and within fifteen minutes it had risen above the small layer of clouds that feebly attempted to veil it. It was not the most impressive sunrise I have ever seen, but the golden glow that it cast over the rocky island was a beautiful sight. I snapped a few more pictures and then headed back to our cabin where the guys were waking and preparing for the day.

William had told us that breakfast was at 7:00, so at 6:45 I already had my guys to the dining hall, ready to eat. Yeah, the whole cultural thing about being late didn’t seem to be a factor. Like good Americans, we were 15 minutes early…well, make that 45 minutes early. We looked at the schedule and it told us that breakfast was actually at 6:45.

Eita! I wasn’t gonna wait around for 45+ minutes to eat! So I told my guys and Grayson that we we’re going to go explore the beach and take some pictures. So for the next 45 minutes we walked along the beach, took pictures, and jumped off rocks. Grayson took us to a large rock that has a deep sand drift at its base, and we took pictures of each other jumping off of it and into the soft sand.

Shortly after 7:30 we ate our breakfast: ham sandwiches, cuscuz with eggs, a banana, and mamo. It was colorful, tasty, and filling. After breakfast we went to the chapel for our morning session. Aunt Michelle talked about the entrance of sin into the world and how it affects us. I heard John 3:16 in Portuguese for the first time!

Our next activity for the day was games, so we all headed over to the court. The guys played futebol while the girls played tug-a-war and parachute games, and after awhile we switched. I had not played any soccer since my first week here, back when I played with the seminary students in Crato. But it was lots of fun and a good reminder to me of how far I needed to go before I was back in shape for my senior season of soccer back at school.

We were all hot and sweaty, so we went swimming again before lunch. This time it was for an extended period of time, and the morning waves were still crashing into the shore. They also opened up the “tiroleza” (also known as a zipline in American lingo) for us to ride down into the water. The first time I went down I screamed really loud, much to the delight of the campers. Several of the campers and I also made a human train and walked around in the water, laughing all the way.

For lunch we had rice, beans, noodles, chicken, vegetable salad, and Coke. After lunch we had a short break, and then we had our afternoon activities. We spend time doing archery, shooting, and riding a donkey cart. I played two-on-two soccer with some of the boys in the sand, and Francivaldo was on my team. Unfortunately, with the game tied 1-1, I scraped my right big toe on a rock in the sand, and it started to bleed a lot. So, I washed it up and William bandaged it, but it was harder to get around the island after that.

The last few activities of the afternoon were kayaks and paddleboats, the tiroleza, and swimming again. I went out on a kayak, but I tried to protect my toe by not doing the other activities. As I watched the others having fun, I sat there and tried to keep from getting sunburned, bummed that I couldn’t join in until my toe healed a little. My toe is such a little member, but when it hurts, my whole body feels the effects! 1 Corinthians 12 became a little more real to me as I limped around.

Supper consisted of pasta with meat sauce and mamo. We also had rice and beans, but I skipped those this time.

We went to chapel for our evening session, and we watched the Jesus movie in Portuguese. I was able to understand some of the phrases, so it was a good opportunity to listen to the movie and try to figure out as much as I could. At the end I played a couple songs on the saw, and the kids loved it.

We rounded out the day with the climbing wall, hot chocolate, and some games at the athletic court. I kinda wanted to try out the climbing wall, but I didn’t get an opportunity too. Oh well…next time I come, I’ll hopefully be able to! I’m interested to see how it compares to the walls at Iowa Regular Baptist Camp which I have climbed muito, muito times. This is the first summer since IRBC opened the climbing tower that I have not climbed up it.

Wow, what a great day! My only full day on Ilha de Tesouro was SO much fun, and it was also filled with many learning opportunities. It is so exciting to be part of this ministry and to have a small part in these campers’ lives, even though I’m an Americano who can’t speak their language fluently! Looking forward to one last day, but not looking forward to leaving the island.

Today’s a day I have been anticipating for a long time…Treasure Island! I ate a quick breakfast of egg casserole and coconut bread and packed everything I would need for three days on the island. With the exception of my hammock, I managed to get it all in a small suitcase.

We left Petrolina in late morning and drove back to Sobradinho. Uncle Doug took me, D
Right after passing over the Sobradinho Dam, we turned off the road. There, tucked back in a tiny little canal is Noe II, the boat that would take us across the lake to Treasure Island. Uncle Doug dropped us off there with all our stuff and then drove into Sobradinho to start picking up the campers.anae, Joy Baxter, and Neto, the latter two having been picked up in Petrolina. Aunt Renate took Destiny and picked up Tatiane and Chelsea, a couple other girls who were going to be counselors with us.

Along with the others, I stayed in the boat and ate a chicken salad sandwich, chips, and orange tangerine juice. After what seemed like a long time of waiting, Aunt Renate, Uncle Doug, and the Atha’s all started showing up with vehicles full of kids. In all we had 23 kids, and we quickly loaded all their stuff into the lower level of the boat.

We were underway shortly after 2:00 and we had only gone out several meters into the lake when we started to turn around and go back toward land. We pulled up next to an electric pole sticking out of the water and “docked” there while William and Grayson Atha jumped into the shallow water and started running back toward their vehicle. They forgot the electric keyboard and William’s violin!

So they come running back, William with the violin and a toolbox and Grayson with the piano on his back. Later I found out that they also left the car unlocked, so it was a good thing they went back. After that short escapade we finally headed in the direction of the island for good.

Along the way I spent time talking with Grayson, William, and Destiny, and I also got to know the names of some of the boys who were camping. I really enjoyed the opportunity to just sit down and get to know the others better. Destiny also asked to pilot the boat, and when Uncle Byron granted her permission, I took some pictures of her as she swerved back and forth through the water.

An hour and a half later we came upon the long-awaited island, and I got my first glimpse of what would become my second camp. Iowa Regular Baptist Camp is my first camp, but Ilha de Tesouro now ranks up right next to it as the best camp in the world. I was so excited!

We unloaded everything on land and walked to the dining shelter where I was assigned three campers: Viniciu, Francivaldo, and Felipe. Grayson was also given to me as my translator. Time would tell that these were the best possible guys I could have had. The three boys really enjoyed being with me despite the language barrier, and Grayson was one of the best friends I could have ever asked for. Besides that he is also hilarious, and I like laughing. 🙂

Everyone grabbed their belongings and we went to the long house where all the guys would sleep. It was a really long building, open on one side and just wide enough to hang our hammocks. All nine campers and six counselors and assistants easily fit in there, and before long we had our stuff unpacked and our beds hung. When we finished, I got my three guys and took a picture together with them before moving on to the next activity.

Although we are all staying together, William, Neto, and I are each responsible for three guys. We have to do everything together, so wherever I go, my campers go. They cannot leave me and do things on their own. My guys did an especially good job of sticking with me, and as a result, we had a whole lot of fun together.

Back in our “dining hall” we had a snack of uvas (grapes) that we had been given earlier in the week, and that was the beginning of many language lessons with my boys. I told them the English translation for “uva” and throughout the rest of the weekend they taught me many words in Portuguese while I told them the English equivalents. It was great!

William took us on some trails around the island, and we went up to one of the highest points on the island atop some massive rocks. They look like hills, but they are literally just huge rocks. While up there we took some group pictures and then headed back down. Everywhere we looked we saw red sand, rocks, cacti, and dead trees. It’s a desert island for sure!

After that we had about half an hour before the sunset, so we all went down to the lake to “banho” (swim). Now, as Grayson informed me, “banho” can mean either swim or bathe/shower, etc. So we were taking them to swim, and it was also going to double as their bath for the day.

I remember in Junior Boys camp at IRBC when my dad was my counselor and told us we had to either take a shower or go swimming each day. Well, here it is the same word, so I found that amusing. No confusion as to our intentions at this camp!

Now, I’m not a big fan of swimming, but when you’re counseling, anything can be fun! I actually looked forward to being in the water, and I jumped right in there with the rest of them and had a merry time splashing and jumping and laughing and taking pictures. The last time I swam in a fairly clean lake was in 2011 when I was in Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada, and there the water is cold!

Oh yeah, I also swam in the lake at the Iguatu camp only a few weeks ago, and that was a clean one too. I’m just so used to the extremely dirty Clear Lake at IRBC in Iowa that swimming in the Sobradinho Lake was a totally new camp experience for me. At IRBC we use the swimming pool because the lake is like a mud pit with broken glass all over the bottom.

The sun went down, we dried off and changed, and then we ate a supper of hamburgers and watermelon. Shortly after that we went to chapel. The chapel building is very similar to the one at the Iguatu camp, just a roof with concrete benches. But with no mosquitoes and moderate temperatures, it is perfect for camp. It doesn’t have the fancy sound and light equipment, but it retains the outdoor, camp-like feel.

We sang some songs and Uncle Doug gave the message, talking about the universe and the stars and the galaxies. Of course, I couldn’t understand everything he said, but he talked about the universe and what Scripture said about it. Through history, scientists and their technology have confirmed Scripture over and over again! God created the universe and knows it better than anyone else, and the Bible shows us this truth.

Before going to bed we drank some hot chocolate, and it was a wonderful way to end a wonderful day. Before settling down to sleep, I took some pictures of the myriad stars that shown so brightly out there on the island, and once again, I exchanged translations with my guys as they wanted to know how to say “estralas” in Ingles.

William gave me his phone as an alarm so I could wake up to watch the sunrise, and before long I was fast asleep, enjoying my hammock. Because the island is too far out in the lake for mosquitoes to reach, there are no mosquitoes on the island, and they can’t breed there. So I didn’t have to worry about them as I slept either!

My first day and night at Treasure Island were more than I could have ever asked for, and we still had a couple days left. Zzzzzzzz…

This morning we went to meet the rest of Uncle Byron and William’s family at their home and to have some fun with William. We ate a breakfast of French toast with mamo (papaya) smoothies and at about 9:30 we jumped in the car to drive to Sobradinho, Bahia, another city in another state about an hour away.

Along the way we passed over the Sobradinho Dam, a large hydroelectric dam built in the 1970s. It is built on the Sao Francisco River and provides power to cities as far away as Fortaleza. The resulting lake created by the dam is the Sobradinho Lake, and it is home to a special place that I will mention later.

Upon arriving at the Atha’s house we found William feverishly putting the finishing touches on his homemade go-kart. He built it a long time ago, but it was in dire need of a massive tune-up, so he had been trying to get it ready for us.

Rest of the morning was SO much fun! The go-kart wouldn’t start so Uncle Byron pulled it with his SUV while William popped the clutched. We didn’t get very far though before we had to stop, call his dad, and do the whole car-pulling thing all over again. But we got it and this time we went a good long distance on some desert trails, having a grand old time.

However, once again it stopped, this time far away from the house. So Destiny, Danae, and I got out and pushed it while William popped the clutch, and we got it started again. The rest of the afternoon we did this SIX more times! Sometimes we just went too slow to keep up the power and it died. One time we stopped intentionally so we could go swimming in the river.

At one point the car died next to an abandoned rock quarry, so we got out and explored the area. It was full of little shells because sometimes it has water, providing homes to marine creatures. It was all dry at this time, so we just walked through piles of dust, salt deposits, and extremely black mud. Yes, it was just a big hole in the desert, but it had plenty of interesting things to see.

On the way to the river we got stuck in about 20cm of water and had to push it out. This time Destiny steered while we pushed it out. We went through the water earlier just fine, but this time it was too much for the car and we got bogged down. I literally just laughed because I thought it was hilarious.

Eventually we got to the river. Destiny and Danae went with William down to the river while I explored an abandoned construction site that was used while the dam was constructed. Rows and rows of very large concrete blocks were stacked in the woods, once used as temporary dams while the permanent one was built.

I also went in a building that had a bathroom, a stove, and an old bed. It was obvious that at one time someone lived there, and all around the outside of the site were trash deposits. I even found an old bike with flat tires, standing off to the side.

After looking at some pictures online, I have recently gained an interest in abandoned structures. It’s so interesting to go into a place that was once full of life and now lays empty and dead. It reminds me that in life some people can be so full of life, excited about serving God, but they can just as easily turn around and become living corpses. So I had a lot of fun looking around, envisioning all that used to take place here before it was left to nature.

When I was done, I rode the bike on its rims back to the dirt road, also carrying a cow bell that I found at the site. I joined the others down at the river to cool off and to clean off my muddy clothes (from going through that water) and my waterproof camera.

William’s mom called so we had a thrilling ride back home, reaching speeds of over 60 kph. I tied the cowbell onto the car, and it was a nice touch of sound as we sped through the desert. William felt really bad about the car not working right, and we teased him about it, but in reality we all loved it. Even pushing the car made the morning that much more fun. It was a true desert adventure.

For lunch we enjoyed some southern fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, biscuits, and sweet tea. Mmmm…we had a laughter-filled conversation full of puns and jokes and other such humor. The Atha family is so fun!

After lunch we drove back to Petrolina and spent the rest of the afternoon resting from our CrAzY morning. In the evening we returned to Juazeiro Oito for the third and final evening of EBF. It went really well, and I also played the saw for the kids, and they loved it.

It was really sad to watch the kids go. I took lots of pictures of them, and they likewise asked me to take even more. As they left, I lingered outside in the street, taking several pictures of them as they walked away. Many or all of them I will never see again. 🙁 In only three days, I came to love them so much. It has also been five years since I last helped with VBS, so part of me just really enjoyed the opportunity to work with kids again.

We ate a snack before EBF, but we saved our appetites to go to a pizza restaurant in Petrolina by the river afterward. It was great pizza, and fortunately we weren’t forced to used the hamburger condiments that were on the table (ketchup and mayonnaise). Just good ol’ pepperoni and cheese/tomato/garlie pizzas with cajuina and uva (grape) juice.

By the time we finished it was after 10:00, so we didn’t have much time before going to bed. I took the laptop to the Reiner’s empty swimming pool and called my family, and it was fun to talk to all of them for awhile and hear how they were doing.

Soon after I went to bed because a busy day of Treasure Island was up next! One ministry on to the next…saying good-bye to some kids and meeting some new ones. What a great last week in Brasil this is.

Breakfast this morning was SO good! French rolls, cheese, and some sweet bread with coconut that reminded me of the pan de coco that my family loves to get at China Town in Seattle. Mmmm…it was one of the many highlights of my day.

We left the house around 9:00 to meet up with a friend of the Reiner’s who would take us to a grape plantation. The man’s name is Marceu and we picked him up at the place where he works. He took us to a plantation, and the owner of the plantation, Renato, gave us a personal tour of the vineyards!

Petrolina is still a desert area, but it has the Sao Francisco River running through it. Because of this river, the Sao Francisco River Valley is home to many fruit plantations. We drove by fields and fields of grapes, passion fruit (maracuja), coconuts, bananas, guava (guiaba), and several other things I can’t remember.

Crops are harvested from the valley all year long because it doesn’t get cold here. It’s just warm, ideal crop-growing conditions all the time, and Sao Francisco provides a steady supply of irrigation. So the plantations are designed in such a way that parts of them are being harvested while the other parts are already producing the next crops.

Renato began by showing us his passion fruit. The ones he grows go to the local stores and markets. Marceu broke open a couple and we tasted the fruit inside them. It reminded me a lot of gooseberries because of its tartness, and it even looks like a massive gooseberry. However, I thought it tasted a little better. I also know what sweetened maracuja tastes like, and I love it. 🙂

Next we moved onto the grapes, and we learned all about the process of growing, tending, and harvesting grapes. We started with some vines that had already been harvested and we’re in the process of beginning a new crop. Some of them were being pruned to remove access foliage, and others were already producing big bunches filled with hundred of tiny grapes. Basically, the field had grapes in every stage of development.

I do not remember the exact number, but I think they said that the ideal bunch of grapes has no more than 100 grapes on it. When the new bunches start producing, a section of the vine has thousands and thousands of “grapes” on it, so they have to be pruned way back so that only a few hardy bunches will produce satisfactory fruits.

We moved onto some bunches of grapes that were a light purple, and they let us try them. They were so good! But, they told us that they were not ready to be harvested. But if they already tasted good, the ones that were ready would be even better.

So we moved on to the dark purple ones that were ready for harvesting, and sure enough, they were amazing! Mmmm…fresh grapes off the vine. I had lots of fun taking pictures of them and eating them as we walked along. It was so fun to just keep eating fresh grapes as I walked among them.

Next we looked at the green grapes. We also looked at the various stages that they were in and ate some. After that we moved on to the processing and packing building where workers packaged the grapes to be sold. Each box of grapes holds 10 half-pound containers of grapes, and we watched as they measured out the grapes with the new weighing machines that Renato had just started using.

As we left the building, Renato presented presented us with a whole box of grapes as a gift. It was such a pleasant surprise! Five pounds of fresh grapes from the vineyard we had just trod. Before we left we thanked him for his time and kindness and got a picture with him.

We drove back to the warehouse where Marceu works and he took us around the giant refrigerators to show us several more varieties of grapes. For 20+ years he has been in the exportation business, receiving grapes from the growers and selling them abroad.

We tried four different kinds of grapes, two more seedless purple varieties, a seedless green variety, and a seeded green variety. The green ones with seeds were the sweetest green grapes I have ever eaten, and I couldn’t believe how good they were. When we left, we got one more surprise- he gave us a box of purple grapes and the two boxes of green grapes! So we went home with about 20 pounds of grapes!

It was such an enjoyable morning of learning and free stuff. We got to enjoy really good grapes for the rest of the week because of the generosity of those two men. Now if I ever see grapes from the Sao Francisco River Valley, I can say that I have been there and experienced it!

We ate lunch back at the Reiner’s house with Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie right before they made the trip back north to Crato. We had lasagna, garlic bread, cajuina, and of course, grapes. 🙂

It was sad to see the Leonard’s go because I had spent every single day with them since I arrived. More than that, I wished they could have stayed with us to help with the ministries that we were going to be involved in during est of the week. But Uncle Jim had some important meetings to attend, and they would return on Saturday, so we said good-bye to them and looked forward to their return.

After resting for a couple hours and making some snacks for EBF, Uncle Doug took us downtown in Petrolina where we took a short ferry ride across the river and visited some shops. When we first got off the boat, Uncle Doug bought coconuts for both Destiny and me, and we sipped fresh coconut juice as we walked down the streets.

Speaking of which, I’ve heard it called coconut juice, coconut water, and coconut milk. How can it be so many different things? Weird. I never think of milk, juice, and water as being even close to the same thing.

Moving on, we came to a store that was like a dollar store, and Uncle Doug sent Danae, Destiny, and me in there to buy a ball. We needed a ball for the games that evening at EBF, so he gave Dnae R$ 20 and told us to buy the cheapest ball we could use.

So we went in there, found the balls, and Danae successfully asked the employees for the price of the ball we wanted and purchased it. We all felt great after that minor accomplishment.

As we walked back to the river we stopped by a large music store that had several interesting instruments in the windows. We gawked over them as Danae pointed out a one-valve trumpet, pocket trumpets, and a trumpet with a slide or something like that. It was really fun to see so many weird things in one place.

We rode the ferry back across the river, went back to eat a supper of vegetable soup, garlic bread, grapes, and cajuina, and then we went to Juazeiro Oito for the second night of EBF. We had a few more kids tonight, and once again we had fun singing and playing games with them. Once again I watched as the kids walked home by themselves at night when we finished…

Uncle Doug took us to an outdoor restaurant for a snack on the way home. They grill meat on a stick, just like a kabob with nothing but meat, and they served it to us in long hot-dog bun-like pieces of bread. I tried both kinds of beef and the frango (chicken), and I liked one of the beef  ones the best.

Well, that’s it for today. It was a really long, really enjoyable day, and tomorrow we get to go to Bahia to visit rest of the Atha family. Not sure exactly what all is planned, but I heard we get to do some driving around with William. Oh buddy… 🙂