Greenhouse gases
While vehicles in North America continue to be big, bigger, and biggest, here in Brazil we have the answer to the problems of greenhouse gases. This tiny van actually seats six "comfortably" even if they don't all have enough air to share when there are six people inside. Even after almost two years it still seems strange to see these vehicles around. It's like the minis that were popular in Canada during the eighties.
God, the green thumb
These are pictures of some of the many flowers that grow all around our house here in Sao Paulo. Thankfully, they don't rely one bit on Shannon or myself for their survival. We've managed to kill all of the plants/trees that we bought when we first came to Brazil. So you can imagine how happy a couple of "black thumbs" are to have such abundant life all around us. We will certainly miss all of the colourful flowers when we leave.
Motorcycle traffic
I might have mentioned it before, but now we have a picture of motorcyclists driving between the lanes of cars on the roads (and it applies to all roads). This picture is actually a very uncommon sight, since it is rare that there is so much space between the cars and the motorcycle. On side streets and in residential neighborhoods, it is not uncommon for the motorcycles to weave through any crack big enough for them to squeeze through. Sometimes they hit your mirrors, but ours have never been broken by them. The government actually encourages this dangerous activity since it prevents the traffic jams from being much, much worse.
Candlelight
As the school year begins to wind down, some of the more important events of the school year are starting to hit the schedule. One of the big events is Candlelight. It's a night where the junior class puts on a big meal and a show (although apparently they've never done a dinner theater) to raise money for their graduation year. It's the next best thing to a prom--Christian style. The girls not only got "gussied up," they made an event out of it by inviting their friends (and their friends' mothers) to come over for the afternoon to play "beauty shop." The girls did manicures, pedicures, hair styling, and anything else you can imagine.
When the primping was done, everybody looked gorgeous. We all took our tickets (which were cleverly inserted into tiny bottles) and headed off to the big event.
Everyone had a great time even though some didn't care much for the Arabian food. We made sure that we took lots of pictures so we could have plenty of memories of the girls at their most beautiful. I'm working on making our photo album available, but there are a lot of pictures to upload, so I'm not sure how long it will take.
She's got "laser eyes"
We decided to break the bank and have Shannon get laser eye surgery (lasik). It's supposed to be a lot cheaper here than in North America (although we have our doubts now that we've been through the process) and since Shannon's prescription was so strong her glasses were very expensive. Having the surgery will definitely save us money in the long run, not to mention the quality of life benefit for Shannon, and the fact that I get to look at my beautiful wife the way God intended. Shannon's eyesight is great, and other than one night of suffering (see the picture) it has been a pretty smooth process.
A very unexpected surprise
A few days ago we received a large package from the United States. It was from my former boss at the Bucks County Courier Times in Levittown, Pennsylvania, and another co-worker there. We had no idea that the box was coming and it was one of those packages that was so stuffed with items that there is no way that you can pack everything back into the box. There were all sorts of Courier Times promotional items including t-shirts, lunch bags, handbags and various "chotchkeys" (trinkets). Although there were gifts for the whole family, I just couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion as item after item was discovered among the tightly-packed bags. To think that people that I worked with five years ago would care enough to shower us with blessings was just an amazing thing. We all felt very loved. I, especially, felt very appreciated. Thank you God for my dear friends in Pennsylvania.The will of God
In light of the momentous decision we have made recently, I was asked to share with the staff at PACA how it is that one knows the leading of God in his life. This is what I shared with them in response:1. God will never reveal His will to a husband and wife in a way that one contradicts the other. If there is contradiction, then either one spouse is right and the other is wrong, or both are wrong.
2. God only reveals His will to those whose hearts are in tune with Him. We must check our motives. Do we think we know God's will because WE WANT change, or do we really want what God wants for us?
3. God's will will NEVER lead us into sin. It's completely contrary to His nature to do so. If you have to make compromises on righteousness to go one direction, then that is NOT God's direction for your life.
4. God's will ALWAYS requires an act of faith (even if the act of faith is staying put.) God's clear statement that "without faith it is impossible to please God" does not end when we are trying to figure out God's will. In fact, it is always God's plan to stretch us and to make us grow in our faith. If a direction you're considering looks comfortable, it almost certainly isn't God's will for you (consider Lot's decision.)
5. God will always give the decision maker(s) peace about the decision when it is the right one. A peace that passes understanding comes with the right decision, which is important, because the path that God might lead us down may be filled with difficulties, even from the start. Without that peace, it would be very easy to turn back.
The good news in all of this is that since it is God's will, there is nobody who wants you to know that desire stronger than He does. Therefore, God will make sure that the circumstances of your life (which He controls) will give you the clues necessary to see what He is trying to get you to see.
Caverna do Diabo
Sorry to leave you hanging for a week. Got busy...So we left our hotel and headed down the dangerous road to our destination, and the cave made all the concerns we had go away. The site itself looked a little run-down. It's in a very poor part of the state. Upon arriving there were several kids at our doors asking for money for food. We gave them a little of both. Unfortunately, we found out that there were more where the originals came from and we ran out of food to give.
We ended up assembling at the start of the trail with our guide ("guia" in Portuguese - the same word for "map") who led us to the cave...
The cave was quite dark, but along the path they had lights so you could see where you were going. They also had bright spotlights every once in a while to show off a nice part of the cave.
The whole cave was incredible if you ask us. The stalactites (which hang from the ceiling) and stalagmites (which grow up from the ground) were spectacular. Had it not been for the dust and dirt in the cave (and there was plenty of that) the stalactites would have been a beautiful ivory color.
These pictures are all taken without a flash. The cave was so dark, that a flash only lit up about 10 feet in front of you. However, with a special setting on my digital camera, I was able to get these fabulous pictures, while everyone with a traditional camera and flash will discover that their pictures look lousy. Have I mentioned how much I love that digital camera we have?
The name of the cave (see the title) means "Cave of the Devil," and if the spiky formations weren't creepy enough, at the end of the trail there's a natural formation on the wall that looks really eerie...
This is the closest I could zoom in on the "picture" on the wall of the cave. To think that this was not carved into the wall is pretty creepy. God really does have a sense of humor. What gets me is "How in the world did people discover this cave in the middle of nowhere, and then, with no natural light, find this picture of a person's face over 500m into the cave?" Talk about finding a needle in a haystack! We had to get a few people to shine their flashlights on the "face" as again, a flash didn't work from that distance.The trip was absoutely wonderful. We made some great memories as a family and we got to see one of God's amazing natural wonders.