Updates

I am sorry to not have posted this past week. I have not had an internet connection. We have been very busy, and the only access I had to the internet (The Lan House-a little cafe with internet access) was closed all three times we were able to go. The operational hours are posted, but they are not followed. Each day, I typed a word document and saved it on our laptop. I am going to post the days in order with pictures. I hope this helps update you on everything. We are at Word of Life Brazil today with Alisson's brother and his family. It is absolutely beautiful here. We are up in the mountains. It is not near the beach. It is more of a jungle type area. It has rained quite a lot today, and the wind has been so nice. It is much cooler here than it is in Recife. We will be here today and tomorrow. Alisson has been studying all day. He is speaking on Sunday morning. Please keep us in your prayers. Our trip has been wonderful, and it is quickly coming to an end. I think Saturday night, we will leave for the beach. We will be there Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Wednesday we will return to Recife. God is so good to us. I hope you all are doing well. We miss you.

Wednesday:
Today was a busy day!! This morning Alisson and his mom took me to see the home of an artist by the name of Brennand. It was very different. Neither Alisson nor his mom had never been there either. I am still trying to figure out what everything I saw meant. The art was very eclectic. The artist took his inspiration from Egyptian and Greek mythology and from Roman Catholicism. We were there for hours looking at all the work he had accomplished in his eighty some years. He has spent the past 34 years of his life rebuilding the ruins of a brickworks estate founded by his father in 1917. The place is huge and in its own way, inviting. He has put massive amounts of time and energy into this project.
After leaving the museum, we ate lunch and then drove home. This evening we had a birthday party for my youngest nephew, Samuel. He wanted to go skating, so we all went to a skating arena. I think the kids had a great time. The adults played Skip-Bo. I had never played before. It is really a fun and easy game to play. We left the arena and drove to Habib’s. Habib’s is a Brazilian/Arab pizza place. It has very good pizza. It is not the type of pizza I am familiar with. My family here eats ketchup on their pizza. Believe it or not, it is not that bad. I tried it. The pizza here does not have a lot of tomato sauce on it. The ketchup gives it that tomato flavor. I had a great time with family at Samuel’s birthday party.
Alisson, his dad, and I left the party around 9:30 in order to make it to a soccer (futebol) game that started at 10:00. I have been to professional soccer games in the States, but this made those look like little league games. There were so many people. The stadium was not packed, but it was full. We were able to watch the team that Alisson used to play for. We watched the professional team play. In Brazil, each team has different levels of players. The professional team is the highest level. These players have graduated from school, and their lives are centered on the game. The levels below professional are divided by age groups. These players are still in school and usually do not play on the professional level. These levels below pro feed the professional team. Alisson played indoor and outdoor soccer in these levels while he was in high school. After graduating, he spent his first college year at Word of Life Bible Institute in the northeast of Brazil and then came to the US. It was neat to be able to see where he practiced every day after school. It was just one more piece of the puzzle to seeing his life while he was growing up. It is a whole different culture here. The military and police are at the soccer games. They escort the away team and the referees off of the field at half time and at the end of the game. The fans are extremely vocal about the plays in the game. All in all, we had a really great time. It was a new experience for me, and I enjoyed it. I have posted some pictures.

The pictures below are of the Brennand Museum

The next few pictures were taken at the game.

The Police and Military were very visible for the game.

Tuesday:
Today I visited one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Alisson and his mom took me to Olinda. It is the first settlement of the Portuguese. It is absolutely gorgeous. You can see the entire city of Recife from the top of Olinda. At the top is an ancient church. It is considered to be the “Mother Church,” and all the other churches in Olinda are built facing it. It is very interesting. We were not able to enter that church, but we were able to enter Santa Anna. The history of Santa Anna is amazing in itself. Its current structure was built in the mid 18th century. It joins a convent that was built in the late 17th century. I love old buildings, especially churches. They have so much history and character. I had a wonderful time.
After sightseeing some, we had lunch at this beautiful spot across from the Mother Church. It had some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. As always, the food was great!!
What I was able to see of Olinda was beautiful. Alisson told me that there was so much more to see, but that we would not have time. Lord willing, next time we come back to Brazil, I will be able to see more of this fantastic place.

Olinda

View of the first church established in Olinda

View of Santa Anna church that is facing the "Mother Church"

(notice the same coloring in both churches-all the older churches are that color)

Monday:
Today was crammed full of bits and pieces of Alisson’s life. I had a great time seeing where he grew up. I was able to see the apartment he lived in when he was younger, where he played as a kid (in the streets), where he went to elementary school, junior high, and high school, and the team stadiums he played in, his high school soccer coach, and most importantly, I was able to eat the “world’s best ice cream.” I know that statement is up for debate, but Alisson has always talked about this little place close to his old high school that has the best ice cream in the world. We were able to go there after our tours and have some. I had chocolate and coconut, and yes, it was very good.
After our early morning rendezvous, we drove to the center of Recife. Wow is all I can say. I have posted some pictures. It was crazy there. There were so many people. It was definitely an exciting place to be. I only had one small problem, and it was with the meat. The sight of it did not bother me, but the smell of all the meat made me a little sick to my stomach. I would definitely like to go back. There were so many things to see. I could have stayed there all day and looked around. It was amazing.
On the way home, we stopped at a tourist spot. It was an old prison that had been converted into a building for shopping. Each of the “cells” had a little shop set up in it. It was very interesting. It is incredible that a building used for housing prisoners can look so beautiful. I took some pictures of us while there.

The apartment where Alisson grew up.

Alisson's elementary school

Alisson's high school

Alisson's favorite ice cream

A view of one of the prison cells
One of the four hallways of cells; each hallway has three levels.

Sunday:
Yesterday was a somewhat relaxing day. Last night, we had to go to the Lan House (The only internet connection available. It is a little shop with access to computers with fast internet.) to be able to connect to the internet in order to take a mid-term for our class. It was quite an experience. My computer froze halfway through the test and then closed down. The mid-term was timed and you were only allowed to take it once. I was afraid that when I logged back into my e-campus that it would not allow me to pick up where I left off. Thankfully, the test had saved but not submitted. It was a relief. I wish you could have seen the two of us trying to figure out what was wrong.
Church today was good. We went to a church that Alisson’s brother used to attend. One of Alisson’s best friends currently attends there with his family. Alisson translated everything for me as the pastor spoke. After church, we all went to this wonderful restaurant. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet (such great food). I could only eat one plate, but what I had was delicious. After leaving the restaurant, we went sightseeing at to Old Refice. The Dutch influence in the architecture is beautiful. The buildings are old, and the city is working on restoring them, but they are gorgeous. The streets are narrow, and people sell merchandise along them. Alisson was very good at negotiating prices with the merchants. It was so fun to watch. He was able to get many good deals. Right across the street from the market was the beach. It was beautiful, but you can tell that the coastline is shrinking. Every year, Recife loses an extremely small space between the ocean and the city. The city is working on ways to slow it down or stop it completely. It was on this beach that I had my first taste of fresh coconut water. It was delicious. There is a part inside the coconut that you can eat as well. It tastes good, but I was not a fan of the texture. It was slimy. The day went by very quickly.

Getting ready for church

Lunch Old RecifeOld Recife Markets

Alisson negotiating

Beautiful jewelry

My first taste of coconut water