Trip through the rainforest

Before our concert, we had a chance to take a train ride through the rainforest. It was beautiful and relaxing. At one point along the trip, we sang Amazing Grace---again in 4 part harmony with such rich voices that it made the nap of my neck bristle. Now-- that's a once in a life time experience---traveling through the rainforest, snapping photos of deep ravines and singing Amazing Grace.

This is the exact train and location of our travels this morning. Yes, this unbelievable ravine is a portion of the route through the rainforest.

Two Concerts

We've been able to sing two concerts, one in the city and a 2nd one located about 60 km outside of Curitiba. The concert at Terceira Igreja Quadrangular was in a beautiful church with about 300 people attending. There were a lot of hugs and attempts at understanding their language. The lyrics for our music, diplayed on large screen made it possible for the people to understand our message even though the music was in English. Today, Saturday, we sang at a smaller church in Paranagua. The response was the same, many smiles and hugs. Their faces would light up when we sang Standing on the Promises in Portuguese. As far as I could see, every seat was filled---main floor and in the balconey. It was also wonderful to hear the prayers in their own language, and knowing God hears and understands, even though I do not.

The entire team ate supper afterwards at Joe Bananas ---with unending pizza brought our tables by the waiters. I know we "stood out" in the crowd. First we were Americans, and everyone knew this, but also, we paused to ask a blessing on the food. What brought the attention was the fact that 52 people sang the Doxology, in four part harmony, before we began eating.

all night flights

Travel abroad always starts with a test of your patience and commitment. Fatigue sets in about the third watch of the night. You shut your eyes for a few minutes and then suddenly you think it's morning but it's only 3:00 a.m. This is a good time to reflect on your true purpose for this mission. And, this is a good thing. It is also opportunity to really connect with a team member who may be sitting next to you. For me, this team member was Fran Wilson. What a good spiritual friend Fran has become. She was tested, not only by lack of sleep but also lack of clean clothes as her bag was shipped, not to Curitiba but to Rio de Janiero. There were six team members whose bags were lost, so we may be sharing more than our music folders over the next few day.

Our first meal in Curitiba was delicious --- a delightful buffet in a glass enclosed mall in the center of the city. We have just concluded our first rehearsal. I'm so pleased to be able to sing with all these very talented people. Michael McKnight, as always, was superb with his accompaniment.

We leave in a few minutes for a mid-size Baptist church in the center of the city for our first concert.

What's on your mind.

I was thinking about the words of my faith and realized I could put these in a Word Cloud. Now, I must translate into Portuguese for my friends in Brazil.
See http://wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/96859/Oakmont