Of all the Brazilian musical styles, perhaps my favorite is Bossa Nova. The soft, incessant rhythm–accompanied by a deceptively simple melody–never fails to calm my nerves and cool my head. Among my favorite singers of this style is Bebel Gilberto (you have probably heard her even if you don’t know it…she was featured on a…
This ad is showing on TV here in Brazil. It is for a bank, advertizing their paperless banking. But the star of the show is the baby. I have yet to tire of seeing this one. ____________________ Did you enjoy this post? Consider making a donation to our ministry in Brazil. As an Amazon Associate…
Yeah, I know, it’s a couple days late. My excuse is that we were on an island in the middle of the Sobradinho reservoir in Bahia. Internet access was “iffy”. The occasion was the New Years retreat (or Retiro da Virada, in Portuguese). Thanks to my friend Júnior (our camera is operating at a less…
Our musical interlude comes a little early this week, as I wanted to include this final Christmas number before Christmas. In the US I was often asked “what is Brazilian music like?” There is no short answer to that question, as Brazilian music is highly varied, with each region of this vast country developing its…
This post is part of an ongoing series which seeks to introduce the readership of this blog to the many fascinating aspects of one of Brazil’s best-kept secrets–the city of São Luís. The city of São Luís has gone all out in their Christmas decorations. While I have been unable to photograph many of the…
After close to six years on the mission field, I have come to the conclusion that I must have missed several important classes while in Bible College. For example, this Sunday afternoon I realized I must have missed Comforting a Mother Whose Son Was Just Killed By A Drug Dealer 101. The following is a…
Historic, because in the history of our association of churches here in Maranhão (roughly 30 years), there has never been an event like it. All of our churches got together and organized an event that was for…all the churches. And it encouraged us greatly that the event was a missionary conference. For the conference we…
In my last post I mentioned a “brush with death” on our way back from the MAB missionary conference last week. Several people have asked about it, so here–without further ado–is how it went down. Thirty-nine years is somewhat of a milestone–if for no other reason than that it is the last birthday before forty….
Yesterday Pastor Francisco and I returned, safe and sound, from a whirlwind tour of the states of Piaui, Pernambuco, Bahia, and Ceará. The occasion was the annual conference of MAB, the Baptist Auxiliary Mission here in NE Brazil. Pastor Francisco is a MAB missionary, and I am on the advisory board. This year’s conference was…
Behind our Kerigma congregation stretches a sizable neighborhood called “Coroadinho”. It is known as a hotbed of crime and violence. Within this neighborhood–and within sight of our church–is a hill named after a colorful figure from Coroadinho’s past known as “Ze Bom Bom”. If Coroadinho is a hurricane of crime, Ze Bom Bom hill is…