My friend and colleague Mike Jewel received some unexpected visitors last month. Here is his report of events: I was sleeping and heard my dog bark. When I looked from bed I saw a shadowy figure in the kitchen. He ordered me to bury my face in the mattress. He asked me a question and…
In January our BMM missionaries in NE Brazil get together for their annual conference/business meeting (we are good Baptists, after all…). This year we did not attend as we are in the US on furlough. However colleague Vicki Reiner posted some beautiful pictures of Triunfo, the city where the conference was held. With her permission…
It’s been a while since we have featured one of these. The song Corcovado by the incomparable Tom Jobim is one of the most beautiful Bossa Nova melodies ever written. Few things help me relax more than this lovely piece. And nobody sings it better than the Japanese/Brazilian vocalist Lisa Ono. Enjoy. My favorite line…
We arrived in Belem this morning. Belem is our final destination before boarding our plane to the US. Our hostess here took us on a boat that cruises the coast of the city. Here are some pictures: Our cruise also included live entertainment featuring traditional music and dance from the state of Para. At one…
After yesterday’s post I had not expected to return to the subject of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God any time soon. However, as I perused the blog of Mrs. Cardoso today (morbid curiosity led me to add it to my RSS feed reader), I was surprised to see a post singing the…
An alert reader recently sent me some information about a new church in Houston, Texas called the Succeed in Life Center. A quick perusal of the website shows that the pastor is one Renato Cardoso–a distinctively Brazilian name. Hmmmmm. A church in Houston being pastored by a Brazilian? Not impossible, but definitely…interesting. One automatically wonders…
Missionaries who leave their homeland to work in another country almost always carry with them political baggage. They will be asked to explain or justify the actions of the leaders of their nation of origin. And this is not limited to current events. I still get asked why the US found it necessary to bomb…
I have been meaning to do this post for some time. Several months ago the son of one of our first BMM missionaries here in Brazil sent me some photos and post cards that date back to the 1930’s. Among the photos were a set of postcards from Belem. As I looked through the cards…
Here are some pictures of a teju (pronounced TEH-zhoo) found on campus yesterday. It had apparently fallen into this hole behind the married-student housing. One of our students, Washington by name, jumped in the pit and pulled it out. This gives a good idea as to the size of the lizard. According to our seminary…
No, not the title of some “alternative history” novel. Two actual pictures I received as part of a collection of pictures taken by the first BMM missionary in Brazil. The first one shows the airship over a typical northeastern Brazilian home of the time: This next one leaves no doubt as to the nationality of…