Oh MY

OH MY! Just when you think you may have experienced all life has to offer, you make a trip to Brazil and each day is an experience in itself.


Today we spent the morning in the hotel packing up and relaxing a little bit. I am just so glad Ruth can not see the suitcases she had arranged so nicely. All the stuff is back in, but there is definitely bulging. After we give the gifts to Sobral, we will have an empty suitcase so Ruth will not know how bad things got.

Had a wonderful time with the ladies this evening. It is so neat as they share their lives. Where you live is not a purifier of problems. Chima was late so I dug up the librarian who helped me for the first part. She was not really used to me but we made it through.

Time to head for Sobral. We got on the most beautiful bus. It is called a “sleeper bus”. Every seat is like a big recliner with a foot rest. They give you a blanket and you are supposed to sleep. That in itself was a little unsettling!!! You look around and you are in the middle of a big slumber party with people you don’t know. That ride is something everyone should experience. You rock and roll and bounce with more gusto than many theme park rides. If you have ever used that one machine at “Curves”, the one that just jars your teeth and bones……you’ve got it!!! What added to the angst…..there is a glass wall and a glass door between you and the driver and this all has curtains so you have no idea what is going on in front of you. We spent 4 hours on this bus getting in at 2:00 AM. By the time we got to the hotel and settled it was 3:00 AM.

There were three conditions I asked of Chima in getting us rooms. Clean sheets, some air moving and no geckos on the ceiling. She met all three conditions because the gecko was on the wall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I died!!! Rod told me not to worry it was only one. I told him we had no idea how many friends and relatives were waiting to appear. I watched him carefully but somehow he got away, the gecko not Rod.

I told Rod that if I got up in the morning and was combing my hair and a gecko came out, the conference was over, the trip was over and our marriage was in grave danger. Believe me……that was not a jest!!!!!!!!!!! I lay awake till 4:00 AM wondering where he was. Finally I put my slippers in bed with me because I did NOT want to get up in the morning and feel any movement in my slippers. When speaking of getting up, this occurred at 5:45 AM. Short night.

The people here are soooooooooooo loving and friendly. I had a wonderful time with the ladies. They said I was different than other people. Those remarks invite questions which should not be asked!!! Rod and I are thinking the heat is not so bad…..we can handle this after our lovely summer in KC. Then came 11:00 AM!! I have lived in Barstow CA and KC this summer but I have NEVER experienced heat like this. It is just overwhelming. You almost don’t know what to do. You try to smile and act like it is no big deal because they live with it all the time!!! Oh guys……I can barely hang on!! Fortunately, at 6:30 in the evening a beautiful cool breeze comes in and it is just great,





I have decided I am not attending any more services until the speaker actually starts speaking. TWICE as in TWO TIMES…I am sitting there listening to the opening exercise, understanding nothing, when Chima comes and tells me he just announced that I would play a piano solo. I wondered why they were all staring at me. I am not big on piano solos, that is why on Sunday morning we have words and pictures, and then this is a two octave keyboard without a sustaining pedal. It was one of my finer moments. Bad…..would be complementary!!

Sorry this is late. Just absolutely too beat to write. Keep praying. It is a special time..