July 2008

In July we took the time to visit Alley's grandparents in the north of Brazil. They live in the state of Ceara, in a very rural area outside of Fortaleza. Life there hasn't changed much at all in a long time, and they still live off the land and do a lot of things on thier own. It reminded me a lot of the visits I made to my great aunt's in Oklahoma.

The Kids did well on their first airplane travel (that they remember)

The food of the region is very simple: rice and beans (in this case black-eyed peas), corn, chicken (home grown), beef, fish, fruit, and mandioca (manioc root or yucca). The rivers, springs, and ocean provide quite an assortment of fish, and the fun of catching them by throw-net or traps. Coconut is typical of the region and everyone has his own coconut orchard, and may also have tomatoes, herbs, papaya, star fruit, oranges, limes, guava, gourds, cashew, and several other fruits that don't have names in English. There is even a vine that produces a fruit that when opened is full of rough fibers. When dried, the tube-like fibers toughen and become something similar to a Loofa sponge. I picked my own to use while we were there, and it worked great.

The back yard

Speaking of taking showers: we had indoor plumbing, but no hot water at all, so the showers were very refreshing. It was usually quite hot, so the cold water was welcome.

A solitary beach in the north of Brazil: very inviting

It was a great adventure for me to remember my rural roots and use a machete again. I also picked up some new back-woods skills for use in more tropical climates: how to tell the difference between a green and a mature coconut, how to shell a ripe coconut, and how to cut a green coconut to drink the water inside. Alley and I also tried out the throw-net, which looks easier than it really is. I also picked oranges and star-fruit off the trees on a regular basis (Stephanie ate through star fruit like crazy).

Stephanie was a big helper when it came to carrying green coconuts back to the house

Coconut water from green coconuts is just about perfect as an electrolyte replacer. Here they prescribe it for children with dehydration.

The carambola (star fruit) tree at the Santana place (Alley's grandparents)

Jonathan loved shelling the feijao de corda (black-eyed peas) every day

Everyone loves fresh OJ, especially when you can pick the orange yourself!

One of the most important foods nutricionally and economically is the manioc root. The large form is called mandioca and is poisonous if not prepared correctly. The smaller version is called macaxeira and can be cooked more traditionally and eaten. I prefer it fried.

Alley in a manioc plantation

Manioc is a tall bush. The edible part is the root, and a healthy plant will have about six fat roots that are suitable for peeling and eating. To begin, you must pull up the roots and break off the ones that are large enough to eat.

Alley peels mainioc, and Steph asks, "Want some carambola?"

Alley peels macaxeira so we can fry it up for dinner

Manioc is usually peeled, shredded, and mixed with water to stand for a number of hours. The pulp falls to the bottom and the starch, which is much finer, remains suspended. The pulp is then toasted and dried over a wood fire. This is called farinha de mandioca (manioc flour) and is used as an ingredient in many foods, or simply sprinkled over the food to give it flavor. The starch and water is drained off to other tanks where it settles out into a very fine powder over time. This is also dried and is called goma. Alley's favorite snack, tapioca, is made from the goma.

The machine that shreds the mandioca (manioc or yucca) after peeling

Wet manioc pulp is dried over a fire until it becomes a flaky white powder

After drying it is sifted for consistency

It can also be sun-dried

Farm life requires taking advantage of every resource. Did you know that banana trees, which have to be cut and replanted every year, can be chopped up and used as fodder?

Even on vacation, some days we worked until the cows came home. In this case, to eat chopped up banana trees.

In Ceara, people rise early and go to bed early. They rest in the heat of the day, and are always sure to take a shower and dress for dinner. Above, Abel, Alley's uncle, listens to his radio while relaxing on the swing I made for him, waiting for dinner to be ready.

17 years ago Alley and her family left Ceara. Francisco had already planted a growing congregation in the town of Itarema. Though many years had passed, the congregation has continued to grow and stand firm. We were blessed to visit that congregation twice, and also one of the new congregations that has been planted near Itarema in a little town called Porto dos Barcos (The Ship's Port).

Chris preaches for the congregation in Porto dos Barcos

The Porto dos Barcos congregation

The congregation in Itarema was so pleased that we were there, and had missed Francisco and Liduina for so long, that they opened their homes and threw us a barbecue. The food was delicious, and included some dishes that are not typical for an American barbecue. Rice, beans, farinha, and farofa, were a few of the new ones. But there was a lot of really tasty thin-sliced beef.

The Itarema congregation threw us a big barbecue Sunday before PM worship

The barbecue was in the home of one of the leaders of the congregation, Canario. The home is very nice, but still has hand-pumped well water and an outhouse. After lunch, Mr. Canario, as they call him, invited me over to talk politics with the other men. They sure had a lot of questions, and we had a lively discussion. Afterward, Mr. Canario, who is quite a musician, improvised a song for me in true Cearense style, singing of my travels and exploits!

The kids take a hand-pumped bath the old-fashioned way

After the grill, the guys grilled Chris on politics

We spent the entire afternoon with the congregation at Canario's house, and then slowly transitioned our way tot he church building as evening fell. The congregation is a wonderful group of brothers and sisters, faithful, kind, and generous. It is one of the few congregations in Brazil that has its own full-time evangelist. They withstood a division not long ago, and are very evangelistic.

Just before worship in Itarema on Sunday

Chris preaching in the congregation of Itarema, planted by Francisco over 17 years ago

Presenting Project Brasilia and talking about missions in general

Back at the homestead, we continued to enjoy the little treats that only rural life can offer. One of them, at least in Ceara, is canjica. Canjica is made from corn that has partially dried on the cob, which is then stripped and ground, producing a milky, sticky liquid that is cooked into something like a pudding. It ends up very firm, slightly sweet, and tasting like... corn! It makes a great breakfast or snack.

Stripping the corn off the cob to make canjica

Alley shreds coconut meat on the left, and her grandmother Rita mixes it into tapioca

One of the favorite snacks we had while we were there was tapioca, sort of like a thick tortilla made from goma, shredded coconut, and coconut milk. We ate it warm with fresh cheese.

We had tapioca about every day for breakfast, lunch, or a snack, which meant shredding lots of fresh coconut. They have dozens of coconut palms out back, so there was never a shortage.

Alley's grandfather took us fishing in the river with his thrownet. We didn't catch much, but we did have a beautiful walk to the river through his cashew orchard, bean and corn field, and carnauba trees.

The above foto is of a catholic church that a few years ago was covered by a dune. A strong wind swept in and pushed a nearby dune until it had completely buried the building, except for the top of the bell tower. Everything inside was preserved, but it took a lot of digging to get it uncovered.


I got the chance to share a little of my culture with the family as well. I made pancakes many times, and they came to love that American tradition, served with my own special maracuja syrup (passionfruit!).

We were blessed with a chance to go on a fishing boat while they ran their lines. It took almost the whole day, but we had a blast and snacked on boiled lobster! We saw an octopus, and several kinds of fish I had never seen before.

A cage with a few lobster. They don't bait the traps, and catch fish and lobster both

The end of a perfect day.

June was a refreshing month for us. We returned to Praia Grande with new vigor and energy. When I returned to the School of the Bible, I met three new students who had come while I was gone. One of them, Renato, is now studying with Francisco to be baptized. Another student invited me to speak at a small group study he is starting.

We thank God for the time to spend with family and be renewed, and also for blessing the church here while we were gone. There is nothing better than to take joy in your work, and working for the Lord here in Praia Grande is getting better and better every day as God takes our efforts and multiplies them. May our goals be His goals, our efforts, his tools, and our success, his glory.