Peter Lumpkins

So much to say...where do I begin? Well, yesterday was very eventful. After our reading sessions, we had our "Game Night" party. It was my favorite party so far. We chose to play pictionary and catch phrase because it was good English vocabulary practice for our readers. They really seemed to enjoy it. We also played a game in which the readers had to recognize the names of body parts in English, and match them with the body part of their partner faster than the other teams. I know that's really confusing. For example, in this picture the body parts were "heel" and "neck."

Everton lost because he cut off Jarrod's head

We are very blessed to have made some good friends here. They come early to help us set up for the parties and stay after to help us clean up. Dayanne and Pietro even gave us a ride home last night! We stopped at Dayanne's to meet her family, and we noticed some really beautiful oil paintings all over the apartment. She told us that her aunt had painted them, and we made plans to meet up with them tonight to look at more.

Everton, William, Dayanne, Pietro, Jarrod, Daniel, Me

I have contemplated whether or not to share something that happened late last night because it was very difficult to witness. I have decided to go ahead because it has a happy ending. We were getting ready for bed when we heard a loud crash outside. We ran to the balcony to see what had happened, and it was a motorcycle accident. The man who had been thrown from his motorcycle was laying there so still (for what seemed like hours) that it made me sick to my stomach. All I could think about was that he had been out for a ride, and that someone was going to have to call his family and tell them what happened. As I was standing there with tears in my eyes, and praying as hard as I knew how to...he began to move! He was obviously pretty out of it, but he was alive. After a while, the ambulance finally came and he was able to walk to it! There are 2 morals to this story. The first one is: Don't ride motorcycles. As fun as they may seem, they lose some of that excitement when you are laying on the pavement. And the second one is: Your entire life can change in a split second. That man is lucky to be alive.

On a lighter note, this morning we got out of the city and went out to Tabajara where the camp is located. This is where the church is planning on putting the orphanage soon. It was a neat little town where the main road was the only one paved. Today, Torch was holding a kids' olympics. I could not believe how many kids showed up! They started out with songs and a puppet show and then went outside to play a lot of different kinds of games. I am not even going to try to choose pictures that would show all of the activities because I took so many, but they will be in my slide show as soon as I can get them uploaded. I also have some videos, but am having trouble getting them on here right now.

This is the American Invasion (as Everton called it). It included the Torch group made up of some of the Faulkner University soccer team as well as other various young adults from the States. Oh yeah, and us!

Some of the kids loved to chase the adults and give them big hugs

William and Jarrod playing with one of the little girls

The puppet show

One of the games

Tonight, we had dinner at Dayanne's and got to meet her aunt. Jarrod and I each bought one of her original oil paintings! We probably won't be around a computer again until sometime Monday night. So, if you are one of the people who has become addicted to reading our blogs, please do not send us any violent emails, threatening our lives. Mom. Luciano has invited us to come visit the resort where he works in Porto de Galinhas! He said it would be his present for us :) He also said that he will have a conversation with God about holding off on the rain for the weekend. Speaking of Luciano...he has recently learned the word "perhaps"in one of our sessions. He LOVES it! He likes to say it whenever he has the opportunity.

As has become customary...I must mention that the most important part of our team is William. He keeps us in line and makes sure we are behaving seriously.

What sharks?

Today, we had an unusually long lunch break because of some cancellations. We had a choice between a great nap or a walk to the beach. Of course, we chose the beach. The weather has been perfect today! In a previous post, I mentioned that I do not understand why people continue to swim in the shark infested waters. Today, I was a participant in this unexplainable activity. Sorry Mom. The tide was lower than usual which made the reef visible. It was calling our names. "Recife" means "reef" in Portuguese and is where this city gets it's name. We have been told that the sharks do not come past the reef, so it should surely be safe to stand on them, right? Well, we did it...and we are still alive. I wish I could have taken pictures, but the chances of getting a camera stolen at the beach are more likely than getting eaten by a shark...so I didn't take it with me.

For those of you who read Jarrod's post for today, I want you to know that I didn't realize that he is such a juice snob. (I would not have promoted his blog if I had) I have literally seen him drinking juice from the carton. The difference when we drink it at lunch, is that it's blended with ice, and a little piece of Heaven. But I'm not going to discriminate against those poor carton juices just because they can be purchased at the grocery. They come from equally delicious fruit, and I will treat them all fairly. Anything on Jarrod's blog is not representational of the entire team.

My last reader today was Paulo. He told me that he has to make an emergency trip back to the States to keep his papers up to date. This trip comes at a very bad time for him, business-wise. Please pray for him. Tonight was my last session with him AND Big Marcelo. It was pretty stinkin' sad. I can only imagine what it's going to be like saying goodbye to ALL of them. The good news...I got presents.

Our Precious William

Mystery Juice Wednesday

Ok, so we have compiled a list of our favorite juices consumed thus far, and decided to share them in case you are ever in Brazil (or at the World Market, perhaps) Our favorites, in no particular order are: Caja, Graviola, Mangaba, Acerola, Pessego, and Uva. We had Acerola today, and loved it!

Our readers had a difficult time making it to their sessions today because of the rain. It rained and rained ALL day! I am happy to report, though, that Luciano made it, and is doing just fine! Sometimes, we get discouraged when readers don't show up. Please pray for us to have more patience. Ok, well...for me to have more patience.

We just got back from worship, and are getting ready to watch Sport play Corinthians. They are from Sao Paolo. There should be a lot of fireworks, shouts, and car horns ALL night long.

For those of you who don't know, cashews come in fruit. You get one cashew per fruit. That's why they are so expensive, especially in the States. Maciel just warned us, though, not to ever bite into the nut when it is green. It is very acidic and dangerous! This is what they look like:

Cashew fruit

Getting ready for Wednesday night worship service

Oh yeah...and William is here, too.

Acai Juice Tuesday!

The temperature has been amazing today, if you haven't noticed in the weather widget on the right side of the blog. The rain finally brought cooler temperatures! I also have a map you can see if you scroll down (on the right side). You can see exactly where Recife is! If you click on the map you can drag your mouse and move the map around, and zoom in and out, and see a satellite view, and even jump through the screen to visit me. It's pretty neat.

This morning, Jarrod and I got up early to go with Kathy to the American School, where she works. She teaches 4 year olds. They were so cute.

Heitor, Sara (the Boyce's daughter), Maria Eduardo, Talita, Renata, and Sandro. Maria Luz was being too shy for the picture.

The American School. It's a pretty big place. It has 2 year-olds through high school. The middle is all open so the gym, cafeteria, and hallways are all open air. It reminds me a lot of the school we visited in Costa Rica (for those of you who were there)

Cute little artwork

Jarrod was really popular today. His readers came early and stayed all day long. Haha, not exactly, but one girl came 3 hours early! I am a little worried about Luciano because he didn't show up today. He has never missed a session, and has never even been late! I'm sure everything is fine, but please say a special prayer for him. Big Marcelo and his family are moving to Campo Grande next week. It is a city that is a 3 days drive inland. I will miss him. He is the one that asked me about "thoughlessness." All of my readers seem to be doing better with their "th"sounds. For some reason, that sound is very difficult form them, just like us trying to roll our "r's."

We tried Acai juice today at lunch, and it would probably have been really good if we hadn't had so many other fabulous juices. We are spoiled now. We are undecided on what to try tomorrow. Tonight, we are just doing laundry and washing dishes.

This post is dedicated to William

William!

William's feelings are hurt because he doesn't feel as though we mention him enough in our blogs. He refuses to make a blog of his own, because he is too busy face-booking. So, here's your shout out, William. William William William. That's 5 times in one post.

Mangaba Monday!

One of my readers cancelled for this time slot today, so although I am sad, I do have a few minutes to update.

It has come to our attention that there are just too many juices to only try them on the Fridays that we have remaining. Therefore, we have taken a vote and decided to drink juice everyday at lunch!!! It's only 50 centavos more, so why not? Today, we tried Mangaba...it was a good choice, suggested by Adriana. Tomorrow, we will try Açai. We haven't had that in juice form yet.

I have also realized that at least 5 of my readers are left-handed, like me. I am curious as to whether left handedness is more common in other parts of the world...like Brazil. If anyone decides to do the research (google) just let me know what you find out. Mom.

Yesterday, there was a shark attack at the Boa Viagem Beach. Apparently, that's pretty common here. I am still trying to figure out why people still get in the water. There are warning signs everywhere!

We met some of the group from Torch today, and they all seem very nice. It will be fun having them around!

P.S. Don't read Jarrod's post from today unless you want to feel sad.

No matter where you are, there is always a McDonalds.

On Sunday mornings, the kids have a special collection at the end of the worship services. They are so cute walking around with their little baskets that I had to take a picture

.

This is Flavinho. His father's name is Flavio. They are pronounced the same except for where the accent is. I want to bring him home with me, but Jarrod said that would be kidnapping.

After church, we went to the mall to change the rest of our money from dollars to Reais. This is pronounced Hay-eyes, but I can never remember that, so I call them Hee-ha's. We didn't realize that the mall didn't open until noon, so when we got there at 11:15, we decided to walk to McDonalds (the only place close enough that we hoped would be open) We didn't realize that the closest McDonalds was in North America. So after hours of hiking in the hot Brazilian sun, we finally made it to our destination. The heat made everyone moody, and Jarrod and William got into it a little, right in the middle of Mickey D's.

This afternoon, we have been resting and watching movies. We're saving our energy for big week #4! Half of the Torch group (about 12 people) comes in tonight, and will be at the School of the Bible in the morning. We are really exicted about meeting some North Americans our age. They will be here about 10 days painting, cleaning, building, and visiting hospitals and orphanages. I'm sure I will be posting more details later :)