Life in Brazil

Life in Brazil is definitely different. For instance, we went to the store to buy a refrigerator. Sounds pretty simple, huh. Well about 4 hours later, I quickly realized that life in Brazil is much slower than life in the U.S. We first went around with the salesman, then sat down with the salesman to negotiate the price as if we were buying a used car or something. The salesman insured us that we were getting the best deal in town and then showed us all of the discounts that he was giving us. Then he entered our purchase into the computer. We then got in another line to pay for the refrigerator. After we paid for it, we waited in another line to get a receipt. After getting the receipt, we waited in another line to show our receipt and get the refrigerator. Another interesting thing is that you don’t mail any payments in for the electric bill, water bill etc… or go to that particular place to pay for it. There are little businesses that are set up all over town to pay your bills. Evidently, these people then ensure that the proper place gets your payment.
Yes, there are many differences, but being in God’s will is the best place to be! God has put many wonderful people in our lives here already. A typical day for us begins at 9:00am when I attend Portuguese language tutoring for two hours five days a week. We then go out as a family and build relationships throughout the town as I attempt to practice my Portuguese.
On a down note, we have been robbed twice already. The first time a guy jumped over the fence at night and stole all of the tools that belong to the owner of the house. The second time the same guy jumped over the fence during the night, we heard him and he quickly ran off when we turned on the lights. We found out from the police that this guy is very dangerous and has robbed many houses and even killed someone before. The saddest part of this is that we hired him to do some work around the house a couple of times just to help him out because his wife was nine months pregnant. We were attempting to build a relationship with them in order to share the Gospel. The police say that they have been looking for him but he is hiding. The police told us today that his wife had her baby on the ground at a construction site because they were scared to go to the hospital because they are wanted for several crimes. Please pray for them and their salvation. A we know the power of Jesus Christ can transform their lives!