In the past week and a half, we have been blessed to welcome
two new missionaries, Gabriella from Illinois and Edouard from France! They have both already spent some time in
Salvador before, and have a better grasp on the language than Faith and I who
are still responding to everything with “thank you” or “Good afternoon”
regardless of context. They have been
great additions to the team and are already bringing great new ideas to our
ministries with the kids.
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| Getting owned by the locals in football |
This morning the four of us and Br. Francis Therese, instead of our usual Portuguese lesson, played Portuguese Scrabble. All was going great until my partner, Edouard and I discovered there aren't any words which start with Y........
On our day off, Faith and I and our new friend Gabriel (who is from Salvador
and speaks excellent English), visited Barra beach. It was about a 20 minute walk through
Pelorinho, the historic district, and a 10 minute bus ride from the Convent. Barra is located at the mouth of the Bay of
all Saints or Baía de Todos os Santos, and was the site of Bahia’s first
European settlement, guarded by a small white colonial fort and a
lighthouse. The beach was filled with
locals and vendors selling jewelry and mysterious looked foods and the water
was very pleasant.
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| Scenic views over the Bay from Pelorinho |
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| Historic fort overlooking Barra Beach |
As a missionary, it can be uncomfortable to express
the “fun” things you are doing to family and friends……I mean, we’re here to
help others, not have a good time! However I think it is important to learn
about the culture, the history, and the things that make a place unique and
special in order to learn about the people and appreciate the experience fully. I think the secret is to search for Christ in
both the “fun” times and the not-so-fun times, always keeping our objective of
serving others through Christ always.
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