Greetings from the South...South America that is.

This is our hill.  Well, obviously not our hill, but we live at the top of it and struggle climbing up it each day so I feel like we're a little bit entitled to call it "our hill."

The roads in our area are pretty rugged at points so cars are used to some pretty hard driving conditions, but no one drives up this hill.  We've been living here a month and a half and I've only seen one person drive up it and that was mainly just because he wanted to try.  I've seen a few motorcycles go down the hill and maybe one car, but you're pretty safe assuming that you can walk in the middle of the street and no one will hit you. 

Annika and Alisha like to run or walk quickly up the hill in an effort to get a little more exercise, but I prefer to go slow and steady (wins the race...but actually, I still always lose).  We're all still breathing incredibly hard by the time we get home no matter how slow/fast we walk. 

There are a few neighbors who are almost always sitting outside their houses and they get to witness "the three Americans" trying to climb the hill with a front row view.  We always wheeze out a quick "bom dia" and continue our trek up the hill. 

Most of the Brazilians just laugh at us when they see how tired we are after climbing the hill and just tell us that they are accustomed to climbing it and so it's not as bad for them.  Maybe when we've been here a year we will finally be "accustomed" to climbing it. 

A Few Pictures

These are some of the younger kids at the church in Sao Lourenco singing for the Easter service.
There are some pretty sunsets here :)
A view of Recife from Olinda, a beautiful, historic city about 20 minutes north of downtown Recife.
There are two types of graffiti here: really talented, and quite funny...this falls into the second category.
This is a picture of our Easter service with the people in Derby Park in downtown Recife.

A Little About the Avocado

Avocados are a beloved food for the three of us--avocados on sandwiches, avocados with salt, avocados in guacamole, avocados in salad, avocados in pasta, avocados by themselves. We just like to eat them.

The avocado culture is a little different here in Brazil. They eat them with sugar--yes sugar. We make the same face at that suggestion as they do when we tell them we eat them with salt. They like to make breakfast shakes that consist of avocado, milk and sugar. Maybe someday we will try it.

There are also a few people who like to ask us if we like "vacamole." This sounds a lot like the word "guacamole" when they say it quickly. So we reply with an enthusiastic "yes, we love it" and the whole room starts laughing because we have just admitted to loving "wobbly cow."

Maybe someday they will convert us to liking their sugar avocado and we will convert them to liking guacamole, but for now there are two definite sides.

:)

Have a wonderful day!

Bom Dia!

This is now the fourth (Annika & Kasey) and second (Alisha) week that we have been here in Recife, Brazil, and what an adventure it´s been. We are now all enrolled in a Portuguese for foreigners class two days a week and are getting some private classes from our dear friend Riso on other days. The language is coming right along, there have been some difficult moments, but we are learning that in matters of communication there are more ways than just speaking! We have become quite proficient in gesturing!

Our house is almost a home . . . just a few more things to arrange before we can call it done. We have been surprised at the amount of work it takes to set up a house and we are learning to do it Brazilian style, with a lot of help from the dear sisters from the church. Our one main problem with the area we live in is the mosquitoes. We battle them daily, equipped with repellent, herbal remedies, mosquito nets and a super awesome electric tennis racket that will zap them dead where they fly. Muahaha! But as fun as it sounds, it really is a bit of a problem and we would ask that you would be in prayer for our neighbor, Alzenira, who was just diagnosed with Dengue fever (a bit like the flu), and also for us, that we can make it a year without coming down with any infectious tropical diseases!


So far our ministry is going well, we have started assisting Dennis Downing, a long time missionary here, with the street ministry in the downtown area of the city. Early on Sunday mornings we take a bus to worship in Derby Park with the homeless. Afterwards we serve them a hearty breakfast and spend a while in conversation (at least we try :). Thanks for reading, we wish you all blessed Easter. Christ is Risen!


Paz e Amor,
AnnikaAlishaKasey