Adventures in Brazil Part 8

Last night I had some time with Elias, another of the deacons here, and his wife Raquel. They host a meeting in their home, which I discovered later is the oldest continuously running group in the church at some thirty years. Normally a professor of English participates in the group, but last night he was not available so I had to share in Portuguese. These Brazilians are amazing. They paid rapt attention to a man whom they do not know, who speaks ungrammatically, mispronounces many words, and who is a foreigner. I have a hard time imagining an American audience doing the equivalent.
     i shared about Isaiah 66:2, and the theme of "trembling" at the Word of God. This means that His Word is more important in our lives than our own thoughts or opinions. Even if we do not like or understand the Bible, we are still obligated to obey. The group was diversified in various ways, and I was happy to see my new friend Jeronimo, a retired police officer. Afterwards a number of people wanted to take their picture with me. Many Brazilians do this regularly.
     Before the meeting Elias and I took a walk in his neighborhood, and down to a nearby park. It is called Moinhos do Vento  (Windmill) because there is an authentic replica of the old wooden windmills such as one associates with Holland. There we enjoyed coconut water, a common sight in Brazil. Many people have little carts with bags of cocnuts. They slice off the top of one, and you can either have the entire coconut or a cup of the liquid. After we returned to another of the many wonderful meals that Raquel prepared, one of the sisters came early and shared how my teaching of last week about living a simple life had impacted her. This is one of many examples of the brethren here practicing Galatians 6:6.
     The spiritual reality of the church here is astonishing. I have many opportunities to interact with individual leaders, and with them as a group. The ongoing love and harmony between them is evident and inspiring. The way in which all of the brethren has welcomed a stranger who does not speak their language fluently is amazing. Time and again people come and greet me, often with a few words of rehearsed English.