Brazil visit 4 Post 12

Quite an active day today. My current host, and friend, is retired so he has more time to interact with me. We were about to start on our early morning walk when we had a cloud burst. This set the pattern for the entire day, periods of sunshine, punctuated by showers. Instead we ate breakfast and then walked to the gym. I am not a gym "rat," so am not up to date with the latest technology and methods. We used several machines, an upright bicycle, a treadmill, and a stepper, and finished with some stretches. Our instructor was very helpful and efficient.He plaaced a device on my chest to measure my heartbeat rate which i had not seen previously. After we returned to the house, we went to my friend's son's home. They have a very new place, which, at the current exchange rates costs less than $80,000. Before lunch we walked perhaps one kilometer to the beach. While the sea further south is clear, here it is muddy, reflecting the reddish soil. The son brought his dog, trained by a professional, using commands in French. Later he showed us parts of a video he had made the day before when using his new kayak to fish in a nearby river. Unfortunately he did not catch anything. In between my host peppered me with Biblical questions on the themes of unity and spiritual gifts. It was a good Scriptural workout. He took notes of the points and references. Upon returning to his house after a very nice meal consisting of a cut of beef that for some unknown reason uses the same Portuguese word used for the word "diaper", the traditional rice and beans, salad, and a mousse made of passion fruit, we hosted a brother from another church. Joao teaches at the local theological school. He has studied English for a year, and was eager to practice. He did quite well. We discussed plurality of leadership, Bible versions, textual traditions, and the importance of humility. My host sat in and contributed, as he has also studied English for about a year. One advantage of this church is that many members lives in the same neighborhood, within walking distance of one another. Last night we had an impromptu get together. The meal included soup with pieces of pasta and chicken, some small circles of garlic type bread, and raisins. Perhaps a dozen people gathered. This makes it diffcult as they speak rapidly and all together. One young woman, about to graduate high school, speaks conversational English, and told me about a hiking trip that her family had taken to the third highest mountain in Brazil. My hosts have lived in this home for about twenty years, and have planted a diverse and almost bewildering complexity of fruit trees, spices, and medicinal herbs. My knowledge of this is slight, and they can grow many things here due to the clement climate that I don't think we have in the US, although sometimes i have no idea of what the Portuguese name translates to in English. There are many first names in Brazil. In previous posts on past visits i have spoken of very British names like Wellington and Gladstone. Recently i have encountered names from mythology like Hercules and Ulysses. There are Spanish sounding names like Diego or Carlos, and others that may be indigenous like Niara and Mayara.