tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41497122011-08-02T17:22:36.327-05:00Mission Salvadorreflections and news from the Salvador, Brazil mission teamValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.comBlogger441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-33899883026143446392010-05-06T07:59:00.000-05:002010-05-06T08:00:02.149-05:00 Last night we celebrated 5 de Mayo with some of our friends. We had a great time. Heather, our 2 year intern, helped us make enchiladas, burritos, guac, sour cream (or at least the best we can do here), salsa, and chips. It was a lot of fun sharing our favorite type of food.Randyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377424546585417848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1141838183512642522006-03-08T10:56:00.000-06:002006-03-08T11:16:23.523-06:00Announcing the Mission Salvador Church Warming. For more information, email the Quireys.That's right--for those who haven't heard, we are now in the final days of our preparations. For pictures of our building and the work being done on it, click here.Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1122856173203606202005-07-31T19:29:00.000-05:002005-07-31T19:29:33.206-05:00 Val, Mary Virginia, Alicia and Caco Originally uploaded by russandval. I know that monkey entries are always popular. So world, meet Caco. He lives behind the Itinga church building (in a cage). We were very excited to get to pet him and hold him. He's a sweet little thing, a little nervous (something about being dropped on a child set him on edge), but overall, a good pet. Maybe I'll Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1120012614854806152005-06-28T21:26:00.000-05:002005-07-05T19:08:40.160-05:00We haven't been updating here recently (but I'm sure you noticed that!). Most of us now have our own blogs and are posting our hearts out there. Pick a link below to find your favorite Mission Salvador family's blog! (Our apologies to the fans of the Maberys- they don't have a blog yet)The ParkersThe PortersThe QuireysThe SassesIt's not to say we'll never post here. We'll use it more as a digest.Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1118192922641243562005-06-07T22:07:00.000-05:002005-06-07T20:08:42.646-05:00I've lived away from home for a while now- for almost nine years I have lived in a different country than my parents. I've gotten fairly used to it, but there's one thing that remains difficult- being sick.Today I woke up feeling mostly fine but by lunchtime I felt pretty lousy. We headed home at about 3:00 and I was experiencing crazy chills. I was walking down the street with goosebumps. I wentValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1117154564558393722005-05-26T19:36:00.000-05:002005-05-26T19:42:44.563-05:00Oi Everyone from Salvador, Brazil! Things are starting to cool off some (meaning 70’s and 80’s as best we can tell from Celsius) during the rainy season which is our Fall and Winter. It’s a little strange having Autumn when it should be Spring. With the weather change, Matt and Mary have both been sick (nothing serious), mostly sinus, allergies, and stomach problems. Don’t worry. Our realtor, whoMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16161454728387042733noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1116809426418972292005-05-22T19:36:00.000-05:002005-05-22T19:52:30.330-05:00I received an English lesson the other day when I went with Stacey to pick up the boys after school. I was standing holding Brandon's hand when a boy that was about seven or eight came up to us."Ele é americano?" he asked, pointing at Brandon. ("Is he American?")"Sim," I replied.His eyes lit up and he asked, "Você é Americana?" ("Are you American?")Once more, I replied, "Sim."He cracked a grin Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1116180508390000262005-05-15T13:08:00.000-05:002005-05-15T13:08:28.396-05:00We had a great time when a Brazilian family we are getting to know came over for dinner a little over a week ago. Many of you read about the experience so I won't repeat it. I did want to share what happened afterward, though. Before I can do that you need to know something about stores here in Brazil. In the past 50-100 years the states have moved more and more away from the neighborhood stores Randyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377424546585417848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1115919010502190052005-05-12T12:08:00.000-05:002005-05-12T12:30:10.530-05:00We've seen a lot of new wildlife since we've lived here. It's been exciting to discover lizards on rocks and walls. The hummingbirds that live near our apartment are beautiful and intriguing. We've even seen a couple of monkeys. (We were most excited about the monkeys.) But the other day, I saw something I was NOT excited about (Stacey, don't read this part!): a snake. Well, sort of. It's called Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1115651383672343012005-05-09T10:03:00.000-05:002005-05-09T10:09:43.676-05:00It's raining, it's pouring...Today the rain has been nothing short of torrential. It wouldn't have been much of a problem if we hadn't been walking to Portuguese class when it started. The wind was blowing so the rain kept changing directions. Several umbrellas lost the battle against the elements today. We arrived at class completely drenched and spent the next three hours drying off. The rain Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1115232096955921562005-05-04T13:31:00.000-05:002005-05-04T13:41:36.960-05:00Yes, we´re still alive. We are alive and anxiously awaiting the day that our stove works, we have a telephone and I can type these posts on an English keyboard (the layout is a little different and there are some extra buttons on a Portuguese one).But things are good. We´ve been in Portuguese classes for about a week and everyone is enjoying them (as well as anyone can enjoy school!) I think we Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1113834018106245092005-04-18T09:13:00.000-05:002005-04-18T09:20:18.106-05:00We are slowly working on emerging from the black hole. Everyone is starting to get land lines and internet access so they can be in touch with the world. Russ and I are a little further behind. We're still working on getting our oven working (a long story). Let's just say that once it works, we will be taking a break from chicken nuggets for a while! Everything we buy seems to turn into an ordealValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1113705212454143142005-04-16T21:33:00.000-05:002005-04-16T21:33:32.456-05:00Many of you have heard about the many lines we have had to wait in while in Brazil. It is truly amazing how much you have to wait. For those who do not know, it is very common in any service oriented place in Brazil to wait in a line until it is your turn. In most government places, where we have spent literally 3-4 hours a day at different points, you normally get a senha or number to tell you Randyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377424546585417848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1112312227571048712005-03-31T17:20:00.000-06:002005-06-04T21:32:12.586-05:00Every day is an adventure. Have I mentioned that yet? More specifically, every task is an adventure. We've learned to celebrate the small victories- ordering at McDonalds without being handed the picture menu, communicating anything with the maid, making small talk with a cab driver. Travis and Alicia have their apartment keys. The last shall be first. The rest of us are a little more up in the Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1112282672840578152005-03-31T09:23:00.000-06:002005-03-31T09:24:32.843-06:00Our teams first Baptism!!!! Well it has happened. Our team has had a baptism, and we were only on the field a week. I am happy to report that my son, Kelton, was baptized this past Sunday at church, or at least he got a good sprinkle. Oh the adventures we have already had in Brazil. On our first Sunday, March 20, we were able to visit the main local church here in Salvador. They are a great Randyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377424546585417848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1111943425891699472005-03-27T11:06:00.001-06:002005-03-27T11:10:25.893-06:00Hurry up and wait. It applies to every aspect of life here. Today we're hanging out, doing nothing, waiting for this long weekend to end so we hit it again in the morning. We've spent three days now doing almost nothing because everything is closed for the Easter weekend. (We did go look at furniture yesterday, but haven't been able to get any further in the paperwork world which is our most Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1111192869883113232005-03-18T18:36:00.000-06:002005-03-18T18:57:56.086-06:00Paperwork will be the death of me.Today the plan was simple. Go to the Brazilian equivalent of Social Security/IRS, show them our newly attained temporary registration cards and get our CPF. The CPF allows you to do all kinds of business transactions, from renting an apartment to buying furniture and electronics. All necessary things to do. It was supposed to take less than two hours for all of Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1111098078068758112005-03-17T16:17:00.000-06:002005-03-17T16:21:18.070-06:00An interesting tidbit- no one thinks we're North Americans! So many Europeans visit here that they just assume we are something else. Yesterday two people asked if I was Italian! Me! Super WASP-y Val! Stacey was asked if she was French. The other night a cashier spoke Spanish to us, probably assuming we were from Argentina. How fun to be exotic!!!Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1111532231696143322005-03-15T16:57:00.000-06:002005-03-22T16:57:11.696-06:00This has been a good day. I have been to the store twice, once with a teammate and once with Jennifer and Kelton. both times i made it were i was trying to go and made in home a feat i am pretty proud of considering my current portugese skills.While I was at the store today I had a revelation. You know when you travel sometimes you tend to be a little more relaxed. For example, in Brazil people Randyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377424546585417848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1110921431474776132005-03-15T15:13:00.000-06:002005-03-15T15:17:11.476-06:00Today was the second of our two days of relaxation before all the hard work begins. Russ and I went on a tour with the Parkers. A bus picked us up at 8:30 and we rode through Salvador, learning about the various beaches. Then we stopped at a little park for thirty minutes. There was a beautiful lagoon and a playground for the kids. After that, we headed out of town, going north on the Coconut Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1111532196141839422005-03-15T09:52:00.000-06:002005-03-22T16:56:36.143-06:00Well it looks like we made it. At least it feels, sounds, and taste like we made it. things are going pretty well. We had a little bit of air turbulance on the way down which brought on a little bit of sickness for both Jennifer and I, but we seem to be bouncing back now. There was a question in my mind of whether I ever wanted to eat again, but as one might expect it has all passed. Yesterday Randyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377424546585417848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1110921174612513752005-03-14T15:12:00.000-06:002005-03-15T15:12:54.613-06:00We took it very easy today. We were all exhausted from the trip and were glad to take the opportunity to sleep in. While we were sleeping, Ron and Georgia discovered a hotel two doors down from ours that had suites with kitchens. The rooms also had much more space than our first hotel- a major consideration given the amount of luggage everyone has and the fact that we’ll be living here for two Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1108490984514580042005-02-15T12:04:00.000-06:002005-02-15T12:09:44.516-06:00Countdown update: 26 days!The to-do list slowly shrinks. But inevitably we realize something we've left off and it grows again. The logistics of this move are enormous. So many things have to be squared away before departing, the biggest and most difficult of which is our family and friends. Everyone is jockeying for time with us before we go. I'm not even ready to say goodbye to everyone yet. I Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1106934658431479282005-01-28T11:40:00.000-06:002005-01-28T11:50:58.433-06:00Six weeks. That's it. Well, technically it's six weeks and two days, but you get my point. Our days are filled with talk of shipping and visas (and not the fun kind of Visa you can use for shopping!) It's been several months since I've updated (and no one else seems to want to), but I'll just say that things are great. Everyone on the team has a sponsoring church. Ours was the last one to sign Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1085057465877461762004-05-20T07:40:00.000-05:002004-05-20T07:51:05.876-05:00We graduate from our training in one week. ONE WEEK! It is unbelievable that our time here has already come to an end. Now we're headed our different directions for the summer (though we don't all know what directions those are).
We're having a team garage sale this weekend. It'll be a treat for the shoppers. For us, however, it is a different story. Last year, before leaving OKC, we had the Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1078203012370089452004-03-01T22:50:00.000-06:002004-03-01T22:53:05.000-06:00Today Stacey, Randy and I went over to Georgia's to learn how to make moqueca, a dish that is very common in our part of Brazil. It's made with coconut milk, tomato, cilantro, dende oil (a cardiologist's nightmare), and shrimp. There were a few other ingredients that I know I'm forgetting, but you get the idea. We ate it tonight at our Brazil night. Yum.
Gordon Dabbs, from the Rio team, was at Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1077749612337987762004-02-25T16:53:00.000-06:002004-02-25T19:54:40.390-06:00Hello everybody! Winter has finally arrived in Abilene. I had to wipe quite a bit of snow off the car this morning. It's all going to melt, but it's pretty while it lasts. We're just finishing up a great week of ACU lectureship. We worshipped with Hallal and Zoe Group, and we even got to meet Max Lucado. Valerie and I spoke at the Continent of Great Cities dinner. It was packed with over 400 Russellnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1073762293159874502004-01-10T13:18:00.000-06:002004-01-10T13:19:58.293-06:00Here is the text of an email that Keith sent out about Brandon's surgery yesterday. Praise the Lord!
Good afternoon from Dallas,
I just wanted to keep everyone up to date with what was going on with Brandon's first surgery.
Let me just say that our doctors are awesome and did a fantastic job. The surgery was around 2 hours, and everything went great. Brandon's lip correction looks verry goodValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1072054575403173142003-12-21T18:56:00.000-06:002003-12-21T18:57:33.950-06:00Well, the rough draft of the strategy document is now complete. I can't say it was always easy or always fun, but we made it through. And we've learned a lot about working together in the process. I have to say that I had no idea just how much of our time it would suck up. Of course that still left time for...
...the first ever Salvador Team Christmas party! We had a great time- tons of food, Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1070547859719746002003-12-04T08:24:00.000-06:002003-12-04T08:25:15.763-06:00This week, while we are still recovering from excessive levels of triptophan (or from the sight of the luau pig!), we have started our strategy document. Muito importante. This is going to be, well, one huge document. (I say huge as one of the "non-graduate-studies" members of the group- I think I wrote a twenty page paper once...maybe...or I at least read a twenty page book!) The strategy will Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1068615954392258832003-11-11T23:45:00.000-06:002003-11-11T23:46:19.936-06:00I move to discuss our topic for today.
(Second!)
Today Randy Halstead talked to us about conducting a business meeting using Robert's Rules of Order. He's apparently the resident expert on the topic, having been very involved in it in college. (Did you know they actually have competitions for that sort of thing?! Scary. No offense intended.) Anyway, it is definitely a challenge for some of us. Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1068485841809309482003-11-10T11:37:00.000-06:002003-11-10T11:37:45.483-06:00Oh dear. I have now become one of those people I complain about, the ones who never update their blogs. To catch up, here is an excerpt from an email I wrote to my mom two weeks ago:
Things are going very well. Our classes are so interesting. Last we we finished our study of "Urban Evangelism and Church Planting" and we are now in the middle of "Team Missions". What fascinating stuff. The Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1066396248449942612003-10-17T08:10:00.000-05:002003-10-17T15:17:27.720-05:00Wow. I just wrote a paper! Haven't done that in a while. It was interesting though, because back in college, when I had to write papers all the time, I had trouble filling them up. But today? Well, I accidentally wrote a nine page paper! (Really, it's more of a book report). Anyway, I guess it's because while I cared about what I was studying in school, I was definitely not as passionate about itValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1065705793602146732003-10-09T08:23:00.000-05:002003-10-09T08:23:13.456-05:00It's raining, it's pouring...and that's very unusual for Abilene! All week, it's been kind of gray and we've had several showers. The locals say that usually it will rain and then the weather will go back to sunny and dry, but no luck. It should be no surprise to Russ and I, who have had an interesting history with the weather here. Last February, we got stranded here due to an ice storm. We cameValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1063764817048249622003-09-16T21:13:00.000-05:002003-09-16T21:13:37.403-05:00hmm...I haven't whined about Portuguese in almost a week. Let me do it now!!! We have "uma prova grande amanha". Two chapters worth of words. To our family and friends I must say, "sorry if we don't call for the next nine months- it's because we don't have time for anything but Portuguese!" On the plus side, at this rate, we should know Portuguese better than most native speakers by the time we Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1063319335777823402003-09-11T17:28:00.000-05:002003-09-11T17:28:55.746-05:00It's a good thing we don't have Portuguese class tomorrow because my brain is officially full. We added another 249 cognates today, which is actually pretty good, because it means our vocabulary is that much bigger. But it's also mindblowing. And when you add the books of the Bible that we are trying to memorize (Mateus to Tito) and the verses (Joao 14:6) it's quite a bit for people who knew how Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1063151368064451972003-09-09T18:49:00.000-05:002003-09-09T18:50:49.733-05:00I am completely and utterly EXHAUSTED!!! We have now had two “full schedule” days. Personal Evangelism class starts at 8:30 and runs until 12:30. Following a lunch break, we have Portuguese for 1 & 1/2 hours. Personal evangelism is a great class. We’re working through a study that we can use to teach people from the beginning. But Portuguese…oh Portuguese….that is something else! I now know the Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1063151337382798202003-09-09T18:48:00.000-05:002003-09-09T18:48:57.250-05:00We had our opening retreat this weekend. We spent Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon at Camp Butman, about 30 miles away. It was absolutely incredible. We spent some time in meetings, talking about expectations for the internship and other important things, but we also had a great deal of free time to hang out with each other. We spent Friday and Saturday mornings on a ropes course. It Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1062465823828882202003-09-01T20:23:00.000-05:002003-09-01T20:23:43.890-05:00Two days of classes under our belt, and WHEW! The classes are on teambuilding and our team is laying the foundation for a wonderful 5 years together. We have been so blessed that God has put these people together to do HIS work in Salvador.
We are adjusting to living in Abilene and are really enjoying it. Our kids are adjusting well to all the change around them...what an answer to prayer. keithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17689748953553132949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1062196631537924242003-08-29T17:37:00.000-05:002003-08-29T17:37:11.446-05:00We started our training yesterday. It seemed like that day would never arrive. Yesterday was mostly orientation and pizza. Today we started an interpersonal skills workshop with Dr. Steve Allison. This will be really useful for all of us and seems to be really good for getting to know each other.
We're sad, though, that Alicia is student teaching and can't be in our classes this fall. But she Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-1062196378206871002003-08-29T17:32:00.000-05:002003-08-29T17:32:58.143-05:00Well, it's been even longer between posts this time, so a LOT has happened since then. Let's see if I can remember them in order.
1. Travis and Alicia Sass (two fellow Canadians!) joined the team. They are both finishing up degrees at ACU and we are sooo happy to have them!
2. Jennifer Reinsch has left the team. We're miss her but I guess she's following her heart.
3. Mary Virginia Sirmon Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-899218562003-02-28T15:22:00.000-06:002003-02-28T15:22:31.340-06:00It's been a while since I've posted. Some good things have happened and one sad thing. The sad thing is that Tom and Gina (and Collin and Garrett) Clay are no longer part of the team. We love them and will miss them but we understand their call to stay involved in their ministry here. :( But on a happier note, Jennifer Reinsch now has a sponsoring congregation! Hurrah! Saturn Road Church of Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-881252002003-01-27T18:17:00.000-06:002003-01-27T18:17:21.846-06:00So I guess the most recent news is that our departure date has changed. We had been planning to begin our training with Continent this June, but are now starting in late August. A mostly happy change. We'll be in training longer now, too, so it won't be quite as bad for those of us who haven't been in school for a while. So those of you who are around us now, you'll just have to put up with us Valeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4149712.post-881249782003-01-27T18:13:00.000-06:002003-01-27T18:13:11.076-06:00Hello everyone! If you are reading this you: a)know us and love us and are checking up on our progress, b) followed a link from our website or c) are randomly here (we're glad to have you!). If you are the latter, I guess you need to know that we working towards going to Salvador, Brazil as missionaries. That's all you need to know right now. The rest of the pieces should be filled in as you readValeriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17964086252042568975noreply@blogger.com1