On the Road from Rio de Janeiro

On the road from Rio de Janeiro to Curral de Dentro, Minas Gerais, Brazil - It is Friday morning at noon, and our team is still on the road but greatly refreshed after a wonderful night's sleep in what most of us recognize as the best accommodations we have ever enjoyed in this country. It could not have come quickly enough, as we left Dallas for Miami on Wednesday afternoon at 6:20 PM, which was about 50 minutes behind schedule. From there, we made our connection in Miami at 11:10 ET with probably 20 minutes to spare. The 8 hour and 30 minute flight was uneventful, and we landed in Rio at 8:40 AM, Atlantic Time. Everyone made it through customs without incident, and the construction team loaded all of the luggage onto the bus. Then, we readied ourselves for an estimated 8 hour trip north to those fine accommodations I've referenced above. Unfortunately, the air conditioning on that bus could not pass muster, so we took an unscheduled 90 minute brunch at the airport while the bus company called in the reserves. Luckily for the construction team, the bus company moved our luggage to the new bus, and we were on our way by 12:30 PM on Thursday.

Well, there are two entirely different ways to measure time and distance: our way and the mission trip way. I'm not complaining, but the mission trip way is really a guesstimate which rarely ever seems to be on the low side. That's just one way of saying that we finally arrived around midnight and, after unpacking and a late night supper, got to bed between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning.

However, we have much for which to be thankful. First, our entire group is both in excellent spirits and in excellent health. Our bus driver is careful, and we have been well fed. Our teams are ready, and we believe God has prepared our way. Our first activity this evening in Cural will be to draw attention to the activities of the next three days by inviting the entire town to a service featuring singing, slide shows, and a guitar concert. Oh...and we are under the bluest sky we have ever seen!

We hope you'll check back often to see what we are doing. And please remember us (and the friends we are about to make) in your prayers. We will be remembering you in ours!

Brian Terrell