It's 7:15 a.m. Sunday morning. I slept for 8 hours which is unheard of for me and I still feel like I got run over by a truck. I'm not sleepy tired but my body is wasted. I use a lot of energy when I preach or teach, so when I do that for about 8 hours it's going to leave a mark.
We started at 8 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. with 10 minute breaks about every hour and a one hour lunch break. Some quick observations:
- Joe & Michelle put a TON of work into this and it showed. Everything went very smoothly. The room setup, the projection, the refreshments, lunch for 50+ people (excellent!)...everything went off without a hitch. It's obvious they put a lot of attention into the smallest details beginning WAY before this weekend's sessions. They also took great care of the speaker, making sure I got food, water, a chair to sit on between sessions.... Kudos, guys.
- The people were fun. And attentive, and responsive. Where in America could you get ~50 people to come out for three hours on a Friday evening and then nine more hours on a Saturday to attend a Bible class?! Would. Not. Happen.
- The potentially burdensome process of translation went smoothly. Joe kept up with me and the people were patient with listening to a guy they couldn't understand and then getting the translation they could.
I think things went well and the effort was effective. Joe says he agrees though he's too gracious to say otherwise. The response from the people afterward was sure encouraging. Note: this pic taken at the end doesn't show everyone because some of them were already busy cleaning up and getting things ready for church today.
In Brazil they don't have church services on Sunday morning. The norm here is Sunday evening. So may people work six days a week that Sunday is their only day for the beach, relaxing at home, or going shopping. Having just an evening service allows them that break.
Today Brazil plays it's first World Cup match! The country is obsessed with soccer and the odds-on favorite to win the Cup, so everything here will STOP while the match is being played. The church is having a watch party and then beginning the service whenever the game ends (and the screaming has died down). I'm not a soccer fan so I'll watch the watchers and enjoy their intensity. The game starts at 3 p.m. so Joe figures church will start about 6:00.
I sure hope Brazil wins the match or I'm going to have a group of grumpy listeners!
I had very realistic dreams during the night - not the normal bizarre sort that stretch reality - of being home. I worked on the Mustang, I took care of the goats.... I guess I miss Baker Rd. and mi espousa.
It's about time to go down for breakfast. Before bed last night I decided to skip my morning run today so I told Michelle I didn't need a ride to the beach. Good decision! My body is not capable of running 100 yards this morning.
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