"Self hatred and self love are equally self-centered." - Mason Cooley

See the previous post.
I'm now sitting in the Houston airport at Gate E-11. They're boarding a plane for D.C. now and in about two hours the plane that will take me to Portland should show up. I easily claimed my suitcase, got through customs, rechecked my bag, and went through TSA security. It goes a lot easier when I speak the same language as the employees and the signs are in English.

I slept fitfully on the plane because there's no way to get comfortable. I couldn't in good conscience recline my seat into the lap of the very, very large woman behind me. The man in front of me had no problem reclining his almost as soon as we were in the air and leaving it there for the duration of the flight. Oh well. Watcha gonna do?
We got "dinner" (I chose the beef over chicken) and "b'fast" about an hour before landing. The latter was a roll, some jam, yogurt (blech!) and a small fruit cup. And in my case, black coffee.
In between those fits of sleep I watched that movie about the Queen of England and the guy from India who became her friend and confidant. Can't remember the name but it came out a couple of years ago. It was pretty good.

I also spent time processing my time in Brazil. I've got more work to do to figure it out. This one was different than my previous trips to teach but I'm not sure how or why. Was the reaction from my efforts in Brazil different just because it's a different culture? Have I misread the reaction? Or did God do something noticeably different?
I don't know that I'll ever figure it out but if I do I'll tell you about it.

The people are the best part!!

And they don't come any better than Joe and Michelle Campos. Here they are with two of their four kids (the older girls both live in the States). From the left: Bella (15), Michelle, me, Nathan (20?), and Joe.
Seriously, they are GOOD people and could not have done better at making a gringo feel at ease in their home and facilitating my teaching efforts. Michelle anticipated needs before I even realized I had them and Joe not only did a great job of translating (we quickly developed an easy rhythm) but took care of the little details that can otherwise get in the way. We had great conversation, talking shop with Joe, learning Brazilian culture from both of them, learning about family..... I left Brazil with enormous respect for that family in every dimension.

Here's Marcelli and Emerson (which is not pronounced like it looks). What a fascinating couple! He is an incredible bass player (electric and standup) and has a sound studio that's building an international reputation because of his savant-like work creating an acoustic environment that artists really like and the engineering work he does after their recording sessions. When I visited his studio he'd just finished the mixing for a band in Europe that sent him the audio files for their new album. His band (blues) plays all over Brazil and he's called to sub-in for some pretty important bands need a bass player.
Marcelli is a lawyer but only takes limited employment law cases. Mostly she studies for a special set of exams she'll take in December the state of Pernambuco gives. Thousands of lawyers will take the exams and about 10 will be offered jobs. Her ultimate goal is to be a prosecutor but her entry position would be in the area of labor law. Working for the state govt. is considered the top of professional accomplishment there and can eventually lead to judgeship.
They are just about the sweetest couple you'll meet. They've been married two years, are clearly in love, and growing in their understanding of and commitment to serving God. I wish I could be around to see how their lives unfold.
By the way, Emerson sent me home with a CD of Brazilian music his band has done and links to several of the albums he's engineered.

This is terrible, but I don't know their last name. Zied (pronounced Zeddy) and Alexandre (Aleshandruh) have a beautiful daughter who is about 15 and a 2-year old, Melissa (Meleesa). Neither of them speaks a word of English (Emerson speaks it quite well and Marcelli is better than she thinks) but for some reason we really bonded. Alexandre stopped by just before we left for the airport to give me a gift. He'd looked all over for a diecast model of a '66 Mustang but could only find a 2011. It will be treasured! He told me today (tomorrow when we talked) is his birthday and his best gift was my coming to their church and my ministry. A really big guy gave me a really big hug.

This is Thalita. Yes, that's Emerson with her; they're brother and sister and Thalita is as remarkable as he is. She's 20, sweet as açucar, and far brighter than her shy, humble self thinks. She's also madly in love with Ben, a visitor from the States who has now been down twice, this time mostly to see Thalita. They are obviously smitten with each other and a blind man could see where this is headed.

Joe said when he gets tired it comes out as irritability. (I don't need to be tired for that.) For me it's very sensitive emotions. As in I want to cry at the "are you ready to see your fixer-upper?" scene.
I'm tired. It was a challenging schedule and after almost 24 hours either on a plane or in an airport I'm feeling the fatigue. Looking at these pictures as I place them and thinking about some of the others I interacted with is touching this Scandahoovian's heart big time.