The Sound of Silence

email 3/2/09
Another week in Paysandu. I hate the siesta. I really do. I do not approve of that lazy European tradition. I don’t care if it is hot at 2 in the afternoon. That is no excuse to put the entire day on hold and wait until 5 or 6 for life to begin again. Nobody ever feels good after an afternoon nap; you always wake up more tired. I may just be a slight bitter this week because we walked every day from 1 till 5 in the sun without getting in a single door any single day during those hours. And it is hot. Not even our members let us in. We had a member chastise us and say, "Elders, at this hour!? Are you kidding? Come another time." I think it is especially bad this week just because it is the end of summer vacations and everybody is living it up.

We had the world famous sin fest Carnaval this last month. It really is all the month of February, but last night was the final night and so it was the loudest and biggest celebration. Seeing as we live on main street we heard it well last night. I didn’t get much sleep. We put blankets on the windows and put all our mattresses in the most central room to try and get away from those drum beats, but it was seemingly inescapable. I eventually fell asleep and was out because I was tired enough to beat any noise, but it was rather annoying. I wish I knew more about Carnaval. We aren’t allowed to see it. But I do know some of what happens. I am not really interested in watching because it is famous for being especially rowdy. In Brazil for Carnaval, they blindfold the Christus Statue, you know the big huge famous one. They blindfold a statue of the Lord for a week in a sort of symbolic statement that "anything goes during Carnaval."

We are still working hard and working well. When it gets tough, some lyrics pop in my mind from a favorite song:

No one told me the right way to go about this
So I’ll figure it out for myself
Yet how much is too much to offer
Well I may never know so I’ll just give until there is nothing left.

Give Give Give

It is a Relient K song that gets stuck in my head but truly does make me move. It always reminds me Who I am doing this for and that I just need to give of myself and give it all.

I love you all. God lives and we need to give our lives to Him. When we put Him first all other things fall into place.

Andy