Going to church is somewhat of a predicament for me here in Monteiro. I've visited a few of the Protestant churches here, and been to the Catholic mass several times, but I still haven't found a church to call home. At the Protestant churches the worship is very animated, and I often feel uncomfortable when the pastor begins yelling during the sermons. The Catholic Mass is more like the services that I'm used to, but there are still theological differences that make it difficult for me to fully participate. What I've begun doing is going to Sunday School at the Presbyterian church on Sunday mornings, and then going to Catholic Mass on Sunday nights.

One time when Mike was visiting, Mike, Ricardo, and I went to the Catholic Mass in the evening. Shortly after the service began, the priest noticed us, and said, "Look, how good it is that we have visitors with us today." He then preceded to walk three-quarters of the way down the aisle to where we were sitting. He asked us if we were Brazilians, and Mike and I said we were Americans, he said (in English) "Welcome!" He then asked the entire congregation to repeat the greeting as well. When the text for the day was on welcoming the visitor, he repeated his welcome once more. Everyone was quite aware that we were there, and we were different.

I continued to go to mass almost every week, and I noticed that some people had a small booklet that had the order of the service in it. I thought that having a way to follow the service would increase what I got out of the service, so a couple of weeks I asked someone where I could get one. Eventually someone told me to go talk to the priest, so I walked into his office, and he kindly greeted me, in Portuguese this time. I explained that I am a Protestant, but have been liking attending mass, and was wondering if I could have a booklet so I could participate more in the service. He gave me his, and we had a nice conversation. I explained that I am here in Brazil with AMAS, and that I am working on biodigesters and cisterns to help people around Monteiro. He seemed very happy to have me there, and offered to have me over for a meal, or, if I wanted, I could share my story on his radio show.

The next week I went back to Mass, and it was going well. I was able to follow the parts of the service well due to my newly acquired booklet. About halfway through the sermon the priest began talking about an encounter he had a week before. "Last week I met Joel, an evangelical from the United States who has been coming to mass. He said he really likes the Catholic mass and wants to participate more in it." He was talking about me! In fact, he spent the rest of the sermon talking about how great it was that an evangelical felt welcome in the Catholic church. He talked about my work, and pretty much everything that he knew about me. It actually felt pretty good, since he used the encounter as an impetus for the church to be welcoming to all people.

Near the end of the sermon he said, "Joel has been coming to Mass often, and he is here again today." With that, heads began turning. Who is this stranger in our midst? Where is he sitting? And so as to not feel left out, I began turning my head searching for the one Protestant in the Catholic mass.

While quite a few people in the Catholic (and Presbyterian) churches know my name, I still hardly know anyone in either church. So, the process of finding my place in a church community is a slow one, but I have faith that after a year I will be able to identify with a community here.

This past weekend Mike came to Monteiro to watch the Super Bowl and to just see the awesome sights of the city. Actually, there isn't much to see in Monteiro, so we decided to go hike the nearest peak, Mount Peru (literally, Turkey Mountain) just outside the city.

My entire host family went along, so I knew the hike wasn't going to be too strenuous. We drove a few kilometers to get to the trail head, and then we started the climb. The hike was only a kilometer long, but in typical fashion it went pretty much straight up the mountain; there wasn't much in the way of switchbacks.

After only about a couple hundred meters we all stopped and Ricardo offered everyone some water. We all thought he was being kind, until we realized he just wanted to limit the weight of the water that he was carrying. Here's the family stopping for water:

The hike was going pretty well, and David and Bruno were leading the way. I was following Cristina, and Mateus, Ricardo and Mike were behind. As I was figuring out where to step, I noticed that there was a snake was sitting (if snakes can sit) right where I was about to put my foot. I stopped, and casually noted that there was a snake on the path. My brothers got really excited to see it, and my host dad actually said that it was a Jararaca, one of the most venomous snakes in Brazil. So I continue to see poisonous animals when I go hiking here. I'm not sure that's a good thing, but it adds a new level of excitement.

The Jararaca, sleeping.

My host brothers also thought that Mike looked and acted like Rambo, so a small war was going on during the climb. Here's mike preparing to blow something up with a bazooka, while Mateus does the same. However, I think it looks more like they're duck hunting here.

We reached the top, and had a wonderful view of the landscape around Monteiro. Parts of the land are beginning to come to life as we have received a few rains here already.

The view from the top.

As I mentioned, Mike came to Monteiro to watch the Super Bowl. My host dad had procured a location that had ESPN Brazil, and we were promised we could watch the game there. The location turned out to be an internet LAN-house that had a small room in the back with a TV. Let's just say that the TV seemed big, in comparison to the room. Fortunately, the only people watching the game were Mike, John, Ricardo, and myself. We brought some snacks, made some salsa, and had a two-liter of Coke to make sure we felt at home.

It was the first American sporting event I'd watched since I came to Brazil, and I will say that I was quite pleased with the game. It was really exciting, and it was fun to watch with John, who kept hoping for the impossible: "Interception return for touchdown!" I was routing for Pittsburgh, but really didn't care who won, I just was glad to be watching some American football. But since the game was covered by ESPN Brazil, all the commercials were from Brazil. So my favorite Super Bowl commercials were Skol's (beer company) ad with depictions of the way we try to impress people, and Volkswagen's ad with a dog-fish. That's right; I bet you didn't get those in the States.