Yesterday was Moriah's birthday. Melissa will post more about that when we get pictures from my mom. It was the first day I began to get a heart for this city. It has been very difficult for me here. Things have not gone smooth at all. From being lost constantly, language, and not seeing the need of the city I really was getting a bad attitude. I was recognizing it as spiritual warfare but losing. Oh yeah, we can't take a shower unless one of us is willing to get lit up like a Christmas tree to turn it on(the shower heads heat the water, there is a short in ours that makes you get shocked when you touch the handle). Not to mention last night right after dinner, thankfully, the power went out. We found the breaker in the house it was fine, it wasn't until this morning after calling a few people who were typically Brazilian and unconcerned that I found the outside breaker. Sleeping in a foreign environment seemed scary the night before when Melissa asked who we would call if someone broke in, she thought maybe you call 411 instead of 911 I didn't follow the logic but perhaps shes right. We laughed about it when we also realized even if we got the police on the phone what would we say to them. It got scary with no power, and colder it was in the 40s last night.
Well yesterday as we walked around Curitiba looking at the city with our new friend Thomas I began to see past all the negative stuff I just wrote. I seen the people, I seen the hurt, I seen the emptiness. It may not be different than many other cities but it is full of hurting people just the same. We walked to a cathedral in the city center. There were people siting, people going in to pray, people on their way to work. A couple of people stuck out to me. There was a young man in the cathedral that looked desperate for hope. I don't know if he was there seeking it and disappointed, or just a young street person looking to sit down. I wished I had something about one of the churches here to give him. Part of the spiritual warfare we have experienced in this city is never quite being prepared for anything. Outside the church I seen a man dressed as a woman that was walking along obviously in his own world. It is always sad to see someone who's mind is no longer working whether it is mental illness or demonic influence. Later on we were in a very rich area where a woman and her kids sat begging and selling gum on the side walk. It was a seriously rich street, rodeo drive like, and everyone ignored her.
We went on from there to have a good time at a kid's place that Melissa will write about tomorrow. It was the first day things had calmed down, then it nearly ended in tragedy. As I was changing lanes I saw a motorcycle coming quite fast, they blow between cars in spaces so tight you can't believe it. I got back over, this happens a lot, but unfortunately he seemed to panic and locked up both his brakes. I watched in the mirror as his bike went sideways he laid it down and began fliping down the street. I was well ahead but he was going fast enough that his momentum carried him up to us and his head hit our bumper hard enough to do a little damage. It will be another interesting day to deal with the rental company on that. We pulled over and went back to him. He had a badly tore up knee, my stomach still gets queezy remembering as I can almost feel it. His hands were tore up and his bike was a bit damaged. He didn't want to call the police or an ambulance because he didn't have proper papers and it wasn't a case of me hitting him he thought he would get in trouble. We said we would give him a ride to the hospital, our guide st. Thomas took my mom, Melissa and the kids back to the world of magic balls. While we were waiting for that a woman stopped to talk to him who decided to go get stuff to make a splint for his leg before we left. He thought this would be a good idea so after Thomas returned we waited 10-15min before putting him in the car. My dad walked his motorcycle back to his house around the corner. She returned with a couple scraps of card board and gause. I don't think it did much. We loaded him in our car and took him to his house so we could open the gate and put his bike away. We finally were on the way to the hospital, 45min after the accident. Of course his insurance was for a hospital on the other side of town.
The amazing thing is that Augusto, the bike rider, remained calm and friendly the whole time. This was his second accident in 2 weeks, the other leg was already tore up, he told us it was his second trip to the same hospital for the same reason. Augusto was a confused individual, claimed to be a shaman(a shaman is like a witch doctor) someone who desires to communicate with spirits. Augusto spoke good english and my dad was able to share the gospel with him. He didn't have a dramatic conversion experience last night but Thomas told us that for him Christians stopping and taking him to the hospital rather than trying to make sure we weren't blamed was probably a new experience. I will be praying that God breaks through and that the spirit he ends up communicating with is the Holy Spirit. We left him last night with 50 reais($25) for a cab and to help with the broken mounting bracket for his speedometer. I have his email address and hope that I will see him one day.
All this stuff that has been happening could easily detour us from our goal of becoming missionaries. It doesn't make it seem as fun and exciting. I wouldn't take it back for anything though. This morning I am more determined than ever to press on and follow my calling and dream. I will stand firm against the enemy and grab hold of whatever the Lord has for us next. Melissa and I were talking this morning and I appreciate her all the more because these hardships have not deterred her either. Thanks for your prayers, pray we can be more prepared to share the gospel with more people. Pray for protection as we travel to another city, God provided guides for us today He is more active than the enemy and more faithful than we deserve. Pray that we will stand firm, get along and that the kids will continue to be a blessing and enjoy themselves.
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