Sad surprize..

Unfortunately, I just found out that I am leaving today. We had plans today to go to Audrey's house, and tomorrow me and the Bailey girls were all going to go out to get our nails done before I left, but apparently the ticket meant TOMORROW when it said 1:30 in the morning. And that is only about twelve hours away. So now I have to pack to leave and say very quick goodbyes to everyone here. Please pray for a safe flight! I will write again from Thailand to tell of all I learned on this amazing trip.

~Megan

'Big' Church

Instead of talking to the children's ministry, I talked to the entire church this Sunday. My Dad had helped me make a slide show of our church in Thailand. I told the story of our church and talked about the ministry back home, and then Kent asked me to pray for their Brazilian church in Thai. After that, he had someone else pray for our Thai church in Portuguese. Several people told me afterwards that they were very encouraged by our church's story. Praise the Lord that He can use even me to bring that encouragement!

After church a lot of us went out to eat pizza together. I had already eaten, so I had a piece of their famous chocolate pizza. Because I leave on Wednesday, this was my last good bye to several people. Isabella, Pedro, Priscilla, the other Pedro, Allani, and many others, I may never see again; or not for a long time. I talked to Allan for awhile, and the encouragement he gave me I will never forget.

Today we went into the city to buy supplies for Grace's party, and then we spent the rest of the day working on the Bailey's Bazaar; or garage sale.

I am very tired, and I have a long day planned tomorrow! But with so little time left, I hope to make the most of every minute of it.

~Megan

Brazil...

I had a huge lunch at Angel's house today. On Sundays, her whole family comes together to eat; her parents, grandparents, her three sisters, and their husbands. Grace and I joined them for a delicious meal, and then we came back to the Bailey's to watch a movie and prepare for the slide show. I am going to talk about Thailand at their church today, so I am very excited.

Here are some fun things I have learned about Brazilians:

-Brazilians love to brush their teeth. In fact, Every one of Grace's friends has a toothbrush at her house for when they stay here. When we go out to eat together, they almost always go to the bathroom afterwards to brush. Sometimes there is even dental floss in public bathrooms that you can pull out and use for free.

- During the World Cup, the entire city shuts down. Everyone gets off of work for the games. Children are out of school, but on some days when they still have to go, they watch the games together at school.

-You have to be 18 to drive here, but it is an extremely long and hard process. There is a two day driving course that you must complete and very hard tests.

- The legal drinking age here is 18, but this law is not followed very stringently. On a girl's 15th birthday party, (which is the biggest and most important birthday, signifying entering into adulthood) they usually have something alcoholic to drink, and this is generally accepted.

- Everyone greets here with a hug and a kiss. Even if you just met the person, you use this greeting. It is not usually a real kiss, though, typically people just kiss 'into the air'.

- Brazilians eat rice and beans with pretty much every meal, with the usual exception of breakfast. One guy I was talking to said he wanted to come to Thailand, but changed his mind when he heard that we don't eat beans with our rice there. For breakfast, people mostly eat cake.

- People are classified according to their wealth here. Rich people do not associate with poor people.

- Most Brazilians live with their family until they get married, and sometimes even then. In college the students do not live in dorms, they stay with their families.

- The two main soccer teams in this area are Gallo and Cruzerro. (I cheer for Gallo!) Cruzerro has been winning lately, so you can hear people shouting CRUZERRO all the time. After a game, the fans of the winning team will hold down their horns as they drive on the street in their triumph.

- Thumbs up means everything here; thank you, yes, good job, ok?, hey, etc. You do not even have to speak the language, as long as you have one thumb you can say pretty much anything.