Southern Hospitality In Minas

At a lake in Belo Horizonte









My JCPenney look









Lake in Belo

Tudo bem? I'm just showing off my little knowledge of Portuguese. It just means "Is everything good?" It's a common greeting and I use it all the time. After that, I got nothin' else for you as far as conversation goes.

Last weekend I went to Minas Gerais which is another state here in Brazil. A friend of mine had an engagement party there and I went with a friend of mine from church. I've met a few people from Minas here in Rio and they're so friendly. I had expectations of what I thought the people were like in Minas and I wasn't disappointed.

At the engagement party, there was a couple there who's getting married in December and they invited me to their wedding. Another lady there was talking about setting me up with some girls. A couple that we stayed with in Belo Horizonte were sooooo nice. We went to their church Sunday which has around 45,000 people. It has a main building which has services going on all the time and there are several blocks of buildings that they use as well.

The couple we stayed with bought me a Brazil shirt with a faith shield on it. They said "Joel, we like you so much we wanted to give you this shirt." I was like "Man, these could be southerners. They're just good people." The city where we stayed was called Belo Horizonte which has around 3 million people. It reminded me of Birmingham a little bit. If I come back to Brazil, that is where I would live next time. It's not as pretty as Rio but I just like it, mainly because of the people that I met there.

I added about three more students since last time. I've started working with another school which pays more than the others and I picked up two more private students. The private students are just coming from word of mouth. One of my new students asked me a question about present perfect in our first class and I was able to give him the correct answer. He said "You are good. I've asked that to other teachers before and they couldn't give me an answer." I did my Barney Fife sniff and was like "Well, that's how I roll."

I Just Got Scalped

I'm going outside of Rio for the first time this weekend with a friend from church. His roommate who is a friend of mine as well is having an engagement party in another state so we're taking a road trip. I'm looking forward to it. I've heard the people in Minas Gerais are very friendly and there's a church in Belo Horizonte we're going to visit that has around 40,000 people.

My hair was getting a little shaggy so I wanted to look decent to meet a lot of new people this weekend. I went to the place I normally go for a haircut and they were booked but I wanted to go ahead and get it cut now because I had a cancellation this morning and was the best time for me.

So I go down the street a couple of blocks to another place because there are salons on every other corner. I haven't had a bad haircut since I've been here so I figured why not. Either I didn't communicate my idea very well or he's part Indian and needed to fill his quota for a scalping.

I felt like I was in 3rd grade when my Dad did the same thing and cut every portion of bangs off me in perfect timing for picture day. I tried to tell him I only wanted a little bit cut off. I think he interpreted it as I only wanted a little hair left when he got done. He wanted to shake my hand after he was done. Why would I want to shake your hand after that? Then I have to pay for it. Come on man!

I keep going back to the mirror and hoping that I'll think "Oh, it's not that bad" but it hasn't happened yet. The word that comes to my mind every time is "Dang!". Good news is I won't need a haircut for about 6 months. By the time I come home I'll still be riding the effects of this haircut probably.

Just had to share.

Getting Married In Rio...

Ha! Just wanted to see how many people would read this with that headline. Who knows what will happen here, I may bring someone home when I come back. You just never know.

Since that's out of the way, I thought I'd give an update because it's been a while. My recent highlight was getting a care package from home. Man, it felt like I had won the lottery with oatmeal cream pies, pringles, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc. Oatmeal cream pies...gone in less than 2 days. I haven't eaten everything yet because I'm trying to make it last but the oatmeal cream pies didn't have a chance.

I found out that the tutor that gave me a couple of students when he had to leave the country in April is coming back in September. One of the students is a high school kid who is going back to the US in October so I was planning on losing him but the other students are a husband and wife couple that I tutor twice a week. It's a pretty good chunk of change from those two students.

I found out from a friend of mine about another school that pays better than any of the other schools. I emailed the lady this week and she gave me three times where she needed a teacher. I should be able to rearrange my schedule and get those three classes. Those three classes will completely replace the income I am losing from the two students I'm losing in October. God is good!

I've added a couple of new private students that are really nice. Most of my students are from one company which is a bank. It all started with a friend from church sending a notice to people at the company about my classes. One of them said her boyfriend wants to take classes too so that will be great. I'm really thankful that I really have a great group of students.

I'm also trying to get some other students to give myself some cushion. I found out that in December, January & February that it's pretty slow for teaching so I may come home in December. I'm not sure yet, I'll just have to play it by ear. I don't want to just be sitting here and paying rent without teaching. It all depends on my situation at that time.

I just found out tonight that I sold my Alabama tickets for the year. I will miss the Alabama games so much this year. I'll figure out a way to watch them on the internet somehow.

I found out this weekend that some people I know from Alabama were in Rio and preaching at a church outside of Rio. I googled the address and it would take 3 hrs to get there by bus. If I had a car it would only take 1 hr. At first I wasn't going to but I talked to my brother and he said if I didn't have anything else going on I could do some good reading on the bus ride. I decided to go do it and waited about 45 minutes for the bus and it never came. If it had come I would have been about 45 minutes to an hour late and then have another 3 hr bus ride home. So I just came back to the apartment. One thing I miss is being able to get in my car and go where I want. Even though I have no desire to be in this traffic its the principle of going where I want to go and when I want.

I talked to a couple of friends this week and one of my brothers which made it a great week. It always does my heart good to talk to someone and be able to communicate. It's the simple things that I miss like basic communication. Well, tchau for now amigos e amigas!

Hillsong Comes To Rio & The Tide Rolls In Rio

As I'm sitting here watching my Brazilian soap operas (it helps with my listening comprehension), I thought I would give an update. I forgot to email about something that happened several weeks ago. I was walking down one of the main streets in Copacabana and I'm waiting for the green light to walk across the street, I start hearing shrieks and screams behind me.

I turn around and I see this big rat running right down the middle of the sidewalk and people are dodging right and left like they're avoiding a locomotive. He's hoofing it and takes a right turn into this women's clothing store that had its door open. I see all these people almost immediately jump onto chairs and tables. He was in there for about a minute and I guess he didn't see anything that would fit so he came back out and went back in the direction where he came from. It was like his sole purpose was to go into that store. That was so funny! It made my day.

This past weekend Hillsong came to Rio and the church where I attend sponsored it. It was Darlene Zschech and her band from Australia. There was 4 different acts before them. It was supposed to start at 4 so I get there a little early. I should have factored Brazil time into the equation because it started close to 5.

Hillsong actually started around 8 and went until close to 10. Then our pastor came out and I guess he was giving an altar call. He can be really long winded and I wasn't exactly sure if the concert was over or not because a lot of people were leaving so I left too. It wasn't exactly in the best part of town so I didn't want to stay really late. As I was outside the stadium I heard them playing again. It was a very worshipful experience and did me so much good. I'm not good with numbers but there was probably 20,000 or more there.

I've had a lot of students on vacation or canceling classes lately so I've had a lot of free time. I've been walking or running by the beach a lot. Well, Monday as I'm running I have on my Alabama shirt and then I hear this family that is going the opposite way yell "Roll Tide!". I thought "Hallelujah, country folk!" and almost thought I heard angels sing. I yelled "Roll Tide" back and had a huge smile on my face the rest of the day. A couple of weeks ago I saw a guy on the metro with a University of Alabama ball cap on. We're international baby!

I've had some nice comments on my last post and I appreciate them. In case anyone is interested here's the link to the free 8 day email course on changing your thoughts and focusing on what is going right in your life - http://www.the48principle.com/toolbox.php. It's called the 8 day challenge.

Oh yeah, last night I was coming back from one of my classes and took this little van. The cost was $R2.30 and I gave him a $R5. He gave me some change and I started to look at it pretty closely, which I don't always do. He only gave me .70 back. I almost didn't say anything but I thought, "No. I can't let these people walk over me just because I'm a foreigner." I was trying to figure out how to say it but I told him "You gave me..." and then pointed at the change. He was like, Oh, I'm sorry (in Portuguese of course) and kind of smiled. He knew what he was doing.

Some of the people in the van started saying something to him and I heard United States and English with my translating skills. The guy who shortchanged me was saying something and making a face like "I didn't do it on purpose" or that's the feeling I got. It seemed like those people were taking up for me. Regardless if they did or not, that's the way I choose to think about it. I was still nice to the guy and slapped on the back and said "Obrigado amigo" when I left.

Quick Testimony

I just had to update on this week. This is probably more for my benefit than for anyone else. This has just been a good week and today was the best of all. Just lots of little things.

You see, I had allowed myself to get pretty negative about some things. It hasn't been all beaches and bikinis, there have been some rough patches. I told God last Sunday that I needed to hear from Him that night at church. He really showed up and the pastor gave a great message about how changing your negative thoughts and replacing them with God's Word can change your life and situation. I took so many notes and really got me encouraged to take action.

I had taken a free 8 day course a few years back regarding changing your thoughts. He's a Christian author that I had read before and really like called Tommy Newberry. I signed up again Sunday night and started getting the emails Monday morning. I could tell a difference already on the first day. It helped me out soooooo much.

Today's email was on being grateful for what you have. He said gratitude is focusing your attention and energy on what is working instead of what isn't. The more you appreciate, the more you notice things to appreciate. I've been doing that today and it was just a good day. I got an email from a guy who knows a friend of mine that used to work at Blue Cross. I think he does some sort of mission work here and I'll meet him tomorrow. That will give me another contact here which is great.

I was on the bus to see a student tonight and this pretty girl sat beside me and recognized me and spoke to me. I couldn't for the life of me remember who she was. Note: In Rio, when you see so many beautiful women every day, they almost run together and you can't remember which ones you saw the day before. Just unreal. Well, she could tell I didn't remember and reminded me that she had helped me before with directions and we got off the bus and talked for a while. Nothing major but just talking to a pretty and sweet girl can always brighten your day.

Finally when I got home tonight I had a card slid under my door. It was the first piece of mail I've received since I've been here because I just had a permanent address recently. It was a letter from the online campus at my church in Bham signed by everyone. It did me so much good. I had to write and encourage myself with this and share it with everyone else as well. Gratitude is something I will continue because it can change a dim outlook into a sunny day. There's so much to be grateful for, for sho. Word!

It's Been A While

This is a pic of my new friends I made from one of the companies where I teach.


I'm sitting here waiting for my first class of the day and thought I would update a little bit. I normally have a class at 8 & 10 on Monday but the 8 canceled and the 10 is in the US for a couple of weeks. I picked up a new student that starts today from 12-1. I'll have him on Mondays and Wednesdays...more money.

The weather is actually cooler than I thought it would be. I thought they only had one season - hot but I was wrong. Some of the nights have been in the 60s but it felt good. The days are in the 70s and I love it. It makes me think of football season.

I met a friend at one of the companies where I teach and I went the past couple of Sunday mornings to hang out while she took photos. She works for a company that photographs walks & runs like last week was a breast cancer walk and yesterday was some sort of 5K and 10K run. She told me I could make some money by handing out their company flier to runners after they were finished. Maybe it will be steady thing, that would be great. It's easy money and maybe I can meet some more people.

I'm trying to plan ahead for money because the student I tutor will be leaving at the end of July and going back to Florida. That is a pretty good amount of money per month. I could probably handle one more private student plus the new student and photo company gig will more than compensate for it.

I ordered a 3 inch foam mattress pad and had it sent to my brother in Bham. He mailed to me last week and it should be here this week or next. I can't wait to sleep in comfort again. The bed is not bad but it's not what I was used to in the States.

New Apt, Sugar Loaf Mountain & Marijuana

It's been a while since my last post. A lot has happened since then. I got moved into my new apartment in Copacabana. It's two blocks from Copacabana Beach and three blocks from the metro. It's a perfect location. It's really small, I mean really small but it's home. The rent includes a/c, wireless internet, utilities, a washer for the tenants of this guy I'm renting from and there's a terrace on the roof only for tenants of the same guy and it's beautiful up there. It has a couple of tables, a grill, a small pool and a pool table. I haven't been up there much but I need to. He said not many people go up there because most people would rather go to the beach.

I have it rented through the end of January which is what I wanted. At first he said I only had it for a couple of months, then he had a cancellation and it worked out to have it until the end of January. God worked it out perfectly. My window looks at some mountains and I can see Christ the Redeemer statue, it's really cool. I'm so thankful to have a/c. That is one of man's greatest inventions, no doubt. Now I need to buy something for the bed to make it a little more comfortable then I'll be set. I bought a microwave and a sandwich maker yesterday. It's starting to feel more like home.

Late yesterday afternoon I went to Sugar Loaf. Man, the pictures I've attached don't even come close. It's absolutely amazing...just so beautiful. You have to go up two different cable cars. You go on the first one to a smaller mountain then take another one up to Sugar Loaf. I was there when the sun went down so it was great timing.

I went to the beach yesterday afternoon and did some reading. There's all sorts of vendors going back and forth selling stuff on the beach. Some are more aggressive than others like try to sell you sunglasses and put them on your face when you tell them you aren't interested but most aren't that bad. Well, one guy came by yesterday with cigarettes. He asked me if I wanted some and I told him I didn't smoke. So he proceeds to ask me if I want some marijuana. A little shocked, I told him that I didn't need marijuana because I had Jesus. So he takes it a step farther. He asks me if I want cocaine. Now that is a first. I felt like I was in some sort of movie. I ain't in Falkville no more, for sho. Again, I told him that I had Jesus and didn't need it. Then I told him he didn't need that and he needed Jesus. He took that as his cue and gave me the thumbs up and moved it. I started laughing, it was just funny to me.

Tonight I walked down Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Arpoador beaches which are all right together. It took me about 2 1/2 hours. I did that last week too but not as long. I went to the end of Arpoador this time just to see how far it is, and it's pretty stinking far. I've attached some photos of my walk last week. There's this big rock in Arpoador that you can look down Arpoador beach and down Copacabana too. It's really awesome. A lot of people go there at sunset.

Everything else is good. I think I'm gonna check out a different church next week. I got some names of other churches from some missionaries I know that live in another area of Brazil. I figure it is worth a shot. I want to find a church that has some sort of small groups or Sunday school or something.

Sugar Loaf Pics







Copacabana is the top two and Arpoador is the bottom two pics