Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Visit to the Maranata Bible Institute 16 - 20 October 2006
Once again it was time to visit Maranata - the fourth oppportunity to work on Biblical Exposition with the third year students. This year was a particularly stimulating one: the material has been honed over the years, and this group of students was particularly lively. It was important visit, too, in terms of fellowship with staff and students, and given that it had been a full year since the last time, there was much catching up to do.
This year we went by bus - the exhaustion levels before leaving were just too high to think of driving, so we snoozed happily through the four hours to Curitiba, had a good lunch, and then snoozed again for the six hours to Marilândia do Sul. We are including a few photos of the journey to give an idea: Brazilian bus travel is pretty civilized, and service stations compare well with British ones.
In the Florianópolis bus station. Geraldo from the Peregrinos caught the same bus, and can be seen talking to Cora in this picture. Easier than "Where's Wally?"
On the Catarinense bus to Curitiba.
A change of buses and lunch in Curitiba - taxis seen from the window of the bus station restaurant
With a few hours still to go, a late afternoon snack stop in Paraná.
This year's group of third year students. A lively bunch, with much humour, which, thankfuly, came under control by the end of the week. Simone, Cláudia, Vânia, Ricardo, Rafael, Manoel, Cléuson, Jorge, Renato and Andreilson
Trees
The computer room. The machines are old (three of them being ours, passed on to Maranata when we replaced them in 2005) but they work, they are on-line and the school has entered a new era. This is very good to see.
Visiting in October means that we are always at Maranata for the season of these large and rather incompetent brown or black beetles. They come, they manage to get upside down, they are eaten by toads. What sort of a life is that?
Califórnia Evangelical Church
Califórnia is a small town about 15 minutes by car from Maranata, where Jaiderson and Alexandra have been working over the time that they have taught at the Institute. We have followed the Evangelical Church of California through a good part of its history, and it was a great joy to see the interior of the building now finished - and so well done. Bright and pleasant, modern and functional, but still attractive without being fussy (I am tempted to say private without being insular!) the building is a great tool to reach the community. This is now by far the largest evangelical cghurch in this tiny town, and going on strongly. What gladdens our hearts most is that the evangelistic and pastoral methodology is totally solid: teach the Word, teach the Word, teach the Word. The living and praying church that meets here is one of the healthiest we know: may it continue so.
A jewel of a beetle
A birds' nest in an old radio in Jaiderson's garage. I love the use of wire as part of the nest.
Ricardo and Rosana. As it must be in a small community with a good number of single men and women, "namoro" ("going out") is tightly controlled. Permission needs to be granted by the Director, and relationships have to develop in fairly public spaces.
Kitchen crew
Gilsomar and Fabiana and their friend Vânia, who came over for the week to do the exposition course. She is from the Second Baptist church of Assis, São Paulo, about 130 miles from Maranata, where Gilsomar is pastoring at the weekends. This is a significant change for him and for Fabiana, and for Maranata.
Faces of Maranata 1
Faces of Maranata 2
And so, the long journey home. One bus this time, leaving at around 10.30 p.m. from Califórnia, where Luis, the Bus Station manager has been converted together with his family, and is part of the Evangelical Church. He busy our tickets, deals with our luggage and a group from the church send us on our way. The first person we see as we get on the bus is a girl we knew at Vida Nova, who has now married a guy from Maringá, Paraná! We chat at the breaks, finally waking up at around 8 a.m. at a service station only 20 minutes from the centre of Florianópolis. A comfortable, and profitable, journey home.
Once again it was time to visit Maranata - the fourth oppportunity to work on Biblical Exposition with the third year students. This year was a particularly stimulating one: the material has been honed over the years, and this group of students was particularly lively. It was important visit, too, in terms of fellowship with staff and students, and given that it had been a full year since the last time, there was much catching up to do.
This year we went by bus - the exhaustion levels before leaving were just too high to think of driving, so we snoozed happily through the four hours to Curitiba, had a good lunch, and then snoozed again for the six hours to Marilândia do Sul. We are including a few photos of the journey to give an idea: Brazilian bus travel is pretty civilized, and service stations compare well with British ones.
In the Florianópolis bus station. Geraldo from the Peregrinos caught the same bus, and can be seen talking to Cora in this picture. Easier than "Where's Wally?"
On the Catarinense bus to Curitiba.
A change of buses and lunch in Curitiba - taxis seen from the window of the bus station restaurant
With a few hours still to go, a late afternoon snack stop in Paraná.
This year's group of third year students. A lively bunch, with much humour, which, thankfuly, came under control by the end of the week. Simone, Cláudia, Vânia, Ricardo, Rafael, Manoel, Cléuson, Jorge, Renato and Andreilson
Trees
The computer room. The machines are old (three of them being ours, passed on to Maranata when we replaced them in 2005) but they work, they are on-line and the school has entered a new era. This is very good to see.
Visiting in October means that we are always at Maranata for the season of these large and rather incompetent brown or black beetles. They come, they manage to get upside down, they are eaten by toads. What sort of a life is that?
Califórnia Evangelical Church
Califórnia is a small town about 15 minutes by car from Maranata, where Jaiderson and Alexandra have been working over the time that they have taught at the Institute. We have followed the Evangelical Church of California through a good part of its history, and it was a great joy to see the interior of the building now finished - and so well done. Bright and pleasant, modern and functional, but still attractive without being fussy (I am tempted to say private without being insular!) the building is a great tool to reach the community. This is now by far the largest evangelical cghurch in this tiny town, and going on strongly. What gladdens our hearts most is that the evangelistic and pastoral methodology is totally solid: teach the Word, teach the Word, teach the Word. The living and praying church that meets here is one of the healthiest we know: may it continue so.
A jewel of a beetle
A birds' nest in an old radio in Jaiderson's garage. I love the use of wire as part of the nest.
Ricardo and Rosana. As it must be in a small community with a good number of single men and women, "namoro" ("going out") is tightly controlled. Permission needs to be granted by the Director, and relationships have to develop in fairly public spaces.
Kitchen crew
Gilsomar and Fabiana and their friend Vânia, who came over for the week to do the exposition course. She is from the Second Baptist church of Assis, São Paulo, about 130 miles from Maranata, where Gilsomar is pastoring at the weekends. This is a significant change for him and for Fabiana, and for Maranata.
Faces of Maranata 1
Faces of Maranata 2
And so, the long journey home. One bus this time, leaving at around 10.30 p.m. from Califórnia, where Luis, the Bus Station manager has been converted together with his family, and is part of the Evangelical Church. He busy our tickets, deals with our luggage and a group from the church send us on our way. The first person we see as we get on the bus is a girl we knew at Vida Nova, who has now married a guy from Maringá, Paraná! We chat at the breaks, finally waking up at around 8 a.m. at a service station only 20 minutes from the centre of Florianópolis. A comfortable, and profitable, journey home.
# posted by Andrew and Cora @ 11:27:00 pm 
