GOD is good

We are truly allowing life to take us wherever it wills. Two nights ago, we got on a 23 hour bus ride to Rio de Janeiro with absolutely no plan of what to do once we got there. We had tried to find a hostel but everything was booked (due to Carnaval). We decided we would go knock on church doors and ask to sleep on their floors. On the bus ride over we said a little prayer: May the opportunities we need present themselves. Sure enough this 17 year old girl who spoke english sat down next to us on the bus. We told her our plight and she said she'd think about it. She happened to be an evangelical Christian who had just been at a month long "Dance for Jesus" camp (something I hope we all get to experience in life). A few hours later she informed us of an English-speaking church- Union Church-and then directed us to a city bus that would take us to that area (she did not know the address and could not recall exactly where the church was located).

We had no idea when to get off that bus (we thought the ticket taker told us to wait an hour and we couldn't believe the ride would be that long) and then a man sat down next to us who not only spoke English but used to go to the Union Church. He showed us how to get there, we walked up to the front door and happened to run into Christen, an evangelical missionary from the US. She gave us a tour of the school and then persuaded us to be the guest speakers in her class. By the end of the afternoon, she had arranged to have us stay at her apartment. Just our luck (or, as Christen and her roommates cheerfully remind us: there is no luck involved, it is all God). While here we have been able to shower, do our laundry, eat meals, and use the internet for free. As well as spend time with three amazing new friends.

Our first night, Christen and Megan took us to their church (one of the most lively, charismatic churches we have ever been to where a great majority of the people looked like they were 25 or younger and on their way to becoming supermodels).

We arrived home from church to discover that a friend of a friend, Vera, offered to give us a tour around Rio. (A Brazilian friend that we briefly encountered must have contacted her friends to see if anyone could show us around). While on the tour, we were able to see the giant Cristo and hike up part of Sugar Loaf (one of the tallest points in Rio with an absoluely stunning view). We returned that evening to be kidnapped by Megan, Melissa, and Christen. They treated us to a delicious (and incredibly expensive) dinner.

GOD is good.

How to Tell Whether or Not You Are in Paraguay

Wait . . . are we in Paraguay?

In case you are ever in a situation in which you find yourself asking, "Wait . . . are we in Paraguay?" here are four surefire signs to help you discern the appropriate conclusion.

The Top 4 Ways to Tell Whether or Not You Are in Paraguay:

1. The streets are lined with vendors selling towering stacks of Pringles

2. All of the people are speaking Spanish.

3. There is a huge sign that reads: "Bienvenidos a Paraguay"

4. When you ask strangers, "Is this Paraguay?" they say, "si."

So, on Tuesday morning we woke up early with a plan to go see the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls before catching a 2:30pm bus to Rio de Janeiro. I walked up to the hostel reception desk and pointed toward the huge 4' by 5' laminated sign that held the schedule for the numersou buses heading toward Rio.

"Can we buy tickets for the 2:30 bus here?"

"No, no no," said the lady, "these ones," and pulled out a folded and faded printer page with a list of four buses departing the falls for Rio. Out of these four, two left at noon and two left at 6.

Since our sole plan for Rio was to beg for a church to let us sleep on their floor, and the bus ride would last 22 hours, we decided that the safest (see, mom and dad) option would be to skip the falls and take the earlier bus to Rio (giving us plenty of time to search for friendly churches before night fall).

We left the hostel at 10am, giving us two full hours to get across town to the bus station. We were directed to stand across the street from the McDonald's and catch a bus to the "Rodoviaria." A bus came. "Rodoviaria?" we ask. "Rodoviaria!?" exclaims the bus driver and motions toward the other side of the street. We crossed the street and wait for the next bus. "Rodoviaria?" we inquire. Multiple people nod. Feeling confident we board the bus and settle in for what we expect to be a 10 minute ride.

Twenty minutes pass and we begin noticing some unfamiliar scenery. Alisa tapped the woman in front of her, "Rodoviaria?" The woman nods.

We then cross a wide river and on the other side find ourselves surrounded by tables holding towering stacks of every type of Pringles can. We found that slightly odd considering multiple people had told us that Pringles in Brazil are really expensive (like 12 US dollars a can).

Suddenly we pass through some kind of barricade with "POLICIA" written all over it in huge letters. That's weird . . .

We continued to chat until Alisa says, "Uh, Tessa, I think this is Paraguay." Outside the window is a huge billboard reading, "Bienvenidos a Paraguay."

At this point we begin to wonder whether or not we are still in Brazil. Tessa asks the people around her, "Wait, are we in Paraguay?" They all say yes. Whoops.

Long story short, we had a wonderful time in Paraguay and made it to our bus with 9 minutes to spare. We still had know idea what we would do when we arrived in Rio the next day but we did say a little prayer: "May the opportunities we need present themselves."

This story is TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Our sole photo of Paraguay. The prompt: Look like you're Paraguayan.

Iguazu Falls

Beautiful friends we met at Iguazu Falls, Julia and Melissa.

There must be 10,000 ways to kneel and kiss the earth.

-Rumi

Another example of Life Lesson #1.

Life Lesson #1: Humans Cannot Control Nature

Last Thursday, we set out into the mighty Atlantic Ocean for what we thought would be a relaxing little jaunt. Splish splashing around- everything seemed quite jolly. We even practiced our surfing. All of a sudden, we realized we were much further from the sand than we thought.

"Älisa, we're out really far!"

The waves became bigger and bigger and every time we came up for air, another one crashed into our faces. From a distance, we heard Hugo, our surfing instructor, shout.

"Girlssssss! Come back, it's dangerous!"

We tried to swim toward shore but the waves kept beating us down. The harder we swam the more it felt like we were drifting to sea.

Suddenly a rope was thrown toward Alisa. She used all her might to grab on to it.

"Tessa, grab the rope!"

It seemed as if she would never reach it. It seemed as if she was not even trying.

Finally, she grabbed hold and Hugo pulled us safely ashore, delivering mouth to mouth resuscitation as he paddled inward. (Just kidding....did we fool any of you?)

Never had we been so close to death, and it might have been the end had not Hugo saved our lives.

Hence, Life Lesson #1: Humans cannot control nature (unless you're Hugo).

Hugo, our life saver.

Hilarious T-Shirt of the Week: January 30, 2008

"Who killed fashion? Rape or sex murder."

This beautiful shirt was discovered at a charismatic evangelical church in Rio de Janeiro.


This is the first edition of "Hilarious T-Shirt of the Week." Hopefully it will become a weekly installment (hence, the "of the week"). This is also the first event in Tessa and Alisa's Global Competition Extravaganza. We would like to invite everyone to enter their hilarious t-shirt sitings (either through words or photos) into the running and we will pick the most hilarious each week. Post them or email us! Just think, this week the winner was us, but next week it could be you!

We love Sao Paulo

A huge meat dinner with our first Servas host, Juba, and Audrey (that's right, Alisa and Tessa both ate millions of different kinds of meat - we are really pushing ourselves). Juba might be the kindest host anyone has ever encountered. On our first night, we locked him out of his own apartment and he graciously dismissed it as a learning experience. Incredible.

A spontaneous street encounter led to a delicious pizza dinner and rousing conversation (their treat!). Andrea, Davi, and Paulo.

Our first acai bowls! Thanks, Gabe and Lily!

Our future career. In Brazilian Walmarts employees wear roller blades. What more could you ask for?

A business card making party that produced some truly beautiful works of art.

O mundo esta ficando melhor = The world is getting better. One business card at a time.