On The Road Again

It’s Friday morning and we’re back in Uruguay after a 5-day excursion along the coast and into Brazil. There’s something so enlivening about embarking upon an adventure with only a destination in mind and no idea what you will encounter on the way. There’s no doubt about it – the past week has certainly been an adventure.

After a stop in Montevideo to say goodbye to an ‘ambassador’ family going stateside, we began our trek in Periapolis, a small coastal city with the beach on one side and the hills on the other. We decided to climb one mountain simply because it was there, and we made it to the top without much difficulty. After climbing up into the cross that stands atop the mountain, we began our trek down. However, we lost the trail (who really needs that anyway) and to make a long story short, we found a hornet’s nest (good thing I’m not allergic), got really, really muddy and made it to the bottom a couple of hours later with a few battle wounds and a really good story to tell. (And from this day forward, Lyle shall be known as Cap’n.) The picture below depicts our “We’re on the side of a mountain and Lyle doesn’t know the way down” faces:

On our way to Punta del Este, we saw two whales off the beach. And no, this is not the Atlanta Zoo.

Fast forward through La Paloma, more lighthouses than we can count on one hand, Rocha, a really creepy hotel without a real shower, Randy Stonehill, and salmon-filled ravioli; we went to an incredibly secluded fishing village which requires a 20 minute ride off the road, through a wilderness of pastureland and down the coastline in an open truck to get there. After walking through the sleepy village, we found massive rocks overlooking the beach - and a sea lion colony! We spent the morning on the rocks watching the sea lions. They didn’t do any tricks, but again: This is not the Atlanta Zoo.

At last, we made it to Brazil. One of my favorite parts was the supermarket. (Joni and I suffer from an addiction to Brazilian chocolate.) We also met with a Uruguayan ‘ambassador’ couple in their home. They have a very strong ministry in this city and we got to stay for the prayer meeting that takes place in their home. We met a 13-year-old girl named Camilla and had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours with her talking about Jesus. We prayed for her before we left and are looking forward to seeing the fruit that comes from her life!

After a traditional Brazilian meal at the Churrascaria (meat, fried bananas and Guarana– it doesn’t get any better than that) we drove back through Minas, where we met with a pastor and his family about a very exciting ministry prospect there for next summer. There’s nothing I like more than a little groundbreaking.

Thus concludes the incredibly condensed version of our trek to Brazil and back again. One thing’s for sure – the food alone is worth the trip.