Skip to main content

Brazilian mini-adventure (involving a kombi and tapioca).


I just have to say again: it is so lovely to be here in Fortaleza! The past days have been very chilled, and so this evening it was time for a slightly involuntary adventure (which non-the-less reminded me of many crazy times living here).

My friend Selma and I decided to head to Centro das Tapioqueiras for dinner (a traditional Brazilian pancake type thing made from manioc flour). The transportation option was the kombi, and I decided to brave the roads of Fortaleza and face my hesitancy to yet again embrace driving here (which can get quite crazy at times). As we got into the kombi I was instructed “it is kind of dying, but if you loose velocity, just take your foot off the accelerator and put it down again and you’ll be fine”. Not the greatest confidence booster, but I figured it wasn’t a long drive, and besides I was quite set on eating my favorite tapioca again.

As we got on the road I realized the acceleration wasn’t the only thing that was “dying”. The steering was very weird, and I kept having to rotate the steering wheel back and forth to even stay straight on the road. I must have looked like a drunk driver at first until I found my stride.

Anyway, choosing a slower, but safer speed we finally got to the place and parked the kombi. It took a bit of fidgeting with the driver’s door for it to open, but we’d made it.

We gave our order, and as we were waiting a lady approached us explaining about a drug rehab for women and how they really needed money. She was selling trufas chocolate truffles to raise money so I bought a couple to help out. Such a different way of raising funds, but I guess every little bit counts.

As the waiter put in front of me the plate with my tapioca; half with queijo coalho (Brazilian type of cheese), and the other half my favourite: caramelized banana, cheese, sweet condensed milk, and cinnamon, I was so happy! And it didn’t disappoint. Together with café com leite it was perfect.

We ate and talked and remembered old times and then it was time to drive back.

As we pulled out of the parking lot and onto the busy road, we heard some shouts, only to realise the side door had slid open. I was already in the furthest lane so with a bit a manoeuvring Selma shut it (or so she thought) and we continued our journey. However, just a little further along the door decided to slide wide open, and somehow (with the faulty steering) I had to pull onto the curb for Selma to get out and shut the door properly. Only in Brazil I think.

Anyways, as we continued driving we were laughing at how a simple trip can become such an adventure. We talked about when we had bought a house in the city centre for the ministry back in 2001; and me and another staff had carried the entire value of the house in cash out of the bank because the owners insisted on being paid in cash. And how at another time Elisabeth and I had been on our way to a family visit in one of the slums in our little white Fiat ministry car, only to be told by the people on our way that we needed to turn back because there were gang-fights going on. So many stories and memories and things to “write in the book”, if it ever gets written.

I remember I always wanted to write a book about life as a missionary when I lived in Brazil. I was going to call it “blond wisdom- a survival guide to life in missions”, and share practical wisdom I’d picked up over the years of being a single blond woman ministering in Brazil. It never really even got started, but maybe one day I’ll sit down and put on paper some of the craziness I’ve lived. Probably mostly to share how not to do things, but also about how exciting it is when you step out and do amazing things with God.

We made it back to the base and the conclusion was that it was a lovely evening. And even with a kombi which was definitely more a challenge than a delight to drive, we didn’t hit anyone, have any accidents, and didn’t destroy any part of the kombi or other immaterial objects- so it was a successful drive.

Now it’s getting late. Tomorrow I teach my final day with the DTS. Today was all about Human trafficking which was intense- tomorrow mostly about how to practically work with issues of justice, so hopefully not quite as intense. And then hopefully I can pop to the beach and fill up my vitamin D storage.

Popular posts from this blog

Packing...again.

I just folded the last load of laundry and I’m almost packed. Off to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning, heading off to Amsterdam. I’m excited, a bit nervous, and wondering what it’ll be like. It’s been a good week at home with lots of quality time with family, especially the little nieces and nephew. I’m glad I’ll see them in April again. Well, not much to write and packing to be done and a bit of sleep would probably be a good idea too. Next time I write it’ll be from Amsterdam....
Read more

Single-tasking September: The art of single-tasking.

To change habits and ways of life, the motivation for change has to be strong, and the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to make the change.  For so long it’s seemed like the ability to multitask has been regarded as a great skill, but is it really a good thing? Recovering from burn-out, one of the effects I noticed was that it was harder to concentrate, and especially tricky trying to focus on many things at once. I’d try to multitask, only to realise that all tasks suffered from lack of capacity to complete any one of them. The challenge is that the habit of always doing many things at once goes deep, and when I tried to focus on just one thing, I found that it was actually really difficult.  As I did a little google search on the matter, I found it seems like multitasking isn’t as healthy as once thought, and that it doesn’t help productivity. Some even referred to it as “switch tasking”, in the sense that the brain isn’t doing many things at once, but shifting rapidly...
Read more

Walking through December: overcoming the challenge of language.

I just got done leading a Bible study in Spanish without a translation back-up, and it went really well. I am amazed at what we are actually able to do when we have no other option. It wasn’t a flawless flow of communication (that would have been a miracle), but together we figured out what I wanted to say. And I think it was good. I was blessed and they seemed blessed as well. The girls just left and I am sat here in my living room with the candles lit. It’s windy and rainy outside, and I am smiling. Happy. Not because I overcame the language challenge, but happy because of yet another beautiful time of bringing more of Jesus to the girls in our Bible study. I am thankful for the privilege of knowing them and standing with them in their journeys of knowing Jesus. And thankful that even when language is shaky, love is stronger and is communicated beyond mere words.
Read more