Rio! Day 5

We flew out of Salvador airport at a bright and early 9:00am [meaning up and at 'em at 6am], arriving in Rio without incident after a 2-hour flight. It's amazing how you take a safe flight for granted; the Lord is good.

Today was spent in traveling, checking in to the Hotel Luxor Continental, and driving along the Ipanema and Copacabana beaches... they're something else all right! It was raining most of the day, so no one was out, but I can easily see what makes them so famous. We will hopefully visit them in coming days, even better if we can get out at night and listen-to/dance-with a samba school on the beach. I'm currently researching doing para-sailing, beach walking, possible roller coasters, and perhaps even some dance practice if the situation presents itself.

As I will be unable to attend morning services tomorrow, and I will be on the bus during the approximate times of Mebane's web broadcast, I will be reading a lot of Ryle tomorrow. I sense that there are many believers among this bunch, both nominal and more serious, so hopefully the coincidence of the day, a long bus ride and my selection of reading material will generate some conversation of a spiritual bent.

We had an truly awe-inspiring concert this afternoon, after visiting the Casa de Santa Anna, a ministry where mental, emotional, and physical help is given to elderly of the area who would otherwise be, as the workers reported some of their patients saying it, sitting around waiting to die. The city of Rio de Janiero is a large one, about 6 million, but there are many slum areas that are very poor. From our short walkthrough of one on the way to Santa Anna, it was a real assault on one's senses. Even with the cleansing rain falling, refuse was everywhere and the stench of raw sewage and squalor was everywhere. There is a serious drug trade that is all around, according to Victor our guide, and it is doubtless similarly spiritually destitute. The work that that group was doing was remarkable, if judging only by the group of women who sang for us from among their patients, along with a group of children who are similarly cared for.

We went on after they performed a few pieces, and by the end when we sang Mui Rendera, almost all of them were right there singing along with us. After a long round of applause [we received a standing ovation after every single piece!] they spontaneously came up on stage with us, along with a large crowd of camera-bearers wanting to take pictures. We sung refrains from the Mui Rendera along with them, and had a really good time with it.

Afterwards, we ended up doing a bit of dancing with some of them in a side room where tea and coffee were being served... all and all the best concert I can remember being involved in. I hope that we can serve as an encouragement to them, both through our presence and the donation our group made to their work, because, although I know nothing of the spiritual dimensions of their work, I can't imagine a more Christ-imitating work than what they were doing. Sometimes I end up thinking "well I'd like to do that, but I don't know if I have the temperament or long-haul patience for it"... but that's really just the sin of selfishness rearing it's ugly head. Christ has done as much, and a million times over, for me; how could I think that I should do anything less? I don't know how I'd work it in, given my rash of travel recently, but I'd have to admit an interest in a mission trip in the near future. Too bad I missed the New Orleans trip a few months back; maybe something else will arise soon.

We ended up eating dinner at a fancy place in Rio that had a live band playing... except that we ended up leaving because the music start was delayed and we're all rather tired. If I go to bed this instant, maybe I'll get 8 hours.

"And the King will say to those on his right, 'Come ye, blessed of my Father, into the kingdom prepared for you. For you saw me hungry, and gave me food; thirsty and you gave me drink. Naked, and you clothed me, and in prison and you came to Me.' And they shall say to him, 'When did we do this for You?' And He will say 'In that you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.'" --Matthew something:something

"We don't know who the elect of Christ are. Every time we see someone in need and refuse them, either explicitly or implicitly, we may at the last day find ourselves under the condemnation of this saying of Christ. What a horrible thing it would be to find yourself in heaven and have someone come up to you and gently remind you that you had spat in the proverbial face of one of Christ's precious ones." --yeah that's an self quotation