Natal, Brazil 2007: The Ghost of Barbaro...

Sleep was not easy to come by on Saturday night seeing as every time I began to dose off, a loud "BOOM" would bring me back into a state of consciousness. The fireworks celebrating Saint John's Day were no match for the sleeping power of William though, who managed to fall asleep mid sentence just as he had in nights before. I fell asleep soon after the fireworks ceased, and managed to stay asleep for the duration of the night, a feat I had not been able to accomplish since arriving. I woke at 6:00 and put some water on the stove to boil. No, I still have not established a liking for coffee, this water was so I could shave.

The process of having to boil water when I wanted to rid myself of a weeks worth of facial hair was tedious, which is the main reason why I only do it once a week down here. Everyone got up and prepared for meeting, and we were out of the house by 8:00. Uncle Mark had learned the route to the Planalto by now, so there was no need to meet up with Luis to play "follow the leader". We got to the hall just as meeting was starting. During the worship meeting I could immediately tell that I had picked up on a lot more of the language since I had last been there. I was able to understand almost all of each prayer, and most of the songs that they sang were to tunes that I already knew.

Instead of staying in the auditorium for adult Sunday school, I went into a class with a handful of other people my age. A few of them spoke a few words in English, so while I didn't understand the full dialogue, they would make sure to give me the bullet points of the lesson which was about receiving others. Meeting ended for the morning and we exited the cool shade of the hall and stepped into the blazing hot sun. Paulo expressed to Lori the interest that the young people had in playing baseball, and since we were going to Luis's right near the edge of the Planalto for lunch, we agreed to meet them at a field that afternoon to play for a little while.

We ate a delicious lunch of pasta salad, rice and a dish made with chicken and cheese with a coconut and chocolate pudding type desert. Mark, Lori, Lillia and Luis talked about further plans of what was going on that summer, and developed a plan of action to put into effect until the final permit for the school was obtained. Mark had given Luis a rough drawing of a way to easily expand the hall's meeting area, and better utilize the area for the Sunday school. All of them had agreed that the hall had a good amount of space, but the space that they had was not being used to the degree that it could be. Ideas were shot back and forth, and Luis was going to talk to the appropriate parties this week to get everything in working order.

At this point my headache, which had begun in Sunday school, was a full blown ocular migraine that seemed to be pulsating in my left eye with every heart beat. I lied down for a little bit and then went to help Uncle Mark teach a new group of kids how to hit and catch a baseball. After a little while we went back to the house to shower before Gospel meeting. Meeting was longer than my rear end on a wooden bench could withstand. Outside the hall, people were celebrating the second day of the Saint John Festival with chanting around a bonfire that sounded like the repetitious chant of an Amazonian tribe, not that I have ever heard one. The smell of whatever they were burning in the fire permeated the air and made things difficult for the poor Eriberto, who was preaching.

We had a snack after meeting again and all the young people were anxious to learn the actual game of baseball. I told them that my personal project for this week would be to learn all the English/Portuguese baseball terms and with Lillia's help translating, give them a lesson on the basic terms and rules on Tuesday afternoon. We were all talking so long that Luis wound up kicking us out of the hall at about 9:30. I was exhausted by the time I reached home, and so happy that I had blogged for Saturday the night before. I was in bed before 11.

I had just fallen asleep, when I heard the most ghostly noise I have ever heard in my life. It was so odd that I thought I was dreaming. I opened my eyes and waited, and just as I convinced myself it was a dream, I heard it again. This time I heard Caroline's footsteps upstairs, and then someone coming downstairs. A few seconds later I heard it again and this time it sounded as if it was at the front door. After hearing it a fourth time, I went upstairs to see if anyone knew what it was. The fifth ear drum shattering shriek was clearer to me. It was a horse loudly expressing its feelings though the vocal talent that God gave it.

By now Uncle Mark, Aunt Lori and Caroline were all laughing at this strange midnight cry from a horse that apparently lived next door. I went back downstairs, where William had continued sleeping through the commotion, and heard the noise again. The acoustics of my room had distorted the sound to make it seem much more ghostly and eerie than it actually was. After the horse had either calmed down or had been put out of its misery, I managed to doze off quite fast. I guess that’s what happens when I don't get my accustomed Sunday afternoon nap...