Yep, it's raining again!

       Well, thank you for the prayers! It rained so hard all night long that our first concert was cancelled--the neighborhood where it was to be is near a river that was flooded, so the principal of the school called Camp and said he didn't even know if anyone would show up.
       Instead, at breakfast it was decided to take us shopping. However, evidently, not only are shops closed on Mondays but also on Fridays here! Actually, I think there's no set schedule, they open when they want to, and shut when they want to! We went to a central area and did find 3 shops open, where a few people bought trinkets, Brazil flag stickers, something little for someone at home.

The center of old Curitiba, where the gauchos used to come and water their horses

       After a short shopping "spree", we drove to the Recanto Gaucho Steakhouse--a Churrascaria.   Everyone loved this lunch, because the waiters come around with the meat on spits, and you tell them what you want. I've learned my lesson from visiting Brazil so many times. Do NOT fill your plate at the salad bar! Wait for the meat! And this was quite good. Of course, I did have to go to the dessert table for my favorite--flan. 

Recanto Gaucho Steakhouse

Dave is choosing the picanha, the "house" cut of meat, very tender and delicious

       After lunch was the quietest bus ride I've ever been on! There was no movement whatsoever until we arrived at the next school, and the translators almost had to shout to wake some people up. This is in the same neighborhood we had planned to come this morning, different school. The director told us that many who work there would have to spend the night because the area was still flooded. This is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods, called Uberaba, and it's actually not under the auspices of PIB church, but is financed partially by the HSBC bank. There are about 35 students--there is choir, recorder, and violin. I counted about 25 in the violin class--I counted 4 boys. Before our concert, the children played and sang for us. Everywhere we go, we get gifts and concerts! They are blessing us so much! And I just love to watch the kids play their violins--they play with such gusto and enjoyment. The work that the teachers do is heroic, because these schools are quite far apart, and there are only a handful of teachers who circulate between them.

The little girl sitting down just hurt her foot this morning, falling off her bicycle.

It's really wonderful to see these teenage girls doing something constructive, learning the violin, learning to sing, and also, most importantly, learning about Jesus and how He can change their lives.

         Before we played our first song, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, Camp set it up with the story of Beethoven, who wrote it, and then later it was written with Christian words. As we began, the children sang with us, joyfully and loudly. I can't help but tear up to hear these children from the projects (favelas) singing about God. We've got another concert at PIB tonight, with a little time off this afternoon. Tonight it's just us. Afterward, there is to be dinner at 9:30 at Au Au, the local favorite hot dog place and apparently, everything under the sun is heaped on each hot dog. We'll see about that.