Out of Touch

Something pretty funny happened last night. I try to stay connected with the news via internet. I have been following the presidential election very closely since the middle of 2007 when the first debates began. For the last week or so my roommate Lacy and I have been reading all kinds of stories about John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. I have followed the media's reaction, bloggers' reactions, etc, and felt I had a pretty good sense of what was going on, but didn't have a good feel for what so many people love or hate about her. Last night I finally had a minute to sit down and download Palin's speech at the RNC on YouTube. When I started the video and the announcer introduced her to come out to the podium, I yelped and Lacy ran out of the kitchen. "What??" we both said. For the last two weeks Lacy and I had been calling her Sarah "Paah-lin" rather than "Pay-lin." I started laughing at how out of touch I felt. I had done my best to stay caught up and with it, and all this time didn't even know the most basic detail, how to say her name!

This past weekend about 15 of us from the church participated in a retreat for young people put on by the churches of Christ in Fortaleza, the capital city of our neighboring state to the north. The theme was "Facing Giants" and the classes and talks were centered around the story of David and Goliath. The retreat was EXCELLENT, and I came away from it with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to the Word. It was wonderful to get away and relax for a couple of days but to spend that time with my closest friends. Highlights included: learning new Portuguese worship songs, a Bible Bowl-type competition complete with pie-in-the-face penalties for the losers, a spider on my bed frame the size of a softball (not exaggerating,) cold showers, 6 am wake-up calls, and a quick trip to Pizza Hut. This was my second opportunity to travel to another city and participate in a retreat for young people planned by young people, and once again I was blown away by the organization and quality of the program. I hope, dream, and pray for the day that our church in Natal will be big enough and have the resources to plan our own retreat and invite our friends from neighboring states. It was a fantastic weekend and I look forward to the next retreat we get invited to! And now, pictures.

Our group from Natal

Marta (missionary), Carol, Andressa, and Lacy, hanging out on Saturday

Kelly, Sarah, Fernanda, and me hanging out during the Bible Bowl competition

Everyone in the van (Sprinter, really. Shout out to MRCC) doing a quick tour of Fortaleza with a special stop at Pizza Hut before heading to the retreat