Two Are Better than One!

Two are better than one,  because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down,  one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?     Though one may be overpowered,  two can defend themselves.A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. -- Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

The adventure started in a local jail in Rio Verde, a medium sized farming community in the interior of Brazil.  Carol and I had traveled to Rio Verde with Alexandre to visit a signifcant recovery ministry launched by Pastor Junior and his small congregation in Rio Verde.

While we stood there talking in the courtyard of the jail, one of the inmates approached us and asked if we could contact a friend and let him know that he was in jail.  He described his friend as a German Baptist Brethren farmer who lived and farmed in a Mennonite farming community about 30 miles west of the city.

German Baptist Brethren?  Mennonite farming community?  In the interior of Brazil???  I definitely had to check that out!

So we left the little jail and headed west on our quest to find the German Baptist brother.  Forty Five minutes later we entered the area where a number of Mennonites families had move to farm the land about twenty years earlier.  They moved to Brazil from the Midwest, mostly Ohio, Indiana and Iowa.  When we left the paved road and turned onto a well manicured dirt road we entered a vast farming empire where corn was king.

We drove for what seemed like half an hour before  seeing the first building on a few acres carved out of the undulating sea of corn.  It was a Mennonite meeting house, and a local farmer had just arrived to cut the grass in the picnic grove next to the church building.  It felt a little like discovering life on a deserted island.

After introducing ourselves and sharing our quest, the local farmer give us directions to the German Baptist brother's farm and invited us to return to the meeting house later that evening for special services conducted by a visiting preacher from Pennsylvania.

After driving several more miles further down the evenly graded dirt road we turned off onto a sandy lane for several more miles before turning onto an unmaintained, narrow passage through the sea of corn. 

At some point along that dusty, deserted roadway Carol noticed the needle on the gas gage was on E and suggested that we might want to think about getting some gas. "No problem," our driven assured us, "The gas gage is broken." Less than five minutes later the engine spit and sputtered a couple of times and we quietly drifted to a full stop.

After a couple of hours in the cramped backseat of a small vehicle on bumpy, unpaved roads we were glad to get out and stretch our legs.  There was a cool, refreshing breeze, some breathtaking views and we were on a quest... in Brazil!  Amazing!  Never the less, there were a couple of concerns in need of some attention. First of all, we were in a cellular dead zone and couldn't call someone to bring a jerry can of gas.  Pastor Junior offered to walk down the road until he either picked up a cell signal or found someone who could help us.  But this led to the second problem.  There were animal tracks in the sand and Pastor Junior thought they looked like Jaguar tracks.  We thought he was joking, but the next day he confessed that as he made his way down the road he prayed, "Lord, please don't let me be eaten by a Jaguar and abandon my guests."

Good News!  Pastor Junior eventually picked up a cell signal, was able to call a friend who brought us some gas AND he was not eaten by a Jaguar!

Carol and I had an amazing time in Brazil.  We saw the sights of Sau Paulo, Rio De Janeiro, Campanis and Rio Verde.  We met some beautiful people in Campinas and Rio Verde and saw the preparations for the FIFA men's world cup in Sau Paulo and walked along Copa Cabana Beach and took the train up to the statue of Christ the Redeemer that keeps watch over Rio de Janeiro.  But the most memorable part of our journey was our quest to find a German Baptist brother.  We never found him.  But we found once again that two are better than one and a cord of three strands in not easily broken.