Recife!

Urban sprawl The thing about Urban violence, is that you lose freedom. The people here in the North East are a little more used to it, and perhaps don’t have the same experience as I have, but the loss of freedom is incredibly frustrating but it has taught me that dependence on others, and the kindness of strangers is ultimately a gift. We are not created to be singular individuals. But we are very much created to live in community. Let me explain myself a little better. In Scotland, I lived about 20 minutes relaxed wander from town, or from work. If I wanted to get a cheap flight home, I would walk to catch a 4am bus to London. I would frequently return from Glasgow or Edinburgh on the last train, which arrived at around 1am into Aberdeen, and I would walk home. I spent hours alone in church in the city centre during all hours. We would camp beside lakes and wander in woods. We would catch buses and jump into roadside taxis. Our schedules were planned around eating times, or ...

I’m late, I know. I’m sorry! This week I have been procrastinating about writing the blog, mainly because what I wanted to write about was weighing quite heavily on me and I didn’t know how best to approach the subject. I still don’t, but I have fought through the procrastination, little by little, with the help of coffee, coke and mango – it isn’t a stream of consciousness, more like little puddles of thoughts. Thank you for continuing to read along with me! One of the ministries of Voz Na Rua, which is now a ministry for the church, is that every fortnight a group from the church to visit both the male and female Funase. This Sunday I went over to the Funase for boys for the second time. Funase is the juvenile detention centre, which holds boys between the ages of 13 and 17 for a myriad of crimes, and a part of the work of the church is to go along, hold a small service, take some snacks, and just visit with the boys. (All of which is also true for the girl’s detention cen...

Happy Tuesday All! Decorating my new flat I have been in my own new little home for about a week now, learning all the ins and outs and learning about the community around us. The first couple of nights were a little tough, as I was woken by every little noise, and sometimes the noises are not that little, but as it happens, I had moved in on holiday week, so there were football games to be announced with fireworks, and a long weekend to celebrate 3 nights in a row, but with the passing of those things, it is actually a very calm area, and it appears that on a normal evening, I am the one up the latest making noises for my neighbours. Also, I keep on buying the wrong type of banana. There are so many different varieties here, some for cooking, some peel and eat, and at least 3 varieties that are no good for either of these things and seem to have no fathomable purpose. I keep buying the wrong kind. It's driving me crazy. Last week I spent most of the week working on ...