Day two was a productive day of vision casting for us. The Julian's let us have alate start so we could catch up on our sleep after very little sleep on the plane. We struggled to figure out the showers. Some had blistering hot showers and others blizzardly cold. There was plenty of hot water but we couldn't figure out how to operate the "widow-makers" on our shower heads. For the boys room, we never got our shower head to work so we used a hose in the shower to rinse off the day. Breakfast is a block walk away and was a mix of fresh fruits, breads, and deli meats. Good strong coffee and watermelon juice finished off the meal.

At 10:30 we crammed into the Besta (the green beast of a van the Julian's drive) and headed to the bus stop. It was tight quarters and steamy hot for the 45 minute ride into downtown. It was a prayer journey for us as we carved through the teeming downtown crowds. We walked through the rain to get to Catedral Se, a beautiful Catholic Cathedral. The experience brought up a mix of responses from our team. I was confronted with the reality that we've spent 2 millenia building museums instead of building "The Church." This stunning building (check out the pix in the album title Day Two) certainly points attention to the grandeur and majesty of God but instead of being filled with praise this place is filled with people and their cameras posing in front of the altars and confession boothes. At the same time, this outpost in the middle of the concrete jungle calls the attention of the people who pass it back to God. For hundreds of years this building has withstood the change that has surrounded it. It felt like a hopeless place and the faces of the searchers who entered and exited echoed the hopelessness. Let's not build any more grand museums for God!

We walked through another downpour to lunch at Habib's with our new friends Letitia, Junior, and Emerson. They are the core leaders for Zoe Marajoara and we have enjoyed getting to know them and hear their hearts pour out love for college students in this city of 30 million.

Another 45 minute bus ride and mile walk brought us back to Marajoara for some time with the Julian's dreaming and praying together. They told us their story and the story of this new church that we are partnering with. It has been an unfolding journey for them and we are excited to watch as they expand from one campus this Fall to four or more campuses in the Spring.

We shared dinner together at a Churrascaria. It is a carnivore's dream. There was a buffet of various salads and then came the onslaught of meat. Waiters would bring giant skewers of every cut of beef, pork, and chicken you can imagine and carve slices onto our plates. There were normal cuts of filet, prime rib, sirloin, and roast as well as pork loin, ham, boar and every imaginable part of a chicken. Blake was the only one of us brave enough to eat a chicken heart. She enjoyed it enough that she ate 2!

Tomorrow will be a full day of cooking and preparation for Wednesday and Thursday so the Julian's have allowed the team to get back to the hotel early (9 PM). We will all crash soon and wake up to another full day. Keep praying for us. We feel the affects of your love-full attention!