A New Missionary's Morning Adventures

Good morning, friends!

So today is Wednesday, and the Bouthillier family is busy with home school, building a new wall around the yard, etc. So I decide to have a tiny adventure...and go out on my own to buy something I need. Understand this is an adventure because I'm not yet familiar with my new town, and many local people won't understand my accented Portuguese :)

I walk to the road beside the river, where I find a moto-taxi. I tell the driver I need to go to a farmacia (pharmacy). I hop onto the back of his motorcycle, and away we go. When we arrive at the pharmacy, I pay the driver R$3 (about 60 cents US) and go inside. A few minutes later, I walk out with my anti-itch cream...Wahoo! Success! They understood what I needed.

After looking around at some other small stores, I decide to go home, so I flag down another moto-taxi. Whoa! This motorcycle is very high...I can barely get my short leg over it! Oops, I forgot Richie's address, so how can I direct the driver? Aha! I have the address in my phone. Another success!

Are you getting the idea? A new missionary looks and feels pretty dumb most of the time! 

Next adventure...a moto-taxi driver who is a friend of Richie's stops by to introduce himself to me. It's a good idea to develop a friendship with a driver, says Richie...he will learn where I live and usually be available when I need him. Guiu is very polite, and explains that his wife is a Christian :) Richie mentions to him some apartments that I'm interested in seeing.

A few minutes later, Guiu is back to take me to see the apartment! The guard has a key, he says. But when we arrive, the guard says he does not have keys, only the owner has them, and she will arrive in an hour. Back home again, disappointed. After lunch, I will call Guiu, he will check that the landlord is there, then pick me up again.

So that's a typical morning here in Portel for me. Hope you enjoyed this peek into my new life.