Ode to Iggy, Rainbow and Spring

All it took was a dishonest person and a few moments and Iggy, Rainbow and Spring were gone from our lives forever. A thief stole two bags from our car. In one was Wayne’s Portuguese Bible, the families church song books, a new pair of pants and a few small things. The other was Caleb’s carry-on bag. In it was a few days worth of dirty clothes, including his favorite shirt with a lizard on it and his three favorite stuffed lizards, Iggy, Rainbow, and Spring.

In an airport in Knoxville, Tennessee while at a Guinea Fowl convention I spotted Iggy, a stuffed Ty beanie buddy high on a shelf. I knew his curly tail, cute smile and bright colors would win Caleb’s heart. And so they did on his 6^th birthday. Iggy soon developed a personality and would tell us what Caleb was thinking and feeling when Caleb couldn’t. He entertained the family with his comments and unique voice.

As we left our home the next year and took to the road to begin support raising Iggy became more a part of our life and more a part of Caleb’s security in an ever changing world. It wasn’t too long after when on a cross country trip, Iggy found Rainbow (planted by mom) on the side of a trail in the Petrified National Forest in Arizona. It was love at first sight. The next day TRB (a stuffed cardinal named The Reward Bird) performed the wedding while we traveled through New Mexico as the assorted stuffed friends of my children looked on. Rainbow quickly developed a different and distinct personality, though Iggy remained the favorite.

It was in Branson City, Missouri, a year later, when Caleb spotted Spring and Sherbet on the clearance shelf at Silver Dollar City. He had a few dollars to spend and decided his two friends needed some friends of their own. Caleb said he had to buy two – what would Sherbet do for a wife if he didn’t buy Spring? So off the shelf, out the door and into our families hearts walked two more stuffed lizards.

When we came to Brazil he tied all four of their tails together and slung them over his shoulder to carry on the plane. He didn’t want to be parted for a moment. They most definitely were not going to be locked up in a suitcase.

They preformed Bible stories together. In one, the Christmas story, Rainbow was Mary, while the three wise lizards road various creatures to Bethlehem.

Constant companions on all of our trips, our family loved them. Each had its own personality and voice. They were Caleb’s voice and security in all the turmoil our family went through for five years from 2001-2005 as we worked on getting to and settling into Brazil.

Caleb was in tears when we discovered their loss. They will be deeply missed, for they were dearly loved.

Carnaval Time in Brazil

It is Carnaval time here in Brazil. For three days the country goes nuts and sins as much as it can for Monday and Tuesday with Wednesday starting a day of repentance of sin (a catholic holiday). They have street celebrations and paradies featuring sexual themes. For the Christian community these days of sin are a problem.

The Christian community here in Brazil deals with this cultural event by running to the interior. They go to camps, visit family in the country or someother place away from these carnaval celebrations. This year Wayne headed for Per-Meri a Point of Light located 200 KM from Belem in the interior.

It was a quite time in the country walking country trails to homes of folks who had an interest in studying the Bible. I worked with our church planters to review the situation in Per-Meri and to see what could be done to boost the ministry there. It is such a suprise to walk in a small community where there are a mix of mud huts and brick houses. Electricity is still a new addition to this comminity yet even here people had televisions with satellite dishes all of which were featuring the Carnaval Celebrations in Rio and Sao Paulo, the big cities in Brazil.

So now even in the deep interior, the country, it is getting harder and harder to escape the Brazilian culture of sin. Which means that the church has to change and that is what we are all about walking the streets of Per-Meri changing this sinful nation one house & one life at a time.

Wayne Patton