Friday, November 16, 2007

BRASIL: day 6 - Estrella de Rock (Rock Star)

[November 3, 2007] I'm not cut out for the "rock star" lifestyle. Don't get me wrong. I love people and ministry, but I just can't handle having people in my business all the time. I do understand that people in Brasil truly love us and just want to be near us. I also understand that the people here idolize us when they should be idolizing Jesus. How can we get that point across?

We had a radio interview at about 8:30 this morning and then a t.v. around 10:00 that lasted about 40 minutes. Then we had lunch and went to Wal-Mart...yes, Wal-Mart in Brasil. I got a couple shirts but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Anyway, we came back to the hotel for a rest and then went to the local Seventh-Day Adventist church for an informal, unofficial interview and mini-concert (There were several people who couldn't afford tickets to tomorrow's concert so we sang a few songs to try to encourage them. The promoter asked for one or two. We sang six or seven.). After that, we went to a very large shopping mall (Yes, I went to the mall. No, I didn't like it.), and back to the hotel for the night.

Now, in every instance of us being in public today, we ended up either taking pictures with people, signing autographs, or both. Even at Wal-Mart were there people ambushing us for a pic. I never expected to sign autographs at Wal-Mart, and especially a brasilian one, but it certainly happened today. In a city of four million, it's bound to happen...I guess. There was potential for all kinds of trouble at the church. Before we got out of the van we were told to stick together and move quickly, not stopping to take pics or sign autographs, because we may not make it into the building. There were people standing in the street waiting for us to drive up and get out so they could try to touch us. Some of them almost got run over. After we finished performing, we took a few special pics and signed some autographs for church staff members and such. They told us the same thing going out because they knew we wouldn't make it out of the building for hours if we didn't hurry. That's no way to be. We can't be a blessing if we can't be around the people. At the same time, we can't be around the people when they mob us because someone is bound to get hurt and we definitely don't want that. It also doesn't help that our faces were on posters hanging in the mall. We couldn't eat our meals without stopping for pics and autographs.

I know it seems like I'm complaining a lot but I'm such a private person that I felt awkward all day with these strange situations. I just need a good night's sleep and a great concert tomorrow.

Peace, Love, and Chocolate

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