Carnavel

Today, Sunday is called "Domingo de tentacion"- temptation Sunday. It is the Sunday after the three-day holiday of Carnival. A day when you throw that final water balloon - niece Myra hit Daniel squarely in the back with hers - and have that last party with your comparsa - which is something like your club or fraternity of friends for this season.
Carnaval is something we don't celebrate in the US, except of course for Madri Gras in New Orleans, but is celebrated all over Latin America and parts of Europe. Brazil's wild dancing in the streets and parades is what many of you may have heard of. Here in SAnta Cruz the celebration is a imitation of Brazil's fiesta. Last weeked, including MOnday and Tuesday is the time when 'everything goes' - dancing in the streets, throwing water balloons, many filled with paint. Painting each other with shoe polish other gels and in general a lot of drinking and partying. Night clubs are filled with masked dancers of all ages. We went downtown on Wednesday to see the results of the four days of this open revelry. The walls of the main streets were plastered with paint, mud, all kinds of handprints etc. The Cultural Palace on the corner of the plaza was already being repainted. It's hard to understand the spirit of this 'holiday' when so many kinds of wild going -ons are openly accepted. Also, knowing how badly flooded the outskirts of Santa Cruz has left thousands without homes, cattle dying in flooded fields, crops ruined, mosquitos that carry serious diseases, and other problems with the mud and water here.
Most Protestant churches plan some sort of camp during this time. Ours did too. However, many of the out of town camping sites were flooded. Our camp was almost ruined due to the bad roads and difficulties getting in and out. Daneil worked very hard for at least three days helping get things together for camp, but as the rains continued it became more and more improbable that we would attend. Rain came down hard the day we were to leave. Would our car make it in? Our pastor called at the last minute that he had contracted a truck to get people there and understood our situation.