We all need rest, especially when we’re doing ministry. You know you’ve done ministry well when you’re extremely worn out and joyful at the same time. If you have no joy, or if you’re not tired, you probably didn’t do a good job.
Well, we were all very tired after the Semana de Musica Sacra, so we slept in on Monday until after 9:00. We finally got up and had brunch, consisting of baked oatmeal, papaya, and milk.
Most of the day I spent in my room with Stephen, talking about web design. He is looking to design a new website and I was trying to fix some errors on my blog, so it was coincidental that we happened to be working on the same thing at the same time. But once again we found some common ground, but this time it was away from the music side of life.
My devotions were in the second half of Acts 15. At the end of the chapter Paul and Barnabas parted ways because of a disagreement over John Mark, and both went on to have fruitful ministries. It’s a sad thing when missionaries have disagreements and go different ways because of different philosophies or concerns! But hopefully lessons can be learned from both Paul and Barnabas that will keep people from losing their unity in ministry.
In the afternoon Stephen and I took another nap, still trying to catch up on some extra sleep that we didn’t get during the previous week. We also drank some cajuina pop leftover from last week…mmmmm!
Supper consisted of lettuce salad and macaxeira (manioc root) casserole with cheese and meat. Neto and Joy came over and stayed for supper, and afterward Uncle Jim suggested we have a Rook tournament. What a perfect way to end a relaxing day!
Wait a minute! Sidetrack…why has it taken me this long to realize that manioc root is cassava? One of my favorite desserts is made with cassava! I’ve been eating macaxeira all this time and I just now find out on Google that it’s one of my favorite Filipino foods before I even came to Brazil? Wow, I sure am slow.
Okay, back to the Rook tournament…
So we divided up into four teams: Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie, Neto and Joy, Stephen and Olivia, and Danae and I. Danae were the only non-couple, and Danae was getting a refresher course in Rook because she hasn’t played for several years. Danae also had Sarah as her “Rook advisor”, so that was entertaining to watch.
We played a game and then the winners of each match played each other while the losers played the other losers. Using this method, we switched back and forth for three practice games. Danae and I lost every single game while Neto and Joy won every single game against their opponents, so we never played them!
Then the real games started and we started keeping score. First team to 500 won. All of a sudden, Danae and I started winning, taking the first three games in a row to take a commanding lead. Meanwhile, Neto and Joy lost all three games, so we still didn’t get to face each other.
The fourth game Danae and I were on the verge of winning out, but we were finally set by Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie as I took the bid and failed to make it, actually getting set quite heavily. Neto and Joy lost again, so we finally got to play them.
We were at 320 points. We did the bidding and our opponents both passed almost right away, leaving me with the bid at 125. Danae had the option of bidding me up to 130 or passing. She chose to bid me up, and I immediately passed, confident that if she was confident enough to bid me up, she had a good hand.
So for the first time all night, Danae finally took the bid, and I could tell she was excited. She called trump as black and started confidently laying down card after card, bleeding herself out of trump. As she did that, I started to worry that she was foolishly playing her hand.
But then she started laying down the 1’s and before I knew it, she had taken all 180 points by herself, leaving me and Joy and Neto stunned. I couldn’t help but laugh that she had just done that! So, that game put us right at 500.
We went outside to watch Stephen and Olivia play the Leonard’s. The Leonard’s had the chance of beating us, but fortunately they didn’t get enough points, putting them up at 495, five points short of me and Danae, giving us the tournament win.
After the tournament we ate vanilla ice cream and leftover brownies that Jennifer had made. Mmm…it was so delicious. I thought about having more but decided against it since I don’t need them.
Well, Tuesday was going to be a big day, so we went to bed again, satisfied with a great day of fun and rest.
