Brazilian Food

Food in Brazil is not really like Mexican food, with the exception that we eat a lot of rice and beans. You can't find refried beans or tortillas here. We eat normal Brazilian food for lunch most weekdays. Normal food is usually rice, beans, and some kind of meat dish (like baked chicken or meatballs, etc) They don't really use a lot of spices here with foods, mostly just cumin.
Here are some pics of some of the other food that Jeff and I like to eat in Brazil!

This is a coxinha
It is fried and breaded with chicken and cheese or shrimp, etc. inside. Jeff really likes these.This is my favorite that Cafe Impresso (the ministry's coffee shop) sells. It is an empada. It's smaller than the coxinha and less filling. It is like a little crusty, flaky pie thing. It can have cheese, or shrimp, chicken etc. inside, but it also has a little olive inside. Yummy yummy! They also have desert ones that rock my socks.This is Tapioca - not like the bubbly pudding though. It is made from the manioc root and is fried. You make it kinda like an omelet in a pan. The outside is a bit bland, but inside people put fillings like coconut, cheese, and different jellies - yummy!we also eat a lot of yummy fruits that you can't get in Indiana, like graviola & acerola. The graviola looks creepy, but makes amazing juice & ice cream.Fejuada is the most typical dish of all Brazil. I like it ok, but it make's Jeff's stomach upset. -probably because it has crazy random meat in it

What did I want to be when I grew up? I always had a long list of ideas. I wanted to be a basketball player, a photographer, a journalist, and a teacher – all at different ages/stages of my life. I always wanted an adventure in life. God delivered! It is not because I am living in an exotic country. I am on an adventure because He is my guide. My life is solely in my Creator’s hands. If he wants Jeff and I to live here, I say great! If He has other plans for us, then I say great again!

I have asked God, what will my life be? Where will I go? What will I do? Yet, I know that neither where I go nor what I do really matters. I cannot be content in going and doing. No one can. I will never find my reason for living in anything, anyone, anyplace. I need God to sustain me and give me joy. I enjoy teaching; I enjoy living in Brazil; I enjoy my life, but I know that it is not these things that give me contentment.

If I wander and search for some other contentment, it would only be in vain. It would be a pining after a phantom, an idea that does not exist. I can never find fulfillment outside of Him.

Teaching English and learning Portuguese is what my life consists of right now. Our preschoolers are on their fifth section of the Teaching English with Ace & Christy. They are two bright little girls. They are at a stage where they merge their Portuguese with their English in everyday conversations. Some of their favorite words are father, nice, listen, teacher, and of course NO (every preschooler’s favorite word).

The kindergarteners are learning quickly as well (we have four). They are in a stage where they start every sentence with the word “and” (ex. And I go to the bathroom, Teacher?). They form choppy sentences on their own now. I’m so proud!

The afternoon class is learning quickly, but they can difficult to discipline at times. They all attend other schools during the day, so they don’t take our class as seriously. Please pray for them as we work to encourage them in their Christian growth.

This last picture is of the burning of the sugar cane. They do this to get the snakes out before harvest.

post by Lindsay

I got my laptop back from the shop today and it is BROKEN still. They said the motherboard was bad which means no more laptop. So, please be praying that I can raise the money to buy a new laptop.
If you would like to contribute to the purchase of a new laptop you can send a check to

World renewal
P.O. Box 399
Greenfield, IN 46140
Earmark (Jeff Turner laptop)

WE CAN STAY

The trip to Recife went well and we can stay in Brazil until November. While we were getting our Visa renewed we met a family from South Africa who had a yacht and were sailing all around South America. They were pretty neat people and seemed to really know how to do the whole "sailing the world" thing.

While in Recife we also dropped off my broken laptop to be fixed. They said that it could be a simple fix so please continue to pray for that situation.

Brazil's Independence Day is Thursday and Carpina's Independence day is Monday so Lindsay has a big break from school. We are trying to see if we can get away to the beach over the weekend. It is nice to have breaks. I think Lindsay really needs this right about now.

Post by Jeff Turner

Bad and Good News

The big day is here. We have to go to Recife tomarrow and get our Visas renewed. If they decide not to renew them we will be kicked out of the country. Please pray for this. We aren't too worried about it. We haven't heard of anybody that hasn't gotten this type of visa renewed.

While we are in Recife we are going to see if my laptop can be fixed. That's right my trusty laptop stopped working on me completely. It won't even start. This has completely messed up my normal Job down here because I do about everything on that Laptop. Thankfully There is a Dell laptop that was donated this summer that I can use for the time being. The Problem is I can't do to much of my graphic design stuff on it, so If I can't get my laptop fixed I will need to raise the money to buy a new laptop. Please be praying about this situation and if you feel lead to give money toward a new laptop you can send a check to:

World renewal
P.O. Box 399
Greenfield, IN 46140
Earmark (Jeff Turner laptop)

We don't have very high hopes of fixing my current broken laptop but I will let you know what happens tomorrow.

Other than those scary events that are going on, we have had a big group from Word of Life come live at the Alcance, where we live, for a while. This group is a drama/singing group that goes around all over Brazil to present the gospel. So, they are staying with our group for about a month while they go out on the weekends to different town in the Northeast. There is an American family with them and lots of Brazilians to practice our Portuguese with, so it should be a lot of fun having them around.