Micah arrived from Belo Horizonte at 6:30 a.m., so we didn't get to catch up on our sleep from yesterday. We spent a couple of hours over breakfast talking about his trip to BH, the campaign, the various people whom we know there, his ideas to bring a campaign to SJC next year.

I went to the office after noon. Eliana had been to wipe down the office Tuesday, so things were fairly clean. At home, my eyes watered from the dust; I didn't feel it at the office, but then again I didn't go through the files or books, which usually provokes irritation.

My computer is still misbehaving. I'm going to have to have Otavio look at it.

On arriving I discovered someone had torn off the door knob at the street. Only because I had a pocket knife (given by J. C. Choate -- did I leave it in my brief case and it pass through customs?) with a hook was I able to open the handle. I called Milton and Gilda Costa, with whose music school I share the entrance from the street, and they didn't know about it. They came and saw that our neighbors (architects on the first floor beneath me) also had their door handle torn off. Since they had been in this morning, it could have happened even after they arrived. Milton and I switched the inside handle to the outside until we can replace it.

I stayed at the office until about 5 p.m., and got a ride home with the boys who'd gone to play basketball with their old gang.

Vicki had a good meal for us tonight: creamed potatoes, peas, carrot sticks and cucumbers, so I avoided meat today. From the scales here, I gained only 2 kg during our trip. Not bad considering. Now to lose it and more.

The boys went out tonight with Caio Casado and Leonardo Silva to the Gordao hamburger joint. They wanted to see a movie, but I'd told them to be home by 10:30 p.m. Wasn't one, so they pleaded to stay the night at Leonardo's, which I let with a stern warning for them to get some sleep.

With the boys gone, Leila wanted to watch "The Two Towers" from "The Lord of the Rings" DVD we brought back, so I let her do that. Vicki and I wound up watching it with her.

Our plane touched down in Guarulhos airport this morning at 7:00, pretty much on time. After getting cleared through customs and baggage without the officials giving us a second glance, we found sr. Bené waiting for us with his van, as previously arranged. He transports people, and we've had him take us to the airport and pick us up on our last several trips. One car can't handle all the people and luggage. His price is reasonable: R$120,00, about US$40 including toll road fees.

We arrived home about 9:15 a.m. -- the airport is an hour from our house. Everything seemed to be in order. Wilson Cardoso had painted the living room, kitchen, and Joel's room in our absence. Vicki and Joel were pleased with the results. Vicki had forgotten to send Wilson an email to have a Christian lady clean the house before our arrival, so we have six weeks of dust on everything.

Vicki and I slept three hours this morning, since Delta's economy class doesn't make for sound sleep. Even Joel and Leila snoozed for a while.

The weather was unusually cool on our return, more typical of June or July. We had a light drizzle on the way back, and tonight a good rain is falling.

Joel phoned Leonardo Silva, a Christian youth, and he popped down to visit on his motorbike. A neighbor's son, Caio Casado, saw we were home and stopped by to welcome us back. Down the street, Christian youth Bruno Neyra was home for the weekend from college and knew we'd be back, so he showed up as well, even though he knew there'd be no lemonade in the fridge.

This afternoon, Vicki was going to get sandwiches for lunch, but the car wouldn't start. We jump-started it and later I dropped her off at the Walmart Supercenter to get some basic food items (the cupboards were bare) and took the car to our reasonable and honest mecanic. He assured me it was the battery since the car apparently didn't get started up in our absence, in spite of arrangements with neighbors. But it's starting on its own now, so that problem seems to be solved.

We've unpacked some things already. Vicki cried over her chocolate chips she'd brought. She said they must have melted somewhat in the back of dad's truck on the way to the Memphis airport (it was in the high 80s yesterday in NE Ark.) and then frozen solid in the cargo hold of the planes. I told her she now has two packages of chocolate glob.

Our trip to the U.S. was perhaps the best ever, but we all echoed Leila's exclamation: "I've never been so glad to be home!"

Had my eyes checked last Monday, first time in 8-9 years. Have a slight nearsightedness in left eye, which I had 20 years ago. The ophthalmologist said I didn't need to wear glasses. Only if I really wanted to. Does such a creature exists, that wants to wear glasses? I thanked her and the Lord, and off we went home, while my dilated eyes narrowed back to normal.

My Bible verse to express my aspirations, prayers, and hopes for 2004 is 2 Timothy 4.5: "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry" (NIV).

Read James Burton's commentary on this verse.

Read about The Snuggery, my place of work, my partial bibliography, and even details of my bio.

LISTS

Christian Poets -- discussion, crits, poetry, and more.
Cloudburst Poetry -- a weekly, spirited poem of rhyme and meter in your inbox.
Forthright Magazine -- daily articles for spiritual edification.
UPLift -- get a lift with UPLift, fresh quotes, short verse, pithy perspectives, sometimes taken from Random Variables.
BZeal news and reports -- stay up to date with our work and the church's progress.

SITES

Christian Poets -- the real action is on the email list.
Forthright Magazine -- the online version, where you can pipe up.
Brazilian Zeal -- news of the work and church in Brazil.
Alcance -- our main Brazilian website.

HANGOUTS

Bible Study Forum -- Solid stuff.
church-of-Christ email group -- a really friendly and supportive bunch. I'm the most absent moderator. :)

CONTACT

Mailing address:
Caixa Postal 11
Sao Jose dos Campos, SP
12201-970 -- Brazil

Telephone: (11-55-12) 3942-7753

Messenger (seldom connected):
AOL/AIM: randalmatheny
Yahoo: randalmatheny
ICQ: 304284039
MSN: randal32916{{at}}hotmail.com

EMAIL ME: RIGHT HERE

• Official site of city of São José dos Campos with photo gallery
• My favorite state park, Crowley's Ridge
• E. Hemingway's connection to Piggott, Ark.
• Gainesville, Ark., church, where I was baptized (The Stonewall church building didn't have a baptistry.)
• Hometown newspaper, Paragould Daily Press
• Hospital where I was born, though it didn't look like that then. Non-IE users beware!)
• Photos along the Crowley's Ridge Parkway

For years 1-18: In Greene County, Ark.: Hooker, Stonewall, Lafe, Marmaduke, Paragould.

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

of Hans Kung's book, Why I Am Still a Christian.

Used means cheaper. ;-)

Phil Sanders mentioned this title somewhere, and I'm interested in reading it. Kung is a renegade Catholic scholar.