Day 1-2, May 9-10, Wednesday and Thursday

Hurrah for long plane trips... haha! The flight was about thirteen hours total, and we were met at the airport in São Paulo by Valdir Santos(Val-jeer San-tohs), our ministry coordinator for the trip. He took us to the Di Guilio hotel, where we'll be staying off and on for various nights of the trip, and we checked in and dropped our stuff off. To ward off jet lag, he took us out to keep us awake. First we went to a mall to grab some lunch, which is where I had my first experience with Guarana (the token soft drink of Brasil). It's something like a mixture between apple cider and a blue raspberry icee - at least that's how I see it. It's pretty fantastic! Then we drove to the top of this mountain with an incredibly beautiful view and hung out there for a while enjoying the splendor of God's creation. After that we went to a little part of the city that reminds me of The Village in Big Bear. We walked around for a while there and then ate an amazing dinner, and headed back to the hotel for some... FINALLY... sleep! :D