Meal times are a constant surprise here because the food is really very different to the UK.
One of the fruits we've had every day for breakfast is called tucumà (see photo below). It is about the size of a billiard ball, and has a large nut in the centre. It is served peeled, and has a thin bright orange flesh that needs to be scraped off the nut with a very sharp knife. It's texture is like avocado, but it is very fibrous. It's an aquired taste! I've been having it in a bread roll for breakfast.
While I was sat in the hotel reception uploading the last blog entry, the hotel manager's wife also offered me another fruit I had never heard of: sapota. It looks like a hairy brown melon and has a bright orange flesh that is very tasty! I managed to convey my thanks: 'obligado'!
Another popular breakfast food is a sort of pancake made out of tapioca. This is salty and very chewy and - frankly - a bit odd! ( see photo)
Bananas are also really popular here. They are smaller and much tastier than those we have in the UK. Fried, caramilised, or just plain, they are a bit of a staple.
They eat a cooked dinner twice a day here. Most main meals have been very similiar. There seem to be certain dishes that are traditional.
Rice and noodles are served with every meal, together with something called farofa which is made from the root of a plant grown in this area which is then ground down and baked. The best way of describing this is that it's like eating tasty sand!
A black bean stew called feijoada is also served with every meal. I have been told that it is best not to ask what is in this! However because it is cooked very slowly for many hours, it is thankfully difficult to tell! But it is very tasty.
Hunks if some kind of brown 'meat' is often served in a sauce (it is generally unclear what type if meat this is!) Because the Amazon region is dominated so much by water, fish is also extremely popular. The most popular two types of fish are tambaqui and piracururu. I don't like fish at all and hardly ever eat it in the UK, but these two are really tasty.
BBQ-type food stalls by the side of the road are very popular: sweetcorn, kebabs, chicken and fish (see photo). We avoid these just to be careful, but Andrew tucks in.
However while the food we're sampling is fascinating, our main reason for being here is to feed those who are hungry to learn from God's Word.
We are trying to make it as easy to digest as possible, which isn't always straightforward via translator!
Andrew is doing an amazing job, but 7-8 hours of speaking a day is tough going, just standing up for that long is tiring. Please pray for stamina for him.
Andrew has endured some pretty hairy moments in his 12 years here. Another missionary kindly translated one of Andrew's lectures on church membership this afternoon for me. In it he recalled how a new convert from his congregation had once bought a machete and a hammer from the local market. He had heard rumours that some were talking of lynching Andrew and he had decided to protect him! Andrew had to explain that this was not the way to respond to violence.
This gives an insight into the culture here and the very real risk of faith Andrew and his wife Jenny took when they moved to this region 12 years ago with their 3 daughters (one was only 6 months old!). They had a 4th daughter while here, and as a family they are a challenging example of faith in God.
Of course they wouldn't see it that way. For them, their love for the people of the amazon region and their sense of calling from God, compelled them to come. Their willingness to sacrifice so much so that they could offerJesus - the 'bread of Life' - to these people is surely a challenge to our risk-averse brand of faith.
