On Sunday, the day before Labor Day, Janet and I leave for Brazil and Argentina. First we fly via Washington, D.C., to Sao Paulo, a huge metropolis of some 20 million people. I’ve been there before, and the twenty- and thirty-story buildings of the skyline sprawl as far as you can see on the horizon. My Brazilian publisher is justifiably proud to be publishing the Portuguese version of What Good Is God? a full six weeks before the U.S. edition gets released. They work fast, those Brazilians, getting the book translated and produced in time for our visit.
I’ll be speaking at a book expo and launching the book at a large bookstore downtown. Traveling as much as I do, it’s fascinating to compare audiences in different parts of the world. Swedish audiences don’t laugh at jokes and hardly give any facial response; then later some will come up and say in a flat Scandinavian accent, “That-was-a-very-moving-talk.” And I didn’t even know they were awake! Asians sit with perfect posture, uncrossed legs together, and hardly move during the entire program, then act disappointed if you don’t talk for at least an hour. But Brazilians—they laugh, they smile, they cry, they nod in agreement or disagreement, and they come up later and hug you. Ah, a speaker’s dream.
From Sao Paulo we’ll travel to Buenos Aires, where I’ll speak at a Youth Specialties conference. Mike Yaconelli, who died a few years ago, founded the rather iconoclastic organization that published the satirical magazine Wittenburg Door and did much to change the church’s approach to youth work. Eventually his organization expanded to Latin America, and several thousand youth workers will gather from all over South America for a noisy conference. I spoke at a similar one in Guatemala and I have never heard such LOUD music and seen such a mass of writhing, energetic young people in one place—then again, I don’t frequent rock concerts or mosh pits. No doubt I will feel very old there.
After all this excitement and exhaustion, Janet and I will spend a few days at one of the most beautiful spots in the world: Iguazu Falls. Think of a waterfall twice the height of Niagra Falls that extends for three miles across the border of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. (Supposedly, Eleanor Roosevelt said on her first sight of the Falls, “Poor Niagra!”) Think of the most exotic tropical butterflies you can imagine landing on your arm, attracted by the sweat. Think of toucans and parrots and other gorgeous birds calling from the treetops. That’s Iguazu. We first visited there in 1977 (yikes!), and the memories have never faded. You may have seen the movie The Mission, much of which was filmed by the falls. It’s a magical place, and should be a highlight of this trip.
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