Amanda Tyler - Missionary Mom To Brazil

Introduction...
Jeremy and Amanda Tyler have been missionaries in Brazil for 2 1/2 years.  Amanda is from Flora, IL, and is currently serving the Lord in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.  After their furlough, they will be going to the city of Porto Velho, Rondônia  You can keep up with Amanda and her family at her blog, The Tyler Family Tales. 

Jeremy and Amanda have 3 children. 

Josiah is 8.  
Jonathan is 6.  
Judson is 4.

Amanda writes...

Since we are introducing ourselves here on Missionary Mom Monday, I thought that I would share how people greet one another here in Brazil. The custom here is to greet each person individually. When you arrive at a home or gathering, you are expected to go around and greet each person, ladies greeting ladies with a kiss on the cheek, and men with a handshake. Of course, there are some men and ladies (mostly outside of church) who also greet one another with a kiss on the cheek. It is just a common courtesy. Brazilians love to give kisses!

When you leave, it is also customary to say goodbye personally to everyone, bidding everyone a good day, night, afternoon, week, etc. You say goodbye with the same handshake or kiss that you greet with.

If you have had guests in your home, when they leave you walk them to the outside gate or street, and stand there until they leave.

It seems strange to us, but if you don’t greet someone personally, they could become very offended. This is a big change for us Americans, but we are trying to learn the culture and respect their customs in order to win their friendship and gain the opportunity to share our faith with them.

It is very difficult to adapt to a foreign culture, and many times people from other places seem so “strange” and “different” to us. I had been in Brazil for only a few weeks and was feeling very overwhelmed when I watched a service from our home church online. The preacher spoke about John 21 where Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Peter, of course, replied that yes, he did indeed love the Lord. Then Jesus told him to feed His sheep. Notice that Jesus didn’t ask Peter if he loved sheep, only if he loved the Lord. All people can be difficult to love at times, but if we love the Lord, and give Him the rightful place in our lives, He will give us a burden and love for the people He has called us to. This was such an encouragement to me at that time, and I can testify that the Lord truly has given me a love for the Brazilian people.

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 KIdZ kOrNEr

Some greetings in Portuguese for you to learn:

Good morning – bom dia (bone jee-ah)

Good afternoon – boa tarde (bō-uh tar-jee)

Good night – boa noite (bō-uh noy-chee)

Hi!  - Oi!

How are you? – Tudo bem? (tū-dū bane)