From July 1983 until February 1984 I served as a pastoral intern in southern Brazil, in a rural area north of what I thought of at the time was a medium sized city, Santo Cruz do Sul. To get to Rio Pardinho (RP) I could take a bus, as I usually did, or get a ride. My memory tells me that it took about a half hour to get there on well maintained roads. I thought of them as "dirt roads" but they were probably made of compacted gravel. The dirt, and the roads, were reddish brown and heavy, full of clay.
Rio Pardinho had been farmed by German immigrants since the mid 1850s. In part 2 of this story I wrote that I don't remember much about the trip that I made to Rio Pardinho when I was living at the seminary in São Leopoldo "except the experience riding in that little VW bus." After writing that I read through my "Letter from Brazil - number 5" dated "June 21, 1993" and found this reflection based on that trip: "...I visited [Rio Pardinho] this past weekend. It is [a] beautiful [area]. The people are *very* German, traditional, hard working farmers." All that is true.
Rio Pardinho is named after the "rio," meaning "river," which runs through the community, from north to south. The community lies in the valley of the Pardinho River, and is especially beautiful because of the large hills that lie on both sides. The community that calls itself "Rio Pardinho" was what one might call "a wide place on the road." I don't know how many houses were located on the road, but I think they could have been numbered in the dozens. Besides the houses and farmsteads on either side of the road, others were on smaller roads that I'd call "trails" that led from the road to the west (up into the hills) or to the east (down to the riverside). There was one road bridge over the river, on the south end of the community. Cars and trucks could cross at a ford further north. There was a wooden footbridge too, a bridge that swayed on steel cables as people crossed.
There were four sub-communities in RP. The southernmost, closest to Santa Cruz do Sul, was called "Ponte Rio Pardinho." "Ponte" means "bridge." The road ran on the east side of the river until it crossed over to the west side on the bridge, and that's where the Ponte RP community was. What I remember about Ponte RP was the church building and a "salão," a larger building used for gatherings, and a few people's homes that were close to the road. Further north was "Centro RP," which had a school, a soccer field, a combination salão, bar, bowling alley and gas station that was owned by Margit Panke's parents, two church buildings (old and new), and a dozen or more homes near the road. The area blacksmith had a shop in that area too. A side road to the west led to "Travessão Dona Josefa," which had a church building, school and salão. Then, going back to the main RP road, traveling further north was "Alto RP" ("alto" means high), which had a school and salão. All the church buildings were Lutheran.
The Lutheran church originated in Germany. The people who were members of the Rio Pardinho Lutheran churches were all descendants of German immigrants, but though the families connected with the Lutheran church in RP (and in other rural churches nearby) had been in Brazil for a hundred and twenty years, many were still speaking German when I arrived in late 1983. Other traditions connected with the church, and a lot of the food, had a German flavor. I enjoyed much of that, but I was surprised and somewhat disappointed too. I'll say more about that below.
As I said above, I was a "pastoral intern" during my 7 months in Rio Pardinho. My seven months in RP was the first part of my "internship." I was working on my "Masters of Divinity" degree at the time, which, along with the internship, was required to be ordained a pastor in the American Lutheran Church. Most candidates for ordination in the ALC spent their internship year somewhere in the United States, and most would serve their internship in one location. As a part of the internship exchange program between the ALC and the IECLB, my internship would different. It was divided between two local churches. The rural experience would be in RP. The other part would be urban.
The people of the Lutheran churches were called "evangélicos." In English that would mean "evangelicals" but the people there were not evangelical in the sense of wanting to share the good news of Jesus with those who were not part of their ethnic church community. There were non-Germans in the area. They were assumed to be "católicos," Catholics. The non-Germans I met in RP were the employees of the small business owned by the family that I lived with.
I lived with one of the families in RP who had the last name "Panke." Their home was about a quarter mile, maybe a bit more, north of the "RP centro" church building. Orlando Panke, who was probably in his 40s when I lived with them, managed the family business, the "firm," a business that produced both parkay flooring and bricks. His wife Margit taught school in Santa Cruz, the medium sized city I already mentioned. Orlando's parents, Teófilo and Irmgard Panke, lived there too, as did Orlando and Margit's two children, Carina, about 7 years old, and Luiz Artur, who was 3. Luiz spoke only German when I arrived. Teófilo worked in the brick making part of the factory. Irmgard, worked in the home.
Two of the Pankes employees lived with them, a brother and sister, Jair and Diane. (Diane was pronounced with three syllables!) Jair worked in the part of the Panke firm that made Parkay flooring. Di-an-e worked in the home with Irmgard. Panke's household employee Suli and her family lived in a part of the house behind the Panke's garage. Suli was not of German descent. I don't think I ever got to know her or her family.
Here's a bit of what I wrote in February, 1984, after having lived in Rio Pardinho for 7 months:
"Visitei Rio Pardinho antes do início do estágio. Naquele fim de semana conheci um pouco da paróquia que séria meu lar. Fiquei decepcionado. Nunca tinha imaginado uma comunidade evangélica que toma tanta cerveja como vi na Quermesse em Travessão Dona Josefa. Nunca tinha imaginado uma pensado em trabalhar numa colônia onde se fala tanto alemão. Mesmo assim, resolvi me entregar aos cuidados da comunidade, do pastor, e (como sempre) de Deus."
I'll translate:
"I visited Rio Pardinho before the internship began. That weekend I got to know a little about the parish that is my home. I was surprised. I had never imagined an evangelical community that drinks so much beer as I saw at the Quermesse [a fundraising event] in Travessão Dona Josefa. I had never imagined working in a colony where so much German is spoken. Even so, I decided to entrust myself to the care of the community, the pastor, and (as always) to God."
Here's more of what I wrote in 1984, translated now:
"I got to know my residence during that visit. I had prepared myself to be living in a simple farm house. I had imagined the simple life of my hosts. I even bought some extra eye glasses to use in case there wouldn't be electricity in the house. (I needed electricity for my contact lens sterilizer.) I discovered, however, that the Panke family (with whom I'd be living) had a life style not very different than that of my parents. They [were] owners of a small saw mill and brick making factory and enjoy[ed] a middle-class life, and even in difficult times there life is secure.
"When I moved to Rio Pardinho on July 5th, I moved into the Panke house and began a learning process. During the first month I accompanied [my supervising pastor] Pastor Rui (pronounced with a rolled "R") in everything, and observed life in Rio Pardinho and the way the the parish, its pastor and the members functioned. Rui and I visited church members homes. I attended all the worship services and church meetings. I began to understand how the society and the congregations functioned. I studied the history and traditions. And I tried to develop a plan of action for the more active part of the internship."
What I quoted above was from the first draft of a report written in Portuguese, a report I was preparing for the internship director, Lothar Hoch, at the São Leopoldo seminary. In the last sentence quoted I said I had "tried to develop a plan of action..." That was challenging because the church was mostly an ethnic semi-religious organization, an organization that providing services to the members, worship services, services of baptism, confirmation, communion, marriage, burial, and I wanted to "work alongside the members" and "get involved in the life of the Body of Christ in RP." There was little or nothing in common between my idea of an active Christian community and the ideas and practices of the people I was preparing to serve.
So, I did what I could to come alongside the people as they were, and to first observe, and then do, the things that Pastor Rui was doing, leading worship and preaching at the four church buildings, visiting the people in their homes, taking part in musical groups, teaching confirmation. "Doing what pastors do" --that's what an internship is for. But, like most interns, I added my own personal and spiritual emphases. I added, for example, "grupos após confirmação," that is, I gathered kids who had been recently confirmed and led them in cooperative type games, Bible studies, and singing.
The people were friendly and supportive of this "gringo," even though they didn't think of me as "working" at all." As I'd walk on the dirt roads to and from the Panke home to what I might call the center of town, or to or from Travessão Dona Josefa, or going to visit someone, I remember them saying to me "Passeando, Pastor?" "Passeando" is something that working people would want to do if they ever had free time, going visiting or enjoying the scenery. They couldn't conceive of my going to their homes and fields to visit them "work." And my life was easy. Irmgard washed my clothes. Food was prepared for me.
I did work at the desk I had in my room on the second floor of the Panke home. I don't remember if I had a typewriter there or not. There was no computer. No one had personal computers. I got my first computer when I was in Ladysmith, more than a decade later. I had some books -- mostly in Portuguese. I wrote letters and prepared lesson plans and sermons. The Panke family was one of the few who had a telephone. Their phone number was "6." The telephone operator worked at a switchboard in an office in the front room of her home down the road in the center of town.
Most of the people were farmers who worked during daylight hours, with a break at midday for dinner and a nap. A member of each church community was the "sineiro," the bell ringer, who rang church bells several times a day, in early morning, to start the workday, at noon, then after to end the noon break, and to let workers know it was time to go home for the evening. I wore a watch. Many or most others did not. The Panke family gathered for breakfast, noon dinner (the main meal), and a light supper. There was coffee in the morning. The Pankes always started noon dinner with soup. Beans and rice were always a part of dinner too, as were meat and vegetables, fresh from local farms and Irmgard's garden.
I tried voluneering to wash dishes but this was not apprecaited by Di-an-e, who didn't want me to take over her work!
I got to know and love many people in the area, young people, middle-aged folk, elders who were retired. I enjoyed seasonal festivals and parties, played some games, enjoyed talking with folks in their homes and in their farm fields. A couple times a farm family let me help them. I helped plant tobacco, which was the area's main cash crop, then, months later, I helped with the harvest.
As a pastoral intern I led church events, sometimes with and sometimes without my supervising pastor Rui. I visited the sick, and, quite memorably, presided at funerals and graveside services. Funerals were always held at people's homes, then we would walk, or drive, to the cemetery with the people. An internship is intended to be a way for a future pastor to get some experience doing what pastors do on a regular basis, including going to meetings, meetings of the elected leadership, meetings focused on basic planning and financial matters... nothing especially "spiritual" went on in those meetings.
The pastor had a Volkswagon "Beetle," as did the Pankes. Many people didn't have any motorized vehicle, relying on carts pulled by cows or oxen. I don't remember anyone having horses. Either the pastor or the Pankes let me use a bicycle, and, occasionally, rarely, let me use their car. I often rode the public bus, which, as I recall, would stop to pick a person up who was waiting "wherever" beside the road. I often took the bus to Santa Cruz, and occasionally, further north to a smaller city, Sinimbu, which had a hospital.
I'd like to share a few specific things I remember from those seven months. These are memories that come to mind without looking at things I wrote at the time, more than 40 years ago. I remember...
- feeling happy that I was able to lead worship and preach in Portuguese, and to lead worship one time using the basics of the German language I had learned in elementary and junior high school.
- leading the youth, with a couple other adults, as we traveled by bus to a large youth gathering put on my the regional Lutheran church, staying in a tent made only from a huge canvas tarp, swimming there in a little river, going with the youth to a rodeo, and, when it came to the large group assemblies, I was asked to be a translator, using a mic connected to multiple headsets, for non-Brazilians who were at the gathering.
- feeling sad and lonely as the months went on, and being supported spiritually by Irmgard, the "grandmother" of the Panke household who knew how to pray, and by Sister Hildegard Hertel, who Toni had met during her time in Brazil, and who was a pray-er too. Sister Hildegard helped me feel useful by encouragng me to visit and minister to men in an home for elders.
- getting to know Pastor Rui and his wife Suzanne, their daughter Karina and their young son whose name I'm not sure of. I got to know Pastor Rui's uncle who was a local farmer and member of the church.
- that Pastor Rui knew I needed support, so he organized a group of church members, including his uncle, who I gathered with a few times to share a meal with and talk. I'm sure we had a spiritual devotion and prayer at those get togethers too. I took a picture of the four couples that were a part of the group.
- going weekly, beginning after a few months had passed, to the home of a retired school teacher, who helped me with my German, while I taught him some basic Portuguese.
- celebrating Christmas Eve at the Panke home and New Year's Eve at one of their friends homes
- going at least once a month into the Porto Alegre area, visiting seminary friends, and a family who ran a sort of bar and cafe in Canoas that I got to know through Toni.
- on one of those visits to the seminary I sold a few hundred dollars in USA currency to Sérgio Sauer, who would be going to the USA as an intern, and then, with the Brazilian currency, opening a bank account in Santa Cruz do Sul, and then making withdrawls over the next few months. I got a high interest rate on that deposit, but I don't think it kept pace with inflation which was running at 100-200% per year
- singing with the (quite horrible) choir at the RP centro church and playing a trumpet with a brass group. I taught the choir "Go Tell It On the Mountain" in English for Christmas
- hosting and translating for 2 bishops and 1 other representative from the ALC who were visiting several parishes. I went to São Leopoldo to meet them and then traveled with them by bus to Santa Cruz do Sul on the way to RP.
- leading worship and preaching while wearing a black robe with a sort of white decoration at the neckline, but not like what pastors or priests wore in the United States.
- taking over all pastoral duties in RP for a couple weeks when Pastor Rui and his family went on vacation. I think this was toward the end of January or the beginning of February, toward the end of my time in RP.
One dramatic incident that deserves a bit more than a bullet point: On time, when I came back to the Panke house after visiting someone at the Sinimbu hospital, I came into the Panke house, and found, as I remember, Irmgard, Margit, Carina and Luiz, and a neighbor, with her children, hiding from the neighbor's husband, who had threatened his wife with a gun. I wanted to call the police, but, again as I remember, Margit said "não adianta", that is, it would be a waste of time, that it wouldn't do any good. I called anyway. First I tried the nearest police, in Siniubu. No one answered. Then I tried the police in Santa Cruz. They answered but said no one could come, since one police officer was out on another call, and the officer answering the phone couldn't leave since he needed to stay and be available to answer the phone. So Margit was right: "não adianta nada." Eventually the man with the gun calmed down, but, as I recall, he didn't come back to live with his wife after that.
I mentioned above that I felt sad and lonely for some time when I was in RP. This was particularly true after the first few months. Toni was going to come to Brazil in February, and as I was waiting for that time to come I felt more and more lonely even as I was with people who I was truly coming to know and love at Pankes. There were, however, great differences between me and all of the RP people, since none of them had the same international experiences and really couldn't comprehend how it would be hard for me to be lonely among them. I was super thankful for Irmgard, who, though she couldn't understand my particular situation, did know how to come alongside me and pray.
As I came to the end of my time in RP, I packed up my stuff and received many fond farewells. I returned, however, with Toni, who was then my fiancée... I'll say more about that in the next part of this long "Living In Brazil" story.
I'm guessing I'll add more to this part later, though I know it'll need to be cut back for Storyworth.
