6 Wednesday, August 25,1999 By Matthew McKeown Capital Times Editor For most of us, summer vacations are spent working or taking a class or two. If we’re lucky (or had a really good summer job), we go to Ocean City for a weekend. That wasn’t the case for senior Communications major Craig Donmoyer this year. Craig spent a month in Brazil with a friend, Amy Taylor, and her missionary family. The connection between Craig and the Taylors began in 1996 when Craig met Amy while attending HACC. The were both students and members of a campus Christian group. Originally, the trip was to have taken Craig to a village north of Sao Paulo where Amy’s parents are working with a local tribe. That plan changed before he left because Amy’s brother Chad, a high school senior who is also in Brazil, was seriously hurt in a bus accident. The Taylor family was together at the school for New Tribes Missions, the Christian organization through which the Taylor’s spread the gospel to native Brazilians. The school is located near the city of Goiania, approximately 400 miles northwest of Sao Paulo. Craig left for Brazil on May 1 , right after he finished classes. New Tribes gave him a place to stay in the school’s dormitory where all the children of missionaries live. Craig said that the parents go into the field to work with the tribes and the kids stay with the teachers who also serve as dorm parents. Parents and children are separated for as much as 10 months at a time. The missionaries do take some time off from their work once school is finished for the year. The school has a total of 60 to 70 students. Chad was one of seven in his graduating class in May. Chad sustained severe injuries because of the bus acci dent. Both arms were broken in more than 50 places and his doctor considered amputating both arms. Fortunately, the doctor decided against it and Chad’s injuries began to heal although he was unable to care for himself while both arms were in casts. When Craig arrived, one of Chad’s arm was still in a cast. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Chad’s tongue was cut so badly that he had to take speech therapy to relearn how to speak. Amazingly, he is doing well, Craig said. Amy, meanwhile, was teaching fourth grade at the school. She is currently a sophomore at Lancaster Bible College where she is studying to become an elementary school teacher. The school year concluded with Chad’s graduation ceremony. Craig and Amy, along with Amy’s father, sister and younger brother, traveled to take Amy’s grandmother, who was with them for Chad’s graduation, back to her home in Jacutinga. Chad, because of his therapy, stayed Four Weeks with Missionary CENTERFOLD behind as did Mrs. Taylor. Jacutinga, a picturesque town not far from Sao Paulo, has cobblestone streets and a large, ornate Catholic church. Catholicism, said Craig, is not practiced the same way in Brazil as it is here. There, African voodoo is mixed into the religion to make for an unusual service. The voodoo part came from the slaves who were brought into Brazil centuries ago and mixed their beliefs with that of their Spanish and Portuguese conquerors. Crime in Brazil is high, Craig said, so homeowners have to protect their properties by having a fence with spears or broken glass on top to keep potential thieves out. Amy’s grandmother was no exception. She even had bars on her windows, images seen in large U.S. cities. The crime rate is high because people don’t have much money and it’s easier to steal. Craig said he was told that with $6OO, he could start a house, buy land and live com fortably for two years in Brazil. Subtle hints of poverty are evident. Many Brazilians travel by bicycle. Those who have cars drive Volkswagens because of their efficiency. The original design of the Beetle is still made in Brazil. The VW Gol is the most popular car and can be seen everywhere, Craig said. After returning to New Tribes’ school, Craig and the
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