Many times when I make a phone call to our “man in Brasil” (Áudrey), I prepare a list of things I want to talk about and questions I want to ask. Time is always at a premium; even when he is receiving a call from me, as opposed to instigating it, he still has to pay per minute. And, as they say, time ain’t cheap, especially in Brasil.

I was just looking over my list from my last conversation with him. Not knowing the context of the conversation, they appear quite strange:

• Is there a difference between strong spirits and weak spirits that you are trying to expel and is there a difference in your approach?
• How much does a bus for 14 kids cost to Camocim?
• What about rotten smells and misty vapors?
• How long does it take to get to Varjota?
• Why did you have to take the fellow on drugs to the hospital if he was possessed?
• How much has a sack of cement increased in the last month?
• How bad are the mosquitos?
• How are you able to determine if you have “authority?”
• Is a wall 3 meters high tall enough?
• What happened to the woman that broke free and was run over by the car?
• How is an angel able to bind an evil spirit?

The really interesting thing is that the conversation lasted an hour and four different telephones in three different locations were used. The comment “are you still there” was used a total of 19 times during the course of the hour (I kept thinking: “can you hear me now?”).

And I didn’t find out how bad the mosquitos were…