Brazil is the leader in South America but a slumbering giant to the rest of the world.  Our language, Portuguese, separates us from the rest of the Western Hemisphere whereas the sport, soccer (football), and historic religion, Roman Catholicism, unites us culturally with Latin America.

Slightly larger than continental U.S., it leads the world in the production of coffee, orange juice, beans, bananas and pineapple, in addition to producing large amounts of other agricultural products including corn and soybeans.
It has vast resources of rich soil, lumber, gold, copper, aluminum, semiprecious stones, and oil. It has become an industrial nation and is self-sufficient in most consumer goods. Parts of the big cities can be very modern, though they also have large slums or shantytowns. In the interior northeast survival is complicated by cycles of dry years and better rainfall.

Perhaps the best summary is: great opportunity strapped by sin.

Natal, RN is our base of ministry.  It is the state capital of Rio Grande do Norte in the far eastern coast (north-east) of the country.