Growing up in Araguari, I had a dream of one day becoming a philosopher, an author and a poet. My desire of expressing my feelings and my thoughts was always in my mind. One of the media that also was very dear to me was music. I self-taught how to play the guitar at the age of thirteen and tried to hook up with a band in town, but I was not good enough for that. However, I was constantly trying to learn a new accord and play some Beatles' songs. Never went past "Help," "Yesterday," and "Let It Be," actually. But it was fun!

I became a follower of Jesus Christ when I was twenty-two in Goiânia. My life was completely transformed and I left my job in Brasília for the Christian ministry. I went to seminary in Recife, Pernambuco, and got a bachelor's degree in Theology at the Northern Presbyterian Seminary in 1982. After that, I was ordained as a pastor and served in a small Presbyterian Church, while I taught Hebrew and Old Testament stuff at the Brasil Central Presbyterian Seminary back in Goiânia.

My wife and I moved to the United States in August, 1984. We got to Los Angeles during the 1984 Olympic Games. I went to Fuller Theological Seminary, where I earned a master's degree in Theology, majoring in Missiology (1987) and years later I returned to Pasadena with my family for a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies at the same school. During our time in the United States, I have worked among Brazilians, Caucasian Americans and Native Americans as well. Lots of great memories in my ministry among them. Now, my wife and I founded a small school, Diaspora Intercultural Academy in Lewiston, Idaho.

We spent four wonderful years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where I taught Intercultural Studies at Prairie Graduate School. I never thought that one day I would end up in North America for quite this long. However, I love living here, although I miss my homeland. I miss my dear family, friends, "arroz com feijão tropeiro," "churrasco," and "feijoada." I also miss the beauty of the Planalto Central, the Tocantins and Araguaia Rivers. I miss Recife and the Nordeste Brasileiro, the Natal Dunes, the Iracema Beach in Fortaleza, and my favored beach in Paripueira, Alagoas.

My wife, Neiva, was born in Rio Verde, Goiás, and we have two beautiful daughters. Esther (left, left) was born in Los Angeles, and Gabriella (Gabi, right) was born in San Jose, California.

I love taking pictures, reading, riding my motorcycle, and listening to music. As you will read in my pages, I love Brazilian, American-English, and Christian music.

I am a bicultural person already. I love being among people from different cultures. It is a great privilege to live in a "global village," as some call the world for quite sometime now. I like to relate with people of integrity, who dream of a world of peace, and who want to make a difference. If you are one of them, I know I am not alone. As John Lennon put it well, "you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one; I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will be just one." Among my main social concerns, I am deeply concerned with the millions who are affected by HIV/AIDS around the world, mainly the poor and downtrodden in Africa and Latin America, the poor who cannot afford medical treatment for Diabetes, and the oppressed who are many times living as slaves, while the affluent get richer.

Shalom! Salaam! Peace! Paz!