Everetts In Brasil

More Time Part 2

2012-02-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

I ended part 1 with plans to move Steve to a regular room. I had gone to see him that morning and they told me he'd be moved to a regular room. My plan was to go back with the kids to visit him later that evening. I knew another missionary would be visiting during the afternoon visitation time and Carmin had a dentist appointment that is hard to get here and I was hoping it could be worked out to keep that appointment. As I was pulling out of our driveway to take her to the dentist, someone from the hospital called and said in order to move him to a regular room I or someone had to be there. Ok, why didn't they tell me that when I was there earlier?? I told them I was just leaving and asked them if they could wait until I got there. They said that would be fine. So I ran Carmin to her dentist appointment, took her back home and ran over to the hospital. On the way there, I found out that the missionary who went to visit Steve was able to accompany him during the move to his regular room. Wshoo, ok, good. But I also found out when I got there that I'd need to spend the night with Steve. That was no problem, just, Steve's never been in the hospital before much less, in a foreign country, so I had no idea what the norm was. Thankfully the Lord worked out that our co-worker could take the kids and I could stay with Steve.

Before I went to stay with Steve, the kids had wanted to visit him. I went home to get them and drove back to the hospital for the 3rd time that day. The kids got to visit him shortly and then I took them to our co-workers. It was about a solid 30 minute drive to their house. As we were leaving the hospital, it began to rain. And I mean RAIN! It was torrential! People were waiting it out under a covered area, but I could see no end in sight of the clouds. We made a break for it and ran to the van. We were soaked! I drove very very very slowly trying to see the lines in the road to give me and indication of where I should be in my lane. I told the kids, "If I wasn't tense already, I certainly am now!!" We got to within about 12 minutes of our co-worker's house and all of the sudden, traffic stopped. Up ahead a road had flooded and a car was up to his bumper, stuck in the water. Oh my word!!! I had to go almost all the way back the way I had just come and go a different way. It took about a hour and a half to go 30 minutes. I finally got back to the hospital, but realized I had forgotten shoes for Steve for the next day when they were going to release him. I knew that I'd need to get up, go home, feed the dogs real quick and then return to pick up Steve.

Staying in the hospital with Steve went smoothly. It was surprisingly comfortable and didn't make my back hurt any more than it already did. The nurses don't come and check as often as hospitals in the states which means on one hand, more sleep, but on the other hand, not as close of care. It was nice to see that Steve was ok and I was/am very thankful for that.

I left the next morning at about 8:30 to run home real quick. After I had driven through our gate and was approaching the house, I noticed one of our dogs with something strange on his mouth. As I drove closer, he approached the car. I stopped and opened the door and pulled on one of the things around his mouth with curiosity and then realized….he had gotten smacked in the mouth by a porcupine! I got out of the car to take a closer look, but when I did, he jumped in like he was begging for me to take him for help. I had no idea where to go or who to call, so I never even went into the house, but instead scooted him over and drove to the nearest feed store to ask them to help. When I got there, I explained my situation and they came to the car to look at Shadow. Then they called a vet for me who came and I followed back to his place so he could pull the quills out. I really hadn’t planned on spending that time because I knew I needed to get back to the hospital. He gave Shadow and anesthetic and began the process of plucking out the quills. Finally all was finished and I had one traumatized dog (and owner) that I needed to drop off at home so I could pick up Steve. I returned home, and as I drove down the driveway approaching the house, out came another of our dogs whom I hadn’t seen when I got home the first time and low and behold….that same stinking porcupine had wapped him upside the head too! I didn’t know whether I should laugh or cry! But after examining him, I saw that even though he too had some in his mouth, most of them were on the side of his face, below his ear and on his shoulder. I could leave it for later and go to the hospital.

It was such a weird thing. I couldn't help but think that I was under some great test. It was ridiculous how many things happened that pulled me in another direction from the one I needed to be heading. Some day after I digest this a little while longer, I hope I'll be able to completely figure it out, or at least figure out what I'm supposed to learn from it.

But one thing that I did learn is this: I do want to be here in Brasil. That may sound obvious, but it hasn't been the case with me since arriving here in September. I've wanted to want to be here, but since the first night we landed here, I've spent many nights crying and many days extremely sad. I've felt like even though we were in the states for a year and 4 months, in many ways because of what happened with Steve's family at the end of our furlough and even with his grandma passing away after we'd been here 3 weeks, we came back too early. I've struggled in my relationship with the Lord and have felt like He's tearing down my faith to build it back up stronger and it's a painful process made even more painful when fighting it. My confidence in Him is weaker than it should be and the events that began the end of June in some ways seemed to have weakened it even further until about November. After a conference we went to, I felt that my faith was on the upswing. But I was still grieving many things...Steve's nephew and grandma dying, our kids not having activities here like they do in the states to develop their talents, not being near Kacey and Sandreia, our family, our friends there in the states, watching Collin struggle being here and being able to relate to him. These were things that hurt and I just wasn't handling it well.

Not that I think Steve's heart attack happened because of this, but one way I think God was using this was to have me face a reality. It's like He was saying, "Here...here's your opportunity to go back home and no one would even question your motives for leaving. You'd have the perfect excuse. Is it REALLY what you want?" I had to hang my head in shame and weakly admit, "No, it's not what I want. I want to be here, I think it's where we should be, but it just hurts to be here." Then it's like God was saying, "Then if your answer is Yes, get over yourself and start trusting me. That is the only way you will heal. Healing only comes from me and I'm here in Brasil just as much as in the states."

So, that's where I'm at...learning to trust God in a new way.

More Time

2012-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

January 10th will be a day that I always remember....It's the day Steve had his heart attack. It is a day that God gave us more time with him. I am so thankful to have him here, that we didn't lose him, that it wasn't worse than it was. It started out an ordinary day. I was trying to do school with the kids and there were many distractions. We had decided to eat lunch at Subway, (fairly new here in Brasil), one of my daughters had to get x-rays for a dentist appointment the following week, and then later that evening, a gentleman came by to give an estimate on a cabinet that I needed in the kitchen. That takes us to about 7:15 in the evening. At that time, Steve called me into our room. He whispered, "I think I need to go to the hospital." I looked at him with what I am sure was a shocked confused look. Then he told me that he had had chest pressure all that day. I immediately grabbed my purse, told the kids I was running Dad to the hospital and why, and jetted out the door. While driving up our 100 meter driveway to the gate, I called my dear friend Eloisa and told her what was going on. She offered to come and fix the kids dinner and stay with them.

The drive to the hospital was weird. There was no panic or pain, but there was a sense of urgency. I had decided to take Steve to a private hospital, not the government hospital. There are pros and cons to both. The private hospital has better care, the public hospital is free. But we've visited people at the public hospitals....I knew I wasn't about to take him there. At the private hospital though, we have to pay for everything....everything before you are released.

We got processed through ER at the private hospital and Steve got hooked up to an EKG machine as well as had blood drawn. About an hour later, the doctor came in and told us that blood test revealed that Steve had had a heart attack. We both started crying. We wondered, "How will this change our lives, how will this change our ministry?" He also told us that we needed to decide if we could pay the $12,000 deposit or if we needed to transfer to another hospital. At this point, Collin had called everyone he knew how to get a hold of and two of our co-workers showed up at the hospital. One of them got on the phone and another co-worker was at home on the phone with our insurance company.

Now...let me explain...we have insurance. It doesn't cover doctors appointments, prescriptions, but it should cover surgeries, hospitalizations and procedures, as well as lab work. Besides the obvious drawback of being under insured as it relates to doctors appointments and prescriptions, Brasil doesn't recognize our insurance and so it's like we don't have it at all in our time of need. I don't really like this, but am so thankful that God provided us with co-workers who got on the horn for us and tried to work some things out. What was worked out was that the hospital accepted a $3000 deposit and after the nurse with the insurance talked with a nurse from the hospital Steve was at, we had a verbal agreement that the insurance was convinced that Steve would get adequate care and so they agreed to pay.....pay US back that is...after we pay for everything before leaving the hospital.

It was after all of this was worked out that Steve was admitted into ICU and properly taken care of. I couldn't stay with him in ICU, could actually only visit with him 1/2 hour 3 times a day for those first two days. Then the third day, he was moved into a regular room where I was required to stay with him. I didn't have a problem with that, but not having relatives here to call on in time of need can make things difficult. Again, the Lord provided a co-worker who was able and willing to take the kids overnight and for part of the next day while I stayed with Steve at the hospital.

This is only part 1, there is a part 2 that I will write soon, but I'm hot and going to jump in the pool right now. Thanks for sharing our lives with us, even from a distance. We miss you guys terribly. Some day I think I'll try and explain how the Lord as worked in my life especially these past 7 or so months, but the thoughts are still maturing. Who knows, maybe I'll even write a book.

I'll leave you with a prayer request....You know Steve is deaf in his right ear. Well, his left ear has been bothering him for 2 years. He got some sort of fungus in it and we've taken him to the doctor twice which hasn't helped in resolving the problem permanently. It's plugged again and the steps that we've taken previously have not worked this time to unplug it. Also, about 3 days ago, his hearing aid just stopped working. Now, yesterday, that same stinkin ear....a bug bit him or something and his earlobe and the gland below it are hot, swollen and extremely painful. ALL with his left ear mind you....the only ear that works, well...it works half way anyway. It's things like this and bigger things, more serious or potentially serious things that have happened to us one after another after another since the end of June. It's unexplainable and highly annoying. It's trying to rob our joy and kill our passion. It has even succeeded temporarily on a few occasions, but we can't let it defeat us!! By the power of the Almighty God and prayers from His saints, we will not be defeated, but will press forward towards to goal.

A Relief

2011-12-11T12:15:00.001-08:00

We have had a situation that in Portuguese we would say, "We had to swallow a frog." Basically the same idea would be that we had to put up with an undesireable situation. The situation being: The previous owner had hired a caretaker who lived on the property with 2 horses, 8 chickens, and 4 dogs. When we signed the contract to purchase the property, it was up to the previous owner to give the caretaker his 30 day notice. He took three days to do it. Then the caretaker partied for the first 2 weeks of his "freedom." He had a bunch of relatives over to his place one weekend (which is actually pretty close to where our house sits) and they smoked, drank and their kids ran all around the place. Then the next weekend it was almost the same things. We were getting fairly uncomfortable with the situation. Our Brazilian friends were even a bit nervous for us. Our national pastor was hoping that he wasn't deciding not to leave. He said that if someone decides not to leave, it's a long legal process to get them out.
We talked to the caretaker a couple of times to see what his plans were. He told us by the end of Nov. he would be moving out. That didn't happen. Then he told us "next week," but that didn't happen either. Then last weekend we reminded him that his 30 days would be up this week. He told us that he had more time and that he knew that laws. This really didn't set well with us, so we sent out an email to our missionary partners asking for prayer. One of the missionaries who has more of a relationship with the previous owner sent him an email about our situation with his caretaker. The previous owner showed up here this week and talked to the caretaker to make sure of his plans and to fulfill his own obligations with the caretaker.
The caretaker told him and Steve that he would be moving out Saturday. (yesterday)
So, we were eagerly anticipating his leaving.....but the day went on and on and on....and still he and all of his relatives and even more people than we'd seen before with him were still around, still drinking, still smoking and still making us uncomfortable. We were praying that the Lord would help us handle the situation in a gracious way and to be a good testimony to him and everyone else who was there. Yet, we also saw this as an attempt by the enemy to delay our progress in preparing the retreat center.
We talked to him last night and asked him what the plans were and that we had been expecting him to leave that day. He said not to worry, that the truck was coming in the morning and he was leaving. So, this morning came. We asked him what time the truck was coming, and his response was, "In a little bit." Two more hours went by and lunch time was approaching. FINALLY, a truck arrived. They loaded it, his horse carts and cars that were helping him and then he came to give the remote to the gate and the keys to the house to us. What a relief!!!
We are thanking the Lord for answering, "yes" to our prayers for this situation.
We are now planning to get that house ready to be used as a guest house, and we'll take down the fence to make some sports fields in the area where the horses were.
We are breathing sighs of relief!! NOW, after almost 3 months, we feel like we can truly begin to settle in.

Scatter Brained

2011-11-14T15:40:00.000-08:00

Right now we're entering a time in which I have experienced way more times than I would have like to in the past few years....moving. Not that I'm complaining about moving into a house instead of living together in one room, on the floor, needing to go outside to arrive at the bathroom. It's just that with how I'm wired, my brain easily goes into overload and it's hard for me to concentrate on any ONE thing. It feels like I made a list of things that need to be done, then ripped it up into tiny pieces, threw it up in the air, and am now trying to find all of the pieces and put the list back together. Only, what I'd like to be doing is the things ON the list. I have a feeling that when Wednesday comes and the mover moves all of our things that have been in storage for 2 years, I will be overwhelmed with all that there is to do, ALL having high priority, but not being able to do all of them at the same time. One additional thing that complicates things too is that I am not real confident of the condition of the things we will be moving over. We've already taken three boxes out of storage...one of them being some blankets and sheets and they were mildewy. A friend of mine was able to wash them and get most of it out, but that is only the tiniest fraction of what is in storage.
Please be praying for our day on Wednesday. I'll be praying that the Lord will supernaturally give me a clear mind that can prioritize and be efficient.

Funny Thing

2011-11-11T14:31:00.001-08:00

We have two dogs and are living at the church, and have been since October 14th...in one room. A lot of the times, we have to keep the dogs tied up. At night we move them to a covered area in case it rains. Well, last night Steve and Collin were moving
Shadow's dog house to the covered area. I was getting his food and water dish over there. All of the sudden I heard this scream/yell/babble from Collin. The noise that came out of his mouth is not reproducible. I ran over to where he and Steve were and Steve was already laughing. I asked Collin what happened and he said that he felt something on his arm. He thought it was a branch rubbing on his arm and he shrugged his shoulder to move it and get the branch off, but it didn't come off. Then he looked down and saw a big honking cockroach on his arm.....GROSS!!! When I say big honking, I am talking about 2 inches or more long and fat! It was funny.

It's amazing what we can get used to though. The first couple of years here, I would freak out at a cockroach. Now, I really don't like them that much, but if I see one in the shower with me, I can calmly take of my flip flop, smack it, flip it out with the tip of my flip flop and resume showering.

You may be wondering why in the world I would have flip flops on in the shower? Well, in a lot of houses, the shower heads are electric. We put tape on the handle and wear flip flops to guard against getting shocked. It's just another thing we have to get used to.

The Car and the House

2011-11-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

We were finally able to get a vehicle! It is so nice. We had been getting along ok. Probably a little better than I thought we would, but it is nice to have one.
We also were able to sign on the house yesterday and get the keys. That also was nice and a huge answer to prayer. We are hoping to be able to move in next week. It’ll be so helpful to have a place to get settled into. It’ll be awesome to sleep on a bed again, instead of a mattress on the ground. Oh, my….to put my clothes into a closet and put the suitcase away! It’s been since August 31st that we’ve lived out of suit cases.
There are quite a few things that need to be done to the house. We set off insect bombs so we can start cleaning it tomorrow. It’s been over 3 years since someone has lived there, so little critters have taken up residence. Some aren’t so little. One funny thing happened today. Steve went to check one of the bathrooms out. He looked around and flushed the toilet to make sure it worked and out jumped something. He himself startled and took a quick step back. Come to find out, it was a frog that jumped out of the toilet!
Another thing that needs to be done to the house also is it needs to be treated with termite killer. There is a lot of wood on the ceiling and rafters. We also need to redo the hardwood floors in part of the house. It’ll be a project house, for sure, but it’ll be nice to be in a place where we can share with others and minister to them while serving the Lord.
The kids and I spent about 1 1/ hours washing clothes, rinsing clothes, ringing clothes out and hanging them. We don’t have a washer or dryer. We’re getting pretty good at the manual labor, but I look forward to when we get our container that has my washer and dryer.

Waiting....

2011-10-09T05:14:00.000-07:00

It seems that so much of our time in the past few months has been waiting....waiting for my back to get better, waiting at the hospital, waiting to know when we were going back to Brasil. Now that we're here, we're waiting for our place to live. It still could be a few weeks.

It's going to be another few weeks before we're to move into a house of our own, until then we'll be adding to the 40 days, as of today, that we've been living out of suitcases.

I can't help but see a theme. I think, at least for me, God is serious about taking my trust to a new level. I've always struggled with trusting Him. I have no idea why, since He's always proven Himself faithful. I think sometimes, I expect a certain outcome to a prayer request or problem and when it doesn't work out in a way that makes sense to me, I falter in my trust of Him. This weakness is not a real peace giver. What happens is, I'm in essence saying that I know what's best and when God doesn't do the genie-in-the-bottle thingy, then I get upset cause I didn't get my way.

Of course, I make it look a little more spiritual. I call it discouragement, or stress, or say that things are difficult, but in reality, God is in control and I need to be on His page.

Being on His page isn't that hard for me, but it's when I have no idea what His page looks like and I'm trying to find it. That is the hardest for me. I want to be follwing Him, trusting Him, but when the answer is not ready to be revealed, I have to wait in the state of the unknown and that is hard for me to do. Not the waiting part necessarily, but the unknown. I like my ducks in a row.

What does ducks in a row have to do with anything that I'm talking about?? Let's take our departure to Brasil as an example: We didn't have all of the funds to come down and get set up in a home, with a car, and to receive our container. Not only that, a home was not yet ready for us.

Usually we pray, plan and see that the details are worked out in our plan before we move forward.(Ducks are in a row) For us, it's been a safe way to operate. We feel it helps to confirm the will of God in our lives. If there are obstacles, we pray about them, trying to find it it's one God put there to let us know it's not what He wants for us, or if it's an obstacle put there for us to climb and learn and grow in the process.

Getting down here to Brasil wasn't a "ducks-in-a-row" situation. But I think that God decided He wanted our faith to be stretched in a newer way than ever before. To me it was like He was saying, "Step off of the cliff and see that I am your safety net." I don't like cliffs! I operate in a safer area, especially after weeks of one thing after another happening and stress already being at an incredibly high level. No, I really don't like cliffs. BUT, I didn't have any other option. It's what God wanted me to do. Am I serious about being a student? Have I really meant the prayers for the Lord to reveal in me things that need to be changed and areas that I need to grow? Ok, I have to jump then. WATCH OUT BELOW!!! But He's my safety net, and He will not allow me to fall. Psalm 121.

Grandma

2011-10-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today we learned that Steve' grandma, Connie Thomsen, went home to be with the Lord. The first time we left for Brasil, she was 93 and still very able to care for herself in her apartment at her retirement home. She was with it mentally and although we knew her age was increasing, we had a certain confidence that we would see her again. One time when I was talking with her, I told her, "Only 18 more months Grandma...hang on til we get there." She would laugh and say she would hang on. We prayed as a family that we might be able to see her once again.

The day arrived that we finally saw her again. We were so glad to be reunited with her. I had this feeling of relief that we made it back to see her, to hug her. I was amazed that her hearing had diminished so much. That made it hard to converse with her. She seemed to be able to hear Steve's voice much better than mine. I was frustrated because I wanted to tell her all about Brasil and our first term. But I was happy just to be able to see her and had to adjust my mind to that.

She was so funny! I remember that first time we saw her again, we sat in the lobby in her retirement home and she introduced us and Jason and Chelsey and I think Dave too. She said, "I have a BIG family." But she wasn't talking about the number of us, but of our sizes. She even put her arms out in front of her, slightly rounded at the elbows to emphasize the word BIG. We all laughed, but inwardly were thinking, "Thanks for pointing that out grandma!" It actually was funny. As she got older, her editing ability didn't work as well.

During our year in the states, we saw a decline in her memory and eventually it became apparent that she needed to go to the assisted living side of her residence. Our prayer to see her again had been answered, for which we were so thankful, and so we began to ask the Lord to take her home while we were in the states. We were praying that we would be able to be part of the end and closure to her life. In May we moved her to the assisted living side, in June she went to the hospital with a deep tissue infection in her leg, and in July she spent a week in the hospital with a urinary tract infection and a suspected TIA. That stint in the hospital was really difficult on her. We saw her decline even more rapidly. At the same time, we saw our time in the states coming to a close and were more fervent in our prayers for the Lord to take her home while we could still participate physically in the closure of her life.

One time in June, I was driving and was thinking about her. I began to cry and grieve that it looked like we would go back to Brasil before the Lord took her home. I had to let go of my desire to still be here when the Lord took her home and accept the fact that He may choose to keep her here on this earth a little longer. But time went on, our return was delayed, and I thought maybe the Lord did have plans to answer our prayer with a yes. Then one morning, August 3rd, Bev, my sister-in-law called me. I fully expected her to tell me that Grandma was gone, but instead, she told me that her son had passed away. WHAT??? Soo not what I was expecting to hear. What...how....I thought he was getting better???

In dealing with helping Bev with Jason's things and details that needed to be taken care of, as well as trying to pack and plan for our return to Brasil, we went two weeks without seeing Grandma. I felt torn between the things we needed to do and going to see her. I would have cloned myself if it would have been possible. One morning in August, Steve and I went to see her. It was about 10:30 in the morning. We opened the door, saw her walker near her chair, but no Grandma in the chair. Hmm....So we slowly entered the room and saw her laying in her bed. I immediately was alert and looked to her chest to see if it was rising and falling. It was.....wshoo! But then we thought, is she sick? Why is she still in bed? We approached her and she wasn't able to recognize me at first. She called Steve, Harley, which she had been doing the last few times we had seen her. (Harley had been an uncle of hers) I went to the front desk to check with them to see what they had to say. While I was there, Grandma told Steve that she was tired and just wanted to go and see her Lord. When I came back into the room, Steve was choked up as he told me what she said. We prayed that He would just take her....please take her Lord. But He chose to keep her on this earth a little longer. We left that day thinking it would be the last time we saw her. We had plans to check on her later that day, but Steve called the front desk instead to check on her. They told us that at about 3:00 she wanted to get up, get dressed and ended up going to the cafeteria for dinner. What a total change from earlier that day when we thought she was on her death bed.

The next day was her hair appointment. The facility where she lived hadn't been very good at communicating internally and they had missed getting her to her hair appointment two weeks previous. So, we went to check to make sure that happened. There was just something sweet about her after she got her hair done. She looked so elegant and well cared for. It had been quite a while since her hair had been done up pretty. Done up pretty it was! We went into the on-campus beauty shop at the end of her appointment and she sitting all pristine, waiting for someone to take her back to her place. What a change from the day before. Steve and I visited with her a little bit, each took a picture with her, then we wheeled her to her building and right into the dining room, since it was dinner time. We were pleased with how she seemed to be doing, and also resigned to the idea that the Lord was going to keep her here on this earth a little longer. We had to accept that when we said good-bye in just two weeks time, it would be the last time we saw her.

The day before we left to return to Brasil we got a call that she had been taken to the emergency room in the early morning hours due to wheezing. Even though we had a lot to do that day, our final full day in the states, I wanted to drop everything and go be with her. But Bev called to tell us that she was on her way home and doing ok, but showing signs that her body was starting to shut down. We did the things that we needed to do and stuck to our plans to make our last family visit with her the next day, the morning of our last day in the states. That visit was a difficult one. We all cried as we said good-bye, each of our kids hugging her one by one. It was an emotional time, but one that I'll treasure. The Lord had allowed us time with her, allowed us that time to say good-bye, not only because we were leaving to Brasil, but because we knew that she'd be leaving this earth. It could have been that He took her while we were still in Brasil during our first term, but He gave us a year with her and I thank Him for that. But that day, we knew with certainty that it would be the last time we saw her this side of heaven. She had been such a special lady to me, to us, to our family and it was hard to leave her.

Today she entered her eternal home. It's hard to imagine what she's seeing and what she's feeling. It must be amazing. I struggle with the timing of her passing. I ask the Lord, "Why couldn't it have been a month earlier? Why didn't you allow us to be there to be part of the closure?" His answer to me is, "I know what's best. You still are a part of the closure. Don't complain when I've given you so much." I'm sorry Lord, you're right as always. You don't answer to me and of course, you know what's best. I just wish I understood it a little better than I do. I guess as long as you do, then I just need to rest in that and accept it.

I'll miss you Grandma....you were a friend and a great lady. I'll see you sometime down the road. Love you.

Don't Know Where to Start....

2011-09-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

I've started to write a few different times, but it's impossible for me to know where to begin and how much to tell. I guess I might be able to sum it up to say that this last year has been one of the most difficult for me in many ways. This summer was especially trying and it isn't over yet.

I know that the Lord is doing a work in me...us...our family. I know that. But my heart is heavy at times with the load of it. I know that Jesus says to take his yoke, it's light, but I don't even seem to know how to do that these days.

I have to practice thankfulness. There are so many things to be thankful for that I have to try and focus on that. It is a battle...a spiritual battle. Evil wants to convince me that God doesn't keep His promises, but I know He does. The thing is, I have to recognize the thoughts, take them captive to the obedience of Christ and trash thoughts that don't measure up.

Our circumstances are just that....a set of circumstances that, right now, are not at all ideal. But God is with me and is using the different circumstances that He's allowed the past few months to mold me into who He wants me to be. I find myself fighting against the process and that is what makes it harder than it has to be.

I have to remind myself of this: We are on this earth not to fulfill our dreams, but to fulfill HIS dreams.

In our family devotions the other day, we read Psalm 148. All the earth and every thing, element, and creature praises Him when they are doing what they are made to do. Snow, wind, mist, the stars, trees, sea creatures....they all praise the Lord when they are doing their thing. We too praise the Lord when we are doing what we are here to do....bring glory to God. I find myself looking at my circumstances zoomed way in instead of zooming out and seeing things from an eternal perspective. It would bring greater glory to Him. I have some work to do, but I want to be a student, I want to get it right...but I fail so many times.

One of the sermons that our pastor preached right before we left sticks in my mind. He was preaching from 1 Peter and talking about our privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Wow....a privilege.

Hearts that Smart a Bit

2011-05-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday KC came by our house. The kids and I were busy doing school even though it was after lunch. Collin got up and went over to KC and told him this story. "Hey Kacey, you know what Kobe did last night? He came into our room last night and started saying that he just realized that you and Sandreia wouldn't be coming back to Brasil with us and he started sobbing. He cried for like a half hour."

When I heard Collin tell this, I was totally unprepared for it, not having sensed recently anything in Kobe, nor having heard anything from him. It doesn't surprise me really that I didn't hear anything because he's our quiet one, but I'm really glad that I heard it from Collin. I instantly started crying. My heart is so sensitive and tender when it comes to my kids and their burdens that my tears just pop out on their own accord.

Collin sat back down next to me and then noticed that tears were streaking down my cheeks. I was trying to stop so I wouldn't worry him, but I just couldn't. Then Kobe walked in the room for help with his math. He saw me crying and hesitated in asking for help, but I called him over to me. He's too big to fit on my lap, but I pulled him down any ways. Tears sprung to his eyes too. I just held him and whispered to him that it was ok, I told him that I want him to come to me instead of crying without me knowing about it. I want to help him through it and comfort him. I also asked him if he felt angry at having to leave Kacey and Sandreia. He said he wasn't, just sad. I assured him that even if he was angry, it doesn't matter, that I want him to come to me so that we can work through it together. I know that God understands. God asks us to do hard things sometimes.

My heart is already tearing again at the process of saying goodbye, but as I see my kids go through it, my hurt is compounded by the sadness they feel. Not that I compare what we're going through with Jesus' pain in facing the cross, but in the garden of Gethsemani, He asked that this cup pass from Him, yet followed by not His will be done, but the Father's. So I know that He understands hard things, at the same time, I follow His example of laying down his own life for the Father's will to be done. I gave my life to Him a long time ago. My life is no longer about me, but about Him. That makes things hard sometimes.

Pray for us as we help our kids make this transition well and as we leave Kacey and Sandreia as well as the rest of our family.

Time is flying

2011-03-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

We're already looking at our calendars to plan the end of school, and certain "lasts." It's hard to believe we are on this side of our furlough. So much is still uncertain, but only to us, not to God. We are learning to trust more fully in His timing and relying on Him to work His plan in our lives.
One thing that has changed is that we will be in the states until at least July now. We had planned on returning in June, but our youth pastor talked to us and offered us a fireworks booth that is used as a fundraiser for the youth and different missions projects. There will be an extra booth and he asked Steve and I if we wanted it. The proceeds will go towards our Outfit and Passage, or towards the property. First priority is Outfit and Passage, but if that requirement is met, then it will go towards the property. This change puts us leaving in July, even if all of our remainding support comes in before then.
Thanks for praying!

Get Everetts Back to Brasil!!

2011-01-31T19:56:00.000-08:00

We're continuing our support replenishing and now with a little more emphasis on our monthly needs than on the property we'd like to purchase. When we came back to the states, we only had $300 to raise for our monthly needs and now we are up to needing $725 per month. Not a lot has changed with our needs, but what has changed is the ability for a couple of churches to continue at the level that they were supporting us. Also we have had 4 couples that have chosen to drop our support for one reason or another. We know that God is completely in control, yet at times we do get discouraged.
I personally struggled with the drop in our support about a month ago, and for a couple of weeks. There were a couple of factors that went into that struggle, but the main factor was that I was struggling with contentment. It may just be that God will have us here in the states a bit longer than we had hoped. If that is the case, then I know it's only because we will have to be traveling more. This is something that really doesn't appeal to me. I have this desire to be settled in one place for longer than 1 or 2 years at a time. When we return to Brasil, I was hoping that we could move into a place and stay there for our next 4 years. The sooner that settling starts, the better. Well...these are the thoughts that I was having. So I had to give up that desire and be willing to do what God wants me to do, even if it is different from than I want. I had to be reminded that my life is about HIM, not about me. I have given Him my life, and He will give me mine as He sees best. I can trust Him.

Cleansing Breath

2010-12-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

Wow--we have been traveling so much, and now we just completed our final voyage for this year. It has been wonderful in a lot of ways, but exhausting in others. As I sit here, I feel like I can take a deep cleansing breath and sink in my chair just a bit and relax.

One thing I can see as a benefit is that historically, Christmas season has been somewhat stressful for me. But after the season of travel that we just had, Christmas season will be more relaxing that previous Christmases.

Steve figured out that we traveled 7,000 miles in two and 1/2 months. That is about an average of 130 hours of being in the car.

We are grateful to the Lord for all of the supporting churches that we went to. It was worth sitting in the car 130 hours and traveling those 7,000 miles. Each of the churches had some unique strengths and fun characteristics. To know that they lift us up collectively and support us as a unit is a powerful, wonderful thing. God is great to put such a team together for us.

We hit the road again the end of Jan. Please pray for us as we are raising funds to purchase a property. The Lord knows everything. We want what He wants from us,. but there are things that are not real clear to us. If no sufficient funds come in for the property, then we will need to search for another property that is within that amount raised. Again....the Lord knows how He wants to use us.

Upward

2010-11-12T14:54:00.001-08:00

Steve has been in contact with the coordinator of one of the biggest Upward programs in Salem since we have been back in the states. He met with the guy this week and came away encouraged about our future of Upward and the outreach that we can have using this tool. Tomorrow before we leave for Bellevue, Steve will attend a coaches training session and get a little more insight into the training of coaches, as well as some other valuable information.
Some other things that Steve has been able to do is to watch and even coach some of Kobe's basketball at the Hoop. He's gotten ideas on skills to work on and drills to do. He even has been invited to come and volunteer coach whenever he can. This is all super valuable for improving our Upward ministry in Brasil.
Also, he'll be coaching the Western Mennonite boys 7th grade basketball team, which Kobe will play on. We are all looking forward to that starting in Jan.

Special

2010-11-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

We had a special time with the missions committee of Bethany Baptist church last Wed. They invited us to come and share with them on a more personal level about our time in Brasil and our family. They asked a lot of great questions and listened as we shared about different aspects of our ministry and life while in Brasil and even some challenging decisions we need to make about travel and supporting churches.
Thank you Bethany Bapist, for sharing with us and for being partners together to share the Good News!

Embraced

2010-11-08T16:58:00.000-08:00

We have a Everett's in Brasil facebook page. I just posted a thank you to Good Shepherd Community Church in Bellingham for what a great example they are of taking their role as supporting church seriously. I received a question from some one as to what was our perspective on a church who takes their role as supporting church seriously. I answered his question and thought I'd post it here.
Now, first though, I didn't at all mean it as a negative thing to our other supporting churches. We have enjoyed our time and appreciated all of the churches we have been to. We have been faithfully encouraged and we know that we have been uplifted in prayer. We love the conference we were recently in at Ferndale and felt very much how we did after visiting Good Shepherd. We went to Lewiston and got to stay in a little house near the church which was also a blessing. There are a lot of things we could say about each of our supporting churches that is special to us. It's just that what we experienced at GSC was so different. Well, I'll just post my response and you'll see what I mean.

I wanted to answer your question about a supporting church and what we consider a good example.
Good Shepherd community's support goes beyond the dollar amount they send us. They formed small groups within their church and took us on as their missionary. I don't think we were the focus of the group, but rather, we were just considered part of their group. They emailed us weekly asking for prayer requests, sent us prayer requests from their group, and even sent us surprise little packages. They were such an encouragement to us and actively engaged in our ministry.
Now being back on furlough, we went to their church yesterday. What we usually encounter is Steve speaking, us standing at our display at the back of the church afterwards, and an occasional person stopping to ask a question or make a comment. Then we go out to eat either with the pastor or youth pastor and leave to go back home. We don't see this as a negative thing, but what we experienced yesterday was quite different.
From the moment we walked into church, people began saying how they had looked forward to our coming, they were engaged by asking questions, and telling us what they had read on one of our prayer letters. Steve and I were interviewed during the service instead of Steve preaching and we were able to just share with them some instances in which they had been a big encouragement to us and probably didn't even know how much.
After the service we had a potluck. Steve and I ended up at different tables and I didn't finish my lunch or dessert because of how many questions were coming my way. It was a really good problem to have.
Support for us goes beyond the financial support and includes engagement, encouragement, prayer, and really being partners with the people.

Missionaries are normal people with an unusual job in a foreign setting. We have our own set of struggles, temptations, weaknesses and times of lonliness. We need encouragement, communication, engagement, and effective ferverent prayers of the saints. God has used you all and will continue to use you in our lives. You are part of His body and through His body, He touches us. He is good all the time and we thank Him for providing just the right email, phone call, birthday card or random package. These are all things that go beyond the financial support that a church gives.

Good Intentions

2010-11-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well, have you ever had one of those times where you had good intentions, but it ended up not being the best thing?? We are in one of those times right now. We have been praying about ways to raise funds for the property we hope to purchase. We have named it The Center of Hope. Steve talked to our pastor about some fund raising ideas and he didn't have a problem with them, so we proceeded. One of the ideas was an on-line fundraiser in which people could subscribe or resubscribe to magazines. In doing so, we would earn a percentage that would go towards the property. There was a part that people could sign up to help us get the word out and they could also raise funds for the property with us. It sounded interesting and inventive.
The downside is that after we had started it, we got some negative feedback. In fact, we have since found out that ABWE has an unwritten policy against fundraisers like this. The negative feedback wasn't a downer for us, but more that we could have offended people unintentionally. Not everyone is going to do things the way we would do them, but we aren't against changing course if that is the way the Lord is leading.
So, we have withdrawn the on-line fundraiser, feeling that it is best.
God knows our intentions were pure in trying to get the word out about the desire for this property to be used for His glory and bringing souls to Christ. We know that He will bring in the funds if this is the property He wants for us and this fund raiser attempt was in no way a deviation from our trust in God. If the fundraiser had been a success, it would have been to His glory. It only would have been a success had He wanted it to be. So, canceling the fundraiser isn't a big deal, we have the same amount of trust in His provision. If it's to be, He will provide.
We heard a story from a church recently about a Christian college during the depression. The teachers were 2 months without pay and the school was about to fold. Someone heard about their situation and prayed with the leaders of the school. His prayer was, "Lord, we know that you own a cattle on a thousand hills. Please tell one of your ranchers to sell his cattle and donate the money to our school." That was Monday. On Thursday, there was a message received by the school telling of a rancher who had sold a large amount of cattle and felt led of the Lord to send the $10,000 check to help the school out. That paid the teachers backpay, debt and they were able to put some money in the bank.
It was an encouraging story. We know that God ownes everything.
Thanks for traveling this journey with us.

Awesome Deal

2010-10-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

In spreading the word about the property in Brasil that we are raising funds for, we have also been letting people know that we plan to have a new/used clothing store on the property to help generate funds to help with the maintenance and projects. Since beginning to spread the word, mainly at churches, we have received quite a few donations. One lady, who's 50 year old husband passed away, gave us all of his clothes. He was really athletic and she knew that the clothes were meant for our ministry since part of our outreach is through a sports ministry. Anyway, we went to Walmart and noticed that there were many many clothes on clearance for $1, $2, $3, and $5. We were thrilled and started putting a few things into the cart. A few things grew into a little more when we saw what such good deals the clothes were. But the real deal was at the check-out. As the gal was ringing us up, she said, "Now, you know that today is the last day for the special on clearance items right?" We stared at her a little blankly, "What special?" She replied, "It's half off all of the clearance items." WOW--That meant all of the stuff that we just got at a great deal, we just got half off of that!! So we bought nice polo shirts for $2.50, reversable shorts for $1.50, other shorts for $.50.....it was such a great deal that we just had to share it. Thank you Lord!! (In all we spent $100 and the original price for the clothing would have been $467.00)

Travel

2010-10-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

We're deep into our travel schedule and it is going really well. We love seeing people who have prayed for us over the past several years and have sacrificially given to the Lord towards our ministry. We just spent a week at a supporting church in Northwestern Washington. The week was a busy one, yet we had some time to do school with the kids and visit with our hosts.
Our hosts were an intersting pair. It was a dad who had just lost his wife three months ago due to a sudden heart attack and his single son who is in his 40's. The son has been attending the church for 3 years, but the dad has only been attending since his wife died. I was able to have a conversation with him about salvation and at this point, he is hopeful he will get into heaven by his good works. I explained that it is not by anything that we do or have done that we gain eternal life with God, but it is because of what Jesus has already done: died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. I went into more detail than what I'm writing, but in the end, he was certain that after all that I explained, I was saying that we have to be good.
When we were leaving church today, we said goodbye to our host and thanked him again for the week. He was so sad to see us go and almost cried. He said that it felt like saying goodbye to his family. He is a sweet older gentleman who needs a lot of prayer. We are praying that God will reach him through the loneliness that he is feeling and bring him to a fulfulling relationship with Jesus Christ.

Emotional Day

2010-09-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today was an emotional day. It started out with our son trying for his drivers permit for the third time. I wanted it for him and was dreading if he failed for the third time. I sat praying while he took the test, and God answered, "Yes" this time around for him, and for me. After lunch, I took him out to drive a little bit. We have an 88honda that we bought to teach him how to drive on a stick shift. Normally that would be a good idea, but he has trouble doing several things at one time, so I think we're going to have to go a bit simpler with him in the beginning and start on the suburban. So, the driving was a bit on the stressful side for both of us.
While I was trying to get to the community college near us, I noticed all of the sudden traffic coming to a stop on Lancaster Dr. We were looking up ahead and could see someone lying on the ground with people around. Then we saw an emergency vehicle blocking the road so no one could pass. No one had arrived to direct traffic, so many cars were trying to turn around, or switch lanes. In general, it was chaotic. Then I saw something that really pulled on my heart strings. There was a young man, looked about 16-18 years old lying on the ground in an awkward position. There was no one with him. Just after I saw him, I saw someone walk over to him and bend down, then leave. There was no one to help him yet. The emergency vehicles were still arriving. We got turned around and headed the other way and were passed by several emergency vehicles. I checked the news and found out that three teens 16-18 had been hit while on the sidewalk, by an SUV. One of them died, and I am pretty sure it is the one that we saw.
I've struggled a bit with that the past few hours. I think of the mom and how it was for her to learn of her son's death today. Her life is forever changed. I think of the 29 year old lady who hit them. I doubt she woke up today thinking this would happen. Her life is forever changed. The kids who are in critical condition, life has changed for them also. They may recover, but it'll be a long road ahead for them.
I pray for them. I pray for their salvation and comfort from the Lord in their days ahead. These things don't happen randomly, but are in the perfect plan that God has for our lives. Some people ask,"Why did this happen to us?" or "Why does God let bad things happen?" The Bible verses that come to my mind is the one that says, "God comforts us with His comfort so that we may in turn comfort those with the comfort that we were given."
Our family has been down this road.....20 years ago this last July. The nightmare happened to us. Over time the hurt lessens,and we can empathize with those who have lost family members to senseless accidents. Even if these families never know it, I am praying for them.

Breath of Fresh Air

2010-09-16T18:05:00.001-07:00

We went to Cannon Beach to the Pastors and Wives retreat this week. It was a really nice time. We saw many people that we knew and had wanted to see, as well as met people that we had been wanting to meet. A big bonus was that we were able to get away together for the first time in years....way too long!

Now we start our travel schedule. Please pray for us and that we will be able to communicate clearly the plans we believe the Lord has for our ministry down in Southern Brasil. We know that God has complete control and lacks nothing financially, but the thought of raising $250,000 is a bit on the scary side. Along with raising money for the property, we need to raise about $22,000 for our return trip, including our airfare, a container and passage for that, and a vehicle when we return.

Your prayers are vital and we appreciate them.

Beginning Traveling

2010-08-12T00:43:00.001-07:00

Well, we are beginning our season of travel pretty soon. It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is necessary. Let me explain. I love visiting with people who have prayed for us and have given towards our ministry over the past several years. It's the distance of travel, eating out, staying in unfamiliar surroundings, meeting the kids' needs, etc. that doesn't thrill me. Once we get there and begin to get reaquainted, I really enjoy that. There is something so special about connecting with someone you either have never met, or not very many times, but because of the Holy Spirit that lives in us both, we can have a bond. Those times are really neat and I look forward to that.

VBS

2010-07-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

It was great to participate in our church's VBS this year. Mendi taught 1-2 graders and Steve did the game times for all of the groups. We had about 60-70 kids who were great kids to work with. Many visiting kids came including a neighbor of ours. Our girls have made friends with her and when they invited her to VBS, her mom agreed. I went over to meet her mom and confirm that she could go. So, she went with us and enjoyed it and learned a lot. On Thursday she was at our house and the girls were especially interested in her knowing more about Christ. She was also expressing this interest and the girls brought her into the house to talk with me. I asked her a few questions and talked with her a bit and I could tell that she had been thinking. She knew that she was a sinner and believed that Jesus died and rose again for her sins, but she wasn't quite ready to confess and pray to Him. I told her it was something that she didn't have to do with me, but could do by herself. A little bit later one of my girls ran in and asked if they could pray with their friend, or if it had to be a grown up. I told them that they could pray with her. They ran back out and prayed with their friend as she confessed her sin and belief in Jesus. It was precious. They all came to me and the little friend told me, "I'm a Christian now." What a great thing!!

Kacey and Sandreia here

2010-07-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

We are pretty excited to have Kacey and Sandreia here in the US now. They had a pretty long trip here, but it the Lord worked it out in a great way. In the end, Steve and I end up pulling an all-nighter to go and get them up in Seattle. They were flying on passes and kept getting bumped in Atlanta. The next day didn't look good either as far as space on the flights to Portland. At the last minute, they got on a plane from Atlanta to Seattle. The story was acutally much more exciting than this, but I'm giving you the short version.
Although Sandreia has been to the US before, now she is living here and is looking at it through different eyes. It's been fairly overwhelming to her, but it's only been 1 day. I have been where she's at and in time she will get used to it, but it is difficult in the beginning.
We are praising the Lord that Kacey has a job already. He starts on July 12th at the bakery that he worked at when he was in the states 2 1/2 years ago. We are thankful for that.
We are getting ready to head up for Family Camp at Camp Gilead. We are really looking forward to it. It's been since 2005 for us and before that we went 10 years straight.

Sharing our Ministry

2010-06-27T23:34:00.001-07:00

Today was a really great day. Steve preached for the first time since being back and did a really good job. Then in the evening service, we shared our presentation and pictures of our ministry and future ministry hopes. I also shared some experiences with ladies that I had while there and a little bit about our ministries. Seeing all of the pictures really made me miss Brasil and the friends and kids that we ministered to. I am really praying that we can raise the funds to purchase and administer this training center. The Lord is ever faithful and has shown Himself to us time after time again. I know that if this is His will for us, He will raise the funds for the purchase of it. To raise funds in this economy will be tough, but it gives so much more credit to the fact that God did it. You can pray for us and the $165,000-$215,000 that we need to raise. That's not including improvements that need to be done on the property.

Kinda Hard To Explain

2010-06-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

I have started a few blog posts recently and have ended up erasing them. I am trying to figure out a way to write how I am feeling about this adjustment to being in the US without making it sound like I don't want to be here.
We have had great times of getting reaquainted with friends and family. It has been special. We've enjoyed seeing how everyone's grown and changed. At the same time, seeing everyone and visiting with them makes me realize how much we have changed. It's not a bad thing, but I don't think I expected to feel it so much. Last week we were at a restaurant with our friends and there was a group of us there. We had a good time, laughed and talked about all of our lives. As they were talking, I was reminded of how we used to think just like them. They don't think bad or anything like that, but we used to be traveling down the same path in life. When we moved to Brasil, that changed. We still have the same goals for family and life, but living in a different culture, it plays out a bit different. We can't expect to live in Brasil like we're still living in the states, and visa versa. On the same note, I don't feel like I fit in so well. I can't think completely like I live in the states, or completely like I live in Brasil. There has to be a third way of thinking, but no one else thinks that same way. If I were to think and act and raise my kids in the same way as before we went to Brasil, it would be really difficult to make the change back to the thinking we have to have living in Brasil. I don't even really know if any of this makes sense. I expressed it to Steve and it doesn't seem to. But, you might have an idea that life is a little confusing right now and I'm working it out with the Lord. I want to think like He wants me to think about this. Eventually I'll get there.

Getting Settled

2010-06-07T08:22:00.001-07:00

Well, we're finally on the other end of our trip. We are setting into our home for the year and are getting things that we need like a vehicle, internet, cell phones etc. It was a crazy week. It was a somewhat frustrating week. We had need to talk to Kacey during the week but we didn't have our internet yet. He was calling our temporary cell phones that had few minutes. One time I needed to call him, but I had to go to the church to plug in our vonage phone into their router. Then I tried to call him, but it didn't work, so I called a fellow missionary there who ended up calling him for us and he called us on those cell phones without many minutes. By the time he called us back we weren't at the church anymore. I wanted to find a vonage adapter that works in a USB port in my laptop so I called Vonage and waisted more precious minutes on our prepaid phone. They told me that the adapters are sold at any Walmart, Best Buy, or Radio Shack. Well, we went to 5 different stores and no one really knew what we were talking about. I was really not liking this. These are the kinds of things that happen in Brasil. We expect it there, but I didn't expect it here. Frustration and stress were building up inside of me and on thursday I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I had a cry session. Steve was a little frustrated that I couldn't explain it to him, but I couldn't even explain it to myself. I wasn't crying about any one thing, it was just a lot of things. So, I cried, took a shower, cried some more all the while praying. The Lord brought comfort to me and after a little while, I felt much better and I've felt better since then. In thinking about it over time, I realized a few factors. I am overwhelmed with the amount of technology that there is. Not only just technology, but how it overlaps one another. We were trying to make the best choice for what we need, but it seemed like to make that decision was agonizing. It's hard to know what the best choice is. Another factor was trying to look for a suburban. We knew ahead of time that is what we wanted. But to look for a suburban was not as simple as we imagined. The economy has been hard hit here and used suburbans are not as plentiful as before. We looked on-line and were going to have to travel 1-2 hours away just to be able to look at one. Dragging the kids around was not really what I was wanting to do, but leaving them with someone wasn't working out, nor did I want to leave Collin in charge when we were that far away. In the end, we found a suburban and the guy had to be in Salem anyway, so he drove it there. Then when we went to buy it, he had again to make another trip into Salem for something else, so the Lord really worked it out quite nicely. He is ever faithful and has provided for us wonderfully. We are thankful to Him for that.

Trip Part 8

2010-05-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

We drove down to Los Angeles and have been spending some family time together. It has been a lot of fun and we have continued to notice things that indicate the kids still getting used to being in the states. Today we went through the Burger King drive through and I ordered at the speaker. The voice on the speaker gave me the total and we drove up towards the window. Kenzi said from the back, "That's something we don't have in Brasil." I thought it was cute.
Speaking of Kenzi, I took her emergency today, (not because there is an emergency, but because of our insurance), for her ears. Just like Kobe got an ear infection from the cold all of the kids got, so did she. Her ear was hurting pretty good today. But in the end, we didn't stay at emergency because there was a 2-3 hour wait. If it weren't for the fact that it's Kobe's b-day and Steve and I were taking him out to dinner, I would have stayed. Anyway, we'll see how she is tonight and tomorrow and then make a decision about going back.
We'll be in the LA area until Saturday and then we will fly up to Portland. We are eager to see our family and friends and the house that the Lord has wonderfully provided for us.
Oh yah--An update: Our son, Kacey, and his wife, Sandreia, were able to get a visa for her to become a permanent resident of the United States. They are planning to arrive in Portland on June 30th. We are super excited about this!! It is a process that usually takes many months or longer to complete. She got her visa in 2 months. It was amazing to watch God slam doors wide open. It is something they have been wanting to do since they got married, but the timing was not right. When God determines that it's time, it's time--no waiting around! A cool thing is that they'll get to the states and then we'll go to family camp together. That is a special thing to our family, and we're glad that Kacey and Sandreia will be there to experience it with us, Sandreia for the first time.

Trip Part 7

2010-05-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today we went to church with Dan and Margaret. They go to Faith Baptist in Visalia, CA. It was a nice experience with very pleasant people. The girls went to children's church without hesitation and enjoyed it. There were a few things I found myself explaining to the girls, like, the offering plate being passed around. We have a box in the back of our church in Brasil for offering. Also, they were wondering what the books were for on the back of the seats in front of us, so I explained that they were song books. We sang two hymns out of them, so it made better sense to them. We sang a few songs from the screen up in the front of the church and I was touched by one song in particular. I really like singing in Portuguese, but since it still isn't a part of me like English is, there are still some songs that don't have the deep impact on me because of lack of total understanding of the words or phrase. One of the songs we sang today was so pure and meaningful that I just couldn't contain my tears. It was so powerful and deep.
I can't believe our time with Dan and Margaret is coming to an end tomorrow. I think I will miss them more now being in the states and not being close to them. Their friendship has meant a lot to us and will continue to mean a lot to us. I just wish while we were in the states it didn't still have to be long distance.
Today we went with Dan and Marg over to visit with Rick and Lisa Caynor. Lisa and her kids were in a serious accident in August while in Thailand and she was in a coma for 3 months. She is in a wheel chair and has a long road of recovery ahead, but she has her sense of humor intact. We had a great visit with them and are praying for Rick as he's in the process of passing kidney stones.

Trip Part 6

2010-05-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

The kids have really been struggling with their health. All of them have one thing or another. Collin has a bad cold and spent the night sneezing. We took Kobe to emergency (cuz our insurance wouldn't pay for a doctor visit or an urgent care facility--only emergency) because his ear has been hurting and it's plugged up, Carmin has a super stuffy nose and sore throat and Kenzi is still coughing some and has a stuffy nose. It's not terrible as far as activities, but I feel like a walking medicine cabinet, dispensing every few hours one or another type of medicine.
I have been struggling with sleeping--not so much that I can't, but that I am just waking up at 6:00 and can't seem to sleep much past. Only today I was able to sleep until 9:00. It was nice. We had a packed day with activities of the Castaneda kids, but it was a good day and there's not a whole lot to report as far as cultural adjustment except that Steve and I agreed it just feels like we're on vacation and that we're going to be going back in a couple of weeks. I'm sure once we get to Salem and start getting settled in, we will feel like we've arrived.

Trip Part 5

2010-05-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

One thing that we didn't anticipate is having the feeling of not being able to communicate very easily. Not so much in words, but we thought that we'd have a phone to be able to call and let people know we made it. We have been able to post updates on our Facebook, which has gotten the word out a bit, but our vonage phone has not worked hooked into a laptop and getting cell phones didn't work the day we tried, right before the Dodger game. So we bought these temporary cell phones at a Walmart on our way to visit with Dan and Margaret Castaneda. We haven't gotten them up and running yet, but I made a call from Margaret's phone to my mom to let her know that we made it and that we are fine.
One thing that we had wanted to do was call and arrange a visit to my Nana and Bert. They are in Victorville, which is about 1 1/2 hours away from LA. We had hoped to stop there for two hours yesterday before coming to the Castanedas, but with our lack of communication, it just didn't work. We're thinking we might try on Monday, but we are going to be waiting here until Kacey and Sandreia call to let us know about her visa. So we'll see how it goes. The Lord knows.
We're at the Castaneda's right now and it has been wonderful to reconnect. I'll keep you posted.

Trip part 4

2010-05-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Up to this point on the trip, all of us have looked at one another and had to say out loud, "We're in the states." Not as a reminder, but more in wonderment. "We're actually in the states. Someone pinch me." It's hard to believe that almost 4 years has passed and that we are at this point in our lives and ministry. It seems a little bit unreal and I wonder when it will seem real.
There are a few observations from my perspective. The people that we've come in contact here are more abrupt. At the aiport, the airport shuttle, the hotel worker, the rental car counter lady--I had to remind myself that it's different here. They're not being curt or rude, it's just the way here with some people.
We had our first meal in the United States, and we chose Taco Bell. We were pumped about a $2 menu and our meal cost us less than $20. It was great, not to mention--yummy. Then we went to Kohl's--Ok, I love Kohl's! Carmin, Steve and I needed shorts. All of us found shorts on sale and we were super pleased.
Dodger game!! This is where Steve was saying with amazment, "We're at a Dodger game!!" The Dodger game was a real American culture experience for the kids. The tradition of singing the national anthem, the 7th inning stretch where Take Me Out To The Ball Game is sung, the hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, cotton candy and Kenzi's favorite, the wave. We all really enjoyed the game, even though the Dodger's lost, but the experience and family time were really great.
Over and over we have thanked the Lord for allowing this trip to go smoothly. Steve commented that everything up to that point really had gone as planned. It has been nice, but we know that when we come upon challenges, the Lord is no less involved. Our confidence is in Him and His watchcare in our lives.

Trip 3

2010-05-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

We got to our hotel finally and got to bed about 2:00AM, but 6:00AM our body clocks. We really thought we would sleep in, but we woke up at about 8:00AM. Steve woke Collin up and Collin looked at the clock and asked, "You call this sleeping in?" But we got up and got breakfast at the hotel and went back to our rooms to rearrange our carry on bags with the things we would keep with us the next 10 days. We walked about 15 minutes to get the rental van that we had gotten for a steal of a deal--$38 a day. It is so nice, the doors are these automatic things that open for you. Anyway, the 15 minute walk was interesting. I was observing the kids, especially Kenzi, and realizing that this was a foreign country to them. These are some comments they made on this walk. "Hey, there's no horses and carts on the roads." "Yeah, there's no horse poop on them either." "Look! There's one of those things dogs and cats pee on." (a fire hydrant) There was more, but those are the comments that stood out.
I forgot to mention on little conversation I had with Kenzi on the airplane. We were talking about something, I can't remember exactly, but then she asked me, "Mom, when we get home, who's going to be at the airport?" I wasn't sure which "home" she meant, so I clarified, "Which home are you talking about?" She responded, "You know, when we come back to Brasil." That question helped me more understand her mind and this whole move from her perspective. The United States is the foreign country to her.

Trip part 2

2010-05-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

When we landed in Lima, we realized that Kobe was not feeling good. So the whole security thing and getting to our next connection he was dragging in addition to the girls, whom we expected would be dragging. I had even given him some dramamine, but I think it wore off too early. Plus that, he had hardly slept the night before. Right when we got on the plane to El Salvador, even though we got on at the last minute--I knew I needed to get more dramamine into him. I had bought liquid, and since his stomach was empty, I knew it would work faster than a pill. I asked one of the stewardesses for water. She understood English which was a relief. She brought me some water and I gave Kobe the drops. He was sitting by Steve and had already taken out a barf bag. But it took a few minutes for them to finish loading bags onto the plane, then they did the whole safetly shpeel, and after that we had to wait our turn in line to take off. About 20 minutes passed which gave the medicine time to take effect. We were served lunch on this leg and wanted Kobe to eat. It was already 1:00pm our body clock time and he hadn't eaten since 4:30
am. But the poor kid was so exhausted from not sleeping and from the medicine,that he could hardly keep his eyes open. We finally gave up making him eat, but it was our goal in El Salvador.
Our plane from Lima landed in San Salvador, El Salvador at this little airport. Again we found ourselves constantly trying to speak in Portuguese and getting no where fast. It was instinct, but we kept hitting a wall. We found that English, even though very broken was getting us a little bit further. We had a 5 hour lay-over, so we took a walk down their long hall to give ourselves a little exercise and to check out what restaurants they had. We found a Subway and ate there and again Kobe ate very little. We had a 5 hour layover so we set up camp in a corner of our gate, laid sweatshirts out on the floor and told the kids they could lie down if they were tired. No one fussed. No one slept either, but it was good to be horizontal for a little bit.
One interesting thing in El Salvador was that their security was tiny. No metal detectors, no x-ray--just folding tables set up where bags were put and searched. This was going to be fun. Our bags were as packed as we could get them and it was hard to zip them up. Thankfully we weren't in a hurry. We had a new experience of being frisked. Not really sure I liked it that much, but it was over fast. Collin really didn't like it, but we told him that in traveling, especially small foreign countries, this sort of thing happens.
We took off from El Salvador and looked forward to a 5 hour flight. By this time it was 10:30 PM our body clock and we were completely thrown off. We had dinner on the flight and the girls had fallen asleep shortly after take off. We couldn't get them to eat the dinner, but on the other hand, Kobe was starving by this point and ate with vigor, the yummy pasta they served. He kept raving about how good it was, but I think it was more because he hadn't eaten in a long time.

Our Trip

2010-05-19T02:12:00.001-07:00

Well, I'll try to blog the happenings of our trip. I may end up breaking it up into more than one part. We started out on Monday evening by going to a hotel in Porto Alegre since our flight started so early. We had to be at the airport at 4:00 AM. We had two separate rooms and two very different nights of sleep in each room. The guys were in one room. They went to bed around 10:30ish. Steve said that the boys giggled for a little bit, but went to sleep. About 12:30, the boys were awake. Collin got up and took a shower and Kobe tried to go back to sleep. I guess that Steve was snoring pretty good and they couldn't sleep. In the girls room, Carmin and Kenzi could not sleep. They wiggled, tossed and turned, tossed covers off, pulled covers back on.....and we were all sleeping in one bed, so I didn't get to sleep very well either. All this to say that we started off on the trip sleep deprived.
We got to the airport and they weighed our bags. We didn't want to pay for any extra baggage or weight, so we did our best to bring only the absolute essentials. There were two bags that were about 8 pounds overweight, but they overlooked it and didn't charge us. Wshoo!
Next we flew out to Lima Peru. We knew that we only had 45 minutes from the time we landed until our connecting flight. It took nearly 15 minutes just to get off the airplane, then we had to walk super fast to our connecting flight. Only, we didn't know that we'd have to go back through security. What a pain!! We had that whole process, plus Steve kept setting of the alarm, taking things out of his pockets, back through, alarm again, take off the necklace, back through--now ok. Here's where we got frustrated too because we were trying to talk to the security people in Portuguese and they didn't understand, then in English--nope that didn't work either. Frustrating!! We could see that our plane was making it's last call, and we still had a bit of time ahead of us. How can we have them hold the plane??? So we tried our best to ask the security guard to call and see if they'd hold the plane for us. Steve went with a guard to the airline counter and they called up to the gate. We finally got all the way through security and ran/fast walked up stairs (an escalator would have been nice!!) helping the girls, urging them to go faster, then at last got to our gate. We were one of the last ones on the plane, but we are thanking the Lord that we even saw some of our bags being loaded on so we knew that they made it too. We sat down and had to catch our breath. It was a bit stressful, but Steve and I had talked about this part before we even left and agreed that we would work on staying calm and not stressing the kids out too much. We did have our tense moments, but all in all we handled it fairly well for the situation. We were more at ease after getting on the plane and thanked the Lord for allowing us not to miss that connection.

Our Final Good-byes

2010-05-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice day, kind of the eye in the storm. We did some packing, some cleaning, made a nice lunch and I even took a nap. It was funny cuz when I woke up after 20 minutes, I looked at the clock and it said 2:25. I was really disoriented because I saw that it was light out, but then thought that maybe the electricity had gone out in the night and that it was like 7 or 8:00 in the morning. I sat up and got my bearings and realized that only 20 minutes had passed.
We got to church and tonight was the night for Steve to preach. He did really well. He explained why we are here in Brasil and what we'd like to do when we got back. He preached on Psalm 100, and then he also showed a few of the parts to our presentation that we'll show to churches during furlough. All in all, he did really well and was able to communicate what he wanted to. I was proud of him.
The church did a going away thing for us. A few people spoke about what part we had played in their lives or salvation and they gave us gifts. It was special. Then there was a time of appetizers and more people came up and told us good-bye. I thought I would cry more and even brought toilet paper in my pocket, but I only used it few times. One of those time is when my friend Jupira spoke, and another time is when Eloisa and I said our good-byes. Both of them are dear friends to me and I will miss them greatly.
It's getting hard to fit all of our stuff in our bags. Tomorrow we are going to lay all of our carry-ons out and try to fit stuff in. Lord willing, we won't have to leave more stuff behind.
Well, I don't know how much I'll be able to blog in the next few weeks. I'll see if I'll be able to get on occassionally, but have no idea how life will be. Thanks so much for going through this journey with us. To be continued........

Last Saturday

2010-05-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today I ended up going back to the salon and showing the gal my hair. When she looked at it, she just smiled like, "What in the world??" I teased and told her that I had a talk with my hair and told it to calm down, but it's just rebellious and wouldn't listen. :o) She redid my hair which took two hours. Now I'll go another two days without washing it. She told me to call her cell phone on Monday if after I wash it and it's still wavy, she'll refund my money. I hope not to have to do that. So, that was another event, in our already crazy last days that we didn't expect would happen, but it ended up working out.
We packed a little more and actually were able to hang some clothes out to dry. My dryer stopped working, so I let someone borrow it for the year that we're gone. We've been without a dryer and the last couple of weeks have been foggy, rainy and cold. Not really the weather that allows clothes to dry. It's been a bit of a challenge to get things packed. I finally took 4 loads over to our co-missionary's house and paid their girls R$10 each to dry and fold them. It was a relief. Today though was nice and it got into the high 70s. As I was sitting there getting my hair redone, I was bummed that I was waisting precious sun. I called Steve and asked him to hang the clothes on the line. They dried about 3/4 of the way. I will probably take them to Kacey and Sandreia's to dry on Monday when we take them home. That is unless we get more sun tomorrow. The forecast is for clouds, rain and low 60s.
Tonight we had our last jr. high group. It wasn't real sad like I thought it might be. The kids will really do well with Fabio and Lisi. Right after group, we went to pizza with a group from church. It was super crowded, but a nice time. On the way home, Carmin and Kenzi were talking.
Carmin: "This time of leaving is tense." Kenzi: "What does tense mean?" Carmin: "It means like kinda stressed." Kenzi: " I don't want to go." Carmin: "Neither do I."
Then I piped in and we talked about how those feelings are ok to have. We'll get to the states and miss Brasil and then we'll come back to Brasil and miss the states. But this is our life. I told them, we have two homes. The Kobe reminded me, "Actually we have three." I responded, "Oh yah, where's the third?" Kobe, "Heaven." I responded, "Oh yah, duh." That opened a conversation about Jesus making and reserving a home for us in Heaven.
Before I was a missionary, I never imagined that it would be hard for a missionary to come back for furlough. I didn't know that they really made friends, had a home, a dog, a church family they loved or that they lived a relatively normal life--well, normal for the country they're in and what becomes normal to them with a little time. I guess I had no notion whatsoever of a missionary's life. I imagine that it's that way for many other people who have also never thought much about it. But it is hard on the kids. They are used to this life and it's what they know. To leave it is making them a little tense and nervous, even if they're leaving it to go to a place that might be easier to live in. They don't really know one way or another what's easier or not, it's Steve and I that deal with those types of things. The kids could use a little more prayer than before these next few days and weeks ahead.

Our Last Friday

2010-05-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's hard to believe thatthis is our last Friday and that we have, as I write this, 3 days and 7 hours until we fly out. Steve and I spent a good part of the morning trying to get things packed. We packed, weighed, found more stuff to put in, unpacked, repacked, weighed again etc. We have about 8 of our bags packed and weighed and the other 4 still with clothes or things around the house to put in. We are hoping that it all fits in and in the end we won't have to leave much.
I had my hair straightened on Tuesday and I am really liking it, except for the part where I couldn't wash it until today. That got a little gross. In fact, today Steve walked past me and asked my why I wet my hair down. I told him, "I didn't wet my hair, it's greasy!!" Anyway, I went back to the salon today, she washed it blow dried it and made sure that the straightening took. All looked good when I left there. She told me I could, but didn't have to, blow dry it after I washed it. So I came home and later this evening I took another shower and washed it again. The only thing is, I let it air dry and I looked in the mirror. What did I see??? Yep, wavy hair, some outright boardering on curly. Gggrrr. She guarenteed it for 8 months, the only thing is--we have very little time left that I can spend time redoing my hair. I'll probably have to go and see her tomorrow to find out what I should do.
Another thing that's going on is that Kenzi is sick. She started coughing yesterday and had a froggy throat. Then today she is still coughing, not eating, and has a fever and headache. Poor thing. I'm praying that she gets better for our trip and that no one else gets it. Kobe was sick a few days ago and we used the asthma medicine with him, but I don't think he had a fever at any time. Thankfully he is feeling better.

Trying to make progress

2010-05-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

There are certain things on our "to do" list that I feel like doing as much as I feel like having a cavity filled. We have been trying since Monday to cancel our cell phone service. Yesterday I spent some time on the phone and didn't get anywhere but a bit on the frustrated side. Today we went into the store again to talk to them. After about 1 hour there, speaking on the phone with someone while in the store, but needing for them to get someone who speaks english to talk to Steve on the phone, (the cell phones are in his name, so he is the one who had to talk to them.),we finally decided to not cancel for 10 more days or we'll get a R$125 fine for cancelling our 1 year contract 10 days early. How retarded!! So, we have to have Kacey come all the way from Gravataí to São Leopoldo to cancel it for us.

Speaking of Kacey, he called us today and still could not take money out of his account. We were stressing for a little bit there. Steve called for Kacey but couldn't resolve the issue because his name's not on the card, and the number that Kacey was calling would not work. But he finally was able to get, through Steve making more phone calls, an international number to call and lift the block that had been placed on his card. They were able, in the nick of time, get money out, pay for Sandreia's immunizations and take a taxi to the airport for their return flight. It was a really tense hour or so, but we knew God would work something out.

I was asking Steve today if he thought we had been stressed out because of lack of trust . I told him that I knew God would work it out, but it's not like we can just expect to sit around and do nothing. We have a responsibility in working these things out. For example: If Kacey had not found out what number he needed to call, but had just sat at a table saying to himself, "I know God will work it out, so I will sit here and wait, " then he would not have been doing his part in what God was doing. For me, the feeling I get is like being on a roller coaster. I know that I'll arrive at the end of the ride in one piece, but the ride still evokes emotions and physical responses. I didn't worry today that Kacey would be stranded, I was trying to be on alert to God's leading and ready to do what needed to be done to help Kacey.

Another thing that happened today, actually it was the first thing that happened today was that I sent the maid home. It has been a bit on the difficult side to deal with her. She came today and was started by telling me how depressed she'd been that even her body hurts and life has been really difficult. Then she asked me if I was mad at her. I talked to her about her not showing up on Monday, nor making an effort to let me know why she hadn't shown up. I told her that right now, I need someone who will be able to help me, not make more work for me. Each day is packed full of doing things or trying to do things. If I think that she's going to be at the house and that she'll be able to clean and cook lunch for us, than that's what I plan for. But since she didn't show up on Monday and it was difficult, I decided that it would be better if she just not come any more while we're here. We decided that we'll pay her as if she were here, but besides not showing up on Monday, she's been doing strange things and I just think it's better for us all if she doesn't come. It was a relief for me, and who knows, maybe for her too.

More of the van saga

2010-05-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday afternoon the mechanic called and talked to Steve. He told us that since the transmission has been worked on 3 times already, that it just can't be worked on again. It needs to be replace. He found us a used but in good condition one and will put it in. The total cost will be about $1800. We talked to our co-workers who are returning from furlough next month. They have been interested in purchasing it from us, but we were hesitant knowing that there was something going wrong with it again. But they know and are willing to purchase it, especially now that we are going to have it fixed. We could still us prayer for the financing to go through as we hope. We need the $$ to be able to purchase a vehicle in the states.

Kacey and Sandreia

2010-05-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today is Sandreia's medical exam up in Curitiba for her permanent visa to the states. They had to go there (about 12 hours by car) because that is the nearest doctor who is contracted with the American Embassy in Rio de Janeiro to do these types of exams. They were able to fly there. They've had to run around in trying to get everything done. First, she went to the doctor. After that, they had to go to get some blood work in another place. Next, they had to go and find a cash machine. All of this is by foot remember. Then after they finally found a cash machine, she had to have an x-ray at a third place. Finally, they arrived at yet a different place for her to have some immunizations. The price was a bit higher than they expected, so Kacey had to find another cash machine. Only now--they've reached their withdraw limit for the day. He called us to call and try to have the limit lifted. I called and tried for him, but there was no way. He went back to the place where Sandreia had received her immunizations and they were really nice and said that he could pay tomorrow. (We had scheduled their flight to leave in the afternoon in case there were things they had to take care of in the morning---glad we did that!) So, after she received her immunizations, they were going to one more place for her to get a yellow fever shot. Why in the world she needs a yellow fever shot for going to the states, I have no idea!! But hoops have to be jumped through, so they're jumping.
Also, when I talked to Kacey, his feet were killing him from all of the walking and he hadn't eaten in 12 hours. It has been a stressful day for them, but God has been good and has provided for them what they have needed, but not without helping them learn to trust Him more along the way too.

Our Days

2010-05-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

I really should post both morning and night on these last few days. I end up not writing everything that happened in a day because so much is happening. The posting of what's happening is helping me to keep perspective and remember that God is in control. I only was able to write about half our day on Monday. It ends up that we went to lunch with our really good friends, Harold and Tammy. We had a relaxing time with them after such a hectic morning. We got home and then went to try to cancel our cell phones. Of course, we got the run around and didn't end up making any headway in that area. Then we went to our friends and comissionary's house for pizza. We played rook, talked and had a good time. He had to come and get us and drop us off since our van was not really that driveable.

Tuesday morning Steve took a taxi to borrow a car. When he got home, we limped the van to the mechanic. We explained the situation to him and then he said he would check it out and call us. We came home and packed some, I made lunch, then Steve dropped me off to get my hair straightened. That ended up being a 4 1/2 hour process. Near the end of the time Steve came back with the girls and they got their hair cut for the first time in a salon. They felt like princesses. It was so cute!
Then that evening, we took our friend, Jupira out to dinner. She's been such a wonderful help to us these past 3 years that we wanted to spoil her. She'd never been to this nice restaurant near her house, Schneider's, so we took her there. She was really pleased. That was fun.

Today was a day that I had waves of sadness. As I was making lunch, I cried a bit. In saying hello to our family and friends in the states, there's a good-bye involved. I will miss our friends and the life that we have here. We all talked at lunch that even though we are really excited about going to the states, there is sadness mixed in all of it too and we should acknowledge it when it comes. I have read about many missionaries and MKs who didn't really have closure in their lives and struggled in maintaining relationships. So we talked about what closure means.

Not How We Expected the Day to Go

2010-05-10T23:51:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday didn't really go at all how we thought it would go. We thought the maid would show up, (the maid came with the house that we are staying in these 5 months), we didn't sell the car, we got very little done on our list and actually more of a list was created by things that happened today.
We were anticipating selling our car yesterday. We still had an offer from the dealer that showed interest in it. He seemed to be willing to stay at the amount that he had originally offered, but in the end, he wanted too much less to make it worth us selling it to him. But, on of our co-missionaries has interst in buying it. We could tell that the transmission was making those familiar noises again, so we were leary in selling to him, knowing that there might be problems. We were up front with him, but in the end, he wants to buy it knowing there are some problems. The only thing is, yesterday when we went out to take Steve to the health clinic, which we hadn't expected to have to do, something changed with the van and it started running terrible. We're leaving in one week--is there no way it could have just lasted a little longer??? But we know that God is involved in every detail of our lives and this is His plan for us right now. So--we're going with it. We know He is always Good. We're asking for wisdom on how to proceed and that it not take up too much of this week when other things need to be accomplished.

Well, the next thing that is kindof in a balance right now and seems to be leaning heavier one way than another is our health. Steve's good ear has been plugged up for a few days, my throat is sore and showing signs of infection, Kobe has a cough and I don't know if it's his asthma or a cold that anyone would cough with, and Kenzi got the hiccups 12 times yesterday. I took Steve down to the health clinic and they saw that he has wax in his ear, so we are doing somethings to help that, but in the mean time, he can hardly hear a thing. Frustrating for him! I didn't feel the best Sunday or yesterday so when we went to get medicine for Steve's ear, I bought some antibiotics for me. That is one nice thing about being here, you can just go to the pharmacy and buy antibiotics. You don't even need a prescription. I bought some vitamin C for us to take too!

Well, there is actually quite a bit more to our day, I only covered the morning before lunch and it's already taken up quite a bit of blog space. I think the one thing that is encouraging to me is that one of my weaknesses is frustration. I get frustrated easily and along with that--super grouchy and hard to be around at times. I have tried to work on this, with God's help and He is helping me. I know that everyone's nerves are a little on edge with this transition we are going through. Being frustrated doesn't change anything for the good and stresses other people out. Today was a relatively frustration free day, not completely stress free, but frustration free.

The Lasts

2010-05-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days where we are doing things for the last time, like; our last field council meeting this morning, the last purity group meeting,and the last normal jr. high youth group. It was a good day. I thought that some time today I might cry, but I didn't. I just really enjoyed the day.
The last purity group meeting went really well. There were quite a few girls missing, but the gals who were supposed to be there were. I taught the lesson and the Lord helped me in portuguese. I had a few times where I was not real sure of the word I wanted to use, but they always help me out.
Before the meeting I was talking to a friend about my hair. I was talking about my bangs and how I'm letting them grow out, only, I called them "a pillow case" instead of bang. Oh how my friend and I laughed. It was funny!
Then during out lesson tonight, Steve was asking the kids something related to the lesson and then he answered the question. He meant to say that God is all-powerful, only he accidentally said that God is all-fartful. Oh my it was funny!
Those kinds of things are memory building! Yep, it was a good day. :o)

Acceptance

2010-05-06T17:20:00.001-07:00

Well, we're trying to sell our van. We've had a few dealers look at it to see what they'd give us for it. We have had two offers from them, and one from a friend. The only thing is, we aren't 100% sure that the transmission is in great working order. It has started making some sounds occasionally that are familiar to the beginnings of it going out. It's not all the time, but it's there none the less. Dealers have the shop and means to fix things like this and expect to put some $$ into the cars. That's why they give you a low figure.
We had made a verbal agreement to sell it tomorrow to a dealer, but now he's thinking about backing out, or offering less. It grates me a little bit to accept something lower if he's already offered and we've accepted albeit verbal. Kinda ticks me off really. We need time to sell the reais and somehow get the rest to our bank in the US. We don't have a bank account here, so it's a tricky and timely process.
One thing that I need to remember is that God is concerned about this and He has it all worked out. I need to get on His page and accept what He's doing without getting frustrated. The temptation is there, but I know that in the end it will all work out. We will sell the van somehow and we will be able to purchase another in the states somehow. You could pray for us during this test, that we honor God with our attitudes and thoughts.

Shadow

2010-05-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

Today was the day for us to take Shadow to where he'll be staying for this year while we're in the states. A young missionary couple with a little girl and one on the way agreed to take him for this year. They have a nice big yard and it will be good for Shadow.
We hadn't seen the place yet and whether or not it had some place for him to hide when he's scared of fireworks or thunder. We went and saw that he'd need a dog house, so we left to go get one. Let me explain something--Shadow has always bolted the moment a fence or door is open that he can get out of. This is one thing that we have not successfully been able to train him out of. He loves a little bit of freedom, but doesn't have much of a clue about cars. So we worry a little when he gets out. Anway, when we bought the house and returned to the place that he'll be staying, they opened the electric gate that's by the street and Shadow did what he usually does--he bolted! The gal felt so bad, but I assured her that God cares even for the sparrow and would look out for Shadow if that was His will. Inwardly I was really praying that it would be God's will to get Shadow back and not get hit by a car, since they live right on a principle road. Kobe was out there with Steve chasing him down. This taking Shadow to his new place business was tough enough without seeing your own dog get hit. Thankfully, Shadow had to squat and Steve was able to grab him, effectivly shutting down the need for Shadow to squat at the moment. Usually, it's not that easy to chase him down, so we are thanking the Lord for that! I think it was good for the couple that will keep Shadow to see that they will need to be vigilent about that.
So we got him back, showed him his new dog house and said our good-byes. This is where Kobe had a tough time. He gave Shadow a hug, ruffled his ears and then walked down to the electric gate facing the street. I knew he was having a tough time. We said our good-byes to the couple and then I went and hugged Kobe, who was full out crying by this time. He was so sad. We got in the car, drove off and I could still hear him crying and sniffling. Collin and Steve even got a bit choked up a bit at Kobe.
By the time we got home he was ok and although subdued for a little while, seems to have made a full recovery. I know that he'll have times of missing Shadow, but he, as well as all of the kids, know that this is our life. We have exciting times and we have sad times. It's no different from anyone else in life. We are trying to instill in them that we are on this earth to glorify God and to do His will. Sometimes that is a wonderful and awesome thing, and sometimes it's not, but either way--we know that God is walking by our side along the whole way and that we can trust in His goodness in our lives.

Little Things

2010-05-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today we are packing up the rest of our stuff and tomorrow are taking it to storage. As I was taking my pots and pans and packing them, I had another surge of anxiety. It's hard to explain what I am subconsciously thinking at times like that, but little things seems to trigger it. I remember when we were having our last garage sale about 3 days before we left for Brasil and I realized that I forgot to tell Steve that my mom had said that she'd keep Carmin's toy horse for her. (It was too big to fit into an action packer) We had opened up the house for people to go through and purchase stuff, but I forgot to set that in a safe place. I went to the store to get change since the first person who came to the garage sale only had a $50and was buying something for $20. When I got back, Carmin's horse had been snatched up and purchased. Oh my word did that set me off. I cried right away and don't know that I completely stopped the rest of the day. Carmin still talks about that darn horse! Oh how I wished I could find the lady that bought it and get it back!! Anyway, packing up my pans didn't set me to crying, but it did tighten the already present knot. Praying for calm and peace helps, but I don't think the knot is going to be completely gone for a while yet.
I can tell the kids have been more stressed out too. Little things bug them easier or upset them. We're having to work with the kids on their responses, actions and reactions with eachother. For the most part they are doing really well.
We have decided that instead of Friday, tomorrow will be the last day of school. Actually, Collin was at an ending point, so he is finished. It'll be good to get that out of the way and be more available to do things in the mornings if needed.
Tomorrow is a run to storage, Thursday we take our dog, Shadow to where he'll stay. I expect that will be hard for Kobe and we'll probably be dealing with a few broken hearts, Friday we sell the van.........Thanks for praying, see ya soon.

Little Over Two Weeks

2010-05-03T04:40:00.000-07:00

I was laying in bed last night and got this sudden surge of anxiety as I thought about the fact that we have just a little over two weeks and we will be leaving. We are hoping that we don't forget something until too late, or forget to think of something altogether. There is a bit more stress now and I am really glad that Steve urged me to try to get done with the kids' schooling a week earlier than I had planned. I don't see how we could have continued school until the 14th. It's going to be hard enough to get it done this week with all the stuff we have going on. But I think we'll be able to.
Well, if you think of it, you could pray for the sale of our van. We are planning to sell it this week, but the timing is a little tricky. We are thankful that we have the use of our teammates car while she's on furlough. If not, we'd have to wait another week before we sell our van and it's something we'd like to do now rather than later.

Friends

2010-05-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today is a holiday equal to labor day so we didn't have youth group. We instead were able to invite a family over to have dinner with us. They are good friends of ours and we get a long great with them. Eloisa taught me how to make pastels and torta de bolacha (cookie pie). They were both really good and I look forward to making them in the states for potlucks or just when we're in the mood for some Brasilian food.
We will miss them this year while we're in the states, and the girls will miss their daughter. But we know that we'll see them again and will be able to talk to them on the phone or through the computer while we're in the states. I thank the Lord for friendships like this that we've been able to make.
Steve and Rogerio have similar personalities and sense of humor. They like to laugh even though sometimes it's not easy to understand what's being said. But laughter is a universal language!

Not my mom

2010-04-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

Today Collin, Carmin and I went to the dentist in Porto Alegre. Our van is being worked on, so we are borrowing a car. Collin was the first to be worked on at the dentist, and wanted to go across the street and look at a store there while Carmin and I were having our teeth cleaned. When we were done, we were approaching our borrowed car that was in the parking lot of the store that Collin had gone to. He was standing in the parking lot looking around and I was curious to know what he was doing. That's when he told me his story.
He said that he had been in the store for a little while, then went to another store nearby to buy a pop. When he came out of that store, he noticed, what he thought, was the car that we had borrowed pulling out of the parking spot. He thought, "Mom's forgetting me!" and he ran to the car, calling, "MOM!" As he got right up to the car, he realized that "MOM" was some guy and this guy was looking at Collin in surprise. Then the guy thought Collin was just a beggar kid looking for a hand out and shook his head and motioned with his hand, "No" Meaning, he wasn't going to give Collin, the beggar kid, a handout. Collin, who was thinking more about how embarrassed he was at having called this guy, MOM, acted disappointed at not having received a handout and turned away. It was not much longer before I came upon the scene. Collin immediately told me the story and we had a good belly laugh about that. It was funny!

7th Anniversary

2010-04-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the 7 year anniversary of the church that we assist in last night and today. It was a great celebration with other churches invited. The missionaries currently on furlough sent video of their congratulations to the church. Steve and I also made a video that was kind of funny. It explained how it's been for us to minister at this church. The message was that we sent about how it's been for us is that we have made a lot of good friendships, that they have been very patient with us as we continue to learn the language, and that we have enjoyed seeing results of ministries that either we have gotten involved in, or started. All in all, it was a really good time and we enjoyed it.
Steve is set to preach in portuguese on May 16th, and you could pray for him. We plan to give a version of our presentation that we'll show in churches in the states as well as him giving a message.

A Lesson in Simpatia

2010-04-15T13:27:00.001-07:00

I was talking to a lady today who’s nephew is in Kenzi’s gymnastics class. We sit and chat while the kids are in class. Today we were talking about health and I mentioned that a few of my kids have asthma. She asked me if I had ever done “simpatia.” “Simpatia? What’s simpatia?” I asked. She told me it’s a type of prayer to be healed of something, or for a miracle of some sort. Then you have to do something for it to come true. For example, she told me that to cure asthma, one has to eat a certain type of bug for so many days and then they are cured. Then she started telling me more about how many Catholics in Brasil will pray to a Saint, and she made emphasis on an urgent type of prayer where you bow down and beg, to receive an answer to that prayer. I asked her, “Even though the Saint has died, do you still believe that they hear you?” She paused and looked at me blankly like no one had ever asked her that, or she had never questioned it herself. Then she recuperated and went on to say, “Well, they're Saints. They answer prayers.” But I could tell that the question lingered in her mind.
Then when I got home, I looked up on the internet about Simpatia. It is very connected to Voodoo, spiritism and Catholicism. The type of Catholicism that is practiced here is quite different that what I have come in contact with in the US. This type of thing is very strong here in Brasil and even comes into the churches.
When people get saved, especially if they get saved as an older adult, the influence of this sort of thing has generally been very strong in their life. Their new beliefs in Christ, if not firmly based, can be intermixed with their former beliefs. This leads to a weakened faith, or reveal that their faith in Christ never was genuine. We have seen it over and over. People come to Christ in hopes of Him being another one of the Saints that they pray to in order to get something. Kind of like a good luck charm.
I am praying for more opportunities with her. Her name is Beta if you think of praying for her.

Count Down

2010-04-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

In what seems like eternity on one hand, and on the otherh hand is coming much too quickly, is our departure date. We have been able so far to keep our focus on ministries that are going on here, but I have this desire every once in a while to get everything packed up and ready to go. Mostly because it's like we've been living out of suitcases for the past 4 months. Well, we have. :o) The weather is turning a bit cooler and we only had put in our closet a selection of clothes for summer. Now we're getting into the bags under our bed to pull out clothes for cooler weather. I looked last night for my long flannel comfy pj pants. Could not find them anywhere! I have almost figured out that I put them in storage. I don't know what I could have been thinking! Except that it was really really hot when we were packing and then beyond that, I don't remember what I was thinking because it is all such a blur. Sigh--kind of a bummer. I'm still hoping they show up somewhere in some other bag....but I doubt it.
Conversation with our friends and with family usually turns to our departure and year in the states. I have tried to avoid talking about it up to this point with friends at church cuz I know we'll cry. I'll save it for right before we leave....if I can.
You could pray for us as the closer our date to leave approaches, the more tension we feel in trying to remember everything, preparing our kids, preparing ourselves, finishing ministries, and thinking through trying to figure out things that we've never had to deal with before.

HUGE PRAISE

2010-04-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

The other day Kacey and Sandreia came over to try and figure out some stuff as it relates to her visa. We were in the process of looking through some stuff when Steve just happened to be checking the status of our visas when he noticed that something on the website we have to go to changed. I went over when he mentioned it and looked---our visas had been approved. Oh my word it was amazing. There was celebration going on. What was also amazing is that Kacey, because they came over to deal with visa stuff for Sandreia, had brought all of their documents--his and hers. And because he's included in our family's visa, we needed the passport and protocol that he had with him. So early the next day, we went down to the Federal Police and after literally the entire day, we got our permanent visas stamped into our passports. We got there at 9:00 and were one of the last ones to leave at about 5:45. We had left for a lunch break, but came back. It was worth it though.

Now we are still helping Kacey and Sandreia with her visa. The process is actually going smoothly, but finding out information is not the easiest. Also, she has to have a medical exam by a physician that is contracted with the American Embassy here in Brasil. The only thing, there isn't one in our state and so they have to travel by bus up to Curitiba which is a 12 hour bus ride. But all in all, it's going well and we are amazed at how quickly it's moving. We are praying for approval on their interview date of May 24th. If approved, they plan to leave Brasil on June 29th and arrive in Portland on June 30th.

Next Month

2010-04-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, today we can say--Next month we're headed back to the states. Granted, it's still almost 2 months away, but still, it's next month. Weird. It comes with mixed feelings, but more of those feelings are excited ones than before. It's hard to explain, it would seem that the emotions would just be of excitement, but there's roots that have started to grow in these last 4 years. Shallow as they may be, they still require a little tugging to pull up and that is a bit of a painful process.

We've started our last season of Upward for this term of ours, we've a couple who is helping us in the youth group and will do a really good job when we leave, we're working on a new presentation to show to churches, Steve has arranged a full calendar in the fall with visiting churches, we've mostly packed for leaving because of the move that we did in January and we are finishing up school for the kids. Now the goodbyes have started.

We got together last night with Sandréias parents. We don't know if we'll visit with them again before we leave, so it was a good-bye for us. It's so reminiscent of almost 4 years ago when we were doing this same thing in order to come to Brasil.

Sometimes I look at my life and am amazed. I'm not a person who likes to move, who likes change, who likes unknowns, and I don't like, what I consider, scary things. But our life in the last several years, including even before we came to Brasil has been full of those things. God chooses to use those things that I don't like and work with them to help me grow as a person. I want to be a person who serves Him well, who honors Him. But there needs to be less of me and more of Him in my life.

I think of this special weekend--Easter. The kids and I just finished a 3 week study in school on the events in Jesus' life before and after Easter. It made me more and more amazed at Him and His power. He is AWESOME!!

Feeling Torn

2010-03-28T14:34:00.001-07:00

Sometimes things come up in ministry which collide with my role as mom. Last night was one of those times. Our family arrived at the church and went into the gym at the same time there were youth arriving. There were kids playing around, shooting hoops, kicking soccer balls like usual. We greeted the kids, chatted about the week and spent a little time before beginning our group for the week. All was normal. We got done with our game in the gym and went into the room we do our lesson, but after we ended the lesson, I noticed Kobe sitting in a doorway. I passed him and asked him to help me get the snack ready to serve then I went into the kitchen. He didn't come. I thought he might not have heard me, but soon after one of our other kids ran to me and told me that Kobe was throwing up and Steve went over to check on him and see what was going on. I was concerned, but knew that Steve was with him, so I finished what I was doing. Kobe went to lay down and we finished our group. I figured he had the stomach flu and that we needed to get home to get him comfortable so was eager to finish up group. I had an unsettled feeling in me because I knew there were still a few things to do to finish up before we could go.

As I was waiting for Steve to get back from dropping off some of the kids, I was able to go and talk to Kobe. What I found out was a little disturbing. I found out that he didn't have the stomach flu, but that while we were in the gym before group started, he had been hit hard on the top of the head by a basketball when someone missed a shot. He played for just a little bit longer, but had begun to feel dizzy and tired. He went into the garage at the church, laid down and went to sleep. This was all during the time we were playing our game. He slept until the end of our lesson, when he showed up in the room with a terrible headache and nausea.

As the story began to unfold, I realized I hadn't seen him around or playing the game with us which he usually does. It bugged me that I didn't notice and that something terrible could have happened. For me it is a reminder that I need to be a mom and a missionary at the same time. I can't assume the kids are just fine while we're leading youth group. It's easy to get so used to them playing around us, or knowing where they are, that we just assume all is well. I thank the Lord for His hand of protection and for a reminder that I need to multi-task on youth group nights.

Upward

2010-03-20T05:44:00.000-07:00

This week we started a new season of Upward--our 4th. We did one season August-Oct 2008, then in 2009 we did two seasons. Now we'll do another with the hopes that someone from the church or our teammates that will return from furlough in June will be able to do another season in August again. We try to do more than one season because we feel it's important to give the kids something to do. If you have no money, there really is not a lot to do.

God brought us through a really difficult time recently where we had no money, our van broke down, there was no money for a bus, not even money to buy more food. The thoughts of doing something for relaxation, family date, or anything of that manner outside of the walls of our house was unthinkable. Now translate that to a lot of the kids we work with. They are in that situation all the time. They turn to selling drugs, drugs for fun, stealing, stealing for fun. That is what is done where they live for something fun to do. Many of them don't have the benefit we do, that we had a big house and yard and that we all get along together, so spending family time at home wasn't a drain.
So we are trying to offer some healthy alternatives and help develop in them a sense of need for Jesus Christ as their Savior. From Upward we have gained several kids who are now regularly attending our youth group. A few more that signed up last week said that they want to come to youth group. This is sweet news to our ears!!
Pray with us for youth group tonight! We might just have a really big group that is full of energy, even more than last week.

Group Tonight

2010-03-13T16:42:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had a great group of kids. There were 15 and one that you have prayed for, Bruno, came. It's been a while since he's participated with us, but Collin is pretty consistent to call him and invite him over. So he knows that we care about him. Life for him is super difficult and the pull of the world is strong. He came tonight and fit right back in like he hadn't been gone. It was neat. Then we had a few others that came tonight that hadn't been in a while. We thanks the Lord for this opportunity to put into their lives.

Another couple came tonight also, Fabio and Lisi. They are the couple that will be taking over when we leave on furlough. They observed and started getting to know some of the kids. They know several of them, but there are a few that only come to group and have not started coming to service on Sunday yet. The kids had high energy tonight and were a bit harder to control. Not so much behavior-wise, but with how much they wanted to talk and visit even into the lesson time. I think they got a realistic view of how group is sometimes. Eventually they will start helping with different aspects of the group and begin to lead one part or another. I know that we don't have a worship time right now and I think the kids miss it. Fabio plays guitar, so maybe we'll ask him if he might not mind bringing it along to play for us to sing a few songs.
Thanks for praying for us.

Marcos and Cristian

2010-03-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

Since Marcos came up to us and asked us about Baptism, Cristian has also decided he'd like to know more about it also, so we started a Bible study with them on the subject. We met with them on Sunday and started through a book that will take us about 2 months to complete. Then it looks like the baptism will happen the beginning of May before we leave. I think that will be a really awesome way to end our first term!!

2010-02-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

Shots

2010-02-26T03:28:00.000-08:00

Two nights ago I woke up suddenly because of hearing gun shots. I instinctively looked over towards the window and in doing so, saw Steve's head was also popped up off his pillow. He turned to look at me and we knew it was NOT fireworks. Fireworks here are very similar to gunshots. We have wondered if we would be able to tell the difference. That night, there was NO mistaking the difference--it was gun shots and several of them. We listened and could tell it was a shoot out and that more than one gun was involved. The shooting stopped and then we heard police sirens. It was fairly disturbing and we had a hard time getting back to sleep. I wanted to get up and look out our front window, but didn't because of fear.
Then yesterday morning when I got out of bed, I checked the local news on the internet. It said that 4 young people had made fake license plates and put them on a stolen car. The police spotted it and tried to pull them over but a chase began. They had been on the freeway, but got off at the exit to take to go to our house. Then the shoot out began. It ended with three of the 4 robbers getting killed, one officer injured and the 4th suspect fleeing. We live on a hill now and all of this happened down the hill from us. It sounded like it could have been on our street because of how the sound traveled. It's weird to think that we heard three people loose their lives. It's sad that they made the choices they did to get them to the point of where their lives ended.

We work with a lot of youth. They live with this all around them. It's a normal part of life. There are few of them that haven't seen someone dead from a gunshot, had someone they know get killed, or knew someone that killed someone else. Where we've lived, we've been somewhat protected from violence on a regular basis, although the threat, compared to living in the US is much higher. Two weeks ago one of Collin's friends had played soccer with some kids in the field in front of his house and later that evening one of the kids he had been playing with was shot and killed. From what we heard, it was all over a baseball cap.

What we are hoping to do is make a difference in their lives. That difference in the hope they can have in Jesus Christ. They have a choice not to go down the path that those youth whose lives we heard end. But sometimes, they live like they have no other choice.

Marcos

2010-02-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

I had asked for prayer for Marcos, one of our junior highers and the question of his salvation. He's been coming to youth group for a few months now and is a really sweet kid. He also comes to church with one of our other junior highers, Cristian. Tonight he came up to me and asked me how he could be baptized. It was so awesome! I love an open door like that. Steve and I pulled him aside and explained the plan of salvation to him and asked him if he had already made that decision. He assured us that he had already a few months ago. So then we went on to explain what baptism means. We walked him over to our Pastor, Pierre, and then agreed that we would do a baptism class with him. We're pumped. Even though he accepted Christ a few months ago, we we're as excited as if it had just happened since we didn't know about it.

Oh Yah!

2010-02-21T05:35:00.000-08:00

In my last post I was talking about the freedom we have to trust in Christ and watch Him work. Well, He's definitely been at work.
Just for a little bit of history, we had been advised by our colleagues to try to find missionary housing during our furlough. Some missionaries salaries are adjusted (lowered) when going back to the states, (ours will be one of those--it's a long story to try to explain) but the costs are great as it relates to all of necessary travel as well as costs for storing our belongings in Brasil during furlough. We began to consider that as an option, but decided that Salem is where we wanted to go back to since our home church is in Salem. The only thing is then, we knew we would face the challenge of trying to find a house that was low priced but met our family's needs. Not only that, then there's the equally great task of furnishing it on a seriously low budget, all the while again, trying to meet our family's needs.
In September, a friend of ours contacted us and said that there was a house two doors down from her that had been empty for a while and she wanted to know if we wanted her to check into it for us. We said we wanted her to, especially being that it was well located in Salem. She was able to talk to someone about us and our need for a house coming up in October. Since then she hadn't heard anything and it looked like the house was being prepared to sell. We, in the mean time, began putting out other feelers, but still eager to hear more info about this house. We heard about three different houses and each of them were too much for us in addition to being too small, or too far away. We were trying not to be picky, but we knew we needed to wait. We hadn't heard anything definitive about the first house.
Well--our friend got a call saying that the house would be rented instead of sold. She was able to go inside the house, look around and talk to the man who is in charge of it. They talked about our needs, and it looks like we'll get to rent the house for a price that is within our reach. But another totally cool thing is that there is some furniture in it already. The place needs some work from what we hear, but we know and can see the hand of the Lord at work and we are watching and enjoying seeing Him provide for us. Thank you all so much for praying for us.

Anticipating Watching

2010-02-19T05:05:00.000-08:00

We have a Mark Lowry DVD where he talks about a tornado he was in while he lived on a house boat. He says that after it was all said and done he was talking to some neighbors and told them that if he'd known that he was going to live through it, he would have enjoyed it more.

That is a great outlook for me to take. I know during the transition into furlough which has already started that God will provide for all of our needs. The "tornado" in our case would be all of the unknowns, and the fact that they will be known in God's timing is something that we have the freedom to enjoy because we know that we will live through them and that God has it all under control.

So I am trying to be consistent in this freedom to trust God in His timing and provision for us. In the end, I will enjoy this time much more than if I am stressing about it. Ancitipation is building as I watching God work.

Opportunities for Growth

2010-02-17T10:54:00.000-08:00

Our Pastor recently gave a meaningful sermon on difficulites in our lives. Here's a good example, being a homeschool mom, of how I would recapitulate the message. Let's say that you were sitting in a classroom and the teacher was teaching all about slopes and intersects, coefficients and graphing lines, but when you left the classroom she gave you no homework to reinforce what she had just tried to teach you. Then, after one week, she gave you a test and expected you to pass the test. How do you think you would do?

It's the same way in our Christian life. God is trying to teach us lessons, but in this case, He gives us homework and tests....in the form of difficulites. These difficulties are opportunites to put into practice the things that we have learned.

I feel like I was in school this past weekend at our youth retreat during the Carnaval season. Let's just say there were many opportunities to put into practice the things that God has taught me, or has been trying to teach me. I can honestly say that I didn't do good on the
homework, or pass all of the tests. I really struggled with a bad attitude towards a few situations as well as a few people and was ready to come back home when we still had two full days to go. It was a difficult time for me.

I haven't completely gotten over this time and could use some extra prayer. Discouragement has been a companion today, but I'm trying to shake this invador and see Jesus right next to me.
Steve has been an encouragement and I thank the Lord for him.

Sometimes life is just like this. We have ups and downs. Usually I don't think I write so much about the downs, but this one is worth posting and helps me to process what God is trying to teach me. I thank the Lord for His goodness in my life, for his mercy and forgiveness for when we fail, and for new opportunities for growth in my relationship with Him.

Furlough Thoughts

2010-02-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

Well, even though we are still very involved in ministry here, we are finding our minds drifting to thinking about furlough and how it will be. There are still so many unknowns. We are pretty sure our arrival date is May 29th, but we haven't purchased tickets yet to confirm that. I think we're going to try to do that the end of this week, or next week. The unknowns are what house we'll live in, a vehicle, how we will furnish the house with appliances, beds, dishes, .... But again, we still have to remember that these things will be revealed in His perfect timing. It'll be interesting to see how it all comes together. I thank the Lord for His care. I know that I can expect Him to wow us with the way He cares for us.

Ladies Retreat

2010-02-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

The ABWE missionary ladies have a retreat every year. This was my fourth one and each has been different because of the different mix of ladies on the field at the time of the retreat. I've always been the new one, but this year there were two other ladies who have come in the last few months, and a nanny for one of them. It was weird not being the newbie, but I liked it.

It was a nice time of fellowship and relaxation, laughs, prayer, games and of course--food. We shared prayer requests that we have for the year, and I would like to share one of mine for this coming year.

Furlough is coming up and there is a bit of fear as it relates to going back. Two years ago, our field council was hit pretty hard with the resignation of one of our team's first term missionary families. Shortly before they left for their first furlough, they had told everyone what their plans were going to be when they came back from furlough, but shortly after they left, they emailed and told us of their plans to plant a church in the states. I know that God works in all ways, so it's not for me to say one way or another whether it was God's will for them, but the fact that there was a mess left by their leaving the way they did caused great sadness and confusion for many people. Why I mention this is that even though Steve and I have talked several times about our upcoming furlough and our firm conviction that this is where God wants us, there is a part of me that is scared that something out of our control will happen to prevent us from coming back or that after we get back to the states one of us won't feel the same as we did before we left. This fear needs to be submitted to the Lord. I know that in my head and I am working on letting the Lord convince my heart also. I really do love it here. The part of being away from family and friends from the states is not my favorite part. I have to admit that. But serving the Lord here, doing what He is asking of us here....I am content. It's not without it's downfalls, struggles, heartaches etc...but that is all part of life no matter where you call home.
Thanks for praying for us. You're important to us.

Camp

2010-01-28T03:34:00.000-08:00

Collin went to camp last week. He was a little nervous since it was his first year at Teens camp. He could have gone last year, but didn't feel ready. So he went and had a really good time. We took Kobe to camp yesterday and one of the Word Of Life Missionaries said she had watched Collin last week. He arrived at camp and started "conquering people." In English it means that he was winning them over to him. He went around and introduced himself to people, was charming, funny and they liked him. On Saturday night was a talent show and he and a friend had already planned a hip-hop type dance routine to one of Carmen's songs. The missionary said that as soon as Collin got on stage, because he had already won everyone over, they immediately raised their hands and started cheering. Collin and his friend were second to go in the talent show out of several people. During the other talents being shown, the director came up to Collin and asked in a whisper if he'd like to do his again. Collin said that he wanted everyone to decide if they wanted him to. So after everyone had done their routine, the director asked if they'd like to see Collin's dance again and the crowd went wild. So he and his friend did and encore and shook the house. Needless to say--he had a great time at camp.

This week then, Kobe is at camp without Collin for the first time. I am praying for him. Praying that he makes wise choices and that there's not a big shadow over him of expectation to be like Collin. They have such different personalities one from the other, each of them very sweet. Kobe is more on the quiet shy side, although he comes out of his shell. He likes his alone time and gets nervous about things sometimes. He's sweet and caring, thoughtful and loyal. But he doesn't thrive on the party, nor even on relationships. So we'll see if he gets enough alone time, or if being around kids 24/7 drives him crazy. :o)

Settled In

2010-01-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a couple of weeks and we are feeling more and more settled in. We've definitely had our share of struggles; floods, electrical issues, leaky roof, dog issues, etc. But for the most part we are feeling more and more comfortable and can find things.
A blessing that we had was that my mom was able to come and stay for two weeks. She left on Sunday already, but we had a really nice visit and she helped with some great ideas on getting organized.
On another note, youth group on Saturday was really great. There were a few kids at camp, but we still had 13. There were first time visitors and the gospel was shared. We thank the Lord for opportunities to teach the kids and witness to them.
We have 6 kids going to camp tomorrow. Two of them are going for the first time. We are fairly sure that one of them is not saved. Please pray for Marcos this week as he hears the gospel.
On even another note, we have set our date for return to the states. We will arrive in Portland Oregon on May 29th. We haven't purchased tickets yet, but we have looked at prices and are waiting just a little bit before we buy them. It's a bit of a scary feeling. We don't have a place to live yet, but are pretty sure we'll settle in Salem. The thing is, we have no furniture, not blankets, no sheets, no plates, cups.....nothing but our clothes. This is a big prayer request. I thank the Lord in advance that He knows these things and is going to take care of us.

Fight With a Cockroach

2010-01-10T03:47:00.000-08:00

Last night when we dropped off our co-missionary's daughter at her house after youth group, we saw some cockroaches (usually 2-3 inches in length) hop up onto the curb and run towards her house on the sidewalk. Ooohhh gross! Our co-missionary, Sarah, whipped off her flip flop and started hammering them without missing a beat. We then drove to our new house and saw practically the same thing. We decided to ignore them and head into the house. The only thing is, I think the cockroaches thought we invited them in. About the time I was headed to bed, Kobe told me, "Um mom, I saw a cockroach go into your room." Hmm, ok, what to do. thinking thinking....remember--all of our stuff is currently in boxes and I can't seem to find anything. Where do I look for RAID? Then I remembered a bag of cleaning products sitting outside of the kitchen. I went there, ripped open the bag and there was my RAID!! Yay. I marched back into the room and found the intruder. It was BIG, pretty quick and kept darting back and forth behind the dresser, then the closet. I waited.........He came out again and I shot him, but he ran right towards me. I couldn't help but give a little scream. It's not every day you have a hunkin' cockraoch running towards you. I doused him again, he ran towards the bathroom and the whole way I kept the stream open. He ended up on his back with white foam all over him, but he wasn't going anywhere else! I won the fight. Just hope I don't have to do that too often.

A little bit of a rough start

2010-01-07T13:40:00.001-08:00

Well, our first night went.....ok. We were woken up by our car alarm at 8:00 am. For some of you who know me, this is too early! We looked over the balcony to find that our van had slid back on the inclined driveway and was being kept from going across the street into our neighbors fence by a partly opened gate. Our emergency break needs some adjusting, but we don't know why the van rolled back, because it was in gear. Hmmm.... we might need to take it back to the mechanic. Until then, parking our car on this hill we live on might be a challenge.
This woke some of our kids up too and they promptly started asking where things were, "Mom, where's my underwear.....mom, where's the cereal....." Standard answer at this point is "Um...I don't really know."
There are some nuances of this house that we have to get used to. First--don't use the showers at the same time, it overloads the circuits. Last night the kids took showers and some of the appliances, lights and air conditioners around the house stopped working. We found this out this morning after trying to figure out why the fridge, microwave and a few other things weren't working.
Organization of the house to fit me is going to take some work. For example: Cindy, my friend and teammate who along with her husband own the house, is about 5'8". I am quite a bit shorter--barely 5'1". Her kitchen is really high. I can hardly reach the first shelf of dishes and then there's three more shelves above that. Nope, not gunna work. Not unless I can have someone build a ramp all around the kitchen. So, when my mom comes, we are going to put the things up high that we won't use, and are going to put underneath, all the things that I will use.
Then there's the dogs. They have two dogs. One is a german shepard about 10 years old and one is a mutt that is about 1 year old. They both....well let's just say they need to be educated as to what is polite and what is NOT polite. Then there's our dog who likes to escape the moment a door is open. Today a door was open. We'll have to do a little training with him too.
I'll close for now, we decided to be spontaneous and go to the 10:00 pm viewing of Avatar 3-D. It's time for a break!!

Moved

2010-01-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't think my fingers are sore, but every other part of me is! Today was a really challenging day. Not with conflict, but with just making sure things that were sorted into their appropriate piles in the last two weeks actually got to where they were intended. I can't believe how much we ended up taking to the house we are now living in. We're going to have to do some more serious weeding before we go back to the states. We actually knew that would happen, just didn't realize the amount it would be.
The movers were done by 2:00 in the afternoon, largely in part because we had already boxed most things up. We closed up the house at about 7:00 pm. There's a few things yet that we need to get and do, but it'll be minimal. That is until the realitor comes and looks through. They might have a few things that they want us to do.
We appreciate your prayers. It'll be a little bit until we feel settled here.

More moving

2010-01-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

Wow, today has been exhausting, but a good kind. We have gotten a lot accomplished. Three trips have been made up to our new house. I say "up" because it's up a big hill not far from here, less than 2 km. Tomorrow the movers will come and take our furniture to storage. It'll be good and we can get settled in for the next few months until we leave for furlough in May.
My mom is coming next Monday and it'll be good to have her here to help me organize. It's not at all my strength!
Kacey, Sandreia and her friend, Melissa, have been here helping us clean and carry. It's been a huge help. We are hoping it'll be a bit easier to "close" this house than the one in Porto Alegre.
The other kids have been a huge help too. They have been going with the flow really well and that is always a bonus!
Thanks for praying!

Moving

2010-01-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

We've been crazy busy packing the past two weeks. We've been sorting things into 4 piles--throw away, store, donate or take with us. There's even subpiles within those piles. :o) In between packing, we've been able to cool off in the pool, host a missionary Christmas gathering and take a break altogether and visit with Kacey and Sandreia at their place.
Now we're down to the wire. We have today to finish up most of the packing, tomorrow we begin to move things up to the house we will move into, and on Wednesday the mover comes to take the majority of our stuff to storage.
I was hanging clothes on the line yesterday and began to feel sad. A thought went through my mind, "Missionaries have planned sadness in their lives." Now, let me explain before someone thinks I am saying our life is sad. Our life is not sad, but there are parts that are and it's usually known in advance. We certainly have our times of unplanned sadness, like the death of Steve's dad 18 months ago, but I am talking about something that is unique to a missionary's life. (and maybe those in the military) We plan to leave the states, our life as we knew it, and our friends and family. There's a sadness in that, as well as many other emotions. But since it was sadness I was feeling yesterday, that emotion was the one I was thinking about. Then, there's the end of the term, like now, when we are thinking and planning for going back to the states. Our life here has become somewhat stable and roots are beginning. But we will pull them up and go back to the states for one year. In that, we are now leaving the life we have known for 4 years, the friends we have made, our church, ministries, our son and his wife, and even our dog. But also on the other end --we will see the family, friends, church and the culture that we once knew. Those things are not sad, but what has to take place to get to that point has an element of sadness in it. After one year in the states, we'll leave again and return to Brasil. Since we will be here in Brasil for more time than in the states, it doesn't work to live here, in Brasil, and still try to be part of the American culture. We have to blend into the Brazilian culture or we might as well stay in the states. To leave it after 4 years is difficult. It's like packing up your whole house and going on a trip for a year. Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to it, but it's not without it difficulties and the need to face what is going on inside of us as we go along.
Thanks for listening to my ramblings. We are looking forward to seeing you all, I hope that this doesn't convey something different.

Long Time

2009-11-27T04:14:00.001-08:00

Wow it's been a long time since we've written on our blog. There is so much that has happened, it's hard to know where to start. Let's just say, we're in a place in our ministry where we are finally past a lot of the language barriers and are moving forward, able to make sense to others and they make sense to us. It's not perfect, but it works. We have contacts and are building relationships and influence for Christ. This is a good place to be in ministry.
On the flip side, we have had quite a bit of opposition from our enemy lately. We have had some of the worst times financially in our married lives and it's been a bit rough. Our van continues to break down and we only have about 5 or so months until we leave for furlough. As I write this, it's in the shop and we will end up with a $350 bill. Funny thing is that the transmission work is guarenteed for 3 months, and the new clutch for 6, but the part that is between the two went out. We have taken the opportunity to get to know our mechanic and witness to him.
The Lord has provided during this rough financial time in special ways. One way that He has provided is bittersweet. Sweet in the fact that we will be moving into another house that has adequate space for our family and for setting up school, but a bit sad in that we love this house and all of the space it has to host events. But we would be leaving the house sooner or later anyway, so 5 months early is not really any sadder than leaving it when we go on furlough.
The house belongs to our furloughing teammates who will return in May, which is when we planned to leave. It will work out good that way. Being that it is fully furnished, the next few weeks we have to go through all of our belongings as if we were leaving on furlough already. A mover will come and get everything but the few things we take to Richner's house and store it in Porto Alegre for a year and a half. This is proving to be a little more difficult than I imagined, but I'm sure it will all work out. It's hard to think about being without our normal "stuff" for a year and a half. But to be able to stay in Brasil until the end of our term, and not have to leave early is worth it.
Well, I'll try to be a little more regular about updates.

Grupo TM

2009-08-01T17:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight we started back up after a two week break. There weren't very many that came, but we still had a really good group. There were 8 present and at least two are not saved. They come pretty regularly. One has come for a year now, but is not at the point of making a decision. I (Mendi) am doing an evangelistic bible study with her and she is really open. There is something that is holding her back so I would ask that you pray for Amanda.
Another youth is Luan (Loo-UH). He has been coming pretty regularly and his older sister has been coming for quite a while. She has received Christ and is active in our church. He hadn't had much interest in coming, but decided to come and has liked it. He's a witty, funny kid and we are praying that he will come to understand the awesome sacrifice on his behalf that was made.

Missions trip Part 2

2009-07-21T05:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday started out with registration, in which we ended up having about 80. The kids participated in different events like, indoor soccer, basketball shooting contests, 4 square, soccer shooting contest, chess, blockus, checkers, and a few other games. The kids earned individual points and were invited to an awards night later that night. The prizes were an mp5, two mp3 some t-shirts, balls, and water bottles. The kids really enjoyed their time and our team made great efforts to build relationships with them. During a break right before lunch, the drama team performed a mime that you can watch on Steve's facebook. There were cheers aftewords and it was obvious the kids really liked it. Pastor Marcio gave a message after the mime and again the kids were attentive. We fed the kids hot dogs and then finished the rest of the events for the day.Later Saturday night we had a youth event/awards night. Probably about 40 of the kids from early that day came. Steve had planned a few games and a skit, and Pierre had a few funny things he did too. The kids laughed a lot. We sang a few worship songs, Pierre gave an evangelistic message and then the awards were given. I was impressed how the kids listened and were attentive to the message. I know that the seeds were planted. There were teachers there too who came to the front afterwords and thanked us from the bottom of their hearts for the work that we did that day. They said it was probably the highlight of the kids' week.
Sunday we were able to relieve Pastor Márcio from preaching for one week and to be ministered to, as well as Cátia, who usually doing a children's church time. Our team took care of both areas and the worship time too. It was a great success for which we are thankful to the Lord.
The city we went to, Santana do Livramento, boarders Uruguay. You cross the street and end up in another country. The economy has slowly declined in the past 10 years and people are moving out of the city, factories are shutting down and in general, it is a very depressed city. It's the only place in Brasil where a McDonalds went out of business. There is not much option for recreation and fun for the kids. The city also seems like it is in the middle of nowhere. The nearest cities are an hour or more away, but there are many people there who need to hear of the Lord.
The church that we went to help and encourage was started by ABWE missionaries 2 1/2 years ago. They were there for a year, but some preexisting problems made it necessary for the family to return to the US. So a Brasilian couple who had recently finished seminary and an internship agreed to go down and continue the work. It has been a difficult task for them. Many times our field council has discussed whether we should discontinue this work since what is needed for Marcio and Cátia is partners. But it seems like everytime an evaluating visit is done by a member of our field council to Santana do Livramento, with the idea that the work will not continue--that member comes back encouraged that the work should continue.
Please pray for this couple there, Márcio and Cátia, and for partners for them.

Missions Trip Part 1

2009-07-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

Our missions trip was a great success, but it was not without it's problems before and even during. One week before we left, Pierre's mom, Cleci, was getting worse and worse with her terminal cancer. The doctor put her in the hospital and said that he didn't believe she would be getting out. Pierre was the one who would perform the funeral for his mom and for him to be 7-8 hours away was going to make it difficult. We decided that if she didn't pass away either Sunday or Monday that we would postpone the trip. Another factor was our van. Our transmission went out and it was going to need to be fixed. We were set to pull a trailer for hauling all of our bags etc... The estimate on our van was R$5-7,000 for a new transmission, or R$1300-1800 for the part to be replaced. We opted for the quicker fix since it could be ready by Wednesday and we were leaving on Thursday. Either cost was out of our reach, but we got a little help and had to put the rest on a credit card.
The Lord, in response to prayers that He bring Cleci home, called Pierre's mom to glory and she passed away on Sunday. The memorial was on Monday in which Pierre performed. It was his first ever funeral, and his mom's at that. But he did a very good job. The Lord's response to our request was one thing that was confirming to us to continue on with the trip.
We had few problems on the trip with vehicles and are thanking the Lord for that. As we were nearing the city, we stopped at a gas station and found out they didn't have any gas. So, one of the cars was not in such good shape. He made it until 7 kilometers before our destination and ran out of gas. We went ahead and someone got gas for him and soon remedied the situation.
So---after much planning and preparing, we were set to start ministering on Friday. That morning our team split up and went to 2 different schools to play team building games. The kids were ages 13-16 and enjoyed the time. The teachers were also impressed. Erin, our co-worker, freely shared from the Bible how a relationship with Jesus could change their lives. While I was there, the kids really enjoyed the games, were attentive and laughed a lot. But I ended up leaving a little before it was done since Kenzi was sick. I ended up taking her to the doctor and found out she had bronchitis. She took medicine and felt better by Saturday afternoon, but others in our group got the same thing, including me.
Friday afternoon a part of the team went back to another school and held an activity and craft time for younger kids. One of the youth on the team shared the meanings of the wordless book to the kids. It was another time of seed planting and experience in ministering for our team.
Another thing that was done on Friday was visitation. The church there has few adults, but has 30 kids in the AWANA program that they started last year. It is only the Pastor and his wife that are running this program with a few teenagers. It has been a tremendous challenge for them. So we went to the houses of a few that participate in AWANA. We were able to meet with a few of the mom's and even one that the Pastor and his wife had never been able to meet with yet. Two of our ladies gave their testimonies to a lady during this visitation. It was really neat to see them ministering and sharing about their faith.
All in all, friday was a very fruitful day. Kids had been invited to participate in a sporting/activity day at a school that opened it's doors on Saturday for us. We were anticipating Saturday, which was to be our most concentrated day of activities and sharing.

Struggles

2009-07-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

We've had some trying times the past month. There is such a tough situation at church right now involving 4 kids ages 6 and under. The mom has almost literally abandoned them with their grandma, but the problem is, the grandma does not have enough income to survive from month to month with the 4 kids she still is raising. This grandmom is in a really tough situation. She doesn't want her grandkids to be hungry, without proper care, with out clean clothes--yet she has her own kids who are needing her and the resources that she is barely able to get every month.
We have tried to help this mom, but she is making it very difficult to help her. She is seeking her happiness, seeking her right to love and is disregarding Biblical principles that she grew up believing.
The Bible does not say, "Seek Happiness, " the Bible says, "Seek HIM." Truthfully, that doesn't always mean happiness, but it always results in peace and contentment, knowing that the right choice has been made and that God has been pleased, that there are no doubts at all about the actions we are taking or choices that we are making. We are to deny ourselves and carry our cross. These are not easy things to do, but the things that are most worth doing are the most worth sacrificing for. There is peace and joy in these things; the things of God.
If I thought I deserved "happiness, " truthfully I don't think I would have followed God's leading here. It did not make me happy to sell our house, leave our family and friends and the life I had ever known. It did not make me "happy" to come here to Brasil, a land where there is a lot of crime and danger---no, I think SCARED would describe the emotion I was feeling at the time.
BUT---it has been sooooooo worth it. It's joy to know that God is using me, knowing that I am serving the Lord and following His leading in my life. There is a lot of happiness, but it is not the motivating factor of following the Lord in my life.
Pray for this mom. She alone has to make the choice to see that God is everything and happiness is very conditional.

Group Tonight

2009-06-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

We had one new youth come tonight and the rest of the 16 have been at least once. We studied the fall of Lucifer. These lessons are going super slow, mainly because we don't have a ton of time with them, but we are establishing with them a firm base and when we finally arrive to talk about Christ and His life, the kids will have a a firm and full background and can have the information they need to make a decision for Christ. We know that God chooses, but we also know that there is a divine-human cooperation in the whole matter of salvation. We are praying for these kids and you can too. It's hard to be patient because I want all of them to know Jesus personally, and now!
The kids that we know are saved are: Tainá, Collin, Ingrid,Conrado, Bruno, Samanta
The kids that we believe are not saved are: Filipe, Tatianne, Amanda, Maicon, Luan, Émerson, Lucas, Raphael (new tonight), Igor, Christian, Vinicious.

These kids are sweet. They are between the ages of 12-14. When we get to church, a lot of them are there already. We greet each one of them, and I can tell that they like that we make our way through all of them with eye contact and a touch.

Evaluation

2009-06-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

We are often needing to evaluate our ministry and how we are functioning as a team. Recently, I have had to evaluate the ministries that I am involved in outside of the house. I was doing discipleship with 2 ladies and 3 of the girls in our youth group, helping Steve run youth group, helping in Upward, was involved in ladies ministries and then things that come up that are events and not regular weekly things. (like a missions trip we are planning to Uruguay next month) I got to feeling that I was gone a lot and that too many of my ministries outside of the home were not as a team with Steve. We went out, reevaluated and decided to make adjustments. I passed 1 of the ladies I was discipling to our Pastor's wife and finished with another, kept the 3 youth girls and added one more, and am not as involved in ladies ministries as I was before. This is good because now with so many more youth coming, there is a need for Steve and I together to be involved in their lives. This is what we want to do--be a team and minister together. But one thing that happens every once in a while is that some one asks if I can do discipleship with them. Tonight that happened. Steve and I went to a BBQ at Edson and Alexandra's house a while back. They had invited us, our missionary partners, Randy and Cindy, and had also invited friends from their apartments. The wife of their friend, Kelli, and I really connected and I enjoyed talking to her and laughing with her. A while later, her and her husband began to have some problems and Randy was asked to talk to them and councel them. Kelli began to come to church and ended up accepting Christ. The only thing is, she hasn't come to church since. Tonight Alexandra asked me if I could do a discipleship with her. (Our definition of a discipleship is to meet with someone, or a small group of people and teach them the basics of the Bible, how to do devotions and why, how to pray and why and how to live in a way that pleases God, and why.) I told Alexandra that I had really liked Kelli and that I would love to do a discipleship with her, but I just don't know if I have time. I told her I would talk to Steve about it and pray about it and let her know next week.
One of the things that Steve and I had talked about though when we went out and talked and reevaluted all that I was involved in, is the desire to get together with a couple and help them grow in the Lord. We had talked about trying to build a relationship with Kelli and her husband and now Alexandra has asked me to do a discipleship with Kelli. Hmmmm.......
It's hard to know what we should do and this week we could use prayer in making wise choices in ministry and family.

Upward, Youth Group and random thoughts

2009-06-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blog silence in the past few months. We're hoping to get up and running again with blogging and keeping you up to date on the ins and outs of our life and ministry. Some of our blog is personal, some of it ministry, but all of it is our life here in Brasil.
Instead of trying to catch you up of the happenings on our life and ministry that we didn't write in the past few months, we'll just start with what's current.

Upward is one of our most current events. We had a great season with many kids outside of our church being involved. We were able to create opportunities for them to hear the Word and many seeds were planted. Since there is not much to do, nor are there many activities outside of school available for the kids, we are going to do another Upward season starting in August and going until October. We will then wait until about March before we do another season. Then, as hard as it is to believe, we will be heading back to the states for furlough in a year from now.
Steve is also going to be forming a team of 14-16 year olds. We went to a gym in town and talked to a lady there. She said that the kids come and they practice basketball, but all to no end since there are no teams to play against. We were an encouragement to her and likewise. We will be trying to get some games going so the kids can have games. It will be one more thing that will help us be more involved in the community and reach others for Christ.

From Upward, we have seen a great increase in our Jr. High youth group. In the last month, we have gone from about 8 kids to 16. Last night we had 20 with 2 of our more regulars missing. These kids know nearly nothing about the Bible. We are starting from the very beginning an are teaching from Genesis. It's a great task, but the Lord has brought it into our lives and we accept it with thanksgiving. There is so much need and we are having to rely upon Him for the best ways to reach these kids for Him. It's a good place to be, but sometimes we wonder if we're the best people for the job.

Yesterday I (Mendi) was taking a load of the girls home after youth group. I have to enter a part of the city that is dangerous and many people are shot and killed there on a regular basis. Sometimes there are people just standing around in the street and I have to go real slow to wait for them to move, or I have to simply go around them. Last night as I was taking the girls home, I was approaching a group of teens and younger kids standing in the road. They just looked at me as I got closer, and I could tell that I was going to have to drive around them. I always try to avoid looking at them when I do. As I was driving past them, I heard on of the kids yell, "Ah, It's Mendi!!!" It surprised me, but it also made me smile. Steve and I are establishing our name in the community and that is leading to opportunitites to witness in order to establish HIS name.
Steve was next in taking the boys home to the same area.

Support concerns

2009-04-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

We checked on our support status today and saw that a few of our individual supporters haven't been able to give in the last few months. We have wondered how the situation with the economy would affect people. It is a concern to us, which I am sure it is to most. I know that we won't end up stuck here without support coming in and no way to return to the states, but we also know that to live here, we cannot go out and get a job to help make ends meet. Our visas as well as our mission do not permit it. On the other hand, we know that God is in complete control and is working in our lives and the lives of others. Sometimes we do worry though. Is it possible to still trust and yet worry? I don't think so, so we will choose trust.

Math

2009-04-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

I have been concerned for a few of the jr high girls and their schooling lately. It is not at all uncommon for kids to flunk grades here because of one subject. These three girls all have failed at least one grade, and one of the gals, two, because of Math. I decided to help them, so we met at the church yesterday to prepare for a test. I became even more concerned when I saw one of them counting on her fingers a problem in math super easy, and consulting a cheat sheet for her mulitplication. Wow-- I'm not sure where to start, but they need some help.

Teens

2009-03-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

Our visitors have gone back to the United States and Lord willing, will be able to share with our home church, in greater detail than they get from reading our newsletters, our ministry here in Brasil.
While they were here, they were able to see most of our ministries in action. One they didn't get to see, which is a big part of ministry, is Upward Basketball. We are about to start our second season. Upward evaluations start tomorrow, after that we put the teams together. We needs some prayer about coaches, training, and the details that go into putting a league together.
Another ministry they got to see was our ministry with jr. high age kids. The kids are really neat kids, but have great needs. One gal knows she hasn't made a decision for Christ, but isn't ready to because she doesn't think she understands enough. What she doesn't understand is how her dad gets drunk again and again, yet attends our church week after week. She doesn't understand why God allows that and if her dad's a Christian, why he would do it when it causes their family such pain. We are trying to work with her at looking to Jesus as her example to follow.
Another of our youth has recently accepted Christ. His mom is very against him coming to church, reading his Bible, or anything to do with this new life. He is a good boy and gets a lot of support from his extended and church family. We are planning to make a visit to his house to talk with his parents.
There's one gal that I have started an evangelistic Bible study with. She's been coming for a few months. She basically knows very little about the Bible but is willing to meet with me and learn. She's from a broken home. Pray for me as I try to bring her to a knowledge of who God is and how much He loves her.
Then there's some other kids who are from our church and who's parents are very young in the Lord. They are learning to follow Christ and struggle with their habits of the world. We are trying to help them along in teaching their kids what's right and truth according to the Bible, not according to culture.
There's a big job ahead of us, but with the Lord's help, we can do His will and follow His lead in ministering and helping these kids grow in their knowledge.

Arrival

2009-03-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to say that Pastor Steve, Jim and Shirlie arrived safe and sound in Brasil yesterday. It was great to see them here and we are really anticipating a great and full trip. Yesterday we came back to our house and were showered with gifts from our home church which was a fun thing. To have the three come from our home church was gift enough, but to have gifts was and added bonus. They came to youth group last night and got to meet our youth. They fit in great and our youth liked them.
Today we visited the church where Kacey and Sandreia help with worship on Sunday mornings. Then we came home, had a nice BBQ, rested then went to our church this evening. Followed by dinner at a restaurant. It was a fun full day.
I'll keep you updated as the week goes on.

Oprhanage

2009-03-12T04:31:00.000-07:00

Steve and I finally got into Casa Aberta, the orphanage/halfway house for kids that's near our church. We were given a tour and talked with one of the leaders of the house. Right now they have almost 50 kids, ages 1 month old up to 18. The place is in need of everything. Angela, the gal who met with us, told us that really, there isn't anything they don't need. It's a donation funded organization, but not affilianted with any religious organization. It is a project under a group called Partnership for Women's Equality. The idea at this orphanage is that the kids are encouraged to have some sort of faith, but any faith is welcome. This is good news and bad. We are welcome to come and run any sort of religious program, but so are mormons, jehovah's witnesses, muslims, spiritsts etc.....
They would love to have regular volunteerism from us to help them out with the kid's schooling, english classes, computer classes or something like that. They work to help the kids leaving at age 18 to have some sort of skill they can earn a living with.
Our idea is to have some sort of one time activity there every once in a while, especially with a group that comes from the states. This is what we'll work on when Pastor Steve comes.
The orphanage is in the process of building another bigger building that's in our neighborhood. (We live about 5-6 km from the church) That was news to us, we want to go explore that. They only build as they have materials to do so and money to pay the workers. Right now they are stopped due to lack of funds. They don't like to accept money, but they like for the donators to purchase the materials and donate them.
When we were taking the tour, we went into the area for little kids. There were a handful of 2-5 year old boys playing together, and when we passed by, we greeted them with a smile and hello. When we passed back by them, one of the little ones, probably 2-3 years old came right up to me and held up his hands for me to pick him up. I did of course, gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him. Angela told me right after that this little guy had just become available for adoption. The government does everything they can to find some relative that can care for the kids. When all resources have been exhausted, they put them up for adoption. Tugs at the heart. Our kids know nothing of this kind of life. They have a mom and dad that love them, hug them, care for them and give them an identity. This little boy belongs to no one. But he's ssssoooo not alone! I'm praying that a family comes along soon and sweeps his up.

Wow time flies

2009-03-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

Wow how time flies. It's almost middle of March now. Where did February go? Our youth retreat was good. Sometimes it felt long, not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it was the first time we had left our kids for this long since we've been to Brasil. In the end, they all did very well, and so did we. We had one youth, Jonathan, who accepted Christ. It was exciting. There was at least one other youth there too, Robson, who has not yet accepted Christ. Please pray for him.
We went on our vacation to beautiful Florianopolis. It was an active time with us visiting 10 of the northern beaches of the island, but it was relaxing also. We should have some pics somewhere--Facebook or something. I'll get some up here soon though but first I have an interesting story to tell.
One day while we were at the beach, Steve took the 4 younger kids to get situated on the beach while Kacey, Sandreia and I hunted for a place to change. We found some place nearby and I went in and changed. Afterwards, while I was waiting for them, I was admiring a baby in a stroller nearby. I could tell by the way he was trying to use his hands and very uncoordinated at it that he must have been just about 3 months old. As I was watching him, a lady that was seated nearby with 3 men said to me, "I'll sell him to you for a pack of cigarettes." I was shocked, but tried not to show it. I just responded offhandedly, "I'll take him." But I didn't look at her and tried to appear like I was joking back. I walked passed her to admire the river that leads into the sea and she again said to me, "He's for sale." I just responded again, "I'll take him." But I made no move to appear that I took her serious. Kacey and Sandreia met me and we were admiring God's creation as I told them in a quiet voice what the lady had said to me. Not one minute later, someone else must have admired the baby, because we heard her say it again. All three of us looked at eachother like--"that is a really bad joke!!" all the while hoping that she was just poorly educated and joking in a rude way.
We walked off and went to meet up with Steve and the other kids. We all enjoyed ourselves in the water and with eachother. When our time was about up on the beach and we were thinking about packing up our stuff, the lady with the baby brought him and the stroller and sat right next to us on the beach. Out of all the people on the beach that day--she came by us. She got situated and our girls, who love babies, noticed this fat little guy with head full of hair. Man was he ever cute! So, I couldn't just ignore him, I tickled his tummy and enjoyed his toothless slobbery smile. The moment was spoiled with again the offer from the lady for me to buy him. The only thing I could think of at the moment was just to keep anwering back in jest. I said, "Oh ya, he looks a lot like us blondes doesn't he?" I then changed the subject and asked how old he was and his name. I can't remember his name, it was a strange one. We packed up our stuff and left. But the memory of that sweet baby is still etched in my mind. Was she joking? Did she end up selling him to who knows who? Only God knows, and God loves that little boy.

Retreat

2009-03-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

We went on a retreat with the youth from our church, the group we lead and the older youth. We really had a fun time, although there were occassions which could have made the trip frustrating. All in all, the teens and adults handled them well.

First off, we had a youth who hasn't been part of our youth group, who came on the retreat. The other kids could have been frustrated that they had worked all year to help in fund raisers and to help earn money for the retreat and this guy, who isn't even part of the group, came at the last minute. But--they accepted him and welcomed him and it turned out really well. He was pretty reserved in the beginning, but opened up by the end of the second day. He is not saved, although his mom is, and it was at her urging that he came. Pray for Robson. He came to church the Sunday after the retreat and has come to youth group also. Last night when we got to youth group, he gave both Steve and I a big hug. We hadn't seen him since the reteat since we left on vacation the day after the retreat.

Second, we took our van, a rented 15 passenger van and a driver, and Erin Wawros car. Erin was leaving later and bringing a few youth who had to work. We left at 3:15 and what should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive turned into am 8 hour trip. The rented van broke down several times, with a half hour or more each time to get it running again. It finally could not be restarted and we were in the middle of nowhere. Not only that, it began to rain. Not real hard, but the clouds were threatening to dump. It was decided that our van would go to the nearest town, drop off the occupants and return to tow the broken down van back to this nearest town. All of this was done. After everyone arrived, our van and it's occupants drove the last hour to the house where we were staying, then returned to pick up some of the rest from the rented van. In the mean time, the driver of the van got ahold of someone he knew who had a van. This person just happened to be near "the middle of nowhere" where we were and he stopped to pick up 10 of the van occupants and take them to the house. All in all, everyone made it to the house by about 11:15, after which, we ate dinner. We saw God's hand of care and provision for us and it was a great experience for the youth in trusting God and watching Him work to care for us.

Steve helped run games during group activities, Mendi helped in the kitchen, ran one activity and we both spent quality time building into the lives of these teens. Pierre spoke on relationships, and Erin was in charge of music.

Collin went with us and enjoyed himself. The other three stayed at Randy and Cindy Richners and had a great time there.

The next few weeks

2009-02-19T11:43:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we leave for the beach with our youth. 25 of us will be going and we expect that it will be a renewing time. The theme is relationships within the group, the church, the world etc.
We get back on Tuesday late and then leave for a 9 day trip to Florianopolis. Florianopolis is an island off mainland Brasil. It is connected to the mainland by a bridge. From what we hear, it is one of the most beautiful places in Southern Brasil. Kacey and Sandreia have been able to arrange their schedule to go with us. It is a 7 or so hour drive.
When we get back, it looks like our youth pastor and an ABWE retired couple will be coming to visit us. We are super pumped to have a representative from our home church (that's outside our family) come and see our ministry and be able to report back. We are anticipating that it will be a tremendous encouragement to us. A week or so after they leave, my parent's will be coming to see us again. It's funny, they have made more trips back and forth from Brasil to the states that we have. :o) We are anticipating their arrival too and a great time of visiting with Bubbi and Papa time.
It may be a while before our next update since we'll be without internet for the most part of the next two weeks.
Thanks for praying

Visas (Vistos)

2009-02-17T02:26:00.000-08:00

We have had some problems with our visas since arriving to Brasil. It's too complicated to go into all the way, but there is now a chance that our visas could be denied a second time. If that happens, we will have to leave the country and start again the visa process from the states.
Steve is going to go down today with our co-worker, Jon Trott and try to find out some answers. We have information for a lawyer should we need to involve her.
Please continue to pray for our visa and our permanent visa.

Nós temos tido alguns problemas com nossos vistos desde nós chegamos pro Brasil. É complicado demais para explicar, mas ontém nós ficamos sabendo que temos um chance que nossos vistos será negado para a segunda vez. Se acontecer, nós temos que sair do país e começar novamente o processo dos Estados Unidos. Hoje, Steve vai para a policia federal com nosso colega, Jon Trott para tentar achar algumas respostas. Nós temos informação de uma advogada se devimos precisar de involvir ela.
Por favor, continua orar por nossos vistos e vistos de permanecia.

Men's retreat and 3-3 Tourney

2009-02-15T02:30:00.001-08:00

Steve and 5 other men from our mission agency in this area went on their annual men's retreat. They got to golf, they played rook and did a lot of talking about ministry, family and personal things. It usually is a great time of encouragement and fellowship for them. It's also somewhat of a working retreat where they talk about their year, ask questions of eachother and kick around ideas for the coming year.

Steve got home and we went right into the mode of getting ready for the 3-3 tourney. Most of the planning had been done since our youth pastor had the organization of the tournament already done, but we still had food to buy for selling snacks, and had to do things that needed to be done to help out in any way, such as repairing backboards and other things.
The tournament was a success in a few ways. First, there were quite a few unsaved that participated and when the devotional was given halfway through, one guy raised his hand as being interested in knowing more about Christ. Second, we were able to make a profit as this was a fund raiser for the youth retreat that we'll go on the end of this week with our youth. It did make a profit which helps defray the costs for the kids. Third, the youth and others worked hard together which always helps build relationships.

Retreats

2009-02-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

Last week, I went on two retreats, both to the beach. The first was with the 6 missionary women who are currently on the field. We had a great time relaxing, talking about personal, family and ministry issues. We walked, swam, sat in the sun and enjoyed eachother. It was a great time, something we decided we don't do enough. To talk to other ladies that are doing the same thing I'm doing, to share burdens, struggles, joys and amazing things that happen is a comfort.
I was home for one day, then went on a retreat with 16 other ladies from our church. These two retreats couldn't have been more opposite, yet alike all at the same time. The thing that was alike was that I was with a great bunch of friends. We laughed until we cried, talked, shared burdens, joys and amazing things that we've seen God do. The difference was where we stayed and how we slept, and the language that we spoke. None of those things mattered because I so enjoy these ladies and we have a good time together. I wonder if they sometimes get tired of me asking, "What does that mean?" But they are patient with me and help me along where I need help in the language. Now I will write this for my Brasilian friend who has started reading my blog.
(Agora em português pra te Eloisa heehee--não vai ser bonito, mas tomada que tu entenda)
Semana passada, fui nos dois retiros, ambos na praia. O primeiro estava com outra 5 mulheres da nossa missão quem estão no Brasil no momento. Nós nos divertimos muito, relaxando, falando sobre questões pessoal, da família e do ministério. Nós andamos, tomamos banho no mar e no sol e aproveitamos nossos amizades. Foi um tempo muito ótimo, algo nós não fazemos bastante. Falar com outras quem estão fazendo a mesmo trabalho que eu estou fazendo, compartilhar cargas, conflitos, alegrias e coisas maravilhoso que ocorre é um comforto.
Eu estive em casa um dia, e daí, saí pra um outro retiro com 16 mulheres e moças da nossa igreja. Estes dois retiros foram opostos e ainda parecidos na mesmo tempo. As coisas parecidas foram um ótimo groupo das minhas amigas e as amizades. Nós choramos de rir, conversamos, compartilhamos as cargas, algegrias, e coisas maravilhoso que nós temos visto Deus faz. As diferenças forem como nós dormimos e a língua em que nós falamos, mas nenhumas daquelas coisas importam porque eu gosto destas amigos tanto e nós nos divertimos muito juntas. As vezes eu penso a mim mesma --Será que elas cansam da mesma pergunta que eu faço?--"Oh que quer dizer?" Mas elas tem muito paciência comigo e ajuda-me quando eu estou precisando ajuda na língua.

Visit

2009-02-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Steve and I went to gain permission from social services today to visit Casa Aberta. (a shelter/halfway house for kids that is near our church and a lady from our church works there. Our partners in years past have had groups come to minister there.) They told us that it isn't them that gives permission, but the directors of the house. So, we went to the house to gain permission, but the director was in meetings and will be all week. We have an appointment next week on Thursday. We are praying that all goes well and that we can see the house and the kids and begin to think through some ideas for what a team from the States could do at the house.
Thanks for praying.

Random Thoughts

2009-01-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

Before coming to Brasil, Steve did a research paper about kids abandoned in Brasil; street kids. It was sad and really struck a chord in our hearts. We sometimes feel so helpless to know what to do to make a permanent difference in their lives. There is an orphanage here that is run by North American Baptists. It is a neat idea. They have a campus of sorts with about 10 different houses. There are house parents and kids who are abandoned or who are taken from their homes due to a horrible situation are placed in these houses and become part of that family. They work together doing chores, the kids go to school, they have extra curricular activities and they go to church. Right now, this orphanage has 85 kids. (you can read about it and even sponsor a child here: http://www.chainoflove.org/
Since this situation with Maiara came up, this chord that was struck many years ago, has been struck again. We know that God will have us involved somehow, someway, but we are still learning so much that we don't really know how yet. You may ask, "Well, what else is there to learn?" Believe me, when you are learning to see the world through another set of lenses, there is a lot to learn.
We plan to go on Monday to get permission to visit a halfway house that is near our church. It is called, Casa Aberta, which means, open house. Kids stay at this house right after they are taken out of their house. Many of them spend the rest of their childhoods there. They are not for adoption because there is still the hope that they can be reunited with their parents or some relative. Most of the time it doesn't happen and by the time they become eligable to be adopted, they are too old and people don't want them. In December, one of the ladies that goes to our church, and works at this halfway house said that there are 6 infants that came to straight from the hospital to there. It is a sad sad thing. We want one. We want to provide a family and help a little child in need, but most likely they will stay there while they get lost in the stacks of paperwork. My heart cries for these kids who are left. Please pray with us as we seek God's direction, and as we follow His lead about how we can be involved and help to make a difference in their lives for Him.

Girls basketball Camp Pictures

2009-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

Here's the girls basketball camp pics. We had 8 girls who came, but the teen gals ended up participating in addition because they could use the training also. It was good for them and Steve was happy with improvements that he saw.

Enjoy the slides. They actually end after the group pic and the note at the end, but the music plays for a while longer. You can click out of it after the group picture.

Basketball Camp

2009-01-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

We've been running a mini-basketball camp the past two days in the morning and the afternoon. It's been a great time with kids from our church and the neighborhood of the church. We've had about 17 boys in the morning and 8 girls in the afternoon. We know that there are several boys that are not saved. Many of them played Upward Basketball. The girls are mostly from our church, but one girl is coming that is not saved.
We were able to take a lot of pictures and make a slide show.

Busy!! and Update on Bruno

2009-01-25T15:58:00.001-08:00

The next few week are going to be super busy. We have a mini-basektball camp this week, next week the ladies with ABWE have a retreat, the next week, the men of ABWE have a retreat, the next week begins our youth retreat. Wshoooo! Please pray with us about all of this activity.
We also are praying about someone from our church coming to visit us. We really want to have someone from our church come, and have requested it, but really don't know if it's going to happen. If it does, it'll hopefully be the third week, or the end of March. We'll keep praying about it.

We have an awesome praise to report!! Bruno, a friend of Collin's accepted Christ at camp. He began coming to church through Upward basketball and continued to come to our junior high group. His way was paid at the last minute to go to camp and we are thankful to the Lord for His provision and for Bruno's salvation!!!

Gessi update

2009-01-14T03:37:00.000-08:00

Eloisa and I hadn't been to Gessi's lately because of other responsibilities and the holidays. Eloisa had heard and told me that Gessi's boyfriend came back. Eloisa and I talked, prayed about it, then talked again and decided that as sad at it is, we will not be able to continue with Gessi. There are several factors that went into this decision and in the end, we feel that it is the right one. We will continue working with Maiara, especially as she comes to church and AWANA when it starts back up again in March.
I will have a shift in ministries come March also. Instead of working in AWANA, I will be using that time to do one-to-one Bible studies with a few of the junior high girls. There's one girl, Amanda, that has been coming and has agreed to do a study with me. She is not saved. Please pray with us as we try to teach the youth in whom to put their faith.

Our van

2009-01-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

We have enjoyed a fairly trouble free van since we've lived here in Brasil. For many of you who know us, and accompanied us on our 5 years of Pre-Field ministries, you know that we were plagued by van problems. This van however is showing it's age of 8 years old. On Friday the water pump went out while we were driving home from Porto Alegre and burned up part of our motor. We haven't gotten the van back yet, and we haven't heard how much it will cost. We turned in our rental car today, with the hope that true to the mechanic's word, we'll get our van back tomorrow. Tomorrow is also Steve's birthday. We're planning to go to dinner together, so having our van back would be really nice. :o)