We Started a Bible Club!

In March, we started a Bible Club at our house on Saturday mornings from 9:30-10:30. The first Saturday we had nine kids show up! Each week since then we have had 10-13 kids participate. Every week there has been at least two new kids. So far 30 kids have participated at least one time!

The kids really seem to enjoy singing, playing games, learning a Bible verse, and hearing the stories. They are pretty well-behaved, too! Some of the kids are so anxious for it to start that they show up early...as early as 8:00!

The Bible Club has opened some doors to witness to the parents of these children. I have visited the home of every child that I have a complete address for. Unfortunately, some of the kids only know part of their address or none of it at all. This makes it challenging to visit them, but I'm working on it! Last week, Cassia, Igor's mother, accepted Christ! We are hoping and praying that God will allow us to reach our neighborhood through the Bible Club.



Hello 2013!

Well, it's a new year filled with new plans. Tim has decided to "seed" the city of Arcos at least six times this year, which translates into passing out about 100,000 tracts. We are really excited to see how God uses these tracts here in Arcos. We have already had two men visit the church because of receiving a tract. Exciting!

We are also looking forward to camp next month. The preaching is exciting, the food is good, and the fellowship is wonderful! It is a blessing to get to know believers from other churches around Brazil.

Tim is also getting ready to start the Bible Institute back up after camp. There are four or five people signed up to take the courses.

Settling In

On Octobr 9th we were finally able to sign the contract on a house to rent. We moved our stuff over that Saturday and began to get settled. It was kind of fun going through our stuff and finding things we had forgotton we had. Unfortunately, one of the things we still cannot find is the bag of tabs for our bookshelves. So...none of the books have been unpacked! I really like our house. It has plenty of space for the kids and the dogs. I can buy almost everything that I need within a few blocks of my house and on my street. Nice!

The Nichols clan came over for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the time of food and fellowship. The kids are growing and keeping us entertained. Things are going well at the church. Tim is preaching on Wednesday nights and leads singing on Sundays. Right now we are gearing up for the Ladies Christmas Tea.

Back in Brazil!

Well, we made it! On Wednesday, September 12th, we arrived in Brazil. We were able to spend a couple of days in Formiga, seeing friends and recovering from the traveling. The kids did great on the plane and everything went smoothly. Praise the Lord! God was so good to us and blessed us beyond measure! Now we are in Arcos. We are staying with Bobby and Iara while we look for a house. Please pray that we will find one quickly! I am excited to see what God is going to do in the next four years!

The Countdown

And so it begins...we have packed up the house and moved in with friends for our remaining time in the States. Where has the time gone? Now for the hard part...deciding exactly what needs to go with us to Brazil. I have already filled 12 footlockers... yes, 12! I do not enjoy the prospect of leaving things that I would like to take, most of which is for the kids. On Monday we head out for three weeks to say goodbye to family in Michigan and North Carolina, as well as participating in a missions conference in Kentucky. When we get back from these visits, we have to go to Atlanta to get Joshua's Brazilian passport and Rebekah's visa. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. We our flying out on September 11th. I can't wait to get back!

Wow!

Needless to say...I stink at keeping up my blog. A lot has happened in the last year. Tim was in an accident that totaled our vehicle (in Brazil). Praise the Lord, no one was hurt. We came back to the States for our first furlough on August 30, 2011. The biggest event was that on March 6, 2012, Rebekah Nicole was born. Life has been and is BUSY!!!

Furlough has been going well. It has been nice to visit family, friends, and our supporting churches. We are trying to raise some new support. The economy in Brazil is doing well. The cost of living has doubled and so has our family. We are currently in California. Right now, we plan to return to Brazil in September. I am anxious to get back and get busy in the work!

Oops! I forgot to blog!

I just realized that I haven't posted anything on my blog for four months! Oops! Things are a little busier than usual for me since Joshua has become mobile. He's into everything! Saturday was his birthday. Joshua thoroughly enjoyed his cake and ice cream. I can't believe how fast his first year went!

In Arcos things have been kind of slow. We had a young girl coming for awhile. Even though there have been some people that have made a profession of faith, they haven't come to church. There always seems to be something (could it be Satan?) preventing them from doing Bible studies also. On June 18th there is scheduled a Gay Pride Rally and Parade, with people gathering from 89 different cities. We are canvassing the city with tracts "What does God Say about Homosexuality?". Please pray with us that the weather will be horrible and the event will be cancelled.