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.

What's been going on

We've been spending more time in Arcos lately. We've had some good visists and even a couple of visitors. Praise the Lord! We're getting ready to start an English class on Sunday evenings before the service. The Devil continues to fight. So many people are uncertain of eternity but not willing to trust the Bible over their religion. One lady that I visited this week said, "I was born a Catholic and I'll die a Catholic!". It was so sad! Every time we tried to show her that the Bible said one thing, she would respond that her brother (a priest) said something else. We keep trusting that God will bless and give us fruit for our labor. So, we'll just keep plugging along!

Joshua is 6 months old!

I can hardly believe it, but my baby is 6 months old already! He's such a happy little fellow! He's trying to sit, has two teeth trying to come in, is grabbing everything and is "talking" up a storm! He has recently discovered his tongue and makes the funniest faces. He also discovered that he can reach his feet AND put them in his mouth! Oh what joy!

Nayara

This is Nayara. She got saved last month. A couple of weeks ago, I started a Bible study with her. She is really excited about doing the studies! She's 24 years old and takes care of her elderly uncle and aunt. Because of this responsibility and that she suffers from depression, it is difficult for her to come to church. Please pray that Nayara will grow spiritually, gain victoy over her depression, and start attending church.