Fishing!

The best part of our camping trip for the kiddos was fishing!
There was an inlet of the river that we could walk to in about
10 minutes where you can put a line in the water and in less than 5 minutes you had a bite. For those of you who are fishermen, don't get too excited. There were only small fish here that they used for bait at night when they went fishing for that "big one". The kids helped make balls for bait using flour, corn flour, oil, and water. Michael has been wanting to catch a fish since he saw his uncle Matt fishing last September at my mom's house on Lake Anna, VA! The expression on his face when he caught his first fish all by himself was priceless! The whole experience was so amazing to Michael that as he slept that night he sat up in his bed and started moving his hands as though he were taking a fish off the hook! Maira was equally thrilled with fishing and also caught a fish all by herself...seriously! I'm sure you noticed the less than happy look on her face as she is holding the fish. This look is the result of her coming way too close to falling head-first into the water as her chair tipped forward when she caught the fish. She wasn't ready for the little pull that the fish gave!

Lazy days

Michael and Maira LOVED camping! Everything had to be scrubbed when we got home since one of their daily activities was playing in the mud along the riverbank. Maira also enjoyed the lazy afternoons laying in the hammock in the shade of a tree while her favorite Brazilian "cousin" read books to her and answered her never-ending string of questions. André has amazing patience! We would also paddle a canoe over to the other side of the river where there were lots of tiny frogs along the bank. I never knew how much fun kids could have catching tiny frogs and making "homes" for them in the sand and mud. Then they would bring them back to the campsite and keep them in containers and cups, hoping to take them home. Thankfully those clever little frogs escaped every night!

Camping Trip, July 15-19

Even before the candidates had time to leave Anápolis, we were on our way to the Araguaia river for 4 days of camping! This is the third time we have gone camping with our dear friends from church (and all of their extended family is there as well!). Maira was 3 months old the last time we went. I can assure you it was so much more fun with her being 3 years old! It is a 5 hour drive, with the last hour being on dirt roads. It is an isolated spot...no running water, no electricity, and nothing to flush (if you know what I mean). We slept in a tent but during the day it was too hot to be inside a tent, so we relaxed in hammocks during that afternoon lull! It was great to get away from everything and to relax with the kiddos and our friends.

Candidate Week, July 8-15

July 8-15 was candidacy week at Asas de Socorro. We had 11 candidates total: 4 guys interested in being missionary pilot/mechanics (2 married, 1 engaged, and 1 single), 1 fiancée of a current pilot/mechanic in the training program, and 3 single ladies who want to serve in various ministries in Asas. It was a smaller group than normal, but we still had a great time. All were accepted into Asas, although a few need to start/finish seminary first. I was much more involved this year in the week of candidacy because I started working 3 afternoons a week in the recruitment department in May. It was a great experience and I am excited to see how we can improve on the process each year. Dealing with people's futures is a tremendous responsibility and I am so thankful that we have a great team that works so well together and truly seeks the Lord's will. So...what do we do with the non-technical candidates??? When we run out of tests and activities we get them busy cleaning and shining the hangar floor!! (smile) Doesn't that look like fun??!!

Michael's extracurricular activities

Michael has keyboard lessons twice a week for 45 minutes. His teacher, Suzilane, is the wife of one of the missionary aviation students. She is extremely talented and was awarded a scholarship to study music for 2 years in Paris. She and her husband, Heber (who is also a dentist!), arrived in Anápolis in January to begin the maintenance and flight theory courses. What a blessing it has been to have her live 3 minutes from our house! She is a wonderful teacher whose primary concern is that Michael enjoys music.

Here are Michael (6 yrs. old) and Maira (3 yrs. old). Michael just had a section in science about aero- dynamics and was thrilled that I asked his daddy to teach that lesson to him! They had a great time! We went to an airshow here in town on Sunday to watch the Esquadrilha de Fumaça (Brazilian version of the Blue Angels) and on the way home Michael explained aerodynamics to me! Maira has hit the phase when they constantly ask, "why?" (oh my!) and is also getting very creative in her excuses for not obeying....like "my ears are too little and I didn't hear".