Cafezinho with Kris

Michael's Reaction

2010-05-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here is Michael's reaction when everyone got home from the airport...

Maira's Surprise

2010-05-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the moment when Maira discovered that her cousin, Anna, came to see her!

Matteo talking

2010-05-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Matteo is eager to learn to talk and has speech therapy two times a week now. He loves going to speech therapy! Now don't expect huge things...learning to talk when you are already 3 1/2 is hard work!!!

Fall Festival

2009-11-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

I had never thought of doing a "Fall Festival" here in Brazil. The kids always enjoy the fall festivals in the US when we are on furlough, but it is just a normal day here in Brazil. Then my SIL friend, Anneke suggested we do our own thing this year. She planned the whole thing and I offered my street and neighbors. So I took bags of candy to my neighbors and asked them to kindly hand it out when our kids came a knocking! It was pretty funny, especially since they had no idea what to do and I had to explain it all to them. We had 11 kiddos all together and 4 neighbors who were home on Saturday evening to help us out. We also had the kids make their own pizza faces, carve green peppers, mummy wrapping contest, and then I made an attempt at the pumpkin parable using a green gourd. All in all it was a very fun evening and the kids really loved it. And the neighbors got a good laugh at "those North Americans". Thankfully, Michael and Maira used the same costumes as last year and Matteo fit into the costume that Maira used when she was three.

This and That

2009-10-29T04:44:00.000-07:00

Well folks, what can I say? Blogging has had to take a back seat for some time now!
Matteo had a successful surgery on September 22, taking out his tonsils, adenoids, and draining the liquid in his ears. On Nov. 11 he will have another surgery (I'll just say that it is a more private area). We've tested his hearing again after the surgery and he does have permenant hearing loss. The doctor wants to repeat one of the tests again on Nov.9 and then I can go straight to the ear/nose/throat doctor with the results. He should then recommend a hearing aid. I am anxious to get this all done...seems like we are just waisting precious hearing time at this point. He can hear loud noises (hand clapping, dogs barking, whistling, etc.) but isn't hearing conversational tones. But all in all, he is doing really well. We are still struggling with his reluctance to chew food...I'm not sure what kind of doctor to see about that! He CAN chew, but does so only with those foods he really, really likes. Otherwise he sits at the dinner table for over an hour to eat a small plate of food because he prefers to just hold the food in his mouth. It can drive me plum crazy some days! We are trying all sorts of tactics...let me know if you have any ideas. :)

Michael and Maira are doing great. We are very excited about another alternative to getting a class in Portuguese next year. Michael never has come to the point of "liking" the Brazilian school that he goes to twice a week and it has in fact become a major stress in his life. We are looking at taking them to a SIL school here in town twice a week when they have a Brazilian lady giving Portuguese class. The school currently has 4 children and will have 6 children next year. Then they would also participate in PE and a craft time once or twice a week with the SIL kids at a local after school program for Brazilian children. This set-up will also be MUCH cheaper!

Here are some cute pictures of Matteo discovering shaving cream with Daddy...

And Matteo makes 5!!!

2009-08-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Most of you know about Matteo by now from my email updates, but I wanted to put some more pictures of our Matteo on the blog. Matteo came to our family on August 11th and celebrated his 3rd Birthday on August 26. Matteo was born very premature (1lb and 14 oz) and has been in an orphanage since he was about 6 months old. He has some auditory problems that we are still investigating and that are most likely linked to how premature he was. He is very affectionate and is eager to please, although a stubborn streak does pop up now and again! But what else would you expect from a VanBeveren????

Project Go Ye - 2009

2009-07-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yep, it is that time of year again! Asas organized another Projeto Ide (Project Go Ye) this time to the state of Mato Grosso. The number of people participating was less this year...only 150 instead of 240-350. It was just getting too big and we want to encourage churches to start their own projects. We went as a family again this year...yeah! It is worth the extra effort and the lessons that the kids learn are priceless. The 150 people divided up into 3 groups after a time of training and organizing on Saturday afternoon (July18) and Sunday. The children's ministry team that I headed up was made up of several young people who had never been on a project before, so they were a bit nervous and didn't know what to expect. (The children's ministry group that I worked with is pictured above...plus 2 guys who wanted in on the picture!) I decided to change the program quite a bit in an effort to make each lesson independent of the previous or following lesson to accomodate the children who couldn't come from the beginning or couldn't come the whole week. God certainly had his hand in that decision because everything quickly changed once we got there! We ended up reaching 3 different communities in 5 days! We had 4 different stations that the children rotated through: story, art, games, snack/memory verse/wordless book/Claves. That last station seems like a bit much, but the 30 minute block of time was enough to get through it all. Due to having just a few days in each community, I couldn't get too deep into the Claves material, but I was able to have sessions with the children on being tuned-in to your emotions as a way to know if things really are okay as well as analize 2 stories as a way to alert them about how to avoid abuse...or at least know they need to tell someone about it.

Our team reached over 400 children, many of them claiming to have asked Jesus to forgive them for the first time. I'll resist writing the number down because I don't want to focus on numbers. I am thrilled that seeds were planted and knowledge was given for future growth. Steve worked the streets...door-to-door all day long! He also helped out with the group that had a youth program. He found some new abilities in that area and even gave a well received talk on sexuality, drugs, alcohol, etc. I wish I could have heard it, but I needed to be with the children. He is very sure though that working with youth is not his thing...at least not in the traditional church setting. Maybe he'll get more involved with the youth on the projects from now on...

This youth's name is James and he was "adopted" by the whole group. He touched everyone's hearts with his sincere decision to believe in Jesus and learn to be more like Him. His home life is very difficult and his dad is a leader in the Spiritist church. James broke into sobs on the last day of the youth program because he didn't want the group to leave. He had finally found a group of people who love him and with whom he feels accepted and safe. In the following picture, he is reading a Bible that is written in cartoon style as he travels with us to the Bororo village. He came along with us just to put off the good-byes a little longer. (He also received a normal Bible when we left.) He is now in the hands of the local church with whom we partnered with, but our concern is that there are no youth in that church. Please pray from James...

Here are the youngest participants on the Project! This picture was taken around 5:30am on Monday morning as the 3 groups divided up to go to the different communities.
Personal space? Privacy? Non-existant!

Our missionary "dolls" leading the singing time

"Mr. Duck" had some "magic" tricks to show the kiddos. All of his illusions were used as a way to teach the kids about Jesus. I have no idea why he picked the name Mr. Duck...he couldn't explain it himself!

Story station

Game station

Art Station

And of course I took NO pictures of the memory verse, wordless book, snack, Claves station! Oh well...Steve took a few later on in the week when we went to the Bororo village....you'll see those as you continue going through all my blog posts!

Xavante Village...a dream come true!

2009-07-28T16:17:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday afternoon I was told that there would be a small group going to a Xavante village that was about an hour and a half bus ride from General Carneiro. I needed to pick 5 people from my team of 14 to go and "play" with the children in the village. There were only a few Xavantes that spoke Portuguese in this village, those being male adults. Of course everyone wanted to go and it was dificult to decide who was most prepared to go. My first list of 5 did not include my name, but the leader of the Project objected to that and said she wanted me to go. I was concerned about leaving Michael and Maira behind and also concerned about taking them with me! She assured me it would be fine to take them, so I put myself on the list and then called the children's ministry team together to give them the news. God gave me the words at that moment because I know many of them had their hearts broken by not being picked. But I was able to give solid reasons for each person that I picked and everyone took the decision very well and later told me that they totally agreed with how I had made my decisions. Steve was shocked when I told him I was going, but he didn't say much except for, "are you sure you and the kids should go?" :) I spent that evening getting materials ready to take with us to use with the children and getting everything the kids and I would need for 2 days in one backpack!

Everything was exactly like I had seen in so many missionary presentations since my days at Moody Bible Institute. I always wanted to go to an indian tribe, but I knew I wasn't gifted in languages and doubted I had what it takes to live in an isolated tribe! Happily, God sent Steve my way and I have always felt very content in knowing that what we do helps those who are in the indian tribes. Anyway, I had given up on ever having this experience...and yet God gave me this amazing opportunity! And He gave it to Michael and Maira as well! (Steve has had this experience already) Some of you may remember my silly story of when I was a teenager and I somehow had the courage at a youth meeting to say that I was willing to go "wherever God wanted to send me...even if there were spiders!". Well, as I tried to get to sleep after that first day in the Xavante tribe, it was more than spiders that I was worried about! And when I woke up in the morning, I managed to stay calm as I saw a HUGE spider on the wall just a foot or so from my feet! We slept on 2 inch mattresses on the floor and I had seen several cockroaches running around in the hallway, kitchen, and bathroom when I got up in the middle of the night(YUCK!)...but I had not been thinking about the spiders! I contemplated killing it with a shoe, but decided that I didn't want that mess on MY shoe! So I just kept my eye on it and prayed that it would quietly go away. It did, but not before Michael woke up and saw it! His reaction was, "whoa!". I acted very calm and told him to just get dressed quickly and to keep his eyes on it!

This is the first of 3 Xavante tribes/villages that we saw. We stayed in the third one at the end of a very bumpy dirt road. We were literally in the middle of nowhere.

The state of Mato Grosso made some kind of agreement to help the Xavante by building them homes. They were to build 20 homes for this village. In the end the built only 10. Here you see the traditional hut beside the cement home.

This is where they get all the water that they need. It isn't far from the village, but it isn't convenient either!

This is the school that was built by the state in 2007. The Xavante indians requested that it be built in the shape of an armadillo because they feel that it represents their people. The "library" is in the head of the armadillo, the 2 classrooms in the body, and (for obvious reasons) the bathrooms in the rear! :)

See the girl walking away with a basket on her back?

Here she is again...and now you can see that she carries the weight of the basket with her head and neck because the strap goes over her forehead.

And this is what is in the basket!!!!

On the morning of the second day, the kids had a surprise for us. One of them caught a baby owl and tied a string to it. Michael and Maira loved holding the little guy, but later came crying to me because they kids were not treating it nicely. What can I say..they inherited my tender heart for all of God's creatures.

Maira making friends by drawing happy faces on their fingers!

Jônatas and Maira teaching my two favorite little ones a handshake

The adorable faces of Xavante children.....

The church in Barra do Graças and other churches in Brazil sent lots of clothes for the Xavante village. They were delivered to the chief, who will then distribute them however he decides.

Xavante indians (like most indians) are extremely curious and were constantly looking through the windows to see what we were doing inside. We were having a meeting after lunch about how the afternoon would go and I couldn't resist taking a picture of this little one peeking in the side window!

The candy line...we quickly learned to say "girl" and "boy" in their language and they were always so quick to line up...even when it wasn't for candy!

They had a blast with the games we played with them! We played balloon popping races, duck-duck-goose, hot potato, sheet volleyball, and a modified version of musical chairs using circles in the dirt. Every time we got done with a game they would all yell "Abô, abô", which means "Again, again!". Sometimes we used a translator and sometimes we just acted out the games until they got the idea of it.

The children had a blast with these streamer toys that we made...

The next two pictures show you what the foot bugs do to everyone's feet. All of the kids have them and it is due to poor hygiene. The children all walk on their heels because it is quite painful to have these bugs nesting in your skin. And yet it just seems to be normal for them. There were blood spots on the floor when they got done with the coloring acitivity due to these sores on their feet. One little guy kept working on a spot on his big toe until he finally pinched the bug out...then he popped it in his mouth and ate it with an audible "crunch". Mmmmmmmm

We took the children inside the school during the hottest hours of the day...mostly because we couldn't handle the sun! They didn't even break a sweat, but we felt like we would melt! The first activity we did was a mini coloring book that shows creation, the fall, and salvation through Jesus. We asked one of the 3 Xavante men who spoke Portuguese to translate as Marineige explained the pictures in the coloring book. A group young men (I'd guess around 17-20 years old) came in and sat down in the classroom. At first I was very intimidated by them, but I then decided to ask them if they wanted a book to color as well. They nodded their heads anxiously and started coloring right away! Crazy! Here is a video of Marineige telling going through the coloring book with a Xavante teacher translating for her.

I was amazed at their fine motor skills. Even the littlest ones didn't ask for help when threading the ribbon through the straw pieces!

Take a good look at this little girl's arm...that is scabies and it is completely normal for this Xavante village. They think it is as normal as having freckles and only worry about it once it gets to an infectious stage.

She finished her "Zezusi" (Jesus) necklace and is very proud of it!

Oh yeah...I wanted to take this one home with me!!! She always had this amazing smile on her face!

We made ball keychains out of biscuit using the colors of the wordless book.

The indians told us that they wanted to dance for us before we left. They started getting ready by putting on their red shorts and getting painted. This is the cheif painting one of the little boys. Another little boy is waiting for his turn in the background.

Michael and his Xavante friend. Michael was a bit leary of the boy because their boys are taught from the cradle to be tough, so their games are pretty rough. Michael handled it well though and this boy gave him his neck rope after they performed their dance. Michael was actually scared to death when the boy and his friends called Michael over...he thought they were going to beat on him a bit! Happily, he just wanted to give Michael a gift!

Michael and Jônatas all painted and feeling like an indian! :)

Just a beautiful picture!

They are all lined up and ready to show us a dance...and we suddenly realized why those kiddos are so good at lining up all the time! I have a video of one of their dances, but blogger is giving me fits with it and won't upload it. I'll try again another day...for now a picture will have to do.

Bororo

2009-07-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning we left General Carneiro at 6:30am in order to arrive at the Bororo village. The Bororo people are indigenous but have embraced some aspects of the western world. The government build homes for them (very small, but better than huts!) and there is a catholic church in the village. Unfortunately, the Brazilian workers who built the homes allegedly left many Bororo women pregnant and that has caused a lot of friction between this village and "white people" (Brazilians) as well as between this village and other Bororo villages who now accuse them of not being pure Bororo. The leader of this village told us that the catholic church has been present in their village for over 100 years, and yet this was the first time a social assistance group of this magnitude had come to help them. We had 2 dentists, one doctor, a pharmacy, a youth ministry team, and a children's ministry team. The Bororo people still speak their own language, but they also speak Portuguese fluently. They are very suspicious and critical of outsiders. Some of the children told us that they had been instructed to not tell us any words in their language. Many children and adults did not know their ages and unfortunately there were many men and women of all ages drunk. We were not aware of this ahead of time, but about a month ago there was a terrible accident with a truck which was full of Bororo people in the truck bed. Many were killed and those who survived were badly injured. This has brought on a terrible depression among these Bororo people and their solution has been to drink.

The children's ministry team had a program for the kids in the morning and again in the afternoon. We picked out the games, stories, and art projects that we thought would work best in the outdoor setting. We also had the workshop in which I used some of the "Claves" material as well as taught the wordless book and John 3:16.

We had some time after lunch to walk around the village and visit some of the homes. I found a little girl (she says she is 10 but I doubt it) who was in a cast from her hips all the way down to the toes of her left foot. Rafaela and her aunt were in the truck accident and sadly her aunt passed away. She was sitting in a chair outside of her house and her mother was painting the faces of some of our team members. Her grandmother and another person were inside the house making terrible wailing noises and were drunk. Rafaela looked like she hadn't had a bath in a month. Her toes looked like they were badly infected and she had a large lump on her head. Her mother was a very bitter woman and when one team member didn't want to be painted she said, "So you are disgusted by us?! Is that why you don't want to be painted?" Naturally, we all quickly got in line to be painted! :) And yet what stood out in this home full of miseary was the constant smile on Rafaela's face. I had Steve go get here for the afternoon program and she was so excited to be able to leave that house for a bit and participate in the fun. Steve stayed by her side the whole time and took her home when she got tired and it started to get chilly.

Here is most of the children's ministry team...

We had some crazy guys on the team this year who were anxious to lead some of the singing and dancing! They did a great job, and of course Michael was in the middle of the bunch!

Jônatas doing his "magic"... you can see the small homes in a circle around the village.

Thanks, Steve, for the great open-mouthed picture! :) Anyway, I am teaching John 3:16 with lots of gestures and plenty of excitement... By the end of the day the 7-10 year olds were reciting the verse perfectly!

After teaching them the wordless book and John 3:16, we had snack time!

Here is Cristiane teaching the colors of the wordless book using the bracelet. She was asking him to repeat the meaning of each color and at this point he is explaining what "sin" is. (Everything that we THINK, SAY, or DO that doesn't please God).
We used the "quadro scênico" in the morning...

and an adaption of Benjamin's Box in the afternoon.

A Wedding....

2009-06-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is not the wedding of the girl who had that crazy bridal shower...this is another gal that has babysat Maira and Michael a few times. Her wedding was on June 12 (Valentine's Day here in Brazil!) and she asked Maira to be the ring bearer. Maira didn't want to at first ("I'm too embarrassed!"), but I told her how sad Lana would be if she said "no" so she agreed to it. Maira did a great job and loved her dress!

Maira and Lana

The kiddos with Eliane

The kiddos with Karyne

The Bridal Shower

2009-05-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I went to a bridal shower of a gal from church, Fernanda. Her father is an elder in the church and her parents were in the first Bible study that we joined when we came to Brazil. This was the best bridal shower I have ever been to! Seriously!!! The theme was "caipira", which means something like a Brazilian redneck. We all had to dress acordingly, which was a bit difficult for me without having to have clothes made, so I just did the best I could...turning out somewhat more colonial. But hey, I don't do short skirts. Oh, and before you look at the pictures...remember this is Latin America and modesty in the church is still quite different from modesty in the US church. :)
Here is the bride and the colonial redneck...rsrsrsrsrs
And no, this is not the dress she will wear for her wedding!

Fernanda's mom is seated on the right and the little girls are her flower girls. We had a time of singing first. Then they brought out the food...my was there a lot of food! All sorts of typical foods from this region.
Some ladies from church paid tribute to the bride with a song...too bad I forgot that my camera has a video feature at this point!

Here is the bonfire of all bonfires!

Two of her bridesmaids took lessons from a professional dancer (the guy in the middle!) so they could do this dance for Fernanda. Not quite country dancing...something like country meets samba!
Then the bride had to dance "forró" with the guy...boy was I glad they didn't do this to me at my bridal shower! I would have died of embarrassment! But Fernanda is a true extravert and she loved every minute...

And now the Brazilian redneck square dancing....looked like fun, but I decided to take pictures this time. I'll be ready to join in the next time such an opportunity arises! :)

More pictures of Maira's birthday party

2009-04-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

We did the limbo and a kind of bobbing for apples. I always thought the traditional bobbing for apples was pretty disgusting...dunking your face into a bucket of water that other people have been dunking their faces with their mouths wide open and spitting the water out of their mouths...yuck. So I saw this new kind of bobbing done at a church in Brisbin, PA and decided it would be a lot of fun to do at a party. The bonus was seeing a good number of kids eating their apples afterwards!

Maira turns 6 years old!

2009-03-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

On March 27, Maira turned 6 years old! Here are some pictures from the party on Saturday. I'll post more later on the details, but I wanted to get these on the blog as soon as possible.

One more try...

2009-02-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

Yep, we are trying the Brazilian school again. I know...I said I would NEVER do that again. I really had no intention of putting them in a Brazilian school, but I was not finding a tutor for them in Portuguese grammer so I started looking for other options again. My friend, Michawn, encouraged me to try Couto again. I had gone to talk to them in June of last year about the kids participating in only certain subjects, but the coordenator was not there and she never got back to me. Then I got busy with the Project, Candidacy week, and furlough so it just got dropped. I figured they weren't too interested in it anyway. I know the overall director of Couto (it is an elementary, middle, and high school) from various Asas events and so I emailed her and told her what I was looking for: Portuguese grammer, art, and some kind of physical activity. She had me come in to see her and then she took me over to talk to the elementary school coordenator. We talked over the options and we picked out two days that had most of the subjects that I wanted and also put him in a class with his bestest bud from church and another girl from church that he has known since birth. Maira has been bugging me about going to school too, and since her reading in English is pretty solid, I decided we could send her on the same days that I send Michael. Of course she was absolutely THRILLED! So they are going to school on Wed. and Thurs. mornings...7:15 - 12:10. On Thursdays Michael actually stays the whole day (until 5:30!)because his grade level does art, computer, and English on Thursday afternoons. He was pretty nervous the first day (Wed.), but it turned out pretty well. He complained about being bored because they did some subjects that were not on the schedule for that day so I had not purchased those books. I figure they are still getting the kinks worked out since it is still the first few weeks of school. Thursday he was really nervous about staying the entire day, but he really liked the afternoon and I don't think next week will be as hard for him. Maira talks NON-STOP when I pick her up from school...she just gets so energized from the whole experience! She is really loving it. We continue with homeschool and I'll have some heavier days for Michael to make up for Thursdays when there will be no time for homeschool. I had a really hard time leaving them there on Wed morning, but I feel very strongly about them getting the most out of living in Brazil at this time of their lives. Part of that includes understanding Portuguese grammar. Turns out Michael will also get in on some Math, Geography, essay writing, and volleyball. Maira's class is working on cursive already! My goal is to have the best of both worlds for the kids...homeschool with some enrichment in the Brazilian Christian school.

Washington DC and Lake Anna

2008-10-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

After the family reunion we headed to my mom and step-dad's house in Alexandria, VA. While in Alexandria we went to Washington DC to see some of the sights. Here are Michael and Maira at the Franklin D. Roosevelt monument.

One of the fountains at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Monument

We also went to the National Zoo...one of the favorite animals that we saw were the pandas! They were so beautiful!
Then we went to Lake Anna for some water fun!

VanBeveren Family Reunion

2008-10-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

From Murfreesboro, TN we went to Pigeon Forge, TN for the VanBeveren reunion. A friend of Jim and Toni Lynn offered their home for us to use for the reunion. Toni Lynn told us that it was just a little cottage in the mountains and that she was pretty sure all 17 be able to find a place to sleep inside the house. Oh, and there was a pool nearby. Turns out that the "little cottage" was a huge log home with a pool! It was beautiful!

We had family talent show night. Here is Anna showing off her Irish dancing skills! She takes Irish dancing class every week...very cool!
Here is Danny playing the recorder...
Toni Lynn on the flute and Davey on the recorder...
Terri Lynn on the dulcimer and Becky on the autoharp...
Jessi, Jenni, and Julie doing a comic routine...
Nana (or Vovó) brought pictures to do a picture family tree with the grandchildren

We went to Cade's Cove and saw bears!!!!!
The original cabin from the first settler to live at Cade's cove in 1730
Another black bear!

An outdoor dulcimer show
The log home...wow!!!

Murfeesboro, TN

2008-10-22T14:29:00.001-07:00

We were able to get a car from Missionary Motors for FREE, so we needed to get to Memphis. TN to pick it up. Steve flew to Memphis while the kids and I flew to Nashville. Steve met up with us in Nashville where we stayed with Steve's former flight instructor and his wife. Jim and Jan Bostrom had just moved into their house 3 days prior to our arrival, so it was really generous of them to put us up! They live in Murfreesboro and our favorite football player happens to be a student at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. Derek is the son of a long-time friend of Steve's, Gary Cardaci. We didn't let Derek know we would be in town, so we just went to the campus and waiting for him to walk out of the locker room after football practice. He was so shocked and blown away to see us that he had a hard time catching his breath for some time afterwards! It was GREAT!

Jim and Jan Bostrom

Derek showing us the football field

We got to watch their "closed" football practice since we
promised not to tell anyone about their plays!

Sarasota, FL

2008-10-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Our second stop was in Sarasota, FL after a 4 hour drive from Miami. My dad and step-mom live in Sarasota and we had a great time with them. We spent quite a bit of time just roaming the aisles of Wal-Mart! We also went to a really neat seafood restaurant that was delicious! The kid's favorite activity while there was the Wiz Kids museum, a hands-on museum full of neat stuff for kids to discover!

Dad opening the door to Philippi restaurant

Aunt Sina and Uncle Joe came to see us while we were at Dad's

The kids (and André!) at the Philippi restaurant

Michael and Maira testing their relaxation skills. This computer detects your level of calmness and the calmest person uses his/her brain waves to move the ball to the other side. Can you guess who won?

Manaus...our first stop

2008-10-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Okay... time for some serious catching up! I'm stuck sitting/laying around these days due to a nasty virus that found my intestines, so here is my chance to get back to posting. I guess I'll just start at the beginning of our time here in the US. Our first stop was actually in Manaus where we stayed for 2 1/2 days. Michael's bestest friend in the whole wide world, Lucas, came down by bus with his mom and baby sister so that he could see Michael. It was a long bus ride, but that is what Lucas wanted for his birthday. Isn't that the sweetest thing???? Michael and Lucas were inseparable for those few days and we had a little surprise and belated birthday party for Lucas. We stayed with Márcio and Keila which as a huge treat as well for us! I miss having them in Anapolis! As you will see in the pictures, Mathias and Larissa are adorable and we had so much fun playing with them.

Michael and Lucas

Maira, Larissa, and Mathias

Manaus was awfully hot, so the kids spent a lot of time in this little pool!

Lucas's birthday party with all the Asas kiddos in Manaus

Keila told me that when she met Johnathan, he instantly reminded her of Michael...but in a grown-up version. So there they are and you can judge for yourself! Jonathan is a Moody Aviation student who spent a couple of weeks in Manaus for some field experience.

Formula 1

2008-06-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

Formula 1 racing is a big deal here...something like Nascar in the US. Steve and Michael like to watch the F1 races when they can (the races are often on Sunday mornings during Sunday school) and Michael is quite the fan. They watched the time trials last Saturday morning and when it was done Michael had the idea of making his own F1 car. He thought about it all day and finally in the evening he called Steve upstairs to show him his car. His car consisted of the sofa with the cushions off and turned on end, pillows, the remote control of a car, a booster car seat, and a Thomas the Train tent. Steve really got into the spirit and they had a race. Steve and Maira were part of the crew following every part of Michael's performance through their computers and were in constant communication with Michael through microphones. Michael won the race (of course!) and he was awarded with his trophy (can of tennis balls). Maira couldn't be left out, so she got 2nd place. Then the tennis ball can also served as the bottle of champange that they shake up and spray on the crowd.

I've always loved...

2008-06-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

horses. I never was around horses growing up, but I have always admired horses. In college I took a horseback riding class and I learned to ride in the English saddle and the Western saddle. It was so much fun...and I even fell off the horse one day because he decided to go right into a run before the trot. While I was working as a teacher in the area of special education, I learned a little about horseback riding therapy and I thought that would be perfect for me...horses and kids. That never did work out because God had other paths for me and I am totally okay with that. So imagine my surprise last weekend when a friend of ours tells me that he is giving me a horse. Just like that. We were talking about seeing the Lippizaners while in Florida and he said he had been meaning to tell me that he wanted to give me a horse. The horse was born in October of last year. Wow. It took a while to sink in and now I am trying to figure out what to do! We went to meet our colt today...he is brown with a white star on his forhead and black on his lower legs. He is quite handsome even though he is no special breed. He has not been around people yet, so he is very shy. I took carrots with me and the other 4 horses loved me for it. Our colt, however, was too shy to even come close enough to sniff the carrots. I was able to touch his hindquarters very quickly, but that was it. There is another colt with him that has been around people more and she kept nudging me, nibbling on my hand, and pulling on my shirt and jeans for more carrots. She just wouldn't accept the fact that they were all gone. So, I guess we need to make many more trips out to see our boy so he will get used to us. I also need to find someone who can break him when the time comes. And I need to read about horses! Here are some pictures of the newest member of our family...he doesn't have name yet, but we are working on it!

The girl colt is the one looking away from the camera.

Claves means "Keys"

2008-06-13T05:23:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my earlier post that I used a program called "Claves" in one of the workshops in the children's program. Ester (responsible for all of the social service programs in Asas) asked me if I would be interested in taking a 3 day training course in November of 2007. I jumped at the chance and was really impressed with the quality of the Claves program. The first two days of the course was spent mostly in learning the facts about child abuse...the who, when, why, how questions and then how the Claves program can strengthen children so that they will not be abused. The moto for Claves is "Through play we are strengthened to confront difficult situations". Studies show that an abuser usually takes 2 years from the time he/she decides to abuse a child to the time he/she actually starts to abuse. These 2 years are spent gaining the confidence of the child and family by building relationships and trust. A person who abuses has hurdles to conquer before being able to abuse a child...he/she first has to deal with his/her conscience, then he/she needs to have access to the child, and finally, he/she has to wear down the resistance of the child. Claves focuses on that last hurdle...building up the child so that he/she will be even more resistant and will have the courage to tell someone who can help. Children are divided into small groups by age (4-7 years old, 8-11 years old, 12 years old and up) and work through 3 stages of the program. The first stage is entitled "My Body", the second stage is "My Intimate Parts", and the third stage is "Others and I". Each stage has 3-4 workshops which gradually build in such a way that the child is prepared for the next stage. Each workshop includes a time of music and dance, group games, drama games, table games, and stories/situations. Everything is very age appropriate and is done in such a normal, matter-of-fact way that the kids are not embarrassed. Here is their website for more information: claves@juventudparacristo.org.uy (Youth for Christ)
Here is an example of one of the stories. I've condensed it quite a bit, but you'll get the idea of it.

This is a story about a little girl, Joana. Her is still at work when she gets home after school so the mom reminds her every day that she is to come right inside and lock the door behind her.

Joan wants to be obedient but every day their friendly neighbor wants to visit with her. She quickly goes inside, but....

soon the neighbor is knocking at her door wanting to come in to talk and play some games. She used to like talking to him, watching television, and playing games, but recently she hasn't liked the games that he has wanted to play. He also makes her promise not to tell anyone about his visits or their games.

That evening her whole family is together but she is in a bad mood and doesn't want to talk about anything. When her mom asks her if she got her homework done, Joana just gets even more mad and runs off to her room.

Joana's mom talks with Joana and tells her that sometimes it is okay to have secrets, but if a secret makes you feel bad then it isn't a good secret to keep.

This is a board game to play with the 12 year olds and older. This games involves working through a wide range of situations and prejudices.

Back to the Dump in Brasília

2008-05-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Michael (official photographer) and Carol (friend and children's program team member)

On May 17, Asas coordinated a 3rd Project "Go Ye" at the city dump of Brasília. Steve, the kids, and I left on Friday evening for Brasília after a rough time of getting backed up because we were without energy in the house. But we finally got things together and made it to Brasília at 10pm. We spent the night with some friends of ours who live in an apartment not far from the dump (Herberth and Carla). Steve and the kids were coughing and congested due to head colds and Maira woke up at 2am complaining of an ear ache. I tried giving her more decongestant medicine, but it did no good. By 5am she was shaking either from too much decongestant medicine or from the pain in her ear and she was asking me to call the dentist, call Aunt Otnaracy (our doctor from Asas), or anyone else who might give her relief from the pain. I asked Steve to wake up our friends to see if they had any pain killers that might relieve the pain. All they had was pain relief medicine for adults, so we cut it in 3rds and gave her 1/3. This finally helped her enough to enable her to sleep, but that only left us about 1 1/2 hours of sleep before needing to get up and get ready to go to the dump. Ugh. Thankfully, Carla was not planning on going to the project, so we left Maira at the apartment with her for the morning. Herberth went with us, but returned to the apartment a little before lunch to get Maira and bring her out to us. She at lunch with us and wanted to stay, so she stayed the rest of the day and was just fine. Aunt Otnaracy was there attending the people who live at the dump and she made time to see Maira and determined that her ear was not infected. Apparently, the congestion in her head had settled down towards her ear as she slept and was putting pressure on her ear and that is what caused so much pain. Anyway, we had a great day! Michael was in charge of taking pictures all day and he took that seriously....he took 103 pictures! He also helped out with the kids' program, telling kids the meanings of the colors of the wordless book bracelets and the general "go fetch..." guy. I put Maira in the group of 4-5 year olds to accompany all that they did in their workshops and she loved participating and answering the questions that the different "aunties" or teachers asked in the workshops. Steve went door-to-door evangelizing and was the coordinator for that. He also put together a program in the evening for the youth of the church with testimonies and the projection of the short version of The End of the Spear. I coordinated the children's programs and I had a great team . Everything went so smoothly in spite of last-minute potential stresses. I found out as we were leaving for Brasília that one of the girls on my team couldn't go anymore because she was sick and had gone to the hospital. She was responsible for the story workshops. Thankfully another girl on the team knew the story that she was to tell in the morning and then I asked another team member to do games instead of the story in the afternoon. Then in the morning I found out that yet another girl on my team was sick and hadn't come! Anyway, I had a great, flexable team who kept the focus and didn't let the set-backs get them down. We had 80+ children in the morning program and 150+ children in the afternoon program! We told the 80+ in the morning to bring their friends for the program after lunch...and they were very obedient! I took the kids back to the apartment just before the program for the youth in the evening...they were both so tired and so DIRTY! How wonderful it is to have friends that live in Brasília! Now for the pictures:

At the end of the afternoon, we handed out these bags with popcorn, coloring book, 2 toys, and streams with the colors of the wordless book to all the children who came to the program.

Herberth and Carla

Look at those attentive faces!

The children made a mural about the salvation story.

This was part of my workshop. I used "Claves" for the first time. It is a program that was developed by Youth for Christ in Uruguay with the goal of strengthing children against abuse. I'll tell you more about it in another post.

So sweet!

Daniel, our safari man!

"Claves"

One of the homes with the clean laundry hanging over the wall to dry.

Yep, another cutie!

Children listening to a presentation about how to brush their teeth before getting floride treatments.

singing

"Claves"

The "artist" explaining salvation

Explanation of the colors of the wordless book

Salvation story

Part of the team

More of the team, but without Michael who is now taking the picture!

I just loved this picture of the girls taking a picture!

Mother's Day

2008-05-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

I woke up on Mother's day to a wonderful fruit breakfast in bed! Then we went to a very nice restaurante for lunch. They were having an all-you-can-eat shrimp bar... too bad I don't eat shrimp! But I ordered off their normal menu and it sure was nice not to cook or wash the dishes! Then at church that night the kids put on a special program for Mother's Day with singing and a "parade of moms" of which Maira was the mom of many children...

The four of us at the restaurante

Maira shaking those music eggs as she sings

Don't they look thrilled??? They actually were not so serious most of the time, but we just clicked at the wrong moment!

Maira was taking care of 4 dolls...one in the stroller, one in the basket, one in the kangaroo, and one under her arm!

She just had to walk from one end of the stage to the other and back again. She did a great job and said later that she wasn't as embarrassed as she thought she would be!

I wonderful week ahead

2008-04-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

I hope you remember little Larissa that spent 3 weeks in the ICU last year when she was just days old. Well, guess who is here with us this week??? Márcio, Keila, Mathias, and Larissa are here this week. Asas has their annual business meetings on Friday and Saturday and they were able to come down early and spend some time with us. Well, at least Keila, kids and I are spending time together! The guys seem to have work to do in Asas....imgaine that! :) As you will see in the pictures below, Larissa is a beautiful and perfectly healthy little girl! Out of the many newborns that were in the ICU with Larissa, there is only one other baby who has had no serious side effects. Another baby that was in the exact same condition as Larissa is now blind and can't sit up. God really worked a miracle in this little girl! She is not only perfectly healthy, she is extremely alert, smart, charming, etc. She is just a doll and she is already taking her first steps. She is 10 months old today! Mathias is equally adorable and is having a great time playing with Michael and Maira. He cried when Michael left in the car with Steve yesterday...he wanted Michael to stay with him because he loves his friend Michael. So cute! Mathias turned 3 in January...he and Michael share the same birthday. Now for some pictures!

What a cute profile!!! She is a little peanut...small for her age, but full of smiles, energy, and she sings all the time!

Maira and Mathias playing with Raisin

Remember when I said that Mathias is 3? Yeah, and Maira is 5....see the huge difference in their sizes??? :) Larissa is little and Mathias is BIG

I love this one!!!

Auntie Keila playing tic-tac-toe with my kiddos...

Maira is 5 years old!

2008-03-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Yep, my baby turned 5 years old on March 27! She wanted an Ariel Birthday party (Little Mermaid), so I did some idea searching on the Internet for some fun things to do. The invitations were in a plastic bag with sand and glitter and shape confetti. At the party we had sand play dough, a sandbox, bubbles, a "throw the ball through the mouth of the fish" game, and a treasure hunt. I gave the girls big pink flowers to wear in their hair and flower necklaces. The boys got pirate patches and a red sash to wear. We had 16 kids here plus some parents. We were so thankful for a nice, sunny day and Maira was thrilled with her party. I had to remind her to stop inviting people because for a week she kept inviting just about anyone who stopped in front of her long enough to start a conversation! I was getting worried about how I would feed them all! :) Now for some pixs...

The cups have jello in them with gummy fish in it and whipped cream on top

The pirate boys....so scary!

Can you see the ball going through the mouth of the fish??? Good picture taking Steve!

Growing Kids God's Way....for the fourth time!

2008-03-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Yep, we are going through the course again. You might think we have the course memorized by now, but we don't! We decided to try it as a home Bible study group this time and it is working out really well. We just had our 3rd meeting this week and we have a great group. It is a real mix...two moms who come by themselves because their husbands are not Christians, another couple who are grandparents raising their grandson, a couple who do not have children but are wanting to start preparing for it, and 4 more couples with children ranging from 8 years old to 1 year old. We are meeting in our home and that has been really wonderful for us since we don't have to get a babysitter! I just excuse myself to put Maira to bed and Michael can hold out until 9:30pm when the group heads for their homes. We will need to meet every Thursday evening until July to get the whole course in, but it is definately worth it. I learn so much every time....it is like a breath of fresh air comes through the house every time we go through the course. As parents, we get focused again and aware of the things that we are neglecting.

Learning about Adoption

2008-03-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a glimpse of the class that we are attending for parents who want to adopt. We started out with 10 couples and one single lady, but by last week we were down to 5 couples and one single lady. Of the whole group, we are the only ones who have biological children. Some of these couples have been waiting for over two years for a newborn. The classes have been very good as we discuss the ins and outs of adoption with the psycologist/social worker. The course is for 5 weeks and we only have 2 more to go. Completing the course does not mean we will receive a child right away, but the judge does look "favorably" on those who have completed the course. Although we are anxious to have our 3rd child, we are not by any means disperate. We know that God's timing will be perfect!

Clube da Luluzinha

2008-03-08T05:43:00.000-08:00

The bi-weekly meeting of the ladies of Asas is called the "Clube da Luluzinha". We had our first meeting of the year this Thursday at my house. 20 of us managed to squeeze into the dinning room and living room. In the past, Keila and I planned all of the meetings, but this year I am trying something new. I have asked that each of them take a turn to be responsible for a meeting and that they have the freedom to do whatever they want during their meeting. I still have 4 dates to fill in, but I think I just need to put a little pressure on some of them! This week we played some "get to know each other" games since we had 7 new ladies. Then we had a devotional about being purposeful in our days, making goals and planning out the steps to meeting those goals. The devotional was given by Ester, who is responsible for the department that organizes the clinics. And to finish up the afternoon, we made dish clothes. I wasn't able to finish mine, so I'll have to post a picture of it later! I had to assist some on the sewing machine and that is sorta like the blind leading the blind! Good thing we only had to sew straight lines! Here are some pictures of the group:

Michael and school

2008-02-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't been able to let you know how the Brazilian school experience has been going. We are still getting used to the routine and that means mommy doesn't have time to be at the computer.

Michael was somewhat excited for his first day and I was sick to my stomach. I only cried a little though and that was in private. I was so anxious to pick him up and he seemed happy enough in the car with the two neighbor boys, so I was expecting a good report. Steve made it home soon after we had walked in the door, so we sat down to hear all about his first day. Basically, he hated it. (I can say that here, but we have had to remove the word "hate" when talking about school because of his bad attitude. He will never learn to appreciate school with that sort of attitude.) His complaints are that the kids don't respect the teacher and talk all the time. Then the teacher has to yell and/or not let them go out to recess until everyone is quiet. He just can't understand why they don't obey the teacher. Not that he is totally obedient at home, but to be so openly disobedient is hard for him to accept. His other complaint is that he finishes what the teacher tells them to do and then he has to sit and wait "forever" for everyone else to get done. We tried to explain to him that waiting on the other students is very normal and is that it has to do with patience, which is a good skill to learn. He is just spoiled by home school. So, he now has to come up with something good that happened at school each day, and that is usually recess. But on Tuesdays it is indoor soccer for the highlight. On Thursdays he has swimming and judo, but he said the water was cold so he didn't like that so much and he hasn't made up his mind on if he liked judo or not. I think he is waiting to see if the boys do judo correctly or if they get crazy and start hurting each other. I know, he is a regular Eore.

As for home school in the mornings, we are somehow getting it done. I try to finish up with him by 11am so he has time to do his independent work before going to school and then that also gives me time to get lunch on the table. We do lunch the Brazilian way...it is the big meal of the day. We need to be sitting down at the table at noon for him to eat, brush teeth, and get his uniform on for school so we can walk out the door at 12:45pm. Starting in March, we will add piano lessons to the routine two times a week from 9am - 9:45am. We should be able to get some work done before he goes and then I will get lunch almost done while he is gone. Happily, his piano teacher lives just down the block...what a blessing!!! He wants to take guitar, but I told him that as long as his piano teacher lives on our street, he would take piano! (They are with Asas and should be moved to a flight base in northern Brazil in 2009) Anyway, we had some late nights last week with getting his homework done for the Brazilian school and that made him tired in the mornings, but after that happened twice I have been able get him to bed on time.

Okay, here are some pictures for you! The boys with Michael are Natan and Daniel, our neighbors.

Finally...

2008-02-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

Steve got home today around noon. He flew out of Manaus at 3:30am and arrived in Brasília at 8am. Then he got a ride to Anápolis. We are so glad to have him home! He does have to take the second Columbia to Victória either tomorrow or Monday, but that will be a quick trip. He is very tired and has an ear infection, so I am hoping this trip to Victória can wait until Monday.

Almost home!

2008-02-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

Steve landed in Boa Vista shortly before lunch and then headed on to Manaus around 2pm. They had no troubles with customs because the officials were eager to go to lunch! Good strategy! He should have landed in Manuas about 30 minutes ago and he will try to catch a flight late tonight that will arrive in Brasilia tomorrow morning.

Michael's school

2008-02-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

First, the guys made it to Grenada and are currently on the beach. They head to Boa Vista tomorrow as early as possible with hopes of making it to Manaus before the end of the day. This is their last chance to enjoy a beach in the Caribbean! And these pictures prove that it is a beautiful as I had imagined!

Michael, Maira, and I went to the two schools that are close to our house today. I had been praying that God would make it clear to me if I really should put Michael in a school and then which school would be best. God clearly answered my prayers today. We went to the school where he has two friends already. They greeted me so nicely and right away took us for a tour. Then the director (principal) had me sit in her office to talk to her. Michael and Maira stayed with me and she asked me all sorts of questions about what he had already learned. As I prayed to God, I told Him that I wanted to find a school that would understand why I am homeschooling and not criticize me for it. (home schooling does not exist here) Well, the director totally understood and was very supportive. She said she would put Michael in second grade and that the teachers would do everything possible to help him out until he gets the swing of things. Then she turned her attention to Michael and asked him if he liked the school and if he wanted to go to school there. He said he liked the school, but wasn't sure he wanted to go to school. She asked him why, and he said he was kinda scared. She asked him why he was scared. He just shrugged his shoulders, not able to put into words what he was feeling. She asked him if he was scared that he would not be able to do the school work like the other kids? He immediately replied yes, that he was very scared about that. She talked to him for awhile about how we are each good at different things, but that nobody is good at everything. She assured him he would be the best in his English class! That made him smile and he was quickly put at ease. She also told him that he should always ask his teacher if he doesn't understand something and that he can ask again and again until he understands. And that he could come to her office and talk to her whenever he needed to and that she would do whatever she could to help. Well, I was sold, but I felt like I needed to at least look at the other school. I explained this to the director, and we headed over to the other school. We spent probably all of 5 minutes there. No comparison. The lady I spoke with (I'm not even sure who she was...secretary, director, etc.) immediately said Michael would have to be in 1st grade because he had not been to a Brasilian school yet. She showed me his classroom and there were twelve 5-6 year olds...clearly much younger than Michael and he would have major self-esteem issues if put in there with those little kids! She asked no questions about Michael or what he knew. I went right back over to the first school and enrolled him. Michael is even looking forward to going tomorrow! We decided that he would just go during snack time and recess tomorrow so he could make some friends before getting into the classroom setting. He is open to the idea of staying after recess, but he will make that decision on the spot tomorrow. He already has his uniform (all schools use uniforms here) and tomorrow I need to get all the materials on a nice long list that I was given! I can't believe he is going to go to school. We will have to really push in the mornings to get homeschool done in time for me to get lunch on the table and get him to school by 1pm. But I feel that God is opening this door, so in we go!

On to Grenada

2008-02-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

The guys are off to Grenada today. They didn't have any trouble with the plane yesterday and had a little bit of time on the beach in St. Croix. They only have about 4 hours of flight today, so they are planning to hit the beach again! Hard life, eh? But seriously, they deserve it!

St. Croix

2008-02-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

The guys got the "okay" to put the plane back together and continue on. There was no crack in the cylinder and they couldn't find any explaination for the engine cutting off when put in the idle position. They took off from Providenciales this morning and are landing right now on the island of St. Croix. Steve will let me know in a bit if they will continue on today or stay on St. Croix for the night. They were not getting very good airspeed today, so I am expecting them to call it a day. Thanks for your prayers!

Not so good news

2008-02-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well...not so good news today. They did make it to the island of Providenciales yesterday and Steve was dismayed at how slow this airplane is compared to the Columbia! It took them 5 hours to get to Providenciales, which was just their first fuel stop when he was in the Columbia. He got spoiled! The bad news is that they are having some maintenance issues with the plane. The problem with the airplane is that the engine stops when put in the idle position. Apparently, it did this when they landed at Fort Lauderdale as well. It does not appear to be anything critical, but they have to investigate it. They are in contact with the JAARS maintenance staff and have gone through several theories of what it might be, but none of the theories have proven to be accurate yet. So now, with all their investigating and looking at the engine, they have discovered an “apparent” cylinder crack. The small crack at the base of the cylinder does not seem to have relation with the symptoms they are seeing of High Cylinder Heat Temp (CHT) and low Exhaust Gas Temp (EGT), but since it looks like a crack it must be investigated. So now they are out on the ramp pulling the exhaust stacks off to get a better look at the cylinder. Most likely, they will be spending another night on the island of Providenciales.

Steve said he would contact me later on today to give me an update on their progress.

One more time...

2008-02-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Steve left the house at 6:30am today to catch a 9:15 flight out of Brasilia. Unfortunately, the flight out of Brasilia left very late and that caused him to miss his connecting flight to Miami at 1pm. So he has been waiting in São Paulo all day for the midnight flight. They did put him up in a hotel, so that was good. He should be boarding about now...

The plan is for them to take off for the island of Provedenciales before lunch tomorrow. He lands in Miami at 6am, then he will catch the train to Fort Lauderdale and meet up with the two Wycliffe pilots. This trip will go slower since the guys are wanting to make the most out of being in the Caribbean. Steve has yet to get his feet wet in the Caribbean, but that should change on this trip. Not that they will be spending days on each island, but they plan to have time at the end of each afternoon to find the closest beach!

On the home front, I am trying to make an important decision this week. Michael is not wanting to move up to the 8-9 year old class at church because he doesn't write in cursive yet and because he doesn't feel secure about reading in Portuguese. I've been kicking the idea around in my head about sending him to a Brazilian school in the afternoons since their school days are only half days anyway. Then maybe he would get the practice he needs in reading Portuguese and also get over his fears of being different. From what I've been told, Brazilian schools do not teach printing. They start right off with cursive. I don't know how true that is or how wide-spred that is, but it is true that all the kids his age are writing in cursive. I went with the highly recommended "Handwriting Without Tears" series in which cursive is started in the 3rd grade. I ordered the cursive book already and we have almost finished all the 2nd grade handwriting material. We will start writing in cursive next week, so that problem is easier to solve. Michael is just very shy and nervous about new situations. And here he is a missionary kid. I want to help him, but I don't know the best way to do that. We will visit two schools this week and I am praying that God will show me what to do. I will continue home schooling with him in the mornings, so sending him to another school in the afternoons will be a heavy schedule. This will only be until the end of June since we will be going on furlough in August. I'm open to any advise, opinions, counsel, etc.

Home again!

2008-02-01T05:13:00.000-08:00

Steve made it home last night without any trouble. He even brought snickers, reeces peanut butter cups, tortilla chips, and salsa!! What a sweet hubby I have! I asked him if it would bother him if I gained about 10 pounds in the next two weeks as I eat it all! (smile) I'll have to pace myself!

Steve heads to Miami again on Sunday morning to bring the third airplane down. This one should be pretty fun and relaxing since there will be three pilots, all of whom are very familiar with the airplane (Cessna 206), and there is no time crunch. I believe the plan is to take off from Fort Lauderdale on Monday. This plane will take a bit longer because it is not as fast as the Columbia.

The journey continues!

2008-01-30T08:43:00.001-08:00

Steve landed on the island of Grenada last night and has already landed in Boa Vista this morning. He will head on to Manaus after getting a bite to eat in Boa Vista, and then tomorrow he heads to Anápolis! There has been good weather along the whole route so far, so I am hoping things clear out here tomorrow. Today has been a very rainy day with low clouds.

Off again

2008-01-29T04:49:00.001-08:00

Steve took off from Fort Lauderdale this morning...as far as I know, anyway! That was the plan last night and he isn't answering his cell phone, so I am assuming he is in the air. Around noon I can call the airport at Providenciales to see if he is still on track. He is feeling good about this trip, having just done it and having a co-pilot that is anxious to help and to please. I'll post his progress here, just like last time. Thanks for you prayers!

A quick touch-and-go

2008-01-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

Steve made it home last night!!! We were so happy to see him! When the plane was coming towards the hangar, Michael said, "I just can't keep my mouth from smiling!". Then Maira said, "And I can't stop crying! I'm so happy!"

The documents for the second plane did come through by the end of the day on Friday, so Steve will be taking plane #1 to Victória on Sunday and then take a flight to Miami at 7pm Sunday. He will get into Miami on Monday morning and then drive up to Fort Lauderdale. The plan is for him to start down with the second plane on Tuesday. Jim has a co-pilot lined up to help Steve out and he is arriving in Miami on Sunday morning. Steve hasn't met him yet, but they have talked on the phone several times now. He has no training in this airplane, but Steve says he will still be a big help.

Thank you to all of you who prayed for Steve during this trip! And please don't stop!

The plan...

2008-01-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

Steve is at Márcio and Keila’s house tonight. I’m so jealous! He gets to see Larissa before I do. So totally not fair. Larissa was the little newborn who spent so much time in the ICU just 10 days after she was born due to a blood clot in her brain and an infection. She is a perfectly normal and healthy little girl now!

The weather does not look so great for tomorrow, but he should be here by the end of the afternoon. The papers for the second plane have not come through yet, so there is plan A, plan B, and plan C.

Plan A: The papers come through on Friday. Steve and Jim take the plane that Steve just brought down to Victória on Sunday and Steve leaves for the US on Sunday night from Victória. He would arrive in Miami on Monday afternoon with plans to start the trip down with the second plane on Tuesday.

Plan B: The papers do NOT come through on Friday. Steve and Jim take the plane down to Victória on Monday. If the papers come through sometime on Monday, Steve will still leave for the US from Victória on Monday night and start bringing the 2nd plane down on Tues.

Plan C: The papers do NOT come through on Friday or Monday. Steve and Jim take the plane to Victória on Monday and Steve comes back home on Tues. Then he heads to the US on Feb.2 (Saturday) to help bring the Wycliffe plane down. The other plane for Jim will wait until he gets back from bringing the Wycliffe plane.

Hope this all makes sense! Personally, I think I would prefer plan C. I’m not too keen on Steve not getting a chance to catch his breath. But I also realize that it will be stressful for him to leave once the students are back and they need him in the school.

I better just relax and let God take care of it! He has it all worked out already anyway! J

Manaus

2008-01-24T15:02:00.000-08:00

Steve landed in Manaus at the end of the afternoon! Hopefully he will land here in Anápolis tomorrow!

Grenada

2008-01-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

Steve made it to Grenada tonight! Not without giving his wife a real scare thought. I talked to him briefly when he landed at Providenciales and he said his next stop would be in 3 hours on the island of St. Croix. I kept calling the airport there to confirm his arrival, but they kept telling me they hadn't seen the plane! This went on for about 2 hours. Then I called Jim (the one Steve is flying for) and asked him if he had heard anything. Well, he had found out that they had caught a good wind current and decided to head straight for Grenada. What a relief! So I gave them time to get to Grenada and then called the tower there and they confirmed that he had landed. I haven't talked to him yet, although the lady at the hotel said he was checking in when I called. I'll give him time to eat and take a shower before I bug him! Thanks to all who are praying for him!!! (And thank God for skype so I can call all these places for 2 cents a minute!)

Up, Up, and Away!

2008-01-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Steve took off this morning from Fort Lauderdale an hour behind schedule. His co-pilot/owner of the airplane refused to stay in a hotel close to the airport last night and therefore had to drive up from Miami to Fort Lauderdale this morning in order to take off at 6am. Unfortunately, he got lost on the way to Fort Lauderdale and he didn't arrive until almost 7am. I am trying to keep tabs on their progress, but flightaware.com only follows airplanes with a US registry. I'll keep you all up-to-date as best as I can. He should arrive in Boa Vista for customs tomorrow afternoon and then the plan is to continue on to Manaus for the night. Then he would leave Manaus Friday morning and make it to Anápolis by the end of the day on Friday.

Good News!

2008-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

Looks like Steve will be taking off to cross the Carribean tomorrow morning, weather permitting!!! AND his co-pilot ended up sticking around so he won't be by himself! All in God's timing....

Hangin' Out

2008-01-19T15:54:00.000-08:00

Steve is hanging out in Fort Lauderdale for the weekend. Looks like the soonest he will be able to leave is Tuesday morning. That is if things start to fall in place... There is a good chance that Steve will now have to bring the plane down without a co-pilot because the owner (who was to be the co-pilot and who took the training course with Steve) says he needs to be back in his office by Monday. This is not an ideal situation for Steve, but he is not too worried about it.

The new students are arriving now to get settled in before classes start on Feb.13. I had one couple over for lunch on Friday and another couple over today for lunch. A third couple should be arriving tomorrow so I hope to have them over early next week.

Several of you have asked about Poliana. Poliana is still being cared for my Patricia in a house that she is renting and she is still planning on adopting Poliana. The judge has been gone from Dec. 19 until Jan. 18, so we are hopeful that some decision will be made before the judge takes another break for the Carnaval holidays. First the judge needs to make a decision on if Poliana is required to return to the tribe, then if she can be adopted, and then who can adopt her. We have decided to be a "plan B" should Patricia not be allowed to adopt Poliana. We do not want to take Poliana away from someone who loves her dearly and has sacrificed so much for her. We appreciate your continued prayers for Poliana. Being pregnant was MUCH easier...at least I had a due date! (smile)

Didn't happen...

2008-01-18T15:32:00.000-08:00

Well folks, the documents didn't get signed by the end of the day today, so Steve is stuck for the weekend. Happily, his uncle lives about 20 minutes from Fort Lauderdale, so he is going to visit with his uncle and family over the weekend. He has the customs requirements in order now...at least as much as he could get answers to. He spoke with something like 24 different people in the TSA and nobody could tell him about some kind of clearance that they need to give him. He got frustrated with that and decided that it doesn't apply to him since he is not carrying passengers or cargo. We are sad that he is taking longer than we expected, but other than that we are just fine. We are confident that God's timing is perfect and we don't want to get ahead of Him! Thank you for your continued prayers!

Still waiting...

2008-01-18T04:15:00.000-08:00

Steve is still waiting for the documentation from Brazil to come through and in the meantime has discovered that he has all sorts of red-tape to sort through for customs on the US end of things. There is a chance that things will come together today in order for him to leave tomorrow.

Bummer....

2008-01-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

Steve is still not able to head south yet. He was able to get the expense money for the rest of the trip, but the documentation is still on some desk not getting proper attention! I am thankful that he could should get a full 8 hours of sleep tonight, something that hasn't happened for some time now. A rested pilot is a better pilot, right?! There are all sorts of plans right now...I think there is A, B, and C at this point. He has a reservation for a flight back to Brazil on Friday if there is still no sign of the documents coming through. He is also thinking about just staying in the US so that he can help bring the Wycliffe airplane down as soon as the other Wycliffe pilots are ready. Only time will tell....

An unexpected wait...

2008-01-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

Turns out they won't be leaving tomorrow to cross the Caribbean. Two things didn't happen today that needed to happen. First, Steve was supposed to get cash from a bank in Fort Lauderdale that the seller of the airplane had wired for the expenses of the rest of the trip. Turns out the bank would not give him the money because he doesn't have an account at that bank. You would think that would have been discussed before the transfer, but I guess the bank was just happy to receive the money and didn't bother to say anything about that little detail. Second, they are still waiting for some documents for the plane that are being held-up here in Brazil for bureaucracy reasons, a kind of a power struggle that is going on in the aviation departments. So far, Steve is not put-out by all of this because he was very busy today getting the necessary equipment that he needs for going over the Caribbean (life boats, etc.). He is happy to have another day to run after those things and even make a trip to Wal Mart. The kiddos here were pretty disappointed with the news today, but Michael is having a slumber party tonight, so his mind was quickly diverted from the bad news today. I took Michael, Maira, and two of Michael's friends from church to see the Bee Movie at the movie theater and then we came home to make pizzas. We each made our own individual sized pizzas and it was so much fun! We even made sweet pizzas with bananas, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate. MMMMMMMMM!!! It is almost midnight now and I still hear the boys giggling in the bedroom. I guess I won't have to worry about breakfast in the morning...they won't be up until lunch at this rate! Time to go put on the "put-out" mother face and tell them to settle down! At least Maira is snoozing away in my bed...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

2008-01-15T04:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a wonderful surprise this morning! Steve called me last night at 8:45pm (my time) from Texarkana saying that they had made great progress and would push on to Montgomery, AL. His cell phone was no longer charged, so he told me to just call him this morning. To my surprise, I woke him up this morning in Fort Lauderdale, Florida! He said the weather was great and they were feeling comfortable enough with the plane to fly it at night, so they just kept going. They arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 11:30pm last night and he was wanting to sleep a bit more this morning. They should take-off to cross the Caribbean tomorrow. Thank you all for praying! I'm glad they have had time over land to get used to the plane before they take off over open water!

Good Weather!

2008-01-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

Happily, Steve woke up to clear skies today! They were already at the airport at 7:15am and were refueling and warming up the engine of the plane. Apparently, even though the sun is shining, it is a very cold day in Flagstaff. Steve would like to make it to Wichita Falls, TX by the end of the day.

Flagstaff, AZ

2008-01-14T04:54:00.000-08:00

Steve made it to Flagstaff, AZ last night, landing around 7pm. He really wanted to make it to New Mexico, but he ran into a cloud bank that he couldn't get above due to icing and snow. So they did a 180 and landed at Pulliam airport in Flagstaff. He was very happy to be on the ground again and is praying for good weather today. He would like to make it to south Georgia today but he needs to get off early today and have good weather for the route. It isn't quite 6am in Flagstaff right now, so I don't know what the weather is like for him yet. I thought I'd let him sleep until 6:30am or so. (smile)

Fallon, Nevada

2008-01-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

Steve made it to Fallon, Nevada last night (Jan.12). It is east of Reno. They had to dodge some bad weather and were happy to be on the ground again. I called him with skype just as he shut down the engine of the plane and I was able to go on the internet and tell him what hotels were close by when he was ready to leave the airport. Crazy, huh?! He woke up to a very low, dense fog today and is waiting for the skies to open. He is still hoping to make it to somewhere in Texas today, but that just depends on if or when the weather permits him to take-off.

Poliana is out of the hospital!

2007-12-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

I found out on Saturday morning that Poliana was allowed to leave the hospital! We are so happy and relieved that she will be with a family in a home for Christmas. The judge had actually sent her to the Indian House, which is not a good place to be if you are a woman or a child. Happily, she only spent about 4 hours there because Patricia was able to get guardianship of her. Patricia has resigned from her mission in order to ask for custody and she told me on Saturday that she is now hoping to adopt Poliana herself. This was hard to hear, but I have feared this all along. Patricia has certainly cared for her as a mother and has made many sacrifices for her. I am not sure, however, what we will do at this point. Although I don't want to take Poliana away from Patricia, I also worry about the fact that Patricia is a single lady who is already in the process of adopting a 2 month old, and she now has no job since she left the mission. Her sending church has told her that they support her in her decision and that they will continue to support her, but I can't help but wonder for how long. So, please pray with us for wisdom.

Poliana's Birthday

2007-12-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

These are the newest pictures of Poliana that were taken on her birthday, Dec. 3. As of today, she is still in the hospital waiting for a decision to be made. Happily she is in a private, air conditioned room now. Patricia (the one holding Poli) is the missionary who has been caring for her for these 2 1/2 months in the hospital. They are trying change who has custody of Poliana right now so that she could leave the hospital. Patricia currently has guardianship but the house that she is renting is on the mission's property and it would not be in Poliana's or the mission's best interests to have her on mission property. A nurse from the hospital has offered to ask for guardianship so that Poli could stay at her house. Patricia would continue to spend most of her time caring for Poli, but she would get a needed break and Poliana could be in a home! Poli is not crawling or walking yet because she has not been allowed to be on the floor in the hospital. I am sure she will quickly regain the time she has lost, but it sure is frustrating! Of course, I would rather they just send her on down to me and not mess around with changing guardianship to a nurse! But if it gets Poli out of the hospital, then I am all for it.

Here's a little side note...I just found out today that Steve will be going to the US on Jan.3 and my mom and step-dad go back to the US on Jan.4. Then there is Michael's birthday on Jan. 7. Yep, we will be boardering on depression around Jan.5! So, I just had a thought. Maybe I could find a good rate for going to Boa Vista on the 4th or soon after. Then we could meet Poliana and Michael could be with his bestest friend in the world (Lucas) for his birthday! Like I said, this is just a thought I had in the last 10 minutes. Steve hasn't even heard of my crazy idea yet. And this will all depend on me finding a really cheap rate to Boa Vista! Now I have to decide if I could emotionally handle going to see Poliana and not bring her back with me. Hmmmmmm....

Thad and Wendy Cooper

2007-10-31T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here is the lovely couple that came all the way from Louisiana, leaving their 4 kiddos with relatives, in order spent a week at Asas for candidacy. Thad spent his time in the plane or in the maintenance shop while Wendy did some activities with Edna and I. Thad just didn't think it was too fair that I scheduled in a shopping trip and time to get Wendy's nails painted! I figured that is all part of the cultural experience! Unfortunately for us, Thad and Wendy did not feel the peace that they had asked God to give them if Asas was the place for them. So they are back home in Louisiana now waiting for God to tell them what the next step should be.

Project at the dump in Brasilia, Sept.22, 2007

2007-10-09T10:48:00.001-07:00

Here is the front of the church which was our "headquarters" for the local Project at the dump in Brasilia. Once again, I need to get more pictures of the neighborhood and of the actual dump. I was told I could get them off the Asas website, but I haven't been able to do that yet. I'll be sure to post them once I get them! Anyway, we were a little worried because the city decided to do a project of their own on the very same day in the same neighborhood. The city was offering legal services, medical attention, vaccinations, and fun things like trampolines for the kids to play on. But God showed us that He had plans for us that day and the city's plans did not hinder it.

There was no room at the church to have a children's program, but we were able to use a daycare that was just a few blocks away. The actual building had just one room and was very hot in the afternoon, but the yard was huge and had two wonderful trees that gave us lots of shade. We had about 75 kids come to the children's program in the morning and 85 in the afternoon. We sang songs, had a magic show (with Biblical applications!), and then divided up into small groups to hear God's plan for humanity. We also used the bracelets with the colors of the wordless book in the small groups.

I was busy telling the story, so I didn't get a picture of the tool we use to teach children God's plan for humanity. It is a white erase board divided into 4 sections. Each section is partially completed and as you tell the story, you complete the section by drawing designs, people, etc. The first section is about heaven. The second is about creation and how sin entered the world. The third section is about Jesus paying the price for our sins. And the fourth section is about the Book of Life and our decision to have Jesus in our heart or outside of our heart. I'll get a picture of it and post it later. We used a slightly different approach for the older kids (9-12 yr olds) that uses paint and poster board instead of the markers and the white erase board.

Michael and Maira helping out

2007-10-09T10:32:00.001-07:00

Here are Michael and Maira doing the motions to the song.

Notice the home behind him.

Do you see the two girls looking at Maira instead of looking towards the front? Maira was quite the attraction with her very white skin, blue eyes, and light colored hair. At one point there were several little girls around her touching her hair and skin. Maira had a look of panic on her face, but held still. I just smiled and told her they were admiring her!

Singing her heart out!

This doesn't really do justice, but it gives you an idea of how dirty the kids got! I had never seen them so dirty. Actually, we were all very dirty and very smelly! It was a hot day and the smell of sweat plus the smell of the dump made an awful combination. We all took two showers that night. I was wearing tennis shoes and socks...and the dirt still got down to my toes!

Passtimes for the kids....

2007-10-09T10:00:00.001-07:00

Anyone want to try? They use the box springs from a bed with a piece of plywood on top to cattapult them into the air. Nice. I let out a yelp each time they flipped. I was sure one of them was going to land on their head.

And here is another passtime that the moms all love. Playing in the abundant dirt. Not playing like "squat down and push the dirt around"...I mean roll around in it, kick at it, get it on every inch of your body and clothes! And then do some karate chops at your friends and see if they fall down and crack their heads open on the rocks.

Project at the dump continued........

2007-10-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

We had a group from Asas teaching a craft and also giving "facials" to the ladies from the neighborhood. The facial used ingredients that are inexpensive and easy to come by....something like flour and fresh orange juice. I'll have to check that out for sure and try it out myself!

We set up a clinic inside the church with 3 dentists working at the same time, a pharmacy, and behind the curtains was a doctor and nurse. The mobile unit outside the church doors also had one more dentist and one more doctor. Even with all of these doctors working all day, there was not enough daylight hours to attend to all the people who needed medical attention.

Here is a group of guys listening to a lecture on the affect of drugs. Borges, the guy giving the talk, was a drug addict for many years. Actually, he and his wife were both addicts who lived on the streets in Rio. They have 4 children and the youngest has major brain damage, most likely due to their drug usage at the time.

What a party!

2007-09-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here is most of the gang that went to the Country Festival on Thursday evening. We had a really fun time...mostly laughing at each other during the different games we played! We had grilled meat kabobs, soup, corn on the cob, chocolate coated peanuts, candied applies, and spiced cider. Mmmmmmm. We had booths set up to play those typical fair games like shooting the cans down (with a water gun), fishing (we used the kiddy pool), and horseshoes. Then we had a treasure hunt, played musical chairs, and played a few other games that you'll see pictures of below. Lots of fun and laughed all night long...it was worth all the craziness of geting it organized!

You'd have to see it to believe it!

2007-09-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

We had a Mr. and Ms. Country contest...and Michael won the Mr. Country! As we were getting ready to start the competition, I told Michael that everyone would have a turn to "parade" in front of everyone. To my surprise, as soon as the music started he jumped out in the middle and started dancing his heart out! I had NEVER seen him do anything like this before, much less in front of everyone! We were all cheering him on as we doubled-over with laughter...and he just kept dancing! How I wished we had taken the video camera!

Picture taking

2007-09-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

A guy in the mission painted this for us from images that I got off the internet. It turned out really great, but what a pain to get it to the party! We rented a truck to take it to the farm where we had the party, along with the bamboo to make the booths for the games, the stove to cook the corn and keep the soup warm, and a few other bigger items that would be hard to fit in a car. I sent two guys on the truck with a list of what they needed to get on the truck. I met them at the farm around 2pm only to find out that they forgot the painting and the stove! We ended up having it brought out by the mobile clinic bus that belongs to Asas. Not exactly what the bus is to be used for, but....

Dice game

2007-09-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

This game was pretty funny to watch... You have to unwrap the candy bar, using a fork and knife and be the one to eat the last bite of the chocolate. The chocolate bar was wrapped about 5 times in wrapping paper just to make it a bit more difficult. Those who are playing form a line and take turns rolling the dice. You have to get a 6 to get a turn at the chocolate and your turn is up whenever the next person gets a 6. You can see that having a bigger mouth helps in this game...as Steve proves by cutting off an enormous chunck of chocolate!

Find the ring in the chocolate pudding...

2007-09-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

It looked disgusting but they all said the pudding was yummy! The found the rings pretty fast, unfortunately! I wanted to see them work harder at finding it!

My little girl...

2007-09-03T18:06:00.001-07:00

I know I'm suspect, but she is such a pretty little girl! We were going to a birthday party of a 4 year old boy from church and I thought she looked so "Little Bo Peep" that I had to have a picture! The second picture is of Maira and her "sister", Ana Laura. Ana Laura is the daughter of friends of our from church. She and Maira have decided that they look like sisters and so whenever they are in the same building they act like it!

And here is a shot of the Birthday party! This is actually quite normal...party stores here do it all for you. We have yet to go this route...I have too much fun thinking of how to decorate for the birthday party that I don't want someone else doing it! Not to mention it is a bit cheaper...

Toothless Michael

2007-08-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Michael has lost 3 teeth in less than a month! No corn on the cob for him for a while!

The Bananal Island of the Karajá Indians

2007-08-09T18:21:00.001-07:00

Steve got back at the end of the afternoon on Sunday from his 5 day experience with the Karajá Indians. A business man from the US grew up in this tribe and wanted to show the movie "The Passion of Christ" to them. His daughter, mother, and father also went on this trip. Steve had lots of fun and came home with a bad sunburn! (He claims he forgot that I had packed the sunscreen!) The Karajá Indians have the New Testament in their langauge and have missionaries living with them. Steve said that the men speak Portuguese, but the women only speak their native language. The Bananal island is in the Araguaia river and is a very large island. Only the Karajás can live on the island, but there are towns and tourist areas just across the water on the shores of the river.

Their homes and faces

2007-08-09T18:14:00.001-07:00

Notice all the dogs sitting around. Steve said there were another 3-4 that he didn't get into the picture!

Their homes are made of a type of dried mud brick.

Capivara

2007-08-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know if they are called capivaras in English, but that is what we call them here in Brazil! They are part of the rodent family and are quite large. When we were camping a few years ago along the Araguaia river, we saw a family of capivaras and the mommy was the size of a very large dog. This one is tame and "belongs" to one of the Karajá indians.

Tropical birds

2007-08-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

Steve said that all the Karajás have lots of pets. Aren't these birds just amazing?! Of course Michael and Maira want parrots now. Even though it would be neat, I would never want to keep a bird from flying high in the sky. I think the kiddos understood and are content with the 2 dogs and 3 cats!

Turtle soup anyone?

2007-08-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

Apparently, they eat a lot of turtle meat...Steve said it isn't bad. Not that I would really want to know for myself though. I would have to seriously consider becoming a vegetarian if I were to visit their tribe!

Showing the movie...

2007-08-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

Steve was responsible for setting up the "screen" and getting the equipment ready for showing the movie. They showed the movie "The Passion of Christ" and "The GodMan".

No living thing is left out...

2007-08-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, we even let the stray dogs watch the movie about Jesus! This one payed close attention during most of the film, but kept getting distracted by distant noises that only a dog can hear...or maybe it was a distant smell of something. You never can tell with dogs. Anyway, he didn't make a decision that night, but we are sure that he heard all about Jesus! (Dogs do go to heaven, don't they??)
P.S. Please don't call the mission board...I'm just kidding!

Steve doing what he does...

2007-08-03T16:34:00.001-07:00

Steve and I are somewhat different from many couples because he is much more the talker than I am! I especially admire his ability to carry on a conversation when I see him telling others about Jesus. By the time I figure out how to start a conversation, he already knows half of their life-story! There is a lady that called our house a year ago who Steve had shared the truth of Jesus with on the Project in 2005. She was calling to let him know that she was still strong in her faith even though she was having trouble finding a church that accepted her. She had kicked out her live-in boyfriend the day after Steve had talked to her and had changed her ways. Anyway, one of our teams went to this same town this year and Steve told them to find this lady and check up on her. (It was easy to find her because she has a mermaid painted on the wall outside her house!) So they visited with her and she was so excited that she wanted to go door-to-door evangelizing with the team! And she did! Now that is really neat!

Our Favorite Team Members!

2007-08-03T16:27:00.001-07:00

Well, we do gotta eat! Here are the ladies who kept us well feed and very happy! The one in the orange vest is Eliane. She is the mom of the girl who watches my kiddos while I am at Asas. She is a dear friend and it was so neat to have her with us this year on the Project. She is a wonerful cook...I did pull some strings to make sure she was on my team! The other ladies are from the local church of Taiobeiras and they were a huge help to Eliane. These ladies served us with all their hearts and they really worked hard.

Children's Program, day 1 and 2

2007-08-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kids who participated in the children's program on the first and second day in the community of Taiobeiras in Minas Gerais. Each day we had clsoe to 200 children attend. The school was quite large and things went smoothly after the first day. It took the first day for my teens on the children's ministry team to get the awakening that they needed as to their need for preparation and organization! I can proudly say that after the first day, my team keep the children extremely organized!

Project Go Ye - Vale de Jequitinonha

2007-07-30T19:45:00.001-07:00

Here are the 250 people (minus those taking pictures at the moment) that participated in the Project Go Ye. The Project was from July 19-29 this year. We divided into 5 teams that went to 5 different communities to do evangelism and children's programs. I'll be sharing a few pictures each day so as not to overwhelm you with all the pictures at once! Keep checking in!

Where do you sleep while on the Project???

2007-07-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

We spread out the thin mattresses wherever there was room. The first 2 nights the guys were sleeping in balcony of a church while the gals were sleeping in classrooms in a school across the street. After we split up into 5 groups to go to different communities, we slept mostly in schools. The best part is the long line for the bathrooms and showers! But nobody heard any complaining from me! I was just thrilled to have warm water for my shower!!! We were also so happy to find out that we could take air mattresses this year!

She's home again!

2007-07-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Larissa was released from the ICU today and went home! Her blood results came back clear again today and she continues to nurse well. She will have weekly check-ups with the pediatrician and monthly with a neurologist. Thank you all who prayed diligently for this family and this precious little baby. God miraculously healed her!

Progress!

2007-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Larissa continues to show progress and is no longer needing the tube for nourishment. She is nursing well enough now! This is a huge answer to prayer. There is the possibility that she will be out of the ICU by the end of the week. A hematologist should be in to see her tomorrow to do some sort of exam. I didn't get to chat with Keila for long...she has had a long day between the hospital, saying good-bye to her mom, her mother-in-law arriving, and Mathias having a rough day. Pray for Mathias as he continues to deal with his life being shaken up. Keep praying also that Larissa will recover completely from any damage caused by the blood clot. They have a long road of neurologist ahead of them.

God is healing Larissa!

2007-06-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Larissa had a wonderful day today! She was able to nurse for 5 minutes in the morning, 5 minutes at noon, and then in the afternoon she was able to nurse for 20 minutes!!!! Thank you God!!!!

As of Friday night...(Larissa)

2007-06-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

I called Keila yesterday afternoon (Friday afternoon) and was able to talk to her and ask her all the questions that were whirling around in my head. First of all, the information that was passed on to me that Larissa was in the isolated ICU is not true. Larissa remains in the normal ICU where Keila can enter every few hours to try to nurse her. Larissa's high white blood cell count has been high from the beginning and has continued to be high. The doctors are saying that it is due to the blood clot in her brain. What happened from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning that was a setback is that the blood clot has apparently caused damage that is affecting Larissa's muscle control. This is why Larissa was no longer able to nurse on Wednesday morning and has had to be feed through a tube since then. Yesterday the doctors confirmed that she does not have an infection, but she does continue to be on antibiotics. The test yesterday also confirmed that the blood clot is slowly being absorbed. We are praying that the sudden loss of some muscle control that Larissa is experiencing will be reversable.
Mathias continues to get better. Keila's mom will need to go back to her home in São Paulo on Monday and Márcio's mother will be arriving on Tuesday for 10 days. Let's all pray that Larissa is home by the time Márcio's mother needs to return.
And if you are feeling worn out by the changes in information that the doctors give...the ups and downs of each update...just imagine how Márcio and Keila feel. And yet Keila can calmly tell me that she knows that there are 20 more babies in the ICU that are all needing answers and solutions. And she can tell me that the doctors are trying their best and yet they are not gods and we cannot expect too much from them. And here I was wanting to catch the next plane to personally tell the doctors that they need to stop clowning around and get the diagnosis straight. She continues to be an example to me, even through this terrible experience.

As of Thursday night....update on Larissa

2007-06-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Larissa continues to be lathargic and unable to nurse. She is receiving milk through a tube. The doctors are planning on performing another test today that might give them some answers. These days have been hard on Márcio and Keila because Larissa had been getting better and they had been looking forward to taking her home by the end of this weekend. Now they are back to ground zero with Larissa's recent regression. As of yesterday, her diagnosis is the following: hospital infection, blood clot in the brain, and reflux in the digestive system. It seems like each day something changes...first they say she doesn't have an infection, then she does, now maybe she doesn't....it has been brutal for the family.

Their 2 year-old (Mathias) has an inflamed throat due to a virus and is returning to the pediatrician today. His fever has come down a bit and it looks like there is no infection. The pediatrician also said she heard an abnormality in his heart that they will have to investigate.

Keep praying.

the latest on Larissa

2007-06-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

I just talked to Keila's mom (she is in Manaus with Keila to help) and the situation is not good. They did another exam yesterday that showed that the blood clot is smaller and everyone was saying that Larissa was getting better each day. She was not showing any more signs of infection and was gaining weight each day. The doctor said that there was not an obstruction in her intestines anymore. After the exam, Larissa nursed well 3 more times before Keila had to leave the hospital. This morning, Larissa would not nurse and is not responsive. They have moved her to the isolated ICU, which means Márcio and Keila can only see her from 3-5pm each day. Her white blood count is way up (normal is 10,000 and hers is 1 million) and they don't know why. Apparently, the doctors are now considering the possibility of Larissa being transferred to a hospital in São Paulo. This would be complicated (airplane, etc.), but perhaps it is the only way to get answers. To make things worse, their 2 year-old boy started having a high fever (104) yesterday. They took him to the emergency room where they were told that it looks like he has a virus. He is taking medicine to bring the fever down, but it keeps coming back. They will take him again today and hopefully at least a blood test will be done. Please, pray for this family. Keila and Márcio are totally exhausted. They are firm that God will not give them more than they can handle, but they are in great need of our prayers and of God's peace and strength. I will continue to put updates on the blog.

Pray for Larissa

2007-06-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

This is Keila, Márcio, Mathias (2 years old), and Larissa (a few days old). Larissa is in the ICU with an infection in her intestines, meningitis, and a blood clot in her brain. Larissa was born on June 7 and suddenly on June 15 she started having a fever and vomitting. She is stable and nursing well now, but there is no way of knowing if there will be any lasting effects from the blood clot. Please pray that Larissa will have a full recovery. Keila is at the hospital every day, all day to be able to nurse Larissa every 2 hours (she is physically and emotionally exhausted). Keila's mother is with them and taking care of house things and, most importantly, taking care of Mathias. Márcio is the designated driver since Keila had a c-section and is not allowed to drive yet and is trying to give Mathias the extra attention he is needing since he is feeling the absense of his mommy at home. This is a very, very dear family to us. Keila is like a sister to me. Unfortunately for me, Asas sent them to Manaus last year to work at that flight base, so I can't be of much help through this rough time. They seem to be pleased with the medical care that Larissa is receiving, so that is a blessing.

Women's Retreat

2007-06-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

The ladies of Asas had a great time last Tuesday at the retreat. Joan (Steve's mom) lead us in a study of "Idols of the Heart". It was a wonderful balance of study, quiet time alone, and small group time. After lunch, I taught the ladies how to paint and decorate cans to make antique looking buckets to decorate with. They were all very proud of themselves for how well their projects turned out!

Nana's visit

2007-06-05T07:51:00.001-07:00

We had a great 2 weeks with Steve's mom, Joan! The kids call her "Nana" and they were very sad to see her go! She taught them new kid's songs, played Uno and Dominos daily with them, and made lots of cookies! It was so nice to have her here to take care of the kiddos while we were in Brasília for a Project and I had the previledge to have many talks with her about raising children in Brazil, ministry, and how to balance both when the needs are endless.

Couple's Group

2007-06-05T07:45:00.001-07:00

For those of you who get my email updates, this is the couple's group that we are involved with. We have chosen a book entitled "The Myth of Marriage" to go through together. Just thought that you might want to put faces with the names as you pray!
From left to right: Hélio and Gláucia, Douglas and Marcela, João and Biatriz, Steve and Kristin

Project Go Ye -- Southern Brazil

2007-05-17T19:05:00.001-07:00

From April 28 to May 1 I was able to participate in the 3rd Project Go Ye in southern Brazil. These Projects were started by people who had gone on the Project Go Ye that Asas coordinates every July in the northern half of Brazil. They have orgainized several churches of several denominations and are doing Projects in their region of Brazil. And since they were not so far from home (about 2 hours), they decided to take their children along to help with the Project! It was a great experience and I gained all sorts of ideas and experience that will be helpful in organizing the children's ministry for the Project in July in Central Brazil.

This is the church plant where the Project was based . It is a small country church started and supported by a Menonite church in Curitiba. (The Menonites in Brazil are not as conservative as in the US) The community is called Jacuí and it is nestled in the mountains. The church is actually perched on top of a mountain!

Here is the team for the 3rd Project Go Ye -- Southern Brazil. Can you find me?

Jacuí...the road to town

2007-05-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

This is the bridge we had to cross to get to the closest small town and this is the truck we used to get to the town. The "town" consists of a grocery store, a utility store, and a clinic. I rode in the back to make sure I could fill all the bumps in the road! Monica and the dentist that had been attending at the clinic road in the back with me and we vibrated all the way back to the church! It took the truck about 45 minutes to get to town. I am sure it would be much quicker if the road was straight and level, but the road turns and twists as it goes up and down the mountain range.

Jacuí...the homes

2007-05-17T18:47:00.001-07:00

Instead of the brittle red bricks, this region of Brazil has homes built from wood. I was impressed by how nicely the yards are kept around even the very simple homes.

Jacuí....the view!

2007-05-17T18:36:00.001-07:00

The community of Jacuí is located in a mountainous region in Southern Brazil, about 2 hours by car from Curitiba. The church is on the top of one of this mountains and the view was wonderful! The people in this region either raise cows and goats or work in rock cutting. This region has huge boulders that are cut and used in highway construction. The people are very poor and live isolated due to winding dirt roads that are at times impossible to travel on, the distances between houses, and the distance to the nearest town.

Cakes!

2007-05-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

Oh yeah! This was my kind of Project. One of the churches in Curitiba sent along 20 sheet cakes for the team to eat and to share with the community for a mid-afternoon snack! Did I mention that it is a Menonite church with a strong German background...which means these ladies know how to bake a cake! Makes you wish you had gone with me, doesn't it?! (smile)

Electricity class

2007-05-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Victor was a mechanics specialist in the Asas training program. He and his wife, Monica, are currently raising support and getting ready to move to the Asas base in Manaus. Victor and Monica are living in Curitiba until July and their church was one of the churches that were involved in the Project. Victor got creative in finding a way to minister to the people in Jacuí and decided to offer classes on electricity! The men in the community were very interested in his class and commented on how much they were needing this type of help.

"I'm not a spy!!!!"

2007-05-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

My main reason for going on the Project to Jacuí was to see the children's program in action. The lady who coordinated the children's program, Juliana, is the same lady that I have been working with in writing a curriculum that all of the teams will use in July. We have been working on this through email and talking on skype, so I felt is was very important to see how the curriculum really works and if there are any changes that need to be made for the 10 day Project in July. It turned out to be a very good thing that I did go because there are a few things that will need to be modified for the number of children we will be working with. The funny thing is that those who were on the Project seemed to think I was some kind of spy that Asas de Socorro sent to see if they were doing everything right! I kept trying to put them at ease, but it wasn't until the end that I think they really believed me!

One part of the curriculum that I asked Juliana to add was a class specific for the 1-3 year olds that teaches to their level. We have done this on the local Projects that I have been working with, but this was new to Juliana. She did a great job in writing that part of the curriculum and the teacher of this group was very creative as she made "fruit" out of balloons! I made sure I got a private lesson on how to do this before I went home!

This is one of the things that will need to change for the July Project. We had 15-25 children in each of the workshops and in July we will have 50-60 in each workshop! Working with paints, brushes, water, etc. would be way too stressful with 50-60 kids! I'm suggesting that we do a mosaic technique instead of using paints.

We had more children show up each day of the Project and on the last day the church was full! The older kids really enjoyed the program as well and had different activities in their workshops that were more age-appropriate. I am really excited about using this curriculum in July!

Crafts for the Ladies

2007-05-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

Every afternoon the ladies had a time to learn new crafts. The first day they worked on making scarfs from wool. Since this region of Southern Brazil does get quite chilly in the months of June and July, this project will be very useful to them! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to learn how to do this craft! They used the tool in the second picture in making the scarfs...but I can't explain to you how it was done! The second day was spent finishing up the scarfs and starting in on what we call "fuxico". I don't know what it is called in the US. You cut pieces of fabric in a circle and then sew around the edge of it in order to pull the thread tight and the outside of the circle then closes up and makes a flower-looking thing. Okay, that discription is awful. Sorry! You can then use these little fabric flowers to decorate shirts, purses, and 101 other decorations ideas such as making the "fuxico" around a bottle cap and then make hot pads to put on the table. The last afternoon of the Project, Môncia and I went to where they were having the clinic (45 minutes by truck) and we did "fuxico" with the ladies as they were waiting their turn to see the dentist. It is a great way to get conversation going among the ladies!

Free Haircuts

2007-05-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

There were three ladies cutting hair in one small room that is usually the Pastor's office. There were long lines all day, every day for a haircut!