God is healing Larissa!

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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!!!!"

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

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

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!

Herberth's Wedding

Herberth is the son of the kids' Brazilian Grandma (aka: Vovó). Vovó and family have been like family to us and we even had to move from our first house because Vovó wanted to spoil Michael even more than his real grandmas spoil him. We needed to move far enough away so that she wouldn't hear him cry! She can't stand to see/hear the kids crying for any reason at all! Anyway, Herberth found a very nice girl while living and working in Belo Horizonte and the day came for them to get married on April 21st. Steve and I were "witnesses" (something like bride's maid and groomsman but you don't have to stand up front...you get to sit in the front row instead!) and Michael and Maira were both in the wedding. Herberth is like a brother to Steve and I, and the kids couldn't love Herberth more even if we were blood-related.

This is Vovó and her stunning grandchildren! (If I don't say so myself!)

Ain't he handsome?! Michael was so excited that his clothes were just like Uncle Herberth's clothes!

Herberth's Wedding continued

We had an agreement before the wedding...if the kids did everything just right, they would get a present when the wedding was over. So, this is not an approved method according to Growing Kid's God's Way or the Nanny, but I wanted a guarantee! I promise this is not a method I use in day-to-day parenting! Actually, I wasn't worried at all about Michael, but Maira told me she was embarrassed weeks ahead of time. She was responsible for taking the rings down the isle right in the middle of the ceremony and she had to do this all by herself! I was very worried!

Michael as he is about to walk down the isle....he's not worried a bit!
I was so nervous during most of the ceremony as I wondered if Maira would really bring the rings down the isle! She had to stay out in the lobby for most of the ceremony and I couldn't be with her. What a relief to see her walking down the isle and actually smiling once she got a look at Uncle Herberth! And she didn't run! As she was being helped onto the bench after giving the rings to the pastor, she said, "I did it!". I think she was just as pleasantly surprised as I was!

Here she is giving the rings to the pastor.
So here is Herberth and Carla...just in case anyone was interested in seeing them! Ha, ha, ha!

More Wedding Pictures

There are pictures of the road trip after these wedding pictures if you have seen enough wedding pictures!




Herberth loves to bike, so Carla had this specially made for their cake!