Between Here and There

Família Asas

2012-01-15T12:37:00.000-06:00

post by~Brin, hunter of mold

Our family has been with Asas de Socorro for just a year. And with any organization steeped with time and culture, getting to know them is a process. We made some big strides this week while we attended the annual Asas conference in Anápolis, Goias; an agricultural state geographically located near the center of Brasil. With corn to the right of me and soybeans to the left of me, if I were to look down ruby slippers would not surprise me. Ah, but delightful reality hits when we peruse road-side stands to buy braids of fresh mozzarella and homemade doce de leite.

We have not traveled much within Brazil so going anywhere outside of Amazonia always broadens our knowledge of this country with such contrasting cultures.

Hearing testimonies of missionaries who have been with Asas for decades as well as the dreams of students soon to graduate from the aviation school and head to the mission field inspires us as well as grounds us with a profound sense of God's blessing as He has allowed us and all of our supporters to be a part of a huge story in bringing Christ to people groups who have not heard. We left with new friends, a delectable head of broccoli and a fresh burst of motivation to strive forward where God has placed us.

Mmmmmm broccoli....Does it seem like I am talking a lot about food? I blame it on Ricardo, a fellow missionary from the far south of Brazil who, during a service, slipped us each 2 fresh cherries from his stash from his recent visit home. That spurred my tongue to hunt for the next cache. If I weren't so busy combating mold I would take the time to turn that last phrase into a poem.

Cheese has never been so entertaining.

When in Rome.... of course all visitors have to enjoy the local treats which seemed to be heavily themed in corn. We enjoyed the pamonha, perhaps Gabriella a little too much as her pamonha revisted her at 1am. Sorry, no pictures of that.

At the end of the conference we took two days to travel to a unique little corner of the world called Caldas Novas, which Wikipedia told me was "considered by many to be the largest hydro-thermal resort in the world" (however, citations are needed if anyone has any). Good thing because, now fully Amazonians, a climate of 65 degrees was almost unbearable and I can hardly fathom how I survived a childhood in northern Minnesota. So we soaked and relaxed with Andres, Camila and baby Tiago keeping us company.

For a few days we stayed at a Wycliffe guesthouse above the hangar. Each morning Josh could part the curtain and look out the window overlooking a gorgeous view; 10 airplanes all apprearing to be minatures poised in the hand of God.

A witness to change

2011-12-28T11:59:00.000-06:00

Guest Blogger: Tom Pflederer (Josh's dad)

The daily afternoon bath in the Amazon.

This is our third time visiting our kids in Brazil, and no trip has provided a more relentless flow of diverse experiences and impressions than this one. After an exhausting and stressful flight, we spent our first few days in Manaus not settling in, but packing boxes and preparing to move out. It was long enough to see both sides of city living--the congestion and the dirtiness and lack of security, balanced by the convenience in shopping and church options.

The move was unlike any other I've seen--who moves by rope and pulley from the second floor, then by truck and boat and tractor and wagon? We got a first hand look at Asas de Socorro, the aviation ministry where Josh works, and witnessed the dramatic arrival from Ohio of a donated Cessna. I spent a day working with Josh, seeing what he does. I shower and shave without hot water and--if I wait until after 9:00 pm, when generator that powers this community goes off--without light. I sleep on the top bunk with Connie below me, usually sweating our way through the night with a battery-powered fan.

Lowering a heavy, Brazilian hardwood, wardrobe from the second floor balcony.

The transfer from truck to boat was made on the ramp used by the float planes when they are pulled from the lake to the hangar.

Arriving at the school.

Everyone chips in to help unloading the cargo from the boat and transferring it to Josh and Brin's new house.

And I got to meet Benny, the 71-year-old Pentcostal pastor/pilot who was the subject of one of Josh's blogs a couple months ago. Benny has survived a variety of crashes, is pretty casual about pre-flight safety checks, and flies without a seatbelt. Nevertheless, Josh and I and a couple other mechanic friends accepted Benny's invitation to fly in to his fishing cabin on a remote lake in the jungle, where we caught around 70 pounds of peacock bass.

Pastor Benny piloting our fishing boat, his plane and floating house in the background.

Josh, Tom, Andrés and Joel with our haul (Andrés and Joel are fellow mechanics).

But more than anything else, I have been completely fascinated by this Puraquequara community (called PQQ).

PQQ was started in the early 50's not as a school, but as a print shop. The ultimate goal of a tribal linguistic missionary is to make the Bible available in the language of a new people group, and for all of western Brazil, it is in PQQ that those Bibles are printed. It is a far more complex task than one would think.

The rocks are a popular swimming spot at the school until the river comes up and covers them during the rainy season.

Mark, who has been the print shop guy here for almost 40 years, gave me a window into his world--developing unique fonts and keyboards for each tribal language, transitioning to computers in 1992, facing problems with layout and binding and production, struggling with changing technology and limited funds, working most of the time completely by himself, giving up the tribal work he was trained for and loved, spending his life printing books because there was no-one else to do it.

Mark and his print shop (we're going to let the Cubs shirt slide, only because it was probably a donation).

Still, his shelves are full of copies of New Testaments in strange languages, most spoken only by a few thousand people, evidence of his faithful, unheralded plodding service over four decades. Mark is a wealth of knowledge and history, but when we part he expresses appreciation for my interest. He says hardly anyone ever asks questions about his work and really listens to his story.

Of all the perks and curiosities of living at PQQ-- the jungle sounds, candy drops from the sky, swimming in the Amazon, eating peacock bass grilled over an open fire--it's the people who live here who have captivated me most. Like Mark, most of them have some very personal connection with an indigenous people group somewhere in the Amazon Basin, where they have left their hearts and to whom they long someday to return.

Janelle, our nearest neighbor, grew up as a missionary kid in Colombia, living with a tribe there until her family was forced by the government to leave. Her parents still live there in the city, still trying to minister to their tribe as they are able. Lots of people here have some connection with the Yanamami Indians, whom we have been told used to have no word in their language for "forgiveness." It was a graceless culture, based on retribution and consequences. If your wife slept in too long, you would go and poke her with a hot stick. Eroch got malaria five times during the four years he lived with the Kulina Indians, says it was the most difficult thing he ever did, and is living now at PQQ trying to figure out the next step.

I will not be here long enough to hear all the stories of the incredibly unique people who live at PQQ. Brin says every one of them is like a one-in-a-thousand person in the U. S., treasures to be mined. I am looking forward to hot showers and snuggling with my wife again. But I am deeply grateful that the Lord in His providence and perfect timing has brought my son's family to this place.

The Pflederer's new house.

Flies from the heavens

2011-12-04T12:03:00.000-06:00

Bennie's Cessna 206 docked on a river where we fished.

When I first met Pastor Bennie I wasn't sure what to think. He's still a bit of an enigma, even after (or maybe because of) all the stories I've heard about him. Like the time he tied a live pig on the top of one of his airplane's floats, only to find it dangling at the end of the rope mid-flight. I'm not sure what happened to the pig. Bennie, on the other hand, is still going strong after almost 50 years of missionary service in Brazil. He and his wife have overseen the planting of over 400 churches in the Amazon basin. Bennie was a float-plane pilot before he moved to Brazil from Canada, and he continues to use aviation to help train leaders, visit churches and oversee the many believers that live in the many backwaters of the Amazon river basin.

For several years, Asas de Socorro has been maintaining Bennie's Cessna 206 and 172, both float-planes. For the past couple months we have been rebuilding the floats of his 172. It's a big job, drilling out and replacing around 8,000 rivets. We've been working with a parts supplier out of Canada and when one of their employees learned about what we were doing he decided to come down to Brazil for 2 weeks and help us with the project. While the rebuild project has been time consuming and tedious, it's such a practical way that we are able to help Bennie and his ministry - saving him tens of thousands in dollars.

Jason, who visited from Canada to help with our project, myself, Joel, and Ryan, fellow mechanics, riveting on one of the floats.

All of the old skins and parts removed from the floats, most of the parts were replaced due to 40 years of wear and corrosion.

A couple of weeks ago my father-in-law Larry and I got the chance to go fishing with Pastor Bennie. He appears to truly delight in taking visitors on trips to the interior in his plane to secret fishing spots that he has learned about over the years. Being from Canada, he is a fly fisherman and ties his own flies. Over the years he's come up with a fly that the Peacock Bass can't resist. He told us how he always takes a can of the flies with him on flights. When he sees someone paddling a canoe on a river below he swoops in low (probably scaring the daylights out of the unsuspecting paddler in the process) and drops a jar of his special flies. In the can is a note inviting them to his church the next time they are in town. He says he has lost track of how many people have come through their church and eventually come to know Christ, all because of the fishing flies from the sky.

Larry and I on our fishing expedition.

Sometimes I can lose sight of my role in the big picture of mission work here in Brazil. I'm reminded though, that God has called each of us to do our part in reaching the lost, and no matter our role it is equally important. Whether it is driving rivets into floats, tossing flies out the window or, like so many of you, supporting us through prayer and financial giving.

circumstances

2011-11-30T19:23:00.000-06:00

While Josh has been plugging away at the hangar with enthusiasm, I (Brin) have mostly been at home, plugging away with homeschool, sports lessons, various events with Asas, but with less enthusiasm. How I might wish life to be isn't matching up with how it really is, I murmured to myself about 5 months ago. Can't we all say this at some time or another? This incongruity prompts, and some days forces me to ask God what should be different. Do I press on, essentially ignoring that little alarm bell in my heart or do I consider that burden to do something different a trigger from God? I left myself open to both possibilities and told God I am up for whatever, I just want to see His hand in it. I wanted to lose that nagging suspicion that all was not right. And as often occurs, the circumstances in life impart evidence of divine providence. If we are sensitive to them.

Homeschooling is going great most days, and I really like it. And I like our home and it's proximity to little neighborhood stores and to the community center where we spend a lot of time. Other things though, have been rather trying. Our house is small and situated on a tiny lot that has no yard, in a neighborhood where it is not safe, we've discovered recently, for the girls to have liberty to play on the streets as they did in earlier months. Our neighborhood has seen a rash of home burglaries (including our own). Gabriella has had difficulty meeting and maintaining friendships as we often live far away from the people we minister with. For a 13 year old girl, this is a significant problem. And I empathize; in many ways her own hurts mirroring my own.

So, this all culminates with a superbly providential and timely visit to a New Tribes Mission boarding school where we went to see an Asas teammate (Andrés) play soccer against their team. The school (which goes by the name Puraquequara, or PQQ) was peaceful, safe, and simple. We watched the children running about barefoot, climbing trees, catching tarantulas and finishing out the afternoon with a dip in the Amazon. I fell in love. So did Gabriella. Another Asas family is already living there and it sparked the possibility of our family doing the same. And as it turns out, they have a house available and a need for a teacher/nurse/coach/whatever you can offer. Well, that could be me! So we prayed and some of you all prayed. And as my desperation grew for a new change, my prayers corresponded. We took slow steps to find out if it was even a possibility and then got approval from Asas leadership. Finally, after several months of waiting, we have been accepted. I am so thankful for God bring it about, I could not have dreamed up something better myself.

The school is only accessible by boat and only has electricity (from a generator) from 7am-9:30pm. About 8 families live on campus with about 25 students, but I am just guessing. I will give more details about the school later, but I will answer a few questions that I know are coming.

Q: When will you move? Which will also answer another question, what will Cleny do?

A: Josh and I made a commitment to support Cleny while she goes to school. We are celebrating with Cleny as she has finished her course and awaiting her diploma. She plans on returning to Altamira as soon as she can. She plans on pursuing a job in a dentist's office and also is in the midst of making plans for her wedding. It looks like our move date will be Dec. 19th.

Q: How will this affect your work with Asas de Socorro?

Good question. It will affect it in some ways. The Asas hangar is across the river and upstream a bit from the New Tribes school. From where we live now, Josh has a 30 minute motorcycle ride in congested traffic to get to the hangar. From the school he would have a 25 minute boat ride. Not a bad way to commute to work, so long as it is not raining. It will be more difficult to attend bimonthly meetings in the city but we are sincerely committed to Asas and will make it a priority to attend all that we can. I have committed to work in the medication room at Asas one day a week, likely that will continue and I will just ride into work with Josh.

It is really a boost to have this possibility in front of us. My friend Chelsea, and a frequent character of this blog in it's early years, had given me some notes that were artfully adorned with verses. They are pretty and inspiring and so they find their way to my mirrors or walls, but one in particular has ministered profoundly.

So, while we are sitting in anticipation, hope and astounded at God's provision, we recognize we only have a few weeks to pack up our belongs and prepare for another move.

In this photo you can see the city of Manaus (pop. 1.5 mil) in relation to the hangar, where Josh works everyday and the boarding school (PQQ)

Instead of a 35 minute, traffic-congested commute, Josh will have about a 25 minute boat ride from the school to the hangar.

The school is situated on the banks of the Amazon River, isolated by water and jungle. Josh took this picture from a plane a few days ago.

2011-11-24T18:38:00.000-06:00

-post by Brin

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home.

While most of you are eating, relaxing, watching TV and shopping our day is just like any other. Josh is working at the hangar, Cleny has a dermatology appointment, Ava has an orthodontic appointment (the 4th one in a week) and the girls have ballet and swim lessons. We are eating leftovers for lunch today but are looking forward to a special lunch tomorrow with expats. So even while today is just a normal day, messages from the States prompt us to contemplate the holiday. My friend Kristy in France points out how awesome it is for me to have family visit so often and Renee in Texas points out what a treat it is to have both sets of grandparents around the holidays, an obvious blessing that was lost on me while simply going about life. Sometimes, we need others around us to nudge us toward an attitude of thankfulness.

So today I am thankful for friends and family, near and far.

We made the most of the 7 days my parents spent with us.

For more pictures, visit here.

And the Bergquist family that stayed with us for a weekend.

And I am thankful to see God's hand in my life. Most vividly yesterday when our family was officially accepted by New Tribes to live and participate in their boarding school on the banks of the Amazon River. We prayed and waited a long time for a response and are eager (especially Gabriella) for this new adventure.

And I don't say this enough, so I will say it now. I am truly grateful for those of you who send messages, cards, words of encouragement and pray for our family. I truly store those up in my heart. And for those of you participating with this ministry in Brazil by praying, advising, encouraging, and giving financially or through gifts of aviation tools and even peanut butter. Our family considers it a privilege and are humbled by your care in our lives.

in the spirit of Thanksgiving

2011-11-19T20:54:00.000-06:00

post by Brin

In my last post I spoke of our lives taking on a lovely rhythm and also alluded to some changes that might surface. That was a while ago, and today with some events behind us, I realize that rhythm had been short-term.

Since then we have hosted both the Bergquist family and my parents. Visitors always bring us a boost, forcing us to relax, play and eat good food. True, isn't it?! Perhaps I will post more on this topic later but right now I have to share something else.

Thanksgiving is close, but could easily become a non-event for us if friends back in the US weren't mentioning it. I bring it up now because last night forced the contemplation. Cleny called me while I was at swim lessons and in emotional, rushed words told me to come home because there was a thief in the house. When I arrived home all my neighbors were on the street in front of my house, huddled in animated discussion. And here is what happened and why I am thankful....Cleny arrived home content and relieved because she had just found out she passed her dentist assistants course. She opened the outer gate to our home which is noisy and then walked the 2 seconds to the front door, opened it and in the same moment heard a loud noise. Startled, she yelled "Ava! Mia!" and then realizing someone was inside screamed for the neighbors and ran outside without catching a glimpse of the thief (likely, thieves) which were just inside the door. I am glad she didn't see them, because it causes an entirely different emotional reaction to look into their fierce, sinister eyes and then ponder what capacity they have for evil. And to help you understand the depth of the story, only 10 days earlier, Cleny had had a gun pointed at her head while at her internship, was robbed of her cell phone, and then was locked into a room. Again, that time we were thankful she wasn't hurt at all and she only lost her cell phone.

The bathroom window rests innocently against the wall.

The timing of last nights events are extraordinary. It appears that our thieves kicked in a weak window and only had perhaps 10 seconds in our home before they heard Cleny opening the outer gate. It was enough time for them to grab a cell phone and charger (ironically Cleny left it at home so it wouldn't get mugged away from her on the street) but in the rush missed an ipod in the speaker dock, my purse and other appliances within a few meters of where they must have been. As my neighbors responded to Cleny's screams for assistance, the thieves disappeared into the jungle behind my house. And when the dust settled (literally, as the thief kicked in a window that made quite a mess), we all marveled at the astonishing timing. To add to the marvel of the thieves timing, had they arrived 20 minutes later, it could have been I and the girls who would have walked in on them, causing a frightful experience for the girls. Neighbors shared their memories of previous burglaries at our home where the thieves took almost everything. And their own experiences where thieves cared out bags of stuff, even electrical wiring and ran off, hidden somewhere in the jungle. The cops that stopped by said we are the third house on our street this past week to be robbed. 'Tis the season to be thankful, and my conversations with God are drenched with that theme

To end this post on an encouraging tone, I made acai and brazil nut bread. Delicious and incredibly nutritive, it only adds to my thankfullness.

*Obviously, Cleny has been through a lot. City living has not been easy and school, while an incredible opportunity, has been challenging. But she is doing great and we all celebrate with her getting her dental assistant's license. She has plans to return to Altamira and get married in January. Please pray for her.

the ongoing adventures

2011-09-25T19:34:00.001-05:00

post by ~ Brin

It's time to bust out a new post so I looked through our pictures for some inspiration on something I could write about, or maybe the picture will be so awesome it will say it's thousand words for me. I came up with pretty pathetic options. What? Are we not doing anything picture worthy anymore? That's a pity because I go on Facebook and you all are living such marvelous lives, going on fun vacations, posing your kids for those precious first day of school pictures, then all those posts about going out to lunch with so and so. Oh, the horror, so many fun things are happening without me. Something must be wrong with me.

Maybe yes, maybe no. But Facebook is not going to be the one telling me so.

Our family life has taken a lovely rhythm, Josh pretty much works an 8-5 job, much like all of you, but understand this is a bit of a first for our 16 year marriage. When Josh graduated from college he went into Doulos ministry working with youth (thus keeping "youth hours"), then had a youth pastor position for nine years. When we arrived in Altamira as missionaries odd "working" hours and Josh traveling for weeks at a time was pretty much normal life. This 8-5 stuff is flipping me out. And I am getting rather...bored, maybe? The rhythm, like I said is lovely, but honestly it doesn't suit me perfectly. I am craving something else, even if I can't quite put my finger on it. This craving prompts me to just put it all out there for God . I am learning that as vessels consecrated to God we are called out of the ordinary. I believe that each person lives their God-given "extraordinary" differently, God custom fits each life. My rhythm changed in the last year. Without having it all figured out, I allow myself to question where is the adventurous life I crave?

Right around the corner, perhaps. Josh and I continue going about our daily commitments but are currently praying and pursuing adding to our lives some changes that will involve where we live and additional ministry opportunity to our lives. I am excited for the possibility and that winds of change seems to be blowing.

But for now we press ahead. Below are some pictures that I was able to find to give you a feel for what we are up to. Nothing stirring or inspiring. Simply God's assignment for us currently.

Our teammates Andrés and Camila are expecting their first baby. We hang out with them the most so Ava and Mia are also looking forward to helping care for this baby. Here is Ava alongside Camila at the baby shower playing "guess what is in the sack."

A week ago Mia spiked a fever and started throwing up. It has now become second nature when anyone becomes sick to hang a hammock in the air conditioned room and then I run the 2 blocks to our market and buy coconut water, nature's perfect rehydrator. She recovered from her stomach bug just fine but not without passing it on to me and Ava.

Once a week I go to the hangar to work in the med room. Each bin filled with various meds, dosages and carefully controlled exp. dates. I bring the girls with me and they homeschool themselves, with various degrees of schooling actually occurring but plenty of on-site learning instead.

A big project that the Asas mechanics are working on is completely rebuilding a set of 40 year old floats from a Cessna 172.

The old parts to the floats laid out on the floor. The reassembly will include close to 8,000 rivets.

Redemption in a Coke bottle

2011-07-24T19:42:00.000-05:00

~post by Brin

I hosted a ladies group a few days ago modeled after what I would guess an 80’s MOPS group looked like; a little Word, a little food, a little conversation, and always a craft. Asas de Socorro has a partnership with a Brazilian environmental organization that focuses on preserving and respecting the environment as an expression of honor to its Creator. And this is not just a mere partnership in writing, evidenced by the new rule that everyone on our team (sometimes over 50 people) is asked to bring their own cup to meetings as plastic ones will not be provided.

So, in keeping with our enthusiasm for green, the craft we made at my meeting turned old Coca-Cola 2 liters into lovely gift boxes. I know, mock away. But now I have a great idea for gifts to give away on furlough. Who wants to host us?!

We don’t drink pop in my home, so some of the 2 liter bottles came from me scavenging my neighbor’s trash. And had I left them there, they would still be trash. But now they are loved; redeemed, esteemed and will contribute to the beauty in our lives. Depending on your taste, that is.

Here, look at the one Gabriella made:

Following Jesus is a life-long voyage. And at the moment, I am thinking, not altogether different than the life of a 2- liter that I pulled out of the trash. Being a Christ-follower does not mean we won’t find ourselves up to our necks in the refuse of life. Divorce, debt, illness, drug addiction, interpersonal strife, a cranky spouse, neighbors that play their annoying music way to loud on the weekends. We all have a list, don’t we? God has this novel idea of taking our most embarrassing, disgusting, tragic and ugly situations and making them useful. Useful in the goal of becoming more Christ-like, in loving people the way Jesus loves, in refining our faith. Taking a hopeless situation and letting God recycle it to have another purpose is just part of the journey. And we do this all alongside each other, sometimes gracefully other times clumsily. Right now we are journeying with Cleide, almost 19, and Allison, 22 who are back in Altamira and frequent characters in this blog. After dating off and on, they now find themselves ushered into a more serious relationship with a baby on the way.

Why it turned out this way, I am still puzzled, as Allison had already moved in with our family here in Manaus when Cleide called to say she was pregnant. I am puzzled because Allison arriving in Manuas, getting both a job and internship, was no small undertaking, with some of the details appearing almost miraculous. But how this could end does not puzzle me. God, in His infinite wisdom and incredible grace can use Allison and Cleide’s disobedience to bring them closer to Him, reveal portions of their heart that need change and teach them how to love tenderly and sacrificially. Nothing does that better than a baby. So, from a distance I implore her to love God, search for His voice, look for His purpose and then watch Him recycle their difficulty and turn it into treasure.

Ella goes to work

2011-06-11T11:47:00.000-05:00

Ella celebrated her 13th birthday, and the title of the book she received says it all!

Last week I had a self-proclaimed Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. I thought Ella would enjoy hanging out with me and experiencing what my day is like. It also happened to be the week of her birthday, so it turned out to be a special way to commemorate that as well. Ella has recently shown an interest in photography (she even already has a name: Ellagant Photography). She brought the camera and I told her to try and get some action shots of me at work. She clearly enjoyed herself. Understandably, she was more interested in taking pictures than learning about the components of an amphibious landing gear system, but I tried anyway.

Here are some of her shots:

As in the U.S., meticulous records must be kept of any maintenance done on an airplane. Here Ryan explains one of the many forms to Andrés and me.

Andrés and I working on the landing gear of the Caravan.

Inspecting the wheel hubs.

It so happened that Ella also witnessed a more serious side of our ministry. The coordinator of our flights had received a call about the desperate need for an emergency evacuation of three children of a church worker that had been severely burned by an explosion. Complicating the situation, they were in a remote community and very far from a hospital. The details were rather unclear at first but the gravity of the situation obvious. Our ministry exists for these types of purposes. However, the Caravan was in the middle of a 100 hr inspection and the 206 had left earlier in the morning for a flight in the opposite direction. It pained us to think of the children suffering and we were at a loss to help. At lunch we prayed for the family asking God to provide some other means. Later we learned the family hitched a ride with an IBAMA (Brazil's DNR) boat that was close by and arrived at a hospital 20+ hours later. The kids suffered major burns over much of their bodies due to the explosion of gas that also leveled their house and hospitalized their mother. They are currently intubated and in intensive care.

This very sad situation served as a reminder, to me and Ella, as to why aviation has such value in this region. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Brazilian and foreign missionary families that are living in remote locations throughout the Amazon. Aviation is a modern transportation option that can be used to make remote work more accessible, more efficient, and more safe. I learned that first hand after 4 years of working on the Xingu.

I think about that long boat ride those kids must have suffered through and how a short flight in an airplane could have prevented much of that suffering. A sober reminder of why we do what we do.

You are our sunshine

2011-05-22T18:02:00.000-05:00

~post by Brin

Ava turned 9. Not yet actually, but Sundays make a good day for a party. And that we did. Ava invited various friends, from church, from Asas, and from the neighborhood. But really Ava is the sort of person who would have wanted to invite the girl she played with for 5 minutes while we waited for the bus. Not that we ride the bus a whole lot, but you get the picture. I wish I was more like her in that way. She has more friends here in Manaus than all the rest of us combined.

To get to know Ava, here are quotes of her favorite things (that she came up with in about 10 seconds and then promptly ran out the door).

"Pinky's" (an ice cream store in Tremont, after which she also named her stuffed animal)

"how in life people trust God, I mean a little bit. Some don't."

"waterfall that's really pretty"

"strawberry gum with pus" (Yes, that's right, Brazil translates gum that has a juice center "pus")
"different languages"

"birthday parties"

"love, love, love Dr. Quinn"

"Adventures in Odyssey"

"school and Math-u-see"

We had fun making Ava's cake which is good because Ava's friends found them odd. Ava wanted a hedgehog cake because Ava and her friend Maddie had made one out of sand the year before for my birthday. And we also made a "lagarta de fogo" or poisonous caterpillar in honor of an episode that occurred to Ava just a week earlier. Here is her version: "I was going to wash my feet because I had a cut and when I came back I did not see the poisonous caterpillar on the counter and I touched it with my arm. It (the arm, not the bug) got white and then blistery and stayed for 5 days. It burned like a burn. We saw more caterpillars in the house the next days. Then we sprayed the house because of caterpillars." (It was actually because of dengue mosquitoes but we'll let it slide). Gabriella pointed out how appropriate it was that we lit the birthday candles on the caterpillar.

And of course, to honor her father and his new passion we had a paper airplane contest of which no one hit the target, the generous bulls-eye being our pick-up truck bed.

Per Ava's request, the party ended with each participant allowed to break an egg on her (a Brazilian tradition). Her chest or her arm she hoped, but everyone chose her head. It is all fun and games until someone throws-up. At her own party, surrounded by her guests. But Ava isn't the sort to be shy or embarrassed, so she announced she was nauseous and everyone helped her clean up in our outdoor shower.

A Higher Standard

2011-05-22T07:44:00.000-05:00

The Vin Fiz takes off from Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, New York on September 17, 1911.

In 1911 a man by the name of Cal Rodgers set out on the first transcontinental flight from NY to CA. Aviation was a brand new technology and the potential for its use only beginning to be realized. The journey lasted 49 days and required a support crew who followed by train with enough equipment to fill 3 train cars. Along the way he made around 70 landings, many of them crash landings. The only parts not replaced by the end of the trip were a rudder, a couple wing struts and the engine oil pan.

Our aviation ministry, Asas de Socorro (Wings of Help), was born out of the dream of a few WWII pilots who during the war saw aviation's potential in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Missionary Aviation Fellowship was begun shortly after the war and Asas is the remnants of that organization here in Brazil. A lot has changed in aviation since those early days. Today air travel is incredibly safe and dependable. To maintain that high level of safety, mechanics must be vigilant and pursue the highest level of professionalism. Cutting corners can cost thousands of dollars of damage, or worse yet, a life.

Our Cessna Caravan visits a remote village in the Amazon.

Working on the wings of a Cessna 206 (seen in background).

As I work on airplanes, it’s easy to remember this “higher calling” of safety. In life I seem to forget much easier the motivation for what I do. I’m reminded of Paul’s encouragement of “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17). In the same way that safety is always on my mind as I go about my work as a mechanic, so should the name of Jesus be my motivation for every action or word that I utter.

That’s a pretty high standard. But one that I want to live up to as a mechanic, a husband and a father.

along life's narrow way

2011-04-30T08:04:00.001-05:00

post by~ Brin

One of the job hazards of foreign missions work is loneliness. After the first year, at least for me, it lessened considerably but still cycles in and out just like the rainy season. I truly enjoy meeting new people and exploring new places but for only so long and then I yearn to be with people I know and know me back. God is so very aware of my heart. So under His provision, our family enjoyed our first official visitors to our new home in Manaus. Luke and Debbi Porritt, along with their twin girls Anna and Aleia, enthusiastically jumped into the sights, sounds and (as seen in the picture below) the smells of our new city.

And to add to the encouragement, their visit occurred over Easter. Which for me turned Easter into fun (and work) and, I recently realized, inadvertently left out the sacred. I am thinking about that now. Thinking that, as if it were not enough to be saved from hell, I also have an ever-present friend in Jesus. He abides in me. Jesus knows the real me, the ugly me that I try to hide from new friends and old friends alike. And yet He loves me, the most actually. And because of what Jesus did on that Easter morning we have hope of an eternity in heaven where there is no death, tears, fear and no cycles of loneliness. Little bubbles of renewing hope rise up in me and give me a boost to keep striving forward even though we are still challenged daily in our new life and ministries and still cannot guess where God will take us next. Whatever happens during our time on Earth, at the end of our story there is hope. A refreshing, renewing, encouraging Hope that I want to motivate all I do.

So to help celebrate Easter our two families, along with Andres and Camila (teammates with Asas), gave an Easter breakfast, program and egg hunt at the hangar. The hunt was likely a first for all the Brazilian participants.

Luke and Debbi brought along their family's Resurrection Eggs to tell the Easter story,which turned out to be an excellent cross-cultural tool.

It was a race out in the expanse of Asas property to find the eggs. And avoid the fire ants; my foot still showing the evidence of stepping into a nest. Does this count as suffering for the gospel?

Children from our home church in Tremont sent along the plastic eggs as well as a good supply of M&Ms.

And we finished out the morning with a dip in the river and subsequent sunburns. The ramp makes for a great place to swim and the boat for jumping.

Just like everyone back home, we posed for an Easter portrait.

A big plus of having the Porritts was Mia and Ava being able to share the Brazilian side of their lives with Anna and Aleia. So just like the girls do at least 3 times a week, they walked over to the neighbors house and bought popsicles. Flavor choices could be peanut, tucumã, tapioca, roasted coconut, açai, and green corn, grape or strawberry. The twins nibbled a cautious bite on green corn but then settled conservatively on strawberry. Ava was often left to translate for the bunch which she did with vigor, however odd the translations came out.

Here are the girls cooling off in the outdoor shower and playing with my squeegees that I use to clean my floor. They had probably never seen one so big. Mia took it upon herself to educate her visitors in Brazilian (Amazonian, I should say) culture. At one point she picked up an industrial type scrub brush that I use to clean my rugs and informed Anna and Aleia that it was what they should use to scrub their feet. Ouch!

So after 7 days of showing the Porritt family a glimpse of our life, (albeit somewhat distorted because we consumed a years worth of good food and fun), we said goodbye and I missed them the next day.

We are not meant to be loners on this planet. That is why I yearn to know and be known. And that is how Easter alleviates loneliness. Jesus' death restores a relationship with a pure and perfect God that had been muddied by just living life on this earth. And we, being equipped with God love, can reach out to others. We share, care, love, and serve because He did it first.

I present to you, Cleny!

2011-04-15T19:11:00.000-05:00

post by~ Brin and Gabriella

Sorry for the delay, but I would like to introduce you all to the newest member of our family, Cleny Carvalho.

When we announced to our friends that we were moving to Manuas, we received several subtle suggestions from friends who wanted to move with us. We were not surprised, living in Manuas allows for more schooling and job options as well as just a chance for our young friends to spread their wings. We had some obvious contenders, and we prayed about each of them. But we decided on inviting Cleny to join us after she told me about a conversation she had while we were on furlough. Cleny was jobless and living with a family from church (Agostinho and Natal). At one point, Natal asked Cleny to start making some movement towards her future. So, Cleny shared that her dream was to move to a city and go to college. She would be the first in her family and as her mother put it, showed much potential. For sure a lofty goal considering her lack of many crucial factors: education, experience, finances and particularly in this culture, family and social connections. The two discussed potential options and for various reasons Natal admitted she could not bless any of them. God, however, is not hindered by any of Cleny's impediments, and it is in fact when He moves most mightily. Josh and I seriously began to discuss, pray and consider if this was God's assignment for our family. We chatted with the Pastors at church and her discipleship partner and all gave us their enthusiastic blessing. I am honored that God chose our family be a part of shaping her life, and thankful of His provision for such a wonderful new "daughter" in our family.

Cleny has already started a dental hygiene program. She is incredibly proud of herself for getting enrolled, learning the bus system and learning to budget her income to pay for her tuition all on her own. A huge accomplishment that is even more noteworthy considering the contrast of her upbringing with a mother who was an indigenous Indian that taught a different knowledge base and value system. Cleny works in afternoons as our house helper which provides an assured income for her and an assured warrior alongside me as we fight mold and mildew together. Speaking of mold, that brings to thought a funny story....

I have noticed that I have a way of conversing with Cleny where I do not put nearly as much effort into grammar and pronunciation as I would if I were conversing with others. She gets me, even when I mix verbs tenses and speak quickly. This lack of concentration has led to many humorous language bloopers. One day, completely exasperated by the level of unprecedented humidity and mold in my life, I hastily complained to Cleny that the cornmeal I had just bought a week earlier had molded in it's original package. UGH. "To keep our food fresh, we should put all grains in a plastic toilet (vaso) right away," I advised her. She playfully snickers but gives no indication that she was going to correct me. "I mean container (vasilia)," I sheepishly admit. She keeps laughing and then tells me how earlier in the week she was running out the door and Josh yelled for her to take her clothing wardrobe (guarda-roupa). So she grabbed the umbrella (guarda-chuva) and left the house with a grin. Why would she correct us and chance losing her entertainment?! Ella is also delightfully entertained by our bloopers. And also annoyed and embarrassed too.

To finish out this post, here is an interview that Ella did with Cleny:

Gabriella: What are you dreams for the future?

Cleny: I dream to have a degree in Law or Dentistry. I also want to marry and have children.

Gabriella: What is the hardest thing about living here?

Cleny: The city is very dangerous, and the transit is very crazy. It's also very hard to live away from my family and friends. But I do like challenges.

Gabriella: How has God helped you?

Cleny: In all that I do I first ask God if it's his will. And he always helps me with his answer. With the prayers of my friends and the support of my new family, the Pflederer family.

Gabriella: What is your favorite food?

Cleny: Fish, rice and beans.

Gabriella: What do you think about the mold in your room?

Cleny: The mold smells really bad and it has weakened my health and breathing. I had a cold, cough and a sore throat for a long time. Sometimes the stink is stronger than other times.

Gabriella: What do you think about Josh not allowing animals in the house?

Cleny: Haha! This is very good! Josh is very wise! But, if we had a dog like Cody, then I would love it. Cody doesn't poop in the house and is very big.

Gabriella: What was the scariest thing you've been through?

Cleny: I was in a bus accident when I was 15 years old. The bus was doing down a steep hill and the brakes weren't working. There was a river at the end of the road but God blessed the driver so instead of driving into the river, he crashed into a tree. I was in the front of the bus and glass broke on me and I went unconscious. When I woke up many people were hurt. Children had broken arms and legs, and lots had cuts and bruises. When I came to, I was the only one that wasn't hurt. I prayed and God saved me.

*Cody was our trusted guard dog back in Altamira. His aggressiveness was known and feared in the neighborhood which provides a lot of peace when I was home alone. Here in Manaus our neighbors put their guard dogs on their roofs and they pace back and forth all night. We don't have a guard dog, what we want is pet. Someone won't let us have one.

The five of us girls on a day trip to visit some local waterfalls. Our family's preferred way of relaxing. Poor Josh, between my homeschool helpers from years past and now Cleny he is always thoroughly outnumbered.

Josh at work

2011-03-09T18:25:00.000-06:00

I remember when I first started studying aviation (over 20 years ago at a technical high school), it struck me how for the first time I thoroughly enjoying going to class. As I've jumped back into aviation, my mind often goes back to those days in Mr. D's class, or later when I studied at College of the Ozarks. Since beginning work here at Asas de Socorro (Wings of Help) I've been getting great experience with a myriad of different projects that I've helped out with. It's been a pleasure getting to know the guys that I work with as well as learning from them.

One of the things that has been so encouraging during this transition is the way many of you helped out in such a practical way to enable me to start turning a wrench again. The team that Brin went on a boat trip with also brought a couple boxes of tools that many of you donated money for. As I use my tools I often think of those that helped in the purchase. I really do appreciate your sacrifice.

Unfortunately, I only have a couple pictures to post at this time, but I hope to soon have more for those that are interested.

We recently started a large project on our Cessna 206 which required removing both wings.

Here I am painting an area in which we did a skin repair.

health ministry- Part II

2011-03-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

post by~ Brin

I went on my first short-term missions trip to Guatemala when I was 20 years old. I was eager and inexperienced. I thought that I would be working in the health clinic, erroneously assuming my pre-nursing major would make me helpful. I was pretty useless and just ended up translating, but even that was pitiful since my college professor never taught words like flatworms or retained placenta or how to understand shy Guatemalans as they hesitantly shared about very personal health needs to a foreigner. At the end of the trip, however, I had gotten a spark for foreign missions that was later fanned in a month long trip to Indonesia and other trips to Central America and E. Europe. So for me, short-term missions were an integral step in taking the leap into full-time missions.

I also realize that I am somewhat of a rare case. There is a lot of discussion about the value of short-term teams within evangelical circles around the globe. When we transferred ministries last January, Xingu Mission was themselves discussing how short-term teams could best be used. Depending on the particular issue, I sit on both sides of the issue, but I was encouraged to see how short-term missions just recently played out.

This post is Part II of the previous post where I shared about a recent health boat trip. Not only was the Asas health team on the boat but a group of guys from Illinois (no, I didn't know them in my "other life.") who were visiting Brazil as a team of short-term missionaries. Marty, Brad and Chad are old pros at short-term missions and came on this trip to build a church alongside other men from the community we were visiting. I was encouraged to see they had years of relationship with both missionaries and nationals. At one point, when conversation came up about a particular national pastor, I inquired who she was. Marty responded by saying to me, "You don't know her? You ARE new." A short-term trip, with effort, can mean a long-term relationship and these guys demonstrated that in different ways. Each of the guys shared how they planned, prayed and sacrificed to come to Brazil and work alongside others on the construction crew, humbly sharing their lives and their struggles and what they are taking from their visit as equals to everyone else aboard the boat. Could the church have been put up without them? Definitely. They themselves admitted that. God in His graciousness, chooses to use those who humbly make themselves available.

The construction guys taking down from the boat supplies to build the church.

This picture is mid- project. At the end the roof and two wall were up, enough to start holding Bible studies and services.

A big benefit of having North American teams come is that they bring us stuff, items that cannot be bought in our host country or are much more expensive. Missionaries don't like to admit that, but it is a tangible need met. For us, we finally received the aviation tools that many of you have donated to Josh over the last few months. We are humbled and thankful for your provision! Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, one Rubbermaid box arrived in Manuas opened with about 1/3 of it's contents obviously missing. Missing-in-action are some of Josh's tools, some homeschool books and supplies and gifts from my sister and friends.

Besides the church construction, the Illinois guys donated and delivered water filters to families living on the rivers edge. Clean water has profound affects on health and water filters are a practical way of changing the health outcome for an entire family as well as demonstrating the Living Water that the team brings as well.

Marty, Brad and Chad traveled with an organization called Operation Amazon, click here if you are feeling God nudging you towards short-term missions.

Health Ministry Boat Trip

2011-02-28T19:33:00.001-06:00

post by~Brin

Six weeks ago when I left Altamira, I had tender goodbye lunch with Pastor Clenildo and Angelita's family. Clenildo must have been feeling a little nostalgic as he commenced telling his earliest memory of me. Which would have been sweet had I not been such a brat. The details are foggy but as he remembered it we were on the Jari River on our way home from a 10 day survey trip when a swarm of famished mosquitoes descended upon our unsuspecting boat. Mostly unsuspecting, because as it turns out Clenildo was using his hammock that had a sewed-in mosquito net. I swatted and sprayed and said who knows what kind of words under my breath. The boy scouts of the group put up their ever-prepared nets and returned to sleep. I continued swatting and shifting noisily in my hammock until I was exhausted. And finally I started to cry quietly to myself. And that is how it became Clenildo's earliest memory. He took pity and insisted I take his hammock. The safety and comfort of his hammock felt what I would think a night at the White House would feel like.

So whether I like it or not, that was Clenildo's first significant memory of me. I pondered that this past week as I stepped on the Asas boat for the first time, acutely aware that I was making some "first time" memories. Here I was with my new teammates, I being an unplanned addition since the original RN backed out only days prior. With the exception of an hour long orientation I was given the day before, I knew little about the health ministry portion of Asas since Josh is involved with the aviation side. I was, however, pleased to be included and ready to learn. And I did. Here is the sort of stuff we did: we set up clinic with one MD, two dentists, two RN's and one nutritionist. One RN was learning to run the whole clinic and the other, that one being me, relegated to the makeshift pharmacy. We gave talks on nutrition, breast cancer, and worms to the adults, and on dental hygiene to the elementary kids. A straightforward and heartfelt talk on human sexuality and STD's was given to about 50 teens at the local school. After the sex talk, Sara (the other RN) told them, "I am gonna be here until tomorrow, come see me if you have a question about what we said or just want to talk." Sure enough a girl made a beeline for her after the talk. We dispensed meds, advice, and prayer prolifically. And for the majority of that stuff, by "we" I mean I watched and learned as my amazing teammates did what the love of Jesus compels them to do, and that is in-turn love other people.

I learned such much, I listened intently as my teammates encouraged a young, skinny, breastfeeding mom (and by young I mean 15) to manage her own health as they taught her the importance of calcium. "Find some egg shells, clean them, dry them on a rock, crush them into a powder with your mortar and pestle and then sprinkle a teaspoon on your beans every day," she was matter-of-factly informed. Other patients were given anti-inflammatory meds to manage chronic joint pain, and others were reminded to use leaves from a certain plant as tea that had the same effects. Another teen mom was encouraged to wait some time before having her next baby so she could gain weight and take care of her current child. This mom had gotten "married" at age 14. Two women showed up at the pharmacy after seeing the doctor, visibly emotional, and they just started sharing their own tragedies. We talked, advised and prayed and loved. I am not sure, but I wonder if being able to spend precious, unrushed minutes with a caring doctor primed those women to be able to share their deepest wounds.

I was honored to be apart of the team. I was honored that God chose to get me involved, since I was planning on sitting tight to help Josh get through these next few years of aviation training. And mostly I was just humbled to be guided by our father to show love to His other children. Looking at all the needs in this particular place, would get easily overwhelming, paralyzing even. It comforts me hugely to know God sees it all too, and directs me to meet even just a tiniest portion of that need.

Asas' was invited to visit the schools and give various health related lectures.

The is the pharmacy I " built" and where I spent the vast majority of my 3 days. The plastic bags are various meds, which are transported in the blue bins. The bins were designed to also fit in the floats of the airplanes. The microscope was not mine, but the coconut was :)

The dentists saw the least amount of patients but were the busiest. By far the most difficult thing is to turn away people wanting desperately to get their teeth pulled but there just isn't enough time.

The Asas de Socorro ministry boat.

I haven't mentioned this yet but also traveling on the boat were 3 guys from Central Illinois! Brad, Marty and Chad are seen in this picture bringing down sheet metal for the church that they, along with the rest of the crew, built while the health team ran the clinic. Part II of this blog post will show pictures of the church and explain how teams from North American churches are involved in ministry alongside Asas missionaries.

2011-02-26T10:59:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure what it is about me that doesn't like to get ripped off. If I think someone is charging me more for something because I am an American I will find myself arguing over a few dollars, when clearly the person is in need. I don't like this about myself. I wish I was more like a wise missionary friend who once told me that he always errs on being too generous because he knows one day God will hold him accountable for the times he payed too little, not too much.

The other day a lady showed up at our house, she said she had been asking for help and no one would help her. She claimed her daughter had Hemorrhagic Dengue, a rare but lethal form of Dengue. Her daughter needed to be transferred from one hospital to another and she needed $30 Reais (US$20). She told us she had just moved to the Manaus, knew no one, and looked about 8 1/2 months pregnant. We prayed with her and gave her the money.

About 3 days later she returned to our house. Through tears, she told us how her daughter had died that morning. She needed money to take the body to another city where her family lived. We were crushed. My mind races as I thought about how we needed to not only help her financially but emotionally. She needed a family here, we told her. We offered to call a pastor that could give her that support and help her with arrangements. Soon it became clear all she wanted was the money. She only had a couple hours to come up with the money or the hospital would bury the body in a local cemetery (they don't embalm here so the burial usually takes place soon after death). We decided to involve a neighbor who we trust. The neighbor was very suspicious of the story. We needed to make a decision, and soon. Do we trust her and give her the money, or assume she was lying and not help?

My thoughts went to my friend who had encouraged me to always be generous. The amount was only about $60 dollars. As we tried to corroborate her story it seemed to have more and more holes, but I couldn't know for sure. I finally gave her the money and sent her on her way, struggling with my mixed emotions.

Later that night Brin said she hoped she was lying. In that moment I realized I was more concerned about my money than whether or not she had lost her daughter. I know we did the right thing in giving her the money. I wish I could say my heart was right, but in reality I was more concerned about getting taken advantage of. I really do hope she did not lose her daughter, and either way she needed the money more than me. I'm not sure if being a Christ-follower means we have to be a doormat, but I know I need to hold on much less tightly to the things that I think are rightfully mine.

On a lighter note, here's a few pictures from the last couple of weeks...

I've been enjoying my first two weeks of working at the hangar. Here Marcio, a pilot (far right), prepares to take a Brazilian missionary couple (purple and green shirts) to an Indian village where they have been living for two years.

Our friend Chelsea visited last week from Altamira (yellow shirt) and Brin took the everyone on a field trip to the local zoo. Milena, a neighbor girl that the girls have befriended, acted as a guide.


Brin and Chelsea contemplating the excruciating pain inflicted by the candiru fish that swims "upstream", lodging itself with barbs, when an unfortunate person relieves themselves while swimming in the Amazon.


On the way home from the zoo the group gets caught in one of the many rain storms that we've experienced almost daily since arriving in Manaus.

Visiting a city park during Chelsea's visit.

Mia riding her scooter in the park.

greener grass

2011-02-06T17:52:00.002-06:00

Still unsettled in some ways, our life has began to take on somewhat of a perceptible routine. At least for me (Brin). I have started homeschooling in the mornings, which means I have also started all the explanations to my neighbors who don't know anything about the topic. Our mornings start with school, as best I can and then sports in the afternoon. Within days of arrival I met a neighbor who told me about a local community center (SESI) that has various lessons. So we looked over the list of classes; guitar, belly dancing, jiu-jitsu, theater, karate, until the girls settled on ballet and swimming.

With a neighbor friend, Mônica, at their first day of ballet.

Ava reported that Mia cried during class and then later lied to her instructor about having a fever. And that is why I am glad to have someone else help me teach these girls. Ballet in Manaus, I have heard, can lose it's " classicalness" and instead take on more of a samba feel. I am hoping for the best but will keep my eye out, especially during Carnival.

Good grief, city living can be tedious. For one thing, the rules. People actually obey the law here, so there goes driving around with 10 friends in the back of pick-up. And swim class was quite a registration ordeal. The girls had to have a health check-up and have their skin checked by a nurse (I doubt I count) every 2 months. Sometimes city life is a real contrast; that is when Mia says, " I want to go back to Brazil." She means Altamira.

We still have not met many of our Asas de Socorro teammates, which is a bit discouraging to me. As it turns out none of them live in our borough, ours being a bit of a rougher crowd. But I really like it. The neighbors hang out in front of their homes, the kids play in the streets; the Brazilian version of "kick the can" being interrupted only when a car comes. And my house borders reserved jungle owned by the Federal University and rumor has it there are monkeys in it. So I do have a little slice of jungle life, albeit hardly authentic. Being on the rivers and so close to nature was something that I thoroughly experienced in Altamira, I know I am going to miss it. I will try not to complain too much, but since I already am, perhaps some of you heard me mocking the mere 3 meters of grass that I will trim with Mia's Hello Kitty scissors?! Well, I complained too soon- a new well had to be dug this past week and now that pitiful patch of grass is mud.

Last weekend we were able to spend a few precious hours cruising the Rio Negro on our way to attend a inauguration for a new boat that will be used for ministry. It was lovely but the best part was meeting new friends. Some of them work for Asas, some work for other organizations and one family, working for Caterpillar in São Paulo, gave us an encouraging slice of home.

The girls on the boat getting to know their new friends. As always, Ava was the first to find her new best friend. Thankfully, it was a girl this time since all, seriously, all the kids who play on the streets are boys. Ava and Mia take them on ambitiously.

Chatting with Ligia about expat life.

And on another note, our congratulations go out to our family's much loved Cleide! For those of you who have followed our family this past 4 years, Cleide is a familiar name to you all. She called a few days ago to let us know that she passed a very competitive college entrance exam. We are so proud of her! We all miss her tremendously, and with this good news, all the more. I cannot wait to see where God is taking her.

Cleide is on the left, Cleny is on the right. Have I told you all that Cleny is living with us in Manaus? I will write about her next! Actually, Josh will probably write about his routine next, which includes lots of frustrating phone calls about the internet.

The Move and Arrival

2011-01-19T09:49:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting in our new house in Manaus, as I write this Brin and Ella are organizing the kitchen. The girls arrived Monday and we've been unpacking, organizing, meeting our neighbors and making general repairs around the house. We truly felt God's provision and protection on our trip. There were a few unexpected surprises along the way, but I suppose I would have been more surprised if things went totally as planned.

I was able to take a few pictures, so I'll try and let them tell the story...

As the Ana Maria (seen in the last post) took our stuff to Santarem, Allison, Dillon and I traveled in my truck via the TransAmazon Highway. We arrived on Sunday, one day before the boat and were able to see some friends and meet the boat at the dock Monday morning. I learned that I would need to hire a small boat (seen above) to take our stuff to the larger boat bound for Manaus.

We were able to put my truck on the same boat (for no small price). While in port, I really didn't breathe easy until my truck was on the boat, they waited until the last minute to load it.


My truck parked amongst travelers on the first of three levels.

One of the perks of having paid so much to take our stuff to Manaus was that we were allowed access to the air conditioned room. The trip took about 56 hours, by day two we were pretty tired of sitting in our hammocks.

Occasionally, when it wasn't too hot, we would spend time on the upper deck of the boat. It was no luxury ship, but with the AC it was definitely comfortable.

We arrived in Manaus just after mid-night the morning of my birthday, Jan. 13th. We spent the rest of the night on the boat, in the morning we found a truck to take our stuff to the house where we unloaded it for the 5th time since leaving the house on the previous Friday. In the photo above, Dillon and Allison paint the Cleny's room in preparation for the girls' arrive a few days later.


Because of the layout of the house (you can see some photos here), all the furniture of two bedrooms and the school room had to be hoisted to the upper level. This was done by the use of a pulley and lots of heavy lifting. Most of our furniture is made out of heavy Amazon hardwood. In the photo above, Allison and Dillon modify a bookshelf to fit in the closet of the girls' room.

Monday morning I picked the girls up at the airport and brought them home to see our new house.

Here Ava is commenting on the size of our tiny yard (about 8'X8').

Mia enjoying the spiral stairs which continue up 3 stories to the roof where we hang laundry.

Cleny and Ella exploring the master bedroom.

Brin and Mia enjoy the view from the roof, most of the windows only have views of the neighbor's walls or roof.

The Move

2011-01-08T17:38:00.000-06:00

As I write this, all of our things are on a slow boat traveling upriver towards Manaus. I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Santarem with 2 friends, Alison and Dillon. We are taking my truck to meet the boat, transfer our stuff to another boat, and travel along with our stuff and truck to Manaus. If all goes as planned we'll be arriving on the 13th, my birthday. So far things have been going well. Here are some pictures for those that are wondering...

We will miss the huge wardrobe that we had been using to hold our home school material (not to mention the spacious school room). The wardrobe wasn't ours, and after moving our much smaller wardrobe, I'm so glad we didn't have to move the behemoth.

Packing up the kitchen.

Our furniture waiting to be loaded into the truck

We loaded the truck Friday afternoon, Saturday morning we traveled 45 minutes to Vitoria to meet the boat.

Unloading the truck at the port in Vitoria.

Our stuff should be safe in the bowels of the Ana Maria, the next boat from Santarem to Manaus will not be so secure (it will probably be a Line Boat, full of people in addition to cargo).

Feliz Natal 2010

2010-12-26T16:39:00.001-06:00

Opening Stockings Christmas Eve night

post by Brin

This being our fourth Christmas in Altamira we have discovered that we have taken on some new traditions that are surprisingly endearing. We make our own Christmas tree and other decorations out of jungle foliage, like açai branches and coconut frawns. We also make homemade donuts on Christmas morning. But other than those things our Christmases have been widely diverse. We recall last years Christmas with the midnight dinner at our neighbors house and Josh just recovering from dengue fever. And Christmas the year before that at the ocean. But this Christmas beats all.

On Christmas Eve day we met up at the Guesthouse and worked with Chelsea and Julia, Patty and the Bergquist family to make the most American meal we possibly could with only ingredients found here. Rice and beans were banned and Brazilian polka music should have been. We ate, played, prayed, sisters bickered, and kids disappeared as soon as dishes needed to be washed. So a pretty authentic family Christmas, I think. Our hearts and tummies were full and we went to bed blessed.

Ava, who has earned the name "Sunshine" because of her early-riser tendencies (and also her hair) was given instruction to not wake us until after 7am. Presents would begin whenever Chelsea and Julia arrived at our house, I informed the kids, so if they got antsy I could blame the delay on Chelsea.

The afternoon progressed with activities at the beach. So many of you had a white Christmas, and while I know you all were so happy with it, I could care less. I got to spend it under the sun in a swimsuit! Some time ago, Josh encountered a lady here in Altamira who owns a kneeboard. A real, fiberglass kneeboard, not one made out of moldy Styrofoam like I envisioned. We rented it from her for the day and stopped by Agostinho's house, filled up our car with friends and off we went for a day of boating. Josh became his Uncle Paul (the Ski Whisperer) for the afternoon and we laughed and cheered wildly for our friends kneeboarding for the first time. The only break we took was to marvel at what our friend Jhonatan brought to shore. At one point Kelsie looked upriver and saw a strange object floating towards us. It is just a log bobbing in the waves, I informed the jungle-savy girl whose home is right at the rivers edge. Well, it wasn't. And Jhonatan knew it too and took the kneeboard out to rescue a half-drowned sloth! Or at least that is what I assumed, later I was informed that he was probably just fine and didn't need rescuing.

Holidays are the hardest time for expats to be away from home. Skype certainly has diminished some of the sting as I was able to watch my little niece Ziann show me her new lip gloss. For Josh and I, it was especially meaningful to spend our Christmas with Xingu Mission friends that have become family of a different sort.

the only one who was forced to ride on the kneeboard

3 Brazilians and a gringo on top

Allison was eager (and nervous) to conquer the kneeboard, but got confident really fast!

Ella decorated Chelsea's gift using old guitar strings

Remembering Josh's accident from last April, Ella painted this on canvas.


Chelsea and Julia and girls with stockings

For more pictures of Christmas click here

Watch Kelsie's footage of the sloth :

A farewell trip

2010-12-15T14:12:00.000-06:00

Preparing for a 3 day river trip

One of our goals for our last couple of months in Altamira has been to spend some quality time with some of our close friends. Clyde and Kelsie's family has been close to us, especially over the past year as we have both been pursuing God's plan for our lives together. I have been on two significant survey trips with Clyde, and he was part of the group that was looking at starting a new base in a remote area of Amazonas. More recently, we have each seen God lead our families in different directions. Our excitement for each others new vision is tempered only by the realization that we will not be working together.

Last week a team of 4 guys from Clyde and Kelsie's hometown of Grant's Pass, OR came to visit them and see their new ministry. Ella and I were able to tag along on a farewell tour of Maribel, the region where they are now living and ministering. Maribel has always been our most remote work, the distance making frequent trips difficult. With Clyde and Kelsie having lived there now for only a few months, I could already tell a growth in some of the potential leaders of that region. For more on the region you can watch this video that I made on a past trip:

We had a great time traveling downriver in two canoes and visiting the people with whom Clyde and Kelsie are ministering. One lady greeted us with a huge smile, asking Clyde if he had gotten her message. Clyde hadn't got it, but after some explanation, he remembered that he had prayed for her when he saw her in the Malaria clinic a few weeks before. The woman was ecstatic to report that she had been healed! We didn't have time to stay long at her house, but she begged for Clyde to come back and have a church service.

It was a bittersweet time for me, realizing I would probably never return, but recognizing that God was already using Clyde and Kelsie to touch peoples lives with the love of our Father.

Allison and Ella

A typical village on the Iriri River, a few houses made up of members of the same family .

Some of the local women cleaning fish, the Iriri always provides us with plenty of fish and other wildlife.

Ella enjoys the shade of an umbrella with Makenna and Maddy, two of Clyde and Kelsie's four kids.

Clyde shares during a communion service in one of the homes we visit.

Ella and Makenna in the bow of the boat as we approach shore.

We traveled several hours each day in the small canoes, but the view made the uncomfortable benches and hot sun well worth it.

Jungle Adventure

2010-12-02T04:38:00.003-06:00

At Brin's suggestion, Ella and I took an overnight trip to our local waterfall. We've gone several times to the waterfall that requires an 1 ½ hour hike, but never have we stayed overnight. After reading a book about jungle expeditions, Ella has entertained wild thoughts of an excursion full of adventure and discovery. Even though we have often found ourselves "camping" in a jungle setting on trips to the interior (is hanging a hammock in a mango tree considered camping?), Ella was convinced that if we were to set off into the jungle and stay the night, nothing but adventure would await us. We invited along Allison and Dillon (a short termer from OH), since they had recently stayed overnight at the waterfall, and off we went.

When we first left the States to come to Brazil we were keenly aware that our decision to leave our home would adversely affect our children in ways we could only imagine. Some of those thoughts have recently resurfaced as we prepare to again wretch our family away from everything that is familiar. But in the midst of these thoughts, we are reassured that with the negatives of being away from family and friends back home, we are able to give our kids experiences that will build in them a sense of adventure, of appreciation for other cultures and what God is doing in the world at large. Another advantage is jungle adventures. What most kids can only read about, our kids are able to experience first had.

I'm not sure how our foray into the jungle stacked up to Ella's expectations of adventure, but we had a great time. Raman noodles and hot dog chunks never tasted so good. Although we saw no jaguars or anacondas, we did enjoy some stories around the campfire, explored the creek that feeds the waterfall, and played in the waterfall. All of which made me feel a little bit better about the changes Ella will be facing ahead.

Stopping for a rest along the jungle path.

Ella refills our water bottles from the water filter.

lost tooth, lost purse, lost identity

2010-11-21T17:20:00.019-06:00

~ Post by Brin

Ella lost her tooth this morning at the market. She did it in her pastel (that pastry thing she's eating), how that could happen I don't know. I do consider the market to be a huge blessing in my life. I can get organic (at least I assume they are) bananas and close to organic everything else. Or so the vendors tell me, if they understood the question. And I can get jungle-harvested cinnamon for toast and cobaiba oil for our bug bites. And I can walk to it if I want in comparison to the 30 minute bus ride I will be taking come February. On a bothersome side note, I could not find my coin purse when I returned home. Guess I know where I left it now (look close).

On Sunday mornings I go to Altamira’s weekly outdoor market. That is if the stars align. Those stars being an empty produce basket, a rainless morning and the willingness to sweat and make simple conversation about Obama with a particular vendor who always searches me out to practice his English. The market is so close to my house I can also walk there in about 15 minutes, but the walk back is mostly uphill and twice now I have forgotten that I was on foot when I bought a giant watermelon, besides having my obnoxiously huge Lands End boat tote running over with mangos, pineapples, kale, green onions and lettuce, my market staples.

Overall, the market suits me. I like a big variety to choose from and it is probably the freshest option for produce in the city. But this morning, something stood at a contrast. I went to the market with an apple in hand and then was annoyed when I wanted to dispose of it, but couldn’t find a trash can. Yes, I could have added my (organic) trash to the smorgasbord of garbage already on the streets; pineapple tops, chicken feathers, plastic cups, fliers for a motorbike promotion, my core would fit right in. I would fit right in, but I couldn’t do it. I just could not litter even if not doing so set me apart from the other shoppers. I have felt that awkward dichotomy before. It is when the Brazil Brin confronts the American Brin. It also happened when I asked a vendor not to put the carrots in a plastic sack. “I don’t like to waste plastic. That is why I bring a big bag,” I explain opening my bag for her to plop the carrots in, hoping my altruistic respect for the environment rubs off on the other shoppers. I doubt it. I only manage to confuse a few vendors and maybe save about 10 extra bags from blowing freely across our city and mingling with the other thousand bags. Why do I have to be so weird? I so want to just fit in. But at what cost? And when I don’t, which is plenty, why does it bug me so much? Yesterday I went to the orphanage and participated in a skit that required my character to sneeze, it was actually the defining trait of the character (yup, I got an important role). The kids love to laugh at me when I talk because they find my accent so adorable and entertaining. At least that is what I think, I mean, surely that is why they are laughing. I played my part with all the theatricalities I learned in high school. I gave my character the big, “AH- AH- AH-CHOO!” kind of sneeze. A loud, dramatic extended one. Cue the laughter; I am so charming. The skit goes on with audience participation where they have to also do their own sneezing. Now, I knew that animal sounds are different based on what language was being spoken. While in Romania years ago, I learned they do not like the sound Americans use for roosters. But I didn’t know that there was a Brazilian way to make sneeze noises. Well there is and it is much more calm and subtle, more of just a quick, but strong puffs of air through the noise. A rather pitiful sneeze, I think, but now I feel weird because clearly I am not fluent in bodily noises. And I guess I feel bad, because….I want to be? Grrrrrrrrr.

Another such personality showdown occurred last Thursday. Mia participated in her school’s much anticipated and illustrious Festa de Nações, or Festival of Nations. This year we arrived in Altamira too late for Ava to participate and Mia arrived barely in time. I didn’t figure out what country she was assigned until we arrived that night. Based on her costume we were assigned to make we guessed Spain, Italy or Mexico. We were close, bonus points given because Argentina was colonized by Spain. The invitation claimed the festivities would start at 7:00pm. Silly invitation. The Brazil Brin congratulated her good judgment when she arrived at 7:20, until she surveyed the school and realized that probably 80% of the guests still hadn’t arrived. An hour or so later, the festivities began. This being our family’s second Festa I knew to expect crowded tables, a famine of chairs that make desperate standers steal a chair if it’s owner got up, delays for unknown reasons and the reality that I still didn’t entirely understand what was going on. And you know what? Neither did anyone else. People wandered around during the program as if it was just a practice, no one rolled their eyes when “Miss Portugal” had to be called to the stage multiple times, and some guests even chatted through the national anthem. I doubt anyone shared my private “let’s get this show on the road!” attitude or at least the degree to which I did. Reflecting this morning, I could have just sat empty-minded and unbothered, but instead I kept standing, double-checking to make sure that Mia’s costume looked like her classmates and wondering when she would need to go to the stage. Seriously, what is my problem? I have been in the culture for 4 years now, how have I not learned how to relax?

It really bugs me that I can’t be me. I mean, yeah, I am ok about giving up the annoying parts of me, or try to do so. I exaggerate, overact, don’t listen well, and am tightly-wound no matter what culture I presently reside and I wouldn’t mind softening those things on both sides of the equator. But I still kinda like me. And sometimes I feel like I spend a lot of effort trying to be something else. My reluctance at being a litterbug and conflicts with my multiple cultural personalities are strange and piddly issues yes, but the feelings in sum bring out something else. I think it has something to do with integrity. I want the Brin on the outside to match up with the Brin on the inside. And I have been taught that Brin should be the same Brin wherever she finds herself, at work on Monday morning or at church on Sunday or at Uncle Duane’s midweek barbecue. And I want to be the real me with whomever I find myself. And maybe that is why I am bothered so much by the discrepancy I see in myself.

I eventually found a trashcan at the market and next Sunday I will lug my obnoxious bag that bangs into everyone in the crowded aisles. I will also be the only women wearing a visor. Melanoma Brin will always beat out Culturally Appropriate Brin or Fashion Brin.

Each class is assigned a different nation, here is Mia as Argentina alongside another student.

This class was assigned Brazil. I found this group hilarious because they used soccer uniforms for their costume and a dance involving a lot of running and kicking moves to exemplify the nation of Brazil. At least they know who they are, ahem!

Mia did such a fabulous job, you’d never know she got so little practice in and the fact that she was so upbeat and eager speaks well of her ability to persevere and bloom at school despite her parents mostly being clueless. She is quite inspiring. The whole program was really stupendous, credit needs to be given to my girls’ beloved Tia G (to the rest of us Pastora Angelita) who did a bang up job and made it a truly memorable evening for everyone.

Good times with friends

2010-11-16T11:02:00.000-06:00

~post by Josh

Our friends invited us to go camping with them on their "island" along with a group of others from our church. We are trying to take advantage of every opportunity we have to spend time with friends, so we jumped at the offer. We have been there before, but that didn't diminish the stark contrast with how I would choose to take a relaxing weekend.

Our friends are a musical family, so they love to listen to music and play music. Loudly. Late into the night. Fortunately, a rainstorm came through at about midnight and chased everyone into their tents, or underneath the house if they didn't have a tent. OK, that needs explanation. A neighbor has a house that sits on stilts, and this being the only shelter, the chickens, dogs and pigs got the boot and about 20 people tied their hammocks to the floor joists to get out of the rain.

So the music was loud, the meals were at odd times, and we left about 2.5 hours later than we were supposed to... but all was forgiven as we enjoyed the wonderful hospitality and kindness of our friends.

We will truly miss our friends from Altamira. Will we find such quality friendships where we are going? How long will it take? When will we be able to visit our friends here in Altamira again? All questions in the back of our minds. All part of letting go and trusting that the God who has called us will be faithful to meet our needs.

Chow time always turns into a bit of a free for all, which even the chickens get into.

Old couches serve as outdoor furniture until there isn't anything left, at which point they probably are used for something else.

Back to the bush

2010-11-08T16:45:00.000-06:00

Ella and I and some dog enjoy a moment of quiet.

These things often come together at the last minute. I learned the night before a visit to Surubim (a bush community where we have been planting a church) that a few members of our team had backed out and there would be room to take Ella.

It felt like every one of the 5 months that it had been since my last visit. It was good to catch up with some of the believers there... not much changes in jungle life though. We were able to participate in a service in a new area, about a 10 minute drive down the road from our normal location. And we spent some time with some of the main leaders.

Since I'm leaving in January and Alison (my ministry partner in Surubim) will probably be starting college, we've been talking about a couple different options of how to maintain support for the leaders in Surubim. I know that God has a plan, He has been working so vividly in lives there. The little group of believers have even taken it on themselves to start construction of a structure for them to meet in during the rainy season. Please be in prayer for the small group of believers in Surubim, and especially the main leader Carlinha.

Watching a soccer match with the locals.

Ella cools of with a "shower", the creek was dry so we had to settle for hauling buckets up from the well to clean and cool off.

Alison and I spend some time discipling a few of the leaders, Carlinha is in the middle.

Ella was thrilled at the chance to play her guitar during an actual worship service. Expectations are very low and not many people would catch a goof up, so I thought it was a great opportunity for her. Here Ella and Alison are practicing while a few curious onlookers watch their every move.

We’re back… for a while

2010-11-04T13:41:00.000-05:00

~Posted by Josh

Five months is a long time to be away. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the States, but we were ready to jump back into our lives in Brazil. After being away for so long some things stood out much more starkly and will take some time to getting used to.

We soon realized that we are all out of practice with the portuguese language and find ourselves stumbling over words that would usually come naturally. The younger girls especially have forgotten a lot, but I’m sure in no time they’ll be jabbering with their friends. Speaking of jabbering, it’s election time in Brazil and for some reason the candidates think it’s helpful to hire people to drive around blaring advertisements from cars and bicycles. Less annoying are the people that walk around dressed in their candidates colors and waving flags. Mia calls it flag day. The other night we caught ourselves in a procession of the red candidate, between the blaring radios, shouting people and fireworks, we couldn’t even hear each other inside the car.

The girls seem to be adjusting well. But we were a bit worried at first. When we first arrived at our house, our rat-dog… I mean our beautiful pet Beanie, growled and barked incessantly at the girls. They had ran to him as soon as getting in the house, but probably a combination of not recognizing them and the fear of being attacked by a pack of wild girls had put him over the edge. Mia immediately decided to give up on Beanie and go say hi to their friends, the neighbor girls. Mia was crushed again to learn that they had moved to another city while we were gone.

So we’re back in Brazil. In some ways it’s just how we left it. But it’s also different this time. We’re here in Altamira only for a couple of months and then will be moving on to Manaus.

[Note: I originally wrote this blog last week. We’ve been out of internet, and we still struggling with it. We hope to begin posting more often as we get things functioning. Thanks for your patience!]

Tools

2010-10-21T09:47:00.000-05:00

-Post by Josh

Probably the most difficult thing for me to give up when we left for Brazil (beside family and friends) was my tools. To some of you that may sound trivial. Over the years I had accumulated a well equipped wood shop, as well as enough mechanic's tools to handle most car repairs.

When we left for Brazil, I loaned out most of my tools to friends, and the rest I just put in storage. I really did miss my tools. Or more accurately, the ability to fix things when they broke. On furlough, I remember visiting friends with well equipped garages, and I would literally feel sense of loss. Ok, maybe I have issues, but I'm just trying to be honest here.

I share this as a testimony of what God is doing. Even as my tools lay spread out across my friends' shops, God was planning something better. For many months on this blog we have asked for prayer, requesting that God would make it clear if we were to stay in Brazil. As previous posts have described, He did just that and now happy to be finding myself stocking a tool chest again. In my position as an aviation technician, I will need my own tools. I already own about half of what I need, but I've recently spent some time putting together a list of tools that I will need to round out my toolbox.

Along with the help of our home church, we are attempting to raise money to purchase these tools. Roger Stuber, and his son Jake, have helped in setting up a website for people that would like to sponsor a tool. If you are interested in checking out this sight, click on the picture below.

Manaus and back

2010-09-28T21:25:00.000-05:00

Beth, Roger, and Brin and I, exploring the streets of Manuas.

As we prepared to land in Manaus, my mind took me back to two years earlier... after our first furlough, we scheduled a 3 day stay in Manaus. We thought it would be a good transition back after a busy three months. The only thing I can remember about those three days is thinking it was two days too long... And here we were, returning - not just for a quick stopover but to catch a glimpse at what our new lives might look like.

We knew our lives would be very different in Manaus, but seeing it first hand forced us to see that . It seems almost every aspect of our lives will be different. I'm sure we will come to like some of these changes, but in the meantime it can seem a bit overwhelming.

Manaus, a city of 2 million, has traffic. Plenty of it. And never once did we pass a horse and cart like we would in Altamira. We not real sure what we would be buying at the "Shop Dope"....

We toured several Brazilian schools, all of them very modern by the standards that we are accustomed.

We enjoyed our rice and beans in the hangar.

Roger and I checking out one of the planes that is maintained at the hangar where I will be working.

So we are back in the States, but only for a short time. We leave for Brazil at the end of Oct. and will be in Altamira until the end of year, at which point we will move to Manaus.

I'm reminded of the river Javari that we traveled up on a survey trip last spring. The river cuts sharp turns through the jungle, doubling back on itself at every turn. But all the while it slowly moves toward the mouth, it's final destination. It's so easy to get caught up in the turns of life, but it's refreshing to know that He is taking us where He wants us to go.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

We are not alone.

2010-08-26T16:58:00.000-05:00

All the changes and excitement of the last month has been like a whirlwind. In some ways, we haven't even had a chance to catch our breath, as it seems like we've made one decision after another. Big decisions can be scary, but as I look back, I am so grateful for the way that God has provided people in our lives to walk this journey with us.

The phenomenon of furlough (what missionaries call their visit to their home country) is a relatively new experience for us. I'm not sure you can ever get used to living out of your suitcase. We have had so many great visits with good friends that we haven't seen for 2 years. But all the traveling can really take a toll on family life, along your sanity. We've answered some of the same questions and told the same stories countless times. We try to be as honest and open with people about our struggles and difficulties. But recently we've also shared the elation and excitement that comes with God working in your life in such a obvious way. Anyone who hung out with us in June and now recently since our new excitement could, in all fairness, label us as bipolar.

As I look back, I can't think of a better environment to make big decisions. We have been surrounded by people that love us and want to be a part of our ministry. They ask hard questions and force us to think about things from a different perspective. And they rejoice with us when God reveals that He has been working things out long before we were aware.

When we shared with our church that we may be making a move to a new city and a new ministry, they suggested that we go visit Manaus and come back and share our plans with them before returning to Brazil. They even offered to send two members of the missionary committee with us to check things out. So, Brin and I will be visiting Manaus Sep. 17 - 23 along with Roger and Beth who will be traveling with us to see our new home. We are looking forward not only to having them help look at things from a different perspective, but we recognize that they are symbolic of all the people that stand with us in this new chapter. They will be so much more connected to what we are doing, and by extension, the whole church will be standing with us as we take this leap of faith.

wait…..wait…..wait…..NOW!

2010-08-21T18:39:00.000-05:00

~posted by Brin

When Josh gets restless it usually means God is up to something. He describes his departure from 10 years in youth ministry, not as burnout, but more a restlessness that prompted him to ask of God for direction that ultimately led us to Brazil. And about a year or so ago, again with the jimmy legs. Josh tells how he battled within, attempting to discern whether it was an uncalled for discontentedness or a stirring of God that comes out as restlessness. I recognized that in him but honestly, I didn’t know what to do with it besides be annoyed. First of all, it threatened my security. I had finally taken root in Altamira and I quite simply thought Josh should make a go of it like I did. I recall one desperate day telling him to bloom where he is planted, and then immediately regretted it when he shot me a look that called me out on the cheesyiness.

Over the past 2 years, Josh and other like-hearted men from our Mission began a series of travels, conversations and cooperative dreaming about what God had for each of us. Looking back, he visited many places; Santa Isabel, Monte Dourado, São Felix and others that now have no more significance than names on a map. Then last February, a little town on the Amazon tugged on his heart like none other. A fire was lit! We had several other families added to the flame and we even gathered to discuss visions, timelines, and goals. Josh’s passion started to surface. Months of prayer, discussion and internal contemplation led us to think that God was leading us to this little town. And then, little by little, God sent each family a different direction, leaving our family pondering what would be next for us and honestly baffled and frustrated. We had no interest (or the capacity) to move to that town by ourselves so we essentially wiped it from the list of possibilities with no other options to take it’s place.

Awkward. That was how we showed up when we arrived home on furlough. We trudged through uncomfortable meet-ups with friends and family and stumbled over words trying to express our… I guess I would call it an in-between. Often times we just said, we’re still waiting, still praying, please pray with us. And early on I was certain, seriously certain, that God would reveal something fabulous. Josh prayed privately that God would do one of two things: open a door somewhere new or give him a fresh enthusiasm for Altamira, which was what I hoped would happen. But weeks went by and then months and the wait felt heavier and heavier as it wore on. I started to get twitchy. I would vacillate between a confident state of living in God’s strength during the wait and security in God’s love for me and then out of nowhere a sudden flash of desperation where I was tempted to put Josh’s résumé on Craigslist and buy the first house that had a For Sale sign.

From June until now we have been moving around home to home. Staying up late for conversations, skiing, playing golf, gaining weight, clearly we are having a fun visit. Beginning July 8th, we began a month of travels starting in Minnesota to see my family and a visit to old friends Chris and Dana. We had a 3 night Providential stopover before Midwest Family Camp at Rachel and Adam’s (Josh’s sister) house in Milwaukee. Rachel hosted a party so that we could meet some of their friends, and that evening one of them told us that another missionary family from Brazil was in town and that he (Wilson) was a pilot in the Amazon Basin. Hmmmmmm, now before I continue with this story I have to remind you all that Josh has had an interest in aviation since childhood. I know this because his homemade Christmas stocking that we inherited at our marriage has an airplane on it. He also has his degree in Aviation Science but after graduation went straight into full time ministry and has been there since.

We went to church the next morning with intentions of hunting down this family, motivated by the aviation aspect. But they were speaking at a different church. I would have labeled the whole situation “bummer”" had I not read the recent letter the family had written to the church. In it they spoke of their goals for furlough. Now generally, when missionaries come home their goals include things like passport/visa paperwork, continuing education, rest and vast amounts of food, get a suspicious mole looked at, and in our case, get Josh some new teeth. Their goal that stunned my soul: encourage the body of Christ to find their role and purpose in the Kingdom. That is us!! Also, a detail of interest, all three of their children attended College of the Ozarks in Missouri where Josh and I met. We have to find them, I pleaded of Josh. So, armed with sketchy directions to the church where they were speaking, we eagerly headed out to find them while I peppered Josh with advise on how to approach them.

Adam finds the church and we head in as everyone is pouring out. It was kind of exhilarating really, but I soon realized that they could be slipping past us in the crowds and we wouldn’t even know it. So, I started holding up their prayer card picture and asking strangers, “Do you know where they are?” Later Josh admits his embarrassment because probably everyone assumed we were at the service and wondered why we wouldn’t recognize them ourselves. We find them and Josh ambitiously starts out the conversation by asking about the aviation scene in the Amazon Basin and then leads to what our family has been doing the last 4 years and our current in-between state. Josh recounts the story of how we were ready to move and then our team dissolved and Wilson responds by saying, “funny you mention Atalaia, my family is considering moving there next year.” Now, be aware, this little town of 7,000 is one of hundreds in the Amazon Basin. That connection was stunning! Josh’s next question is one that he has been asking himself for years, “What would it take to get back into aviation with no experience outside of schooling?” Josh had erroneously assumed there would no place on the aviation mission field for someone with no experience. Not true, Wilson stated, and what seemed off the cuff at the time, invited our family to join him in Manuas and he would train Josh for a year. Only 10 minutes had passed and Wilson needed to leave, so Josh asked him where he would be for the remainder of his furlough, Josh thinking he would travel to wherever Wilson was staying to continue the conversation. And the next amazing provision…he would be heading to see his daughter (pre-nursing from College of the Ozarks, just like me) where she got her first job at St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, IL (just like me). In two weeks, God would intersect our paths once again, putting us only 15 minutes apart.

So we went on to Midwest Camp, thrilled at the new possibility, but yet still as uncertain as ever of our future. But this time, we had a spark of hope and sharing our unknowns became pleasurable because we KNEW God was up to something; we had to testify to that. We took advantage of having the ears of other missionaries at camp; Dan and Heather Galat in Africa and Tim and Christine Huber in Japan. And we excitedly told people of our intersection with Wilson’s family, Josh’s (God initiated) restlessness and our hunger to hear from God.

Two weeks had passed when we gave a presentation to our home church in Tremont. We shared honestly about our last 2 years, which included a tough last 6 months starting with dengue fever in December and then Josh’s motorcycle accident in April. We shared that we were in the midst of a challenging wait, but hope seemed around the corner, because we were going to meet with this new family the very next morning. We sensed God had us on the precipice of something amazing, but were still without anything specific. Pray for us tomorrow morning, we pleaded. So with the awkward in-between off our chests and the supportive and loving gaze of our church family upon us, we bowed for prayer. And when I looked up so many people surrounded us we could not see through the crowd.

With amounts of anticipation that I cannot not even describe, we met up with Wilson and his wife Lori at Bob Evans in East Peoria. We heard their story, got a sense of their ministry vision and learned that his need for an aviation mechanic with an organization called Asas de Socorro (wings of rescue) is very legit, as was their offer to train us in Manuas. A few days passed, and with the seriousness of a potential move ripening, Josh and Wilson met again, this time bringing Steve Meyer (head of our church’s missions committee) and Beth Scheuermann (our family's liaison to the missionary committee). Everyone involved has not just a peace but an excitement. The wait appears to be nearing it’s end and we marvel at how God has so dramatically intertwined events in our lives. From 20 years ago when a conversation with Luke Huber sparked aviation in Josh and my own call to nursing as a freshman at C of O to our recent travels with teammates with Xingu Mission. We learn this and relearn this: time is in His hands, beginning and the end, and His strength will rise when we wait on His call.

Our next step is the product of Josh’s divine restlessness, a hunger for something that he knew was inside him and he didn’t want to ignore or deny. God stirs us when He is ready to move us, a mighty move on the inside or out.

Sights from our travels:

A gorgeous day at Chris and Dana’s golf course where I learned I really like golf!

More pictures of our time in Minnesota

Uncle Adam and the girls on a wild ride in Milwaukee (literally and figuratively)

More pictures of our time in Wisconsin

Ella and Ava at the Newtons (see the Brazil flag?)

More pictures of Midwest Camp and Columbus

Josh teaching Ava to ski

More pictures of Lake of the Ozarks

You calling me chicken?

2010-06-15T10:23:00.002-05:00

Post by Brin

Yesterday morning I got up and lounged on the addictively comfortable couch at Stan and Julie's only hours before we left and regretted that I had not spent any time on it earlier. The last week has been so enjoyable, with encouraging lunches and dinners with friends (Josh is up 5lbs.) and events at the Turkey Festival (or Chicken Festival as Ava and Mia referred to it a few times, they have little to no exposure to the word "turkey" in Brazil but know it fits in the chicken category). For me, the weekend passed at a local community college's Motorcycle Safety Class. My weekend education came at a high price, ya all. I missed out on the glorious gluttony of turkey and conversation at the Turkey Festival, seeing Luke Porritt in tights, and relaxing poolside at Stan and Julie's. My class started on Friday night and went the whole weekend, even in the rain. I shivered and chattered and my left hand cramped from a combination of it's subnormal temperatures and new found importance in shifting gears. However, the weekend was redeemed when I was handed my passing grades and now am a licensed driver, although that hardly qualifies me for the lawless roads of Altamira. Honestly though, I should not cheer myself too wildly, I am pretty certain God enabled me throughout the test. He is vitally involved in the details of our lives; we can catch a glimpse if we are looking for Him. I am so relieved to have the class behind me.

Now we are in St. Louis, checking in with family and friends from college. Maybe a little rest, maybe some shopping and probably a date night at Barnes and Noble.

Ella and her friend Heather enjoying a ride at the Turkey Festival

Josh? The doctor will see you now.

2010-06-09T11:05:00.001-05:00

We have arrived back into the States and with that comes the meaningful conversations we have been craving, dry skin that compels us to drink from the lotion bottle and explanations to our children how barns, grain elevators and automatic flushing toilets function.

Josh got to see a dentist today. Finally. It has been 2 1/2 months since he spit fragments of 5 of his teeth on the dirt road of the TransAmazon Highway. We are so, so thankful to be able to do this here where we can just relax knowing that Josh will get the best care and we don’t have to triple check every decision. Josh however, hasn’t been the only one seeing a doctor. Within 72 hours of landing in the States, Mia has managed to break her 3rd bone on one of those “safe and fancy playgrounds” that I had been touting to the girls on the eve of our arrival. And thankfully, we have been so well cared for by everyone around us it is quite evident that God has brought people into our path right when we needed them the most.

Ok, so here we see Nate, a former youth group student, now a chiropractor with an office equipped with an x-ray machine. How very helpful. He diagnosed the break and sent us on to Dr. Baer from our home church who slipped us into the clinic during the closing minutes to cast her arm. And then this morning, Rachael (Rumbold, where we are staying) started out the morning by brainstorming what I will need to do to keep the cast dry and clean, a task that had not even crossed my mind. So, yeah, we are being taken care of.

Ella and Isaac at a children’s museum

Mia plays with her cousin Maci and friend Andrew at a church picnic

Birthday lessons

2010-05-31T16:21:00.000-05:00

In the car, I overhear Mia explaining in English to another missionary kid that she used to have five, but now she has six. Six Princess notebooks? Six lost teeth? Lipgloss? Any of those items would be an appropriate guess for our home. What she was saying, however, is that she used to be 5 years old, but now she is 6. And if you spoke Portuguese, that would make total sense to you. On the eve of leaving for our 2nd furlough I find myself paying attention to things like this.

I am starting to forget nouns. Like, what is the name of that thing that floats above the crib for babies to watch? After seeing it in a book Mia was utterly intrigued and inquired what it is called. "I can't recall," I told her, "now go back to your homeschool lesson." I bring it up because I realized a few weeks ago that I just cannot recall the name of one of my former patients from back in the PICU. At the time and for many years after I could not imagine I would ever forget her after the impression she left. And I hate it that I can't remember it. I blame it on the Portuguese that is now taking up brain space. But it bothers me most of all because it suggests some of the tender and meaningful parts of my past are slipping away. This is how life is, I suppose, but I cannot help but wonder how having dual lives plays a part in it.

Ava loves a good party. That would be her with the pink princess dress on. She has been planning her surprise birthday party for about a week now, informing Cleny and I when we should turn on and off the lights and when everyone should yell surprise and that next everyone should complement her on her dress and hair.

I turned her down a notch each day so that by today the party we threw for her at her school was just what she wanted.

In accordance with Brazilian tradition (or at least the Brazilians we hang with), Ava cordially passes out her birthday cake with brigadeiros (fudge balls?) on the side. I attempted to keep it typically Brazilian but need to admit defeat when we brought out the silly string and had the whole class hysterically chasing Ava for a chance to get webbed. I will be adding Silly String to my import list. The boys at the orphanage would love it.

As we look forward to our time in the States, it's apparent that it will take time for our family to adjust to a different language, pace of life and customs. The longer we are away, the less familiar "home" is. It's a strange notion really, but one we are becomeing more comfortable with.

Playing catch-up

2010-05-13T07:49:00.001-05:00

It's been a bit of a crazy month. Between physical therapy appointments and other regular daily activities, we've been bit by bit preparing for our upcoming departure. We leave for furlough the end of May and our list of people to have for lunch, vehicles to fix and ministries to cover grows instead of shrinks each day. In the midst of all this our focus has clearly not been on updating our blog. So here is a review of activities over the past several weeks...

At the end of April, Brin hosted a team that mostly consisted of Amanda's family (Patrick & Laura Kilborn) from Canada. Amanda has been living with us over the past 6 months helping homeschool Ava and Mia. The team worked on a construction project here in Altamira and spent 4 days on the river visiting several river churches. At the end of their stay, Amanda returned to Canada with them, after a good-bye serenade at the airport by her Brazilian friends.

Ava and Mia playing hooky from afternoon church.

Brin teaches kids oral hygiene before distributing toothbrushes and toothpaste that the Canadian team brought. She does this after handing out fistfuls of suckers.

A beach service in one of the communities we visited.

Ava on top of the boat as we travel

up a small creek to a village.

In keeping with the theme of craziness, Josh's hair has been a preoccupation for many. Including Mia who helped secure his locks from the breezes on top of our boat.

Brin's birthday fell on the day that the team left. She was thrilled to be able to plan a trip to the waterfall with the team.

Ava and her friend Maddy made a sand ''hedgehog"' birthday cake.

On to more recent events...Last weekend Josh helped out with a leadership training weekend that we held for the first time in the area of Surubim, a remote community where Josh has been working. Usually these trainings are held in Altamira, but because of the cost for leaders living in remote communities to travel into the city, we brought the training to them. There were about 15 leaders from 4 different remote locations that came to this training. For many of them, it was probably the first time they ever attended an event that was focused just on them.

A simple thing like bread was a treat to the leaders who live in the interior and have limited access to bakeries.

Baby steps

2010-04-18T08:39:00.000-05:00

It's been almost a month since my accident. I continue to heal, slower than I'd like, but healing none-the-less. I'm able to drive the car again, so that helps with feeling less like a caged animal.

On Easter, the Bergquists and their 4 kids came over for an Easter egg hunt. I was allowed to oversee the egg hiding, which left me feeling important. I'm definitely going to enjoy that for as long as I can.

Mia climbs on my good leg to get an egg hidden in a palm tree.

What is good?

2010-03-29T13:34:00.000-05:00

There is a strange gap in my memory after I struck the dog and then became aware of my body sliding to a stop on the road. I don't think I blacked out, I just have no memory. As I came to my senses, my initial concern was for my left arm that was extended above my head. I have a bad shoulder that is easily dislocated; over the years I've learned how to manipulate it back into place. I slowly lowered my left arm with my right, preparing to put it back into place, but realized it was not dislocated. I assumed the discomfort I felt in my shoulder was evidence that my shoulder had dislocated, but returned on it's own. There was a soreness, but nothing that made me think anything was broken. Next I assessed my legs, nothing was broken. My chin was bleeding and I realized I had broken some molars (which at first I thought was gravel). But all in all I felt thankful that I was essentially able to walk away from the crash (albeit limping).

Riding in a strangers car back to the city, I remember looking out the window with a grateful heart. I thanked God for protecting me, for sparing me from more critical injuries. More than a week later I am now struggling to have that same thankful heart. The seriousness of my injuries have changed somewhat. I have broken bones both in my shoulder and chin, and my knee may have some ligament damage (not a professional assessment, I see the orthopedic doctor tomorrow). But does any of that change the reality that God is in control and deserves my thanks?

I've been reading in Acts about the early church. What really was the hangup that many of the Jews had with Jesus? Among other things, it was essentially they were looking for a messiah as they desired him to be. They wanted to be saved on their terms. I have come to realize that I do the same thing with Jesus. I want him to "save" me from the difficulty, pain and disappointment of this life; when He doesn't I feel let down, even disillusioned.

Faith seems to have as much to do with trusting in how God works as in who God is. It's easy to believe in a God when His will and our own lines up, but the moment His plan diverges from ours, we question where He is. My personal faith struggle comes down to this: Do I believe God is good? To clarify, am I willing to allow God to define "good"? Declaring that God is good is easy, until I decide His goodness is not what I had in mind.

I'm still in the midst of this lesson. I'm learning what it means to trust Him. I'm taking some cues from the writer of Ps. 118:1,2:

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say,

"His steadfast love endures forever."

Let me say, "His steadfast love endures forever."

Josh and the motorbike accident

2010-03-22T21:10:00.002-05:00

Josh was in a motorcycle accident this past weekend. Here is an update on how he is doing as well as the full story of what happened, as I have been told….

The TransAmazon

On Saturday morning Josh left with Allison to do a weekend of church meetings and discipleship in the community of Surubim, a ranching and farming community in the bush about 4 hours outside of Altamira. While traveling by motorcycle on the TransAmazon highway, a large dog ran suddenly into the path of Josh’s motorcycle, pitching Josh’s body onto the hard clay and rock road surface. He can’t remember how he landed or really much at all after having the dreadful awareness of the dog. He never lost consciousness and when Allison found him he was able to talk and even sit up. They waited while 2 trucks sped past them. Allison explained that travelers on the TransAmazon are leery of stopping or even slowing down for fear of robbery. An injured duo would make a fabulous ruse, I suppose. So, Josh rode on the back of Allison’s motorcycle and they headed back towards Altamira. When they arrived at the river crossing, they had to wait for a car going their direction to act as an ambulance to take Josh into Altamira. The ferry came and went twice, until finally a van carrying workers from a local electric company arrived and transported Josh to the hospital.

Josh lacked mobility of his left arm and had a deformity on his shoulder blade so an x-ray was ordered that evidenced a scapula fracture. He also had a decent gash under his chin that needed stitches. That was about the time that I made it to the hospital. I watched as the technician cleaned the wound and cut out the loose tissue, and then remembering that Josh also broke at least 4 teeth, the technician probed his finger in further to feel Josh’s lower jaw bone. It wasn’t right, so back to radiology we went. The x-ray technician had actually left the building already so when he was called back for us, he gruffly asked. “What? Did you fall?” Essentially, the jaw x-ray has been inconclusive, but clinically Josh can talk, bite down, and has some mobility and strength so right now we are waiting for the swelling to go down and then reevaluate. Despite that much of his pain was (and still is) in his left leg, all the x-rays of his leg came back clean.

Josh when he first arrived home.
He had to make his own sling out of the long-sleeve tee he was wearing.

So I took him home. And it was a crazy night. First of all, the whole time at the hospital, no one listened to his lungs; no one took a pulse or questioned him about abdominal pain. All of those things being standard of care for almost any accident, but especially when an accident occurs of such force that could break the scapula. They let us go home without antibiotics, pain meds or even any advice on what to expect the coming days. They told me to see an Orthopedic doctor and an oral surgeon, and that was about it. It didn’t scare me, because honestly I wanted him at home where I could make the decisions and where he would be comfortable. The hospital we were at is horribly uncomfortable, at one point all I wanted was a towel to drape over Josh’s shoulder but I knew that would be a ridiculous request. Since he is at home, I can go to the pharmacy myself and get the best meds available, I could have our MD neighbor up the hill give me a second opinion and I called Tim in Porto de Moz and emailed Josh’s childhood friend Dan (an ortho doc) in Africa to give me advice. Later today I ached for the many people who don’t have those options, who can’t go home to a comfortable bed with a mountain of pillows and do not have support people who can just drop whatever they are doing (I was at a women’s retreat) and they don’t have any money to buy medication or see a specialist. And I was flooded with emotion, utterly grateful to have my husband alive (I kissed his helmet. And on a side note I have to wait 15 days to kiss his mouth.), thankful to be able to care for Josh and yet troubled for others who find themselves in Josh’s same predicament without the same care options.

It is kinda hard to see what God is up to here. Something, certainly. Josh and I had been planning this weekend for a while. The women’s retreat was actually a powerful ministry put on by our church called Encontro, which translates to “Encounter.” Participants are given an entire weekend to search for God and His calling on their lives. I have been desiring to go for at least a year and the dates never worked out until this month, which I thought to be Divinely remarkable timing since Josh and I are using this month to pray specifically about our future with a new base. I was there 17 hours when Steve and Patty arrived to tell me about the accident and take me to the hospital. Those 17 hours were powerful and I learned so much about myself and God, strangely though, nothing to do with the new base. I have yet to share with Josh because, as you would imagine, other details have center stage.

So that is the update. Josh spends most his time in bed, self-medicating with ESPN.COM when it streams well. He can ambulate to the bathroom and sit on a chair in the shower. He drinks smoothies and takes codeine.That is about it. I find it humorous that he is stuck at home again (remember Dengue December?). My idea, which I am positive is correct, is that God is telling him to stay home more. Just kidding about that; sort of. But seriously, I admit I am having some significant emotions and a fair amount of deep reflections, however fragmented they are at the moment. I just can’t seem to put them into words. Give me some time. And Josh will give you his take too. Later though. It was rather bizarre watching Josh contort his body and use one hand to type a 2 line update on Facebook.

Thank you all for your prayers. Thanks for the prayers before his weekend even began and for the prayers after his accident. We are so humbled to know so many of you bring us before God. And the emails and Facebook messages are truly encouraging. We thank God for all of you.

Map of Atalaia

2010-03-15T19:10:00.000-05:00

I've had several people ask me to provide a map showing the location of Atalaia and the region we visited. Some of you may have stumbled upon the beautiful, coastal, resort town of Atalaia in the state of Pará; Brin wanted me to assure everyone that we are NOT referring to that Atalaia.

The first map shows where the area is in relation to all of Brazil, the second is the detailed area in the red box.

I've tried to identify a few important cities on the map below.

The blue region is Brazil, pink is Peru and beige is Colombia. 1) Atalaia do Norte - the city we visited and would potential have our base, 2) Benjamin Constant - 30 min. by road from Atalaia, because of it's size (30,000) it offers a large variety of supplies and would be an important because of it's proximity to Atalaia, 3) Tabatinga - 30 min. by boat from Benjamin, the largest Brazilian city in the area (50,000), has an airport with daily flights to Manaus, 4) Leticia - a Colombian city just across the border from Tabatinga.

Note that the Amazon flows from the interior of Peru, then cuts between Benjamin Constant and Tabatinga, and then continues off the map to the east. The border of Peru and Brazil is marked by the Javari river, upon which we traveled, stopping at communities on both sides of the border.

somethings's brewing

2010-03-11T07:04:00.002-06:00

~post by Brin

Josh arrived home from the exploratory trip to Amazonas and stayed in town for 15 hours before he left again on a boat trip up the Xingu. That was 15 hours to get caught up on emails, consume 2 healthy meals, sleep in his own bed, have a clean shower, pack and then he was off for another outing. This time the whole family traveled together on a boat trip led by Agostinho and his boys, Emerson and Allison. The trip went quite well, with 2 church meetings under the mango tree (Is there a better place for church? I think not.), a childrens program, and plenty of conversation while butchering a cow for a neighborhood barbecue. And by neighborhood I mean “neighbors”10 km away that canoed/boated in for the afternoon.

A riverside barbecue with fresh beef. Everyone, including the dogs, got into the act.

Afternoon meeting with all the neighbors in the shade of a mango tree.

Go here for more pictures of the boat trip to Marituba.

Those few hours we had in Altamira were not sufficient to hear about all that Josh encountered in Amazonas, so Josh and I used our boating time to relax in our hammocks, spill out everything that happened for each of us the previous 9 days, and experience some soul-deep companionship. Sometimes the immensity of all going on with us, both in our physical lives and spiritual as well, can sometimes overwhelm us and leave us saying things like, “I am not sure what that means.” Or “I can’t say for certain what I think about that.” It is a weird place to be in, this reality filled with unknowns. It being mixed with anticipation, mystery, adventure and, I am pleased to say, a peace that doesn’t make sense in light of the undecided state of our futures.

While on the boat, Mia celebrated her 6th birthday. The girls love it when their birthday fall on boat trips because it makes for a memorable event. A tradition has even begun; we blow up some balloons and float them out on the river in front of a home for a child to find. It is really quite delightful. The most challenging part is decorating the cake on a moving boat with choppy waters.

Mia the new 6 year old posed by her cake.

Go here for more pics of Mia's birthday on the boat.

We returned from our 3 day boat trip at 3pm on Monday afternoon. Just in time for Josh to take a shower, check some emails, and pack. Seven hours later he was heading for Belem to participate in some meeting with Xingu Mission leaders. He comes home on Friday and I just want to smother him with my feelings, thoughts and random ideas of everything whirling around me. But if there is anything Josh has been lacking, it would be space.

Before we left on the boat trip, the Friday night of Josh’s arrival I had CDR’s first Alpha Circle meeting. A large attendance caught me off guard and we will see where God takes the group this year. I was mostly pleased to see some of the regulars from last year come again and enthused to jump in with activities. Most of my effort this semester will be put into a select few Brazilians who I will train up to take over leadership next semester. This involves turning over responsibility, letting them make mistakes or go a different direction. This can be arduous. It would be much easier if I did it all myself, mostly because I love it and also because it requires much less effort on my part. I constantly have to remind myself of my decision because my default nature would just plow ahead and wait for everyone to follow.

Our goal for the month of March, or what is left for it, is to wait. The wait will involve quieter days where we will lean in and strain our hearts to hear His whispers. It will involve centering of our spirits to be sensitive, open and employed on the task of responding to His promptings. For my heart personally, the waiting time will be used to concentrate on each day itself, instead of letting my delicate heart meander through the myriad of possibilities of our future.

So, I close out this post with something that happened to me yesterday. I went to make a cup of afternoon coffee, I do not usually do this, but then again, I am not usually running a household by myself for 2 weeks. I broke the carafe. Now, mind you, this carafe is a Mr. Coffee from Walmart, pretty dang special. I berated myself like I am good at doing. I told God, that it would have been nice to have been spared an agonizing (and very likely, unprofitable) day of searching Altamira for a replacement carafe. And my mind hastily took inventory of my options; give up coffee (yeah right), order on-line and wait forever for its arrival, or make coffee stovetop with a sock filter. Sarcastically I lamented, if I have to make coffee in a sock the Brazilian way, well then I am jumping in all the way and I am gonna bath in the river with just my bra on. It was a bummer. Options were incredibly slim, probably costly and I was grieved (and tired, which was why I wanted coffee in the first place). Not but 10 minutes later, a veteran missionary, Marsha, stops by my house. I use the drop-in to ask about where I should head first to find a replacement. A first she shakes her head sympathetically, “not likely to find one here,” the shake said. But then she perked up. She just might have a spare and an hour later we were standing in my kitchen admiring my new stainless steel (read: much prettier and less likely to break) carafe that perfectly fit my 8-12 cup coffee maker. I realized I was experiencing God’s provision in a situation that had originally deemed a big headache (literally if I gave up coffee; that is a whole other issue.) God has me covered in the big picture of my life and the little details. And later at Kinship we read that God has our futures already prepared, immeasurably more than we can ask. I joked that I was immeasurably blessed with my perfectly measured pot of coffee. And to add to my awestruck provision, Marsha doesn’t even drink coffee. When her husband makes a pot, he usually uses a sock.

Reflections on the Javari

2010-03-10T04:59:00.000-06:00

The Javari River cuts a serpentine channel through the jungle. Often doubling back on itself, glimpses of the river ahead can be spotted through the jungle. Arriving at that point, however, requires following a long curve that leads far out of the way. Manel, our guide and boat captain, would often head straight for the river's edge where a channel through the jungle would suddenly open. These channels would cut through the jungle saving valuable time and fuel, and the towering jungle canopy would provide a respite from the scorching sun.

The Javari River

Through our 9-day trip we sought to explore the region and learn if there was both spiritual and physical needs, but more importantly to seek God's leading on our lives. I remember reading that anti-terrorism agencies often recognize "chatter" as evidence of an impending attack. In the absence of clear evidence, different sources may produce evidence that when seen alone is inconclusive, but when viewed collectively it paints a picture of a possible attack, this overwhelming evidence is "chatter". In this same way, we experienced through conversations and situations this same kind of mounting evidence pointing to God doing something big. What that means for our future remains to be seen.

Talking to the locals in one of the many Peruvian villages.

Our plan was to travel up-river one day and take 3 days to travel back down, stopping at communities along the way. Thus we would get a firsthand look at the size and number of communities, presence of any existing churches, and the physical needs of the people. Stopping at nearly 20 villages (ranging in size from 40-460 people), we found only 2 evangelical churches. Living mostly in thatched roof houses, their physical needs equaled their spiritual needs. Our initial thoughts were that we could possibly help in the areas of health and medicine, mosquito nets to prevent malaria (the area has the highest malaria rate in all of Brazil), and water purification.

This fillet was cut from a Piraracu, a large Amazonian fish prized for it's delicious meat.

We stopped in this village and

spent the night in an empty house

We were warmly welcomed and enjoyed interacting

with the locals in each place we stopped.

Returning to the town of Atalaia, where our mission base would be located, we continued to seek information about the region. Countless times we felt like God orchestrated meetings with important contacts. One such encounter with a single woman who works in the area told us how an American church had donated money to buy a boat to be used for medical trips to the interior. She wrote them back saying she had no one to send on these trips. They advised her to keep the money and they would pray that God would send medical personnel. Realizing that our group could potentially have a doctor and nurse, she concluded that God may be answering these prayers through us.

Clyde and I talk with the director of the hospital and a worker, the director is on the phone setting up another meeting for us.

This is a gas station in Atalaia, gas is purchased in Peru because it is much cheaper, and sold in 2 liter Coke bottles from roadside stands.

So we are now home, back with our wives, trying to process all that we saw. Like the shortcut channels we took through the jungle, we often can't see God's path until He reveals it at the last moment. Please pray with us as we seek the Father and calling for our lives. And that we would be faithful to go where ever He leads.

Click here for more pictures from our trip.

Stranded

2010-03-04T19:01:00.000-06:00

On our way to the airport today, I got a call that our flight was cancelled and that our trip would be extended another day. I have to believe, after all we´ve experienced of God opening doors, being stranded in Tabatinga is part of His plan.

Over the past week, fellow missionaries Clyde Bergquist and Tim Kubacki and I, have been exploring a remote area of the Amazon where we believe God may be leading us to start a new work. Tim had visited the area several months ago, but we wanted to do a follow-up trip to explore more of the interrior to see what the reality of the river communties were. Traveling up-river in a rented boat, we found several river communities, some in Brazil and some in Peru, dotting the riverbanks. What we found confirmed that it is a very needy and unchurched area. And it was striking to see how God lined up so many encounters with people along the way.

We leave tomorrow with a good picture of what this region looks like, and not a little excitement of what could be. The enormity of the task of picking up and moving to such a remote region is daunting. Our one desire now is that God will reveal to us if this in fact is where He is calling us and that we would have the trust to follow if He is.

Of Rice and Men

2010-02-09T09:43:00.000-06:00

On recent trips to Surubim, a jungle community where we are planting a church, I have begun to take more of a leadership role. It's been both exciting and challenging as I try to understand issues that arise and guide our Brazilian team in responses. I often feel a step or two behind in conversations but usually understand everything.

The work in Surubim is experiencing some growing pains, but there is also some very exciting things happening. Here are some highlights from my visit last weekend:

Walking through the jungle on our way to Zeca's rice field.

I asked Allison to plan a lesson for the meeting, he choose the Parable of the Sower in Mt. 13. It so happened that Zeca was planting rice on Saturday morning so we joined him. He taught us how to plant rice (quite different than the Asian rice paddy method) and Allison wisely used this to illustrate the parable he was taught later that day. He communicated the message well and the people were engaged and interested because they could relate to the teaching.

Zeca teaches me how to plant rice using a hand planter, often we would hit a rock or piece of wood that illustrated the difficulty of planting in "rocky soil".

Pausing to admire a large tree, notice the size of the vine growing above my head.

Allison teaching on the Parable of the Sower, using the rice planter we learned to operate earlier in the day.

On a side note, I've been doing some reading on using Bible storytelling as a method to communicate the gospel to oral learners. Since a majority of the people in the interior seem to be either illiterate or functionally illiterate, this method is quite appealing to what we are doing. As I watched Allison relating to the people through story, it reinforced this idea.
Carlinha, a local leader who I shared about in a previous post, continues to have weekly meetings and has seen 5 people accept Christ in recent weeks. She is excited about discipling these new believers.

Carlinha and her husband who is not yet a believer.

Through a partnership with International Cooperating Ministries we received some solar powered audio devices called the MegaVoice. Each device has hundreds of hours of Bible teaching covering several topics. We were able to leave one of these devices with Carlinha to help in her development as a leader.

A MegaVoice unit made available by ICM.

grace-centered giving

2010-01-31T11:45:00.002-06:00

I had just settled down on a bench on our city’s riverfront to do some studying. Out of the corner of my eye I see 3 little girls walk by carrying bags of fish. As I watch them pass, one of them makes eye contact and begins timidly approaching me. She shyly asks for some change. Reaching into my pocket, I see her two friends walking up behind her. I reach out my and to give her the coin and I feel two little hands clamp on my hand with such ferocity that I’m stunned for a moment. They begin arguing violently, their faces change from sweet-little-girl faces to little-monster faces. Soon they realize I am just looking at them, not releasing the coveted coin. We share an awkward moment, just looking at each other. Not sure what to do, I finally hand the coin over to the girl who asked for it. They leave me sitting alone on my bench with my thoughts of what just took place.

Often when we help and serve people we have certain expectations of how they should respond. I’ve even fallen into the line of thinking that justifies not helping someone because of what the final outcome will be, “Oh, they’ll just buy booze with the money” or “if we keep giving handouts it will breed dependency”. These arguments make sense, but whoever says the Gospel should make sense? I mean really, isn’t the whole point of the Gospel that we respond to it because we received something we didn’t deserve?

So how do we know who to help? We obviously have finite resources, and we are accountable for how we use those. I’m finding there is no easy answer, but there is an Answer. This is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he used language like “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit” (Jn. 15:5). Without a constant, dependant relationship with Christ, all we can do is create some laws for giving. And as in so many other cases, rules fall dramatically short. With a “rule” I may miss an opportunity to partner with God in touching one of the “drunkards” who my rule says doesn’t measure up.

In John 15, Jesus is essentially saying, the fruit that we are trying to produce may not make sense to us at the time. We instead have so tied the fruit to the action that if we don’t see anything good come out of an act of kindness, we think it was a mistake. But in the act of giving, is it possible that the fruit may be produced in our lives? Could it be that God asks us to give, not to bless the recipient, but the giver?

It was easy for me to forgive those young little girls, it’s much harder to forgive someone who should know better. But in those moments, I’m finding that it is much more important to get past those gut reactions and emotions, and listen for the still small voice of God. It often doesn’t make sense, it’s backwards, maybe doesn’t even seem fair. But couldn’t that also be said of Grace? The gloriously nonsensical, backwards, unfair gift that followers of Christ have received.

posted by Josh

The water jar guy

2010-01-12T10:23:00.004-06:00

by josh and brin

The last couple of weeks have been restful as we have recuperated from travels and sickness, and slowly stepped back into our regular lives. We traveled to Porto de Moz, a little town a 12 hour boat ride north, to spend New Years eve with friends there. Included was a euchre tournament and a 4 day wii golf tournament and now we feel like we have had our quota of fun for the next few months. We even won one of the tournaments, that is if you consider Brin winning the last place pity prize winning. But we are R$10 richer now. Ava described our time there as "a party, and then another party, and then the next day another kind of party." It really wasn't entirely that way, but with our lack of fun in our regular life, I can see why she would say that.

The girls are on their break from Brazilian school and will be starting a new semester Feb. 1st. They have been enjoying extra time spent with friends and around the house.

Mia and Ava and their friends peering over the wall in our backyard. They find it an enjoyable playtime to trade clothes. They go from one game to another in-between switching outfits amongst each other.

An afternoon of play inevitably includes a picnic. Usually consisting of mangoes, apples, bananas, crackers and in this case pineapples.

The girls framed by an unfinished window in our garage.

I don't have a picture of Ella, but you will just have to imagine her sprawled on the sofa with her nose in a book about warrior cats. While they are on break from Brazilian school, Amanda continues to American school them, being the Canadian she is, so hilarious. Mia is making great progress beyond her age. Ava has good days and bad days and gives Amanda plenty of opportunity to use patience.

While reading in Mark the other day I was struck by a fairly insignificant detail that happened as Jesus and the disciples entered Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passion Week. Jesus sent a few of the disciples into town and told them they would see a guy carrying a jar of water and they should follow him to his house and tell him they were coming with their master to have a passover dinner. The following verse says the disciples "found things just as Jesus had told them."

I wondered, Why did Jesus do this? What impact did it have on the disciples. Did any of them remember that small display of power in the midst of the chaos, later in the week? My mind drifted to our own lives. We have had our own "water jar guy" moments. I thank God for those moments when He gives us just enough of a glimpse for us to be reminded that He is in control. And at this particular moment, we are looking to God again, asking that he give us a glimpse as to our future. Hoping that we'll see our "water jar guy" and have the faith to follow Him.

A dengue-good christmas

2009-12-25T16:06:00.010-06:00

Opening stockings this morning. Amanda, Mia, Gabriella, Ava and a sickly Josh.

Merry Christmas to our friends and family.

I have been meaning to sit down and update you all on Josh’s status since he arrived home from Maribel, knowing that some of you haven’t heard that Josh was ill while others of you are informed but are curious to know how he is doing.

So, the update: he is recuperating from dengue fever. Josh and a small group traveled to Maribel, the Altamira Bases’ most remote work, and also a place that Josh loves to visit. He was into day 3 of 5 when he came down with a fever, headache and body aches. By the time he came home he had fevers reaching 104 and was looking pretty puny. The malaria test came back negative. The other likely culprit was dengue fever which came back positive. Dengue fever is a disease caused by viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. Josh had the classic case of headache, fever, joint and muscle pain, a red rash, and fatigue. The treatment is rest, fluids, Tylenol and in Josh’s case, an entire season of Lost.

Josh has been fever-free for the last 2 days and was even able to (feebly) attend a Christmas Eve party last night, which had us eating dinner at 10:30pm and us bowing out for our beds a bit before midnight. Other than that our Christmas has been quite still, a pleasant diversion from the chaotic celebration many of you are doing back home. Stripped of all the parties, programs, presents, over indulgence of both cooking and eating, we experience how silently, the wondrous Gift is given.

So, a picture is worth a thousand words. And quite honestly the experiences of the last few weeks could be worthy of those thousand words but I can't quite conjure up the energy to spill it on the keyboard. So here are some pictures and hope it suffices.

Josh expending his limited energy opening his present.

Prior to Josh getting sick, our family made our own Christmas tree out of açai branches that we cut off from trees in our yard.

I know little of what occurred during Josh's trip to Maribel, most of which I learned from Clyde who stayed the night and told me stories while Josh fevered in bed. Josh did tell me it was a great visit in that they were able to encourage and teach some key leaders as well as check in on a local pastor that had recently been outfitted with a boat to do his own outreach.

Having house church. I love this way of doing "church."

Some piranhas Josh caught before dengue caught him.

A peaceful home on the river. A typical dwelling in the Maribel region.

Josh after he got dengue fever. Perhaps Allison was serenading him..."Hush little baby don't say a word...." Probably not.

This is the boat they traveled in, going from one village to another.

Another home that hosted a house church meeting.

We are always humbled to hear of our friends and family supporting us with prayer and lifting up our needs before our Father. The past few weeks has been an especially difficult season, with sickness both in the body and homesickness in the heart. So please know how thankful we are for prayers and attention in our lives.

Travel, and life inbetween

2009-12-09T18:14:00.005-06:00

Josh is home. And really I can agree that absence makes the heart grow fonder, or at least it prompts me to work on my marriage more. For one thing, Josh is leaving again in 9 days, so while I was counting down his arrival from Rio Negro, I immediately started another countdown until he leaves for Maribel.

So while Josh was gone the girls and I plugged away at our own daily lives. We had our second to the last Alpha Circles meeting where we celebrated Sharon’s birthday. We made 60 cupcakes that Amanda and Marsha decorated and they turned out to be a hit with the students.

The next day a memorable event was the Festa de Naçoes (Festival of Nations) that the girls’ school puts on, memorable in a way that will remind me not to get too involved next year. Several months ago, each class was assigned a country. The students learn a dance, pray for their assigned country but most of the time was spent raising money for the Baptist church and a new playground for the school. Several months ago Ella arrives home from school to tell me she was voted “Miss South Africa” by her class. I let her accept the offer not entirely understanding what our responsibility would be, but knowing it would once again find me fund raising for missions, this time for the Baptists. Finally the course culminated with an impressively large all-school event. The place was packed, the program running late (as usual, per the culture), and the whole time I had no idea what was going on. Thankfully Ella did and found her way to the stage each time she was supposed to be there. It was 10:00pm by the time Mia’s class (of 4 and 5 year olds, mind you) were called up to do their dance. I literally had to carry her up there she was so tired. She danced and loved it. I contemplated how long it would take for Ava’s class to be called up and I guessed it would probably be around midnight. I did not want to wait until midnight just so I could witness Ava’s refusal to get on stage. She has stage fright, had it for a while now, but we are not sure if it's a classic case or if she is just tired of everyone looking at her all the time. We never blend in you know and it is harder on Ava than any of us. So, pretty sure it was gonna be a long night, I left early. Ella was not happy that she would miss out on all the fun she had been anticipating for months and felt like she had a responsibility to stay until the end, but I didn’t care. I was tired, a (temporary) single mom and still had to pack for my boat trip the next day. I later heard that is ended at 1:30 am.

Mia, representing Japan, admiring the kimonos of her classmates.

All the Mr.'s and Miss's from each class, every class having a different nation

Ella as South Africa, Ava as Spain and Mia as Japan.

The following day I boarded the boat along with 10 visitors from Cleveland for a 5 day trip up the Xingu. Up until the moment I left the house in the back of my mind I was always thinking I could back out if things became too busy at home. Wow, I am I glad I went. This group from Cleveland was eager to experience anything missions and jumped in with both feet everything God placed before them. It was one of those boat trips that could have gone on much longer quite enjoyably. I personally was able to bond with several of women and look forward to where God takes those relationships. It was sad to see them leave but they left us all so encouraged.

David sharing under the mango trees while Denise translated.

While I was on the boat, Amanda ran the house. Amanda? I should properly introduce her. Meet Amanda Kilborn, age 20 from Cambridge, Ontario.

She is my new home school helper. She comes from a mission-hearted family and her mom and dad (Patrick and Laura) had recently visited and that is where she learned of my need for a home school helper. She lives in our back guesthouse and will stay with us until April. She delights my girls with all the craft and art goodies that she pulls out of what appears to be a bottomless suitcase. Amanda is artistic, quiet and gleefully chases down the lizards and bugs in my yard. Some exceptions being the rat that has been antagonizing our family and garden for the past week as well as the ticks that our guard dogs leave in front of her door.
Amanda had her hands full while I was away as Ella decided to unleash her sassy tween on Amanda and all my girlfriends that stayed the night. Things like talking Sheyla into letting her stay up late, even though she had done the same thing with Marilda the night before. So while I love to come home to my kids a refreshed and eager mom, I was immediately burdened to be the disciplinarian. Overall, though, for only being in the country 5 weeks, Amanda did great and I was so, so thankful to have here so that I could travel while Josh was away.

We've had a tough few days just recently. A little homesickness that was magnified by the passing of Josh's grandma Stuber and other things that just add up to make it hard to be away from home. We will post more on that later but for now we would appreciate your prayers.

What we found on the Rio Negro

2009-12-06T13:20:00.009-06:00

I've been home from my trip for a few days now, enjoying time with the family and getting back into the flow of life. Part of me though, is still with the rest of our group who continues to visit towns along the Amazon River.Since I only was along for the first half of the trip it will be hard to make an accurate evaluation until they return. In the meantime, I'll try to bring you up to speed on what we experienced...

Upon arriving in Manaus, we were immediately confronted with an obstacle. We had planned on taking a line boat (public boats traveling between cities) to Sao Gabriel, a 72 hour trip up the Rio Negro. However, what we didn't know was the river was so low that line boats were not traveling up-river. We looked into flights, but last minute fares were out of the question. After some scrambling, we learned that we could hire a boat and driver. While this was a much more expensive option, it would give us freedom to stop at river villages. Due to the cost, we decided to only travel as far as Santa Isabel and then down to Barcelos on the way back to Manaus.

The "speedboat" that we hired to take us up-river.

A morning stretch on the beach before leaving, we camped several nights on beaches during the long trips up and down river.

We saw first hand why the line boats were no longer going up-river, this line boat ran aground on this rock a month and half ago, since then the river has dropped another several feet.

Before I go further, some of you may be wondering what we were looking for on this trip. Our goal, to find a region where God may be calling us to open a new work, is easily stated but not so easily executed. We're looking for things like remote interior communities that don't have access to the gospel, but that often depends on how you define "remote", "access" or even "community". In addition, there are some things that we want that would help us not live quite so "remotely", such as internet, access to banking and a reasonable selection of groceries. Most of these qualities are subjective (does the availability of only onions and carrots constitute a "reasonable selection of groceries"?) and often statistics on population and churches working in the interior is very hard to nail down.

Santa Isabel was smaller than we expected, probably around 7,000 people in the town itself, but we were surprised by how clean, well-maintained and safe it was. The town itself only had 6 churches, and only one, that we could tell, was working in the interior. Somewhere around twenty interior communities were in the region of Santa Isabel, only about half have churches. We left thinking there was certainly kingdom work to be done, but not sure if this was THE place.

Government buildings in Santa Isabel; the cleanliness and condition of the city, we learned, was more to do with the local government than any presence of prosperity.

Barcelos was probably twice the size of Santa Isabel, and felt like a big city after eating every meal in the only restaurant in Santa Isabel. Barcelos had twice the number of churches in town, and one was quite large. The church work in the interior was better organized, but the interior region was much larger and had more communities. The town seemed much more comfortable to live in compared to Santa Isabel. Again, Barcelos seemed to have plenty of work in the interior, but is this the place God is calling us?

Ben and I explore Barcelos on a rented motorcycle.

View of Barcelos from our hotel.

The Rio Negro seems to be a needy place, it certainly qualifies for remote. Tim and Kevin, along with Tim's sons Luke and Ben, will be visiting more than 10 communities on the Amazon. When they return we will have a better idea of how the Rio Negro compares to the Amazon. We were hoping for a big "God moment" that would help us know with certainty where He is calling us. That may still happen on the second part of the trip, but most likely, God will speak to us in His "still small voice". Please pray for us, both as a family and mission, as we seek to hear that voice and respond to His call.

Thanksgiving on the Rio Negro

2009-11-27T13:28:00.001-06:00

I fell asleep in my hammock, gently swinging between two trees on a beach somewhere on the Rio Negro, under a brilliantly starry sky. Only to be greeted in the morning by a magnificient sunrise, admitedly, I don´t see a lot of sunrises, but I don´t remember one quite this colorful. Our boat lazily waited on the beach, we were in no hurry to finish the 10 hour journey from Santa Isabel to Barcelos. We still had about 4 hours to go, but we´ve been trying to allow time to listen to God, and share as a group each morning. As I read in Psalms "offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving...", a thought occured to me and I turn to Luke and asked "hey Luke, what days is it?" "Thursday, I think"

Thanksgiving has always been a family day. I grew up every year going to both of my extended families' thanksgivings. It was just what we did. Brin often reminds me how when we had our first thanksgiving together and were discussing our plans, I selfishly said "well of course we have to go to my family things on thanksgiving", not even considering that her childhood may have been different (yeah, we had a few issues to work out). At any rate, thanksgiving for me is being with family. And here I was, in the middle of the Rio Negro, 2 days boat ride from what most people would call civilization (Manaus), with 4 fellow missionaries and 2 brazilians that we had hired as guides.

I have to admit, the first feelings were of self-pity, wishing I were somewhere else, eating something else. But before long a feeling of peace decended on me. This was a unique experience I was having, seeing new places and sights, experiencing the beauty and majesty of God. Like the 10 foot crocidile sunbathing on the beach, the tea-colored water of the Rio Negro, the endess white-sand beaches lining the banks and islands, the indigenous people of the region, and of course the sunrises, sunsets and star-filled night sky.

I do miss my family, but this year I am more aware than ever, and thankful for, the beauty of God's nature.

(pictures to come later)

Exploring the Amazon

2009-11-18T04:10:00.002-06:00

View Rio Negro Exploration Trip in a larger map

Tomorrow (Thurs. Nov. 19th) I'll be leaving on a two week survey trip of a region in the western Amazon. Tim Kubacki, a fellow missionary, has been wanting to explore this region to see the potential for future work. Since we are asking some of the same questions about our future, I thought it would be a good opportunity. Tim and I, along with his sons Luke and Ben, and another missionary, Chelsea, will be exploring primary 3 cities, and the remote areas around those cities, along the Rio Negro.

After flying to Manaus and spending a few days doing some fact finding, we'll head up-river on a line boat (public transportation) for almost 600 miles to the furthest city, Sao Gabriel. Spending a few days in each city and possibly some of the area around each city, we plan to arrive back in Manaus by Dec. 4th, when Chelsea and I fly back to Altamira. The Kubackis will continue the trip, traveling up the Amazon and exploring several cities for another two weeks.

Please pray that we will not only see the region through our own eyes, but be able to see what God is doing and if we are to play a part in it. Also pray for Brin and the girls staying behind. I'm bummed to be missing Thanksgiving and the girls are going to be in some kind of a parade that they are excited about, but Brin and I both feel this is an important opportunity to seek God and where he might be calling us.

The simplicity of doing without

2009-11-16T10:20:00.000-06:00

About once a quarter we have a leadership training workshop called a TLC. Leaders from city churches and interior churches all come together and receive training in areas such as small group leadership, leading worship, children's ministry, new membership classes, etc. What makes this workshop different is the setting.

Agua Preta is a community where we have had a church for several years. Throughout that time, we have also developed a crude training center on site. The structures include a pavilion in which to hang a hammock, a shack for cooking, and a few mango trees which serve as protection from the Amazon sun. The lack of electricity (except for a generator we brought for showing a film), running water, or any other modern convenience makes this a memorable setting for a workshop.

Mealtime

One group meets in an abandoned home.

But I am constantly impressed with the Brazilians ability to take what is available and make it work. Sure, it was a bit inconvenient to walk down to the river in the dark to wash my dishes and the heat was oppressive at times during the day, but nothing a dip in the cool river didn't help.

I think at times we convince ourselves that we need much more than we really do, leading to attitudes of self-entitlement and privilege. It would have been nice to enjoy all the amenities of a modern conference center, but there's also something to be said for the simplicity of doing without.