Tacos, Pets, and Plants....Just for Fun

Yesterday our good friends, Andres and Camila, headed to Argentina to raise support until the end of February. Actually, to say they are our good friends would be a huge understatement...they are terrific friends :) Even though the four of us are from 4 different countries and speak 3 different languages as our "heart language", we have a ton in common - Jeyson with Andres, and me with Camila, and us as couples since we both have international marriages. Anyway, we'll miss them a ton over the next few months but are praying that they will be able to raise the support they need while they are away.



To send them off, the couples group had a taco night at our house on Wednesday. Mexican food is just beginning to become popular here in Brazil (YAY!) so some of the people didn't even know how to put a taco together.

Each person brought some of the taco ingredients and our American friend, Michawn, made the tortillas. Tortilla chips aren't available here, but Doritos are...so since Doritos are kind of like cheese flavored tortilla chips, we used them instead to go with the salsa. This actually works GREAT and, I think, may even be better if you like cheesy flavored chips and salsa.


Otinarcy (left) is expecting a baby Lucas in January. I thought is was so cute and appropriate how she pulled right up to the buffet table :)

Even though Andres and Camila are now far away, their dog Hilu stayed behind and is going to live with us until they return. Hilu's a sweet mixed dog and has been a great guest. I promised Andres and Camila I'd post some pictures on our blog once in a while...plus I know my dog loving sisters back home are anxious to see our new friend. Hilu has been VERY nice to our cat Sam, though Sam is pretty nervous about the new guy. The first time they met Sam was hissing and arching up his back all of the time. Meanwhile, Hilu kept calmly looking at him like "What's wrong with this guy? I just want to be friends!"

Day 2 was much better and Sam has gotten very curious and spies on Hilu all of the time. Do you notice anyone watching from under the cabinet?

Come on out....there's nothing to worry about!

As of this morning, Sam has made a ton of progress in learning to trust Hilu. As you can see, Andres and Camila, they're doing just great! Give it another week and they'll be best friends :)Speaking of our home and making progress, our garden has really been improving. We've discovered that we really enjoy gardening, and I especially love having edible plants in the garden. Here's our rosemary and basil plants that are so convenient when I'm cooking.

And this week we planted grape vines! We're not sure if it's going to work out, but they were so cheap that we couldn't resist giving it a try.

And most exciting of all is our little cherry tree that my mother-in-law gave us. It is still only about shoulder height, but new leaves are developing and I have high hopes for some cherries with time!

All right, enough fun, and back to being a SERIOUS missionary :) Have a great weekend!

Your Job = A Ministry Opportunity

Saturday we had a very full and different day helping with a conference that Asas held here in Anapolis.

The theme of the conference was about using your profession as a means to reach out to others. All Christians, not just pastors and missionaries, are called to reach out to others in our lives with the love of God and the Good News of the Gospel....each in our own circle of friends and through the people we know as a result of our profession. The speakers encouraged those who came out to do the best job possible in their professions so this will serve as a testimony for the moments they are able to share directly about how God has transformed their lives.

There was a really good turn out from people in the community - about 80 people in total

I was especially excited that several young women from our church came out as a result of us telling them about it (one is on the left). They are now really excited about working to spread what they learned to the rest of our church.

There were 2 workshops and 2 main sessions - a good amount of variety to keep people alert and thinking.

Asas de Socorro and a few other missions organizations set up stands and were able to talk to people who were interested in knowing more about full time missionary work.


I helped organize and prepare the food and Jeyson was the official event photographer.

This couple with us were the main organizers - they did a great job and we all left challenged and encouraged to put what we learned into practice.

Full House

One of the things we love the most is having a full house. We love when all different visitors come over for all different reasons and feel at home in our house. As you might remember from the previous post, this week we had 2 very special visitors from the Xavante tribe over for dinner. We had a wonderful time hearing more about their lives and their hopes for their tribe. I made a Brazilian dish that has rice and chicken and served warm cinnamon rolls with ice cream and candied nuts for dessert. They really enjoyed their time at our home and so did we. Agosto (left) hopes to return to Anapolis in December with his wife. We're so excited to see that our mission (and us!) are continuing to build a relationship with the Xavante people.

Last Wednesday the couples Bible study group came over and we had one of the most memorable activities yet. Homebuilders studies are great because they already come with tons of simple, yet original activities planned to drive home the lesson. We definitely recommend the books! This week they had us all blow up balloons, and using a marker, write all of the things we could think of that we know we should do to have a "good" marriage. After, we all had to throw our balloons into the air and together keep all of the balloons afloat. It was surprisingly difficult....which was the point. It's hard to juggle all of the aspects needed for a good marriage and we need God working in and through us to make it work!

I also LOVE having women over to work on English, and we're not always sitting around the table with a book either. This week my highest level student, Nina taught me how to make Brazilian cheese bread. It is wonderful to see how our relationship has developed to a deep friendship and how many opportunities God has opened up for me to share with her.

The bread came out great too! Brazilians almost never use measuring cups for recipes, instead she had me measure by the plate-full....1 plate of flour, 1 plate of cheese, 1/2 plate of milk, 1/4 plate of oil, etc!

Yum!

Speaking of who's in our house...as promised to my sisters and college roommate, here's an updated picture of our kitten. He's changed and grown a lot and really fun to have around. I'm sure our parents would prefer pictures of grandchildren, but a grandcat will have to do for now :) And thanks Paulo and Cininha for the tiger....Sam loved it SO much that we had to separate the picture from the tiger. We put the picture on the refrigerator to keep it safe from Sam who LOVES to play with the tiger! We think of you often!

And one last set of pictures for my do it yourself, home improvement family back in the States....here's our latest project to keep up with all of yours :) Last weekend we decided to give our tired 15th hand desk a makeover.

Before....

After.....(we didn't yet have the handles on in the picture yet but we painted them silver)

Not bad for a weekend project! We still have a half a can of blue paint left....do you think Sam could use a makeover too? :)

Outreach Trip and Dinner Guests

Things have been going much smoother the past few days, and other than a flat tire on the motorcycle, life has been settling back to normal. Our grass finally arrived! Grass is very cheap in Brazil, but it takes forever to actually be delivered (as we've recently learned!). Now that it's here though, we're really happy to no longer have mud all over the house. Even our cat was really excited about it's arrival :) The project it was for us to spread out the little carpets of grass could be a whole post, but we're really thankful that it's done.

Well the interesting event of the week is our dinner guests tonight. Back when we were in the Xavante village, one of the men, Agusto, (who makes and sells a lot of crafty things) had asked us for Asas's address in case he was in the area. How could we refuse? Afterall, WE were visiting THEM in their home, right? We never imagined he would actually make the trip to Anapolis, but to our surprise Agusto and a friend showed up this week! We actually didn't even know they had come until Asas had already put them up in the guest house. Everyone has been very hospitable and the men enjoyed seeing the airport and they ate dinner last night with the mission's president. Since we are among the few people who had visited the tribe and met them there, we want to make sure they feel welcome so we invited them for dinner tonight. If you read this post before dinner time please pray that perhaps we would have a chance to share the gospel with these men.
Well, finally below are some of the long promised pictures from our outreach trip. Enjoy!

Walking up and down the streets inviting kids to the children's program in the morning.

The location for the program

Jeyson arriving after getting the car fixed up

People waiting to enter the church

Banana trees in the church's yard

A recently accepted missionary, Kris, sharing the Gospel with some children

Matilde lead a craft workshop and shared the Gospel throughout the day with the women who participated

A pregnant woman meeting with a nutritionist

Camilia led the kid's program

Parents watching and hearing the message as their waited for their children or to see the medical team

Lauro and Bruno led the teens

Many seemed to be paying attention and getting the message

Some people waited HOURS to be seen by a dentist.

One of the most memorable moments of the day was spending a long time talking with a women who's daughter was going to get operated for a brain tumor the following day in Sao Paulo. We were able to pray with her and be there for a moment when she needed God's love in a deep, comforting way. We were able to share about the Lord and are praying for her and daughter, Priscila.

And who can forget the comical moment when a little dog wandered into the church wanting to join in the activities. Among all of the people he got lost and confused and was barking over the singing for someone to help! Here in Brazil, you never know what's going to happen next!