Next Monday...It's around the corner!

Since our wedding we have been "suitcase people". For the last two months we can really identify with the saying "home is where you lay your head"....we have stayed in 9 different places! One of the most refreshing places we have stayed was our 8th stop - the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA where we were this past weekend.
Realizing all of the changes we are going through, Stephanie's parents sent us to a Family Life Weekend to Remember conference in Hershey. We knew it was going to be a great experience from the time we got out of the car. Since Hershey is where the Hershey Chocolate Factory is, we could literally smell the sweet time in the air!
At the conference we learned a lot about the new roles and life we have found ourselves in and really gained some tools to strengthen our marriage. We realize for our ministry to be effective we first need to have a strong marriage. During the time we were especially excited about the HomeBuilders studies the organization puts out. HomeBuilders is material for a small group Bible study that focuses on building your marriage. We have realized how much we have to learn and how much we benefited from what we learned this weekend and we would love to learn along with a few other couples in Brazil. We purchased some material and are praying about beginning a HomeBuilders small group in Brazil eventually.
Of course our weekend in Hershey would not be complete without a tour/ride through Hershey's Chocolate World and we did not pass up the opportunity!

Now we are back in NJ at our 9th and final stop in this journey -Stephanie's parents' house. Stephanie's family is away for the week in Arizona so other than Christa and Joseph (Stephanie's siblings) we are on our own :)

The day after they left town a snowstorm came through. It was funny because for Jeyson, growing up in South America, snow is still very fun for him. When he found out he was going to have to help with snow removal, he got so excited he did the whole thing himself! Christa and Stephanie were happy to stay warm inside and get things done!

This week we have been facing our massive to do list that must be accomplished before we leave for Brazil next Monday. (Wow I can't believe I just said that - it is almost here!!) We have been busy with everything from getting health records to meeting with our pastor to setting up finances. If anyone reading this has ever moved out of the country you understand how overwhelming this can be! We are so excited that the final document that Stephanie needs to bring with her to get her permanent visa came through. She will go to Brazil on a tourist visa and once we are there she will apply for her permanent visa. Hopefully she has everything she needs for the process to go smoothly in Brazil, but keep praying about this since there are always new hoops to jump through. We have also started to say our good byes to many friends and family and even to pack - two very big jobs!

Meanwhile on Sunday we are headed to southern Jersey to Lavallette. When Jeyson was in Brazil he met a pastor from New Jersey who was visiting the area. Jeyson started chatting with him and he invited us to share at his church, which we did in November. They have invited us again to speak on Sunday so we are headed there again. After that we are on the homestretch for Brazil!

Visa? Check!

If you had the chance to read our earlier post about our "not so exciting news" you know about our visa dilemma. We were facing a problem getting Stephanie's tourist visa to enter Brazil because she only has a one way ticket. We just wanted to share the exciting news that we were able to get the visa this week! We did a lot of research and made a lot of phone calls and were able to find people who were sympathetic to our problem at the consulate in Chicago...just where were aheaded for 2 weeks! Everything went so smoothly and quickly! What an answer to prayer! Thank you for praying!
Tomorrow we are headed to a marriage conference for the weekend in Hershey, PA. We are excited about the conference and also about being in "chocolate world"...yum!

Back in Chi-Town

On Friday we left New Jersey and took our long anticipated trip out to the Chicago area. After several years of living in different countries, we have made so many trips to airports to see each other off and head home in different directions. Standing in line to board our plane together to Chicago we couldn't get over how excited we are to finally travel TOGETHER and not be saying good-bye!
In Chicago we were greeted by Jeyson's stateside "home church", lots of friends from the past, and tons of snow! We have been staying in the suburb of Winnetka about 40 minutes from downtown Chicago. Winnetka Bible Church has supported Jeyson's family as missionaries for many years and we were thrilled that they had shown interested in our ministry. One of the purposes of this trip was to meet with their missions council and they made us feel right at home. The church has beautiful, recently redone apartments where the church has allowed us to stay and they have let us borrow a van that belongs to the church - what huge answers of prayer! In addition to it just being a blessing to function, having an apartment has let us feel like we finally have our own little home, even if it is just for a week or so!
So, what have we been up to? A lot! We have spent a lot of time getting together with supporters and friends who we have not seen in a while. We have also been working on Stephanie's visa/documentation situation in the downtown area. On Tuesday we met with the missions council and were so excited to find out that they are going to be part of our support team! We really feel so excited to be part of Winnetka Bible Church in this new way especially because the church has really been Jeyson's church family over the years. We also feel so blessed to have our support base continue to strengthen! Praise God!


Another great part of our trip has been founder's week - a huge yearly conference at Moody Bible Institute. We took a trip to the Moody area on Monday - we spent time with our college friends, ate deep dish Chicago pizza, and went to an evening of the conference. It was just such an encouraging time to be around so many believers, great teaching, and just step back into the "Moody bubble" (as it's called) to be refreshed.

(A photo of the conference is on the left and a photo of us with Stephanie's college roommate is at the top - I wish we could say we made the igloo!)

Tomorrow we are heading to Walnut, IL to visit our friends at Walnut Community Bible Church, one of our supporting churches and early next week we'll head back to New Jersey.