How Late is Late?

While cake is exciting on any given day, we were especially excited about it yesterday. If you remember, a few weeks ago we made bread and brought it to our neighbors as a way to introduce ourselves. Here in Brazil if someone brings you food and you want to continue building the friendship, you need to bring them a gift of food in return. Yesterday our doorbell rang and there waiting was our neighbor who I, Stephanie, have been getting to know - with a cake in her hands! It was such an exciting moment because it meant that she is glad to be getting to know us and wants continue being closer friends. An encouraging and yummy answer to prayer! As a side note, the cake was a fruitcake - which has a bad reputation in the States but in Brazil people really like it, and it really was good! This afternoon I will be going over to visit again as we arranged. Please pray for clear opportunities to share about Christ through words and actions as we continue in our new friendship.

(While I don't have any pictures with our neighbor, here are a few other quick pictures to show you some of the things we see day to day. First is a BEAUTIFUL flower, then are pictures of our visit to a local market...though there are also "normal" supermarkets here too)






Also ,this afternoon Jeyson is beginning the process of flying again. Unlike driving where you just hop back in the car if you haven't driven in a while, flying involves a lot more before you can take control of a plane again after several months away from flying. To begin the process, in a few minutes Jeyson will be the passenger as another pilot receives training. Hopefully in the coming days he will be back at it again himself....however being safe is more important than being speedy in this process.

Below is a picture of the missionary men at the hanger during the morning devotional.


Speaking of getting back at things again - this past week I taught my first ESL (English as a Second Language) lesson at the children's program. I forgot how much I enjoy teaching. It was a lot of fun in the classroom and even more fun after as many came up to me to chat and ask questions during their recess time. One boy (13 yrs old) even started asking me about what church I go to and why. He said his family does not go to church but he is interested and goes to both an Evangelical and Mormon church, as a result of some Mormon missionaries visiting his house. He felt confused to know what to believe. I was amazed that someone so young would be thinking about faith and seeking even without influence from his family. You can be praying for him, Marcio, if you remember and specifically that I will be able to share more with him.



Also this week, we had an interesting cultural learning experience. Jeyson's parents decided to have a little house warming for us. Originally the idea was to have a little wedding reception here in Brazil but the time flew by and we've now been married 4 months! So anyway, we traveled to Goiania on Friday for the house warming - literally in Portuguese "New House Tea". We set everything up and it was supposed to start at 4:30. By 5 no one had shown up and I was assuming the party was a flop. Then at 5:20 a group of people arrived. We all enjoyed the company and had a little party. Then around 6 another group arrived! I was really surprised that so many people would come 1 1/2 hours late! But we pulled out more food and started back up again. By 7:15 everyone had left and we began to clean up. Then at 7:30 a car pulled up to the driveway. It was MORE guests 3 hours late!! I was shocked, especially because it wasn't family or people very close to the Brauns. I can't imagine that happening in the States! So we scrambled together more food and had yet another round of party :) Although Jeyson grew up in South America he has really been influenced by American schooling/his time in the States so he was really shocked too. We were glad to learn this lesson while we were with Jeyon's parents who have more experience in Brazil rather than on our own where we might have thought no one was coming and headed out somewhere! I guess the question "how late is late?" has a whole different answer here in Brazil!

(Jeyson fixing some things around the home before the "New House Tea")

(A quick shot of some of the people at the event. I (Stephanie) am by the second pole from the front of the picture)

(Lika and Mario Junior - Jeyson's sister and her fiance who came to be part of the party)

Assembleias, Neighbors, and Grilled Pineapple

Before posting this update, I took a look to see what new pictures we have to share with you. Unfortunately it seems like we've hardly taken any this past week. We need to try to remember to bring our camera with us more so you can have more to see next time. In the meantime, here is one shot of this past weekend's "Assembleia" at the mission. You can see a VERY small picture of me (Stephanie) towards the back on the right side. I'm in the red chair wearing a black shirt. Jeyson is taking the picture so he's not in it.

While the word "Assembleia" in Portuguese sounds like "Assembly" in English - it is not quite the same meaning. "Assembly" ususally means some kind of entertaining show - "Assembleia" was basically a mission-wide business meeting. This meeting lasted throughout Friday and Saturday and although is was definitely not an entertaining show :) important decisions were made for the mission.

Also this week, the leadership was able to meet with Jeyson about when he will begin flying again. They all decided some time next week he will begin again. This was exciting news because it brings us closer to moving to the Amazon region, but it will also mean more unpredictable hours and stress for Jeyson, so we would appreciate your prayer! Also in the meeting the leaders mentioned the possibility of us taking a three to six month trip up to one of the bases in the Amazon region sometime at the end of next year. This would allow us to get more of an idea of what to expect when we actually move there, and it would also allow the leaders at the base there to know how ready Jeyson is (aviation skill-wise) for us to make our big move there verses stay in Anapolis a while longer. This was exciting news, though it is still very up in the air and we won't know for another year or so if we will actually do this.

Another interesting thing that happened this week was more involvement with our neighbor, Etana. She is the neighbor who is a very young, single mother. The other day I, Stephanie, was outside and I saw Etana also outside across the street. I decided (although I really was very nervous without Jeyson to help with Portuguese) to walk over and say hello again. As soon as she opened the gate, she insisted I come right in. I am still surprised by how welcoming Brazilian culture is! Anyway, she invited me in and we had a very friendly time talking. Then, to my complete surprise, she asked me if I want to come over once a week and spend time with her. I quickly accepted and have gone again since. I have learned a lot about her and am thrilled be building this relationship. During our time together at her house, I saw what I thought was a spiritistic looking statue at the house. I asked her about it and she said it is used to keep away evil, though she was vague on whether she actually believed it or it was just decoration to her. Please pray that I will have opportunities to share the truth of the Gospel with her in God's timing.

Lastly, on a totally different note, I thought I would mention a wonderful Brazilian dish we have been enjoying - grilled pineapple. We have eaten it before but never tried to make it - and it came out wonderfully! All you have to do is sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon on fresh pineapple slices I don't know if canned would work well) and cook them on the grill when you're done cooking whatever else you were making on the grill for dinner. Keep it there a while until it is hot all the way though and looks like it's been grilled (just like you would do to any vegetable you were grilling). It's a great dessert! Brazilians say it helps with digestion after a big meal - I'm not sure about that but it is definitely delicious!

Two Quick Pictures

Rainy season is almost over, but we caught this beautiful view of a rain shower a distance from our house and we couldn't resist taking a picture and sharing it with you. There is so much natural beauty here!

Also, just a quick shot of Jeyson back at the hanger with some of the other pilots/mechanics. Paulo is having a little too much fun wearing the mask!

We hope you're all having a great week!

A "Normal" Week is Finally in Sight!

Before beginning, I first wanted to introduce you to our new pet around the house....our very own gecko! No, this is not a real PET in the normal sense, but we noticed this little guy on the ceiling of our living room this week. A few years ago the idea of a gecko living in our house would have made me pretty nervous, but actually (surprisingly) it is great because geckos eat bugs...so he is actually quite handy so we don't mind him being around! We have quite a few mosquitoes here at this time of the year and it is especially noticeable because there are no screens on the windows so anything to keep the number down is great :)

Moving on, this week has been great because we actually started with a "normal" routine. Jeyson has started the routine of going now every day to the hanger from 8-5:30 where he so far has been working on maintenance. Tomorrow he will be having a meeting with the leaders to discuss when he will begin flying again. This really is up to the flight instructors since we are ready whenever. They had originally (in November) suggested waiting a bit after returning and focusing on maintenance for while, however it seems maybe there is more flexibility to begin again sooner. We'll see. No matter what happens will be fine because maintenance has the benefits of more predictable hours to return home and less stress usually, but flying is great because it brings us closer to our goal of moving to the Amazon region.

Meanwhile, what my week will look like is also starting to become a bit clearer. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings I will also go to the mission base to help out in the office area. I will be working in the department that organizes the medical/dental/evangelistic clinics. This is a good area to start because it involves less need to speak Portuguese. I can help with preparing and cleaning up medical supplies and other material used and help plan the clinics. Speaking of which, there is one coming up next Saturday in Brasilia - the country's capital. Then Monday and Wednesday afternoons I meet another woman from the mission, Cinneha, for Portuguese classes. Today was the first one and it went really well! I really feel like I will learn a lot from spending these 4 hours twice week with her. We don't sit with books the whole time, we spent time chatting while cooking and even plan to do some crafts together while we just practice normal conversation...it should be fun! We of course also do the book part too, which is also a necessary part of learning. Although the class was a lot of fun, it was really exhausting too. Mentally it is draining to work so hard learning to communicate. (more on the other days of the weeks in the next part)

For some other news, Jeyson and I have been praying about how we can serve in our church and community. This past week it was so neat to see what opportunities have come up. Last week at church the pastor approached us asking us to be part of a "pilot" small group. This means we will meet with him and several other couples at his house on Tuesdays for the rest of this year. Then at the end of the year we will all begin leading our own small group ministries in our neighborhoods. This was such an answer to prayer because we had really been sensing God putting on our hearts to be small groups leaders but we weren't sure how to start. This seems really to be the prefect answer and we are so excited about it! It is also encouraging to see how God was putting the same desire on the church's heart that He was putting on ours, as this small group ministry will be new for the church.

Also, we had been praying about helping as leaders with the youth at our church. Then this week we were also approached again about helping lead, specifically through building relationships with the students who are really in need of it. Several have backgrounds of very difficult family situations that really gripped my heart. We will also be helping plan activities to keep the kids involved, since as of now there are no "regular" meetings. On Saturday we are helping lead our first event with the youth and we are also now involved with one of the Sunday School classes. My hope is also to begin discipleship relationships as I get to know some of the girls better.

Another part of my regular week is going to be working with a ministry in our city named PETI. It is a program for children through young teens. Here in Brazil students only go to school part o the day (either in the morning or the afternoon, depending on the individual student's schedule). So as a result, kids have half of the day free each day. This program was started by some Christian women who wanted to reach out to these students during their free time. 70 kids are involved in the program and come every day to do all kinds of activities - breakfast, games, art, music, etc. The women build relationships with the students and share the gospel with them. Though it is not a Christian program, the parents do not mind because of the other benefits it brings to their kids. The leader of the program asked me to be involved by teaching an English dynamic to some of the older students. Since many of the activities are not as age appropriate for them this is a good way to keep them interested and coming! So, my plan right now is to being just going to the program one day a week and getting to know the students before starting a class. Then, I hope to teach for 2 hours and have the rest of the time to meet with kids individually to also build relationships. Since it is not a problem to speak openly about the Bible there, my hope is to bring my children's English Bible there and use that in the classroom. Many of these children come from very hard situations and have never been exposed to the Gospel outside this program...what an opportunity! Here are some pictures of the program:

And just to finish off, a quick picture of Saturday when Jeyson's parents came to visit us in our home.So, with all of that said, it is exciting to see things starting to come together here. Please continue to pray as we really are dependant on the Lord each day. Also, feel free to leave a comment or send an email, we'd love to hear what is new with you!