2010 Here We Come!

As missionaries, every year our supporting churches ask us to write out goals for the coming year and reflect on what we accomplished in the past year. This is something neither us had done so formally before, but we've discovered that it has been a really helpful tool in keeping ourselves on track. It's also neat to look over the past several years' goals and see how much has changed, what was accomplished, and how we've grown. Did you make a goal list yet? If not....give it a try and tuck it away to look at again Dec 31st 2010.

Here's our list:

Accomplished last year:

Participated in several evangelistic trips with our mission (including a longer, 10 day trip and outreach in two tribes)
Reestablished ourselves in a new home and began evangelistic relationships with our new neighbors.
Co-led evangelistic English outreaches through our church
Led two “Homebuilders” marriage Bible studies with 6 young couples at our home.
Jeyson – Prepared and passed final two areas for his written commercial license test
Jeyson – Began hands on Commercial Pilot/Instrument Flight Rating training under a missionary instructor
Jeyson - Increased abilities as a mechanic while working on the mission’s planes.
Jeyson- Helped teach new missionary mechanics basic skills for their work
Stephanie – Achieved conversational fluency in Portuguese
Stephanie – Taught English courses as a way to build evangelistic and discipleship relationships.
Stephanie – As Portuguese abilities increased, assumed greater responsibility in the Asas de Socorro administration

For the coming year:

Participate in evangelistic outreaches with our mission
Continue to develop evangelistic relationships with our neighbors
Lead discipleship/evangelism small group with teens through our local church
Lead a “Homebuilders” marriage Bible study.
Jeyson - Complete hands on Commercial Pilot/Instrument Flight Rating training under a missionary instructor and pass government regulated check ride
Jeyson – Decide with the mission’s leadership about what will be the next step in pilot preparation process
Jeyson – Pass government regulated inspection for full mechanic license.
Stephanie - Continue refining in the Portuguese language to achieve a higher level of fluency.
Stephanie – Continue building discipleship and evangelistic relationships with her students in and out of the “classroom” setting.
Furlough: Report back to supporting churches and individuals in the USA on our first furlough and increase our support level

There's a lot to look ahead to in 2010....but for now time to get ready to ring in the New Year!

2 Years Together

I have a few posts about Christmas and other news swarming around in my head, but since time is short today and my to-do list is long, I'll just share some pictures. Today is our 2 year wedding anniversary!


Even though 2 years is not very long compared to other couples, they have been years of many intense changes and I am so thankful to have had my lifelong friend by my side through them all.

You are a wonderful husband, Jeyson...I am so blessed by God to have you!

We were so happy to receive special gifts for an anniversary get-away from some friends back home. It didn't work out to get away on our actual anniversary -but we'll be going to Brasilia Sat-Sun and staying at a nice hotel where we got a great deal and enjoying yummy some meals out! Thank you so much...we'll post some pictures afterwards.

Christmas is in the Air

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....though not quite like the ones we used to know :) But none the less, we've been really enjoying getting ready for a unique Christmas together here! Both of us grew up always having real Christmas trees, but there are none available in our city here in hot Brazil. Rather than just skip on it (like we did last year) we decided to get a little table top one. Despite how artificial it looks, we've been enjoying it :)

As we look around we remember many of you since almost all of our Christmas items were sent to us or given to us by our friends and family....table decorations, ornaments, even the CD we're listening to that Katie and Dan preformed, recorded, and sent to us!

We have a tiny nativity scene from Ecuador. It is on top of the microwave now but originally we put it on the coffee table. The next morning we woke up and it was GONE! We found the cow under the coffee table, the horse in the hallway, Mary under the bed, the manger under the couch, and Joseph under the refrigerator. We're still looking for the angel! I'm not sure what happened, but I think I know who did it....and I think he's in the previous picture :)

We have these nice Christmas towels that my sister sent down last year and even some festive napkins and a candle my mom gave us.

This year I have the cookie baking bug. Have you ever had that? It's funny, last year I hardly baked cookies, but this year I have about 7 kinds on my list and I can't seem to eliminate any of them. I searched for all of the ingredients and can't wait till the weekend to get started. I am especially excited about the peanut butter cookies. Thanks so much Mom for sending the mix! I think I'll make the one with the Hershey kiss in the middle - except we don't have any kisses. Do you think Christmas colored M&M's will work? Do you have anther suggestion?

Well it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We're singing Christmas hymns in church and reading about Christ's birth.....

The only part I'm still trying to get used to is seeing my garden in full bloom!

Unrelated to anything above - I've made some changes to our blog. First, now I'm going to categorize my posts as either ministry, just for fun, or life overseas. You can see the topic at the bottom of the post and click on the right at the top of the blog to see only posts from that category. That way, if you're interested in hearing about our ministry you can just see posts about that or if you just want the fun stories you can just see those, etc.

Second, I have improved how you can leave a comment. I didn't realize there were so many hoops to jump through to leave a comment. Now it's easy - you don't even need a Google account. Just leave a comment, type in the word you see, and it will appear right away!

Servant's Heart, Welder's Mask

A few weekends ago we decided to spend the whole weekend with Jeyson's sister and her husband who are leaders of a Youth With A Mission base in Goiania. As we were packing our bags, I noticed that Jeyson added his welder among the pile of things that were coming along.
Me, "Jeyson, are you bringing the welder?!?"
Jeyson in a completely natural way (as if he had just packed his toothbrush), "Of course! You never know when someone needs something welded!"
So in the welder went, and we headed to Lika and Mario's house. The next morning when I woke up, Jeyson was already up. I went outside and guess what found him doing?
Welding, of course! Recently the mission had bought an old rickety trailer that they need to lug large quantities of food, supplies....and really anything large to the base. Unfortunately, the trailer was not usable since the unpaved roads are so bumpy there and the axle was about to fall off. Everyone was so glad Jeyson brought the welder and put him right to work.

Jeyson had tons of assistants ready to help! The three men on the left are from a Christian rehab center that YWAM helps to run. They were very interested in learning some tips since here any skill (including welding) is another opportunity for work and a way to stay off the streets!

Jeyson has the hope of teaching men from the rehab center some skills like this in a more formal and ongoing way.

In the 2 years we've been married I've learned so much from Jeyson...

I haven't learned anything about welding (though I'm sure he'd be excited to teach me....wouldn't that be romantic :)....

But I've learned a ton about serving and ministry....

So often we wait for opportunities to come knocking on our door, but I've learned from Jeyson that you have to first make yourself available and then you'll never stop finding opportunities.

I wish I had gotten an after picture, but the trailer is all ready to be put to use keeping the base running! Thanks Jeyson! And thanks Bob and Lynn for the welder....it's been such a blessing to many! (PS - how we got the welder into our suitcases and on a plane to Brazil along with a bread machine, wedding dress, and a Kitchen Aid stand mixer is another story :)

Wanted

Christmas Cards!!

Do you send out Christmas cards or yearly update letters? Can you please include us on your list? We'd love to hear from you! We're always sending out our news and updates via our blog, emails, letters....but we'd love to know how YOU are!
Here's our address:

Jeyson and Stephanie Braun
Asas de Socorro
Cx Postal 184
Anapolis, GO 75001-970
Brazil

The cost to mail a normal letter from the US to Brazil is 98 cents so, if it's easier you don't have to go to the post office...just put that amount of stamps on and it's on it's way. What could be easier....and what could be more wonderful for us than to hear from you!

Nice Shades!

Pretty cool glasses, huh? Well, they may never become a trend, but Jeyson has been wearing them lately as he works towards his commercial pilot's license. Part of the rating is being able to fly only using the instrument panel in the plane...no looking out the window allowed! These shades are really a blinder that gets attached to the headset to block him from being able to see out the window as he flies.....with a fully seeing instructor as the co-pilot!
I had never actually seen this piece of equipment before, so when I was taking pictures Jeyson also showed me what it felt like to wear them....a very strange feeling! I can't imagine actually flying a plane like this!

Actually, I can't imagine flying a plane even without the blinder on...but that's not the point :)

Here I am sitting in front of the picture seeing what it is like to not see above the instruments.

Ready for take off!

Holiday Fun and 2 Strange Sights

This week Angelina and Nina came over to learn how to make Christmas cookies...

Angelina especially enjoyed being the decorating committee :)And Nina was our official cookie cutter :) We also made chocolate chip cookies and Nina was SO amazed about how you don't have to flatten out the cookies and shape them into circles....you just form a ball and they spread out into a perfect circle on their own! She said she was so glad I could teach her because she never would have figured it out on her own. Who knew making cookies was so impressive? :)

And who knew that making cookies is such a good way to deepen friendships? And who knew that deepening friendships is such a good way to invest in a life? And who knew that investing in a life is the way to change one for eternity? Well, I guess I"m not the first one to figure that out!

Well, changing subjects....here's a strange sight that you can see around here in Brazil.

Here there are many people that drive illegally without a license since the process is pretty expensive and difficult. This is especially true of motorcyclists. As a result, occasionally the police set up barricades and pull over all motorcycles and/or cars and check the drivers for their licences and to be sure that the vehicle was not stolen. As you can see, the truck is filling up quickly with motorcycles that the police are taking away from the drivers because of one of these two things.

On the left you can see another one on the way to the truck. Although it's too bad the guy is losing his motorcycle, it's good to know that there are less unlicensed drivers on the road!

One more interesting sight...This week a worker came to fix the tiles in our shower since the water was pooling and not draining. The job took a little longer than expected so the man asked if he could leave some tools at our house to come finish the job the next day. Among the tools he left, I couldn't help but notice this one that was on the floor....a flip flop that looks like it is used for spreading cement for the tiles!?!? Sometimes it doesn't feel like we're in another country, but rather on another planet!!

Well as mentioned our update email, this weekend we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with American missionaries that live in the area and work with several different missions.

We were SO excited to enjoy all of the scrumptious American food! Chickens (turkey is too expensive here), stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, etc...there's nothing like a Thanksgiving potluck! We missed spending the holiday with our family, but this was fabulous!

We ate lunch, sang some songs, played games...

And by the time we knew it, it was time for dinner so we all just ate the leftovers.

Wow! I can't tell you how wonderful it was to be surrounded by English, great food, fun, people going through the same things in life that we are....there was so much to be thankful for!

Seasonal Confusion

Have you ever experienced Seasonal Confusion before? Seasonal Confusion...what's that?!? Ok, I confess that I made up the name of my condition, but that's exactly what I'm experiencing...confusion about the seasons. While almost all of you are heading into the cold winter months, here in Brazil we're heading into summer heat....and boy is it hot! This is causing so much confusion for me.

I read my friends' blogs from back in the States and see them bundled up and I go on recipe websites and see postings for hot stews to warm your toes. Meanwhile, it's in the 90's here and very humid! Palm trees are in full bloom and just walking out your door makes you want to take yet another shower. It's very, very confusing to my internal calendar! What time of the year is it really?!?

The strangest part of all of this is the idea of getting ready to celebrate Christmas. To me, (almost) every Christmas I remember has looked something like this:



But this year, this picture better describes what will be the reality temperature wise:

Good thing Christmas is all about celebrating our Savior Jesus Christ and is not dependant on snowmen and fireplaces! Not that those things are wrong to enjoy...but maybe my Seasonal Confusion will allow us to focus on the real reason for the season a little more than usual.

Lessons Learned....from a Cake

Every two weeks, the ladies from Asas and from SIL (Wycliffe in Brazil) get together for a time of encouragement, prayer, and fun. Recently some of the women had the idea to use this get together as an outreach opportunity. Rather than just us missionaries get together, why not use this as an opportunity to invite women who need to hear about the Lord? So, this past week that's just what happened.

In addition to our time of encouragement and prayer, we all invited our friends out to learn how to decorate a cake using fondant. Fun fact - fondant is called "American Paste" in Portuguese....I had no idea that it was such an American thing! On that note, do you know what place mats are called in Portuguese? (Of course not, but I just thought I'd ask :) They're called "Americans"! It's so funny to see what people here in Brazil view as American when we don't even see it as uniquely from our country!
Anyway, my student (and friend) Nina came out as well as my mother-in-law. Even though Nina didn't know anyone, she seemed VERY comfortable and really enjoyed herself. She even commented about how much she enjoys activities with little moments hearing about God....talk about open!



Her interest in coming made me wonder...why don't we as Christians open up more opportunities to invite friends to hear about the Lord? Why so often do we just have activities with each other? When I invited Nina I was surprised that she immediately said she'd come. Maybe you'd be surprised how many of your friends would say yes if you invited them! (This was lesson #1 that I came away with)

Anneke (left) translated for Katie as she decorated the cake, since she just arrived here in Brazil and is still learning Portuguese. At this point there was just a layer of fondant on the cake, icing, and green coconut to look like grass.

Here are some of the ladies watching the cake decorating...

It was a lot of fun and we all got to participate making flowers to put on top.

I imagine when Katie started teaching herself how to decorate cakes that she never would have guessed it would be used as an evangelistic opportunity....but God can use any talent or ability if we're willing! Can you play an instrument? Do you know a good recipe? Can you play a board game? Is there a big sports game coming up? I imagine anything could be used as a way to get people together for that and to hear a little about the Lord. (This was lesson #2)

And Katie did an excellent job putting it into practice...

Finishing up...so cute and delicious too! What sweet lessons to learn :)

101 Posts

As I was getting ready to write, I saw that this is my 101st post! Wow! When we started this blog I had no idea how much I would wind up writing so far, and how much I would ENJOY writing too! This blog has turned out to more than meet our goal of creating a way to show pictures, it has really been a major way for people to keep in touch with us and feel a part of our ministry. Thanks for following and please stick around for the next 100 posts :)



Well, onto some quick pictures from around the hanger...

Last week, Jeyson was working with 2 other guys to redo the side of this plane. Asas's plane needed new identification numbers to be able to fly in Brazil, so it was time to put away the wrenches and get out the sandpaper and spraygun.

Here's Cleo...you might remember he grew up on a tribe, which is where he first became interested in Asas. Now he is a missionary mechanic.
Jeyson getting the spraygun ready....I think I see a hint of a smile about getting to airbrush the plane :)

Hard at work

Meanwhile, Joel is getting the stencil of the new ID ready. Just in the few minutes I was taking pictures, I got a sense for how great it is to work together as a team.

There was a lot of hard work going on, but also a lot of fun as these men work together on what they are passionate about....using their gift of service in a very hands on and practical way, to be part of bringing the Gospel to those who would otherwise probably never hear it.

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!