Informed Beginnings in Action

I love teaching, I love reaching out to women, and I see an enormous need here in Brazil when it comes to childbirth.  Put it all together and what you get is what I've been doing every Thursday evening for the past two months.  Yep, I've been teaching my Informed Beginnings childbirth classes to these two women and their hubbies.

The classes include so much more than preparation for the actual birth - we also go over nutrition, nursing, caring for newborns, informed decision making, etc.  But the class to me has also meant getting to come alongside these ladies in a very special and sensitive time of life.  And I'm especially excited to get to go to Brana's (right) birth as a doula/birth attendant since she is due before we leave for Boa Vista.  

 I went for a tour of the hospital with Bruna and her husband.  It was such an eye opening experience.  Elijah was born in a hospital in a much bigger city and hour away so it was a different story.  To give you an idea, this hospital in town only has hot water in the room showers from 9am to 6pm!  But I just know Bruna is going to do great.  Birth is always full of surprises but she is as ready as one could be!

I've learned a ton myself through giving the classes.  The first time through is a lot of work as I think through the minute details of each class, not to mention translate everything to Portuguese!  LOTS of prep time.  But it is totally worth it.  I have just loved connecting with these ladies and ministering to them in an area of life that is so relevant to my own right now.  I'm excited what the future holds with this ministry.

Tonight is the last class before their final test....the world of parenthood that is :)

Move Update

So it's about time for a little move update...

- First a HUGE victory....our stuff arrived in Boa Vista this week!!!  It is being held in the mission's storage space there.  It was such an answer to prayer to have arrived so quickly, only a little more than a month rather than the up to 2 months expected!  

- Now that our belongings have arrived, we are anxious to get there!  It makes it feel like Boa Vista is home and here is not.  And I'm growing a bit weary of living in a mostly empty house.  But we're ok and chugging along.

- We have decided to not sell our home in Anapolis for now.  It is very common for families from our mission to maintain homes in Anapolis since it's our mission's headquarters.  The houses are often rented out to other missionary families and then the rent money is used to rent another home at the base the owner is living at.  This is because families often get shifted around from base to base.  We would definitely like to buy a house in Boa Vista eventually, but at least for a while we want to rent.

- So, we last week our house was painted and ready to go for whoever is going to rent it.

- We have leads on several families interested in renting, and have been trying to close the deal.  Please pray that God would make it clear who the right family is to live here.

- Jeyson has to renew his pilot's licenses before we go to Boa Vista.  It's a rather complicated and backed up process here in Brazil.  The first step was studying for and taking a written test.  So, Jeyson studied up for a few days this week and drove two hours away to Brasilia to take it.    He passed, which is great.

- Next Jeyson will have to fly a few refresher hours before he will be able to take the practical test to renew his licenses.  We are trying to figure out with our mission the logistics of that financially.  (BTW, yes Jeyson did fly on the trips to the tribes etc, but technically he was not the pilot in command, responsible for the flight, since his license was not renewed yet.  It was perfectly legal, just in case you thought that was weird :)

- Anyway once he gets these refresher hours done, we will get in line to get his recheck flight from the government.  It is a wait of a few weeks right now, unless we choose to pay extra to do the process expedited.  We're not sure yet.  

-       Then, Jeyson has renewed his license, the mission wants him to get about 10 hours of flight lessons in the Cessna 206 to prepare him for some advanced flying he will do in Boa Vista.

- So, that’s where we’re at.  Please keep praying for us through this process and for patience along the way!

Bible Conference Flights

Imagine trying to lead baby church but having barely any Bible training.  That is reality for many native men in Brazil who live in isolated villages.  This past week, Jeyson and a Jaars pilot, Craig, took a trip to a neighboring state and make trips into villages to pick up local pastors and leaders who wanted to attend a Bible training conference in a more central location.  They were anxious to go!  Here are some pictures of the conference location, where Jeyson and Craig stayed overnight between flights as well.

Grabbing some fruit from a tree as a snack

The town where the training was held is right along a river.  Boats are also a major form of transportation there, as you can see from this "parking lot" in the town.  

A school boat!

Houses on the water

Jeyson got to land in 5 different villages.  Not only a great ministry, but great experience to be up in the air again and getting ready to renew his licenses so he can fly solo again.  Here's a little play by play of one the landings

And some Amazon scenes.  

It's aways a fun scene when the plane lands in a village

Gorgeous waterfall below.  Jeyson always tells me how interesting it is to fly over such remote places and see things so few humans ever have, like this beautiful looking fall!

Friday Jeyson returned home, and Elijah and were so glad to see him!  He brought this really funky fruit which was delicious!  Elijah and I had both been sick and feverish all week, so we appreciated Jeyson's fresh energy in the home and TLC.

As the plane landed again in Anapolis, there was a gorgeous rainbow in the skye...always a reminder of God's faithfulness.

And right at the same time, one of the mechanics, Carlos got word that he passed his mechanic's licensing test.  Men are so funny....as a celebration, the poor guy got thrown in this huge puddle!