My First Flight

Believe it or not, us missionary wives rarely get the chance to go on an Asas flight.  I've flown with Jeyson on training flights in Anapolis, but since arriving here in the Amazon region I hadn't had the chance to go on any "real" flights.  It's really for a good reason - the flights are usually packed with missionaries and supplies headed to the jungle for long term work so there's no room for an extra passenger.  But finally my big chance came Monday morning.  Not only was it my first chance to fly in the Amazon region, but also my first chance to fly in the (slightly larger) Cessna 206, as opposed to the 172 training plane.  And to top that off, this was my first trip to a truly isolated and remote village.  I've been to a few villages in central Brazil that you can get to on dirt road, but this was my first true Amazon village experience.  

I found out about the opportunity about 20 minutes before take off.  The passengers arrived and the pilot realized there was extra weight and gave me a call. I threw myself together (pajamas to out the door in 10 minutes!) and Elijah hung out with Jeyson in the hangar while I was gone.  We were flown by Denis, who has about 30 years of experience flying in this region, and he made it look SO easy!

This was the group flying in.  The husband in the back and wife on the right were flying into a village (which I won't mention the name of for safety reasons) to do a dental clinic for the week.  The husband's dad (Kirt) is a long term missionary in the village, which made the clinic even more special for them.  Kirt's wife, Marta, is on the left.  She lived in the jungle for many years but now lives full time in Boa Vista.  Kirt spends a month in the village, a month in the city with her.  But she came along on the trip in order to visit him in the jungle.  They were all really excited to see each other.

 On the way there, we flew just above and in between the clouds.  In such a small plane it is quite the experience!

 When the clouds parted, I got my first good look at the Amazon rainforest by air.  There are just no words for the vastness of it.  Imagine you are on a boat in the middle of the ocean, water as far as you can see.  That's kind of how it felt, except instead of water, there were trees as far as the eye could see.  And that was just the smallest corner of the Amazon.

 Intricate networks of river

 Rivers don't run everywhere here, but even if you could take one instead of a plane, it zigs and zags so much!

 In the middle of nowhere we would fly over a village.  People groups totally isolated from the outside world and each other.

 When we arrived, it was a party!  A group from the village and the missionary, Kirt, and his coworker Joao, were waiting for us.  Kirt and Joao are some of the most fun people you have ever met.  So you can imagine how fun they were when they saw people from the "outside world" and not only just any people, but Kirt's family!  (Kirt's son and wife live across the country in Sao Paulo).  They immediately painted us all red with the help of the natives as part of the celebration of receiving us.

 Oh, btw, don't get me started on the incredible, breathtaking landing!!!  It was an inclined runway, so as we were landing down in the middle of all of those trees, we at the same time were going up a hill!  Incredible!!

Despite their lack of smiles in pictures, the local people were very nice and very happy to see us!  They also really enjoyed, and asked for their pictures to be taken since they really enjoyed seeing them.

The kids were so creative and had made these airplanes all on their own and brought them to the runway.

 Village house under construction for you to get an idea of what they're like.

 Here's Davi, the dentist, checking on the missionary, Joao's jaw on the dental chair that had been set up for the clinic.

 The people really enjoyed seeing us and walked around with us everywhere as we toured the village.  Btw, in case you're wondering, I believe most of the clothes they are wearing came from the government health workers, 2 live there with them to help with any needs they have.  

 The kids all live such a different life than kids in the city.  They are so free.  These little 3-6 year olds just all hopped in the river and started swimming and splashing when we walked over by the river.  As soon as we all walked away, they all jumped back out and followed us on our walk.  Not much activity happens in the village, so we were a big hit!

 Pineapples growing

 Kirt and Joao's equipment for keeping the runway cut

 This a jaguar's tooth.  Recently a jaguar started attacking a group of the village's hunters when they were out on a hunt.  They had no choice but to kill the jaguar with arrows.  

 There was lots of time hanging out on the porch before we had lunch in Kirt and Joao's home.  

Here's an inside view of the missionary house.  Very rustic...completely dirt floor.  One room for everything (hammocks are hung up here at night time), and an outhouse outside.  The outhouse toilet was actually a tree stump carved very nicely into a toilet base and there as a seat on top of it.  I didn't expect something so nice in the jungle, but Kirt is very talented!  No fridge (no power) so they can only cook what they need for each meal.  They have a small gas stove so we heated up lasagna that Marta had packed and Joao made rice and beans.

 Since not much is going on the village, the local people enjoyed watching us as we spent time together.

 Here, Joao was changing his shoes and put down a little board so he could put his foot on the floor without getting his sock covered in dirt.  To me that really illustrates how sacrificial this life is.  There are so many comforts these missionaries give up to serve the people that they love.  We take so many comforts for granted.

 It is a privilege to serve these men and make their ministry possible through Asas's flights.

 On the way back, it was just Denis, Marta, and me.  We passed over a few other villages that our mission flies to just to check them out

 And saw the most incredible rainbows on the way home.  

I hope I'll have many more opportunities to go in the future, but I have no doubt that this first visit will always stay with me in a special way.

1 Year in Boa Vista

This week we celebrate 1 year in Boa Vista!  It's crazy to think that after all of these years hoping and preparing to serve at one of the northern bases, here we are doing it!

Here's a picture of us outside the Boa Vista hangar soon after we arrived.

A lot has happened this year, lots of joys and challenges.  While there's still a lot to adjust to (climate, culture, relationships), Boa Vista is starting to feel a lot like home.  And more importantly, we feel even more passionate about the ministry today than the day we arrived.  Bring on year #2, Boa Vista!

Joseph's Week

Almost 3 weeks ago, my brother, Joseph, entered Jesus' presence.  He is whole and able to run, and most likely loves to play sports (like my dad said).  Everything about Joe's passing was so obviously orchestrated by God.  From the timing that allowed the whole family to come together, to the wonderful  healthy months Joe had leading up to his home going, to the peacefulness of it all. 

There is so much to say about how I feel, about how our whole family feels, but words don't seem to do justice.  

Here are a few pictures of my trip up to AZ with Elijah in October.  I'm so glad I went and was able to spend a little more time with Joe.  These pictures are of the last day we spent together which was just perfect in every way.  I will always remember it and I'm so glad to have a few pictures.

Impossible to get a good group selfie :)  But the imperfection of this picture is what I love, it shows who we we really are.

Here's another day from 2012.  I love this shot too. 

The week together celebrating Joseph's life was a messy mix of giggles, tears, kids dress up, happy and sad memories, playing and fighting over toys, pizza, flowers, late nights talking, sorting through belongings, laughing and crying.  It really makes sense why the whole family comes together at moments like this.  To celebrate a life and heal together.  Well that messy mixed is reflected in my jumbled pictures that don't want to get in the right order.  I also haven't been able to even post all of the pictures I wanted to (group shot, son in laws, etc ....blogger is rebelling and not allowing me for some reason), but you get the idea.  

( Wish CJ could have been in this shot, but had already gone home)

 This was a special week that will always stay with me.  But more importantly, Joseph's impact on our lives (his legacy) will always be part of who we are.

Family News

Lately I just haven't been able to keep up on blogging.  Quite possibly at least partly due to this bun in the oven that is taking all of my extra energy.  Yep, that's right, we're expecting Baby Braun #2 in late September.  At the 13 week ultrasound, everything looked absolutely perfect, what a blessing!

No "official", full blown morning sickness this time, just a lot of nausea, more related to the heat here than food or the time of day.  I have been SO SO hot!  I feel like the heat is getting me from the outside in and the inside out!  And I've been really really really...REALLY tired.  I'm sure it's a function of the heat and chasing around a toddler that has really knocked me out this time.  But I've had to lay low the last few weeks and just make surviving my goal.  We are very excited about the news, especially after the loss we experienced last year.  The biggest prayer request, other than heath for me and the baby, is direction about what to do about the birth.  Whether to remain here or try to travel back to Anapolis at the end of the pregnancy where there are more medical resources.  We'd appreciate prayer for wisdom and open doors where God wants us.

Life will be changing for Elijah, though he totally doesn't understand yet.  

This is the pregnancy announcement we used

 He doesn't understand when we say he will be a big brother, but we know he will love it.  He's getting so big and I know he will love a sibling to play with soon enough.  The other Saturday we went down to the river and as I was getting him ready I put him in this romper, which is the biggest and last size romper we have and that exists.  Only to realize I could barely snap it!  

 

I've always loved rompers and Elijah has worn them since he was born...

 But it's time to retire them.  Romper age has come to a close.  On to big and exciting adventures that you have to be big to do!  On to being a big brother too.

 I'm so excited for all this year has in store for us!

The Past Few Weeks

The past few weeks have been jam packed with exciting and fun happenings.  Here's a bit of what's been going on in pictures.

Jeyson often rides his bike to the hangar, and occasionally drops Elijah off at preschool class on the way

 2 weekends ago was Carnival.  That's basically Mardi Gras times 100 here in Brazil, and the whole country gets Monday and Tuesday as a holiday for it.  So, we had a really nice 4 day weekend.  We had so much great family time.  We went to a pool/water park one day, our church retreat another day, Guyana another day, and just relaxed one day.  I feel like it's been so long since us really spending good quality, non-busy time together.  We were all recharged.

On the way home from one event, we took a stretch stop by this field as the sun was going down.    

 Even Elijah's preschool class celebrated Carnival.  The kids could all come in costumes on day.  Eiljah went as a baseball player

 And he got some extra decorations for this picture with his teacher (who normally does not have red hair of course)

 I thought you might also like seeing what random items us Americans love from Guyana.  These are all things we can't get in Brazil that make it exciting to go across the border.  Salsa, Kraft Mac and cheese, stir fry noodles, blueberry honey bunches of oats, whole wheat flour, US cake mixes, sour cream and onion dip, peanut butter, shake and bake mix, sweet corn (canned), blue cheese dressing, chinese soy sauce, construction paper, and more.  It's always a bit of a treasure hunt there since it's not a "normal" stable grocery store like in the US.  The stores are very tiny and depend on trucks coming down difficult dirt roads to supply the shelves.  You just never know what will be available or not.

 The second half of the week we were busy with guests.  Remember our mission's new plane that was stuck in the US due to paperwork issues?  After 40 days there, the pilots and plane were finally able to head back to Brazil.  

 Their first stop in the country is Boa Vista, since we're the farthest city north.  Steve and Jefferson stayed at our house and we enjoyed the company, news from the "outside world", and serving them some typical food, and of course helping them get on their way.  It was also great to see the plane in person before it headed off to the headquarters base where it will be located.

 Then, this past weekend, we headed up 2 hours north and had a wonderful time with our missionary friends, Donna and Eric.  They even babysat Elijah for us so we could do some shopping and have lunch together.  It was great.

The drive to their house is just beautiful...pictures just don't do justice

 We returned home Sunday and we've finally been back in a normal work routine.  Some of the administrative duties I had temporarily while one missionary couple was on furlough, have become my regular duties even though they are back.  This frees them up for other jobs.  And Jeyson has had about 4 out of 20 theoretical classes with our chief pilot to learn the ins and outs of flying in this region.  He is also busy on the second airplane's SIDs inspection...which has involved many tasks including painting (before picture of a project below).

It was great to be out of our routine a bit, and now great to be back in it too!

Last Minute Culture

Life overseas is so different than the life I used to know in the US.  Culture changes everything and you learn to go with it.  So sometimes you forget how much you have adjusted to a new reality in certain areas.  But this week I've been thinking a lot about how much I've adapted while in Brazil to go with the flow in an area that is hard for us Americans...the area of planning ahead.

Us Americans?  We love planning and value it.  Our calendars fill up several weeks or even months in advance.  Not so with Brazilians.  Let me give you a few practical examples:

- In Brazil, people don't schedule things more than a week or so in advance.  At all.  I mean super rarely will you have something planned and nailed down for more than just the next 7 days.

- As a result, people don't use calendars/planners, since it's not a problem to remember what you're supposed to do just this week, why write it down?

- Planners are commonly used here as scrap paper.  I'm completely serious.  They must go unbought in stores in the beginning of the year and get sold super cheap.  Because it's very common to see people using a planner as just a scratch notebook, just ignoring the dates and all.

- If you do have something far in advance (say a doctor's appointment) you just jot a note and leave it on your fridge or desk.  But again this is rare, since it's really easy to get an appointment the week-of since no one schedules in advance

- If something is scheduled in advance (or even not) it's VERY common for things to get canceled and its no big deal at all if you cancel on anyone else.  This happened to me 3 times this week.  I was getting all ready for something and thought I would check in with the person I was supposed to pick up/meet, and I just figured I'd call to confirm before I walked out the door.  (I decided to confirm simply because I know canceling is so common.)  All 3 times, the person had something else come up last minute and had to cancel.

- That leads me to another point...things come up very suddenly.  Since people don't schedule more than a week or so in advance, it could be Sunday night and my calendar looks clear.  Suddenly I'll get a call asking me to help with a church ministry for the next three mornings in a row.  I have no reason to not go (lack of mental preparation is not so valid :), I go and my week is suddenly full.

- When there is a weekly or say bi-weekly meeting, even when it's already scheduled it always seems to be a question mark up till the last minute if it's still a go.  The day of, we communicate back and forth to see if everyone is still on.  I guess this goes with the canceling things.  It's normal for things to come up and things to get canceled, so it's always good to make sure something, even something regularly scheduled, is still on.  Why do things get canceled so much?  Because all scheduling is last minute, so you never know when something is going to change original plans.

- Sometimes we get invites to go to someone's house for dinner as we're already eating dinner at home! We've even gotten invites for dinner after Elijah's already in bed for the night.

Honestly I hope this doesn't come across as negative at all!  I don't feel that way...it's just different.  I mean there are some frustrating parts of being in a last minute culture, and there are some frustrating parts of being in a plan ahead culture.  But let me tell you a few perks about this culture...

- You never know what fun social events might pop up.  You think your weekend is going to be boring and suddenly you're eating Brazilian bbq with friends!

- People in general are very flexible and understanding when you do have to cancel something

- You can invite people over last minute and they will make time for you

Don't worry though, when we come to the US, we'll swing back the other way.  We won't cancel on you or invite you for pizza after you're already eaten :)  It's just very weird to be part of both worlds

Bi-lingual Lingual Learner Update

I've had a bit of blogger's block lately.  Lots going on, but not much specifically NEW to write about.  So, time to give you an update on an ongoing story here...Elijah's journey to becoming a bi-lingual kiddo.

As of 4 months ago, Elijah wouldn't speak in either Portuguese or English.  He knew words, but he refused to say them on anyone's terms by his and he even refused to point at objects he knew when I said the names.

Now, he is really taking off in English.  BIG time!  He was SO far behind his age group, but now I really think he is closing the gap with the average 2 year 3 month-er.  It's really exciting to see.  He says tons of words and most importantly, he wants to learn them.  He constantly points at things wanting to know what they are called and says the names of objects and practically requires that I repeat it correctly so he can see if he got it right.  It's not even enough to say "good job!".  For example, if Elijah points at something and says, "orange", he wants me to confirm by saying "orange".  He is also really into letters and numbers.  He can say the names of about 8 letters when he sees them, and he can count to 10...something that took us completely by surprise.  He sometimes still messes things up, but he's well on his way.  I could be reading into it, but he really seems to be studying language and trying really hard to get a hold of it, now that he's seen how useful it can be.  Oh and just as a test, I showed him a picture of one word for each letter of the alphabet, completely a random list that I didn't make up.  And he knew 20 out of 26!  And why should he know xylophone anyway?  SO awesome, considering he literally refused to say or repeat even "ball" or "car" a few short months ago.  

In Portuguese, Elijah is still way behind.  He knows just 4 words solidly.  But even in Portuguese something exciting is happening....courage!  He is finally choosing to repeat words in Portuguese, something he refused before.  And at "preschool" today I went to pick him up, and I told him in Portuguese to say bye to everyone, and he turned around and said "tchau!".  I was really proud, but even prouder but I walked by the room and two teachers were commenting on how far he's come to even do that!  Another teacher also came up to me today and asked me what "baid" means.  I had to think of a looong moment and realized Elijah was trying to tell the teacher about the band-aid he was wearing.  She said he kept coming up to him all day and saying it.  He also apparently says "O" a lot, which he does at home too...whenever he sees the letter O anywhere or even a circle :)  She wanted to know what that meant too.  As we walked out the door, he pointed at a sign that head the numbers 1-5 written on it.  He wanted the teacher to tell him in Portuguese one by one what they are called and he repeated each one.  Another teacher told me that every day as he comes in he points at her and asks "tia???"  in a way that is looking for affirmation.  "Tia" is aunt in Portuguese, which is what school kids call their teachers here.  So I guess he was trying to confirm that he is in fact calling her the right thing.  Slow by steady but I"m glad he's opening up!  The teachers all say he comes up to them trying to communicate during the day, but they can't understand and they're all cheering for him to take off in Portuguese too so they can get to know him.  I can't want to see where we are 6 months from now.

Lastly, one funny language related thing I want to add it.  We don't intentionally teach Elijah Portuguese at home.  We just speak to him in English (and Jeyson sometimes in Spanish) and figure he will learn Portuguese around town.  But the funny thing is everywhere I go with Elijah, people ask me (in Portuguese obviously), if Elijah is going to learn Portuguese.  It makes me laugh, because the person through the very fact of asking me the question in front of Elijah IS teaching him Portuguese.  So, I tell them, yes he is in a Portuguese class right now by being present :)  

It's really fun to see our boy grow and develop in so many areas, and especially in this area of being bi-lingual, which is new also for me.  I hope someday soon he can have them both down solidly and we can begin to focus on Spanish too.