Congratulations!

Dan and Sara are going to have a new baby in May! Click on their link to see the ultrasound image.

Peter and Olivia

We pray that they will "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18

Familiar...but definetly not the same!

Just like the traffic jam in the photo, things can be so familiar and so different. I have been looking in one of our Portuguese books and smiled coming across these words.

- A shopping is not a type of trip but it is the actual mall itself.
- Futebol is not American football but it is soccer.
- Coco is not chocolate but rather it is coconut.
- X-salada is a cheeseburger with the salad works. There is a true word for cheese, queijo, but in this case, the X is pronounced sheeze which sounds like the English word cheese. So your order becomes a Sheeze salada. Nice sense of humor!
- time is not referring to the clock but rather means team.
- Notebook (pronounced notch-book-ee) is not a bound pad of paper but rather a laptop.

We have much to learn....

Next week we will begin traveling again to Wyoming and then to Colorado. Thanks for praying.

September evening

I went out back to take a picture of the corn being harvested and saw this really pretty rose on one of my two bushes. It blooms well all summer long and into the fall. Wish you were here!

Just appreciating the quietness of this evening.

Joys in the harvest time

The air is cool. The sedum is blooming, and our neighbor has begun to harvest in the fields. This is a beautiful time of year and we are reminded of God's handiwork again. We are taking a few days to catch up on the mail, lawn work, and the opportunity to rest a bit.

Isaiah speaks of the joy of harvest relating it to the great joy experienced in the presence of Christ.

"They will be glad in Your presence as with the gladness of harvest." Isa. 9:3

Thanks for praying on our behalf.

Travels in the south

The butterfly display we carry with us always attracts much attention.... The blue morpho butterfly is especially eye-catching!

We left on the 4th for Charlotte, NC. We were truly blessed and overwhelmed by the generosity of the church there. We enjoyed southern hospitality at its best with lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and some shopping for both of us as a gift from the church. We had several opportunities to speak and saw some friends that had attended our home church in South Bend a few years ago.

From NC we drove to Chesapeake to spend a couple of days with Bob, Janelle, Olivia, Dan, Sara, and Peter. Peter took some of his first steps while we were there! Olivia tried solid foods for the first time. This will make future visits a hard act to follow. Every one there is doing well. Dan has begun a new year of teaching and is continuing with his seminary studies.

On the 13th we drove to Greenville, SC to spend a day and a half with my brother Dave. Patti has been in Virginia helping her mother. We also saw Andrew. We tried to find Tim but he was out and about and we missed him. We had a great time talking with Dave.

On Saturday morning, the 15th, we drove down to Agusta, GA. No we didn't play any golf! We presented the Brazil ministry in the services on Sunday and Jim also got to take part in an ordination council for another missionary while we were there. The Lord has truly blessed. We drove back home yesterday and will catch up with things in Michigan until we leave to head out to Wyoming and Colorado in about two weeks.

May I ask you to pray that these pastors would remember to pray about taking on our support? Out of sight can be out of mind, and we need them to remember us!

Voyageurs

We are standing on the shore of Black Bay, an historic crossing area for the French fur trappers as they traveled around Lake Superior and between Canada and the United States. This is part of Voyageurs National Park in International Falls, MN. We had a great morning service with Jim teaching Sunday School and preaching in the AM service. After we went out for a Chinese buffet lunch, we took a short trip to this beautiful park. I am so glad that our country has tried to preserve these historic and grand places for us to enjoy.
We presented the Brazil work in the evening with folks listening and interested in the work.
We left yesterday morning and drove the first 100 miles in heavily forested areas and saw several deer. Thankfully we didn't get to meet any of them up close! We arrived home last evening and will leave in about an hour to head to the Charlotte, NC area. We would appreciate your prayers for safety, but so much the more for spiritual fruit and for the heart needs to be met through these times.