We have just posted our newsletter for Christmas.
Today Abigail turns 4 years old. She only has 3 birthday parties under her belt so she is not an experienced birthday girl, BUT this one is really special. This is her first birthday in the United States. We are traveling so we will have to have a family birthday when we return, but we will be celebrating today. Our friends Steve and Patti are putting on a party for her. She has chosen a Princess Party. Not sure who is more excited about the party Abigail or Joshua.
Happy Birthday Abigail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just over 3 years ago, I began a savings plan that was basic and simple. At the end of the day, I placed all coins with less than 50 centavos value into a used 2 liter soft drink bottle. Now that we are preparing to return to the States, we thought it a good time to see what we earned (A penny saved is a penny earned, Benjamin Franklin).
Our Bottle-o-loot
Our next task was to count the loot. We decided on a “divide and conquer” method. Dividing the coins into their respective denominations. Since the under .50 category only has R$.25, R$.10, and R$.05, that makes only 3 piles to deal with. The “penny” was done away with a few years ago by popular demand. Stores round the purchase price up or down to the nearest R$.o5. Even in the States, people leave pennies or take pennies from the little dish in front of the cash register…. just the next step I suppose, is to not worry about them at all.
As One-Eyed Bart would say.... "Ooohh, money, money, money, money...."
We then were able to stack the monies into appropriate counting divisions. This made us feel like we were REALLY counting some money. In the end, it was a grand total of R$ 141,90. That is about US$ 89.25. Not bad for loose change that I really did not want to carry around anyway…
So what now???? Dinner. That is right. After a family vote, we have decided to go out to eat at a nice restaurant (or semi-nice). The kids had fun and the parents had fun watching the kids. Now to look forward to our next term on the field. And a great big thank you to you for sharing in our little family entertainment.
While the journey may be something to enjoy, it can also be the cause of stress and future back surgeries. On our recent venture, we traveled a few rough roads. On one occasion, I seriously asked Charlotte “With more potholes than road, how does the 2 inches of asphalt stay between the holes?” And when I say 2 inches of asphalt, I don´t mean the depth of the pavement. No, that is just under one inch. That is the amazing part. Just one inch deep, and somehow two inches of asphalt separates each hole. Incredible.
Driving on the shoulder. It was smoother.
Sadly, we were unable to truly capture the true condition of the roads with our camera. Charlotte was able to snap this shot as we were going down a major highway. Yes, we were driving. Yes, we were on the shoulder. Yes, it was better than the road.
These photos were taken before the rain started for the day. Just imagine rain and water disguising everything in the road. Driving at 20 mph and slower, because you know that you will go into an invisible pothole. That was where the real fun began.
Oh joy, a bridge. Did I mention 'wooden?'
Just when things seem to be staying the same, they suddenly get worse. Sure, I thought that wooden bridges were rustic, glamorous, cool, and sometimes, even cute. But things change. I really wasn´t thinking of wooden bridges for everyday, overloaded use. Now my eyes have been opened
Looks good from here
We crossed a couple of bridges like the one pictured here. If pictures are worth a thousand words, this one is silent about why we were driving on the left hand side of the road. Apparently, someone else needed a few of the planks for a higher purpose, I am not sure, but there was a section missing from ‘our’ side of the bridge.
We are happy to say that all went well. No accidents, no flat tires, no bandits. Please pray for me as I return to this area on Friday and returning on Saturday. I will be visiting a remote community with some Brazilian friends to see what doors God may be opening. Also, a couple of my friends and co-workers will be traveling to the island of Marajó to do the same. Thank you for your faithfulness.
This last week, Charlotte and I were able to take the entire family on an exploration adventure. This was a combination research/family break time for us. While I was able to investigate possible future work in the interior, I was also able to spend time with the family for the week.
Swimming in an "igarape" or creek in the interior.
Of course with children, swimming is a wonderful pastime. It is also a way to cool off since we have no working air conditioner in our van. The water in the creeks is usually ice cold. This was no exception.
While we had a wonderful time on this trip, we also accomplished a great deal of work. I was able to schedule meetings with various pastors and city officials in the area that we were researching. Please pray for the unreached people groups of Northern Brazil. There are thousands of communities that have no evangelical presence. Most of these communities are difficult to access and many times difficult to find. Some are deep in the interior with little or no road access, others are hidden within the thousands of islands that make up the river system here in Pará.
