Barra do Garças Brasil "February 2009"

Back in February we had the opportunity to travel by bus about 7 hours and speak several times at a church. You guessed it, there were some amazing waterfalls there. This was a wonderful time of fellowship, meeting some amazing people, and worshipping the Lord.

Pirenópolis Brasil "January 2009"

We went to a little town about an hour from were we live. This town, Pirenópolis , has tons of waterfalls. The couple below is my language tutor and her husband. They have been a blessing in our lives!

My Sausage Balls

We do love the Brazilian food but sometimes we just miss good old American food, well, to be quiet honest, we miss Southern cooking. So, to be a good wife to my husband, because he is Southern, i decided to cook some Sausage Balls. I do have to tell you the trouble i went to so i could do this for him. First, i had to make Bisquick, (that's right ladies....make my own because there is no way i can buy that here!!) then i went to the meat market and asked them to ground 3 times pork meat. They did this for me after they asked many times what i was going to do with the meat. They tought it was strange because i asked to grind the meat many times...well, i tought that it was strange that the butcher had a dog tied up where he cuts the meat, the poor dog was barking, and was grinding my meat while he was smoking cigarettes. Strange??? yes, that was what i tought, by the way, i asked him what he was going to do with the dog, he told me he was going to give it to his sister. Robert did asked me if the meat looked like pork, well, i told him of course but i have no idea what pork meat looks like! (Sorry Robert) Anyways....
So, washed up the meat and then i seasoned with sausage seasoning, then i cooked, then i mix the bisquick, fake cheddar cheese and the "pork" meat. Well, it tasted all right, so, i tought. Robert felt that it was a little bit dry but he sure ate a lot of it and even Mr. Malachi ate a whole lot. Well, yes, i did these sausage balls for us but too for the Brazilian people we met here so that they could have a privilege to eat Sausage Balls. I was so excited....well, each one of them that tried these sausage balls called them meatballs. All they kept telling me is that "we have them here is called meatballs." hehehehe:) These things always happen to me, in America, i did Brazilian things and people tought was like an American food, now, i am here, trying to do American things and they just think is Brazilian Meatballs!! For the Record: They are Sausage Balls!

Malachi's Birthday Party

Malachi's Birthday

Wow! What a day today has been. Today is Malachi's birthday. As parents we have been somewhat sad for Malachi. He has left all his little friends back in the States. He told us several times when asked, "What do you want for your birthday?" He responded, "I want friends." Not only is God providing him with friends. God used many friends and family members, back home, to send Malachi a lot of presents for his birthday. He received four packages today in the mail! Some of these packages were sent way back in October. All of them arrived in perfect timing, on his birthday. Here are a few pictures of him opening up some gifts. (I apologize that the video is side ways, sorry, I tried to fix it.)

Thank You!

Thank You! We would like to thank everyone for your prayers and financial support concerning our recent prayer request for Dori and Malachi to be able to travel with me to Mexico in January for training. Praise God that all the necessary resources needed have been supplied! God used you to make this possible!!!

Life in Brazil

Life in Brazil is definitely different. For instance, we went to the store to buy a refrigerator. Sounds pretty simple, huh. Well about 4 hours later, I quickly realized that life in Brazil is much slower than life in the U.S. We first went around with the salesman, then sat down with the salesman to negotiate the price as if we were buying a used car or something. The salesman insured us that we were getting the best deal in town and then showed us all of the discounts that he was giving us. Then he entered our purchase into the computer. We then got in another line to pay for the refrigerator. After we paid for it, we waited in another line to get a receipt. After getting the receipt, we waited in another line to show our receipt and get the refrigerator. Another interesting thing is that you don’t mail any payments in for the electric bill, water bill etc… or go to that particular place to pay for it. There are little businesses that are set up all over town to pay your bills. Evidently, these people then ensure that the proper place gets your payment.
Yes, there are many differences, but being in God’s will is the best place to be! God has put many wonderful people in our lives here already. A typical day for us begins at 9:00am when I attend Portuguese language tutoring for two hours five days a week. We then go out as a family and build relationships throughout the town as I attempt to practice my Portuguese.
On a down note, we have been robbed twice already. The first time a guy jumped over the fence at night and stole all of the tools that belong to the owner of the house. The second time the same guy jumped over the fence during the night, we heard him and he quickly ran off when we turned on the lights. We found out from the police that this guy is very dangerous and has robbed many houses and even killed someone before. The saddest part of this is that we hired him to do some work around the house a couple of times just to help him out because his wife was nine months pregnant. We were attempting to build a relationship with them in order to share the Gospel. The police say that they have been looking for him but he is hiding. The police told us today that his wife had her baby on the ground at a construction site because they were scared to go to the hospital because they are wanted for several crimes. Please pray for them and their salvation. A we know the power of Jesus Christ can transform their lives!