It’s beginning to look a lot like…

For Christmas this year we decided that rather than buy presents for each other, we’d take a family vacation to a beach on the coast of Brazil.
It was a….

4 am alarmin’
Car seat sleepin’
Christmas carol singin’
I spy playin’
Coffee drinkin’
Peanut munchin’
Backseat colorin’
Potty break stoppin’
Downpour rainin’
Silly story tellin’
12 hours travelin’

to arrive at Barra Da Lagoa on the island of Florianopolis for 10 specatcular, perfect, much needed days of,

Sand castle buildin’
Sunscreen slatherin’
River floatin’
Seafood eatin’
Family hikin’
Friend makin’
Wave jumpin’
Sweet surfin’
French fry eatin’
Crab huntin’
Shell collectin’
Lake swimmin’
Movie watchin’
Bunk bed sleepin’ (the girls LOVED it)
Late night gigglin’
Internet/phone lackin’
Ice cream lickin’
Suntan gettin’
Sand everywhere-in’
Dune climbin’
Early morning walkin’
Guitar playin’
Family hangin’
People watchin’
Sunset enjoyin’
Picture takin’
Memory makin’
Fantastic family vacation. I’m thinking’ this needs to be a new tradition….

 

View of Barra Da Lagoa, the beach where we stayed. You can see the river emptying into the ocean on the farr right of the beach.

 

French Fries!

Talent night

Great, fun night...those whose talents were in the kitchen brought YUMMY snacks for after the show=)

Micah sang a David Crowder Band song "Only You"

Dance of worship

Such a special lady

We even had a special apperance from Jonah!

Just some pictures…

 

Blueberry smoothie!!

 

Lets play wedding

 

Dressed up for ballet...made Mommy and Daddy want to sing "all the single ladies"

 

 

"I'm a weeeel mommy"

 

Oh little Luiza is so tiny and sweet

 

 

Baby Luiza likes me!

 

 

MUD PIESQ

 

Nemo and Poinsetta...our surprises for going 20 nights diaper free and dry!

WOTH Retreat

As a woman and a missionary in Brazil I was pretty excited when I heard about the following opportunity: Four days of speaking English. Four days of interaction with other missionary women from North America. Four days of rest and refreshment at a nice hotel.(that I didn’t have to pay for!) Four days where I could worship in English. Four days of girl time. Four days that I would not have to prepare a meal, wash a dish or scrub a floor. Four days of pampering. Four days of retreat with Women of the Harvest. YES! Sign me up!!!

Women of the Harvest (WOTH) is a non-denominational ministry of support and encouragement for women serving cross-culturally. I was completely blown away by this organization, which by the way I’d never heard of before! The love and commitment of the staff and volunteers with WOTH was remarkable and inspiring. These 20+ women came from the states to pour into, love on, encourage and invest in missionary women from all over Latin America!

God used these ladies as well as the other missionaries to bless my soul, lift me up, bring me to tears and realign my heart to HIS. This included hearing from the Lord through His Word each morning as the retreat speaker talked about “our identity in Christ”. My tears flowed as I sang my heart out in worship and spent time in quiet with my Lord. Not just tears, but also laughter as giggles erupted when we heard stories of silly or embarrassing things that have happened to fellow missionaries. My mouth smiled as I sat at the table with my small group and saw just how perfectly God had placed us together. Peace filled my heart in times of prayer with intercessors. My jaw dropped at the lavish generosity of the gifts brought from the states (coffee creamer, chocolate chips, bath and body works, peanut butter!…) The nights got late as my roommates and I stayed up taking and talking and talking. My muscles relaxed under the hands of a fabulous masseuse. My doubts were laid at His feet through quiet meditation. My home was at peace with my fabulous, handsome husband there loving on, taking care of and playing with our girls. My waistline was expanded with chocolate everywhere I turned. My skin was tanned sitting by the pool chatting with new friends. My gratitude overflowed as I saw the Lord turn hurting hearts into healed hearts. My mind rested as others took care of details. I was reminded just how small the world is as again and again connection were made, “you know so and so? Really, she’s from my hometown, he was my teacher, my son went to school with them…” My spirit was refreshed and renewed through conversation and affirmation. My heart was filled with joy at His marvelous works, attention to detail and perfect timing.

I could go on and on and one about the blessing from this four day retreat. The WOTH retreat really truly was a retreat in every sense of the word. I feel like I was pampered as a whole woman. In my emotions through supportive conversations, in my body through massage and a pedicure, in my spirit though time in the Word and prayer, in my mind through rest and reflection. As I boarded the bus for the 10 hour ride home there was much to reflect upon. Not the least of which is how great a blessing and privilege it is to be a woman living the life God has called me to. Working and serving here in Brazil, praying for wisdom as we raise up our girls to know, love and follow the Lord. Learning to support, encourage and walk beside my husband. In a word the joy it is to be one of many, many Women of the Harvest!!

PS. Check out Women of the Harvest at: womenoftheharvest.com and tell all your missionary friends about this wonderful ministry!

The pictures below are from this retreat.

Small Group

Best small group ever!

Showered with gifts

White elephant

down time

Soaking up some sun

Answere Prayer

Good
afternoon prayer warriors,

I just wanted to give an update on the two prayer requests that I send out a
couple weeks ago.

#1. Thank you for praying for Marla’s little brother Josh and the tests to see if
the skin cancer had spread.  The tests all came back cancer free and the
whole family is breathing a breath of relief. He said that until this
experience, he had never known personally the “peace that passes
understanding.”  He attributes that to the prayers of many, and wanted us
to specifically thank you all for those prayers.  So thank you!

#2. Our trip to Mozambique was better than even I expected.  All the travel
details went well, and Marla’s throat as well as Pastor Sandro’s wife’s
sickness cleared up shortly after we had arrived in Mozambique.  The
meetings went really well, and there have opened up many potential places to
partner.  One of the greatest felt needs of the young churches in
Mozambique is the preparation and training of their leaders.  There are
also great physical needs and potential evangelism projects around just about
every bush. What we had hoped to accomplish in this initial visit is establish
a relationship through which some of these concrete actions could be
facilitated in the future.  And beyond simply establishing this
relationship, we also came back with the green light to begin several different
projects.

The young leaders in Mozambique seemed to be like sponges soaking in as much as the
wisdom gained through 50 years of church experience as possible.  What is
great is that this partnership is between sister church organizations.  It
will not be simply one partner pouring into the other, but both churches
learning from and contributing to each other.  These are certainly new
days in world missions.  Everyone, from the missionary leaders to the
national church leaders to the Brazilian delegation, left the meetings feeling
very positive.  We do recognize that working on projects involving
participants from three or four completely different cultures is a lot easier
said than done; but certainly we have already begun to lay a good
foundation.  And these first concrete steps are certainly worth
celebrating.

On a practical level, I was much more involved in translating that I thought that
I would be.  I also did my best to begin helping our Brazilian brothers to
understand some of the dynamics necessary to be successful in cross cultural
ministry.  God’s timing was so evident through out these meetings, and it
was impressive to me that what we specifically prayed for, God made happen.

Thank you for helping make this all possible!

For
the only Cause that matters,

Micah

The Latest

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Just a short note today and a few pictures.  Three things:

1. About a month ago, I was asked to preach / give my testimony to a group of young people at the central church.  What I didn’t know when I agreed to such a thing was that they were planning that night as a special service.  There was actually a lot of work that went into that service, from decorations to fasting and prayer.  Well, God was definitely present and even though all my notes disappeared after I had already taken the stage, God gave me the right words to say.  At the end of the night there were a lot of people that made decisions to follow Christ.

2. My tickets for Mozambique have been purchased.  I’ll be leaving Brazil on Oct. 6 and  returning the night of the 13^th.  Thank you all who contributed to this fantastic opportunity.  Please pray for clear communication as we meet to discern God’s will in all of this.  Pray for our health as we travel (I haven’t been quite able to shake a cold for about a month now) and for our families in our absence.

3. This Saturday we’ll be holding our final “revival event.”  Following the same format as the other events that we put on, this one will only be a lot closer to home.  About 10 minutes from our house.   The past events were marked by a tremendous sense of God’s presence where God also confirm His calling on many people’s lives into full time ministry.   We would ask for your prayers for more of the same at this event.  One of the big differences in this event is that instead of  having 300 to 700 people
signed up like we did at the last two events; we have 1,700 already signed up to attend!  Needless to say, I’m trying
not to get nervous as I prepare what God would have me say in my 15 minutes.  Pray that God would use me and
Pastor Jacó (principally Pastor Jacó) as His mouth piece.  Pray that He would already be preparing people’s hearts.  Pray for the worship band and for all logistics of managing a group of that size.   We have great excitement and expectations
for this event, and I’m already excited to report back to you in a week’s time.

I’ve been long told that a testimony is made up of 3 basic parts: 1. Before I met Christ my life was…. 2. How I met Christ and 3. After I met Christ my life is now…

Well what do you do if you accepted Christ at 6 years old like I did?  Click the following PDF to read some of my processing through the questions: what was I saved “from” and how is my life now different.
Before and After

Let’s go fly a kite…

 

Daddy brought home two kites!
We went to a park with Gramma and Grampa Oregon to fly our new kites and it was FUN! My favorite part of the whole day was when my Daddy had to climb up high in a tree to get the kite out. Mommy took some pictures and here they are….

Faster Daddy

This is the coolest thing ever!

...up to the highest hight...

Gramma, look at my kite!

 

Uh Oh...my kite got stuck in a tree and Daddy went after it just like a monkey...and he got it!

 

I'm on top of the jungle gym

Playing in the sand

After months of anticipation, Gramma and Grampa ‘laska finally arrived here in Brazil. We’ve been busy having fun!

Grampa 'laska is ready to play.

Gramma 'laska is FINALLY here!!!

A rough Brazilian winter afternoon...

getting veggies and fruits at the feirra.

Making fresh OJ with Grampa. Simply Orange you are not missed around this here.

Noelle has to "taste" each one before she juices it!

They don't make Avocados like this in Alaska!! I made Dad his first avocado milkshake, and it was GOOD!

"Samara what are you doing?" "I'm a "vegtratarian" that takes care of sick animals"

picnic lunch at Park do Inga

Manicures!!

Look at those teeth

Gramma's got a iPOD with games!

flying lessons with Daddy

All clean and ready to play with Gramma

Dr. Samara and a very sick Grampa who apparently has a broken arm...

Micah and I went to Curitiba for three nights to spend time with an American team that was there working on the church where our good friends Marquis and Juliana are pastoring. So we went to work with the team, spend time with Manquis and Juliana and to celebrate our 8th aniversary. Gramma and Grampa 'laska were wonderful to stay home and take care of the girls. Samara was their translator and they used their immense creativity to keep everyone entertained through three days of rain!

Painting the wall around the church in Curitiba

Enjoying the botanical garden in Curitiba in the rain

Looks like Grampa found a way to have fun in the rain!

Noelle needs snuggle time when she wakes up in the morning and from her nap. With Mommy and Daddy gone we figured Gramma 'laska would get the honors but NOPE it had to be "Sis"

Noelle was really missing Mommy and Daddy so Gramma got her a picture of us. Apparently she carried it everywhere with her and slept with it too. Ahhhh.

Samara and Noelle were sitting waiting for us to drive in and they had their "special" things they had made for us. So sweet to see them so excited to have us back!

Reflections from a Mom

I love being a Mom to two such different little girls.

Noelle is two years and two months old and a total riot!

She runs everywhere she goes and pumps her little right arm to grandiose proportions. The loud slap, slap of her feet on the tile floors precedes her big entry into whatever room she’s heading. She’s got these big beautiful eyes that look up sweetly as she says “peeeeese” (please) and those same big eyes produce some big tears and lots of snuggle time when she’s sad. Noelle is my wake up slowly, snuggly time on mommy’s lap is high priority little girl. Temper? Yes! Foot stomper? Yes! Usually both feet alternating. Seeing how Samara never stomped her feet and neither do Micah or I, we’re not sure where she picked that one up. Noelle is just starting to talk more and she mixes her English and Portuguese together. “Mais juice por favor” or “Sis brincar with me” lately she’ll come into the kitchen grab my hand, look up and say “mahahn.” This mean come on!! She’s blessed with a kind of deep and super loud voice.
Noelle’s favorite person in the world is Samara or “Sis” as she calls her. They are super great playmates, and it’s fun to listen in to the conversations they have while playing together. Noelle loves to “go out” for walks. She is always picking up sticks and rocks and stuffing them into her pockets. She is forever thrusting handfuls of flowers in various states of mashedness into my hand, and she has reminded me just how cool ants really are. The cupboard in the kitchen where the mixer lives makes a little squeak. When Noelle hears me open that cupboard she comes running, knowing there will be beaters involved. Noelle loves to wrestle and rough house and climb all over her personal jungle gym, aka. Daddy. Noelle gives the BEST hugs ever, and always kisses people on both cheeks. This little bundle of laughter and energy brings endless giggles and noise to our home and joy to our hearts!

Samara is four years and one month old and is a very sweet and very busy little girl.

dancing

She wakes up with her mind already full of the things she want to do. Play dress up, make a pretend cake, dress dollies, organize her closet…so much fun to be had that she has to get going right now! No time to snuggle for this girl, time’s a wasting. (never was a snuggler, more like holding a bag of antlers) Samara skips everywhere she goes and usually has some sort of song on her lips. Many of them are original compositions in either English or Portuguese. Samara is creative and is forever making up games like “tumble bumble” where we take all the cushions and pillows from the couch and cover the floor then “tumble and bumble” in them. She loves to draw and color and practice writing the alphabet and her name. We do lots of crafty things that involve glue and glitter and buttons and markers and stickers. As she says “I’m pretty good at making messes!” Samara is happy to stay home and play, often not wanting to go out, but always ends up having loads of fun finding bugs, and beetles and pretty flowers on our walks. She likes to “help” mommy around the house and is a great little window washer and laundry folder. Being a big sister makes Samara pretty important around here, she totally loves Noelle and is a very sweet, protective if often bossy big “Sis.” Samara loves stories, and we have lots of books that are well worn. She also loves for Micah or I to make up stories or tell her stories about when we were kids. I once told a story about a little horse named Sparkle and I’m certain I’ve now told hundreds of Sparkle stories as he has become her favorite character. Having devotions in the morning is something Samara never forgets, running to place her little Bible on the table at breakfast time where we spend a few minutes reading and praying together. She often likes to “read” Bible stories to us or to her grandparents via Skype. Dressing up in her princess or ballerina clothes always brings out the dancer in Samara and it’s off to crank up the music and twirl around the living room, usually sweeping Noelle up in the excitement of dress up.

Two girls, so different in so many ways and yet so special and dear to one another and to me. I would love to add some more little ones to our quiver… but God knows better than we do and thus we trust Him and are overwhelmingly thankful for these two sweet, busy, happy, silly little girls that we are blessed to be entrusted with. I thank God for every smile, giggle, tear, pout, fit, hug and moment that I get to be their Mom.

Pictures

Check out some new pictures on the pictures and videos page…

Faces

Looking out at the familiar faces clustered around the small square tables, I felt a little choked up. These were the faces of ladies who I had smiled at for months before being able to have a conversation. Faces of kids I had taught in Sunday School in my halting Portuguese, Faces of women I had prayed for and with, Faces of women who came to visit me in the hospital when Samara was born, faces of young women who used to come over and make cookies at my house, faces of ladies who had welcomed me into their lives and hearts. These were the faces of my friends, women I had come to love and cherish! And now I was standing in front of them at a Women’s Tea as the guest speaker.
As I got up to speak I had to laugh and marvel at God’s goodness. One of the biggest struggles for me in our first year in Brazil was learning the language. Without being able to talk I really felt the void of close friendships with other women. And now just a few short years later I was standing on stage preparing to speak to them from my heart in Portuguese, no translator in sight!! GOD IS GOOD!

Ladies (minus me) at the Women's Tea in Londrina

Teaching our small womens group at our Marialva church how to make Chocolate Chip Cookies

Full Days

Kind of been a busy couple of weeks around here.
Paulo and his family were here.
Noelle had her 2nd birthday.
Gwen Pinkerton a fellow OMS missionary came to visit for a weekend.
Micah had his 33rd birthday and we spent the day with some friends hiking in the jungle near a big river about 40 minutes away. We picked and ate guavas and other fruits that I cannot pronounce much less spell and picknicked at a lake.
There was a Happy day with the church with over 500 kids participating.
We started working in a small struggling daughter church about 30 minutes away.
Micah is traveling again to Campo Grande where he will be preaching/sharing his testimony tomorrow.

I'm "tuuu" (two)

Reading stories with Auntie Gwen

pondering

beautiful

Looking for ducks to feed

Watching the monkeys in the trees

Our "guide" telling us stories about riding innertubes down the river...not this day though, with all the rain it is ummm SWOLLEN and flooding

Micah and I cooling off by the river

Kids on Happy Day which is a kids event put on for and by all of our churches in the ara

Find a hill, lay down a a big tarp, add a water hose and some dish soap and Wha-la it's a slip and slide

Smart little girl...I think I'd bail too =0)

With our hands

A few weekends ago we had the privilege of hosting a family from a city about four hours north of us. This family has a heart for missions and is beginning the application process with One Mission Society. We have been in email contact with them for several months and we invited them to visit for the weekend. It was a complete delight to have them in our home. Paulo and Fernanda have two daughters Laura and Luana (13 and 9yrs) and our girls thought they were their personal playmates. This family recently sold their business and they are waiting for God’s leading for their next step into missions. We thought it’d be fun to have a cultural experience with them so I made Indian food. And we did not put any silverware in the table. Now to appreciate this you need to know that Brazilians do NOT like to touch their food with their hands. They eat French fries with a fork, pizza with a fork, and always have a napkin wrapped around their sandwich or ice cream cone. So eating chicken curry with our hands was a BIG deal. They were all great sports and kept taking pictures to prove that they had done it. We spend many hours talking and getting to know one another and we are excited to see where the Lord will lead this precious family in the coming months.

Paulo's first bite

I want "Lu" to read my bedtime story

inseparable

New friends

Gramma ‘laska’s side of the stoy

2000 words a day, isn’t that what girls are supposed to speak… This is probably an understatement for Samara who is quite the little conversationalist. And now she is singing and telling stories in Portuguese. One of her favorite things to do is talk to people on Skype and one of her favorite people to talk to is her Gramma ‘laska. Below is an email that Gramma ‘laska sent after a recent Skype conversation with Samara.

Somehow, I found myself smiling with a little chuckle under my breath all day long. How could I not be full of joy after the sweet, sincere Portuguese Bible lesson on Skype that began my morning. Just like she did it every day, Samara got her Bible and explained that this part was in English and this part was in Porgutuese and wanted to read me a story in Portuguese. I couldn’t understand the words, but the eyes and hands told it all. This was an important message! “Now I will tell you in English,” my tiny teacher offered. I heard about God’s name, his love, his death on the cross to forgive me, and that he loves14 and 22 hundred people all at the same time! I was informed that I would die and go to heaven first, then she would grow up to be a grandma and come to heaven and we would be together EVERY DAY…but maybe she might die first…we really didn’t know. I was instructed to be sure and tell Grandpa ‘Laska that he would be in heaven with us, too. And Gma and Gpa Oregon…and Noelle…and Uncle Josh and lots more people. When I sugggested Samara tell her daddy the story she just told me, she informed me that he already knew all about it.
Then the topic turned to the Israelites as Samara thumbed through the pages looking for the right place. The Portuguese version of the story was quite lengthy, once again filled with expression and gestures and was followed by an English translation. Those Israelites marched around SEVEN times and that wall just fell right down. “And this is a TRUE story!!” she emphasized. After that came the Porgutuese counting lesson way past seven…all the way to thirty.
Noelle joined her sister in front of the camera with a pile of books of her own. So eager to be like big sister, Noelle’s storytelling is on its way! The dancing eyes and big smile tell it all. After the 5 minute warning that it was naptime for the girls and work time for Grandma, Noelle blew kisses and we said out goodbyes. I logged off and was preparing to leave for work when a Skype call came right back to my computer. “Never forget, I love you Grama’Laska. Bye.”
“Never forget, I love you Samara, Bye”
I think everyday in heaven with you will be almost too good to be true!

Special Delivery

Samara and Noelle were conviently occupied with markers, glue and glitter as I descretely locked the door between the kitchen and dining/living room. As the girls sat as the dining room table happily glittering their freshly colored snowmen, a little white pickup pulled up to our gate and honked. Micah snuck out to help unload a very special delivery.

This was the girls Christmas present from Gramma and Grampa Oregon and Gramma and Grampa ‘laska.

They were just a LITTLE BIT excited!! A few minutes later after we’d explained that this was a present from their grandparents, Samara got a funny look on her face and asked “How did they fit it in a box?” She thought that like all of the other great suprises and presents that have arrived in Brazil from Grammas and Grampas that this playhouse must have come in the mail. This little pink house has been the location of many a giggle, a kitchen for making cookies, a nursery for armloads of dollies, a jungle gym for Noelle as she climbs in and out of windows, a hopital for sick stuffed animals and it was even caroled by Micah and I on Christmas eve as we “visited” the girls with a plate of cookies singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas. And I have a feeling that this special delivery will keep on delivering fun and laughter for years to come.

Day at the farm

Our Friends Sandro and Sueli invited us to go to the little city of São Jorge do Ivai this past Sunday. The city of about 2000 was having it’s annual Festival of States of Nations. Right from church we loaded up and headed into the Brazilian countryside. Beautiful green rolling hills covered with soybeans, sugarcane and cows filled our windows. Seeing how it was well over 100 degrees this day, we very much enjoyed our air conditioner while listening to Christmas Music in the car. Arriving in the small central square of the city we found it ringed with white tents each featuring cuisine from different countries. We went to the Japanese tent. The only Japanese thing I saw on the menu was Yakisoba. We had a huge hunk of roasted pork and some fish fingers along with rice and salad. Great food, but not very Japanese=0) Sandro is from this small town and so as we wandered around looking at booths and eating ice pops we were introduced to many friends and family.
Next we went to Sandro’s parents house where we had acerola and lime juice, changed the kids clothes and visited a bit. From there we loaded back into the cars and headed further into the country. Sandro’s sister and her family live on a small self supporting farm. Her husband João earns his living by milking about 10 cows a day. On their property they had chickens, mango trees, avocado trees, cows, coconut trees, pinapple plants and their own garden. They made their own butter and produced much of their own food. We spent the afternoon hanging out there. Sitting on the wide porch, relaxing in hammocks, picking fruit from the trees, gathering chicken eggs, swimming and sweating!!! It was a fun day, nice to be out of the city and to spend time with friends.

Samara and Sandro swinging. Notice all the mangos strewn on the ground! HORRIBLE sight for us mango lovers. Funny that when I told them that's how the apples are in Oregon they felt the same way.

Avacado anyone?

Sueli, Noelle and Daniel taking a break

Micah loved that he HAD to climb trees to gather litchi fruit...not sure what we're going to do with all of it=0)

Noelle and her buddy Sandro

Look Sueli, these are the eggs I helped gather

riding high

I LOVE animals and want to hold those chickens

These horses are STINKY!

farm girls

snacking on acerolas...very high in vitamin C

Micah and Sandro picking mangos to bring home

best way to end a HOT day

SPLASHING!

I'm not sweating anymore!!!