Sunday is family day in Natal.

This has been a very busy week! We have spent a lot of time getting settled in and oriented. And we each met with a few readers. The days just fly by! But today is different. Cris the LST Intern that has been here for a year calls Sunday "family day". It seems that most people here spend the day at home or elsewhere with family. They have a big lunch, maybe do some shopping. It still sounds noisy and busy outside, but you can just feel the difference in the pace of live today. In keeping with the culture around us, Greg and I have spent the day hanging out in our apartment and just enjoying a little rest. We had what Greg called a "sweep the kitchen" lunch. I just put together the ingredients we had on hand and made up something for us to eat.

This church has their Sunday worship service at night. Bible class at 5 PM followed by a traditional service (both in Portuguese). It is very tiring to listen to portuguese so much, but we are trying very hard to pick up some words and learn to get by a little. I won't be surprised if one of the english speaking church members doesn't sit by us and interpret for us and we sing along with the songs, even though we are butchering them. It is a beautiful language, so, sometimes I just listen to them speaking as if I am listening music.
Last year when I was here, a big group from the church would go to the mall after services and eat at the food court, so, if that is still the same, I'm sure we will be joining them.
It is amazing to think of all the people all over the world, worshiping and praising God today. We are together in spirit!

TAM

Just let me take a moment to tell you about the wonderful Brazilian airline that flew us here. The name is TAM Airlines, and if you think that good airline service has ceased to exist, take a trip with them! I'm serious, they are amazing! When we had ticket trouble, their guy worked out our problem, even though the problem was the fault of another airline (no names to mention, but after flying with them, you might need AA!). Before you even take off they bring around this wonderful candy for everyone and during the flight they serve amazingly good food. Really! I kid you not! Even on a two hour flight we got a hot meal. On the long flight they gave a little grooming kit with toothbrush, etc. We we arrived in Rio late and our bag was lost, one of their guys checked our next boarding pass and realized that the delays made us late for our next plane. He got us to the front of every line, quickly through customs and run us to the ticket counter. We missed the flight anyway, but it was awesome that he took care of us. They got us on the next flight out. The final service they provided that makes TAM just amazing and incredible is that they delivered our lost bag to us. Can you believe it? I was shocked. We didn't ask them too, we thought we had to go get it at the airport, but while we were getting ready for the day yesterday morning Lacy came up and said, "Your lost bag was just delivered." So, if your ever flying to Brazil, you must fly TAM! It might be worth a trip here just to fly TAM!
I sound like a commercial!

6 airports, 5 flights, 31 hours, 1 missed flight, 1 lost bag, 1 destroyed bag, 1 messed up tickets, and lots of motion sickness later...

...we made it to our destination. It was a pretty rough trip, but despite some challenges we made it to Natal, only about 3 hours later than expected (thanks to some very helpful Brazilians, we were able to call the people in Natal to let them know we were coming in late). This is our second morning here and we both feel really good! We are sleeping good and have a wonderful apartment. Oh, and our lost bag is suppose to be waiting for us at the local airport, so even that has worked out okay in the end. We are planning to beginning reading either tomorrow (Wed.) or Thurs. The others thought we should wait until next week but since our time here will be shorter than we had hoped, we don't want to miss anymore reading time than we have too. Actually, I may have my first reading session tonight, because one of my readers from last year is coming and I want to meet with him again. We will see.

WE ARE FINALLY IN NATAL, BRAZIL

Too tired to write tonight. Just wanted you all to know that we made it. Even though we are completely exhausted, we are well and happy! God is good!

Ready and Waiting

Greg and I are in a hotel in Little Rock. Our bags are packed. Our passports and visas are in our possession. Hopefully we will get a good nights sleep and be ready to head to the airport early tomorrow.
It has taken a long time to get to this point and right now, I'm not really sure how I am feeling about it all. Excited, nervous, happy, sad. Regardless of how I feel, and no matter what happens along the journey, I'll just keep trusting God and strive to live in the center of His will!

We had a farewell dinner with my family. Dad, Mom, Tristan, Janie, Addie, Genny, Megan, Eric, Greg and I (we missed you Perry!) met in Little Rock and enjoyed some time just visiting and being together. Those good hugs will have to last me for a long time, but the love of family is very sustaining. I am abundantly blessed by my family! Needless to say, the goodbyes were bittersweet. I know they all support us, but that doesn't mean no tears.

We expect to arrive in Natal early Sunday afternoon. So, Lord willing, my next post will be written in Brazil.

Travel Plans

We got word today that our plane tickets have been purchased. Lord willing, we will fly out of Little Rock this Saturday and arrive in Natal Sunday afternoon. It feels so good to know that we have our passports and visas in hand and our seats on the planes reserved. That being said, I'd better start packing! How do you pack for a year, anyway?

Isaiah 55

8"My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10"The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 12You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the LORD's name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.

It has been more than two months now that we have been waiting to get into Brazil and begin our work at the church in Natal.
Recently I have been drawn to these verses. Although we don't understand why we were denied volunteer visas to Brazil, we have put ourselves into God's hands and we are trusting Him with the details. And I also have to remember that He will plant the seeds and produce the harvest without me. I am not essential to His work, but my love and obedience are essential to my relationship with Him.

We hope to have news in the next few days about our next step, so please keep watching and praying with us!