October started normal and slow, but ended full of events! Our major event this last month was children’s day, which is usually one of our BIGGEST events of the year! It is as big as Christmas here in Brazil. Since the Yelle’s are in the States, we were concerned about being able to do this event. But last month, our ladies approached us and said, “WE want to do the Children’s day event!” So we decided to take a hands-off approach, and let them lead and prepare for the event. We helped them make sure they were remembering every detail, but they did an incredible job with the decorations and preparations. When they day finally came, everyone was involved, and the event was so much fun! We were so proud of the diligent work our ladies put into an incredibly successful event. We had over 45 people in attendance, and they all heard the gospel! Joneia and I led the songs, and Sabrina gave the lesson. It was a wonderful event, and we couldn’t have been happier.

This month was a very heartbreaking month. Our first heartbreak was the cancellation of a church event. We were ready to have the church come to our house and have a wonderful barbecue and a full day of fun to celebrate Brazil’s Independence Day! All of the weather apps said the temperature was going to be 75 and sunny! We have the meat ready, our people have their potato salads in the fridge and desserts in the freezer! EVERYONE was looking forward to our FIRST ALL-CHURCH EVENT at our renovated house!...but when we woke up that morning…the clouds rolled in…and a storm hit hard. Without any warning, it rained all day. We had to cancel our event…So we rescheduled. Caxias do Sul has two holidays in September: Brazil’s independence and our State’s founding. It was only a two week difference between the two holidays. But when we got closer to the date of the event, we had to cancel again because of the rain. The same week, another sad thing happened. Joneia’s horse, Chocolate Fudge, was put down. She had raised this horse since she was four years old, and he had been her best friend for a long time. He was 31 years old, and we already saw this coming with his age, but the events were very sudden and very quick. God blessed us with peace during this time, but we were also hit with a sudden wall of sadness. It hit my wife hard, but I was very surprised at how hard it was hitting me. We miss her horse a lot, but we are now looking forward to whatever miracle God is going to give to us next. The last heartbreak we are encountering this month is my grandfather’s failing health. He has been suffering from dementia for some time, but it seems that something in his brain is no longer functioning, and he cannot stop rambling. The neurologist has just diagnosed it as Alzheimer’s. It has taken a toll on my family especially my grandmother. Please be in prayer. It has been a heavy and emotional month for us. But God continues to give us strength and peace in all of our circumstances as we trust in Him.

Being on our own makes me wonder how the Yelle’s have done it for the last ten years! It’s a busy life. Somehow, though, we have managed to make good headway on several projects! It seems that being here without the safety net of the Yelles has somehow made me more focused and motivated. Perhaps God is using the responsibility He has given us to help me to do more. Now that we have lived in our own house for eight months, it is starting to feel more like home. Now we finally are starting to feel like we are finding our rhythm. I am consistently preaching and teaching twice a week, and God has been really blessing me! I am grateful for my fluent wife who helps edit my lessons, and for the many resources God has given me to succeed in another language. It has been stressful, but it has also felt satisfying to be back preaching in the pulpit. There isn’t too much to report overall! Each week seems to be the same now…study for two lessons a week, church ministry and events, and work on maintaining the property, house, and animals. We had no holidays or events this month. Discipleship with Robson and Sabrina is going well. Robson has actually agreed to preach every other week to help carry the load! He has expressed desire to preach, and possibly some day pastor a church! Be praying for him as God works His will in him. Also, one of our ladies named Vilma has expressed desire to help teach in our monthly ladies meeting! She did an excellent job with giving her testimony this last month, and was thrilled to be serving the Lord. I was a blessing for Joneia to see our ladies desiring to serve.

This month, a lot of focus was shifted toward sending the Yelles off on their furlough. Obviously preparing to be away from your house and ministry for a year takes a lot of preparation. What made it even harder was the fact that Mrs. Yelle was sick for almost 4 weeks straight! Two of those weeks were practically bed-ridden! We were very happy to be available to help. There were some projects that needed to get finished, and some construction projects that needed to get started before they left! When the storms hit hard a couple of months ago, the bridge to the Yelle’s house was compromised. But if that project was started before they left, then we would be WALKING down from their house with enough suit cases for a year of traveling! That project will be starting in this next month after they leave. We spent a lot of time and work transferring things over to our name so we can take care of everything while they are gone. And now, at the end of the month… they have left. Joneia and I are now in charge of Igreja Batista Vitória in Caxias do Sul.