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.

Since spring has sprung, our work on our 5-acre property has become much more urgent. Work like cutting the grass (with a weed whacker…horses help a lot too…), cultivate the Yelle’s blueberries, and many other spring tasks take a good amount of time on our own. But after all of our work, we had an amazing thing happen. MY PARENTS CAME TO STAY WITH US FOR TWO WEEKS! I haven’t gotten to see them in almost 3 years! We picked them up at the airport at the end of October, and we planned several fun events with them to show our new country and home. Their arrival was a real booster to us. We have been having a lot of fun with them. 

Something we have noticed too, every time someone is either arriving to visit us in Brazil or leaving…stuff breaks. BOTH CARS BROKE AGAIN!!! Just like when the Yelle’s were leaving in July! My phone also completely broke down! We hoped our phones would last until our next furlough since cellphones here are twice as expensive here! But in the end, we found a good discount on a new phone…and our God is always faithful! This month, we randomly had a little extra support from our churches…and it covered the entire cost of the new phone! Thank you to all of our supporters for your help, even though you didn’t know that there was a problem! But God knew, and He used you! Praise be to our God.

The bridge to the Yelle’s side of the property is still in progress. There were some delays with our only reliable concrete company…but it should be completely finished and crossable this next month! We are excited to not have to walk across a mountain of mud twice a day to check on the Yelle’s things! I am thrilled to see myself continuing to improve in Portuguese. At this point I feel fluent…but still have some days where I can’t understand anybody. Our discipleship with Robson and Sabrina is almost complete! With everything happening this month, there has been a small pause, but we are coming up to the last chapter, and are excited to finish this process with them, and begin again with more of our members. We are seeing church growth, spiritual maturity, and exciting things happening in our church. Please keep praying for us! This has been a very blessed month…with only a few minor hiccups. Keep praying for our church and our ministry. Thank you for your prayers and for your support!