How many people can say that they have paid off and own their house by 30 years old? Not that many that I know personally! God was so good to us on our deputation that we were able to save up enough to finish our home renovations! And even here on the mission field, EVERY time we have needed extra support, God always seems to send us a little additional finance from one of our supporting churches. Thank you so much to our churches for your support! Without any loans or debts, we will finish our home renovations very soon! Of course, we will have the basics: a bed, a stove, a fridge, and a restroom. And it will take a few months for us to fill our house…but the renovations are nearly complete! All that is left is for me to paint the house (which I was employed by a house painter for a time), our contractor lays down our flooring, and our doors and windows are put in place! These seven months of construction have been grueling (as anyone in the midst of renovations will attest), but we are only a couple of weeks away from the finished product! We look forward to hosting church members and visitors alike and having spiritual conversations in our own home.

Even though Brazil doesn’t celebrate anything on the fourth of July, we still took the opportunity to celebrate with other American missionaries. We had Barbecue, desserts, sang the national anthem together and prayed for our country. This month we had our men’s meeting, ladies’ meeting, teen church, and a Friend Day dinner (another Brazilian holiday). This month was full of exciting moments. First, I was able to give my first devotional fully in Portuguese! Next, our Friend Day dinner had over fifty people in attendance! Third, our house now has ALL of its walls, and the roof is going on this week! There has been a lot of progress this month both in our church and on our property.

Five months into our time in Brazil, we are still doing well. Although, this month took a little bit of a turn. Before our arrival here, I said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we are sick for about a month when we get to Brazil." Unfortunately, I was right. The Lord blessed us with tremendous health on our deputation, but now our bodies are adjusting to new germs, diseases, molds, and pollens. After returning from Manaus, Joneia came down with a nearly 104-degree fever! It then maintained itself at about 101 for a few days following. We waited about 6 hours at the doctor's office to discover that Joneia had contracted Dengue Fever while in Manaus! This put Joneia in bed for almost two weeks. There is nothing life-threatening about Dengue Fever unless you get it multiple times. The doctors gave us some medication, and Joneia has fully recovered. I, however, have been dealing with dreadful and sometimes debilitating allergies and colds for this entire month. This month has somewhat stalled in terms of getting things done with the momentum we started with. However, the work has continued.

We went to Manaus, Amazonas for the 50^th anniversary of the Bible Institute started by Joneia’s Grandfather, Joe Hawkins. We got to see the vastly different cultures even between North and South Brazil. It is even noticeable in the accents. Manaus was very…hot. It never dropped below 75 degrees even at night! The conference itself happened in their new arena, which often had a breeze to keep us all cool. Despite the different accent, somehow, I seem to have vastly improved in my Portuguese! I found myself able to form complete sentences and even understand a majority of what was being said at the conference. It was a very encouraging trip. I got to see the legacy of Joe Hawkins as the work continues in Manaus. There were so many students and pastors at the conference. The Hawkins family has worked so hard in Brazil, and Jesus is truly making an impact throughout the Amazon.