Summer here has not usually been this warm. Average summer temperatures are generally under 30 degrees C (~85 degrees F), but this summer has been a surprising average of 35 degrees or more (~95 degrees F plus)! To our friends and churches in Texas, that really isn’t THAT much, but it can be quite a lot when most of our people here don’t have Air Conditioning. Despite the heat, we had an extremely successful Teen Camp! Eighteen teens were in attendance for our Summer Camp. We got to use our house for chapel, which was such a blessing because we had these kinds of events in mind during our renovations. It was wonderful to see some of the fruits of our labor. I had the opportunity to give one of the lessons, and we had a blast together! It has been great to shift our focus even stronger to the ministry. I have started taking official Portuguese Classes. I tried the self-taught route with my lovely wife, but I came to a language plateau where I needed a little bit more help to push through to the next level of language proficiency. Please keep praying for my Portuguese fluency.

It has been a long time since we have felt this stretched: emotionally, physically, and mentally. The Good News! As of January 26^th, we have been on the mission field for one year! It is such an achievement for us, and a joy to be in Brazil. At the same time, this city is a spiritual challenge. There’s a reason most missionaries do not make it here. Satan has a foothold in Caxias do Sul, and he doesn’t like missionaries. We have been sleep deprived, heartbroken, been at funeral homes and the hospital, all while still working hard in our church, home, and property. There have been many successes! The cost on our wellbeing has felt…overwhelming.

Closing chapters and starting new ones in our lives is an ongoing process. December closes the chapter of my first year in Brazil. It also closes the chapter of our home renovations! That’s right! We are living in our newly renovated home! This exciting new chapter in our lives has been in process longer than we expected, but the results are beautiful and comfortable. We are filled with gratitude for what God has given us. We rushed through this month starting at sunrise each morning and ending our labor late each night. Between property maintenance, discipleship, church ministry, and home renovations, we pushed ourselves hard. Now the Yelles have returned, and the heavy load has lightened a bit. Christmas was a blessing to celebrate our Savior and New Year’s Eve was fun. With summer vacations and holiday trips, our numbers were (and usually have been) rather small, but we continue to see church growth and visitors. We are exhausted but we are healthy, and God really blessed us in 2023.

This last month has been so busy… I'm having trouble remembering what happened! The second week of November, John and Neila Yelle left to take care of their parents in their failing health. The day that John arrived in Washington, his mother passed away into eternity. We were grateful that he arrived on time, and Joneia and I are also thankful that we get to watch over the property and ministry in their absence. Please pray for Joneia's family as we process and grieve. It has been a challenging month taking care of the property and continuing the ministry here while also in the final stages of renovating our house. The preaching load is shared between a couple of men in our church, and I have taught a lesson at one of the Teen meetings. Joneia is also preparing to teach the ladies' meeting this first Saturday of December. Our discipleship and translation have also been going very well. We thank God for His help and strength in a very challenging time.