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.
Our house renovations are about a month or two away from completion! Our contractor David has been hard at work to finish our house on time. As we approach winter, many of our exterior projects are underway. Property maintenance, tree trimming, and ground leveling in preparation for camp are now in progress. It's been hard work for me, who grew up mainly in the city. In many ways, it's a different lifestyle than I was expecting. We certainly did hard work growing up, but this lifestyle of work and maintenance is much more consistent than anything I dealt with in suburban Seattle.
As I said, Joneia has fully recovered from Dengue Fever, just in time for our anniversary! This month, June 30th, Joneia and I celebrated seven years of marriage! We are so happy for these seven wonderful years, and we took a short getaway to a nearby German tourist town to celebrate. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in my life.
Be praying for our health so that we can continue working at this crucial time of the year. Be praying that our home renovations will be finished promptly and that the weather will be favorable. Pray that our church will continue to grow. This month, we had our Brazilian Valentines Day called "Dia dos Namorados." We hosted a dinner event at church, and many people attended, including our contractors, David and Thayani! Many people heard the gospel and visited our church for the first time. Be praying that those seeds planted will grow.
This was a trying month, but we look forward to July. This will be my first year ever without the Fourth of July being a Holiday!... How strange…