As the Portuguese expression goes, this month has been running! One surprise after another has had us up when the sun rises to let a contractor on our property to sundown when we can't see what we're doing anymore. This month has been full of plenty of surprises. For example, the tile we ordered for our bathroom wall, SURPRISE! our order was cancelled, and we had to reorder it about three times. We hosted our event for Children's Day, SURPRISE! 83 IN ATTENDANCE! We elect to sit down and enjoy a few hours of rest, SURPRISE! our order of sod is on its way and needs to be planted! We wait for the rain to clear so I can paint the house, SURPRISE! No rain in the forecast! LET'S PAINT THE WHOLE HOUSE IN A DAY! It seems like the weather is always a surprise here in Caxias do Sul. Not only is winter in summer and summer in winter but the rain we were supposed to have all winter has arrived just in time for spring. I've learned to understand when the weather app says there is a 100% chance of rain, there's a 100% chance that it MIGHT rain. Oh, and by the way, SURPIRSE! my colt that I was supposed to get in January has just been delivered to our property this week! Along with his mother! This month has been running, AND IT WAS ALL GOOD THINGS! Praise the Lord for His incredible blessings and miracles! But oh boy, are we exhausted.

April showers bring May Flowers! But September Spring brings everything to a screeching halt. Spring has sprung, and with it came the rain. Last month I sincerely hoped that we would be in our house to write this blog, but because of the rain, I could not paint the house. Because I didn’t get to paint, the floor and windows couldn’t be installed. Because the floors couldn’t be installed, the doors couldn’t be installed. And so, this month, we waited…We waited for the rain to stop. We waited for our tile flooring to be delivered. We waited for our windows and doors to be fabricated and shipped. As many home renovators will tell you, there always seems to come a time of delays. Our patience was very stretched this month. It’s almost like running a marathon just to get a leg cramp in the last mile. We’re so close and can practically see the finish line, and then we suddenly must take things slow. Yes, our patience really was stretched this month. So, while we waited, we worked in other areas. Joneia started plans for our upcoming marriage retreat. I worked to update and transpose the sheet music for our hymn books. I studied more Portuguese, and worked on writing more Bible lessons. Joneia taught the children, including a new family from Venezuela with four daughters! There were several low points, but there were also a lot of high points! Including a somewhat MIRACULOUS story…

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.