We are in Peru

After 2 long days of travel - one by bus, one by plane - we have made it to Peru. We do have more internet access here, so I hope to post more from our trip. When I have some down time I will try to post some more pics of Brazil - and some from Peru.

Just a note - Abby was sooo cute today. We were at a park doing outreach and there were many kids. Abby thought they needed some "prizes" so she found a stamp that she got and lined them up to give them a stamp on their hands. The cutest thing about it was that no one was translating for her - she just did it on her own. She also let a little street girl her age sit in her stroller to watch our show and then later gave that street girl a balloon that Abby had received from someone else. She makes our heart very happy.

Outreach in Sao Paulo

Our ministry times have been wonderful. There are many stories and many lives are being changed.

Saturday we performed at a park/shopping area in front of a church. I talked to a family who watched our performance and they said they go to church and pray some times. I talked to them for a while about their relationship with Jesus and we prayed together. They said that they see Christians in that area all the time but the Christians usually only pass out some sort of tract, no one has ever performed for them and then talked to them about Jesus. They were so thankful to me, and they said they felt different after we prayed because God was working in their hearts.

Sunday we did outreach by a market/park. The church we work with does outreach like that every Sunday morning and then they have regular church service in the evening. I had a wonderful time at church last night. It reminded me of our church in Kentucky back when we were in the tabernacle at the campground. The building was the same, the kids danced with dancers in the front, and at the end we went up to minister to the people and MANY came up to the altar. We had people waiting in line to pray!! Also, during the ministry time, they released the children from children’s church (because the service went too long) and the kids were running around. JUST LIKE GCF. It was the greatest. It brought back so many wonderful memories.

It is such a pleasure to be here and we are so honored to be working with such beautiful people.

Merry Christmas

We have just celebrated our first Christmas away from home in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is very hot so no snow and no Christmas trees. Also, even though the food is really good, it is not Grandma’s Christmas cooking. So…we miss our family and our traditions, but we were able to make a Christmas here. I just remind myself that Jesus left His home too. We plugged the ipod into the Peavey’s we use for outreach to play Christmas music, bought some lights to decorate the house we are staying in, and wrapped some presents for the kids. Our friend, Aaron, made a Christmas tree for us. We have a picture of the kids under the Christmas tree 

Oh…and Abby even got a Christmas dress she picked out to wear to church. Being that it is so hot, it was a pink sundress.

We had some wonderful ministry on Christmas Eve. We went to a shopping area and talked to people sitting around. We talked to a girl waiting for her sister, and she said that she just prayed to God that if He would help her, she would start going to church – and she said that God must have sent us to her – so we talked to her about Jesus’ love and how Jesus longs for a relationship with us more than just going to church, and she accepted Jesus. As we were talking to her, her sister (I think step-sister) came and was listening, but tried to look like she really wasn’t listening. After we finished talking to her sister, I asked her what she thought, and she began to talk about how she used to hate listening to Christian songs but lately every time she hears one, she begins to cry. So I asked her if she wanted to pray for a relationship with Jesus and she told me she does, but not today, she will do it sometime before she begins to travel. I then asked her when that would be, and said it sounded like Jesus has already been pursuing her and He wants her life now, not later. She then began to cry and we talked some more about her life and we prayed together and she gave her life to Jesus.

One of my favorite people in the whole world, Debi Tunney, told us this, and I am beginning to believe it… “If your hearts desire is to lead people in to a relationship with Jesus, then Jesus will move Heaven and Hell to get those people to you.”

Day Off

Sorry it has been so long since I blogged. We have not had much internet access in this area.

Here is the high light of our last day in Rio –

These pictures are from our day off last Monday in Rio. We spent most of the day at the beach. It was beautiful!! The kids had their usually routine at the beach – lots of sun block, cheetos, and orange pop. We had a wonderful time. This was the first time Abby actually put her feet in the ocean water without crying, and David got to drink from an actual coconut.

Needless to say…we usually have very long days doing outreach and it was nice to take a day off and spend time together as a family.

Brazil continued...

We are having a wonderful time. We are talking to many people and there are some remarkable stories from just the last few days.

We went to a church that was created for CHILDREN. The church specifically focuses their entire service to reach the poorest of the poor children in their community. The pastor was crazy. He needs his own TV show. We were going to put on a performance for them, but they ended up putting on a performance for us, and the pastor made sure we joined in on the fun. It turned into a 15 minute karaoke/dance party. I put a picture up for now...I'll put a video up later. Abby and David love to go to do performances and talk with people. David especially has been quite the "star" here because of his big blue eyes and smile.
Abby has some wonderful friends here. The two boys in the picture are Vinny and David - they are brothers of one of our interpreters.


The church had baptisms for about 30 people, but when it came time to drain the pool, the water overflowed from the drain so some of the pictures are of us cleaning up the water from the pool in the church...David helped too.












There have been many wonderful stories from our time here and I can not type them all, but God is transforming many peoples lives and we are just amazed to be used by Him to see it happen.

Highlights from Brazil

Here are some wonderful highlights from Rio so far...

Went to a neighborhood to do dances and dramas - there was a moving truck full of furniture in the spot we had planned to perform in. We helped the people unload their truck so it could be moved for our dances. Many people came out, especially to see the "Americans" unloading a truck. We had a great time and many people gave their lives to Jesus.

Coffee is "Muito Bem" or very good. And the Food is AMAZING.

We are staying with a Brazilian family. They are very nice and very sweet. But they know about as much English as we know Portuguese. I have some great stories about some of the talks we have had together - however, some would not be appropriate for blogging. Just ask us when we return.

We went out to perform, but it started raining so we decided to talk to people stranded under tarps at the local sidewalk bazaar. My group talked to a little girl who got so excited she took us to her older sister and insisted that we tell the story of Jesus to her. The older sister accepted Jesus as her savior. Halleluia! All because of a little obedience and a little girl.

The children I work with giggle all the time, and always ask me to say their name. I thought it was because they liked me, but I have come to find out they just want me to talk because they think my accent is funny. Hey, if my funny accent attracts more people to hear about Jesus, I can accept them laughing at me.

That is it for now. We love you.

We're HERE!

For everyone who has been wondering...
We have made it to Brazil. We did have a slight glitch (which really turned out to be a blessing)- we missed our flight from Atlanta to Rio on Wednesday because our flight before arrived late. So...I called my cousin Greg at 10 pm, who lives in Atlanta, and asked if we could crash at his house since the next flight to Bra zil did not leave until 8:40 the next day. It was the best thing that could have happened to us. We had such great time with Greg, Susan and Garrick. We had such a good time I was actua

lly hoping they would overbook the flight so we could spend another day with them. The pictures are the kids in the guestroom bathtub. Greg said it took an act of God (meaning bad weather to delay our plane) to get anyone in the family to visit him. Well...Matt and I are in the "God Business" so it just seems right that we would be the ones chosen :) to be able to visit.

So we flew overnight on Thursday, the kids did great on that flight - Abby LOVES to travel - you should see her pulling her princess backpack on wheels through the airport - very cute.

And now we are in Rio. We had a full day of outreach and Jesus is doing wonderful things. We have a bed to sleep in, a shower with warm water, GREAT FOOD, and many beautiful Brazilians helping us. I hope to write more later.

PLEASE...IF YOU READ THIS BLOG, WILL YOU MAKE SURE OUR FAMILIES KNOW WE ARE DOING GREAT. THANKS

Bathing in the Sink

We are just about a week from going on outreach to Brazil and Peru. What a privilege it is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are lost and hurting in this world. Please pray for us in these last days of preparation - for calmness, joy, energy, and for our monetary provision. When I think of outreach, I do think of some of the things that will not be normal (aka...the language, our sleeping arrangements, heat instead of snow on Christmas, etc...) but then when I look back on things from my life that were not so called "normal" I have so many wonderful memories. For instance...when I was little, my Grandma only had a shower, not a bath tub, and so instead of putting me in the shower which they knew I would hate, they gave me a bath in the sink :) After that...I always would prefer getting cleaned in grandma's sink more than getting in my own bathtub at home. I got to share this experience with David in New York. There were no bathtubs...so I used the next best thing...a sink. It was fun and some girl's got some photos of it. So as we are preparing to leave, I look forward to some of this "not so normal" stuff and the memories/impact it will have on me, my children, and those who Jesus is preparing to come into His Kingdom. Because...as I am coming to a greater realization...nothing in Christ's Kingdom is anything close to what our world views as "normal". And it is the "not-so-normal" things that, many times, make the most impact.

Relaxing and not so relaxing days with the family

We have just returned from a week in Long Island New York (which is about an hour away from the city) for a YWAM conference. Before we came home, we all went into the city for the day. The first time I ever went to NYC was when I was 16. Abby and David got to experience it early. We saw the Statue of Liberty riding the Staten Island Ferry, rode the subway, walked through China town, saw Times Square, and ate some NYC pizza...yum.

We had a wonderful time. Abby loved the city, David loved the subway. However, I would not suggest taking your children to the city for a relaxing day. But...it was a great experience for us - and cheap too - the only thing we paid for was the subway and pizza. It was a lot of fun and an experience I will not forget.

So...we are home now, and lying around in our PJs having a relaxing day recovering from our day in the city and drive home.

Any day with my family, relaxing or not, is a blessing.

Pictures of Abby's princess Birthday

Here are some pics from Abby's birthday. It had a princess theme. And...Yes...I made the cake!

There's something about shoes...

We just returned from a wonderful weekend worshiping with our dear friends of the Olivet United Methodist Church. Matt has been going to this retreat for four years now and this was the first time I was able to go with him. We had a great time. We dropped the kiddos off at my parent's house and had a nice weekend - just us - together. Once we returned home, the kids did not want to leave grandma's house...go figure.

Well...about the picture...Abby loves going to the YWAM base. She has about 20 older "brothers" and "sisters" to spoil her. Each person does their own special "thing" with her. So...if there is anything that Abby wants, she knows exactly the right person to go to to get it. If she wants her nails done, she knows who will do it for her. If she wants gum, she knows who has the gum. It is the same with shoes. Abby LOVES wearing "big girl" shoes. AND now... she pretty much has countless "big girl" shoes to choose from. Doesn't she look all grown-up?

What a week!

We have been so busy trying to settle in to our new life. Some days are better than others. We are still trying to work out a good schedule for our family. Abby is still trying to decide if she really wants to go to school. David is walking (and falling) everywhere! He is so proud of himself. I have to say that our first week of school has made us pretty tired, but we are being challenged and drawing closer to Jesus everyday. Personally, I have been learning a great deal about Relationships, Sin, Forgiveness, and Encouragement. Also...we just celebrated Abby's 4th birthday. She was sooooo cute. We decorated the YWAM base dining area with pink balloons, streamers, and everything princess. Once I get the pictures downloaded, I will post some. Well, that's it for now. We love you all.

Also...YAY! We just got our internet today. Be looking for more posts now that we are "hooked-up"

Just a note

Hey, Everyone! We are in PA now, and we are starting our YWAM school tomorrow. We are very excited to see what the Lord is going to do through this experience. A BIG thanks goes out to all those in Wilmore who came to help us move...we did it in 2 hours...amazing. You will all be missed so badly. As far as moving in, we had a group of YWAMers join us to unpack, and now we are still in the process of trying to make this new house a "home". Last night Matt was in the bathroom and he had a visit from a little, gray, four footed creature (welcome to Western PA)...yes a mouse. I have not had to deal with mice being in my house for 8 years now! I am just glad it was Matt and not me :)

We are in the process of getting internet and better phone service at our new house, so for now, blogging will be very limited until it is set up.

Many "1st's"

Dear Friends,
We are in the midsts of some very busy and crazy times as a family, and it is only by the grace of God that we seem to be doing fine (most of the time). Sometimes I just wish the whole world would stop just so I can get caught up on everything that is going on. I am so sorry for not blogging as much, I will try to do better. This seems to be the season of many "1st's". For instance, just this past week David got his 1st haircut. He looks soooo grown up. Then, just last night, while we were visiting with the Harper's, he stood up and started walking without any help. Of course...we did not have our camera. Once I get it recorder, I will post it for all to see.

As far as other "firsts"... this is the 1st time we are trying to move with children. This is the first, and hopefully last, time that Sarah chose the place for the family to live without Matt even seeing a picture of our new place.

YES...we have found a place to live! We are so thankful and we want to thank everyone that helped us. We are packing the loading truck this Saturday, driving to PA on Sunday, and unpacking on Monday. If you are in Wilmore on Saturday and would like to help...come on over. If you are in Pennsylvania on Monday...we need ya! We love you all so much.