New Year Update from Sorocaba

Christmas on Sunday seemed strange didn't it? Several friends said that they couldn't remember the last time that it had. I Googled it and discovered that it was 2004. Not so long ago.

Dawn and I brunched with coworkers Shaw, Donna, Andrew and Ana Shea Alexander. We then traveled to São Paulo where we worshiped with fellow missionaries Marv and Diane and Nathan and Diane Fray at their new church plant. Both morning and evening were sweet fellowship on the Lord's birthday.

Sunday night after the service we traveled another half an hour to Camp Betel. Nathan Fray purchased a beautiful piece of property about five years ago. The property had several out buildings and a pool. It is also on a large reservoir which makes for a lovely camp setting. We spent Sunday night there and on Monday gathered with our fellow São Paulo station missionaries for our annual Christmas party.

We went back to camp and stayed Monday and Tuesday. It was great to get to know Marv and Diane better. We have chatted over the years but have never had time alone with just us and them. They have been in Brazil for almost 50 years and have planted 13 churches in that time. Their church plants have been responsible for planting another 30 churches! Amazing. We learned much in our conversations.

We are planning on helping in English Camp this next week. We will be working with a small group of 20 or so campers who come to learn and perfect their English. We know that language so it should be a lot of fun!

On New Years Eve we worshiped at Igreja Batista Calvário. Alexandre preached and one of our teens, Bia Franca, was baptized. Dawn and Donna prepared a huge meal with the help of Joelma and we played games until 2:30 AM. I think that we are still recovering.

In my Bible study today with Grazi, Michele and Lucas we looked at Enoch who walked 365 years with God. His life is an amazing lesson. One for each day of the year if you think about it. His name means Initiated, dedicated and disciplined. Walking like Enoch is my New Years Resolution. I hope that it is yours too.

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Daughter and dog...

About six months ago we discovered that Ann was pregnant and were very excited for she and Jackson. We will have babies on this side and that of the Atlantic. We weren't prepared for that news and we we were even less prepared for the news that our little dog is pregnant. To date we have spent more on the dog than on Annie (don't tell her... Ann that is). Ann has yet to discover whether her baby is a boy or girl. Both ultrasound images were inconclusive. Though I did some further investigation of my own and was startled with what I found. to me it looks as if the baby is definitely a boy and has some resemblance from both sides of the family. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

God’s Orchestration

I love to see the Lord work His Salvation miracles. His works are Master Pieces of sweet music. They are arrangements that only He can make happen. Two weeks ago I began my second attempt at cello lessons. I had tried the instrument about five years ago and found my fingers so rusty and decrepit that I had given up after just a few months. So, why my second go? Here’s one short and sweet story. There is a youg man that works with Alexandre at school. He teaches music and is a musical genius. At sixteen he began a city wide music program to train young musicians in Sorocaba. Recently he has worked with two deaf children and has been able to teach them to play violin using a method that he developed. There doesn’t seem to be an instrument that he cannot play. His seventeen year old wife also plays the flute and is studying nursing. They are a very young but very sharp couple. In a conversation after the recent Recital Junior convinced me that it would be a good idea for me to take up...

Abs of Steel with Glasses

Have you ever wondered why Clark Kent always took his glasses off before he turned into Superman? I hadn’t ever thought about it either until this last Saturday when I almost got sucker-punched. Wellington, one of my spunky Juniors, wanted to wrestle. He feigned a punch to my gut and I said, “Go ahead. I have abs of steel!” I think that my gym visits might be going to my head because my abs of steel are buried under a healthy layer of blubber. I have improved my six-pack but it is far from chiseled. It looks more like a quarter of a keg. Anyway, quick as a wink and with near lightening speed Wellington said, “Yeah but up here is made of glass!” as his poke went within a hair’s breadth of my glasses! I belly-laughed. His rapid reflexes and wit had caught me by surprise. And what he said was so true and funny. It was an excellent though brief lesson. I often prepare for an oncoming fray. I get ready, set and then “BLAM”! The proverbial punch comes from a totally different direction. ...

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