Back in Brazil

The last four months have been somewhat of a whirlwind for us. We've traveled thousands of miles by car and airplane. We've visited many family members, friends, and supporting churches. We've tried to soak in and enjoy things that we don't get to enjoy in Brazil. We've tried to plan ahead for the next few years, buying clothes, shoes, and school curriculum for our family. We've tried to savor every moment of being close to dear people that we are not always close to.

Now we have landed. Figuratively and literally. Friday we landed in São Paulo, Brazil. That seems like a simple statement, but we don't want to take for granted the Lord's protection on us. We were almost to get on the interstate on the way to the airport when my mom and I started hearing what we thought sounded like a flat tire. We stopped and checked, but the tires looked fine, so Dad got in the car to see what it was sounding like. As he drove a little ways down the road, we could see the back wheel of the car wobbling. He stopped and looked at it a little closer and found that two of the bolts were broken, and the other three were loose enough to unscrew by hand. Thank the Lord that He stopped us before we got on the interstate, and near a mechanic who could quickly get us back on the road. We still made it to the airport in time to check in and catch our connecting flight to Detroit.

As we boarded the plane to São Paulo, there was only a small group of people getting on our plane. We were near the end of the line, and when we got on the flight attendants said "Sit wherever you like. There are only about 30 people on this flight. Here, why don't you and your family take these three rows."  What?!  No one on our flight had to sit next to anyone. We all had groups of two or three seats to ourselves. The kids could all lay down comfortably to sleep the eleven-hour overnight flight. Praise the Lord!

We checked eleven 70 pound bags on this flight. That's no easy task in and of itself! Praise the Lord that all eleven arrived with us without any problems of any kind. We were ushered right through customs without so much as a second look from the authorities. This was a huge blessing and answer to prayer.

Jeremy's parents have had vehicle trouble for months, but were able to get their van back this week and met us at the airport to transport all that luggage. God really has been good to us.

Now we begin focusing on preparations for our move in February, Lord-willing, that will begin the next phase of our life and ministry. There is so much more that has to fall into place, and many needs that will have to be met, but we know that God is faithful, and I want to have the faith to put everything in His hands and leave it there. We need to arrange travel for us and shipment of our entire household across the country. We need to sell our car in the next few weeks. We need to locate housing in Rondônia, and know that it is vital to follow the Lord's leading in this matter. I have no idea how all this will fall into place, but He hasn't failed us yet!