Where Does the Time Go?

I cannot believe that it's already January 8. In two months and five days we will be celebrating the first anniversary of our arrival in Brazil. It's incredible.

But before I start getting all sappy, I'll fill you in on what we've been up to:

We had a great time with the Quireys. We took them all over town, out to see the sea turtles, to the beach twice (including the day they left!) and to several great restaurants. We also had some wonderful meals at home. It was awesome to get to gather around the table with them. Their visit really filled our hearts (and pantry!). There's been a lot of people here, but there are no visitors like your own family! We've almost got the apartment back to normal.

Our church building is now a done deal. We have keys and everything. I have to confess that I was holding my breath until we had the keys in hand. But now it's official and the task of fixing it up is now before us. As one of the "budgeteers", I have to make a lot of judgement calls- money is tight and we can't do everything at once. As anyone who has done any renovating knows, it doesn't take much to eat up a budget. Please pray for widsom as we try to determine our priorities.

We have to get up EARLY tomorrow morning to catch our plane to the missionary conference in Belo Horizonte. I'm very excited for the opportunity to hang out with the other missionaries, pick their brains a little and have some fun.

When we get back, visitor season continues. Randy's parents and Travis' dad will be with us. (I forgot to mention we've had Mary Virginia's parents here this week.) The steady stream of visitors has meant a steady stream of marshmallows, but now it will also mean more hands to help with the building.

Thinking of marshmallows, yesterday Russ and I made s'mores with marshmallows that the Maberys brought, graham crackers that the Quireys brought and FRESH Hershey's chocolate that two of our supporters, the Duncans, sent with the Quireys. Now that's teamwork!

Well, off to pack. It's our first trip since we got here, so I'm a little out of practice packing. It's been a nice change from living out of suitcases like we had been, but I don't know where we stashed all our travel stuff. Please pray for the team as we travel!