Prayers Answered

When we left Brazil to visit North America, one of our biggest requests for prayers was the falling exchange rate. Our dollar had slipped from over 2 reais = 1 USD to less than 1.50 reais per dollar, and we were all wondering how long we could pay our bills and rent a church facility. I checked today, and we are sitting just below 2.50 reais = 1 USD. It is really amazing, and we are all holding our breath to save and save for the drop we assume will come before presidents are inaugurated and oil production is cut. We thank all of you for your prayers; our money has not been worth this much since the month that we signed our apartment lease almost four years ago! We are cautiously optimistic that we can make the next 12 months count in our giving and in our saving. Thanks to all who gave extra and even beyond the special contributions to help us stay here in Salvador.

Another small blessing is that our McD's has started serving breakfast! There are no pancakes, but it still makes us smile to have some option beyond yogurt and corn flakes. We made our first trip to a newly-opened Outback steakhouse this week, and it was awesome. Anyway, enough about how life is starting to resemble our former home country. We miss everyone during the holidays, especially our families. We love and thank God for the grandparents that make the biggest sacrifice - distance and time away from our son. Egg McMuffins and cheese fries cannot take all the hardship out of being foreigners here, but it does help us get through the tough times! Keep those prayers and letters coming!