Radio Silence (or something like it)

This is not a "I'm so sorry I haven't blogged" post. I've written a few of those in the past and I know them well.

No, this is a "I'm so frustrated that I haven't been able to blog" post.

We moved into our new apartment almost three weeks ago and we're still waiting to get our internet working. In theory we have service but no one has been able to make it work yet. So we wait.

In the grand scheme of things, it's a small problem. Nothing like famine or slavery or even swine flu.

Nope, this is what we call a "first-world problem".

But it's really irritating.

Hopefully things will be resolved in the next week or so. It'll be over a week, likely, because we'll be too busy in the next few days to deal with it.

We just did five days with Ron and Georgia Freitas from Continent of Great Cities to talk about strategy stuff.

On Thursday we'll load up the car and head up to the town of Maceio, which is about 500 kilometers away. We're going to a gathering of people from churches all over the Northeast of Brazil. There are 12 people from our congregation going, which amazingly is the exact same number of seats (including tiny flip-up seats) in the two cars that are going. It's going to be a long ride! But we're really looking forward to it.

Then we get back and we have our annual team dynamics session with Jerry and Gail Heiderich.

There's more stuff than that, but hopefully I'll have internet by then and will be able to tell you about it. See? That's faith!

In the meantime I ask for your prayers:
-as we travel.
-for the TWENTY people signed up for our church's new theology course.
-for our internet issue.

See you guys next week!

SOS Bible Study

Every Tuesday, Jackson, Heather and I load up in the car and head to a bible study. It rotates from home to home but usually it's out in Lauro de Freitas, a town that touches Salvador, just past the airport. It takes us about 45 minutes to an hour to get out there.

The study is with a group of women who know each other from the American Society, though some weeks Americans are definitely in the minority! It's a real mix of ages and religious backgrounds, too. Many of the women live in Salvador because their husbands work for Ford (so I always feel a little awkward pulling up in my Chevrolet!). We get together to study, pray and share each other's lives (and it's a great opportunity to speak English, too!)

This year Heather and I decided it would be worth making the weekly trek to participate in the study. I could say that it's worth spending that much time on the road and giving up more than half my day to be a part of the study because there are some women there who are searching for deeper answers. And that's true, but I'm not that noble. I go because it's a chance for me to take time out of my normal routine and be in the Word. I go because it's nice to be around such a diverse group of women who all share my love of the Lord. I go because it's nice to be around some women who have already been new moms and they have wisdom to share with me. I go because it's a drink of cool water in my week, a chance to listen instead of teach, to be served instead of serve, to sit instead of run around and put out fires. (Though I do spend much of the study chasing Jackson around, keeping him from destroying their beautiful homes--Ford execs seem to have higher salaries than missionaries do!)

Here's a picture of most of the group:

 

I thank God for connecting me with these women! They are a blessing to me!

(And though Heather and I joke about it, our purpose in going is not to stop at our Mexican restaurant on the way home, though it is an additional reward!)

Bear with Me!

I'm working at switching over to a different layout. Please be patient with me as I make changes! (I rarely get to do anything in one sitting anymore!)

Oh hallo! Did you think I'd forgotten about this blog? I've been a little busy. We're moving THIS WEEK. (My teammates don't necessarily believe me because this is the third week in a row we've said we're moving but the new apartment is finally ready.) Later this week I'll blog about today--our church's third anniversary service. But in the meantime, here are some pictures from the Quireys' visit last month.

We took a couple of days off and headed out to the beach. There was lots of time for flying kites,
and hanging out in the hammock.
When we got back to town, Jackson had fun with his new bike

and swimming in the pool at our apartment.

We had a great time with R's folks and it was tough to see them go. We know it won't be too long before we see them again but we miss them terribly!