special prayer request

we are very excited that CAROL is wanting to return to Brazil and continue to serve as an intern next semester! 

many of you know how darn bureaucratic Brazil can be! 

so as we begin the research for her next visa (she cannot come in as a tourist next semester), please, please pray that God will open the right doors, opportunities, give us the right people to talk to, and may it He bless the process with speed. 

our goal is that she leaves Brazil for Christmas with a protocol to re-enter in January!

we thank you for your prayers, knowing that God will listen to us. 

much love

ali 

interns - part 2

one idea carol and amanda had at the beginning of the internship was to create an alternating cycle of SERVICE SATURDAYS and SOCIAL SATURDAYS with our youth group. 

genius. 

we are influencing the youth to be PRAGMATIC leaders. 

not just ppl that sit around and philosophy on their faith, but ppl that say 

"i believe, therefore, i do." 

in August we had an Olympics party (social sat), with mock-sport and medals!, and we went to Sitio Shalom (the drug rehab program mark serves) to help them plant their vegetable garden for service sat. (if you ask the youth what their favorite activity was so far, SITIO SHALOM is the answer!)

in September we went to a soccer game in Sao Paulo (it was an insane adventure!), and for our service we remodeled chose a small, simple business in the community to remodel. 

in October we will have Praise and Worship night on Saturday (25/10) and on Halloween we are trick-or-treating for canned foods to distribute Christmas food baskets. 

Itu is a small city, but God keeps doing BIG things around here! 

and we've watched Him use Carol and Amanda to create action! 

proud to have such good teammates!

kaisers 

some pics:

fun at the soccer game!

 remodeling the nail salon

interns - divided into 2 parts for you A.D.D. folk out there!... PART 1

we have not bragged enough about our interns on the internet!! 

THEY ARE AMAZING! 

Carol is our slightly taller version of Dorah the Explorer, who absolutely loves to interact and learn about everyone/everything around her, and come up with creative and innovative activities for the church. 

Amanda has a servant heart, always ready to help people around here in practical ways. She is our champ at interior design and architecture who has also composed incredible projects and donated her time and talents to small businesses in the community. 

the 4 of us are a great team! 

but we don't sleep much.  =)

some days are still hard

as you well know, we love Brazil. 

we love being a part of what God is doing here!

there are people and places and experiences that have changed our lives forever. 

but on nights like tonight, we just truly miss our loved ones in ohio and texas. 

we miss being a part of your lives, and you a part of ours. 

i mean daily lives: phone calls, meals, long visits, inside jokes, trying to figure out life together.

 

you have impacted us. 

we will carry you all over the world now. 

and we look forward to the next time we get to waste time together. 

m&a

a jaboticaba tree

our front yard is full of delicious fruit trees!

we have pears, lemons, oranges, tangerines, acerolas, pineapple, bread fruit, and JABOTICABA. 

here is a video of our latest JABOTICABA harvest. 

great visits!

weekend with april

we have felt quite blessed with the amount of people that have swept thru our lives recently on a quick visit and tour of our Brazilian day-to-day!

since the Highland Campaign in June, we've received Lou Seckler, Chris Frizzel, Aunt Claudia and cousin April, and are now hosting Greg Dunham; next week we welcome Rolando Diaz for a 3 week expedition =) ... (note: most visitors shared with my amazing parents!)

here are some pics capturing some unforgettable moments with cousin APRIL!! 

we had a blast! hippie fair in the rain, a cool improv capoeira circle show, late night and early mornings, napping on the beach sand, eating in the coolest Sao Paulo spots.......................................... hope some of you are encouraged to GET DOWN HERE and have some fun with a couple of very cool missionaries! woohoo!!

don't rush me, i'm still in September

yes, there is much more about September worth blogging. 

COUPLE'S RETREAT

we had 30 couples that participated in a weekend get-away hosted by the Itu church; Christian couples invited friends and family to come and be a part of a community that seeks to nurture and support and promote healthy marriages.

we had special moments together. one of my favorite times of day was before every "class", my dad had each couple share a victory they had in the last year. husbands and wives would hold each other a little closer when it was their turn to speak, and declare their victory as a team. 

another special moment was our communion on Sunday together. couples sat face-to-face and spoke over each other how they see the Glory of God in their spouse. powerful.

and there was yet another moment that was so very, very special to us. 

we have told you many times about MYUWA, our japonese-brazilian-incredible chef-comes to every camp with us-friend. 

we have watched God capturing MYUWA (mee-oo-wah)'s heart from the first month we arrived. at the retreat she publicly proclaimed her faith thru baptism and declared that she will be living her life as a disciple of Jesus. 

He is able to do more than we could ask or even imagine. 

kaisers