On the Move

Preparations for the move are being finished up and goodbye's are being said. Though moving itself is not exciting, it is exciting to see the vision that the Lord put in our hearts to work in Rio being fulfilled. Thank you to those who pray for us. Please continue to pray for His enabling grace as we begin in Rio.

Our "flower children." We had fun at the Patefield's trying on their sunflower hat. Daniel didn't know what to think at first but Patricia Patefield got him smiling again. The girls are becoming quite the helpers around the house.

Here are some pictures from Vacation Bible School. The first picture gives you an idea of the area in which we were working. The VBS was held in a school gym/party hall in the center of a slum area in Rio. Each day the children heard the gospel and a Bible story, participated in a game, and made their own handcraft. We thank the Lord for opening up this opportunity.

The End is Just the Beginning

In June we finished language school. But as is true with every graduation, we are reminded that receiving a diploma only signals the beginning of a lifetime of learning. We know there will be many, many hilarious and embarrassing language gaffes awaiting, there will be more misunderstandings (you can't avoid those even in your native tongue), and there will be more "I feel clueless" moments. But we glorify the Lord who has brought us this far, and with faith we look to Him to bring us to our goal of being able to proclaim the Gospel in Portuguese, plant churches, and teach the Word (disciple) in a linguistically and culturally appropriate way. We ask for your prayers now as we've finished school and look by God's grace to begin this new phase of ministry. We thank God for each one of you who, through prayer and giving of yourselves, has encouraged us in this calling and enabled us to do what we could not do by ourselves.

Here we are with our teachers on graduation day. Daniel attended every class with us so we thought he ought to be in the picture to celebrate too. After graduation we visited the tallest building in Sao Paulo, The Italian Building, and had our pictures taken with diplomas in hand as we stood on the scenic terrace of the 41st floor.

By God's grace, I preached my first full sermon in Portuguese in our church in Jandira, Sao Paulo on June 22. It was an extra blessing that my parents were here during that time.

The kids had a great time with Grammy and Papa Holmquist. They had the treat of having Grandma and Grandpa Hall here earlier in March too, but we missed the opportunity to get a picture :( Next is a picture of the 20lb. 4 month old Daniel just kicking back and relaxing after a hard day.

Almost a Year in Brazil

God permitting, on May 18 we'll celebrate one year in Brazil. It's been an amazing time of stretching, learning, depending, seeking, and trusting in God's leading. From providing for our needs to get here, to allowing us to grow in our understanding of the language and culture, to being accepted with open arms by a church made up of people who were strangers to us, to allowing us as sinful creatures to be a part of God's redemptive plan on a global level, in all of these things, we are overwhelmed by His grace.

Friends and family, we think about you often and we miss you. Thank you for the interest you've shown in our ministry and in our lives. Here's some pictures to keep you updated on ministry and family (and for those who demanded- more pictures of Daniel!).

This is a game we played at our church Marriage Seminar in April. The men are trying to eat an apple off of a string.

Cheguei - Gracas a Deus (He arrived. Thanks be to God.)

We want to thank you for your prayers. On March 4, 2008 Daniel Marcos Holmquist was born. His name is a tribute to our fathers. My dad's name is Dan. Melissa's dad's name is Mark. We spelled our son's name with the Portuguese spelling in honor of his birth in Brazil - the place where God has called us to minister. He weighs 9.3 pounds and is 20.7 inches in length. "Grande," "lindo," and "forte" were the words the Brazilian nurses used to describe him (big, beautiful, and strong). We give the glory to God for him and have dedicated him to the Lord. Please keep Daniel in your prayers. Please pray that the Lord would grant us wisdom as we raise him and our two other children. And pray for Melissa's continuing recovery.

The black and white outfit is a soccer jersey of one of the local teams.

The view from Melissa's room in the Hospital.

New Year - New Mercies

Myla and Joanna her missionary friend from Rio.

We thank the Lord for the New Year and the ministry to which He has called us. We had the opportunity to spend New Year's Day with our colleagues in Rio de Janeiro and enjoy Rio's world-class fireworks display that lasted late into the night.


Now in February, Brazil's famous Carnaval has just come to a close. Carnaval is basically a nationwide party which encourages people to drop their inhibitions and engage in any and all lusts before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent when they are to do penance and purify themselves. Because of this, many churches have a retreat for the youth during that time to help them avoid the temptations that Carnaval presents. So, while our sending church in the U.S. had Teen Snow Camp, we had our Summer Youth Retreat. Below are some of the pictures from the retreat.









Below are our friendly neighborhood monkeys. Recently they have been hanging out in the tree in our front yard. Melissa and the girls went out one day to see them and feed them crackers.

Christmas In Brazil

The school kids are on vacation and the kites are flying. The bananas and mangos are ripening. The big neighborhood lizard is sunning himself in our front yard. Yes, it's Christmastime in Brazil! We have longings for friends and family back home and we miss you all. But the joy of the Person of Christmas, Jesus Christ, transcends all distances, cultures, nations, and time. We are glad because of HIM! Here are some Christmas pictures we thought you'd enjoy.

This is our second banana harvest from our small group of trees. This bunch of bananas is different than our first harvest because they are from a different tree. They are called apple bananas because their taste is similar to that of an apple and they are smaller. Next, is a giant lighted Christmas tree in an enormous park in Sao Paulo. It is as tall as some high-rise apartment buildings and plays Christmas carols from speakers inside. Next, Melissa, five months pregnant, is standing in a rose garden. Our colleagues took us to a place that grows and sells flowers about 30 minutes from our house called Roselandia. Next, the girls are having fun on the front porch on Myla's birthday.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

The weather has been in the 80's and 90's this week with rain showers at night that cool it down nicely. It seems so strange with all the sun and heat, having come from Michigan, to see Christmas trees and decorations popping up in some local stores. Church picnics in mid-November are a novelty to us too. Equally new and exciting is to sit at my desk, look out the window and see small monkeys playing on the telephone wires and many varieties of hummingbirds enjoying the spring flowers. What a great Creator! Pray that as we labor here the people of Brazil would recognize His worth and find salvation in Him.

Some Family Prayer Requests:

1. Please continue to pray for Melissa's pregnancy. We glorify the Lord that the minor complications that she was having at one point have cleared up completely.

2. Please continue to pray for the girl's adjustment to their new culture and language. Myla is really starting to catch on and speak Portuguese (and correct our Portuguese) in our home. She usually won't acknowledge people who talk to her outside our house though. Ellie responds better to people who talk to her in Portuguese and there is a mutual love between her and our Brazilian friends. Her red hair and fair skin are a novelty here.

3. Please continue to pray for our language training. Next week we begin our second 12 week trimester.

PICTURES! I think if you click on them they can get bigger.

Our front yard has a row of tall beautiful bamboo that Melissa and the girls are standing in front of. Also, the homeowner planted many exotic flowers and plants in the yard. (Right) Our language school took a field trip to the Sao Paulo Zoo for a language/cultural experience. They invited the families of the students. Myla and Ellie thoroughly loved it! Except that Ellie, we think, got into a swarm of biting gnats that left her face covered in red dots making her look like she had chicken pox. They have since healed.


These kids at the zoo were by themselves and they thought it'd be fun to get in a picture with a foreigner.

The young man in the blue with the tie is the son the of the Pastor of the church we attend, his fiance is on the left, and her parents are on the right. Caiu (I think he resembles Tiger Woods) and Elaine plan to get married on December 8th. People usually stay in the youth group until they get married here, so it we'll be sad to lose him from the youth group. They asked me to play trombone in their wedding so I'll have to start practicing and get the rust off!