What are we up to these days...

We have been busy getting the house back to "normal" after Christmas and enjoying some good cousin time with Melissa's cousins who are currently in Brazil.  Whitney shared some chocolate Temptations by Jello.  You can see it tasted REALLY good.

Tia Dori has been visiting from Sao Paulo and has been giving the girls some art and music lessons.  They did several art projects about perception or perfection as Ellie will excitedly tell you.

Lots of hot summer days to play outside!

 

Mr. Bushy Boy got himself a haircut.

Our good friend Paloma and her new husband Igor were visiting her parents for Christmas so we enjoyed seeing them.  They celebrated their one year anniversary last Sunday.  She helped a lot taking care of the kids when Flavia was born.  Her parents are helping out with the starting of the church here in Bento Ribeiro.



I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

Well, okay, not exactly, but bubbles on a cloudy day do give the feeling of snow in the air as long as you forget about the heat and humidity.  Christmas is just around the corner and we are busy decorating, making goodies, handcrafting presents, opening the advent calendar, listening to Christmas music and frequently saving the tree from untimely disaster.  Not that four kids could possibly do any damage to a small featherweight fake tree or anything! 

A new member has joined our family since Myla had her 8th birthday.  Her name is Cinzel Natasha Holmquist.  Flavia especially loves the bunny and tries to feed it blocks or open the bag of rabbit food to refill her bowl.  Needless to say, "bunny" is now among her newest vocabulary.



Myla keeps busy with school and being big sis to Flavia.  She can often be found curled up with a book!

Ellie lost her first tooth and is learning to read!  She loves learning Portuguese and sings the day away.

Daniel continues to be the comedian of the family and is very protective of his sisters.

 

And Flavia, well she is 18 months old and that says it all!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Place to Meet

Thank you to everybody who has supported us in prayer. As a tribute to God's goodness, here are some visual answers to prayer.



We prayed for the Lord to allow us to rent a building where we could begin to hold services. This building became available on the main commercial street of our neighborhood. (Yes, it's the pink graffitied one!) The second picture is from the roof giving you a view of part of the neighborhood.



Downstairs (top): It was a pizza restaurant. Way in the back you can just barely see the wood-burning pizza oven.
Upstairs (bottom): Needs some cleanup! This is where we envision having children's Sunday School and nursery.


The new wheels. It is a 2004 Fiat Doblo Minivan. Room for the family plus one (no that doesn't imply anything grandparents!).


Having fun at youth group playing Pit (pronounced "peachy").


Here the kids are chomping at the bit to try these delicious mini pies that the neighborhood pastry shop makes!

To Brazil!

On Thursday we are scheduled to leave for Brazil. This year in the US has been amazing and we will dearly miss everybody. But, we are thankful for the Christian family and friends God has given us in Brazil too and we look forward with great anticipation to our reunion with them there. Right now we are doing some last minute things concerning packing and preparing to go (you know, like eating Butterfingers for the last time). To highlight some family activities of the past few months we decided to post the following pictures.


Family pictures! Melissa's whole family was able to get together for
this occaision.


Baptist Mid-Missions Annual Conference in Ohio was a highlight
of our time in the US. We were able to fellowship with co-workers
and other friends and be challenged by great preaching.


Ellie turned 5!! The kids were able to spend a lot of time with
cousins and even go to a parade together.


We met with a supporting church in San Jose, California.
The same week BJ's sister Loa had a business meeting in
San Francisco and she brought BJ's mom with her. We had fun
seeing them and seeing starfish at the aquarium. On the drive
home we drove our full sized van through a living redwood
(parking in Rio is just as tricky), and Myla is standing in front
of an interesting bathroom made from a hollow redwood log.

Oregon Summer

Besides being entrusted to proclaim the precious gospel, and enjoying
fellowship with believers in different parts of the world, another one of
the amazing graces of missionary life is to be able to see and enjoy God's
creation as we travel to churches across the country.


We are now enjoying living in central Oregon with Melissa's parents.
These are some of the mountain views we are blessed to see each morning
and evening from their house.


Since the last blog, our travels brought us by Niagara Falls and
Mt. Rushmore as we visited churches in New York and drove to
visit churches in the West.



Resurrection Sunday was one of the last services that we spent at our
home church with family. BJ's Dad (far right) has continued to recover
well from brain surgery. The kids are growing up and doing great. We
thank God continually for his kindnesses.