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!

Happy Spring!

This past Sunday was the first day of spring here in Brazil. The new season brings with it new joys, new goals, new challenges, but, thank God, always new mercy (Lam. 3:22,23). We're amazed at God's grace to allow us to be here and serve in this capacity.

I usually post a blog when I send out a letter so that people who can't get picture attachments or have slow connections could see some pictures. But certain people (read grandparents) have requested to see some more pictures so I'm posting this blog early. We also have some prayer requests that we'd like you to remember.

1. Please continue to pray for our language training. We've finished seven weeks and are now attending a Brazilian church and working with a Brazilian pastor who has told the congregation NEVER to use English with us! We know this will help immensely.

2. Please pray for the salvation of our friend Marcello that we met on the train.

3. Pray for Melissa. She's 4 months pregnant with our baby boy.

Now some pictures:

Here's Melissa waiting with the crowd for the afternoon train and having a little salgado (salty snack). Remember... she's pregnant! If you want an experience in cultural immersion, just ride the train for a couple of hours every day like we do. In seven weeks we've seen people jump in the small train windows to avoid the toll. We've seen children and adults illegally selling almost any kind of item imaginable on the train from ice cream, to cookbooks, to gum, to toothbrushes. It's a hard life having to constantly look over your shoulder to avoid being caught by the many plainclothes and uniformed officers. Every day, people in desperate situations are begging for money. There are children, the elderly, people without legs who wear thick gloves on their hands, people who can't speak, can't hear, can't see, and one with an grisly open wound that covered a large portion of his leg and caused him to limp. Jesus had compassion on the multitudes and I believe the Lord uses these things to graphically illustrate his heartbeat for urban missions to us each day. Oh, that we will not grow calloused.

This is our Portuguese language class. On the left is our excellent Brazilian teacher Liliana. Next is Norie from Japan. Her parents are missionaries with the Presbyterian church and she works for a travel agency for Japanese living in Brazil. Next is Juninho. He's from Korea and training here in Brazil to be a soccer coach. Next is Shin. He's also from Korea and recovering from cancer. His family is back home in Korea. Guess who the lovely, studious lady on the right is?

The blog would not be complete without a picture of the girls participating in their favorite pastime.