The Reconciliation of All Things

Well hello there again folks! Once again, Becky and I felt like we should email to keep in touch. We want to share our excitement with you all! For some of you this paragraph will be "old news", so just skip ahead to the next paragraph. As of last week, Becky and I found out that for sure, 100% definite, no joking, totally seriously, that we are pregnant! She's 6 weeks now, and the baby's due January 21st, 2006! Please pray with us and for us for a safe, healthy pregnancy, and delivery when the time comes. Also, coming up in June, from the 6th to the 13th, Becky and I will be going to Rio de Janeiro. We were invited by a Christian professor at one of the top agricultural/ecological schools in Brazil. During the one week we spend there, we will be making contacts for the future and trying to serve however possible. I have been asked, believe it or not, to "preach" (more like speak) that Sunday, as a layperson. I'm asking God for the courage and wisdom t...

Surprise Inside!

Hey folks! Great news! As of yesterday, we know for 100% sure, no joking, completely seriously, that we are pregnant ! Becky was at 5 weeks just yesteray, and by golly, are we excited!!! The due date is January 21st, of course, give or take a bit. Please pray with us for a healthy, safe pregnancy all the way to the end. We are glad that we can make Becky's parents and Ben's parents grandparents for the first time, and we think they are too! :-) Please keep us in your prayers. Thanks!

Well, we've already reserved our rental truck & car towing accessory (man, those things are expensive to rent!!!) for our move from Fort Myers, FL to Columbia, SC on or around the 11th of August. I think that'll be a Thursday, can't remember. Anyhow, we're looking forward to the move into our new place, just simple little home for us; it'll be home for the next couple of years as I pursue my Masters of Intercultural Studies at Columbia International University. It will probably take three years we're thinking. After that, who knows what's next!? One thing is sure, if the Lord leads us overseas, we're going! Our time in Brazil has been great so far, showing us where we could serve and where we think we shouldn't. :-) On another note, I'm feeling a bit better today from the vertigo I caught (makes you dizzy and lose your balance, along with nausea feelings). I'm going to go check on the garden, see how it's coming. It'll be the most...

Happy Belated Mother's Day, we pray you had a joyful day celebrating the special moms in your life. This Mother's Day brought for us another cultural lesson and a reminder that we are constantly learning more about Brazil (even with Ben having grown up here!). At around one o-clock in the morning on Mother's Day we were awakened by people blaring music outside our window. Ben went outside to complain and told the group to quiet down so people could sleep. However, Ben soon found out that the group was made up of seminary students simply trying to honor all the mothers by serenading them on Mother's Day. From our perspective the students were being rude, yet that was not how they or the Brazilian mothers saw it. We were reminded again the need to be culturally sensitive and not judge others based on our own perspective. Ben and I are thankful that our time in Brazil not only includes serving but learning as well. Things are going well at the orphanage. The garden is comi...

This past weekend Becky and I went to the local university gym where a State Judo competition was being held. We went to watch a few of the teen guys from the orphanage compete. One of the kids actually got gold in one division, and silver in the next. It was neat to spend time w/ them, supporting them, since there's no parents to come watch and support them. Even so, I don't think I have the patience that a teenager's father would have (yet), because I got tired after a few hours and had to come home and get some rest. It can drain you a lot, especially when it's in another language! Anyhow, that was Saturday, and today, Wednesday, I give a short Bible study to these same teenager guys at the orphange, at 8pm our time, 7pm Eastern St. Time, while Becky hangs out with the teen girls, talking and teaching them how to crochêt. Please pray that God will work in these kids' lives, bringing them to Him, and that we'll be sensitive in knowing how we can help. Ben ...

Orphanage teens at Judo competition on Saturday, April 30th, 2005