The Reconciliation of All Things

Tomorrow morning we head up north for a family vacation...all the Bacheller brothers and wives are here now, so we'll all be gone until the 30th of June. However, I'll be gone (Ben) until the 9th, visiting a new church plant and the pastor, getting to know the work there, as well as teaching a few seminars on agriculture appropriate to the semi-arid climate I'll be visiting up there. Pray that everything goes well, for health and for safety. Pray that I'll know what to teach, since the folks left it wide open for me. I'll be back on July 9th, then we'll be heading back to the States on the 22nd to visit some of you folks in NY. Count on seeing us toward the end of July! Thanks for your prayers everyone!

Well, today I spent the morning at the orphanage hanging out with the teen guys, then in the garden ("horta" in Portuguese) cleaning up a bit. There's a bit of bad news too...many of the young kids at the orphanage are breaking out with chicken pox, which means Becky can't hang out there and care for the kids, since it could cause serious birth defects to the baby in womb. So, unfortunately, she's gotta stay away for at least two weeks...let the chicken pox swipe through the whole orphanage first...oh well, now to find other things to keep busy. Oh, I stayed there for lunch today. Guess what we ate? Well, rice, beans, chicken (necks), potato/carrot salad, and some kind of greens with vinegar/lemon. Yes, you read that correctly, chicken NECKS! Wow...I skipped since I was getting protein in the beans! :-) What would you do? I'd try it first, which I HAVE done I'll let you know, and I didn't like the vertebrae that you have to pick out and spit out as you...

At the University! The largest university of Latin America in contiguous land! It was huge! And beautiful architecture from the early 1900's. 

Taking a tour of the headquarters of the Brazilian Department of Agriculture and Research. 

Isn't she beautiful!?? 

Quick visit to the beach! 

Day-care center--planting lettuce with the children! 

Dear Friends and Family, We arrived safely back in Anápolis after an exciting week in Rio. Thank you for all your prayers regarding our trip. During our time in Rio (actually Seropédica, a small college town 45 minutes out of the city) Ben and I were able to visit the Federal University of Rural Rio de Janeiro which focuses on agriculture and environmental science. We also participated in Seropédica’s environmental emphasis week which included tours of neighboring national forests and mini-courses in caring for the environment. All these were for the community. Ben also had the opportunity to teach an Ecology class at the university about the environment and geography of the United States. We were privileged to stay with Dr. Carlos Domingos (director of the Environmental Science department at the university) and his wife Mara. They were very hospitable towards us and did all they could to make our stay comfortable (they even gave us their room—very Brazilian). They spoke Portuguese wit...

Hey folks. Just wanted to ask you to pray for us as we head off to Rio today. We'll take a bus to Brasília from here (2 1/2 hours), then get on a plane to fly down & over there for a week. We're excited to meet some new people and see the work they're doing down there. Until later! Ben & Becky.

We had an ultrasound done just the other day, and we could see the blood pumping, or the heart beating, whatever you wanna call it! How neat to see a life beginning, and so small and precious! The baby is currently a little over 5 mm long! Imagine that! The size of a bean! Woohoo!! With joy, Ben & Becky.

Becky's Birthday Today! Last birthday without kids! Better enjoy it! :-)