The Reconciliation of All Things

We continue learning some Brazilian values the hard way it seems. We are finding that most Brazilians will put relationships before other things...even if their kids are sick, they will still go out with friends if there is a previous commitment. Now, there are usually exceptions to the rule, but it is a general observance on our part. Basically, relationships are important!! This might be why our kids keep getting sick...they have had fevers for two days straight and going on the third day...because other kids at school have fevers, or kid at the park are really sick but their parents wouldn't dare keep their kid home from the park and not be able to play with their friends. So, a question for us to ask ourselves is: "if we don't show up for a social event, or Caleb or Becky don't go to school for the day, does that mean we are not good missionaries because we don't value relationships enough here??" Not necessarily. It's a difficult line to walk here in...

It is now June as you read this post...which means a lot is about to happen in the next two months with our family (thus the Portuguese subject line of this email: More changes...). So, would you keep praying for us and the changes to come? Here is a quick update and a few things you can praise/pray about: Becky is on track to finish her Portuguese language program around the end of June/beginning of July--praise the Lord! We know this doesn't mean the learning is over though. Pray for us all to persevere and keep learning. Ben was able to lead a Bible study at our weekly small group and enjoyed getting some practice with Portuguese in that context. He was also able to start playing soccer with some Brazilian friends on a weekly basis, until a tree fell on the goal post this week--no more soccer for a while. Caleb finishes his pre-school in June and will need to say goodbye to all his friends here--pray for him; this is hard to do....