It is the day before Mother’s day, and I miss my mom more than usual. Because she was just here, and you miss things you have had recently more. Or something like that. I feel like it has been forever since I just sat down and wrote a blog. Something that was just my thoughts, instead of documenting past or future events. So be prepared to be bombarded with my thoughts from the past month that I am just now making official. But first, another documentation.

Exciting stuff: the 2013 Trek for Transportation (www.wribrazil.com/trek). This year is extra special for two reasons: Raising $25,000 is in sight! We have the $3,500 raised from last year, and a $7,000 dollar-for-dollar matching grant. Also, this year we have shirts: http://ministrymedia.bigcartel.com/product/living-stones-brazil. Not only are they a cool color, but the proceeds go towards Living Stones as well: win-win!

Please come for an awesome time June 8th, at 10am, to Southeastway park. It is a child and animal friendly park, and the path is paved if you want to ride your bike or rollerblade. You will hear stories and get information about what God is doing in Brazil, as well as get some exercise and support a great cause. There are prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place runners! If you can’t make it, please donate to someone who is running: we really need this vehicle to reach the most impoverished areas of Northeast Brazil!   

…For now. They made it home safe last night.

I let Koral off the hook on writing a goodbye post, but here is from my mother:

So many thank you’s, where can you start? Obviously Rachel–for all she has enabled and provided and done for us here, as well as her roommate Suena and all her friends and their help. Thank you World Renewal Brazil (The Moraes, Jeff and Lindsay, and new friends Joe and Karen Turner), and Living Stones, and Athletes in Action (Suarez family and Luzinho). Thank you Massa Humana (Washington and Andrea, Stephanie and the Second Baptist church) and older friends, the Peres family.

Everything I wanted to see and do was made possible with their “feats.” We will take home memories of the children (Koral was hoping some of the children would fit in our suitcases, but Rachel overruled it) and their families, who we will be keeping in awe and prayer. They do so well under such difficult circumstances–we are so spoiled. I am ready to go, however, as I really miss my men (Anna has done so much extra for them, for which I am grateful, but I need them!)

Much of my time here ended up also being a retreat spent with the Lord. I had just picked up one of John Eldredge’s books, and read about seeing things from God’s perspective, that He is willing to push us to our limits to get us where He wants us, when I’d fallen and pulled muscles in both ankles. What can you do with such a wild Beloved? Rarely have I had sweeter time with Him or learned more that I needed to–so to Him, above all, I give thanks.

Our last couple of days with pictures:

May 3rd: We recovered enough from our sunburns to move without wincing and went to Cajueiro Claro church:

May 4th: Our last time at the dump

May 5th: Rebecca’s 5th birthday and monkeys

 

Koral: This week as either been very long, or really quite short…. I haven’t made up my mind yet. Between terrible sunburns and general sickness, I haven’t been able to really DO much, but what I have been able to do has been more than worth it. On Sunday, we met a family of eight girls living in a small house of cement walls and dirt floors and I was reminded of all the complaining I did about living in a perfectly good two bedroom house with six people.  Being here never ceases to remind me how absolutely spoiled I am back home, how spoiled we all are as Americans.

Brazilians are spoiled in another way however, with the sheer beauty of the land around them. I went to the beach for the first time I can remember on Thursday and I shall never forget it. The water that seemed to go on forever, slipping effortlessly from color to color, the fish darting between my leg and arms, the sun shining off the water and bouncing off their scales…. It was simply beautiful. I did pay for it with an awful sunburn, but it was more than worth the price. And I also got pizza with tomato sauce, which makes everything wonderful!

Mom: The first part of our trip was filled with firsts and getting to meet and see so much of what has been Rachel’s life the past 10 years or so, and getting to meet “her” children from all over and giving them love gifts.

This week has been filled more with what she does when on short vacations here. In the big town of Recife (3^rd largest city in Brazil) we first had an exciting opportunity of getting from point A to point B in the  “Venice of South America” (exciting, but then, I didn’t have to do the driving). We had a shopping day in Old Recife (overwhelmed with scores of stands, we mostly stuck with the ones Rachel already knew), Casa Cultura (an old 3-story prison converted to actual shops) and Olinda (hostels and shops wrapping around a large hill overlooking the ocean).

Another day we went to the Chicken port (porto de Galinhas), a gorgeous beach with yet another small town of multitudes of places to shop, but known for decorating with the base of old, cut down palm trees and painting the top portion white and like a chicken with enormous, crazy eyes. We were taken by a wonderful family and some other dear friends of Rachel’s, as they even brought a shelter and did all they could for my personal benefit.

I’d longed to see the fish they spoke of that people walk out to see when the tide goes out, but was grateful for the chairs they had carried in when we got to that part of the beach, as the walking was harder than I had expected. It was still lovely, but God wasn’t done blessing me as Rachel returned with a beach wheelchair! I was pushed to the shallows and lifted into a kind of raft with board seats and a sail. We went around the area, then stopped twice for the girls to get out with masks and see the fish that came for the fishfood. It was amazing!

 

The next day and a half were needed for rest, of course, as the girls’ sunburns were just as impressive as my many memories of the day.

Continuing with our picture review:

April 25: Koral’s Birthday was filled with flowers, as the kids wanted to do something special for her:

We then celebrated April birthdays at Guadalajara:

And last but not least, the surprise:

April 26: was our day to see Recife and Olinda

April 27: Koral and my mom taught the children colors in English:

and their first churrasco

April 28: We fought through the rain to get to these sweet girls:

 (the special princess tea set from Disneyworld)

April 29: Our only chance to get to meet the kids from Carpina, and celebrate the April birthdays:

April 30: At Guadalajara, we shared about how important mothers are, and to start planning how they can bless their moms this month!

May 1 was Labor Day in Brazil, so we were off to the beach:

And found mom a beach wheelchair:

 Had an amazing boat ride:

May 2: Burnt to a crisp