Missions Conference

With us getting back into the swing of things here, Keith had the honor and priviledge of preaching a 3 day mission conference. Bro. Steve Doolittle, another missionary with our board, invited Keith to preach the annual Faith Promise Mission Conference at their church. We enjoyed seeing the people there once again and had a wonderful time of fellowship.

New Convert's Class

After our return, the national pastor here at the church asked Keith to begin teaching a New Convert's Class for the individuals that would soon be baptized. This young man is Romelo, the one that was mentioned in our October prayer letter. He has been a blessing in the class and an encouragement to see him grow in the Lord! It was a blessing to us to witness his baptism and to see the tears of joy which flowed down his mother's cheeks!

Substituting

At the end of October, our song leader had eye surgery and has had to temporarily step down as song leader. He has been told by the doctors that he's not to read for 3 months. With having this need to be filled, Andrew has stepped in to lead the singing and give the meditation verses for each service. He is doing a wonderful job and it is a great experience for him as well.

Children's Day

In October here in Brazil, they have a day set aside for children. The church had a special time for the children in the area in rememberance of this day. There were around 40 children in attendance. They enjoyed the time with singing as Andrew led one of the choruses, a devotion, and refreshments. As an extra surprise, the church rented a trampoline for the afternoon as well.

Catch'n Up

We've gotten a bit behind on our blog -- guess it's time to catch up!

A week before leaving Brazil for furlough, our permanent Visas arrived!! After 4 years of going through the "process" - filling out paperwork, paying fees, and visiting the Federal Police every three to six months to check-in and renew our paper ID's - we finally had them in our possession! To our dismay, however, we discovered that Ashlyn's had been printed with the wrong birthdate. So at this point, with already having our tickets purchased for our trip to the States, Keith would have to return at some time to pick up the corrected one.




We left Brazil for our first furlough in May 2010. During this furlough, we stayed busy with traveling, reporting to supporting churches, and getting to fellowship with many friends whom we gained during our 2 1/2 years of deputation. We were blessed and encouraged by many of these churches and individuals.


Keith made the return trip to Brazil to pick up our youngest daughter's visa at the end of October. While there, he was able to see the construction on the church continuing as the one restroom was torn down and two new ones were constructed along with an area for fellowships.

Along with traveling, we were also able to spend time with our immediate families and our home church family. It was an especially joyful time for us to be able to spend the holidays with our families once again!

The experience of the fall and the leaves changing colors on the trees was wonderful!

Our children enjoyed some times of being kids as we were able to visit a couple of the State Parks near our home. It provided a time to get away and have some quality family time.

And with being children, they enjoyed just goofing off from time to time!

After not seeing snow in four years, as the first bit of snow fell, our children were sooooo excited with the sight of it on the ground that they ran outside in their pajamas and started playing in it. As the winter wore on, we were even snowbound in north Georgia for a couple of days as we returned home from one of our meetings.

RETURN TO BRAZIL
Upon our return to Brazil, the fellowship area and two restrooms had been pretty well finished.

Surprises!! We love surprises!! Well, usually!

As the New Year came 'round, a couple of surprises also "slipped" in!

The 5th of January was Neysa's birthday and the church had a surprise party for her. It was a wonderful blessing to know the people think of you in this manner.

The other surprise that "slipped in" was on a Sunday morning. Even though we've had several of these in our house during the past few months, it was a little different when we came in from church on this Sunday morning. When we entered our bedroom, Keith had a surprise waiting on his pillow! It was hard to get a clear picture, but I think you get the idea! A tarantula!!

Out with the Old Year, In with the New!

For the people of Brazil, New Year's Eve is celebrated more than Christmas. This is the time when people are all "decked out" in their new clothes. Watch Night services are also a big part of the celebration. At the service this year, the church was packed. Several people had to stand due to the lack of chairs.

Specials were sung by one of the ladies in the church and Andrew.

These specials led the way for the message which Keith had the priviledge of preaching.