And Second Semester Begins

With August begins the second semester and we’re here for it.

We love these kiddos. Learning, praying, and having fun.

We took a little break from learning business English to do a little cooking following a recipe in English. Who wouldn’t like this much better than the business classes.

I love teaching these kids. These girls are precious to me. Add to the fact that I get to serve the Lord with my family, and it makes for a good life.

The new Criar classes are in full swing now. The high school kids are learning so many great hands-on skills that can prepare them for life after school and Vinde. Led by local businessmen and women who love the Lord and are willing to give their time for these young people. Welding classes are pictured above.

More metal work classes. The kids are working on the metal framing for a new set of bathrooms on the property beside the Criar program.

The top is another picture of the metalworking class and the bottom is the workworking/construction class.

Mason is working on Monday and Tuesday afternoons on the graphics for the Vinde devotional books (which I don’t have any pictures because he’s in a separate room) but I do have some pictures of him leading his small group of boys, helping teach jiu-jítsu and soccer, and helping with a seemingly endless supply of dishes.

He is still attending Megabox youth services at church on Friday nights. Patience and hard work is how I would describe him, well, the patience is tested often with the Vinde kids but they love him.

I don’t have as many pictures of Tuck serving, as we serve at different locations, but Aline send me this one. He helps at the Imperial location. Tuck stepped up and taught English class for me the other day when I had devotion at the Sede location. He usually helps me but he stepped up when the schedule conflict came up. He’s certainly growing into a great young man.

If you remember, I told you, maybe back in June or July, about the team that saw a need (a flooded dirt floor of a house) during a home visit. Well, the floor has been fixed and is no longer dirt or flooding. There was also some extra funds left over so we purchased some food and clothes for the family. It was an emotional visit, as during this time of repair, the family found out the mom has been diagnosed with cancer. The family was overwhelmed with love and support. Please continue to pray for Jenifer’s family.

I love my boys! With homeschool in the mornings and serving in the afternoon, they still have time to have a little fun as evidenced by how dirty their feet are when they come home at night. If ‘grounding’ is really a thing, then my boys are making more than enough contact with the ground to keep them healthy. Keeping our floors clean is an uphill battle.

We finally received the email that the boy’s ID cards were ready for pick up. Since we had to make a trip to the big city of Campinas, we stopped at Olive Garden to see how it compared to the US. Pretty close to the same except for the tea. Nothing beats good old fashioned fresh brewed southern ice tea.

We took Eduardo with us for Sunday lunch. Cinco Lagos in Piracaia didn’t disappoint.

It was a pretty place to spend an afternoon.

Along with some small farm animals, they also have horses that they allow you to ride unguided on property free of charge on Sundays. Eduardo was ready to ride, but I convinced him we would come back on a day when we all had a change of clothes. I couldn’t stand the thought of us smelling like a horse on the drive back to the house.

You can tell it’s a Sunday afternoon around here when all the horses are out. Gambling is a BIG deal in Brazil, and betting on these chariot races is very popular.

Working with kids is not for the faint of heart. Little Caleb’s decided to jump up in excitement, pumping his hands in the air, about the time I bent down to give him a hug and his little fist got me right in the eye. Immediately, my eye clamped shut and didn’t want to open back up for a couple hours. I was pretty sure I was going to have a black eye but it opened back up with nothing but a headache lingering.

After two years, Denise (top pic, second from the left, front row) finally talked me into attending a women’s bible study. It is really hard to follow as I don’t understand everything being said as the study and the discussion is all in Portuguese but I’m trying. The ladies are patient with me and our host is an American that has lived in Brazil for 20+ years so she’s able to help me with questions when I get really lost.

Don’t mind me here in the middle of the store checking to make sure the batteries in these lights work before I buy them. No one, including the staff, cared at all. Had to get a jump start on some stuff for the Vinde Christmas party.

As always, we end each month with a birthday celebration for those having a birthday that month.

Last month Tuck made homemade pizzas. This month he tried his hand at pretzels and they were delicious. He already has plans for something sweet next month. I can’t wait. Until then, tchau.