Welcome to Maranhão!
It has been about a month and a half since our arrival for our second term in Brazil. Here is a quick summary of major events during that time.
Renting a house. This was our first major hurdle. After several days of searching we finally found a three-bedroom home in a decent neighborhood. Our son Michael had been praying earnestly since before we left the US for a house with a tree in the backyard. The house we rented has a beautiful Mango tree–suitable for climbing. (In unrelated news, I have handed Mikey a list things for which he is to be praying.)
Buying a car. This involved a trip to the Cariri (16 hours by bus) and a wait of almost two weeks. God provided for us a new, red(!) Fiat Mille Way. Having driven it now on all types of roads and in all kinds of weather, we have to say that we are quite pleased with it.
Moving. Most of our earthly belongings were stored here in São Luís before we left. When we arrived here we found that termites had found their way to the storage unit. Apparently they were termites with a taste for literature and theology, because they took quite readily to my books. Their tastes in this area proved to be eclectic–they devoured with equal enthusiasm my copy of “The Fundamentals” and “The Shack”. We are grateful, however, for the number of items the termites did NOT eat.
Internet. After a wait of almost a month, the company I had contracted to install our internet service arrived. After puttering around for a couple hours they came to me with the bad news: they would be unable to install my service because my neighborhood has no access. (sigh) So I went out and found a wireless service that features a USB modem. Not exactly wi-fi, but it works, and Mikey should be able to finish up his online studies.
Ministry. There has been no lack of opportunities to minister. As I mentioned earlier, we are just a few blocks from the Kerigma congregation, started by Pastor Francisco Bezerra. While we get our feet on the ground here we are helping this congregation in any way possible. This has included preaching, teaching, music, youth group, and other special events.
We also had the privilege of speaking in one of the other Regular Baptist churches in town. It was great to see Pastor Samuel and his wife Julia. We first met them in 2005 when we arrived at the seminary–they were in their final year of studies. Now they have been ministering here in São Luis for almost five years, and God has truly blessed their ministry.
So there you have our latest update. When I get a chance I will add pictures. There are some pretty exciting developments on the horizon, so stay tuned!
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And be sure to read the action-packed adventures of Missionary Max: Missionary Max and the Jungle Princess and Missionary Max and the Lost City.
Thanks for the update! That is so sad about your books. 🙁 I’m glad they didn’t destroy anything else though.
It took them a month to get there and then a couple of hours to determine the neighborhood has no service? That is almost unbelievable. I would think that they would have at least some sort of basic coverage map. That way a potential customer can be turned down before the hassle of waiting. Of course I am sure something similar happens in the USA all the time.
Awesome to hear some news. Praise God for what He is doing in your lives. We will continue to pray for y’all and look hopefully toward the day we meet up with you again. DTA meu irmão e sua familia tb.