June 6, 2006

Dear friends,

This month leaves me with not a lot to tell about our ministry, since we are here in the States. Sometimes we feel self-important and the the Lord lets us see that He is in charge and He is only letting us be a part of His ministry. For example, the first week that Barbara and I were back here in the States, our native pastor called and told us that on Sunday night after our departure four people had accepted Christ - How AWESOME He is!!!!

The first two weeks back in the States, we were on the road making new friends and preaching in some new churches and visiting old friends. The next two weeks we have taken a two-week vacation - first in over ten years. Sometimes we need a reason for a vacation, and mine is simply this - June 4th, Barbara and I have been married for forty years and we celebrated by taking a vacation. Because of some very wonderful people, we were able to have a vacation of a lifetime. We visited Europe!!! We started in Vienna and visited six different countries and went through the Alps. I don't see how anyone can see these magnificent, beautiful mountains and not realize how AWESOME is the God we serve. In Italy, we visited Venice. Here we also saw some beautiful buildings and magnificent church buildings. In this city it is very different; to catch a taxi, you had to go on the water as their streets are waterways. And yes, we took a gondola ride! Quite an experience, and yes, we were sung to on the gondola ride.

We had a great time driving around the countries, thanks to new friends Ken and Judy Brockman. He works in the UN there in Vienna, and they loaned us their car to tour in. The car had a GPS system and because of this wonderful instrument we were able to go wherever we wished without any problem. We did not worry about being lost or making wrong turns. We have many wonderful pictures of the trip and if you would like to see them, just hop on the next plane to Brazil and give us a visit. The door is always open, and we love to have visitors coming to visit the mission work and see how God is working in other areas of the world.

Well, my physicals are all completed, and I have one more pill to add to my daily regime and I also have a new machine to use to aid my sleeping (and also this will help Barbara to sleep better). I have just one more thing to get done before going back to Brazil, and that is the eye exam. So this week I will be done with the prodding and poking and go back to Brazil a new man. Barbara's check-ups went well, except for one, and she has to come back to the States in eight months for one more test. Pray for this test and trip for her.

Our next week and a half is devoted to packing and preparing to return to Brazil. We are packing many duffle bags with needed things for the ministry. Also, we are helping our daughter pack and plan her departure for Brazil in September.

I almost forgot to mention a very special need our ministry has at this time. Our Sunday School ministry has grown tremendously and we are bussing around 180 children on Sunday mornings. The problem is this: one of our buses died!! We are unable, because of the age of the bus, to get parts for it. This is causing a problem, because the one bus that is left has to do double duty. The biggest problem this is creating is that while one load is being taken home, the other has to wait at the church and you can imagine the trouble 60 to 80 kids can get into in about 45 minutes. Our challenge is to keep them occupied for this period. Please pray for us about this, and if you want to help financially, please send your donations to BFM, designated for "new bus".

Remember us in your prayers as we return home to Brazil to get back to work. And don't forget that the bed is turned down and the beans and rice are on the stove, so "come on down."

In His service,

AJ and Barbara