View from My Front Porch

Today starts the beginning of a new series of blog posts. Every Friday I plan to put up a single video or photo shot directly from my front porch here in Sobradinho, Bahia, Brazil.

Today's clip is from last week. I was actually standing on the sidewalk and not technically smack on the porch, by the way. Our region of Brazil is very dry and receives a limited amount of rainfall every year. Once every forty years or so, that amount shrinks substantially making for extreme drought conditions. We have been in a drought of about three years. Imagine living in a place where it rains about one time on one day once a year. This January we had some of the biggest total annual rainfall of the past five years - yes, all in one month's time! There was much flooding to say the least. And our grass began to grow again after how many years? We water it minimally with run off water from the washing machine. But we rarely have to cut it. So for the first time in about three years, Byron had to cut the grass! And that's the view this week from my front porch!

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The Big Orange Cat

Do you boys remember that big orange cat at the mission house in North Carolina? That was a special day for me. I don't have a new story for this Friday. I've had a long week, but my mind kept going back to that cat this week as I thought about what I would post for you boys today. Click on the link down below to go back to my big people blog and reread the cat story if you like. Oh, by the way, this morning I made a special trip down to the other end of our town to see the guinea pigs being sold at a grocery store. This particular store sells medicine and feed for all kinds of animals. This month they are selling guinea pigs, baby chickens, and dachshund puppies! Their guinea pigs looked very healthy. They are selling them for BR$10 each or BR$15 for a pair. Uncle Byron said that he was glad I didn't bring any home with me! One more thing - this week a mama possum came in our yard. The dogs chased it and Girl Dog let out a squ...

On the Road Again

Our first weekend back in Lage was hard. We were jet-lagged and unsure what to expect. Thankfully, the woman helping with the children still had lessons left in the book I’d given her and agreed to finish them, giving me a break for the first few weeks. Byron jumped right into the Friday and Sunday Bible studies. Saturday afternoon, we visited our faithful friend Jué, grandmother of Max, the boy in a wheelchair near Lage. Byron went to soccer, where more boys showed up than ever! An unsaved man helps with the older boys, and a church teenager has been helping with the younger ones. Our second weekend coincided with the first round of presidential elections. Friday attendance was low, and soccer was cancelled because the school served as a polling place. The Sunday street fair was moved to Saturday. We still hadn’t seen the family who had been attending Bible studies at the church, but we visited Jué again. On Sunday, people kept passing the church on their way to vote. Several question...

Sabbatical?

Last month we traded the dirt roads of Bahia for the smooth highways of the USA. We took off four weeks to visit with family, see one son be ordained, visit with another in the new state where he and wife are living and see our youngest grandson turn 4! It was a fast trip, and every day was full to the brim. So, calling it a "sabbatical" may be a falsehood! Rest, we did not. But, refreshed and just a little renewed, I think we are. Stay tuned over the next week as I finish up a video letter all about our trip. The funny thing about such trips is the desire to plan the next one right way! Does that take away from my call to missions? No, not in the least, but it does make me consider how often we need to "go home" and "take a break" from what we do without the need to visit all our churches. Furlough and sabbatical are not synonyms. Furlough means visiting a different church every week. Sabbatical is supposed to mean rest. I hop...

Cactus Flower

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