Peniel Student Report: October 2022

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Everything New

I'm reading a book for old missionaries about all the crazy things people go through in returning from their field of service to spend time in their home country. One of the chapters is all about how tough it is to "go home." Things change and the missionary ends up out of sync with what's new since their last "home" visit. "Coming home" this time has been smooth in some ways and a little crazy in others. Byron and I haven't had a real furlough for six years. On one hand our recent short visits pathed the way for an easier transition. But staying for a longer this time around means we don't have to feel as rushed to go and do and see, even though we are always reminded of that the pages of the calendar are passing by. Keeping in touch with our friends in Brazil is uniquely easy nowadays allowing us the privilege of almost instant contact, real time decision making and even seeing regular photos of my cat. We can send money quickly an...

Sabbatical Time

Furlough, it used to mean getting my boys all prepped with new clothes, all ready to attend classes in real schools, and all set to interact with Americans. Today, it means finding someone to take care of our Brazilian pets and hoping the grandkids remember who we are. I didn't even buy any new clothes! Thankfully we found who I hope will be the best house/petsitter ever, and I think my grandbabies already know who I am. Tying up all the loose ends of ministry and house took more effort and time than ever, but we made it to the aiport on time and so far so good. I am sitting unstressed in the largest airport in Brazil this afternoon typing away with few concerns. Hopefully this sabbatical furlough will be just that unstressed with few concerns. We need to visit around 25 churches, see as many loved ones as possible and go to Walmart as often as we can. We also need to rally support for the missionaries that are joining our ministry efforts in t...

Quitting

This fall I posted about a camping trip my husband and I took with our boys. Our oldest was getting set to head back to Brazil without us and we wanted to get away together with just the family for a few days. When it came time to get in the car, our middle boy refused to get in. We were leaving for a weekend with reservations in another state. It was a tense moment as he started walking away from the car and house and down the road away from us. It was just one of many such moments that occurred over the past two years as we watched our boy slip farther and farther away from us and our values. I worked literally day and night to find help, look for counsel, and often searching for our missing boy. Nothing we did seemed to change the direction in which our son's life seemed to be going. Many times my husband and I felt like giving up. We prayed. We asked others for help and advice. I remember one night in particular as I was chatting with a...

Cactus Flower

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