Cactus Flower

  I hesitated and wasn't sure I really wanted to, but it seemed it was time.  Time for new dogs!  The old ones haven't gone on to doggie heaven yet, but that was all the more reason to make it happen now, and the fact that our neighbor's dog had nine puppies!  My husband and I both remember how much harder it was with the last round of puppies we had.  Teaching them from scratch was harder than having an older dog who knew the lay of the yard and the rules of the house! So here we go with two new pups. We decided on names after asking our grandchildren and boys and daughters-in-law.  The choices were good, well some of them.  R2 and C3 didn't make the cut.  Miss Priss or Missy and Cocoa came close.  We finally settled on Sahara for the more yellow one.  It was a name that Byron had wanted when we got our other yellow dog, Tiny. And the marbled brown dog got the name of Ginger.  We considered a matched pair of names like Ginger and M...

  It's been a long month, but it's done.  And today starts another.  I'm counting done the days before I see some loved ones again.  Time is always ticking, isn't it? This month we focused on getting more of the people in our congregation involved in the ministry. Remember these monthly videos are not meant as a report of our missionary activities, but they tell a story nonetheless.  They are made specifically for my grandchildren.  Enjoy.

Yesterday the sand rail started sputtering up a big hill as we came into Abreus. Byron adjusted something or another before we left, but just outside of the community it started up again. The poor little car lost all its get-up-and-go.  It was already dark and we were way behind schedule. Years ago, I would have asked a million questions and began to worry about what in the world we were gonna do and if we would have to sleep in the bushes. Last night I didn't have a care at all. I trust my driver and I had just had a great cup of coffee and a few crackers at house where we have a small group Bible study. Faith is just like that - no cares in the world, just trusting in God to take care of the matter, even if it's big or small.  Often over the past year, trust has been hard.  Many times, it seemed that all of our hopes and dreams for the ministry had been thrown to the wind.  I began to feel that I was asking the same question every week, What are we going to do now?...

The sky folds into paper thin,  each crease a trace of storms within.  Roots beneath the ground arise,  whispering of forests to the skies. A lantern sways, its flame will chase, turning shadows into paths of lace. Constellations sing and guide, echoing dreams where hopes reside. You are the tide’s unseen hand, building bridges from salt and sand. Though footprints fade, You will stay. May I remember Your grace each day. [AI guided poem]

There is a new video letter up on my silly, little YouTube channel.  These are made for my grandchildren, but anyone is free to watch.  They are meant to tell a little of my life in Brazil and what has happened over the month. January was an usually warm month in our part of Bahia with the threat of thunderstorms from time to time, but little to no rain.  Northeast Brazilians know that if no rain comes in January, it is a bad sign of more drought to come.  We pray for rain to come soon.

January of 2025 found us leaving a light snow in North Carolina, and arriving in Brazil to start a fresh new year of ministry.  Our hopes were high with two missionary couples all set to begin assisting in the interior work of church planting and evangelism. The new rented space for our church meetings in Lage dos Negros was full on many Sundays and people seemed excited for the possibility of seeing a Baptist church established with a list of members and leaders. Byron and I did something we had never done in Brazil - we bought a motorcycle.  Our oldest son and his wife were all set to travel overland from the USA to Brazil by motorcycle.  We wanted to meet them along their route sometime in the summer.  We started getting ready. In May our regular summer visitor, Phillip Layne came with a fellow named Alex.  Their time with us was actually rather brief.  On this trip Phillip spent half of his time with one of our national missionaries and quite a bit of t...