The Simple Things

Brasil might just be the coffee capital of the world. Everyone drinks coffee here. Old people, middle age people, young people and even kids.  Everyone that is but me. I still hate it.

My girlfriend wasn't a coffee drinker when we moved here eleven years ago. Now she LOVES coffee.

This morning we went to the grocery store. She put something in the basket and was smiling while she did it. I knew she found something she really liked. A little prize.

What was it? This:

A little coffee filter for one cup of coffee.

When she makes coffee she's usually the only one who drinks it. So being able to make one cup instead of a bunch was great for her.

I could tell after lunch she couldn't wait to try out her new gift. I walked into the kitchen while she was making it and she had this awesome, happy smile on her face. All because of her little coffee filter. She made me laugh. I had to take a picture of her happiness.

Sometimes it's the simplest things that bring great joy into our lives.

Potholes in Brasil

How we deal with potholes in Brasil.

Step One: Put an orange/white cone next to the pothole to warn drivers not to plant a wheel into the hole. The cone is taken from some other place. There always seems to be orange/white cones around when you need one.

Step Two: Put a stick into the pothole as an extra warning.

Step Three (my personal favorite): Place a cheetos bag on the stick to further emphasize the danger.

It may be crude but it's effective.

We tend to do things a little different here than in the states.

We're Back!

Yes we are alive and well in Porto Alegre.

It's been a couple months since we posted anything here.

We've had some computer problems that prevented us from updating like we wanted but honestly, and thankfully, what has really kept us from blogging is all the things God is doing in our city right now.

We can honestly say that we are busier than we've ever been in our eleven years here. And it's not just "busy" work. Things to occupy time but that aren't the most important kingdom things. We are busy with mostly "the best" stuff God has planned for us and not just the good.

We feel more in line with His will than we ever have before in our ministry to our Brasilian family.

We write today to thank you for your prayers and to let you know that we are going to try to be more regular in our posting here. Some days it might just be a picture with no written words. Some days it might be something that only our daughters will understand and think is funny. Some days we will share about the amazing things God is doing in our city. Honestly, we aren't expecting a huge change in what our blog will look like. We just wanted to let you know that we are still here and doing great.

We will also continue to share more specific prayer requests through email with our prayer/financial partners. If you aren't on our list but would like to be please get in touch with us and send us your email and we'll be happy to include you. The more people joining us in this ministry the more power we believe God will release on us as we do what He has asked us to do here.

God is working in this city in ways we have never seen. We have never been more excited and energized to be in Porto Alegre.