Mama mia, thatsa spicy meatball.

“Winter” arrived here on Sunday, but the windows are open right now to let in some warm air this afternoon since temps are in the 70s. I can tell the windows are opened because my eyes are itching! Have to enjoy it though since another cold front is supposed to get here on Thursday. We thought of going to see Transformers today (yes, it opened here a day before the states), but there was just too much work to get done. Now, I’m pretty much caught up, and even worked ahead a little on some stuff. Sue has an ESL student here right now so I have to find something quiet to do for an hour, so why not this.
There were plenty of different things to do this past weekend. The cherry blossom festival was held in a nearby city, but not a lot of blossoms were out as it’s been so cold. On Friday night we went to Vanice’s birthday party with several friends. Guto and Vanice were the first people to welcome us to Bauru ten years ago when we checked the place out before moving here, and have been a tremendous help in getting ministry started. There never seems to be a lack of conversation when that group gets together. We got home from that about one in the morning.

Thankfully, didn’t have to get up early on Saturday since other people were in charge of setting everything up for the church couples’ dinner celebrating Valentine’s Day. We, and Tim and Andrea, were told that all we had to do that evening was come and enjoy ourselves.

There was even a guest speaker invited. Eighteen couples came out for the evening.

Unfortunately, I came in third on the game they did, but the prize was only a box of chocolates for 1st and 2nd place winners, so who cares!!

Again there was plenty to eat – Italian cuisine with lots of spices and especially garlic – and conversation didn’t lack either. Though honestly, two nights of small talk was enough for me. And we got home way after midnight again.

This was the third Sunday of the month-long celebration for the church anniversary. The musical group in the evening was five ladies, and their music was inspiring, especially the last number they performed. When they finished, people couldn’t help but applaud. It was excellent!

One of the ladies in the group is the mom of one of our former young people. She thanked us again for helping with her son. Talk about a transformed life, to remember Junior and the life he was involved in when we first met him (one of his milder things was his several piercings; one was an ear/nose complete with chain connecting them) and how he loves the Lord today. Only God can bring about a change like that!

On Sunday, as I preached about open doors and obstacles, I recalled different doors that were opened here for ministries since our arrival, as well as remembering some of the difficulties along the way – there were plenty of both, but God’s blessings outweigh the problems! This coming Sunday is the last of our month of first anniversary celebration, along with a choir presentation and a carry-in meal, I will be finishing up a study in the book of Colossians.

Father’s Day isn’t celebrated here until August, but it was fun to catch up with Natali and Aaron who took the time to call their Dad for stateside Father’s Day.

Speaking of August, we’re working on preparations for August Family month, with a different theme for each week, some weekly family seminars, and guest speakers. It takes a lot of planning, but when we’ve done this in the past, its helped families and people still talk about different activities we’ve done.

Sue’s ESL class must be about done because I’m about done with this. Tchau.