Blessings

The Lord continues to prove to us over and over again that His way is perfect, His Word is proven true, He is a shield to all those who put their trust in Him! We have much to thank Him for this week - for starters, He has opened the door for us to rent the home pictured above! As the story goes (smile :)), we had made an offer on a different home not long after we arrived in South Brazil. For reasons only known to God, the deal on that home was handed over to someone else and we lost out on it. God gave both Jon and I perfect peace that He had another home planned for us, so we continued to look and pray.
We first saw our new home about 1 1/2 weeks ago, and as soon as I saw it I said, "This is the one! This is perfect!" I started praying for it right away. :) The home is located in Estancia Velha, the city in which plans have begun to start working with a new church planting ministry. God's provision for us will allow us to open our home for church services if necessary, and will provide ample space for youth activities (it has a big yard - wow!!!), hospitality ministries, etc. We are thrilled!!! The owner of the home was asking much more for rent than we could afford, but by God's grace, he lowered the rent significantly to fit within our budget - praise the Lord! What a blessing and encouragement this is to all of us - especially in light of the church planting plans that are underway. Pray with us that God will use this home for His glory, that we will always commit it to Him for His use. Thank you! :) And thank you for praying for us as we house hunted... :)
God's time and way is perfect - always.

Well, speaking of perfect, that reminds me of my hubby, Jon... (smile again :)) who just happened to have his birthday last week ~ :) The folks at church found out that it was to be his birthday, and so the night before, at choir practice, they surprised him with a birthday cake and a special time of fellowship in celebration.
They also gave him this message:
"We know that you are far away from your family, those that you would usually celebrate your birthday with. But, we wanted you to know that we are so glad to have you here, and that we want to be a family to you as well."

And speaking of family, here's ElliAnna ~smiling as usual, growing like crazy, making friends, "birthing" new teeth (as they say here), learning how to sing, loving to watch "horseys!" on a movie, running, reading books, stopping once in a while to sleep.... :)



Thank you all for keeping in touch with us and for your continued prayers - God is so good!