Graduations, Rain, and Randomness

May 2009 has many of you making your annual treks to high school gymnasiums, stadiums and large public venues for the commencement celebrations of this year's graduating classes. We wish to send our biggest congratulations to our brothers who have finished the high school portion of their education. Congrats Luke, Philip, and Andrew. (Sorry Andrew, I didn't have a sweet three year old picture of you to post today. I do want to thank Rozy Kunnari for the facebook picture to the right.) Changes come in big ways during three short years. These guys are now passing around their handsome "IPOs."

Speaking of high school graduations, this year, 2009, marks the (gulp) tenth anniversary of my (Jon's) completion of high school. I think I've managed to get in touch with everyone in my class, we're planning a great reunion in two months in Campo Bom, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Should be fun!! ;). Wait a minute . . . we had on last month in Mossoro, and last week in Pacoti, and two months ago in Iguape. Oh well, we like to get together.

Seriously, rain continues to fall in Northeast Brazil. One veteran missionary told me that he cannot remember a rainy season with this much rain. It started raining during the middle of February and has rained an average of three days a week ever since. Needless to say, rain with this kind of frequency has it's dramatic effects. Numerous cities in the interior of our state have suffered greatly as a result of dams being inundated with water and breaking. Many of these towns have Bible churches in them that have obviously been affected by the floods. Pray for their congregations and their outreach in devastating times. Sometime when you have a spare moment, look at these pictures to see some of the damage. When you do look at the pictures, make sure you check out the 40 KM/hr. sign that was stuck in the middle of one of the holes in the road. That is a very appropriate picture as abundant rain, insufficient drainage, warm sunshine and heavy use have taken their toll and have made driving-while-dodging-potholes an Olympic qualifying sport.

We continue to plug away at our language mountain. We are enjoying some of the views as we reach higher elevations, though the higher we get often reveals higher peaks to climb that were hidden from veiw at the bottom.