Thanks, Sam!

A huge thank you to Sam Petruc for thinking of all of us!  Your generosity made it possible to have TWO pizza parties (that's lunch AND dinner times two!) You are a blessing and we can't wait to see you again! (I'll send more pictures next week when we have the second one!)

Happy Birthday, Marciano!

Marciano turned 13 on Sunday and it was a joy to see his excitement as he opened his presents!  He is a precious young man with a beautiful smile and a gentle spirit.  He and his brother have been with us since the end of May and need your prayers for their future.  

Talent Show

New Shoes

Good tennis shoes are very expensive here so we were very blessed to find out that the First Friends team brought new shoes for each of the kids!  Kevin and Carol Nisly attend First Friends and Mike and I were their youth pastors when they were in high school.  When they heard about the team coming down, they told Levi Swegheimer that they wanted to help. Thank you for reaching out to our children here in Brazil! 

Puzzle Race

The puzzles the First Friends team brought down for us made for a great activity one afternoon when we were waiting for snack to be served!  Each group raced to put their hundred pieces together...and even though Pastor Chris and Janelle's team won and Pastor Stan, Chris, Levi, Donei, and Mikhail's team came in last--everyone had a blast! :) 

SAND VOLLEYBALL!

Huge thank you to the First Friends team for all their help with the sand for our new volleyball court!  After a few hours of some hard work moving sand, the team pulled out a new net they had brought and immediately started playing volleyball with the kids.  It has been a huge hit for the older kids, as well as the younger kids who are enjoying their new sandbox! :)

First Friends Youth In Turvo!

It was absolutely wonderful to have people from our church here with us and God used each one in a mighty way to bless the children, as well as the staff. They arrived with literally a ton of donations to enhance our ministry: clothes, medicines, computers, games, birthday presents, sports equipment...and of course, chocolate chips and peanut butter! They did a VBS program each morning, games in the afternoon, and another fun activity in the evening. In between, they showered our kids with the Father's agape love. One of the highlights of the week was a time of prayer and worship in English for us and Kristin.  One night, glow-in-the-dark soccer was a huge hit, followed by a bonfire with lots of s'mores and worship. We visited Entre Rios for a trip to the waterfall and to meet the children there. Please pray for God to use this trip to stir hearts of future missionaries!

SURPRISE!

Last Friday, we were all surprised to discover that Bella wasn't fat when she arrived...she was pregnant!  It has been a joy to watch mother and child together.  We still aren't totally for sure if the baby is a horse or a mule but love him just the same. :) Pray for continued health for all of our animals and that they will be a benefit to our ministry with the children.