Story From The Field

Every Monday morning Asas has a corporate worship and prayer time, usually with a speaker. The speaker they had today is actually a fellow student of Joel's. He just got back from a trip to the Manaus area, pronounced muh-nouse (rhymes with mouse). Manaus is one of the places that we might be sent to.

Asas was doing an AMDE outreach up in that area (this includes medical, dental, and evangelism). Joel's fellow student, Eber, is actually a dentist. He and his wife moved here to join Asas following the call God placed on their hearts to serve here. So, he gave up his practice and came (they are both Brazilian). They were short a dentist last week in Manaus, so they asked him to go.

They were also supposed to have a certain evangelist join them there, but he had to bail at the last minute. In his place though, he sent someone else. Eber and the others got to the airport to pick up this guy's replacement and they waited and waited. They finally came to realize that their guy was there the whole time. They didn't recognize him. Why? They didn't know they were supposed to be looking for a 15-yr. old. They all thought, "what the heck?"

Eber said though that they learned a great deal last week about judging. Their first thoughts when they saw this young guy was bewilderment as to why this other evangelist had sent him. They were thinking they were going to have to basically "babysit" all week long. He said that they were so wrong. This kid BLEW them away. The things he did with the people, the games he played with the kids...crowds were just drawn to him, eager to learn more about Jesus because of this 15-yr. old. Joel said Eber showed a picture of this huge crowd of people just lined all around. Eber said, "You think this would be a picture of the crowds waiting for medical and dental attention. Nope. This crowd was drawn by that kid."

Amazing. I bawled as Joel told me that story. I'm bawling now as I type this. Joel said that he would love to meet that kid. I said that I would love to meet his parents. Of course sometimes a person is called and used by God in incredible ways even when they have loser parents. But also sometimes a person like this is helped to become like this greatly by his parents. What did they do to encourage these gifts and talents? When did they first notice these things about their son and how did they facilitate growth in those areas? I'm intrigued. Of course, they could be great parents and still be just as surprised and as intrigued as I am at the things their son is allowing God to accomplish through him. You never know. But, I wonder.

I wonder because of course I think, what if when that kid was 3, he was just like Grady? What if my son or daughter will be the equivalent of the next Billy Graham or Corrie ten Boom? It's so exciting to think of what they will be and what they will become. Of course they don't have to be what we think of as "great" or "famous people after God"...like the Billy Grahams and others. I will be proud of them and love them no matter what of course. If they are running after God with all their hearts then my job will have been done successfully. But, it is exciting to think of all the potential there and it does motivate a mother to be on her toes when I hear a story like this one. It reminds me and excites me about really getting to know my kiddos...what makes them tick, what they are made for, what God has planned for them. So fun. So exciting. Such a great honor to be the one that has the ability to mold and shape. Scary that sometimes that same ability is misused and instead of molding and shaping, tearing down and incapacitating occurs, even though it may be done completely accidentally. I am up for this challenge and the fun ride God has for us with our kids...and of course He will guide our every step so that His purposes will prevail in our lives and the lives of our children! Awesome!!

Now for some pictures of these precious little people in our care (and lots of pictures at that...LOTS...so get ready...and as always, if you wish to enlarge the picture, just click on it)...


Remember the birthday party we went to a couple of weeks ago? This is the birthday girl, Ana Clara. The party was at the playground just up the hill from our house.
The kids...and check out that cake. Chocolate upon chocolate, with chocolate sprinkles...heaven for a pregnant girl. And to top it off...strawberries in that chocolate. Not a bad deal.






Princess, as the bib proclaims.
















The baby is the birthday girl's little sister. The man in the stripes is our next-door neighbor, Andre. He lives to the right of us. He brought his little girl, Poliana...she is the smallest girl standing.
The kids playing.
One day when we (me and the kids) went up to the playground to hang out with everyone. Asa was not so sure about this very dark lady from Africa at first (not sure if it was her skin tone or her rowdiness), but quickly grew attached to her. I forgot her name, but she is C-R-A-Z-Y. I don't speak her language very well yet, but I could tell...hilarious and fun chic.

Always has a smile for the camera.
















My new favorite picture of the kids. LOVE this picture! It really kind of shows their personalities I think...Grady the sweet little boy, Hadley the little stinker, and Asa the cheerful baby. We were all ready to go to our Independence Day celebration/BBQ at our neighbor's house. Tim and Tammy live to the left of us. They have 2 children who they adopted here. Ben is 14 I think, Rachel is 11 (I think...something like that).








What a cute little load, don't you think?







Walking in front of our house to get there. My family wondering why I'm taking frame-by-frame pictures. :) Asa's even pointing at me as if to say, "Who's that crazy lady?" :)






Hadley has become quite the poser. So funny. That is Sara with her. She will be 2 in December. They live 2 doors down from us, on the other side of Andre (the guy at the birthday party). Her dad is from the UK and her mom is Brazilian but went to the UK for college. So, when her mom speaks english it is in a british accent of course...and of course the little girl has a cute little accent as well. It's funny...when Brazilians hear our kids speaking english, they always talk about how cute it is to hear little kids speaking in english. I'm like, that's weird. But, I do the same thing...I think this little girl speaking in her cute little british accent is so cute. Funny the way we are.


Yes, and the posing continues. :) Also, this little chic never keeps a pair of shoes on.















The guy with the striped shirt is Tim. The guy in red is his brother. The other guy is Terry, the guy from the UK.














Ummm, where's Asa? :) Love those cute little legs and feet sticking out. Notice the doll in the crib with her (at her covered up head)...she loves it. It was mine when I was a little girl. And my Aunt Marilyn has gotten both the girls the same line of doll already for their own enjoyment. Isn't that cool?










Don't you just love this chair? I do too. My uncle gave it to me when I was a wee tot like my kiddos. Now, here it is, all the way in Brasil being played with by my kids. How fun.













MEXICAN NIGHT at the VanBeveren's...woohoo!! Thanks Steve and Kristin...it was yummy!!














Grady and his friend Michael.
Asa happy as a lark. Unfortunately, either right before this was taken or right after, she broke one of their really nice decorations...a really nice one (probably fine crystal or something)...eeek! Some people's kids. So sad, but they were totally great about it. We have plenty of stories like that. Stuff like that is bound to happen when you have all these toddlers running around at once.
Hadley and her friend, Maira. Yep, they had a video on...Hadley's eyes are nowhere near looking at me. :)
All ready for dessert...the kids all decked out in their hats.










Helping Mama make wipes.
















Enjoying one of Daddy's bird baths. She was trying so hard to grab the water...and was having a blast.

































































Lovin' from Asa.



Nothing like sisters.



Helping Daddy do dishes. This has become the assembly line and the kids love doing it. They take such pride in their work. Hadley is the master rinser. Grady is the master dryer and stacker...and of course the overseer of Hadley's rinsing skills. He's pretty meticulous. And Hadley is very teachable. They work very well together.


Gorgeous...just gorgeous. Wearing the cute little dress that Grandma made for Hadley last year.

Busy Few Days

As you all know, we finally got our stuff about a week ago. So, we've been super busy unpacking and finding a place for everything. It's been fun. We brought just enough stuff to make it feel like home, but not too much that we are overwhelmed and crowded. It's nice. Well, except for in the clothes area. We have lots of clothes, but I don't know how to not have a lot of clothes when you have all sizes for girls and boys age newborn to 6 (Grady can already wear some 6 stuff). We had alot given to us before we left also. Not to mention all of my maternity clothes. I've been pregnant in every season of the year, so I've got alot. Plus, again...despite having weeded out alot before we left, had more given to me too. I can't really give away...I'm obviously not done with pregnancies. So, other than the clothes issue (which will be an ongoing issue I'm sure), we are good. The clothes thing isn't that bad either...just takes alot of time to go through each closet and put away what doesn't fit anymore and put stuff in that does fit. So, lots of my time has been spent doing that. Now, geez...enough about that, right? :)

Last Wednesday night we went to a choir concert thing. It was supposed to start at 7:30, but didn't end up starting til 8:30. We were late as usual (because we are always late...and thank God it no longer matters now that we live in Brasil:) ), but since it was so late starting, our kiddos were done before the opening act. So, even thought it was nice...we had to leave.

Thursday night Asas de Socorro had a country party. It was fun. We all dressed up like country people and went and had good eats and played fun games. I say we dressed up like country people. I had pigtails in my hair and a sort of cowgirl looking shirt, but if I really wanted to look country like the country people I know, I would've had pink rollers in my hair and worn my house slippers.

Friday was the Brazilian equivalent to Independence Day, or 4th of July for the U.S. So, we were invited to a BBQ next door with our American friends who have been here about 15 years. They had also invited another couple who lives 2 doors down from us...he is British and she is Brazilian. They've been here 5 years. And another couple was there too...the brother of the host and his friend. It was a plus day for me though...they all spoke English. So, what did we speak all day? English! Ahh...it really was nice.

Saturday night we went over to Steve and Kristin's for a Mexican night. YUMMY!! We girls really miss our Mexican food, so we just had to whip some up ourselves. It was fun...and oh so tasty.

Sunday and Monday were spent just doing more unpacking. Joel left Tuesday morning to go to Belo Horizonte, a city southeast of here. He and Steve flew the same plane down that he had to go get in Boa Vista last month. They had to go get some documentation work done so the plane would be fly-able.

Last night Kristin, Michael, and Maira came over for some more Mexican...yeah, we just can't get enough.

Anyhoo, here are some pictures of our activities the past few days. The pictures from the Independence Day BBQ and the Mexican night are on the camera that Joel has with him, so you'll just have to wait for those. Enjoy the country party pictures though.


Before the country party pictures, here is one of the kids loving their loot from the crates. This is still going on. Toys are a good thing.
At the country party on Thursday. Kids just love to jump, don't they?
This is Jeyson. He's got an interesting story. His parents are Brazilian, but he grew up in Ecuador...his parents went there as missionaries. He went to an American school there and then to college in the states. He speaks perfect english with no accent, plus speaks spanish and portuguese of course. He is a student with Joel. He is getting married in December...to a girl from new Jersey.
Fishing...for paper fish.
Mmmmm!
Horsey rides and friends.











Asa making her way around.
















One of our favorite people, Josemil. He and his family are always laughing and having a great time. The church that we are thinking is our church is actually the church that they go to too.






The John Deere boy with his lasso.
















Michael bust-ing out. He is a dancing fool. He surprised everyone, even his parents. It was hilarious. The music started and he just got after it...for a long time.
Our leader...yes, the president of Asas de Socorro. He is so great. So silly just like the rest of us, but of course very leader-like when it's needed too.
A game where they had to find a ring with only their mouth in the pudding.









Can you tell we really enjoyed the candied apples?















Grady loving it too.
Most of the gang that was there.

I'm Here

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I am still alive. :)

We've been really busy this week. We're still working on unpacking the crates, but we're almost done with finding a place for everything. We've also had things going on almost every night...for the past 4 nights actually. I'll post pictures about those happenings later.

But, just wanted to touch base really quick. And, let you know that there are now available for your viewing pleasure hundreds of new pictures on our website from June and July. Go to www.EbersoleOnline.com, click on Pictures, and enjoy.

Off to finish unpacking.

Have a great Sunday!

Oh...also, our kids own 2 Boz DVD's. They love them. On one of my friend's blogs, she just posted this (hope you don't mind my copying and pasting, Aimee). I know I will be taking advantage of this great offer. For some free Boz stuff, here you go...

As our way of introducing BOZ to your family, we'd love to provide you with a FREE DVD sampler. This special DVD includes a full BOZ episode, a read-along book, BOZ's own video scrapbook, and more!

Hurry! This offer is only for the first 5,000 people who register, so don't wait. To access this FREE gift, please fill out the form on this page.

www.bozthebear.com/cfa

(insert from Chick-Fil-A)

Christmas in September

Guess what came yesterday?!?!?!? Yep...OUR STUFF...finally.

It was packed up on a truck in Saline, LA on May 1st. We had scheduled that it arrive just a few days after we did in Brasil. We arrived June 13th. Our American shipping company didn't do their homework and find out what was required as far as paperwork, therefore our stuff was detained at the port. Since we then looked suspicious I guess, the Brazilian responsible authorities had a field day requiring tons of further documents and charging us an arm and a leg for storage. Don't view this as a bitter post, but just a friendly Better Business Bureau tip...if you need to ship things from the states to another country, don't use Air7Seas. Not only did they not do their job on the front end of things, when things did go wrong...really bad customer service...hor-ri-ble.

Anyway, finally after a 2 1/2 month delay, yes, our stuff is here. It really is like Christmas. Super great things that I'd even forgotten I'd packed. It's really fun.

The kids were really excited, esp. Grady. He had been asking about stuff over the past few months (since it left May 1st) and we would always say, "It's in the boxes." He got quite accustomed to that and would eventually, when asking about something or other, would say, "Is it in the boxes?" Yesterday when the truck got here I came inside to get him. I told him to come, there was a surprise. He went outside, saw the truck, and said with eyes as wide as saucers and a voice in a loud whisper, "Is that our boxes?" He could hardly contain himself.

Anyway, we had a great time last night of barely starting the unpacking process. Here are a few pictures from yesterday.


So. Very. Exciting. We actually had to "fight" up til the very last. Here Joel is on the phone with the people at the port. The truckers wanted to charge us for delivering it to the house instead of the airport (where it would've gone if it would've been here in June).
The unloading process here in Brasil was quite different than the loading process done in the states where the crates were loaded by a machine (run by a less-than-in-shape man). Here it goes...off the truck...
...onto the dolly (with Asa looking on)...
...down the patio...
...and into the garage.
Back in May when the truck came to load it up, the Ferguson's (our neighbors, friends, owners of the house we were living in) came over to watch. Mrs. Gail wrote a little message on one. Awww. We seriously miss you too!





And a drawing by the budding artist, Daria. She didn't quite get done with her thought before the big burly loading man took it away.














The kids were just beside themselves with anticipation.















Especially when the crate we opened first just happened to be the one with their toys/stuffed animals/books/dolls. Boy, what luck!














"Wow, I have a bat and ball?"
















Can you see the relief of being reunited with her things/babies? Look at that squeeze.















She looked up and smiled hugging her dolls. I took a picture, but then she wanted me to take a picture with her dolls posed. :)

We are so excited to be able to play with a few different toys, read some different books, watch a few different movies. I am glad to have things like a mixer, blender, microwave, and crock-pot. Joel is excited to have his precious tools which will make his maintenance weeks at Asas much easier. The list goes on and on.

Thank you for your prayers regarding all this. Please continue to pray as we send receipts to Air7Seas. Pray that they will see and admit their errors and rectify the situation.