Here are some pictures I took from the car earlier this week. Beautiful isn't it?
Hello Friends and Family!
This is Lara. On Tuesday Mike, Tom, Maciah (18 yo bro from Ohio) and Sam (19 yo bro from UK)left to catch the bus that goes way down into the interior to the small town of Lethem on the border of Brazil. It is normally a 14 hr ride on a mud road in the middle of the jungle. There were some complications on the way and so they were travelling for nearly 17 hrs on a washed out road. Finally they made it to Lethem. They are giving talks in the small congregation there and also 2 small meeting groups in the area. Today Mike travelled to give a public talk to a group of publishers a few hrs from Lethem. Needless to say, they are all having incredible exeriences and Mike will have LOTS to tell when he gets back in the end of October!
Michelle and I are very sad to be without our husbands for so long but we have each other and are staying very busy in the ministry.
As some of you know, the home we have all been living in will no longer be available after Dec. We informed the Branch and they asked for all of us to try to remain in the area so that we can stay in the Brighton Cong. There are many nice, empty homes here. The owners live in the states and come back thoughout the year to visit. In most cases they have no interest in anyone living in it while they are gone.
THE FOLLOWING IS A LONG EXPERIENCE BUT PLEASE READ IT!
For one of our family worship nights (Sanches and Us) we wrote down the specifics of a place to pray for. It was detailed but realistic. The biggest concern was financial. None of us budgeted for paying rent or purchasing a fridge, stove, bed, dishes, and all other house hold items. Fortunately, Sanches brought their own bed and kitchen things and other household items. Mike and I brought nothing. Fridges and stoves here are about half the size as ones in the states and can be around $500-700 US. Its appalling. So this was a major matter of prayer. We also wanted to find a place before the guys left on Sept 29th and prayed about this specifically. Our first choice was for us to stay together but we were not able to find a home large enough. Because there are need-greaters that come for a few months at a time and go, we were praying for a place large enough for them to stay in. Lots of homes here are not places any of us would be comfortable living in, even for just a short time and all of us would like any visitors to be in a place they feel safe and relatively comfortable.
After anxiety, lots and lots of searching and even more prayer, we have been able to find places to live and it was finallized the night before the guys left!
Through word of mouth we found a place a few villages from where we are at (which is great so that I can walk to many of my studies still). The home is on the top floor, 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, nice bathroom. (I did not want an outside toilet especially w/all the bugs!!!). It has an adorable porch that faces the ocean side so we get a great breeze all the time. It also overlooks a pretty farm and lots of trees. We need to clean it thoroughly and seal the place up so that the big critters stay out. Something really amazing also happened... the owner does not want rent. And he agreed to a 2 yr contract!!!
We still had the concern of expensive kitchen appliances. Last week on Thursday, a missinary couple told us about a family of need greaters that are leaving and they were selling all there things. We called them that day and drove 45 mins away to look at there things. I bought a stove, fridge and few smaller items for a very good deal. Our next concern was how on earth were we going to get them home. There isn't exactly a u-hual here to hire. Most our cong has no vehicle. Michelle and I were both praying about it on the way home. We saw a truck pass us on the road that said "truch for hire". I waved him down and ran out to meet him. I told him our situation. He asked what church we are associated with and it turns out that he and his whole family are studying and atteding meetings! We called his son, the owner of the truck, that night. He was happy to do the moving for free!
Just relating the story makes me cry and we are in total awe of Jehovah's interest and support of his people!
Even though we got a 2 yr contract on the house, that does not mean we will not come home before that for a few months to work. We have no idea how things will go financially. We still need to get a bed and all other household items. Right now the target date that we are praying for is Spring 2011.
Michelle and Tom also found a house. It's a large concrete home that a brother in NY owns. It needs a lot of work but it has 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It's not totally final that they will live there but it sounds like it will be. The place is good for them. It's very Americanized, with normal windows and lots of room. Tom has a lot of experience with remodeling so they can handle it. The home owners will be paying the cost of materials.
There are 3 sisters from the states coming to our cong to help out in the ASL territory. They are looking for places to stay and likely one of them will be staying with us from Dec- May.
IF ANYONE HAS BEEN THINKING ABOUT COMING TO WHERE THERE IS A HUGE NEED, PLEASE E-MAIL US. WE CANNOT EXPRESS TO YOU THE NEED FOR ENCOURGEMENT IN THE CONGREGATIONS, AND THE NEED FOR BROTHERS ESPECIALLY. THE TERRITORY NEEDS SO MUCH ATTENTION AND MUCH OF THIS COUNTRY HAS NEVER BEEN REACHED. PLEASE COME HELP US.
To those of you leaving comments- thank you. It means a lot to us. If you have any questions about anything else here please email. There is so much to tell that we can't possibly post most of it but we are happy to email if anyone wants more info on this country, the people, the ministry.
Please pray for the success of the missionary trip that Mike and Tom are on and for their safety. Thank you.
Love,
Lara
Michelle and I met this incredibly sweet donkey. He loved being pet!
Here is Tom and Michelle last Sunday on the way to meeting. Don't they look great?
Here are the two brothers that came to go on the mission into the interior with Tom and Mike. On the left is Sam from England and on the right is Maciah from Ohio. They are both very mature and spiritual. It was a pleasure to have them visiting the congregation and a great example for the young ones in our congregation. Until now, the only single need-greaters they had met were sisters. After getting to know these 19 yr old brothers, the young ones in our congregation were moved.
Here is Tom, Michelle and Maciah in service last week.
Down the street some locals caught a BABY anaconda in the trench next to the road. They were very happy about it as you can see in the picture. I think they like to eat them. The young man on the right in the army green shirt is a brother in our congregation.
