Why We'll Never be the Same.....

We love you all; we really do.....and we've missed being with our family and friends for the past 2 weeks. But when we return to America in just a few, short days, we will return much different than when we left on June 17th. Oh, we'll look the same. We'll sound the same (though we'll throw out a few Portuguese words every now and then, just for fun). And our daily schedules will resume. But a portion of our hearts will always remain in Niteroi, Brasil with the beautiful friends we have made here.

Here's a look at why we'll never be the same.....

Francisco & Kent

David & Kent

Brano & Bailey

Mariza & Bailey

Vinicius & Bailey

Charbelle & Edana

Dione & Edana

Thaysse & Edana

Carlos & Kent

Todd & Kent

Sidney & Kent

Bruno & Madison

Dayana & Madison

Our time in Niteroi has been two of the most amazing and life-changing weeks of our lives.  God has crossed our paths with some of His most wonderful creations....the people of Brasil.  We have been welcomed warmly into our neighborhood, into the church at O Caminho, and into the hearts of our readers and the missionaries at O Caminho.  

We are so grateful for what God has done through you to bring our family to Brasil!! Your prayers, encouragement and financial support have been a tremendous blessing. This opportunity for the four of us would not have been possible without you!  Heaven will hold even more souls because of your and our trust in God to do this work.  "Obrigado" from Kent, and "obrigada" from Edana, Bailey & Madison for this opportunity.

There's still more to come....even when we return home & try to grasp the magnitude of emotions we've felt this week.  We look forward to sharing more of this journey with you; but for now, please know that God has filled our hearts fuller than we could have ever imagined.

Muito amor!

k, e, b, & m

Boa Tarde from Brazil!!

....that's "Good Afternoon" in Portuguese!! Aren't you glad you're learning a new language with us? :)

It's been a wonderfully busy six days for us, as we are reading with and scheduling new readers every day. God is so good to be readying the hearts that are coming to us. It's amazing how His love transcends beyond any language barriers. Love is the same in all languages, as we are finding true every day!!

We'd love for you to pray with us over each of our readers that have met with/scheduled with us so far. They are.....Charbelle, Dione, Edna, Marilene, Fernanda, David, Daniel, Mariza, Natalia, Francisco, Thelus, Vinicius, Levi, Todd, Sidvey, Dayana, & Cemira. (It's okay if you don't pronounce them correctly. God knows who you're talking about.)

Bailey and Madison are quite a novelty here, and the word that two, cute American girls are practicing English is getting out. Please pray specifically that more young readers come in to read with both of them.

We're so incredibly humbled to be in this place, doing this work....and we pray that all we do and say is to the glory of God. With Him, all things are possible.....even a little family from Oklahoma flying to Brazil to share God's Word with our new Portuguese friends.

Please keep your prayers coming, friends. We need and WANT more readers!!

More pics to come.....thanks for taking this journey with us!

Muito Amor,
k, e, b & m

Bom Dia from Brasil!!

....that's "Good Morning" from Niteroi, Brazil!!

We arrived on Saturday morning, greeted by our host missionary, Zane. After a brief intro to Rio, we headed across the bridge and toward Niteroi, our destination city for this mission. Zane has been a gracious host, orienting us to the local markets, necessity stops, bakeries (YUM!!), our apartment, and of course, Igreja O Caminho (the church).

We have been so busy!! Being the first LST team in from Park Plaza, we have had some campaigning to do to get the word out about our reading sessions. (You might remember in earlier posts that we mentioned another team from Park Plaza who will come in for another 2 weeks after we leave. This will be an awesome continuation for our readers to continue to practice their English (and learn from the Gospel of Luke)....we're very excited about that!!) We campaigned in a wonderful park that plays hosts to an enormous number of families (fyi -- the population of Niteroi is 1 million!). We handed out 1,000 informational flyers about our work, which may sound like a lot. It is! But guess what? A team of juniors, seniors and their parents (from Park Plaza) came to volunteer at the church a week ago. Among the many wonderful works they did here included handing out 4,000 flyers about us coming!! We are sooooo excited (and appreciative) of their enthusiasm and dedication to the Lord's work.

We were so blessed to worship (in Portuguese) yesterday with the team of missionaries and church members at O Caminho. We were VERY warmly welcomed, and it was so amazing to watch what God has been and is doing through the Christians in Niteroi. We are very excited to be even a small part of the seed planting in helping grow God's church in Niteroi. (insert goosebumps here!)

There's so much to tell you about (and show you in pictures), but that will have to wait for other posts. Lots to do here, and our day is just beginning. Just know this....we love and appreciate you so very much for your prayers and support to make this work possible. Please keep those prayers coming. Our information meeting with interested readers is tonight at 7:30 (that's 5:30 CST). Please pray that God brings in the right readers for each one of us: Bailey, Madison, Wes, Kendall, Kent & Edana. Please pray for their hearts to be open, and please pray that each of us will be the vessel of God's love to relate to each reader. Thank you, in advance, for those prayers.

Much, much love to you!!

~k, e, b & m