SPECIAL GUESTS

This past Sunday we received some special guests that stayed through this morning (Wednesday). They were our friends Kléber and Juracema. They are missionaries in Mozambique, Africa. My husband and I have had the opportunity to visit them in Africa twice together. We have developed a good friendship with them. We feel very honored to have them as friends. They have devoted the past 13 years of their lives living in Nampula, reaching out to a people group called "Macua". They have started 52 small churches in Nampula and along the coast of Mozambique.

We had some precious time with Kléber and Juracema, eating, chatting, talking about ministry in Africa and in Brazil, praying together and we also got to listen to Kléber preaching on Sunday evening. He preaches with an amazing authority and annointing from God!

This morning we had Pr. Iran Bernardes and his wife Neuza for a quick breakfast and some fellowship time with Kléber and Juracema before they left to their last stop in Brazil (Goiânia) and then they will be flying back to Africa next Monday.

We will continue to uplift them in prayer weekly, as they continue to fight the good fight in Mozambique. God bless you, my friends!

BOOKS AND SCHOOL

There are only two weeks left of "Summer vacation" for our kids before they go back to school. In BraZil the school year starts in February and goes through the end of November. They have 3 to 4 weeks off in July (plus all the many, many holidays that we have in Brazil).

Another thing that's different here is that we buy our own books, besides notebooks and the other little stuff. Books are very expensive down here, especially High School books. Last year we spent a lot of money buying books. Fortunately, there are about 5 books that are good for the 3 years of High School (not 4, like in the States). So, since Jonathan is a sophomore and Victoria a freshman, I was able to divide 2 of the books into 3 parts (for a very cheap price). I might do that with a couple other books. And then I only have to buy one new Geography book for Jonathan (besides the reading books that the teachers ask throughout the year).

Another good thing is that Brasilia has a lot of "used books stores". It is tough job to go from one to the next looking for the book you want, but we will try and do that.

I have to say that Victoria is a little nervous with the idea of going back to school. She thinks that Brazilian schools are that much harder and it is a lot of stress for her. I keep reminding her that she did well last year and that if she does her part the Lord will bless her again.

NEVER ENOUGH SHELVES

When you move into a new house you realize how many shelves, cabinets and storage places you really need. I praise God that Bruce is a handy man. He's been putting up shelves for us. He has put up 3 large shelves for linen. And he's putting up some shelves in the pantry. They are looking really nice. But... yesterday as I was re-organizing stuff... we still have a room (the guestroom) full of boxes of stuff that we have to find places for. I was tempted to feel discouraged. I thought of our house in Green Bay. When we moved into it all the closets and cabinets were there. It was fairly easy to organize and arrange everything then. Then, again, I think of the people we have met in Africa who don't even have a place to live. I guess, when we put things into perspective... we don't really have any problems. Praise God for a new house that we have to organize, put up shelves, buy cabinets, do the landscaping, etc.

DOG SCARE

Living in this new area of houses in Brasilia is a new experience for us. They call "Condominiums" a street that has 8 walled/fenced in houses (in our case) with a gate at the entrance. Each house has its own walls/fences and gate also. I believe all of the houses (except ours) has big scarry dogs. The owners usually let their dogs out (within their yards) at night, for safety reasons. The following picture shows our street with the entrance gate at the end.

Well, the lady who cleans our house had told me before that she was afraid of the 2 big dogs at the house across from ours. They always bark when she comes in at around 6:45AM. Well, last week, as she was approaching our house, they started barking. Then she noticed that the gate was slightly open. One of the dogs ran toward her. She started to run and tripped on a rock. She then, grabbed a stone to threaten the dog, which stopped and backed out just a little. She got up and ran towards our door screaming. The dog ran after her. That's when we woke up with her screams. I got up thinking that Victoria was screaming. Ran into her room and she was sleeping. Then I understood that it was Magda, our lady. Fortunately the dog didn't bite her. It went back to the street. Magda had some scratches on her leg and she was traumatized by the experience. This is the house accross from ours - they have two big dogs.

From the window we could see the 2 big dogs and a little one (from the same house) walking in the street. We got a hold of the neighbors and told them that their gate was open, the dogs were out and one of them scarred our cleaning lady. That made it for a "different day" in our lives. After Magda calmed down and had breakfast she was able to clean the house. We kept talking about the incidence througout the day. We prayed with her before she left and told her that I would pick her up at the front gate, by car, next time she comes.

This is the front of our house. There's much to be done on the outside: cleaning the lot, landscaping, the entrance to the garage, the front walls with gates.

Bruce talked to the neighbor later on during the day. He apologized and Bruce was firm to say that he had to take some measures in order for that not to happen again, to which he said: "only if I kill the dogs..." Well... we want to have good relationships with our neighbors. In fact, we already pray for their salvation. Hopefully this incident will not hinder our relationship to keep growing.

NO CONNECTION FOR A WHILE

I have been suffering from "Internet Withdrawal" lately. When we moved into the house there were a few bills that we didn't receive and didn't pay in time. The internet was one of those. It took us a couple of days to figure out what was going on. After we paid the bill, it took them 3 days to get us re-connected. It is frustrating how things work so much slower around here. But, it is always an opportunity to grow in patience and endurance.

Now that we're back, I've also learned a little better how to put pictures into the blog (it took me a couple of hours :) but I think I got it. So, I'm anxious to start writing my entries with pictures soon.

CHRISTMAS 2008, in Brasilia

Our Christmas was very nice! On the 24th we had a Christmas dinner at our friend's Iran Bernardes and his wife Neuza's. On the 25th we had a Christmas lunch at my sister's, Rosana, together with my Mother. On the evening of the 25th, Tammy, Marcos and Caroline came over to spend time together. We played some games, had snacks and talked to Heidi and Kim on the webcam. Caroline spent the night with us. On the 26th (still on the spirit of Christmas) we spent the day at Tammy's. We had a great American meal (stuffed "Turkey", baked potatoes, etc.), played games, had taco salad for supper and came home later on that evening.



As a church, we had a Christmas Cantata which took place on December 13th. Tammy, Victoria and I were part of the 60 voice choir who practiced since September, every Wednesday night. Jonathan was also a part of it, but not as a singer. A group of 6 boys practiced a coreography and they danced to a couple of songs. That totally surprised me because I never knew Jonathan liked to dance, although I knew he would have good rithym, since he is learning drumming.



The best part of being part of the MGM Choir was the opportunity we had to sing at a Hospital to a group of Mothers of prematurebabies. It was good to see the ladies being touched by God's Spirit as we shared, sang and prayed with them.



God is good and His mercies endure forever!

To Blog or not to Blog

Wow! I can't believe I was able to prepare this blog all by myself. Unbelievable! But I did it! None of my kids have been helping me. I did it all by myself. I can't believe it myself. But anyways, this is to prove that "old dogs can still learn new tricks". I know, I know... I'm not that old. I'm just computer challenged. But here I am. A new blogger in cyberspace. I think I will enjoy having this. And from now on, I'll write whenever I want to and people can choose when and if they want to read my stories.

I hope this will enhance my communication with friends and family. I also hope this will bless each and every person who chooses to check the "Colson's Update".