Safely Back in Brazil

Thank you to all who have prayed for us! We have arrived safely and are finally able to update. And post some pictures, of course. :) (There are more on facebook! You can add us as friends if you haven't already.)

 

Here we are enjoying the last few day in the good ole USA.  We stayed for the last few days at my mom's house so that we could pack up our things and clean the house we were staying in, etc. This also gave us a little extra time to spend together.  In these pictures, my stepfather, Jack, is taking the boys for a ride on his Harley.  They LOVED it! (Johann above, Israel below, and Joshua below that.)

Last times with the cousins!

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Enjoying Grandma's tub!

And here we are at the airport, one day later than we planned. Our original flight got cancelled, because it was supposed to go through Miami, right when the hurricane hit. So, we got an extra day in the US, and the following day, our flight went through Dallas instead. This was all fine, except that the new itinerary gave us an eight hour layover in Sao Paulo. While making the trip super long and tiring, even this "down side" had an "up side", as Fabio's brother Fernando and his family were able to come to the airport to hang out with us for about four hours. It was wonderful to see them, and this also made the time go much faster.

Waiting in Dallas

Olivia's first post-uterine air travel!

By the time we got to the baggage claim at Sao Paulo, the kids were pretty tired. :)

Above and below: at the Sao Paulo airport with cousins Leo and Bia

Fabio's brother Fernando got to meet Olivia for the first time. (Can't believe I have no pictures of his wife Carol! My head was not all there by this point!)

Well by the time we had our last little flight, and then got stuck in rush hour traffic on the way home, I was just shot. I had not slept at all on the plane, and it had been about 35 hours since we had left home. I felt so sick to my stomach! Yuck! Luckily, our dear friends had made us some soup to eat on the way home, and this revived me enough to go home, dig out sheets for everyone's beds, set up Olivia's pack-n-play, and crash. A good night's rest did us all good and we were feeling much better by the next morning.

The mosquitoes were more than happy to welcome Olivia and initiate her to life in Brazil....  :(

So we jerry rigged a screen to put over her pack-n-play. It has helped immensely, and she has not gotten any more bites since then. She was wanting me to get her from her nap in this picture and could not understand why I tarried to take a picture!!

As many of you know, the vehicle situation in Brazil has been a constant trial. This time is not proving to be any different! In our five passenger car, with the addition of Olivia's carseat, the other four children have to squeeze into the remaining two spaces, which provides to be.... interesting. Character building, I hope.  Unsafe, yes, and also illegal. :( The problem is that there are very few seven passenger vehicles in Brazil, and the ones that exist are not very affordable. So pray that we would find one that we can afford... soon. :)

In other news, the kids have been readjusting to Brazil fairly well.  They have been mostly entertained by gathering myriads of little snails in the backyard and creating very interesting habitats for them. :)

 I (Elizabeth) have been working steadily on trying to get organized. You may remember that we packed up everything in our house here before leaving Brazil to allow another couple to live here, so this has caused .... a disorganized mess! So, I am trying to keep my head above water, trying to squeeze school into the chaos, and maybe making a little progress in the organizing our lives process. And helping Fabio as much as I can.

Fabio is spending most of his time working on the material for the post-parenting seminar small group study guide. We understand that a one-time seminar will be inadequate to completely change many families' perspective. So, we are endeavoring to develop a seven week study for them to do after attending the seminar to further develop the topics, giving them time to embrace the vision, digest well the information, and consider how to practically take steps to change the way things operate in their homes. Because this is designed to do in a small group setting (with homework for individuals during the week), this will also give them an opportunity to pray together, discuss issues, and provide accountability for one another.

Please pray for this!! We feel that the Lord continues to confirm His direction for us in family ministry in many ways and this greatly excites us!  Please pray for clarity of thought and Holy Spirit inspiration as we finish this up. (The material for the basic seminar is already finished and we are ready to go with the seminar!)

We will be traveling to Timbó next week to discuss the possibilities of parenting seminars there, and there is a possibility that Fabio may have the opportunity to travel to Recife to present the material at a pastor's seminar as well. Please pray about these opportunities and others, that God would provide open doors.

~Your Fellow Servants for the Kingdom, The Tsukayamas