Ruth continues to grow in size and beauty as her due date of September 19 approaches. The doctor recently said that the baby is healthy and in an upright, sitting position. If she does not move (it is rare for a baby to change position after 6-months), Ruth will probably have a c-section come the big day. We’re praying the baby turns over to have the option to have her naturally, but Ruth does like the idea of not having to feel all the pain of natural child birth! (I simply agree- the man’s job)
Ruth’s planning a big baby shower on August 1st, and you’re all invited! 
In fact, here’s the invitation. If you need directions, just get to your nearest airport and say “Take me to Santarém!” When they look at you crazy, you’ll know a little of how it feels to be a missionary.
Your presence in Santarém really would be the best gift, but since that might — just might — be a little hard to pull off, some have asked us how you can give a gift for the baby. Having anything of value sent through the mail is a sure way to let it sit for years in Brazilian customs. This has happened to missionaries more than once. Therefore the gift options are almost entirely limited to money. I have included a cute little “Baby Gift” on the side to give a gift through Project AmaZon. I know it’s not as fun, especially for our feminine family and friends who just love to do baby shopping! But good news at last: we will be back in the States next year, Lord willing August through October, and we will let you give the then one year old girl all the little baby bonnets and cute pink outfits that you desire. As long as there’s food involved for the parents! 
Stay tuned for more gushy baby news, such as the big upcoming announcement: the baby’s name! [CUE: Cheesy baby music] Until next time!
The signs of the times are everywhere — figuratively and literally. You just have to be on the lookout for them. Let’s take a few examples from our lives recently, some serious and others—well, you’ll see:
God, Send Me a Sign — But Not That One
The billboard said it all: Adote um Buraco or “Adopt a Pothole.” The roads here in Santarém were pounded by an especially intense rainy season, making driving in Santarém even more of an adventure than normal. Of course, even without the potholes, driving is always an adventure. Every day it seems that more want-to-be racers are recklessly flying through the streets of Santarém in their cars, on their motorcycles, and even on their bikes, making me wonder if I missed some important piece of news that qualifying for the Indy 500 would be held in Santarém this year. But watch out for those potholes that, if hit the wrong way, will send your car straight to mechanic’s shop, do not pass go, do not collect $200, no glass of milk in the winners circle for you.
Severe Weather
Drought in the Southeast. A 500-year flood along the Mississippi. Earthquakes in Illinois. And now, a waterspout (tornado over water) in Santarém — the weather sure has been crazy! Along the great plains of America, tornadoes are something that can be expected and even anticipated. But here along the Amazon River, they hardly ever, ever happen — an interesting phenomenon of being so close to the equator. This waterspout was seen right outside the Project AmaZon office here in Santarém,
Continue reading ‘Signs of the Times’
It seemed like something out of a movie, or out of one of those warm & fuzzy Christian-love stories that Ruth enjoys reading, but it was very real and very beautiful: 72 couples making their marriages legal and receiving the blessing of the Lord in their lives and marriages at the Collective Wedding at Central Church. What really made it special for Ruth and me was that two of the couples we’ve been discipling got married- all on our 5 year anniversary, June 21!
In Brazil, the cost of legally marrying is a decent chunck of change- the paperwork alone costs R$180 (about $100), not to mention the cost of the actually ceremonies. Therefore, much of the lower class never marries, living under curses instead of God’s blessings for the marriage relationship. The problem is generations old and an unfortunate part of Brazilian culture, cultivating generation after generation of broken homes.
Project AmaZon and it’s churches not only teach about biblical family values, but also help couples live by them. Our churches hold Collective Weddings, arranging both ceremonies so that all the couples share the cost, making it affordable to everyone. The civil wedding cost ends up being R$90 and the church charges only R$20 for the religious wedding. It was a huge step forward for our disciples to get married, and a beautiful answer to prayer. Ruth even lent her own wedding dress to Valdete to use for the wedding- being used 5 years later to the day, but on a new bride! What a great way to celebrate our 5 years anniversary! There’s still lots of work for us to do in teaching our disciples about God’s true and amazing purposes for the family, but this was a great step in the right direction. Praise God!
Published on June 6, 2008
in Lives.
Last Sunday, Ruth and I returned from our month-long EIFOL class in Curitiba, Southern Brazil. I’ll talk about the class a little further on down. It was an excellent class, and an excellent break from the heat of Santarém. It was quite chilly there (it’s Fall there, after all), so I got to wear plenty of my John Deere sweatshirt (the only sweatshirt I have here in Brazil). I even had a couple people ask me if I work for them!
During the class, we had simple living arrangements close to the JOCUM (or YWAM) base. We shared a kitchen and 2 bathrooms with 2 other married couples. We each had our own bedrooms, separated by nothing much more than glorified plywood. Let’s just say there were no private conversations, as everything, and I do mean everything, was audible from one room to the other. Ruth and I also had the experience of sleeping in 2 separate single beds that we pushed together so that our set of queen sized sheets would work!
Continue reading ‘From Fall to Summer: Curitiba to Santarém’
Published on May 4, 2008
in Lives.
Here we are in Curitiba! We’re here to take a month long course for Pastors and Missionaries in Brazil that starts Monday, but we came a week early to take advantage of our time down south and visit the Waterfalls of Iguaçu—and it was worth everything we went through to see them!
Just getting there
Leaving Santarém was an ever-quickening race ticking to the countdown of our Monday flight, and we were running everywhere to get everything done in order to go. An hour before we left on Monday, we got the Portuguese side of the website up! I’ve been without internet since then, so I trust it’s still there, working fine Talk about a close call!
Continue reading ‘The Falls of Iguaçu & Curitiba’
Ruth continues to grow in size and beauty as her due date of September 19 approaches. The doctor recently said that the baby is healthy and in an upright, sitting position. If she does not move (it is rare for a baby to change position after 6-months), Ruth will probably have a c-section come the big day. We’re praying the baby turns over to have the option to have her naturally, but Ruth does like the idea of not having to feel all the pain of natural child birth! (I simply agree- the man’s job)
Your presence in Santarém really would be the best gift, but since that might — just might — be a little hard to pull off, some have asked us how you can give a gift for the baby. Having anything of value sent through the mail is a sure way to let it sit for years in Brazilian customs. This has happened to missionaries more than once. Therefore the gift options are almost entirely limited to money. I have included a cute little “Baby Gift” on the side to give a gift through Project AmaZon. I know it’s not as fun, especially for our feminine family and friends who just love to do baby shopping! But good news at last: we will be back in the States next year, Lord willing August through October, and we will let you give the then one year old girl all the little baby bonnets and cute pink outfits that you desire. As long as there’s food involved for the parents! 
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Nate & Ruth
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