On one of our flights to Brazil, a flight attendant asked Ava where she was from and she said “I don’t know”. The flight attendant told us about it and was laughing about the preposterousness of it. Brin and I laughed at the time, but in hindsight we could relate more with Ava than the flight attendant.
It was a long journey back to Brazil, we left on a Saturday and got to Altamira on the following Friday. In-between we spent a few days in Manuas and a few in Santarem, applying for our permanent visa (ironic, considering the lack of permanence in our lives). We weren’t sure how we were going to feel when we arrived back “home”, but to our relief it has truly felt like home. We got busy unpacking our boxes, the ones we brought as well as the ones we had packed up before we left. During our time in the States, the Hanson family (whose house we are renting) came for a visit and sold all of their furniture and belongings. We returned to a much emptier house, but what remains is now ours to make our own home. Our first in Brazil.
One small way that God provided on our journey back was with our luggage. We were returning with 10 pieces of luggage (6 of which were actually rubbermaids). Two years worth of homeschool books, clothing and ministry supplies. When we arrived in Brazil, 7 of our pieces were not with us. Six of the pieces were left in Panama City at our previous connection but the 7th was supposed to be there Manaus. Hmmmmmmmmmm? The six rubbermaids would be coming, we were told, and hopefully someone accidentally just took the wrong suitcase out of the airport and would return it as soon as they discovered their mistake. We hoped it was just a mistake but the thought did occur to us that it would be a lucrative move for a thief to steal a huge Rubbermaid from an overseas flight. Bummer for him though because as it turns out that suitcase was filled with used clothing and a bunch of books in English. It did not include the laptop, monitor, ipod, tools or computer that were in other suitcases. So we had to chuckle at that one. Haha, the jokes on you! But actually there was no joke to be had because the suitcase showed up the next day; it was indeed a case of mistaken identity. But we still had the headache of dealing with the other late luggage. The upside of the whole situation was that we didn’t have to take them through customs; the downside was I was hoping to put those 7 pieces on a flight to Altamira the day we arrived in Manuas. We didn’t want to haul them around to our hotels in Manuas and Santarem, and we would have paid an overage fee for them anyway on our flight to Altamira. After many calls back and forth to the airport, our airline agreed to send them as cargo to Altamira. We still weren’t sure if we were going to be charged, or when they were going to arrive, but amazingly, four of the seven were on our flight when we arrived in Altamira. The other 3 are another story. After more calls and even some trips to the airport, they finally showed up yesterday, 8 days after we arrived in Manaus. However, we didn’t have to pay a cent, a savings of around $500.
If you’ve made it this far you deserve a conclusion. In the midst of our luggage debacle, we felt stressed and worried that things weren’t going as we planned, but in the end it worked out much better. Late luggage is typically a bad thing, but God in His provision and sovereignty placed 350 pounds of luggage in Altamira without us having to cart it around and without paying a dime. This was just a little thing, but in bigger things we need to trust God all the more that His way is better than ours, even when we can’t see it at the time.
-JTP
It was a long journey back to Brazil, we left on a Saturday and got to Altamira on the following Friday. In-between we spent a few days in Manuas and a few in Santarem, applying for our permanent visa (ironic, considering the lack of permanence in our lives). We weren’t sure how we were going to feel when we arrived back “home”, but to our relief it has truly felt like home. We got busy unpacking our boxes, the ones we brought as well as the ones we had packed up before we left. During our time in the States, the Hanson family (whose house we are renting) came for a visit and sold all of their furniture and belongings. We returned to a much emptier house, but what remains is now ours to make our own home. Our first in Brazil.
One small way that God provided on our journey back was with our luggage. We were returning with 10 pieces of luggage (6 of which were actually rubbermaids). Two years worth of homeschool books, clothing and ministry supplies. When we arrived in Brazil, 7 of our pieces were not with us. Six of the pieces were left in Panama City at our previous connection but the 7th was supposed to be there Manaus. Hmmmmmmmmmm? The six rubbermaids would be coming, we were told, and hopefully someone accidentally just took the wrong suitcase out of the airport and would return it as soon as they discovered their mistake. We hoped it was just a mistake but the thought did occur to us that it would be a lucrative move for a thief to steal a huge Rubbermaid from an overseas flight. Bummer for him though because as it turns out that suitcase was filled with used clothing and a bunch of books in English. It did not include the laptop, monitor, ipod, tools or computer that were in other suitcases. So we had to chuckle at that one. Haha, the jokes on you! But actually there was no joke to be had because the suitcase showed up the next day; it was indeed a case of mistaken identity. But we still had the headache of dealing with the other late luggage. The upside of the whole situation was that we didn’t have to take them through customs; the downside was I was hoping to put those 7 pieces on a flight to Altamira the day we arrived in Manuas. We didn’t want to haul them around to our hotels in Manuas and Santarem, and we would have paid an overage fee for them anyway on our flight to Altamira. After many calls back and forth to the airport, our airline agreed to send them as cargo to Altamira. We still weren’t sure if we were going to be charged, or when they were going to arrive, but amazingly, four of the seven were on our flight when we arrived in Altamira. The other 3 are another story. After more calls and even some trips to the airport, they finally showed up yesterday, 8 days after we arrived in Manaus. However, we didn’t have to pay a cent, a savings of around $500.
If you’ve made it this far you deserve a conclusion. In the midst of our luggage debacle, we felt stressed and worried that things weren’t going as we planned, but in the end it worked out much better. Late luggage is typically a bad thing, but God in His provision and sovereignty placed 350 pounds of luggage in Altamira without us having to cart it around and without paying a dime. This was just a little thing, but in bigger things we need to trust God all the more that His way is better than ours, even when we can’t see it at the time.
-JTP
During our time in the States, Ella struggled with knowing that we were returning to Brasil. She wanted to stay close to grandparents and go to public school and be with friends. Ella is about as social as a 10 year old can get if you don’t know her. So I sorta resorted to a bribe to sweeten the deal; she would get her own room. For most of you, it is probably the size of your closet. But she loved it and for the first few days we set it up and helped her decorate it. In penguins. So yes, you can now find penguins in a tropical rainforest.
-BZP
6 comments:
"to our relief it has truly felt like home"
this line makes my heart smile.
thanks for sharing how your emotions are; we were all just dying to know.
we would take you back in a heartbeat, you know. But we stand with you in the strength of our God, knowing you step into the place of His will for you.
with love, Sonya
Thanks for your honesty, we have been praying each morning and it did our hearts well to know those prayers were heard and answered!
love to you all,
rich and vick
So many things are beautiful about all of this: your courage in being faithful to God's call on your lives, watching your gentle shepherding of your girls through the transitions to and from the US, the love and support extended to you by your brothers and sisters in Christ, the story of God's care for the details of your luggage, and the eternal value of your ministry to precious people in a remote place. It's a delight for us to watch it all unfold. We remember you every day with joy and awe in God's faithfulness. Dad P
Good move in giving Ella her own "space." Glad to know the travel worked out for you and you have made it to your temporary home. (Heaven is the final one!) -h.p.
so glad to hear you arrived safely with all your bags, every detail worked out! We will pray for your continued transition. Love to see more pics of your home :)
Love, Kristy
i'm glad to know your back home and that you feel like it is home! yeah. that makes my heart happy! glad to hear that you are finding the blessings in the craziness of life! that's a good thing. because that's a lesson we all need to remember! no matter where we are. look forward to hearing more about your homemaking! xx, jane
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