Saturday, September 27, 2008

going home...

I'm currently writing this from our hotel room in Miami. We were in this same hotel almost 3 months ago as we arrived back in the U.S. It's been an eventful and often chaotic visit. We have a broad mixture of emotions as we return to Brazil for another two years.

Brin was reading the other day about how Job was able to have hope, in spite of feeling like God had abandoned him. In fact, his faith was essentially the act of him saying that even though he felt like God abandoned him, in reality he hadn't been abandoned at all. So faith for Job was clinging to the idea that God had a purpose and was working in his life, even though it was a mess.

So we're learning to understand what it means for us to have faith in that same God. Faith in the presence of God, even though we don't always have evidence of that.

We will be spending two nights in Manaus, two nights in Santarem (applying for our permanent visa), and then arriving back in Altamira on Friday. We are looking forward to getting moved back into our house, where we will be living for at least a year. We hope to resume our blogging to our pre-furlough pace once we get settled. Thanks for your patience!

Click here to veiw some pictures from our time in NC, as well as thoroughout our time here in the U.S.

-JTP

Thursday, September 11, 2008

We're still here...

We've been busy experiencing life here in the States. Our girls are taking everything in, sometimes being overwhelmed by it all. Recently we were able to go skiing with my family at the Lake of the Ozarks, as well as take in a parade at the Marigold Festival in Pekin. The girls loved both experiences. Hope you enjoy the pictures...