batteries recharged

Post by~  Brin

 Trying out a new juicer attachment that really helps to make lemonade when life gives you lemons (or in this case, your girls, who picked them).

It is a sacrifice to put out a blog tonight.  The night gnats are in fluorescent light induced frenzy above my head.  So I will type, and swat and occasionally pull one out of my eye as I tell you how very delighted I am to be back in the jungle and adjusting to a new pace of life. 

That was not sarcasm for those of you who know me well.

We have been back to the Amazon for a week or so after 6 months in the US and it feels grand! And I think I am doing ok, although I would have bet my precious jar of crunchy peanut butter it was Thursday when later I found out it was Friday.

We've arrived just at the beginning of the rainy season. Our girls were curious to know if they would still be able to play "at the rocks " as they do when the water level is down and Josh wondering how long it will be until he can pull our boat out in front of our house. The river's level is our new calendar.  And our new clock is the generator that gives us electricity, purring alive at 6:30 AM and sputtering down and 9:30 PM each day. To give us fans and light later into the evening, we have fitted our home with a 12 volt battery system and it works great so long as the battery can hold a charge, which after two years of faithful service no longer does.  A fan at night makes for restful sleep and also wards off cranky wives. So here is what we gotta get done:

#1 - Evict the squatters that had entered our home. Namely: mold. The mattresses, towels, drawers, screens, ceilings, the shower curtain was where the real fungal party was occurring. We dragged our queen sized mattress out into the sun hoping that some UV rays would help us out.  I told Josh I was not sure I could sleep on that mattress. Josh says I have a prissy nose after 6 months in the US.

#2 - Clean out decaying jungle matter from our boat and prep the engine so that we can...

Before and after several hours of cleaning.

#3 - Go to town and buy supplies. Things like food, medicine, toiletries, that new 12-volt battery that I mentioned previously, and obviously bleach. 

Brin loading groceries from our car to our boat.

#4 - Get caught up on the lives of our friends and teammates with dinners, volleyball games, sweeping the school, and discussions over dessert.

#5 - Tell Gabriella to get out of bed three times in 15 minutes, which is pretty much what we were doing in the United States as well. Somethings don't change at all.

#6 - Paint the house a nice bright, Latiny color.

#7 - resolve some unfortunate legal matters. Our Brazilian tax ID number was stolen, kind of like identity theft that happens in America. Our family was charged R$6000. Thankfully we have a friend who is a lawyer and is helping us figure out how to maneuver the Brazilian judicial system, which will involve us paying the fine and then beginning a process that may (or may not) lead to us getting our money back.

#8 - Bring down our belongings from the rafters where they were stored.  More eviction occurring.

While we were in the US, each day before school we would check the days weather forecast online and then inform the girls on how to dress for the day. We don't bother doing that here it's either hot or rainy. But, for the second time in our eight years of ministry in Brazil we arrived in our home with all of our 10 suitcases and exhaled a thankful breath before we heard the first pings of rain on our metal roof. Seems kind of insignificant? Not to me because it's the same God of Israel who parted the Red Sea and gave them dry land and He did the same for me.

In spite of all the tasks and demands that greeted us here, we did come back to Brazil with our batteries recharged, which is more than can be said for the battery in our 12v house system.