We have gotten off to a very nice beginning in Porto de Moz.  New beginnings are a beautiful part of life in God's kingdom.  We are delighted that our Father enjoys giving us these precious seasons of change.

We returned from our trip to the US on September 10.  Back to Brazil and the heat and humidity of the equator!  We stayed a week in Altamira, our previous home, visiting our friends there, and packing up our remaining things.  After a unique and interesting move, using a boat instead of a moving van, (there are no roads leading into Porto de Moz,) we arrived in our new home on Sept 17.   Our furniture and newly transported containers from the States arrived promptly the next morning.  The fun began!  We took two weeks, unpacking boxes and getting organized.  Tim set to work building shelves to put all this "stuff" onto.  Tim thought he was done building shelves four times, but we would see another need, and out came the tools, and after much sweat and fatigue, more shelves were put in place.  This is the smallest house we've lived in, so finding "a place for everything and everything in its place" is going to have to be our motto.  And for those of you who know me (Betsy), you know this is not going to come by easily!  But Tim is much more organized, and with his new shelves, I think he will prevail. 

The school room is ready, (yes, more shelves) and we started school the first Monday we were back.  We are still getting the routine down, but after a summer off, it's off to a good start.  The kids seem, as a whole, really good with the move.  We've had a lot of smiles and some "good" times working together. 

We all like our house and location. Porto de Moz (PdM) is a town on the Xingu river, with access only by boat.  It is about 10 hours by boat to Altamira, the base where we lived previously.   We join two other missionary families (one dear family is relocating from here to another Xingu Mission base) and one single missionary serving here, with two small Vineyard churches.  Our responsibilities will be much the same: helping with the local church, training and discipling leaders, and taking medicines and Jesus to the people on the river.  We are meeting new people all the time, conversing pretty well, and enjoying the small town atmosphere.  It's nice to see the kids go to buy bread on their bikes and feel comfortable with the town.  We still don't have Internet but we're working on it.  This is sent from a public "Cyber Cafe," which, considering the remoteness of our town, is pretty amazing to have!  We left our truck in Altamira and use bicycles or our motorbike for transportation.  It takes us about 10 minutes to bike to the other side of town; much less to the grocery store or church.

We are learning again that where our family is, is where our home is.  It's good to be home!

We returned from a most delightful 3 months in the States.  There was much travel, visiting friends and family, and even some rest.  It was wonderful seeing so many that are dear to us, and quite frustrating that there were many that we didn't see and many that we would have loved to spend more time with.  This separation from home is truly difficult.  But we remember often that it wouldn't be so difficult if we weren't so loved.  I've told my Father many times that I don't think he has ever sent out a missionary family more dearly loved.  We have had the unique experience of communicating love and receiving love in ways that we likely would not have, had we not been called to relocate.  In some ways it's been like a death experience, except that we knew when we were leaving and could exchange precious good-byes, and we also have the opportunity to return and again communicate affection with those we love.

Our thanks to everyone who helped to make our time in the States so meaningful.  We experienced so many blessings beyond seeing friends and family and the way everyone opened up their schedules to spend time with us, like having transportation, and a place of our own in which to stay.  God is so very good, and He truly refreshed us.

Are you wondering where we are?  Have you checked our Blog, only to find it hasn't been updated for quite awhile?  Well, we are back.  We are back to Brazil, back to blogging, and back to work with the Xingu Mission.  Forgive us for our absence from the Blog.  When we went on furlough to the States, we really did "take a break" from the work, which included no blogging.  It is our hope to begin again, as its been a great way to journal, communicate, and share our lives with you. 

With this note, we have posted two others, along with some updated photo albums.  Grab a cup of coffee and check them out!  Thank you for following our journey through our Blog.  We appreciate you so much!