I hope there are still a few of you out there that are checking the blog for updates. It is not as easy to post them as it was when we were in Brazil. The days are busy and seem to go by quickly. We are still trying to get into a steady routine. It is good we arrived back in the US in the middle of summer when there are fewer commitments and obligations. This allows time to get adjusted and prepare for the coming school year which will be here all too soon. The 4 children are doing as well as can be expected. The original 5 are adjusting as well. I think it is different than they expected. I think they would like the 4 to speak English fluently... which would make many things much easier. They know our expectations and how we do things and have to teach or be patient with the 4 as they are learning the ropes. There are little things like... don't go around the house turning on the lights... don't press the door lock on the car with the keys still in the car... just because someone has something, it doesn't mean you get one too... and "please hang up the phone, I already answered it". And of course there are adjustments for me... What do you mean you don't have anything to eat? You just went shopping 3 days ago... OK you need bananas, 2 dozen eggs, 2 gallons of milk, and bread and if I don't want to go back in a couple of days make it 3 of everything. Actually it isn't quite that bad. We are buying differently... in the bulk and prices are much lower than I expected.. so overall it seems manageable at this time. We are seeing improvements with the 4. The girls no longer sleep in the same bed, all are getting use to new food and eating meals instead of snacking in between the meals, Wellington doesn't keep as close attention of the others... he let's mom and dad do that. Last week was VBS at our church and Wellington and Lidiane seemed to enjoy it. I do know all are understanding more and more English and are slowly speaking more. One thing Rebekah and I would like to do is stay in contact with our friends from Brazil. If you are reading this.. please be patient with us. We wished we could skype you or e-mail you by now but it just hasn't worked out yet. We will be in touch. You were such a blessing to us... we haven't forgotten you. Have you ever done something that seems crazy? When other people hear about it... you know they are saying..."what in the world are they doing?"... "Can you believe what they did?" There are times I sense that in people. I haven't had anyone say it to me... I just get the feeling. It reminds me of 2 people who probably heard people question them and possibly were ridiculed. I will talk about one of them now. He was a new CEO for a large company with over one million people looking to him for leadership. Just after taking the position he moved the entire company. Then he began the first of several hostile take-overs. Now this may not sound unusual but the first take-over had people scratching their heads. There were no meetings or negotiations. He took every employee and had them walk around the building of the other company for 6 days and then on the 7th day they walked around it 6 times. OK...OK... you probably know by now I am talking about Joshua in the Old Testament. As the new leader of the Israelites, he had everyone looking to him to see how he would handle the responsibilities. Now if you knew you were to try to conqueror something, and you were asked to walk around it several times and on the 7th day it would be given to you without a fight. I don't know about you but I would ask for plan "B". Now imagine Joshua, do you think anyone questioned his decision? Maybe his sanity... maybe other leaders even talked of replacing him?? What did the people of Jericho think or say. Did they laugh and make fun of Joshua and try to humiliate him in front of his own people? Probably... yes! But... but... enter God! Who was humiliated? Who was considered a great leader. All Joshua did was obey. It is hard to lose when you trust God. That's where I want to be. I'll try to get more pics up. Thanks for messages of encouragement and all your prayers.
Dave

Picture of all 11 of us!

Life is busy and I will update later. Rebekah wanted people to see a picture of all of us together. Also I am having trouble with internet connection at home so that is another excuse as to why I haven't updated lately... but I will. Enjoy the pics!! Tomorrow Rebekah and I celebrate our 17th!!!
Dave

Finally Home!!

This update is long over due as a few people have asked when they could read an update. We knew a few people were reading but it sounds like more are reading than we realized. I will try to update the flight home and then a little of our arrival. It will probably take more than one update to get you to today. So I will back up Sunday July 5th. We spent most of the day preparing to leave. This included another session of checking for critters... again. Only one of the kids seems to have a hard time making sure they are completely gone for good. Just when you think you have them ALL gone... you might find something that could be a problem. This reminds me of what I seem to face and need to deal with daily. Critters can be like sin. You think you have dealt with it and there are no more worries... then it creeps back in... pride, worry, selfishness, judgmental spirit, etc. It can be a daily struggle. It can be easy to beat myself up as I should know better by now. But as we know, the way to solve this is a closer, deeper walk with Christ and allowing the Spirit to guide our thoughts throughout the day. We arrived at the airport with the help of Luis in his car and Monica drove another car. After dropping us off Monica had to drive to the smaller airport so she could fly back home to Curitiba. As a reminder we stayed at Monica's parents home for our stay in Rio. They are a wonderful, loving couple that I will probably write about later. We said our good bye's to Monica (which was hard) and then off we flew to Sao Paulo. We had about an one hour layover there and then actually boarded the same plane to fly to Wash DC. The flight out of Sao Paulo left about 10:00 pm which allows us to fly overnight. The kids were excited and tired. One day when they can communicate more fully in English, I would like to know how or what they felt, or what they were thinking. The children slept fairly well during the flight, I did some and Rebekah did very little. When we arrived in Wash DC we had just over 1 1/2 hour lay over to get a plane to Detroit. We had to clear immigration and have the kids sealed paperwork all approved. This left just enough time to get to our connecting flight. But when we got to the gate... 10 minutes before the flight... the agent said the plane door was closed. I said the plane is sitting there and we are here before the flight departure. He repeated that the plane door was closed and we could see about the next flight to Detroit in 4 hrs. I pleaded my case again... We just arrived from Brazil... we have 4 children... that we adopted... and have people waiting for us in Detroit. It was like talking to a brick wall. I could not convince him, my reasoning had no impact. I could not do anything in my own power. So off we went to customer service. Boy!! was I grumbling, complaining, rehearsing what I was going to say. Then a verse popped into my head... "Do all things without murmuring and complaining". To be honest, I didn't like that verse at the time. I told God, "we have made it this far and gone through so much with His blessing, Why could not He just get us on the plane?" I then resigned myself to accept anything that He had for us. As He knows what is best. Now if you think I was upset... I haven't asked and I do not know if I want to know what Rebekah was thinking. She was clearly upset. The children were confused and I felt bad for them. They just wanted to see their new brothers and sister and see their new home. The range of emotions were all over the place. I got in line at customer service and could tell it would take a looonnnggg time as only one person was at the desk, and she didn't look like she enjoyed her job. I decided to not take anything out on her but to be pleasant and patient. After waiting for 10 minutes Rebekah took the girls to the bathroom. Just then the lady made an announcement. "Anyone waiting for a flight to Detroit could go back to the gate. There was some mechanical problems that delayed the departure and we could still board the plane." What?! you have got to be kidding me!! I rushed over to the restroom and got Rebekah and the children and ran to the gate. We made it! What I could not accomplish in my own strength God provided with no effort. I try to make my way through life doing things in my knowledge and strength and when I reflect on it, I realized I am quite weak and know very little. This was a great teachable moment for me that has many lessons I can learn throughout my life. So we boarded the plane. The kids were excited. Once they landed they would meet the rest of their new family. We arrived in Detroit and made our way to baggage claim. Before we got there we saw Andrew and Wes and my mom. Wes had grown. The 4 children were reserved which surprised me. They had built up this moment in their minds and now it was unfolding. The rest of the kids were at baggage claim looking for us. When I saw Amilia, Titus and Peyton I was surprised that they had grown a lot also. The 4 were still up a level meeting Andrew and Wes, so I sent Amilia, Titus and Peyton up to meet the 4. We piled into our 12 passenger van (Big Blue) and headed for home. When we arrived we found banners and signs and balloons for a great homecoming. My mother had gotten an new bunk bed for Lidiane and Pamela. We showed the kids there rooms and the house and everything around. It had to be information overload. But they seemed to fit in nicely. In the last few days we can see they are getting comfortable with their new family and life. Meal time is still a production but when more hands pitch in, things go faster and smoother. Life will be different... never the same... but that is ok. It is the journey that makes the destination. God Bless. I will update more in the days ahead.

Dave

Visas in Hand!!

We got the visas!!! PTL God prepared the way ahead of us as He always seems to do. Ready to come home. Rio is nice but almost too tired to really enjoy. Only 3 more nights and I can sleep in my own bed!! Pray that the long flight home will be peaceful. Will update once we are back home.
God Bless,
Dave

Rio... for how long?

This will be short as I am at a business that provides access to the internet. Of course it is not free but not that much. We made it to Rio with little incident. Lidiane complained about her ears but that was about the worst of it. This morning we woke up at 5:15 to get to the US Consulate by 7:45... which we did. After some waiting we finally met with a man who looked over everything and said that it all looked good and they would approve the visas. They just had to check for somethings which is standard procedure. Then he asked for an address to send the visas. I told him we were staying with a friends parents and did not know the address. I also said that we were told we would pick up the visas on Fri. He said they do not do it that way. I thought about arguing as I know other families have returned to pick up the visas. But no use in sharing the truth with a government worker... ouch! (My brother works for the governement). Anyway he went to check with someone... who I am sure is very important and was on a coffee break... and he returned to say that we could come back tomorrow to see if they have the visas ready. (It usually takes 2 days). I offered to comeback on Fri so that I would not make the trip if they were not ready that quick. He informed me that Sat was July 4th and the Consulate would be closed Fri.... uuuggghh!! I take back every bad thing I have said about government workers!! So I am calling on any and all prayer warriors to ask God to have the visas ready tomorrow... Thurs. I do not know if our government is efficient but I do know my God can do anything. If the visas are not ready Thurs... I guess we will have a lot of phone calls to make. We will have to stay another day and change flights and .... please Lord, let them have the visas ready. So once again... pray and see how God will work. I will update as I am able.
Dave

Last Night At Betania

Tonight will be our last night in Curitiba. We certainly look forward to going home, but will miss the wonderful new friends that are here. The children are excited about their first airplane ride tomorrow and I am sure that several times during the day they will ask when are we leaving for the airport. It will be a long day for them as our flight doesn't leave till almost 6:00 pm. We have all of our paperwork ready and would ask that you pray that all goes smoothly and quickly at the US Consulate in Rio. We are to be there Wed morning at 7:45. Then hopefully return on Fri to pick up the visas for the kids. We will be staying with Monica's parents in Rio. They do not have internet at their home so I don't know when I will be able to update again. I will probably check e-mail tomorrow before I leave. We will tour Rio while waiting for the visas and enjoy some warmer weather. I will actually be able to get my shorts out again! As I have said before, the people here at Betanian have been great. I don't know what condition we would be in if it were not for them. We could not say thank you enough to God for His watch care over us and we certainly don't think we are entitled His abundant blessings on this trip. Someone told me that we were special because we were adopting. I honestly don't think that we are... sometimes I might feel like I've gone crazy... but not special. (Now I know that we all are special because God made us, I'm not talking about that.) I almost cringe at the title of being "Special". We are simply obeying what God has laid on our hearts. Some he has called to adopt, others to missions, jail visitation, lawyers, housewives, or prayer warriors. What matters is that you obey God's plan and purpose for your life. How can you know what God would like you to do? For me, it was more prayer (fasting) and Bible reading than I have ever done in my life. When we left for Brazil, I had never felt so strong spiritually. At the same time I had peace even though I was way out of my comfort zone. As I have said before, I am out of the boat and on the waves of a stormy sea. Does that make me special? I don't want to be special... I just want to obey.
God Bless,
Dave

Last Sunday in Curitiba

Any of you that know me, are aware I like to have fun. Well today in church there was a pastor from the US visiting and he was near the door greeting the people (we go to the English speaking service). I told him we come to church to practice our English (I spoke with a slight accent). He asked if we were from the Curitiba area. My wife ruined my fun... she does that every once in a while... and told him I was teasing him as we are from the US. We have enjoyed meeting other Americans while we have been here. At the end of the service, the pastor had us up front to pray for us. Everyone wanted us to come back. I told them one day for sure we would worship together.
Friday Karla took 3 kids and Rebekah downtown shopping for some souvenirs and they really enjoyed walking the plaza and seeing some of the older parts of Curitiba. Saturday's highlight was going to a movie with "Chillo Berto". I'm not sure that those behind us were able to enjoy it much, as popcorn flew, Gabe toured the isle (not silently) and the kids were having regular conversations throughout the movie. But it was some time out and Berto is always a hit with the kids. Yes, that's him dancing with Gabe in the pictures. We are all begging him and his wife to come visit us in the States. They have been a super blessing. God has certainly been good to us here and now it is about time to leave. It is always comforting to know God is with us all the time. This weekend I was starting to walk down the hall to get something when one of the kids stuck their head out the door and said "Daddy". Usually they call me "Pia" (dad in Portuguese). They wanted to know know where I was going. They wanted to know if I was going to be there for them. In the Bible "Abba" means daddy, and we can call out to God as if He is our Daddy. So when you are hurting, afraid, discouraged, lonely, or sad; you can call on your Dad who is ALWAYS there. Even if your time here on earth is waning it is never to late to call on your Dad. And when you are joyful, excited, or just plain content... call Dad.
God Bless,
Dave