World Turners

God granted us the unexpected gift of a break from language studies for the entire month of December. At first this gift was difficult to accept, since our job right now is learning Portuguese and my depression was already causing me to feel guilty about not doing enough. But God confirmed to my heart that this schedule was from him, so we embraced it and rested. Oh what a blessing from our Father!

Just before Christmas I began to feel better every day. Your prayers have been answered above and beyond all we could ask or think. Christmas was delightful. We started the day with a sleepy-eyed toddler staggering out of her room. The realization that the long awaited day had finally arrived broke across her face like a radiant sunrise. We enjoyed yummy food, dear framily (friends who are like family) and fun opening presents. Even losing power for most of the afternoon was not enough to dampen our spirits!

New Years Eve we hosted a small, quiet party at our house. We watched a movie, put the girls to bed and visited. We ate yummy food. Watched another movie and rang in the new year. We enjoyed a sweet time of prayer and sharing, where our hearts were drawn closer to Christ and each other.

I have been feeling better and stronger than I have felt since before Dani was born! That’s right, Dani. I am throwing myself into life with gusto. At the end of the day, I feel tired and ready to sleep. But it is the fatigue of a productive day, no longer the desperation of a respite from life. I am ENJOYING being a mommy again. And I no longer take that for granted. Nor do I the fact that I can do things. I understand more fully that I can do all things through Christ and only through Christ. I learned that “all things” includes getting out of bed.

We are also so grateful for the leadership conference we attended at PAZ’s Shalom campground. Although we could not understand the speakers’ messages, we enjoyed the worship times and fellowship with precious people of faith. We got to practice our conversational Portuguese all week and made some new friends. Petra was a magnet for people wanting to hold her, which was a blessing to our arms! She is weighing in at almost 19 lbs these days. Jeff helped with concessions all week and I think Dani’s favorite part was helping him. The whole time reminded me of a feast at Fairwood. And I felt closer to all of you somehow too.

Thank you all for your powerful prayers, encouraging emails, cheering packages and every precious penny. We rely on you. We are strengthened and enabled by your support. We value each one of you keenly. May God bless you in return as you have blessed us.

Dear Supporters, Prayer Warriors, Family, and Friends

I am so sorry I have not been updating you all. We are so grateful for your prayers and you giving. I hope no one feels neglected. We love each one of you dearly and are trying our best to be real and honest during these hard times.

The last month has been very hard for our young family. The weather here is very hot and different members of the family have been sick with colds and fevers. Also, Fritha has been diagnosed with postpartum depression This has been affecting her ability to continue adapting to the culture and learn the language. Somedays she has been unable to get out of bed at all. The is has left quite a load of work on my shoulders but God has been helping and we are trusting in Him to bring us through. Fritha has begun taking some medication that we believe is helping and the past few days have been remarkably better.

It is hard sometimes for us to keep our eyes on the bigger picture. The language training has slowed as we move away from the basics and dig deeper into the language. Though this is a good thing it’s easy to become discouraged when I don’t see the same progress i did before.

This month we are celebrating the Birth of Christ in this foreign land. In an effort to adapt to our surroundings we purchased a small palm tree to decorate. We were also able to bring a taste of home by setting us the Nativity set we receiver as newlyweds during our first Christmas. We hope to post some pictures soon of our home decorated for the season.

Looking ahead to next year we are expecting my sister Jane to come and visit for two months near the beginning of the year and then we will be thrown into the work fully as teams begin to arrive to help with the church building projects.

God is giving us grace sufficient for each day. Sometimes all we can see is just to the end of this day. But other times we catch a glimpse of His bigger picture and are so grateful He has called us here. This holiday season away from friends and family will be hard so please pray that we will find Joy in Christ and being with new friends here and not be too discouraged by the things we do not have.

Thank you for your letters and notes. We will try to do a better job of keeping in touch in the future. Please know you are loved and we pray for you often.

Celebrating Christ’s birth,

Jeff (for all of us)

Petra catching some Z'ssss in true brazilian fashion

We are thinking to trying to post a picture a week here on world turners. We hope it will help give you a taste of our life here as well as give us am opportunity to share in picture the beauty we see everyday.

Upcoming events,  praises, and prayer topics

- Jeff was able to travel on a day trip to a close vilage and help with a dental clinic

- a church wide conference on discipleship and cell based church planting starts next week with many special speakers

- we are still working on language, God’s blessing is always needed

-_

Today I sat down and got caught up on our financials. My bookwork surprised me by being a pure delight. How often can you say that?! Repeatedly your love and support overwhelmed me with joy. I know times are tight and here you all are showering us with your generosity so that we can live out our dreams. Thank you! You give out of what little (or much) you have… May the One who sees what is done in secret reward you exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all you can ask or think, after all the Lord loves a cheerful giver.

Recently I stumbled across a passage in the Message (I Cor 2:1-5) which touched my heart. Here it is with how it struck my heart in brackets:

“You’ll remember friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke [His call on us to go to Brazil], I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple…
I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate–I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it–and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message [His heart of love for the Amazon] came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith [your beautiful, amazing, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping life of faith] is a response to God’s power [definitely! has to be!], not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.”

So thank you for all you have given. Thank you for each prayer. Thank you for every dollar. Thank you for each encouraging note. Thank you for each facebook comment. Thank you for each “like it” on facebook. Thank you for each gift. Thank you for standing with us while we waited for Petra’s arrival. Thank you for rejoicing when she came. Thank you for coming along side us through the difficult days. Thank you for being there. Thank you for being you.

Dear praying friends,

Just wanted to let you know that we are doing well. Last Thursday & Friday we made our first overnight trip with the whole family. We visited some missionary friends (Jennifer & Josiah Huber) of ours who live in a more remote area and supervise river village missions. We spent time at a beautiful cold water creek and a lovely beach both near their home. They are delightful hosts and we shared rich fellowship, deep laughs, yummy food and exciting adventures. Jeff & Josiah even went skin diving/spear fishing. Dani played and played and played and played and played and played and played in all the water and sand and sun, and loved every moment of it all. Petra slept and ate and smiled. We came home feeling content and sore from lugging babies over sand

This week holds a big transition for us: Mom leaves for home Friday evening at 8 pm (7 EST). She is excited to go back to her life and we are ready to dive into our life here. Friday marks Petra’s 6 week birthday and the end of Fritha’s recommended recovery period. God’s timing proves to be impeccable once again. Fritha is feeling both physically and emotionally ready to dive into the complexities of life with more manual labor, two babies, learning a new language and making Brazilian friends. Jeff is progressing well in his language studies and ready to dive in deeper. Dani will miss her Momo.

BUT, we’re going to miss my mom and she will miss us. Mom and I have already discussed giving ourselves space to fall apart a little after she departs.

So please pray for:
~protection on mom’s travel (her itinerary includes stops in 3 Brazilian cities and 2 American ones)
~for the Comforter to minister just what our hearts need
~for this week to hold all it should as we try to do last minute stuff and enjoy each other!
~for Jeff & I to have wisdom as we take some time to plan our family schedule

Thank you for caring, sharing and daring to believe with us. We love you all!

You know how they say what you were affects how you think and act, e.g. you should dress professionally for exams and you’ll perform better than if you show up in sweats. Well, today I discovered the same is true for Sabbaths. I was trying so hard to relax and not “do” anything “productive” but I felt unsettled all the time. So I just changed out of real clothes and into lounge-y, home-only clothes and suddenly my mood is conducive to chilling!

I was looking forward to some experimental baking today… but apparently I never bought yeast, so that’s out.

Right now, Jeff is out at a youth conference in a river village with Josiah & Jennifer’s team. The team is a lot of guys and then three other guys around Jeff’s age are in town visiting so they went on the trip too. The guys are an impressive bunch of sold out men. They’ve spent a lot of time with International House of Prayer (the other IHOP). I’m believing God to really fill Jeff’s tank up on this trip and to give him something really special from His heart. Jeff has been so generously pouring himself out for me and Dani and my desire is for him to receive abundantly more than he has given (especially knowing that he will come home and keep pouring out for us in the next weeks and months).

How about some prayer requests…

For a safe delivery and arrival of Petra Elizabeth Turner in God’s perfect timing

For Dani to welcome her new role as big sister and not feel neglected as baby takes our attention (which used to be ALL Dani’s)

For Fritha: Yesterday I had a very tearful and difficult morning. The kind where I felt the clouds hovering and the tears coming, but had no idea why. Dear Betty Best prayed for me as she is so gifted at doing. All I had managed to squeak out through tears to her was a weak and pitiful, “I’m scared.” And she prayed and prayed and prayed and paused and prayed some more. She covered all sorts of things and from all angles. As she prayed I received a mental picture of a blank chalkboard which represented my view of life after the baby arrives. I just don’t know what to expect. I’ve never been a mother of two. I’ve never welcomed a new baby and recovered from birth in Santarem. I’ve never raised a family here. What does all that look like? And how the heck am I going to learn a new language too?! God revealed the root of my fear, which enabled me to give it to Him and focus on the next step. I may be overwhelmed by the thought of August and the next year, but I am not overwhelmed by walking home and eating breakfast. So I’ve been focusing on the next task, not the vast unknown future. Plus, who really knows their future anyway?

For Jeff to adjust to being at home all the time. He’s gone from working full time to NOT. Language study is something that is tedious and not evidently productive for a long time. One of the other men warned him, that he probably will go through a time of depression, because he won’t have get satisfaction and fulfillment from his “job.” I think he can already sense the truth in that warning.

Here’s what we’re up to right now… I am chilling in my hammock as I type, with a gentle breeze trying it’s best to carry away my constantly dripping sweat (have I mentioned I can’t wait to be NOT pregnant), while Dani plays nearby in her little pool, with her water toys and sings quietly to herself. Pretty perfect if you ask me!

Here we are updating from Brazil! Were you starting to wonder if this would ever happen? For the last week and a half we have been doing some serious and busy settling in. God has kindly shepherded us through the days and taken care of the details, as he is so good at doing. Jeff has been thrilled to be here, Dani has adjusted with great ease and I have suffered quite a bit, yet through all the highs and lows God has been faithful and your prayers have been felt. Following you will find an account of our journey and our first days here… warning, it’s a bit long…

Fri June 18
We were ready to leave early, so we stopped by Grand Ma Ma’s house one more time to take some pictures and say goodbye. On the way in the car I prayed that God would take of from “peace to peace”. Then on to the Turner’s where we said goodbye to all there and dropped off a few things. Then on to Chick-fil-a for one last fix. Then on to the airport where we checked in all 26 of our bags with remarkable ease. They were all under our weight limit! Delta checked them all the way through to Santarem. After checking in, we sat around and visited with my parents for a bit, then they got on their way and we went through security. We were off! Our flight left at 5:20 PM. We flew to Manaus, where we had to clear passport control and customs. The staff there were so helpful. We were the last people off the plane (since we had so many carry-on’s and a toddler), but they took us straight to the front of the passport line. We felt a bit sheepish but we joked with the other folks in line saying something about pregnancy getting you privileges. Then one of the ladies stuck out her tummy trying to look pregnant and we all had a good laugh. We made it through that step easily. Then a guy helped Jeff load all our bags, while I held Dani who was still very groggy from sleeping on the flight (it was around midnight at this time). Once all our bags were loaded we went to the customs counter. Jeff said, “We are moving on a residency visa and these are all of our household items.” The customs agent looked at the visa and waved us through. So incredibly easy! Thank you Jesus!

Sat June 19
As we came out of the international terminal, we were greeted by two missionaries from Manaus, Benson & Grant. They helped us transport our baggage to the Gol check-in area and helped us talk to the agents there. Because our flight didn’t leave for another 12 hours, Gol couldn’t take our baggage yet. Benson offered to sit with the bags so all three of us could go to their house and sleep. They had a beautiful room set up for us with the AC on and everything. Jeff & Dani fell into bed immediately, while I took a refreshing, cold shower and then lay down in front of the AC unit and drifted off to a cool sleep.

We awoke in time for a delicious Brazilian breakfast of fruit, granola, cheese, juice and coffee. After which, Jeff went to the airport to relieve Benson. Dani and I visited with the missionaries and played with the dogs to Dani’s great delight. She watched some Dora the Explorer in Portuguese and played with blocks. Both of the ladies (Julie & Regina) were delightful with Dani. Soon it was time for us to join Jeff at the airport. We walked in expecting to see Jeff surrounded by our mountain of baggage. They weren’t where we had left them and so I scanned around and saw Jeff alone waving from a chair. Gol had already come and checked all of our baggage (including our larger carry-on bags, stroller & carseat)! So we waited a bit and visited with Grant until the time came to check in. We checked in with little trouble and then headed for security. They found 3 of my pocket knives in one carry-on bag! So I had to go and check that bag. Apparently Brazil takes security more seriously than Atlanta. But then we were through and waited to board. We boarded and Dani napped the whole flight.

When the plane touched down in Santarem, I leaned over and kissed Jeff. We had come home! After descending the stairs to the tarmac, we walked toward the terminal, baking in the Brazilian heat. We looked up toward the windows in the terminal and were greeted by a crowd of waving missionaries. At this point, I cried, it felt so good to be here. Then we waited for the rest of the people to clear out and piled our bags in the corner as they came around the belt. Once the baggage claim area was empty except for us we began to ferry our bags outside and load them into waiting vehicles. Better yet, we received our first hugs! Jeff & Becky, Nate & Ruth with Anna & Becca, Scott, Ken and Brent formed our welcoming committee.

We rode into town and arrived at our house! Finally (for the first time in our marriage), we have a house to call our own!  We spent some time unpacking enough for the night before enjoying dinner at Scott & Aldine Bluniers.

Sun June 20

We breakfasted on delicious food provided in our house for us and spent a delightful day unpacking boxes and settling in. I enjoyed finally being able to “nest” in preparation for this baby. We shared lunch with Kelly & Edson and then watched our first World Cup game in Brazil! Then we had dinner with Jeff & Becky and enjoyed an evening stroll along the waterfront rejoicing that Brazil had won the game!

First Week

All week long we had lunch at different missionaries’ houses. They spoiled us thoroughly and gave us time to settle in. Monday I fell all to pieces inside and it took about a week to begin to see light again. I was overwhelmed by the thought of life in Brazil. In retrospect, I think exhaustion and adjusting physically to the climate played a very big role in how down I felt. God was strong in my weakness and Jeff graciously sheltered me under his arm and picked up all my slack. Dani became a source of inspiration as I saw her adjust so rapidly. Jeff felt glad to be here, but was saddened to realize just how long it would be (probably about a year) before he would be leading teams and serving on the river.

During the week we shopped for and purchased a fridge, a stove, a washing machine, a couch and a loveseat. All for around the same price as a small island nation! We felt blessed to make good decisions and spoiled by God through all of you. The price tags were so very high, but we were free to buy good appliances and comfortable furniture thanks to your many gifts over the past year or more. So THANK YOU!

We tackled the grocery store and stocked up on cleaning supplies and groceries and learned that prices had gone up dramatically since we were here four years ago. Some things are cheaper than the states still, but others are so much more! We’re getting used to powdered milk and buying eggs in a plastic bag again. We’re loving all the fresh produce! A large part of our diet is papayas, bananas & pineapples, mmmmm.

Second week

Sunday morning I woke up feeling like I had energy, both physical & emotional, to do some things around the house. I did and boy did I feel better all around. That was my turning point. I did (and still do) have times when fears of the future crowd out my sensibilities, but for the most part my head is above the clouds. Praise the Lord! AND thank YOU for your prayers. They have made such a difference.

We began language classes this week for two hours a day Monday through Friday. Let’s just say Dani has a better grasp of English than we do of Portuguese. Please pray for our brains to pick things up quickly.

I have had my first doctors appointment and she is wonderful! Dr. Eva was recommended by the missionaries here and I was so anxious to see how we would connect. She is thorough and direct and despite our language barrier I feel close to her. I trust her (which is rather critical in a doctor). She ordered a few tests for me and Joanne (one of my fellow missionaries) drove me around town on multiple days to get them all done. Some things are so different here, for example I have to pick up my results and keep track of all my records, but when they stick a needle in your arm to draw blood it’s all the same!

So here we are, settling in and doing well. I can’t thank you enough for your prayers. I really don’t know how I would have survived without them. Keep ‘em coming! Pictures will be forthcoming! We’ve been so busy we haven’t really taken any, and right now it’s time to make dinner and be off to cell group. We miss you all, but are happy to be here serving God right where he wants us! Love, Love, Love!