Super Hot and Supernova!

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."

Matthew 25:35

It's been so hot lately, we've had the boys take some extra measures to keep hydrated.

This is our first pet with fur! Supernova Snowflake Stewart, born 09-09-09. She is a genuine, purebred Brazilian vira-lata (trashcan tipper) a.k.a. fura-saco (trashbag ripper). She's pretty cute and likes to chew on flip flops.




We had an opportuinty to go see another ministry here in Brazil. We drove out to settlement built around a dump. These people live off of items that other people throw away. Three missionary ladies run a ministry there, reaching out to the impoverished families in the area.
We decided to help out at their kids camp one Saturday. So, a few days ealier, Megan made 303 shaped sugar cookies for them! Over 100 kids showed up that morning! We taught them a new action song, "Get On Board with the Lord", by Jana Alayra.


For our craft and snack, we had them decorate the sugar cookies. We brought vats of frosting, billions of sprinkles, and everyone had fun!

The cookies were so pretty, some couldn't believe they could eat them! Decorating cookies isn't something they have done before. Being able to share sugar and Jesus was a real treat for us. Theses kids live tough lives, full of filth; it was great to help the missionary ladies bring them fun and spread the joy of Jesus.

This little guy in the striped shirt stole our hearts. He was wearing one of Finn's shirts that we donated last spring to the ministry. After showing Finn the picture of him, he said, "Hey, that little boy has my little shirt!!!"
The next weekend brought around the 2nd annual Fire-Eatin Welcome Back party! Even though a quarter had already past, we still hosted the party for the entire staff of AVA. It was a great time full of tacos, hot sauce, and decorations from the States. One of our friends mailed them down, and, boy, was it a breeze setting them up!!!

Peppers from our little fire garden. A few teenagers had the guts to try them, then regret it.

And finally, this chap flew out of the bathroom drain early one morning. Not our favorite way to wake up, but more effective than coffee.

Over 1000 Days Old!

Happy Birthday to Finn! This year he got to celebrate with both sets of grandparents, all his cousins, aunts, and uncles, as we took a whirlwind trip back to the USA in July. We wanted to get him checked with out doctor just to be sure he is okay, and he came out with a clean bill of health! It's been over 9 months since his last seizure! Thanks for the prayers, they are helping.

During the brief stint in the States, we did lots of business, some quick family stops, and Tim bought all his books for the next school year. With worms, mold, and humidity as paper's nemeses, it was vital to purchase some fresh books that won't give the student's some funky lung fungus. Yes, it has happened before.

The graduating six of 2009 at Amazon Valley Academy went out with a grand ceremony in the transformed gym. Mr. Stewart opened the ceremony in prayer, then we enjoyed a sermonette, songs, slide shows, and salgados (salty snacks). The graduates are heading to various countries for Bible school, college, or work. We are proud of their accomplishments and pray for a grace-filled future for each of them.

Rainy season (December through May) ended with a splash! George is standing in our front yard. Our neighbor Lizzie will try to get home from school on her bike...ha! The roads were something else too! Unfortunalty, you can't take a dip when it rains like this, because the internal worms you might get will stay with you long after the puddles have evaporated.

A game night at our house with the 9/10th graders. Pictionary. No matter what country you are in, the girls will ALWAYS win!!! HA! Getting to know the students here is one of our major focuses, and time together at our house (complete with food of some sort) is the best way to do it!

An average sized latanja fruit from a tree in our yard. It's the cousin of the grapefruit, and has a thinker skin and a much more acidic taste. Always fun to see what will pop out on our trees!

Come get your program from George for Curse you Jack Dalton!, the melodrama perfomed by the AVA drama club. I (Jill) was able to co-direct, act in, and do the make-up and hair for the performance. It was a hit! But why was I cast as "Mother Dalton" when I still feel 16? Doing hair and make up in a climate where even your moisturizer drips off your face in sweat was a challenge, but I want to thank Redken hair products for their amazing hair spray and Evangeline who gave me a bottle of it!

What It Takes To Throw a Party

While Tim is not teaching all the English classes for the junior high and high school, getting lesson plans prepared, grading, and being the head of the English department at AVA, and while I (Jill) am not making our meals, experimenting with local foods, keeping house, helping out in the office, being a mom and wife around the clock and waiting days for laundry to dry,we are the 9th and 10th grade class sponsors. We get to know this group of students a little better, we host different things at our house, and the annual Valentine's Banquet falls to us each year. So, we got together with these 14 students, did some brain storming, and figured out how to make this a special event.



One thing you must realize. We can't just go to the "party store" and get all we need.
We have to:

• ask around to see if the store exists
• get directions
• ask again to make sure it's still there
• check out the school car
• load up the students who want to come
• try to find the place while obeying the traffic "laws"
• hope it's open that day and that particular hour
• look around to see if they acutally have the item in stock
• ask the person at the counter, who says no, it's not in today, and doesn't know when it will be
• go to the next store to see if they have it

It took well over 2 hours to go to 4 little shops, to find the decorations we needed...TO MAKE! Yes, only the materials are here, we have to purchase them to make what we want. No fancy table cloths, cutouts ready to use, balloons ready to go...no no...we have to make this all from scratch, or rather, from crepe paper and a ruler.

Decorations, practicing special music, getting the supplies to make stuff, importing the tables from another city (only 30 minutes away) for the night, gathering and carrying chairs from the school (it could rain at any moment too!), cutting the fabric for table cloths; all part of the fun!

Spaghetti and meatballs, simple enough right? We made about 300 meatballs from scratch, rolling away all afternoon. Sauce from scratch also--lots of stirring going on, no Italian seasoning in Brazil, so we used some we had from the States! Also, Valentine's Day is not celebrated here, so we had to find someone to make us homemade chocolate hearts for the evening; it was a nice personal touch on each place setting.


The day of the banquet, preparing the fruit, making the garlic bread, skewering the dickens out of the watermelons. These students are used to setbacks, making things out of nothing and working HARD!

Finally...ready to go! The couches are moved, signs hung, millions of sparlkies hung from the ceiling...the stage is all set! "It Happened One Night" restaurant is open and ready for the crowd!

"Love me tender....love me sweet" The king would have been proud! No party is complete with out games--we found some good ones online (when the Internet happens to work!).



Cheers! The upper classmen give their approval of the evening.

Yugo and Ivan, the dessert servers, give it two thumbs up.

Ahhh...it was a nice evening. We had 32 high schoolers and teachers come and enough food leftover for next year! Nobody leave yet, because now we get to clean it all up!!!!!!!!!!!