Mahalia's Christmas Gift

A little walking narrative of Mahalia opening her Christmas Gift:

Oh, wow!  A present for me!

I wonder what it could be? 

oooh...  colorful!

Aaagh!  Someone gave me an upside-down, backward doll!

Oh, I see!  Hee-hee, my fault! :)

Oh, she's sooo preeetty!

I will love her,  and hug her, forever and ever! 

Ricardo - People of Brazil

Ricardo is yet another one of the boys who enjoyed Youth Camp this past year.

Merry Christmas from us to you!

And lest you think that we've lost one of our children, here's why Mahalia didn't make it to the final cut.

She was sooo afraid of the lights!  She screamed when I put her down in the lights, and laughed nervously at her brother when she was standing next to me watching him.  Crazy girl.

Anyway, we're all good now.  The lights are on the tree and she thinks they're quite pretty there... and safe...she hopes.

Rebeca - People of Brazil

    Rebeca is another girl from my continuing series of kids from this year's Youth Camp.

Here Comes the Rain! - PostCard from Brazil

     "Here comes the Rain!"  It seems like that is a common phrase here these days.  


     When we first arrived here in Brazil, it was the beginning of the dry season (our region really only has two seasons: hot wet, and hot dry) and so it never rained.  However, now we are coming into the rainy season and storm clouds can blow up out of nowhere and surprise us with a good downpour.  


     Though you can't do much outside during the rain, it's nice that it cuts the dust and often brings cooler temperatures immediately afterward - a very welcome relief!

Our Thanksgiving

Here's a glimpse of our Thanksgiving Day Banquet.  We gathered at our Co-worker's home (Jeremy and Esther Lockhart) along with three other families.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship and, of course, food!   

Esther and I were given the fun task of decorating for the day.  We had a lot of fun making name place tags and verse cards for the table.

Here's just a glimpse of some of the yummy things we enjoyed and the ladies who all helped to make it.

Here's the kids' table.  (Johnathan was sooo excited to eat turkey! He's still talking about it today:)

The "grown-up's" table

Some relaxing 

And a fun game of Pin-the-tail-on-the-turkey.  The kids had a fun time with this one.  Mahalia didn't quite like the idea of having a blindfold, so she got to cheat (next year I'll make sure she's a little more honest!)

All-in-all, it was a VERY enjoyable day.  We enjoyed the relaxation of being with friends and, honestly, it was very refreshing to be around other people who speak English!  Yes, we did miss our family back in the States, but it really did feel like Thanksgiving Day - except, I don't think I've ever seen so many bare feet and flip-flops on Thanksgiving! 

An Unwelcome Guest - the Eight-Leg Variety!

     We often have unexpected "guests" here in Brazil - especially from the insect world!

     I (Omar) don't usually mind spiders, but, at nearly five inches, this turantula gave even me the creeps!

     Fortunately, it wasn't in our house when I found it.  I actually found it when I was cleaning up our Language School classroom at the end of the week!

     Anyway, It's safe to say that this guy won't be bothering us again - I just hope he doesn't have too many siblings!

Dionathan - People of Brazil

Tânia - People of Brazil

Jordão - People of Brazil

     This is another boy from this past summer's Youth Camp.  He was a lot of fun, a great soccer player, and I even got him to play some futebol americano (real football) with me!

Johnathan - the Tech Geek

    I just finished building a  mini-Macbook Pro for Johnathan!  It is definitely a one-of-a kind, limited edition!

     It comes absolutely loaded with special features:

- Three-inch multi-touch Trackpad!
- Hi-Res, Mono-chromatic, 9-inch flat screen Display!

- Full character Keyboard!

- Budget-friendly Pricing!

- Prominent Apple Logo!

- Paper thin Design! (literally)

- Never worry about Hard Drive failure!

     Ok, so I got this great idea to take a screenshot of my Macbook, add a keyboard and trackpad, and then print it all out for a new Macbook Mini!

     Truthfully, it has been the most incredible baby-sitter all afternoon!  Johnathan has been busy sending emails, watching funny videos (Speedy Gonzales) and Skyping his grandmas on his own "computer."


     This has been one of the best ideas in a long time!  Nice and easy, and he absolutely loves it!

Jusiélle - People of Brazil

     We had the pleasure of meeting this young girl at this past summer's Youth Camp.  I wish we could follow up on each of the campers to see how they are doing in these months since camp.

Labels Quiz - Answers

Admittedly, these were almost impossible to know, but that was part of the fun! (for us, anyway!)

Here are the answers to the label quiz:

1. Teens: a chocolate-filled crispy wafer snack.

Okay, this is my (Tracy's) new favorite snack here.  I could eat an entire bag at one time *I said I COULD, not that I DO.* Anyway, it's chocolate. 'nuff said.

2. Snob: napkins

Well, wouldn't you feel particularly snobbish if you used these napkins?  I think you're supposed to.

3. Kiss: facial tissues

Hmm....maybe you'll get a kiss after you blow your nose? 

4. Kiss Free: hard candy

....and, maybe no one will kiss you if you eat this candy?  

5. Personal: toilet paper

Well, I think this is self-explanitory.  Oh yes, and apparently you are a VIP if you use this brand.

6. PitStop: club crackers

You have to stop and eat a snack every once in a while, why not have these crackers?

So, who won?  Weeell, nobody was able to correctly guess any of them, but I would have to say that Becky got the closest on #1 with her guess of chocolate cereal and she also got pretty close with #5 by guessing diapers :)  

So, bragging rights for this quiz will go to BECKY!  

I hope you all enjoyed the quiz.  It was fun to put together, and even more fun to read your guesses!

Garoto - People of Brazil

It's Quiz Time Again!!!

Brazilians have a fascination with English words.  Of course, they don't speak English, and they don't pronounce these words quite the way that we would, but they like them, none the less.  It makes shopping a little more fun....sometimes down right humorous.  You never know when you might need so buy some Teens, or even a Kiss or two!  And no shopping trip would be complete if you didn't buy a package of Snobs.

  Guess what items these English words belong to:

The rules are the same as before:

1.) Use the number posted above each picture to list your answers in the comment section. (Even if you only guess at a couple of them, it will be fun to see everyone's guesses!) 

2.) If you live in Brazil (or have in the past,) please don't spoil it for everyone else by giving away the answers :) 

 3.) One winner will be drawn at random to receive exclusive bragging rights.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

Answers (and the winner) will be posted next Monday!

Isabelly - The Happiest Girl in Brazil - People of Brazil

     I took these portraits of Isabelly on Sunday and just had to post them!  She really has to be the happiest little girl in Brazil!  I just love taking her portrait, every shot is a winner!
     Both of her parent's are dedicated and faithful in the church here and we pray that Isabelly will grow up to please the Lord with her life.