Tag: adventure

News

The Bus has Arrived

LS

At long last, after much anticipation and impatient waiting we were able to pick up our new car on Friday. Having a vehicle which can fit the whole family after 2 months without this is an enormous blessing. Not only can all 7 of us fit, but we can fit comfortably. The car feels twice as large and it is significantly larger which will take some adjusting to – especially when it comes to parking in already microscopic European parking spaces.

First order of business was getting the tires changed and putting winter tires on the vehicle. Thankfully, Luke was able to get a same day appointment and was told it was the last day before the holiday break. When preparing to pay, he was asked if he had the bus and if this was a company car. Nothing indicates how much we stick out as different like innocent comments along these lines. Thankfully the “bus” does fit into our driveway, albeit just barely.

The family was very excited to be in the new car and it is amazing how much car technology has changed in the last 13 years. It makes our old car look like it is from a different century. We are very thankful for the Lord’s provision for our needs in this way! It opens up a new set of possibilities for us as a family. We are so thankful for all the help we received along the way – major assistance in purchasing the vehicle at an extremely good price, many who offered us use of their vehicles while we were waiting, others providing us rides to and from various things, etc.

Adapting has been a term characteristic of our family. A bit like our car, we have promises that something grand is on its way and will arrive soon. In the short term, we are finding ways to make things work, with significant help along the journey. We trust that one day we will look back and feel like the jump in progress is a bit like moving from a 2013 vehicle to a 2025 car. There are already some great signs of forward progress. Things which show more of a settling in, less of a feeling of unsettled and walking on eggshells, and less fear of losing it all or unable to trust. We still have a long ways to go with each of these, but we are thankful to think about where we have come from. The Lord is graciously guiding each step forward.

News

Waves of Change

LS

One of the many benefits of being in Brazil so long is that we have the opportunity to learn a lot more about the culture and to try new things! Today, as we drove back we had the chance to experience the scenery along the 3 hour stretch. The country is beautiful and we managed to see both the ocean and the mountains in a single day.

During our short get away trip, we also experienced another cultural opportunity. Very close to the hotel that we stayed in there was a Pizza place that had a Rodizio option. The Rodizio option is basically like an all you can eat, buffet concept. The difference is that you don’t ever have to leave your table. The table has a little spin wheel which allows you to request more pizza (savory or sweet…or both) or indicate that you need a break. The waiters then come out of the kitchen with the freshly made pizza and ask if you would like a piece. Every few minutes another waiter stops by with a different type. The variety was quite impressive and the kids loved the concept so much that they requested it for both nights. It was a bit more expensive than what we would normally do, but the benefit was that the food was immediately ready (something very key with impatient kids), it had lots of options, and everyone had more than enough to eat (in fact, we might have reversed our weight loss :D). We are thankful to have saved up some additional funds that allow us to take advantage of something like this which is fun, cultural, and memory building! It also allowed us to help our kids think about finishing what is on our plate first before eagerly jumping to get the newest option. Thankfully, we have been working over the past few weeks on the concept of finishing food and not throwing it out or wasting it. We suspect that this was simply never taught before and so it is brand new to the kids. Furthermore, they likely also didn’t have options before…there is a high chance that dinner was simply whatever was made and if you didn’t like it, you just had to wait until the next day.

We are also getting lots of Portuguese lessons every day! The kids more or less manage to understand most of what Luke is trying to say and they help him correct his pronunciation during family worship time (imagine reading the Portuguese equivalent of a King James Bible that is very formal and not using hardly any familiar words). We have mastered the words Sorvete (ice cream) and Salgadinhos (chips or other similar snack foods like Cheetos or pretzels). Can you tell that our kids are very interested in food? They have also come to dread the realization that dad’s most often used word is Talvez (maybe) because there are so many requests for different items.

Today, before heading back, we also got to experience a bit of the Brazilian coastline. The kids loved the beach and even though we had no beach equipment whatsoever, they were very happily engaged in body surfing, collecting shells, and having a fun time. There have been so many waves of change for all of us lately – it is hard to believe it has only been 19 days since we became a family. There are so many things all of us are learning…it feels like we are all facing a majorly exponential learning curve. Amidst the waves of change, it is refreshing to take a little time for just pure fun. It is easy to lose sight of all the stress we are all under and to just get exacerbated that things are not going the way they “ought to be”. It is easy to get frustrated with children that don’t listen and do the very opposite to your face, to be annoyed with the inability to communicate exactly what all of us want to, to be at our wits end with another son who seems to be showing all of his negative behavioral actions on steroids, and to get impatient with one another because we are tired and barely holding it together for plenty of moments. In these times, we are grateful that the Lord allows us to visit the beach, to enjoy playing, and to have this time apart from other responsibilities to build both memories and family. And we are thankful for your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial generosity! You have no idea how much we need all of these! They act as anchor points as the waves of change crash in and they allow us to build an incredibly critical foundation for our family.

News

Turning Heads

LS

It is not every day that you see a family of 7 walking down the streets of Brazil. Let alone one that has two people of Asian descent, one of European, and four Brazilians. It is more than enough to make people stare and wonder. And, with the exception of perhaps one, most people in this family do not really like being the center of attention.

Today went fairly smoothly. After a very long walk in search of ATMs (none of which were found in 30 minutes) or banks (none of which were open on Saturday…not even the ATM section), dad went to the grocery store for a few items and because he remembered seeing an ATM there. We left shortly after lunch for a larger park and to enjoy the little amusement ride section there. A few tears were shed over not being tall enough for certain rides or not getting to do exactly what they wanted when they wanted. But overall, they handled it fairly well.

The evening included a very nice dinner with an older couple we had met after church last Sunday. One of their granddaughters in the USA is adopted and this led to a quick connection. They were very kind to invite us to dinner and even way more generous to pay for the meal – no small sacrifice when the number is seven! The kids did quite well at the restaurant, although dinner time in Brazil means that the restaurant didn’t open until 7pm. Toward the end, the boys were ready to leave and get to bed and we had one girl with some exhaustion meltdown…but she regulated herself better than she has in the past and we were thankful that mom and dad managed to keep the lid on some boiling tensions.

Thankfully, a good nights rest can work wonders and as we close out another week, we are thankful for all that the Lord continues to do. We continue to see His hand at work and are amazed at how different things are this go around – some in a more difficult direction, but some in a much better direction. We are shocked at how quickly the children have gotten comfortable around us…we were anticipating that taking significantly longer. And we do fully anticipate there will be setbacks upon moving back to Germany, because that is very typical. But overall it is a blessing to see the Lord crack through the ice. There are still many layers that cover over years of loss, injury, and trauma, but to see the outer shell break down is a great blessing.