september update

Dear Friends and Family,

Somehow having a two-month old makes emailing a little more of a challenge. Little Joseph is down for a nap right now, so I'll give it my best shot. (Never mind, he just started screaming but fortunately Aunt Emma is here to help!).

My mom and sister arrived for a visit in mid-August. We decided to make the venture to Curitiba to pick them up at the airport. Flavio and Odilene generously offered us their car for the trip so we wouldn't have to take the bus. Things were going well until we got just outside of Curitiba and missed our exit (the signage isn't quite up to par with the U.S. interstate system). All of sudden we were in downtown Curitiba, Joseph screaming to nurse and filling his diaper and Andy praying loudly, “Lord, I don't know where to go, please help us get to the airport.”

Somehow (most likely by God's grace), between two people giving us directions we made it two the airport and hour late. We began looking around for Mom and Emma but didn't see them. I was just about to text my Dad to make sure they had made it on the plane when we finally saw them arrive. Turns out that Mom and Emma had missed their flight to Curitiba because of weather delays and had to take a flight an hour later. God is good, all of us made it to the airport right on time!

Mom stayed with us for three weeks and Emma will be here with us until early November. My mom loved the time she had with Joseph and getting to know Guarapuava. Emma has already been making lots of friends and getting to know Brazilian culture. We have really appreciated their help.

Andy finished up with his formal language lessons in early August and has been going to CLM by bus to help out during the week. On Saturday afternoon, he was going home on the bus when a passenger got off the bus at a stop, went to cross the street in front of the bus and was hit by a car passing the stopped bus. The man was killed on impact.

The incident was a profound experience for Andy, he had never seen anyone die before. One minute the man was a passenger on Andy's bus and the next the man was in eternity. The incident was especially poignant because Andy has been struggling with the sins of worry and fear regarding the difficulties of the work at CLM. He shared with me that it was a powerful reminder why Jesus commands us not to worry. God has only given us today.

Well, Joseph is still screaming so I had better go see if I can comfort him. Thank you for your prayers and support, we love and miss you all.

In Christ,

Katie (for Andy and Joseph)