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Well, we’ve been back for over a week from the States so it’s about time to give you an update of our experiences!! In our last post we wrote about how God worked miracles in getting our visas. And God really has made His promise come true when He said that this time would be His present to us as a family and it really was!
On May 31st we left from Fortaleza to go to São Paulo, where we got in the plane to Washington DC, a long flight from over 9 hours. Unfortunately Efraim didn’t sleep a lot, so neither did we. Also we had the middle 3 chairs in a row of five which didn’t make it easier for us. We had to go through costums in Washington which all went very easy luckily, now we had to go to Dallas. By now I was really really tired and wasn’t feeling very well, I arrived in Dallas with a bad migraine. Now we still had to take a trip of almost 2 hours to get to Tyler, but I didn’t see a thing of it cause I was lying in the back of the car sleeping. Luckily this did me some good and when I woke up we had arrived at Fatherheart, a home for pregnant girls from Living Aletrantives, YWAM, Tyler. This is where we would be staying the next 2 weeks, our own private mobile home (with living room, 5 bedrooms (one of which a sewingroom, kidsplayroom, nursery), also we had our own kitchen and even a fitness room! Fatherheart is localized in Lindale, and we’re really close to Youth With a Mission, Teen Mania, Mercy Ships on a walking distance of the place where the famous Keith Green is buried!
We got a quick tour of Fatherheart and were introduced to people. They fixed us some delicious food and than we got to rest a bit from our trip, that’s when I really enjoyed a good long hot bath!!!
Tuesday June 2d
After a nice long bedrest we had breakfast together and Efraim had 3 peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches!!! Aimee came to pick us up to go and visit Building Blocks. Building Blocks is a program for pregnant girls, where they get counseling and support during their pregnancy and the first year of the baby. Every activity they earn points which can be traded for babythings in their little shop.
I joined in 2 counselings and also I took a visit to the neighbours, because right next door is their Pregnancy Resource Centre. This is where girls can come to do a pregnancy test, also the girls talk to one of the counselors when they do their test just to make sure if the girl might be abortion minded. If they are pregnant they can also make an appoinment for their first and free ultrasound. Today is my lucky day cause it’s sonogramday and I’m in on about 5-6 songrams, very special!!!
While I’m doing this, Jander is entertaining Efraim in the backyard of Building Blocks!
After these activities we make our first trip to Walmart, we could spend a whole day here for sure, and spend a lot of money as well, but we have to restrain ourselves and only buy some food, drinks and toiletries. After dinner we enjoy the swimmingpool, the weather is nice and warm here! (even though most places are freezing cold because of the airconditioning…)
Wednesday June 3d
Today we get a tour of the YWAM base of Tyler where Living Alternatives is part of, We’re very much impressed with the size of the base and how everything looks so pretty and well taken care off!
We had a mexican dinner at Aimee’s house!
Thursday June 4th
We were invited by the people of Frontier Missions to participate in a time of ministry for us at Frontier Missions. Jander ministers worship and we receive prayer and ministry and many encouraging words!
Friday June 5th
Today we take a look at the clothing shop Keeps, which is also part of Living Alternatives. A girls of 16 years old started this ministry. It’s a very nice shop, full of clothings of designers and famous brands which the shop receives after a show. In the shop they receive teenage girls who live in fosterfamilies, and they get to choose what they would like from the shop (including jewelry), also the girls talk to them, pray with them and minister to them to show that God does indeed care for them. Very special!!
We take another trip to Walmart and spend the rest of the day at Aimees house where Efraim enjoys himself blowing bubbles…..
Saturday June 6th
Heather takes me to a fundraiser brunch in her church. (Heather was with us in Brazil when we had our first traing in 2007) Every table is decorated by the tables’ host with a theme, very fun and fancy. There were fun games and we listened to a few songs by Paul Baloches’ wife! .
In the afternoon Aimee takes us to Caldwell Zoo. Efraim by now has fallen in love with Aimees daughter Sarah and doesn’t want to let go of her hand, and also Josiah, her son, loves it to help Efraim. It was a very fun afternoon and we made a lot of pictures…….
At night one of the girls of Fatherheart was graduating. Many girls who get pregnant drop out of school. That’s why on the premises of Fatherheart itself, the girls have the oportunity to continue their studies and even graduate. It was very special to be able to be a part of an event like this! .
Sunday June 7th
We attended service in Christian Fellowship Church where Paul Baloche ministers worship. It’s a very good service with a very good word as well. Efraim also had a good time in Childcare. By now he has even learned a couple of words in English: Thank you, bye bye, Come on & I’m sorry!
Aimee and her family take us to a family visit and we enjoy a sunny afternoon in the pool! 
From there we go straight to the base of Tyler where there is the weekly Family Night, there are a lot of people and even though Efraim is tired he has fun in childcare and we enjoy a good service!
Monday June 8th
In the sewingroom in the little house where we are staying the girls get classes in sewing and learn for example how to make baby clothes or how to transform old clotrhes in something new and fasionable. Ofcourse I really enjoyed following this class!!!
In the afternoon we go to Building Blocks & Pregnancy Resource Centre where I talk to Doreen, the director of the PRC and get some ideas and tips on how we could start up something similar in Brazil !!!
Tuesday June 9th
Today I join some of the activities in Fatherheart itself, I learn more about the daily schedule, activities and tasks of the girls etc.
Wednesday June 10th
Happy Birthday to me!!!!!! YAY, it’s my birthday!!!!!!! We celebrated in a nice Mexican restaurant: Mercados !!!
At night we even had the experience of a real Texan storm which made our house shake a lot, it made me wanna crawl under the table, the storm even threw a tree on our house, it was quite scary!
Thursday June 11th
I was going to join the activities at Fatherheart again today, but because of yesterday’s stom most activities didn’t happen. At night Heather brought me to her favoite beadshop in Tyler and to the wonderful and BIG Hobby Lobby where ofcourse I spent all my birthdaymoney at once!!!
Friday June 12th
I spend the morning at the Pregnancy Resource Center, this time Jander stayed in the hosue with Efraim cause it’s getting very tiring for Efraim to go from place to place during the day. After lunch Aimee and I take a stop at Walmart AND Target and than we go to the ministry Loving Alternative, the adoptionagency of Living Alternatives.
They work with the girls form Fatherheart as well with girls from the area that are looking for a better family for their child than they can offer themselves. The biological mother herself chooses a family for her baby (semi-open adoption), the contact between the birthmom and adoptive parantes goes through the agency. We especially share thoughts on what we need to do in Brazil to be able to set up something similar here.
Saurday June 13th
We spend a quiet (but also a bit boring…) day in and around the house.
Sunday June 14th
We went to the same churcr as last week and also at night we went to the Family Night at the base. This is a special night as it’s also the last day of the Arts With a Mission Camp that was on the base this week, so the diferent groups give presentation of the things they’ve learned this week. One of the boys comes over and prays for Jander.
Monday June 15th
One last time to the Pregnancy Resource Center and Building Blocks. I copy a lot of materials and resources that we can use here in Brazil. Also Í join Doreen in a few counselings at the PRC. Aimee gives us a donation of baby clothes for Vida Nova, wow, 60 pounds of babystuff, now we have more than enough to set up our own program in Brazil!
At night unfortunately we get the news that someone broke into our house in Brazil. It took us a while befoire we finally got in contact with someone in Brazil that could give us more details, it looks like they took almost all the valuables we had. Ofcourse we are very much upset with what happened, but we decide that we want to trust God that evertyhing will be allright, the time that we had in Brazil, the ideas, the vision, the words, the things God put on our hearts and the inheritance we have in Hime, no-one will ever be able to take that away from us!
Tuesday June 16th
This afternoon, just like I did yesterday, I give a course of jewelry making to the girls at Fatherheart. I brought beads of Brazilian seeds (Açaii) which made it even more interesting.
Also we as Vida Nova gave the girls and the staff a necklace fom the project as a present.
Wednesday June 17th
It’s time to leave again….we clean the house, pack our stuff, take some last pictures, our last lunch, say goodbye and than we’re off for a 2 hour drive to Dallas.
God has taken so good care of us this time, and also on our way back he shows us how much He cares for us. On the flight from Dallas to Washington we get an upgrade so that we have more space with Efraim, and he even gets some leftover snacks from businessclass!!
From Washington to Sao Paulo again we have the middle 3 chairs in a row of 5, but the lady next to Jander goes to sit somewhere else and so we have an extra chair so that Efraim can sleep lying on 2 chair, he was even so fast asleep that one time I woke up to find him sleeping on the floor, he had fallen off the chairs to the floor and didn’t even wake up (thanks for the Benadryl Heather!)
Thursday June 18th
From Sao Paulo to Fortaleza we also had extra legspace as Efraim and I were on the first row. We were picked up in Fortaleza by friends, and than we came home to find our house in complete chaos. Luckily they hadn’t stolen Jander’s guitars, but they did take 2 tvs, 2 dvdplayers (one of the project), a stack of dvds (in english), Janders playstation, videocamera, my cellphone, laptop, speakers, headset and all of the money of the project (about 500 dollars) The external hadrdrive with all our documents, music, pictures, ministry-things etc. they luckily left behind, they also took some other smaller things. It will take us some time to recuperate everything (we have no insurance), but we try not to worry. We already received an offering to buy a new tv so that at least Jander could watch to final of Brazil playing against the US. (Was the only game he watched)
Friday June 19th
We spent the whole day cleaning and organizing the house, and at night we received some guests from Holland, they are going to stay with us for a couple of days, because the farm is full because of a team from the US. It was a fun chaos!
Sunday June 21st
Efraim turned 3 years old!!! In America he completely fell in love with Thomas the Tank Engine, so we had bought him for his birthday a nice trainset with a Thomas train that really drives! We will celebrate his birthdayparty when my parents will be here half July.
For more pictures of our trip to the us look here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=102615&id=567631295&l=7ea52925d4
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