Lots to talk about

There is so much going on right now that we really have a lot to talk about in our prayer time this weekend. Don't think I can remember a time when so much change was happening at once!

Mom and I are still in the midst of house changes, and all the activities of a busy schedule of travel to Brazil and Alaska, etc. Tod and Lee Ann with a house 'under construction'. Cary and Jill with business waves cresting all around and just at the tail end of house fixin's. Ben and Trisha in a swirling sea of uncertainty and disappointment regarding leaving Glenwood and getting settled in Odessa. Alan and Holly actually seem to be in a relatively calm period if you do not count back-to-back trips and four kids going all directions. Randy and Anda with baby in the oven issues and new job uncertainties. James and April dealing with all the uncharted waters of first baby experience. Whew!

Well, who is around to hold on to so we can feel secure? We are certainly blessed to have each other. We are abundantly supplied with blessings as we can see that all are faced in the same direction - toward the Lord.

Hold on til the week-end and we can praise Him and encourage one another. I look forward to giving the big hug I have reserved for each one, and a shoulder on each side to help bear each one's burdens.

Love you lots,

Dad

I don't know who is reading the blog these days, and most of you know much of what is going on with us already, but I wanted to give you the next page of the story and ask you to pray. Before the elders met last night we learned that the missions team had presented to them on Sunday a recommendation NOT to support us. They had decided then to meet again last night to discuss it further. It was evident to us based on their behavior at church that they were going to have to tell us no, and that was going to be awkward for them. At the suggestion of a very wise man we know, we called this morning and asked if it would help them if we withdrew our request. The elder who Ben talked to thought that was a good idea, but said they still want to meet with us and that they still don't want us asking individuals for support. We have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday night. When Ben pressed him to ask what they wanted to discuss, he said they want to affirm us, discuss their concerns about Stadia, and discuss their concerns about us going to individuals for support.

We are very hurt, frustrated and disappointed. We are trying to work through our emotions so that we can respond graciously but truthfully on Tuesday night. That can only be accomplished by the Spirit in us. I need Him to calm my heart. Thanks to Him, I don't really feel anxious about raising the funds. But I'm really struggling to not be resentful and angry. I have cried and cried, screamed, yelled, stomped around (while the kids were at school!), and still haven't worked it all out. It appears (although I pray I'm misunderstanding their words) that they are not just unable to give their financial support, but that they may even believe we are making a move that will somehow dishonor God and feel they need to stop us. Because everyone else in our lives has confirmed that this is just right and that God is leading us, we don't think we're missing it.

I could go on and on, but you don't want to hear my whining! We ask you to pray, for our hearts to be tender toward these men who we love, for a spirit of humility and love toward them. We ask you to pray for us to find the right words to say to them that will be honest but kind. Pray that we will have the grace to not speak against them as we explain to our friends that we are not yet able to ask them for support. (Some are just waiting for us to be free to ask, knowing the elders had asked us to wait until the process was complete.)'

Does anyone have a verse for us to claim?

We love you and thank God for our faithful family.
Trisha

another small faith test

Just got back from my doctor's appointment. I LOVE the doctor - our insurance stuff is so up in the air and she finally just told me that she wasn't going to charge us anything until we figured all this out. She was super sweet and really laid back. Hope we get to keep this one! You can say a little prayer for me and faith!! Still fighting fearing the unknowns about the future and God really has been gracious to give peace and the willingness to fight that, but now there's one more tiny little thing to trust God about. They did my sonogram today. I didn't know they were going to until I got there and you'll be really impressed to know that I didn't find out the sex, even after the sonographer told me she knew what it was!! She was giving me a hard time. Anyway, she just passingly mentioned at the end that there was a small cyst on the baby's brain - these are very common and normally go away by the 24th week, but they're going to do another sonogram next month to make sure it's gone or at least shrinking. I ask the doctor later about what it would mean if it wasn't gone and she said it can be an indicator of Down's. She and the songrapher really acted like it was no big deal and were not worried at all, but it's just one of those little thoughts that can get stuck in your head and make you a little crazy if you let it! For some reason, I've been more paranoid with this baby than with any of the others, esp. about Down's, so while I'm sure that it really isn't anything, I'm tempted to wonder.
We feel like we're just in a little time of trial - nothing traumatic or horrible, just a place that is a little uncomfortable! Pray that this cyst thing is totally gone next month and pray that RB knows where he is supposed to be working!

Thanks for your encouraging words, Trisha!
Love you all,
Anda

two roads

Just thinking about life and when you come to those places in the "road" where you can choose faith or not. It's easy for me to have faith for Ben & Trisha's situation - I'm not the one in the middle of it!! So I'm trying to imagine me as someone else and then it's easier to have faith - ha! Randy had an important business meeting tonight with the people who are taking over the JPS doctors in October. They presented and discussed what the new contract would look like and it's not that great. Some parts are bad enough that if they don't negotiate a better offer, he probably wouldn't take it. Therefore! Things are a little unstable feeling...BUT God is NOT unstable, He is completely steadfast, He has led us so far and been INCREDIBLY merciful and gracious, and this is just part of the adventure He's taking us on! THAT'S the truth! Not that you all didn't already know that - just needed to write it and see it myself. I'll choose the path of faith tonight. Please pray, though! Trusting the Lord financially (and being okay with delivering who-knows-where with who-knows-who) is tougher than it sounds - you know what I mean?!
My prayer really isn't about everything working out perfectly (although all the Lord's plans are) - I just want to trust Him and be at peace and KNOW HIM well enough to know that HE is our security and always has been, whether we've acknowledged that or not!

Meanwhile, I go to my new doctor tomorrow for the first time - I've heard wonderful things about her and her staff. She may not be my doctor for long, but we'll enjoy her while we have her!!

See you guys on Saturday,
Anda

Camp Blog

Hi guys!
Just a quick blog from camp - I'm using the office internet, so I'll make it brief.

It's starting to feel like Op Camp.....a camper pulled a knife on a counselor, we've said that we'll miss all the disgruntled campers that are leaving (they changed their minds when they realized that they really don't know where they are), and one of our campers had to be held up against the wall due to a manic tantrum. Cary will be disappointed if we don't have an offical "runaway." He really gets a kick following them down the dirt road and watching them getting scared.

Did I mention that our theme is "respect?" Tonight is talent show and the women mentors are going to stage "cat fights" and promote our new motto: "Save the Drama for Yo Mama."

Our new girls "spa class" is a big hit. At the end of our "Jam for the Lord plus yoga" session, we put lavender scented cold paper towels on their foreheads- they love it.

The counselors are amazing -extra good this year - not to mention "Miss Bailey" is quite the cool counselor. She's been so good with these kids - she's been in training for awhile with her nieces & nephews!


Love you all!
Jill

Back home (?) again

Just a quick note to say we're home in Tyler again. We had a good but quick visit with Randy and Anda at their weekly ice cream neighborhood party. What a great outreach! And his root beer ice cream was great! Their guest room is looking beautiful, and it was so sweet to talk to their kids, especially McKenna about her baptism.

Ben went straight to the office (about 1 a.m.) and finished packing it up so the interns can have it. He got home at 6:30 this morning. I hope they can appreciate the extra day they have to enjoy his office. Jeff really wanted him out of there. So it's done. He turned in his keys and phone and everything. It's a little sad to me, but part of it, I guess.

We so enjoyed our time in Midland/Odessa! I can't wait to get there. Sitting in our new house in Odessa Sunday and Monday with company both times just felt right!

Time for breakfast for the kiddos! We love you all!
Trisha

Our busy life

This last weekend at the lake with our friends went really well. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was peaceful sitting on the dock by myself while everyone else was on the boat and seadoo. We had some great meals, although my icecream didn't turn out good. I didn't bring enough half and half, so I tried to half the recipe for a smaller ice cream maker, only I forgot to half the amount of salt, so it was REALLY salty. Oh well, I guess you learn by trial and error. I'll do better next time, but I'll leave the ice cream making to Anda this coming weekend. While we were at the lake, a couple of girls were crocheting, so I asked them to teach me how. Now I am working on our baby's first blanket. My hand gets really tired and cramped, but I'm enjoying crocheting. I have a long way to go before fininshing this blanket.

This week I have parent/teacher conferences. So far I have had 2 conferences and I feel they went really well. I have 6 more conferences during the week. I am almost dreading the last conference because the parents are harder to deal with than the child. At least it is my last one. Maybe it will help me build better parent/teacher skills. Not every conference can be an easy one.

The pregnancy is going well. I am 17 weeks now. I go back to the doctor on July 13. It was interesting the other day, because Trisha told me that she had a dream that I had a little girl. What makes it interesting is that I have had two dreams that I had a girl, and James had one dream that we had a girl. Not that it means anything. It's just interesting. We'll just see which one God has in store for us. Either one is perfectly fine with us. We just want a healty baby. We have a definate name picked out if it's a boy, Noah Allen. I told James that he could name the baby if it's a girl, but it has to be from the list of names that we have decided on together. He can't seem to make up his mind. First he chose Hanna Lee, then he went to Meridith Jane, and now he's on Lena Naomi. We'll see what it ends up at. We still have Haly Dian and Emma Larissa to choose from. My favorites are Haly, Hanna, and Emma. Of course we don't have to know anything definate right now. We still have half the pregnancy to go through.

Well, that's enough for now. I'll be able to talk to you all this weekend. I'm excited to see everyone. It was great to see Ben, Trisha and the kids (Tod too) at Youthwave Thursday night. I had so much fun making Elijah laugh. I love to hear him uproar in laughter.

Love you all,
April

blessed day yesterday!

McKenna's baptism was wonderful yesterday! Thank you so much, Dale and Rita, for making it a priority to be there - it meant so much to MK and to us. Randy managed to make it through the whole thing (almost didn't). The saddest part was that we kind of forgot to pick up Luke from class, so someone brought him to us just as everyone was dispersing after the baptisms. His pitiful little pouty face made me want to cry - I still can't think about it!

Looking forward to this weekend. Rita (or anyone), do you have a clue how many pounds of roast to buy for lunch? I was thinking 4 or 5 4-5 pound roasts, but I don't really have a grid to know if that will be enough, too much? I'll call you if you don't get a chance to respond to the blog.

This is our first "normal" week of summer when everyone is home every day without swim lessons, camp, etc. This a.m. we had "laundry" lessons! I'm determined that these kids can help wash their own clothes! They should be highly motivated because they have so few clean clothes at the moment!

Okay, random question: did anyone ever have a kid who potty trained really early? I never have, but Moriah is exclaiming "poo-poo" every time she does anything in her diaper, even if it's only wet, because she doesn't like it. This a.m. she proudly brought me her diaper and wipes because she wanted to be changed. The last thing on the planet I want to do right now is potty train, but I don't want to miss the window if there is one, you know? Just wondering if anyone had ever experimented with early training. Would appreciate any advice!

Love you guys! I'm ready to sit down and hear about everyone's adventures over the past month!

Anda

mitch again

My mom finally made me blog, so here I am. I still haven't talked about the fishing trip, which doesn't make much sense because it was definitely one of the funnest parts of the trip. On the plane ride home, I went back over all the fish I caught, I think it came out to seventeen. We caught pirhana mostly, along with these catfish-looking things. A couple people in our group actually caught some alligators, too. Except for the mosquitoes, it was a pretty fun trip.
:-) mitch

Fan Mail!!!

We are busy bees around here getting Allison ready for camp and all of our many adventures. I just thought I would post her address at camp just in case anyone wanted to drop her a little note of encouragement. Everyone loves mail!

Allison Brown--Learning to Lead 2
ACU Leadership Camps
10 McGlothlin Campus Center
ACU Box 28108
Abilene, TX 79699

God is good--Holly

Daily report

Y'all are so on top of things, I hardly know what to do! This fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants girl is having a hard time getting past today! I am hoping we can be there for the fun weekend, and I will be the helper for whoever needs help. I will also bring snacks and desserts. We just don't know whether we'll need to be here working on support. After tonight, I'm thinking so.

The Missions meeting was really long, and everyone walked out looking pretty grim to me. When I asked our friend/elder Kyle Miller about it, he said he couldn't say anything. He said the next step is that the elders will meet on Sunday. I'm praying for patience and grace. People seem quite concerned that they don't want us to go away with hurt feelings. I'm going to bed before my feelings start speaking way too much! I know this for sure--God is still good, He still loves me, and He is the giver of all good things. For now, that must be enough. Another faith-building day.

I can't wait to get to YouthWAVE. I keep hearing great things from everyone I talk to--moms and dads whose kids are there, etc. I'm missing my annual spiritual renewal week! Then on to the west where I know it will be invigorating to meet with our new church and be with our family who loves us!

We love you!
Trisha

dessert

Meant to tell you guys that we would cover dessert for one meal with homemade ice cream and some of Randy's new concoction(!). We're having the neighbors over every Tuesday night for homemade ice cream and he's decided to experiment every week with one new flavor. Last night it was orange sherbert made with orange soda - sounds kind of gross if you ask me, but it was really pretty good (he ate 5 bowls - I'm not kidding). We'll bring an extra ice cream freezer unless there is one at the lake.

Love,
Anda

Menu Plan

This is probably a record, but I think we have an actual menu plan for the 4th! I talked to Rita, and she will handle dinner Friday night, breakfast Sat. morning, and lunch on Monday - so the meals are covered! If anyone still wants to help that doesn't have a full meal that you're responsible for, just join in & help somebody out with the cooking or cleaning. Here's the menu as far as I know it & it's always, ALWAYS, subject to change on any food whim that we might be craving at the time.

Friday night - Rita will cook tacos
Sat. breakfast - Dale will make pancakes or waffles or something
Sat. lunch - I'll make homemade rolls and we'll have brisket sandwiches, fruit, chips
Sat. dinner - Rita is going to help me cook Brazilian churrasco meat with their new skewers that they brought back from Brazil - rice & beans, salad, potatoes.
Sun. breakfast - Alan & Holly
Sun. lunch - Randy & Anda - roast, mashed potatoes, etc.
Sun. dinner - Alan & Holly
Monday breakfast - Anda's breakfast casserole
Monday lunch - Rita - leftovers (if we have any - we kinda didn't last time!)

As always, we need to bring snacks, desserts, & drinks. I'm going to the store early Sat. morning - if you need anything, blog or call me and I'll put it on my list.

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Last night's party was great. We had around 120 counselors, staff, and a bunch of little kiddos. We had fun music, great food, hot, but shady weather, and excited counselors that stayed until about 11pm! It gave Cary & I a little glimpse into how teenagers just like to "hang-out" and stay up late & talk. Everyone's really looking forward to camp next week. My prayer has been that I won't try to love these kids with my kind of love - showy, pretentious, and self-righteous- my kind of love just doesn't work. I want to give Jesus's love to these kids - humble, real, helpful, life-changing, serving-kind-of love. It's easy to get these kids to look up to us & think we're great - I want them to think HE's great. This seems like a big challenge to me right now & I'm counting on God to come through.

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I'll try to get Mitch to blog soon about his Brazil fishing trip. We've been keeping him busy since he's gotten home (right now he's at work, so you might hear a lot of "blog-complaints" about that - we'll see.)

Hope everyone out there has had a good week. Tod, Youth Wave sounds very intense, but awesome. Keep serving hard, and let us in on the blessings you see this week.

I'm taking my computer to camp to work on camper pictures, but I don't know if I'll have any access to the internet. If I do, I'll be blogging!

Jill

YouthWave II

Things are really going well here. I am again so pleased at the kids who seem to take the mission of Jesus so seriously. At the same time it seems that so many of them are deeply wounded and haven't experienced the healing power and freedom of Jesus. It is especially true in the youth ministers who bring them. I feel like one of my primary tasks here is to help them experience Christ in all his goodness an power. We end up praying for lots of different things. It has been powerful to watch God minister to their hearts. I love to get the testimonies from kids and adults about what is happening in their heart. Last night one of the youth ministers gave me a note describing what happened to him 3 years ago and what has happened to him since. It was very humbling.

Last night we prayed for girls who think they are ugly. I asked them to stand up and let the people around them pray. It was heartbreaking to me. There were so many. I trust that God ministered to them, but I had a hard time keeping my composure. I talked to them about what God says about their beauty, but I am convinced that they will only hear it in their hearts if God speaks it. We also prayed for guys who feel fatherless. It was gutwrenching too. Then I felt compelled to challenge the young men to take radical steps to eliminate porn from their life. I don't know what was happening in them, but it was very quiet in the room. As you can imagine, by the time I started teaching it was very intense.

So things are going well here except for my great and ongoing disappointment that Trisha isn't here. She adds a lot to YouthWave for me. We get the afternoon and evening off because the youthgroups are going out all over the city. I don't speak tonight. Ben and I are going to do something, I am not sure what.

I miss my kids and my amazing wife.
Grace,
Tod

Soo...

Is anyone actually going to the lake on Friday or earlier?

The FW Brown meals!

Hey guys, we prayed and decided that we are coming to the lake for the 4th - yea! We are probably not coming until Sat a.m. so we will take Sunday lunch and Monday breakfast. We'll do roast, mashed potatoes, etc. for lunch and breakfast casserole for breakfast. Excited to be with you guys again!

Hey April, does your Target swimsuit happen to be black and white? Just thought I'd check! We may be decked out in the same lovely maternity swimwear (I'm trying to be thankful for maternity swimwear...) at the Lake! See you there!

Anda

SLOW DOWN SUMMER!!!

Wow! I can't believe summer is already past mid June! How I look at is that June is practically over, and we have the month of July and then school starts! We are having a great summer but it is going entirely too fast! Two weeks ago we spent the weekend at the Lake with my college roomates and their families. We had a blast. 10 adults and 15 kids and one on the way. Lots of potential ACU wildcats. We are always blown away when we are there what a blessing Providence Point is for our family and all who visit. It's such a joy to share the weekend with others.

Last weekend we hosted Allie Ryburn's wedding shower. Such a special day, but so glad I can check it off the list. Alan and the kids were great all week to help do whatever to get ready. We appreciate Hutton & Connor being such great yard men, planting all of our shrubs in the 100+ weather! We had a wonderful time giving the party, had over 100 lovely ladies and Allie was overwhelmed with the abundance of blessings received!

The next few weeks will be a whirl. LeeAnn & I will drive Allison to ACU camp on Sunday then on to Round Rock to take my other three. We leave for New York at 6:45 a.m. Monday morning for a fun few days to celebrate her graduating from Nursing School and turning 40. Judy Branch and Rosie Baby will be joining us. We will then return Thursday night, pick Allison up from ACU on Friday, come home and do laundry like crazy, come to Brownwood on Saturday and leave for Wyoming on Monday the 4th.

We changed up where we are staying in Jackson Hole and that is why we are leaving 10 days earlier. We are super excited about the Spotted Horse Ranch. It is an all inclusive guest ranch and sounds perfect for our family. Lots of horseback riding, fishing, rafting, etc. Not to mention that they provide us with three homecooked meals a day! So this week all preparations must be made for the mountains!

As far as meals at the lake go, our family will volunteer for Sunday breakfast and dinner. We will probably be coming Saturday and leaving early Monday morning. Looking forward to being with everyone for our short stay over the 4th. Maybe we should post what we are planning to cook for our meal, that way nothing would be duplicated!

Our hearts are full of joy for sweet McKenna. I have no doubt that she is ready to give her heart over to Jesus, she did that a long time ago! We will be celebrating in spirit with you on Sunday!
Much love,
Holly

Mitch! Don't leave us hanging!

Hey Mitch!
Just when I had come to depend on your interesting and educational blogs, you left us hanging! I want to hear about your fishing trip! I know, you have probably told all the Midland family, but us out-of-towners need more info!

Love,
Aunt Trisha

Way to go, McKenna!

Anda, I'm really happy and excited for you guys that McKenna has decided to give her life away. It truly is "rebirth," and you'll feel like it was the day she was born - only better! It makes me tear-up just thinking about her sweet heart right now & I will shed some happy tears for her on Sunday! Please tell her that Uncle Cary, Aunt Jill , & her Midland cousins think this is the best decision she'll ever make and we are really proud of her for stepping out in faith and showing the world who she belongs to.

Trisha, you're definitely not a "blog-hog" (that's funny), and I'll be thinking about you guys on Wednesday - it is hard for me to comprehend all you guys have been through - and WHY? I don't get it - I'm sure I never will - but I can see signs of God directing your life right now so clearly that I have no doubt of His love & care for you & your family. Your submission to your church leaders shows your faith in a God who loves you. We'll see you on Thursday, and maybe you guys can go to the pool with us on Friday, or I'll take Alex & Katy, if you want.

We got Mitch home on Saturday & he is the most adorable "punk." The stories keep coming, and he seems much more grown-up. I am ever so grateful for grandparents that would be able & willing to show their grandchildren a different world view. I can't believe he got to experience so much.

We picked him up from the airport & went straight to Cary's 20yr. high school reunion. I "made" him go, but once he got there, I could tell he had a good time seeing some of his old buddies (Keith McDonald, mainly) and hearing how good his old girlfriend was doing (all of her girlfriends filled us in since she couldn't be there :) ).

We're getting ready for Opportunity Camp this week. Tomorrow night we have all the counselors, adult staff, and board members over for a cookout - probably about 100 people. Good news is that it won't be raining - I'll take the 100 degree weather.

I don't know if I'll be able to check internet at camp, so I was wondering if we could go ahead and coordinate the July 4th menu plan this week. I know it's still a couple of weeks away, but we'll be coming straight from camp to the lake. So.....what I was thinking is that we have 3 dinners (Fri-Sat-Sun), three breakfasts (Sat-Sun-Mon), and three lunches (Sat-Sun-Mon). Depending on when your family will get to the lake & leave from the lake, if you could pick which meals your family could handle the planning, grocery buying and food fixing for that would really help. Our family is too big of a job for just one person to handle. Last time, we figured that we're feeding about 26 adult servings every meal, even though we have 33 total people. That breaks down to 14 adults, 6 kids who eat normal, and 12 other kiddos that eat about 1/2 an adult serving. We could make a lot of jokes right now about how the Browns are known for their good cooking, which leads to good eating, and about what an "adult portion" should or shouldn't be. I'll save it for later, right now I'm just trying to give an idea about how much you'll need to prepare for your meal. If families want to go-in together on meals & buying groceries that might be a good idea, too. Cary & I are willing to go-in and buy, or pay, or bring food for any meal that anyone would want to be responsible for cooking. For the 4th, Cary and I will go ahead and plan on doing Saturday lunch and Saturday dinner unless someone else needs those times.

If you could post or blog your thoughts on meals, that would be great. If you could think of another way to do the menu, that would be even better!
Sorry for the lengthy blog - now who's a "blog-hog?" :)

Great news!

I don't know if you guys have heard yet or not, but our sweet McKenna has decided to get baptized this Sunday! She had a great experience at camp last week that brought out what she had already been thinking about. We had a feeling she might come back from camp ready to give her life to Jesus (she'd been asking lots of questions about salvation, baptism, etc. and just hadn't been herself the week before). Honestly, we did feel a little of that "AH! She's only 7!" But after looking up lots of Scripture and talking with her Daddy we feel confident that she knows what she's doing and we don't want to stop the Lord's work in her! Pray for her - the enemy hates this stuff!!

Random question: In the middle of all the extreme home makeovers that are going on in Midland (ha!), does anyone happen to have a decent queen size bed that they are getting rid of? We are turning our office into a guest room and are looking for a queen bed. Just wondering.

Trisha and Ben, we are SO excited for you that your house has sold!! Praise God for His goodness and perfect timing! He's so good.

Love you guys,
Anda

YouthWave

Hey guys,
I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would fill you in while I am at YouthWave. Ben and I are in Austin for the week equipping kids to be verbal witnesses to Jesus Christ. Ben has done an amazing job putting together a team to pull this off. There are 200+ kids here and they are a great group.

I started last night preaching about Zacchaeus and how Jesus was a friend of sinners. I think we are off to a good start. I hit the bed pretty hard last night. I love being here, but I miss my family and I am going to have a hard time being away from the house project this long. Things are really picking up. Maybe Lee Ann can post some pictures.

Grace,
Tod

Happy Father's Day

Dad,
I meant to post this yesterday, but I had trouble getting an internet connection. Happy Father's day.

I think a lot about what it means that you were and are the father you are. So many of the people who come to me with broken hearts and broken lives can trace some of their heartache to their father. You have never given me any reason to blame you for who I am. Whatever weirdness is in me I got all by myself.

Thank you for teaching us hard work and optimistic problem solving. Thank you for serving people and doing things no one wants to do just because they need to be done. Thank you for loving the Kingdom of God more than any other man I know. Thank you for building a great reputation for talent with integrity.

Lee Ann and I have been especially grateful for all the experiences and memories you have provided for your grandchildren. Times at the lake, world travels, wonderful vacations have shaped my kids identity. Because of those experiences, they have a sense of family that most of their friends don't understand. For my kids, Sunday lunch is a really important part of their life. Bailey would rather be with the whole family on Sunday than go with her friends. I don't think it is the pasta bar. She just loves being with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

We love you . I love you. Thank you for being my dad.

Love,
Tod

Happy Father's Day, men!

Happy Father's Day, guys! I am so thankful for each one of you and your ministry to your families.

Dad, you have led the way so beautifully! Thank you for living your faith every day, for believing in each of us, for teaching us to be unselfish, hospitable, generous, peace-loving but willing to stand up for right, hopeful about the future. I'm always proud to say that Dale Brown is my dad.

On another note, I feel like a blog hog, since no one else has written since my last post, but I wanted to ask you to pray. Our Missions committee meets Wednesday night (probably before church) to discuss whether they will support us or not. For some reason, a flicker of hope has risen in me this morning. I got a call from the head of the New Opportunities subcommittee. She asked me to send her the page we gave them several weeks ago that gives the details of the why and what of our request. (Mom, she's the lady who sent you the floor samples--Cindy Schindler.)

Anyway, if you think about it, please pray for that group during the next few days as they decide what to do with us!

Love,
Trisha

Welcome home

I hope you Midlanders are all busy hugging and welcoming and hearing all the details of the Brazil trip and don't get around to reading the blog for awhile! But, for the rest of us, I'll catch up on our life anyway...

We have a contract on our house! The lady who haggled and haggled really does want the house, so we have agreed to terms we can both live with. It won't close until July 15th, so that gives us a little time to get all packed up. The timing seems ideal, actually. (Another blessing from the Lord!)

Ben leaves for YouthWAVE today, so we spent the morning celebrating Father's Day a little early and getting new tires for the Suburban so the kids and I won't have a flat on the way to Austin later this week! I've done nothing to get ready for YW, which is strange. (Actually, my only job has been to find "square" FIJI water to put in gift baskets for the youth ministers' wives!) I hope they can do it without me! Tod, I sent linens with Ben in case you need them.

I'm having lots of fun with my monogram machine. I'm trying to get all the baby and graduation gifts done this week--I'm way behind! It sure is fun when I take the time to sit down and do it! I'm getting pretty good at towels, anyway!

I'm looking forward to hearing all about Brazil and all your other adventures.

Coming Home!

Well, one last blog before we leave Brazil for home. It has been a wonderful trip. We were up until 2am visiting with Tito and Timoteo's family about their plans to return to Cuiba after Jose Carlos graduates from SerCris in December. We went to their little house for dinner after church. Lourdes had prepared part of one of the huge fishes they brought home, and it was delicious. Hospitality in such a simple home once again has touched my heart. They are such a fine family, and it feels so good to be helping them. You would all love them.

It was so fun to hear Mitch, Tito, Timoteo, and Carol conversing in a very amusing mixture of English and Portuguese for hours. The kids didn't want to go to bed, and everytime I checked on Mitch, he was doing great. At one point Tito had his English-Portuguese dictionary out. I can't begin to describe how proud we are of Mitch. He has worked at learning Portuguese words and charms everyone with his manners expressed in Portuguese. He has tried new food and joined in every activity. He went to Bible class last night and said he understood most of what was said. From time to time I forget and speak to him in Portuguese, and when he responds I realize he understood me in Portuguese. He will have many stories to tell.

Dad taught the men's class, but I didn't have to teach the ladies' class because the lady who normally teaches the class didn't want to give up her territory--people are people wherever you go. Leila was furious. I was relieved.

I am so ready to see everyone, but it will be sad to leave our friends here. We are to have lunch with the couple our family supports. They are so sweet and are doing a wonderful job here. Dad forgot to tell me about them before we came, so I didn't bring any presents for them. I feel horrible. They have a darling baby girl who will turn 1 year old in a few days. Maybe we can put together a family "care package" and send it by mail when I get home. You would love them.

Dad says the key to the trailer is either in the kitchen drawer or the drawer in the utility room. I am afraid the worst news of the trip is that I lost the little digital camera with all Mitch's pictures and many others at the street market Wednesday night. I am just sick about it and don't want to talk about it. We have plenty of pictures from the other camera--probably about 25 rolls--but there were some special ones on that camera. The good news is that other than the cold I have at the moment, we are all absolutely healthy and happy. God has blessed us once again with an incredible trip. The blog has been wonderful. I have enjoyed reading it again and again. It has been an incredible way to feel connected from so far away. I love each and every one of you, and the thoughts from your hearts bless me over and over again.

Anda, I just finished reading "Waking the Dead." It is my new favorite book and I have highlights from cover to cover. Maybe we can discuss it when I get home if you are reading it. Also, of course you are welcome to the scrapbooking stuff. That is what it is for. I can't wait to scrapbook from this trip.

We leave here (Campo Grande) at 6:30 pm for Sao Paulo. Our plane leaves SP late tonight headed for Dallas. We should be back in Midland about 11am Saturday. We have lots of hugs ready for you. (One of the things Mitch had to learn was hugging--Brazilians are huggers.) Leila has just called me for pao de queijo and fresh squeezed orange juice--boy will I miss that!

I love you all, Mom/Grandma

Key to the trailer???

Hi Dad or Mom--
Do you know where the key to the trailer is? If you do, could you blog so Lee Ann can send it to us? We'd like to bring a load after YouthWAVE if we can get the key to unlock the trailer!

Just in case anyone wants to know, we're thinking that the kids and I will go to Austin on Thursday and stay with April and James or Janice and participate in the last 2 evenings of YW. (Anyone want to join us? Mom and Dad? I hear the speaker is going to be really great this year.) Then we may come to Midland Saturday to be there on Sunday. Then we'll come home on Monday and begin moving and fundraising. (That assumes we'll be free to do so by then.)

Thank you all for your continual encouragement and prayers. They are a blessing to us! We really are excited about what God is doing!

no exciting news

We don't have anything real exciting to report, but I'm having so much fun reading the blog this week, I just had to join in!
We have finally decided on our vacation - we're also going to Destin! We'll go the third week in August, which is actually off season so we were excited about saving a little money.
Pregnancy is better - still exhausted, but not sick. Won't have a doctor's appointment for another couple of weeks (insurance/job change has made everything a little delayed)! Great news is that you can see the hospital where I will deliver from our front yard!! I'm thinking that unless it's absolutely necessary I'm going to refuse induction and see what going into labor is like. We've also almost for sure decided to let this last one be a surprise (why stop the surprises now?).
Kids are great - swim lessons this week. Josiah is swimming on his own now and has once again impressed someone with his athletic ability. The teacher showed them while out of the water yesterday how to do the backstroke. He watched her, got in the water, and did it perfectly. Luke is just making her laugh. My sweet 17-month-old is now experimenting with jumping. She's jumping off the bottom of the stairs and last night tried jumping off the couch. She thought it was lots of fun and did it over and over again. She scares me! Where did this girl come from?! McKenna is at church camp until tomorrow. I miss having my big girl around!

If you think about it, please keep praying for Randy. He's not exactly enjoying his job at the moment. Still doesn't have a nurse and is doing a lot of "pain management" (drug dealing - ha!). I had someone imply this a.m. that maybe he had made the wrong decision about the job because it's been so hard. That's the cool thing, though. We both feel very confident that this is exactly where God has led him and that he is going to learn a lot - about himself, God, and the poor! We heard recently in a sermon that God is really into the "process" and just because it is God's will doesn't mean it's going to be easy! How true! I'm sure Ben and Trisha can "amen" that! Anyway, we're thankful that God's timing is so perfect and that we didn't move this summer. I know some wise parents who advised against too much transition at one time if we could avoid it (thanks Dale and Rita)!

Love you guys! Can't wait to hear about Brazil! Bless you as you teach tonight, Rita!

Anda

Good to hear from you, Trisha. There is so much going on in your life- I can't imagine the range of emotions. For us, we're just excited for you guys. I forget that there's a whole world you've created in Tyler that you're saying goodbye to. Your family loves you & we're rootin' for you!

We talked to Mitch last night and he sounded awesome. His fishing trip was huge fun for him. Many stories of alligators, pirahna, one big catch, and one that got away. He said he's going to sleep a lot today, and then they leave Friday night and will be home Saturday at about 11am. Out of all the things he has missed, pizza was at the top of the list. It will be fun to hear about all his adventures - we're ready!

Cary left for the US Open yesterday. Said he was with a group of guys that made him feel like he was in Jr. High again - translation: they couldn't wait to ditch Cary so they could go to the bars.

Last night I watched a great new reality show (no surprise). It's called "30 Days." As a disclaimer, I don't know what the future topics will be, but last night's topic was excellent. It's about the film documentary guy who wrote "Super Size Me" where he ate the McDonald's menu for 30 days and reported on the effects. Last night's show was about him & his fiance living on minimum wage in Columbus, Ohio for 30 days. They ended up not making it financially because they had 2 medical treatments that required them to go to the emergency room since they didn't have health care and the free clinic was full and only took cases during the day in which time they had to work to make the rent. They found a free donation center that gave them some dishes and a table & stuff. That made them cry because they realized there were still really good people in the world. The entire month they wondered how people with kids to feed could make it, and heaven forbid that one of those kids ever got sick.

It was a great, eye-opening show and I have no idea what to do about it - frustrated, again. We do have some friends that make minimum wage (do you know they haven't raised the min.wage in 7 years - does that seem weird to anyone?). It's hard to know how to help, but not enable. How to be sympathetic, but not take away their dignity. How to love them without judging them. I have been shocked at my own inability to love without judging - that judgment very subtly creeps in on me. Cary is actually a lot better at it than I am. On the surface it might not seem that way, but Cary has been so good to give this couple their dignity, financial help, and actually not judge their circumstances.

Great show - like I said, I have no idea what future episodes will be about, but this one is saved on my Tivo.

Have a great day, people!
Jill

A Surreal Life

Well, life just gets weirder and weirder around here! We think we've sold our house. We're not holding our breath--still lots of bridges to cross, but we're hopeful. That's the good news.

I guess there isn't really any bad news--just weird! First, Ben asked some of the elders if it would be okay for us to send out invitations to a fundraising meeting in a few weeks and one had a strange reaction. He decided the entire eldership needs to meet and talk about it before we can do anything. Micro-management at its finest. They had a meeting tonight, but he didn't think they could fit it into the agenda, so they will have to talk about it Sunday, he said. More waiting...

Tonight was also the "Town Hall Meeting" where the whole church discussed what kind of guy they want to replace Ben. We didn't go into the meeting, but got to enjoy the very animated after-effects. It must have been pretty interesting. The two comments most talked about were (as repeated to me), "We've got to get away from this Sunday morning clapping. We need to get back to a more reverant worship on Sunday mornings" and "We need someone who's not so charismatic." I suppose that means my husband is charismatic??? Several asked if they could just hire Ben back. Overall, it sounded like people want to be prayerful and find just the man God has for them. Surreal--we live here but we're already history!

I guess it's time to start packing!

Grandma blogs again

Well, we haven't heard a word from our fishermen, but Leila, Larissa and I are having a ball just doing girl things. I have talked Portuguese until my throat is sore. Yesterday I began telling them my countertop troubles. I explained that after the marble man left the "bombeiro" came to install the faucets, but he couldn't because the holes were in the wrong place. I have given them up to the minute reports of the "bombeiro's" problems and comments, and the need to call in another "bombeiro" for a second opinion. After two days of my stories, Larissa very quietly said, "Mrs. Brown, just one little thing--a bombeiro is a firefighter. The word for plumber is 'encanador.'" We laughed a lot. Leila said she thought it was a little strange that firefighters installed our faucets, but assumed they must do things differently in the US. Just imagine what I may say to the ladies' class on Thursday night!

Then Larissa told the story of her first dorm devotional at ACU. We had helped her move in and had brought some hooks for her closet. At the devotional that night they asked if anyone had anything good that had happened they wanted to share. She was so happy that she raised her hand and with typical Larissa gusto told the group that she now had "hookers" in her closet--that nice Mr. and Mrs. Brown had been so kind to bring her some "hookers." She said the whole group just looked at her. Someone finally realized that she was trying to say "hooks" and explained it to her. She said they didn't call on her much after that.

You can tell we are laughing a lot. However, I did get an email from the supervisor at Bosworth plumbing saying that he had been to the house to look at the sinks, and as far as he is concerned "the countertops are drilled wrong and they need to be re-done." From 6000 miles away, I guess we have a problem. Larissa prayed for the situation tonight at dinner.

I am loving the blog. What a wonderful, fun family we have. I loved getting Lee Ann's update from our house. It sounds like the dog circus continues. I loved hearing from Anda and Trisha also. I can't wait to see everyone and give personal hugs. I am assuming Connor's foot is ok now. I haven't heard much from my sons, however. :)

I had my nails done today--one of my Brazilian treats. Leila explained that the place she was taking me was more expensive, but it was a really nice place. She hesitated but finally told me that it would cost almost $12 to get a french manicure and pedicure. I assured her it was not too outrageous. It was a wonderful experience that tempts me to fly back to Brazil every month or so.:)

April and James, are you getting ready for your cruise. I think I got some documents through email, but I am not going to open it until I get home and have access to a good printer. Be sure to get your passport or birth certificate ready.

I will close for now. I love you all so much.
Love, Mom

Happy Anniversary Tod and Lee Ann

Happy Anniversary #19! I am remembering this very special day 19 years ago. How proud we are of you two! I pray that you will continue to be blessed with joy, love, and oneness in the Lord. Your marriage has blessed soooooo many people, that I know the Lord is smiling as you celebrate and remember. Your marriage is what He had in mind, I think. We love you both more than you can imagine. Have a great day and celebrate your love and commitment. Love, Mom

Whew!

Well, yesterday was all we expected it to be--full of all the range of emotions! Overall, we felt very, very loved. Glenwood is a special place. The party last night was just wonderful. We walked in (just a tad late, so that no one would feel bad for arriving after us:) to a sea of Hawaiian shirts and colorful decor. It was the loudest room I've ever seen, visually I mean! I had someone else take pictures for me, and I'm already regretting not getting one of our whole family together with various people. I was so overwhelmed I wasn't thinking very clearly.

The teens made us cry with their sweet words, the worship team wrote a few songs as a tribute to Ben, they interviewed children on video, they gave us gifts--a money tree in a beautiful hand-painted ceramic pot with the scripture, "How great the love the Father has lavished on us--that we should be called children of God" and huge personalized plastic buckets for each of the kids, filled with toys and treasures especially for each. As I write, Alex and Katy are wearing their monogrammed "towel wraps". I can't help but laugh as I remember the first time I saw a towel wrap. I think it was a Tod's high school graduation gift. Do you remember, family? I remember us trying to figure out what it was--"a hat? a terradactyl?"

One of the most special parts of the night was probably the elders, each taking a turn to speak words of love and affirmation to us. It was beautiful, and very tearful for everyone. One who has never cried in public couldn't even finish what he had to say. (Again, our videographer didn't get this. We didn't know what to tell her to videotape!)

This morning I have a cry-hangover, but my heart feels very full. We have given this church all we had to give, and God has made it good. We are ready to set our hearts and minds in a new direction, confident that Glenwood loves us and will always be our "home" in many ways, and confident that God is going with us into this next adventure!

He is requiring us to walk by faith. Still no offers on the house, still no word from the missions committee that gives us the freedom to start fundraising. So, we wait on the Lord. We have had some very good and helpful conversations in the last week, and we feel like we are being as open and honest as we can be. God is moving, and I still believe this story is going to be great when it's all over!

Meanwhile, we are delighted to hear about your adventures, Mitch. I can't wait to hear about the fishing trip! By the way, your Portuguese may be better than mine by the time you get home!

Grandma finally gets to blog

Well, the guys finally left on their fishing trip this morning, and I don´t have to fight Mitch and Grandpa for the computer. I thought I would just give a few thoughts from my perspective. Mitch popped up at 6am to leave on the trip. He was quite excited. I know he will have a grand time. They took a huge styrofoam ice chest to bring the fish back. I sent both cameras with them. Mitch has been using the little digital camera taking dozens and dozens of pictures. Last night I taught him to use my big camera. I hope they will bring back some great pictures and lots of memories.

We are having a wonderful trip with Mitch. He has just been super, super. All the Brazilians are commenting on his Portuguese and his good manners. Of course we just agree that he is wonderful. He makes me laugh a lot. He loves to find someone who speaks English from time to time, but he is understanding more and more Portuguese. He thinks we take too long at meals talking in Portuguese. He is always ready to get on to the next thing. I told him that one of the things he is learning on this trip is patience. We are loving our time with him, and I feel sure that he is learning far more than he would at DisneyWorld--things he doesn´t even realize at the moment.

Last night we went to church at the congregation "planted" by the SerCris students. It is growing and doing great. Charley Huffman--whose family was on the ship to Brazil with us in 1967--preached. In the middle of the sermon on the faithfulness and provision of God he asked Dale and I if we remembered the "theme song" of our group. Dale reponded immediately--"I Know the Lord Will Find a Way for Me". We sang it in Portuguese. I can´t sing it without crying. It brings back so many memories--so many times we were waiting on the Lord or needing help from the Lord in our attempt to take Jesus to Brazil. I remember little devotionals in someone´s home when we didn´t yet have support or devotionals on the deck of the ship under the stars with just the sound of that ship cutting through the water taking us to the unknown--so many occasions when we would sing with all our hearts, "I know the Lord will find a way for me...", and He always did. The last verse is, "Won´t it be grand to hear Him say, 'Well done!'" I always cried then, and I am crying now. I sat looking at that group last night, listening to the precious children sing songs in English that they had prepared for us, knowing that in some incredible way God found a way to use our teeny, tiny insignificant offering of faith to Him as part of a great big plan He had. Now the Brazilians are the leaders and are doing a fantastic job. We were with an incredible Brazilian missionary couple in Uberlandia who became Christians in Belo where we began in 1967 and worshiping in the hotel with just the hotel maid and our team. (The hotel maid was the first "convert".) I also wonder if God used our tiny, insignificant experience for 4 1/2 years in Brazil to prepare us for the ministry that we have now--being able to encourage the missionaries--mainly Brazilians. Dad is fantastic with them. You would be so proud of him. Everyone wants time alone with us. I think he is probably doing far more ministry in Brazil now than when we lived here. He provides a "father" role that they seem to crave. His Portuguese is still unbelievable. Every Brazilian, including taxi drivers, comment that he speaks like a Brazilian. (They don't make the same comments to me. :) We both taught classes (Dad the men, me the women) in Uberlandia, and we have been asked to teach classes Thursday night. (For me that is pretty stressful, but I will do my best.)

All that to say that it all made me think of Ben and Trisha. They are taking a step of faith with their family that is every bit as scary in many ways. Maybe it would help, Trisha, to sing, "I know the Lord will find a way for me..." around the house. It still helps me. I am so proud of both of them. Someday they will be telling their own children their "faith story" of following the Lord to a strange place. (Nothing intended against Odessa :))

I am missing everyone. I miss Ellie and Molly and Maggie. I miss all the grandkids and look at their pictures every day. Last night I showed pictures to all the little children at church. They were enchanted with so many kids. I promised one little 8 year old precious boy that Reagan might come some day to play "futbol" with him. It made him very happy. They all "screamed" when they saw the picture of Josh with the frogs. Here everyone is very afraid of frogs--almost like snakes.

I think I have blogged too much, though I think I could say much more. I love you all and the blog has been great. I am going through cell phone/computer withdrawal. Please keep praying for us. Jill and Cary, you would be soooooo proud of Mitch. Thank you for trusting us with him.

I am so proud of each one of you. I love you all. Mom

Hey Mitch!

Hey Mitch. It sounds like you are having a great time in Brazil with Grandma and Grandpa. You chose a great place to go for your trip. Brazil is one of my favorite places. I hope you are taking a lot of pictures because I want to see them all. Keep a journal of your trip. You'll enjoy reading it years from now. Uncle James wants to go to Brazil someday. You will have to tell him of all the things that he needs to experience while there. Have fun on your fishing trip. Catch a big one.

Eu ti amo!

Aunt April

Brazil still feels a lot like 'home'

Sunday afternoon

We are finding the same kind of warmth and friendliness that caused us to fall in love with Brazil is still here..and I am not referring to the weather. It is warm, but the winter warm not the summer hot. The temperature when we landed in Cuiaba was about 90. Generally we have been pretty comfortable.

Yesterday I got a report on the training school and was extremely pleased. The graduation in December will include 21. This is the second class. The first was 10. Zanatta's list of probable new students in the next class in February is already 16. We talked about the ideal size of a class being 10 so they are trying to be a little selective and not overload Alvaro and Zanatta.

Last night Jose Luiz performed his first wedding. His wife taught an excellent class for the women at church this morning, according to my report from Rita. They have a darling 11 month old girl who has everyone captivated. She is a doll. This is the couple that our family chose to support financially for five years after his graduation at the end of 2003. He works full time for the downtown church.

Charley Huffman preached and Ricardo Maia lead singing at church this morning. Charley still preaches with the same passion I remember from 35 plus years ago. It is good to spend time with him.

Mitch and I are ready for out fishing trip to the Pantanal. Zanatta bought a huge ice chest to bring back the catch. He, Ricardo Maia from Belo, Charley Huffman, Jose Balabuch from Cuiaba and a student at SerCris along with his two sons Timoteo 16 and Tito 12 are going with us. We are to leave at 6:00 am tomorrow (Monday) and come back late Wednesday. Fish or none, we will have good stories to tell, I am sure.

My efforts to make telephone calls back to the US have been, by and large, unsuccessful. We love you and look forward to sharing stories of our great time with Mitch. We are terribly proud of the way he is taking everything in and making the most of each experience. Today Zanatta took him through the central market and had him try all kinds of things to eat, including the marshmellow stuff made of cow hoofs. Mitch hung in there and tried it all like a great sport. (He checks regularly to see who has responded to his blog posts so let him hear from you if you get time.)

Bye for now. Love,
Dad

My life

Here's a great quote I read today:

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a ride!”

(Could this describe your trip, Grandma & Grandpa and Mitch?)

Life feels very much like a roller coaster--sometimes going click-click-click and sometimes flying through the loops and turns and ups and downs. Each day is full of emotion--Thursday the ladies at church had a "garden tea party" for me, which was precious. Yesterday Ben and I wept again and again as we wrote a letter to the church to be included in this week's bulletin--just remembering all the precious people who have loved us so thoroughly. Tomorrow he leads worship for the last time, we have an open house (the realtor kind) in the afternoon, then our going-away party is tomorrow night.

Then starts the awkward "We said goodbye, but they're still here" time. And of course, packing up and asking people for money. It's going to be quite a ride!

Pray, and laugh. What else can we do? And thank God for His presence in every moment. He is so good.

A Word from Mitch

Once again, I´m just giving a report from Brazil. This time, I don't have anything really exciting. The funnest thing I´ve done in the past couple days is going to the creek. I got to wade through all the white-water ( I slipped a couple times). I only got to do this for about thirty minutes, but it was thirty minutes well-spent. I was actually going to jump off a waterfall, but we didn't have enough time. Although we didn't have time to jump off one, we did get to see another really big one in the area. It was fascinating that there were no gates around it. It must have been 100ft. high, and we could have walked right off it.On top of that, this waterfall was inside a national park.
Anyways, other than that, these last couple days have been fairly boring. I've used this time to read, and of course, play my PSP. I also wasted my hours away watching everbody's favorite channel, CNN. It was all I find in English.
Right now, we're in hospitality heaven, Leila and Zanatta's house. They have a really cool house, which they designed themselves. Larissa speaks great English ( of course), Leila knows enough to communicaite, and Zanatta has been taking an English course with a bunch of kids for one year now. He says it's a little bit awkward being the only one in the class older than twelve.
One more thing I have to say before I go is, one of the first things she asked me is how Ashley and Emily were. And also, there's a picture of Abby Claire holding a frog at Brownwood in their kitchen. They asked alot about the rest of the family.

gotta go ( the PSP is calling my name),
Mitch

Where are you, Mitch?

I'm taking a "mama moment" to reach out to my son who was planning on jumping off a waterfall last I heard. Since I haven't heard just how that jump went (hint, hint), I thought I'd blog a little & fill him in on the family so when he does finally blog again (am I too obvious?) he could get an update on the family.

All the kids were excited to talk to you on the phone the other day, Mitch. So much so, that the next day they went out & bought your birthday gifts. You got some good stuff, and very generous, sweet siblings that love & miss you!

Dad got home last night & we celebrated with a steak dinner. You would have liked the steaks because I bought some "flavored" wood chips that made them taste extra good. We'll celebrate like that when you get home, too.

Dad took the kids & me to the mall today - big sacrifice for him since he's been gone. We picked him out some new Father's Day clothes for his trip to the US Open this next week. Dad just left with the kids to swim & I'm staying home to RELAX!

We'll be anxious to hear about your fishing trip coming up. The kids are wondering if you're going to catch any piranha. Whatever you catch, try to take some pictures for us.

I talked to Mrs. Tinker last night and she said you got in Mr. Jo Bob & Mr. Jordan's cabin again for OP camp. You'll be one of the oldest in the cabin, but they thought you could kinda help out. The counselor party is at our house after you get home, so that will be fun to have you back for that.

Not much else to report on the family, Mitch, other than we love you & miss you. Stay safe!
Love you-
Mom

back to reality

It's been funny to realize how many uninterrupted conversations Randy and I had this past week and how incredibly clean our house stayed - without kids. Made me think that it would be a little sad someday when there are no more toys all over the floor and no more NOISE (right now Randy, the boys, and a neighbor kid are all wrestling upstairs- it sounds like the ceiling in the living room is about to come crashing down)!!
It goes without saying that Aunt Jill did an incredible job!! As far as I know, she still has her sanity (but I think I probably showed up just in time - ha!). THANK you, Jill, for giving us such a huge blessing. Forget us at Christmas - you just gave us a gift for at least 3 years worth!!
We're just trying to adjust to life back together now. McKenna was beginning to wear a little yesterday by the time we started home from Midland. She spilled water on herself in the car and DRAMATICALLY exclaimed "I hate myself!! I wish I were dead!!" I was a bit shocked by the seriousness of this situation and told her to not even speak those words, to which she replied, "But I do wish I was dead." Then she just laid there and cried, saying she never wanted to ride in the car again. Overall, she is a very reasonable, levelheaded little girl, but when she occasionally gets pushed over her threshold, the drama is unbelievable! She needs her space, and after a week of being with people all the time, it was showing. She's been in her room playing by herself most of the day!
Randy's party last night was such a blessing. We had it at the Millers' house with 7 other couples. Kim made phenomenal fajitas and then everyone went around blessing Randy. It would have made all of you cry to hear the things that everyone said about him. The theme seemed to be humility, faithfulness, perseverance (stubborn in the Lord), intensity, and child-like faith. Brent Pennington sent him a postcard and said, "I have never believed in anyone like I believe in you. I don't think I could miss you more than I do." Jamey mentioned at the end of his blessing, "I would lay down my life for you, brother." Just reminds me that Randy Brown has caused a lot of people to love him dearly! I'm really proud of him! Keep him in your prayers - this job has MANY new challenges! The encouragement came at a really good time - it seems like Fridays at work are probably going to be a little more draining and faith-building than the rest of the week.

Hope you guys have a blessed week! Hopefully, we'll be coming to the lake on July 4th. We're praying about whether or not to stay here and hang out in Como - it's a big year - 100th anniversary.

Love you all,
Anda

Happy Birthday, Randy!

What a blessing you are to our family! I hope your day was rich with God's blessing! I'm sure proud of who you are.

Love,
Your Seester

Mitch update #2

This is Mitch ( Aunt Trisha, how could you doubt me?). Fortunately, and unusually, we did not have a flight today. we've had 7 flights in 6 days so far. Instead of hopping from place to place on an airplane, we took two boat tours and walked countless miles in and around Iguacu Falls National Park. During the first boat tour, the boat actually went under one of the falls. We were soaked. On the second boat ride, we saw four caimans (minature alligators). The first one we saw was a baby. It was kinda cute really. The second one was the exact opposite. at ~6ft. long, it was the biggest one we saw. It was just a little bit freaky. The third was right in between. It looked about 4ft. long to me. After that, I had a little suprise. Another 4 footer, which we weren't looking at, thrashed out of the water right next to where I was sitting ( we were in a tiny little raft). I was so scared I almost fell in.
As I said earlier, we also walked through several miles of the subtropical rainforests in the surrounding area. There were over 600 kinds of butterflies there. They were everywhere( including on my face).
We spent most of the day in the country of Argentina, across the river from Brazil. We also went to Paraguay, to make a total of three countries in one day. In Paraguay, we saw the largest hydro-electric plant in the world.
Right now, I'm headed off to watch the Brazil-Argentina soccer game, as I'm on the Brazil-Argentina border. Argentina is first in the standings, while Brazil is second. And to make it even more interesting, it's a one point difference. Let's just say the tention is high enough I'm expecting to hear of at least a couple of fights in local bars before the night is over.
mitch

Bad Translating Idea

It seems the reverse to English didn't look that well. I'm hoping the actual Portuguese is a little better. At worst, it can be a good laugh, so please include our intent to the Brazilians after the good laugh :o) . I thought about a quick edit, but who knows who's already seen it. Here is what I actually wrote before translating:

Greetings!
April and I want to say a quick hello. We have enjoyed seeing Larissa in Austin from time to time. I know you are glad to have her back home in Brazil. We hope to come visit you some time, and we hope to see you sometime soon in Texas or Brazil.
Please forgive any errors with automatic translator. Also, please give greetings to your family from us.
Warmest regards,
James and April Cogburn

The reverse translating read:

Greetings! April and I want to say a quick one hello. We enjoy seeing Larissa in Austin now and then. I know that you are cheerful have your home bun in Brazil. We are going to come visit you some time, and we expect sees-read sometime soon in Texas or Brazil. Please it forgives any errors with automatic translating. Also, please gives greetings to its family of us.
Hot considera,

Oh, well, it was worth a try.

-James

Brazil Request and Update

We have enjoyed hearing the updates from everyone. We are glad Mitch is safe and enjoying Brazil. Dale or Rita, could you forward the following from April and I to Zanatta?

Saudações!
April e eu quero dizer um rápido oi. Gozamos vendo Larissa em Austin de quando em quando. Sei que você são alegre ter seu lar traseiro em Brasil. Esperamos vir visita você algum tempo, e nós esperamos vê-lo alguma vez logo em Texas ou Brasil.
Por favor perdoe qualquer erros com tradutor automático. Também, por favor dá saudações à seua família de nós.

Quente considera,

-James and April Cogburn

No, my Portuguese is not that good. No credit deserved. I picked up easily on Cary's "pescador" comment from my years of HS Spanish. The rest above was aided by freetranslation.com, which can also reverse to English for those interested.

We enjoyed seeing everyone at the lake and are already planning ahead toward our two upcoming weekends at the lake, the weekend of the 4th and also the preceding weekend with our caregroup.

Trisha, I just learned that a sister of one of the ladies in our caregroup is moving with family to Odessa in the near future (and yes, Cary and Alan, they will be IQ raisers). So, they might or might not be interested in a newly planted church, but I'll see what I can find out. I knew you'd be interested in knowing.

We hope everyone has a good Wednesday. We love you all.

-James and April

Lonely in Houston

I had a few minutes between meetings and was able to check the blog. Mitch I am so proud of you. You make mom & I proud every day. I am meeting for the next 3 days with a bunch of bankers. I wish I was able to be there with you. Remember to tell Zanatta who is the Melhor pescador. I am praying for you every day.

To the rest of the family I will brag on Randy & Anda's kids. We have thoroughly enjoyed having them in Midland. You guys are doing a fantastic job as parents. Hope you were able to relax a little. I had forgotton how much work young kids are- Well maybe I should say how much work it is on the mothers. Thanks for sharing your kids with us.

Hope everyone is having a good summer. Keep blogging. I like to see pictures.

cb

Mitch update

This morning, we went to Copacabana Beach again. It's the most beautiful place I have ever seen( with a pair of blinders on). The missionaries said it was the official bikini capitol of the world. All I saw was a bunch of 50 year-old 275 lb. men in speedos. Let's just say you need more than sunglasses to protect your eyes.
We're in Iguacu falls now. We've taken the helicopter tour and the tour on foot. i liked the one on foot better because of the rainforest wildlife. I actually got to pet some wild monkeys(they looked more like racoons). The falls were great, but Rio was better. our hotel overlooked one of at least seven beaches. After seeing all of them from the Christ statue and Sugarloaf, I decided Copacabana (the one our hotel was on) was definetly the best. There's palm trees everywhere!
The harbor was really great too. There were huge( ~1,000ft. on average occording to gpa) rocks sticking up everywhere. Among these, was Sugarloaf. There was ocean as far as I could see on one side, and the city of Rio on the other. Inland, we went to the top of the mountain where they have the Christ statue, where we saw the town of Niteroi connected to Rio by bridge. The soccer stadium was hard to miss from the mountain. They say it can hold up to 170,000 people. We saw alot of beaches on the mountain, but some of the beaches in Rio were only visible from Sugarloaf. About halfway down the mountain, we saw some little monkeys eating fruit(we took several pictures). I thank God for this wonderful experience.
mitch

I'm trying to write quick & legibly (kids are playing and Moriah's on my lap) to share funny stories before I forget.
---------------------------
We're eating breakfast, singing ABBAs Chiciquita, and someone sings, Sopapilla. Thus, Ashley asks McKenna, "Do you know where sopapillas come from?" McKenna answers, "Mexico." Josiah says, "No they don't, they come from Rosa's." Ashley replies, "Correct, Josiah." McKenna just looked stunned.
---------------------------
We're all saying goodbye to Cary this morning....."Bye, Daddy, Bye Uncle Cary." Moriah chimes in, "Bye, Unc Daddy!"
---------------------------
Josh comes in crying saying that Emily pinched him (again, totally deserved, I assume). I call her in and say that we can't have any pinching no matter what Josh is doing. Totally straight face, she answers, "Mom, I was giving him a pressure point."

We're going to swim today and meet Cary at the club for lunch.
Just wanted to share the stories before they slipped my mind!
Jill

I love it that McKenna & Ashley still like to play with their dolls. 

Moriah misses you, Mitch! 

Moriah and her "little Mommy" 

Josh did his hair like this and said it made him look like "Ty" on Extreme Home Makeover. 

Sugar-coma. 

Josiah said that Luke was really hard to wake up - we put it to the test. 

My mom is beautiful. 

Marcy, Vickie, Mollie, Mom, me & Jen 

Hey, "Rio Dude!"

Hey Mitch and bloggers! We just talked to Mitch & he said blogging was a good way to keep in touch, so you all may be hearing too much from the "mama" in me on the blog. Mitch sounded great - all keyed up - assured me he was ok from the wreck. He was apparently in a small car with some Brazilian kids and got hit from behind by a truck. Sounds like it could have been worse than it was - God is good and gets all the credit for taking care of him. That was totally a side note to everything else that he told us - he is LOVING Brazil. Wants all of us to go on a family trip there.

Cary had a great weekend at the lake with the girls for their father/daughter weekend. They had synchronized jumping and swimming contests - lots of laughs, lots of great memories.

My mom's 60th celebration was incredible. Great all-inclusive spa right on Lake Austin, beautiful setting, fancy "girl-food" (we did manage to smuggle in a signifigant amount of chocolate), lots of laugh-until-your-stomach-hurts moments, and special memories of my mom were told & made. We set her up with a mini hot-pink ipod, loaded with all of her favorite music, books & biographies. We loaded more music on after she opened it and had big music jams late at night.

We all got home Sunday night and had 4 precious kiddos waiting for us. McKenna, Josiah, Luke, and Moriah are darling, sweet, and funny cousins. Seven kids is a FAST pace - I'm a little rusty on the baby thing, but it's coming back fast. There's nothing like baby-hugs around my neck. It always feels like such an honor when Moriah reaches for me - I love it. The three amigos (Josh, Josiah, & Luke) have really been playing great together. I was kind of expecting an "odd-man-out" syndrome, but that hasn't been the case. Luke can run with the best of them.
McKenna & Ashley spend most of the time in Ashley's room with the door locked playing with their American girl dolls (I think? :0 ). Emily has been my eyes, ears and arms with Miss Moriah - this would be much tougher without her!

Trisha, I hear of lots of older houses having termites - not a deal buster in the cases that they can get rid of them and repair the damage. Sounds scary, and it can be, but seems common, treatable & fixable. I didn't get to see your house the other day, but I am really thrilled for you! I hope your "wave" party will be upbeat & sweet.

Love you guys - love & miss you, Mitch - thank you Grandma & Grandpa!
Jill

Mitch in Brazil

today i saw the statue of Christ overlooking rio de janeiro, saw all seven of rio's beaches, went to the top of sugarloaf(a huge cliif overlooking rio's harbor),drove through the rainforest, and swam at copacabana beach. a couple of days ago, i was in a car wreck, but besides a little glass down my shirt i was fine. i learned enough portugese to play two days of soccer on the streets of uberlandia without a translator, and had a blast doing it.
:) gotta go,
mitch

Just an update

We're waiting for the termite inspection report to see what kind of damage he found. I have a feeling it's minor, but we'll see. We've had several lookers at the house, but the most interested is a family from church considering it for a rental property. They don't want to haggle, so they want to wait for someone else to make an offer, then maybe go a bit higher. Another showing this afternoon...

Dad, I'm wondering if you got a chance to mail the key to the trailer? Do you know where it is for someone to send it?

No news on anything else, except that the church is throwing us a Beach Party Sunday night! Isn't that fun? The invitations say, "Riding a new wave..." Doesn't that sound like Ben? Then we'll officially not be on staff, but we have to wait until the Missions Committee determines what they want to do before we can start fundraising here. I'm taking deep breaths and singing about "Jehovah-Jirah".

Love you all!
Trisha

Something new...termites

I love to check the blog, but have disappointed the last few days at the lack of something new. Then I decided I should "criticize by creating something beautiful" or at least by blogging!

I have a question for you... The house in Odessa has termites. The sellers are willing to have it treated, but I'm wondering if this is a dealbreaker. Are termites an impossible problem to get rid of? Any advice would be helpful. We have just a few days before our 10 day contingency period is up.

The other inspection turned up a few things, but they were fairly minor. We're asking them to fix some, but not all. We're far enough in that we'd be disappointed if we have to back out, but we don't want to get ourselves into an expensive mess.

Not much else going on--lots of people time and waiting for our Missions Committee to decide if they will or won't support us. A daily exercise in faith-building. This story is going to be a good one when it's all written, I think!

Love you all!
Trisha

hey

Had a great time with you guys this weekend! Blessings on you as you begin your summer! Our kids are SO excited about coming to Midland! And Honey says she's really excited about sleeping in your bed with you, Cary!
Randy started his job today. Many uncertainties with this whole JPS system (like he walked in this a.m. and they informed him that the company who pays the doctors cancelled their contract with JPS so everything will be changing in October). We think he'll still have a job. He has 19 patients scheduled for tomorrow and still doesn't have a nurse. Interesting place. This is community health care! Randy was just laughing at all of it (I was a little more concerned I think - like I'll probably have to change ob/gyns again in my last trimester! Nothing but God is unshakable!)
Have a great week and please keep us in your prayers!

Anda