It Was a Christmas Miracle!

Well, we made it! Unfortunately, as some of you may already know, the Breedloves did not. We were saddened to learn on Wednesday, 3 days before we were to leave, that David had been diagnosed with gallstones and they were requiring him to undergo surgery on Friday, the day before our flight left. It is hard to understand why this happened and to all people - The Breedloves, but we had no choice, except to trust in God's plan (BTW, not a bad idea) and we simply went with Plan B for the B Team. Of course, our journey was not without its challenges and American threw us a loop at the gate by informing us for the first time that we could not check extra bags, even if we paid for them! Wow, I never thought American would refuse money, but we took our 3 seventy pound bags, chunked a bunch of our personal carry on stuff (ie - clothes, books, etc.), and jammed evrything into our roller boards. Pretty amazing! We got everything, except the 7 ft Christams tree that was broken down into 4 pieces. We thought about getting the adults to smuggle it in under our clothes, but airport security has gotten a lot tougher lately. A special shout out to Cindy's Mom, Melinda, who came back to the airport to get the saddened Christams tree and our 3 otherwise empty bags. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful and all our bags showed up in Recife - all 16 of them! It was a Christmas miracle!
The next hurdle was Brazilian customs and they were looking at us like an invading army! Of course, it does not help that all our big bags are camoflauged, but Emanuell, our Federal Police friend/guardian angel, was there to explain who we were and what we were doing, so they just waived us through. Another Christmas miracle! Lecio, Josue, Anthenor, Pedro, Polly, Wilson, Breno, Ilma, Yohanna, and a few new friends were waiting for us once we cleared customs. Such dear friends and so kind to come all the way to the airport to welcome us to Brazil (again). We enjoyed a quick lunch and some fellowship before loading onto the bus for the trip out to the Fishing Village. I do not know if Santa uses a U-haul, but we had 2 loaded down with gifts and supplies from all of our dear friends, family, and supporters. No reindeer, but it was still pretty cool.
We arrived at Vivenda Oriente (aka The Rabbit Hotel) just as the sun was setting and Angela, the owner, and Lucio, her husband, we were waiting to greet us. In the lobby was an amazing Christmas tree, made from coconut branches, and it was spray painted gold. Love the Brazilian's creativity! Pastor Josue said that although they usually hold Church on Saturday evening, they had waited until Sunday night since he knew we were arriving then, so we could attend services. I love Ted, but he always starts on time and has never moved services to accomodate my travel schedule. Of course, to be fair, I have never asked, so maybe he would...
A quick shower, a snack, and it was off to Church with all our friends in Abreu do Una. We sang worship songs, had a baby dedication, and Pastor Josue preached from the Book of Luke. Funny, but I think we have been studying the same Book at CCBC for the last 2 years. The message was about how God had chosen Mary, a young girl from a small, little known village, to be the mother of our Savior. He pointed out that God can choose anyone to change the world, just as He chose Mary, so there is no reason to belive that He could not choose you to make a huge difference in the lives of others. I think everyone there felt very special that God would choose them to do anything, much less change the world. As we stood for the closing prayer, I felt a small hand slip into mine, and it was litle Emily, all of 6 years old, and I thanked God for allowing me to be in this place. We returned home late that night and we all went to bed with visions of mangos dancing in our heads. All in all, I would have say the whole day was a Christams miracle! Tchau and Boi Noite!