16th Wedding Anniversary in Brazil

I just wanted to write this short blog to share with you how neat it was for Keri and I to spend our 16th anniversary in Brazil. It has been a hard 3 months since arriving in Brazil, but the times of refreshing that the Lord sends our way are just as exciting as the hard times are hard. Am I making any sense? It seems that every time we go through a difficult period either in language learning or with the health of one of the 6 of us or whatever else, the Lord is always faithful to turn around and give us a sweet time of refreshing. Well, that is what we got on our anniversary. We didn't necessarily do anything spectacular, but it refreshed us. Our "date" started at noon. I had another missionary couple, Paul and Toni Dillard, lined up to take Kati and Preston to lunch and a movie. The babies were taken care of by my language teacher. So, with all the kids taken care of, we could just relax and enjoy our day. We went for a walk, just the two of us! Something that never happens. Then we went to a movie and dinner at a very nice restaurant, all of this by ourselves. Something that never happens. Like I said, it wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a nice, relaxing afternoon and evening with my bride of 16 years. We needed this down time desperately and the Lord blessed our time together. While we were out, we talked about all the Lord is revealing to us and just how special it is that we are here following His direction. We have had some of the hardest times of our lives since we have been here, but there is no place that we would rather be right now. I asked myself and Keri this question, "Would you do it all over again if you knew it would be this hard?" We both had the same response without hesitation, "Yes!" We are learning just how faithful our God is and we are learning first hand what it means to trust Him and totally rely on His power and His power alone to get us through. Ok, that is all of my short blog. More later. Thanks for reading.