So what is exciting you ask? A few things, really.
First of all, the river is now at a record low. It’s lower than it has been (on record) in 103 years! Although it’s kind-of cool to be here & see it, it is also causing problems for a lot of tribal missionaries. The river is how they get to & from town, how their food is delieverd, the way they get to doctors, etc. When the river is this low, it’s hard for them. Please pray for rain.
Since we are speaking of water, I’ll move on to the next ‘exciting’ thing happening here. 🙂 For the last three weeks we have had the privilage of losing water at random times. Sometimes we wake up & we have no water. Sometimes we are good in the morn, but by the time we come home from class- no water. Usually it comes back on by 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. It makes for a late night dishing washing session (with LOTS of dishes), but we are thankful that at least it comes back on.
Well, last night it didn’t come back on till around 11 p.m. Thankfully Joel was awake and was able to ‘stock’ up for today (we try to fill buckets, large bowls, etc). He even had the bright idea that he could fill up the washer…he’s SO SMART! You see, we get drinking water from a well that is only open at certian times, and the house water is for everything else. Let me tell you, I hate the smell of the bathroom when we can’t flush!! But today we can. All because my WONDERFUL husband thought of filling up the washing machine last night.
Before we use the washing machine water for the toliet, I decided I would use it first (we might as well get as much use out of it as we can!). I decided I better do all the dishes from yesterday. I used the two large bowls of water that Joel had saved for the washing part, but still needed to rinse the dishes. Who knew the washing machine would work out WONDERFULLY in our kitchen? I thought it just took up too much room. Nope! It turns out that the (clothes) washing machine can also be a dishes rinsing machine. 🙂
Oh the things we do on the field!!! 🙂 Ha!
One last thing…and this is TRULY EXCITING! I got my permanent visa. This means that I don’t have to worry about doing more paperwork to be able to live here in Brazil. Usually this takes a number of years, but I was able to get it all done in under 2. Whoooooo hoooooo!!!!!!! We are TOTALLY thanking the Lord. We know it is only through Him that this was possible!
I covered the info to be safe since this is on the internet…but note the PERMANENT status!!! 🙂