No, we haven’t seen any lions (even though there are mountain lions here and the caretaker that lives on our property has huge scars across his chest, where he was attacked by one several years ago.) tigers or bears. We have seen snakes, spiders (of every size imaginable), there’s monkeys, iguanas, toucans, every insect ever created including wasps the size of small birds, moths the size of small planes (seriously, look at the one in the picture... it measured 8”x 10” and was dive-bombing us during our Thursday night service) and bees. Bees? Yes, bees. Doesn’t sound very intimidating does it? Well how would it sound if you were awakened by your children in the morning saying, “Dad, there’s thousands of bees upstairs!?” Now you have to understand that the house we live in is actually like a cabin made of wood. It isn’t insulated, there are holes in the walls, along the roofline and basically nothing is totally closed off from the outside. So, that means that insects, birds (including owls), bats and whatever else can enter whenever they want. We do have netting installed where the roof meets the walls to try and keep most of these out, but stuff still gets in. Well, this morning I was sleeping and the door burst open and kids were screaming, “Dad, there’s thousands of bees upstairs in our room and Lulu (our dog) just got stung!” So, I jumped up and grabbed a flyswatter and a can of insecticide (very manly, I know) and started walking upstairs. As I started emerging up the stairs I heard what sounded like a chainsaw running. It was a swarm of bees! They were everywhere. It was like a bad dream or something you’d see in a movie.
First of all, “why were they in my house?” Second of all, “how am I going to get them out without getting stung?” And thirdly, “where’s the Orkin man when you need him?” So, I started spraying and swatting, spraying and swatting, spraying and swatting. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they were all dead. Hundreds of bees laying all over the floor, window sills, some were smashed against the walls... I had done what seemed impossible. Mission accomplished... and all before my first cup of coffee. Welcome to Brazil.
Later in the day we went to Curitiba with Paulo (the man who owns the truck stop and that is providing the facility for us to start a church on his property) because he wanted to purchase instruments, sound equipment and lighting for the new ministry facility. When we got to the music shop it was a lot like Guitar Center back home. It had everything. We walked through and basically picked everything out that we needed for the new sanctuary. I still can’t believe this is happening. Who would have ever imagined that God would not only provide a facility but also provide the instruments, sound and lighting for it all at the same time!? I can’t wait to see what God does next. Thanks for praying for us. God is honoring your prayers, so don’t stop: )
Love Ya,
Jim
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