Greetings, Pastor and fellow laborers in Christ,
LIVING-BY-FAITH ADVENTURES
In our last update, we mentioned that we were looking for a place to reside and that it was challenging. Right away, though, we quickly discovered that to say “challenging” was an understatement! As it happened, Joinville is home to the world-famous ballet dance festival, which takes place during July, and every rental in this city of about six hundred thousand people was either booked or the rent was anywhere from double to quadruple the usual. One example we could scarcely fathom was for a “room” (not a house), just a room and a bathroom, for $14,345.00 for the month of the dance festival.
Not unexpectedly, this challenge forced us to locate an Airbnb about an hour and twenty minutes outside of Joinville until after the dance festival. Then, there was the next challenge. Maybe you’re familiar with the term “a day late and a dollar short.” For several weeks, that was our predicament. Time and (time) again, we would find a place that met our needs, only to learn we had to add our name to a list of others also interested who would win the “rental race.” Of course, we viewed each of those as God closing the doors and re-directing us, amen! Alas, God has answered our prayers, providing us with a place to live. Thank you all for praying with us for this great need.
Then, there’s yet another challenge when looking for a house to rent in Brazil. Many of us remember the term “everything but the kitchen sink.” Though it’s not a famous saying in Brazil, when renting a house here, it would be “everything AND the kitchen sink.” When you terminate a rental contract here, you pack all your belongings AND “your” kitchen sink! Many rental houses here are stripped of everything “and” the kitchen sink! What this means for the next renter is that you have to bring or buy your sink and cabinets in addition to your kitchen appliances. Oh! Some rental houses have kitchen sinks (perhaps the previous renter left it behind?), but you must be first in the “rental race!” —our living-by-faith adventures. Amen!
CELEBRATION DAYS & PRAYER PETITIONS
By necessity, we’re meeting in our living room now, and there’s not enough space. Please join us in praying for a location for us to meet. Father’s Day is in August in Brazil, and we praise the Lord for a blessed “Father’s Day” service and gifts for our fathers afterward. Please pray with us for Brother Oseias and his wife, Sister Sonia, whom we are counseling and praying with through life’s crises. The company that Oseias is employed with is in upheaval, causing daily uncertainty. And their son, Paulo David. He usually plays the guitar for us, but several weeks back, he fell and broke his wrist, requiring him to wear a cast for a while, which restricts him from playing.
Donna and I have aged another year since our last update, too, and we recently celebrated forty-one years of wedded adventures! On our anniversary day, we went on a lunch date and shopping for a kitchen sink afterward! :) Thank you, Victory Baptist, our home church, for the gift cards we received; a great blessing! We’ve also received birthday money, emails, and FB birthday wishes. Thank you all; you’ve been a blessing to us! Praise the Lord!
Thank you all for your faithful giving and praying on our behalf
Scott & Donna Allen
Your missionary representatives in Brazil
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