“its raining tacos!” -...
TRANSCRIPT
“Its Raining Tacos!”
We are having a blast learning new expressions (and sometimes
inadvertently creating our own)! We recently learned that during a
downpour, people say “está chovendo canivetes.” This is a
Portuguese idiom that means “it is raining pocket knives.” That made
us think of other fun expressions that have to do with rain, like the one our kids seem to prefer which is “its
raining tacos.” We have been taught not to say things are “weird,” so we will call that phrase “interesting.”
Because it is so interesting, we looked it up and it turns out to be a silly YouTube video. Here is the link
(https://youtu.be/zLZKuAY2tkc) but be warned, you may be singing this for perpetuity! To find out what
happened next…check out our blogpost here:
Lenҫóis Maranhenses – Incrível!
Believe it or not, we were advised to take a vacation. No really, we were
– for several reasons. For one, with
the events of this winter…we needed
to be able to stop and relax and just
have some fun. Getting away also served
another purpose we had not considered. There
is a feeling that surfaces when you walk back
into a recognizable place after being gone. It is a feeling that rushes
you with familiar sights, smells and a sense of belonging. That feeling
helps to cement that you really are “home” again. We are so thankful
for the wise counsel from Becky Holton from Great Cities Missions who helps us think about
how to care for our children and ourselves in ways
we would not have considered! Also, as the
understatement of the year – Lenҫóis was beautiful!
Appreciative, awe-struck, humbled, reverent,
thankful, recharged…all feelings that this incredible
piece of God’s handiwork stirred up in us!
Team Update # 11
God is so Good!
April 2018
Lauren and Troy, Reef, Jonas, Lachlan, & Poppy Gibbins
Melynda and Mark, & Jude Dye
Jill and Justin, Caden, Rylee, & Addison Hill
SLMT Blog
2
Texas travels are a treat!
The Gibbins family had a busy month of church visits! We
kicked off April with Troy speaking at Northside’s Engage
Praise service. Engage is a new Saturday night
contemporary praise service started by Northside members
this year. It was a great
evening of worship!
The next weekend we were off to HEB Camp with Brentwood Oaks for
their annual family retreat. We always find retreats a great way to
connect and get to know people,
and there was no shortage of friends
for the kids to play with! Lauren was
able to join the MacArthur Park
ladies for Bunco again this month.
The following weekend we were
blessed to get to be with
Kerrville Church of Christ for our family’s first Sunday visit.
Troy shared
the communion
message and
we enjoyed
lunch with their
Youth and
Family Minister
and Jill’s
family. That
led to an
opportunity for Troy to attend Kerrville’s Men’s retreat and
connect with some of the men of that congregation over a
fellowship and good food!
We finished up the month worshipping with Western Hills Church of
Christ in Temple for their Harvest Sunday. We are excited about our
new partnership with Western Hills and we can’t wait to see what God
has in store for the Kingdom because of these new bonds! Whew! The
travels and visits can be tiring, but we love being able to strengthen
church relationships while we are still here, and our kids have become rock stars at walking into an
unknown Bible class and making a new friend!
3
Making Connections!
Melynda and Jill were finally able to get together with
Desiree this past month. When we first talked about moving
to São Luis, we learned about her efforts here through a
former SERVEiVOR participant and Northside member who
connected us with a Baptist missionary who then connected
us with Desiree. She and her husband head an organization
called Projeto Casa, which works weekly in several
neighborhoods in São Luis by providing Kid’s Club (4-12
y/o), school reinforcement, Jiu Jitsu, ballet, and large scale
house painting projects. And they do it all in the name of Jesus! Desiree has worked here in São
Luis for 8 years and was able to share how God has provided for her family since moving here and
how He has blessed their ministry with growth and impact on the city. We were encouraged and
have no doubt that their experience will bless our mission here as well!
We also had a chance to have a virtual meeting with Júnior Crispim and Nick Fowler from Belém.
Nick was part of an American missionary
team through Missions Resource Network
there in Belém for 7 years and Júnior is a
Brasilian leader in that congregation now.
It was great to listen to their experiences
and hear their advice! Who knows what
this spark may ignite in terms of working together for the northern region of Brasil in the future!
Opportunities abound!
A brother and his wife from Campo Grande, Lucas Cavalcanti, recently
had a job assignment here in São Luis. Though they were only here
for a short time, they became friends with the owner of the Pousada
where they were staying. He put us in contact with each other and we
recently were able to spend a Saturday afternoon having churrasco
with Júnior (different guy than above) and his friends. Conversation
ranged from Whitney Houston to Trump, meat types to church types,
and everything in between. It turns out that several in the group are
seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus and have a desire to be a
part of a group of people that earnestly seek to follow Him! Pray for these opportunities that God
may be glorified!
Judicial seminar update: God continues to amaze us with the latest developments in
this opportunity! We aren’t quite ready to share the details yet, but momentum is growing!
4
April showers bring…lots of FUN things!
Here in São Luis our families have been busy
attending birthday parties, playing futebol on
the sand with friends, going on school field
trips, and having classmates over for school
projects. Getting a tour of the neighborhood
gym followed by pizza, a morning of friendly
tennis competition, & an afternoon churrasco
filled with delicious food & enlightening
conversation has also filled our
calendars with numerous God-given
opportunities with contacts here.
Back in Texas, the Gibbins family also
had a fun-filled calendar in April.
Celebrating Easter with special friends,
Reef attending a middle school youth
retreat, and the family eating lots of yummy treats from an ice cream
truck, Duck donuts, & Steel City Pops created many sweet (“kkkk” = “haha”) memories.
In trying to maintain healthy families
and a healthy team in São Luis and in
San Antonio, we are trying to take the
strong advice given to us and
incorporate regular FUN together.
Sleepovers have created great
memories for Caden and Jude. We
had a blast exploring our neighborhood
park and eating delicious hamburgers
from the food trucks. Best of all though,
our first road trip to experience more of
Brasil’s beauty was so refreshing and
needed by every one of us.
Continuing a family tradition of picking
strawberries in the Texas Hill Country, having a date night at a Hillsong
concert for Troy’s birthday, & starting a family Gratitude journal…the
Gibbins have also been busy taking advantage of ways God is
strengthening their family while waiting for His timeline to unfold. We
look forward to the time when all 14 of us can be having FUN together,
creating new memories in São Luis, while serving our awesome God!
5
Poppy loves
horses and
hopes she
could have
one in Brasil!
Lachlan is
all about the
soccer playing and eating
mangoes!
Rylee can eat
half her bodyweight in
rice or noodles in one
meal!
Caden is having
tons of fun
collecting World
Cup trading
cards!
Jude loves playing
cribbage…it is from his
U.P. bloodline!
Jonas is a great
helper in the
kitchen and
loves to cook!
Addison can
make up a
song in
Portuguese
on any
subject!
Reef is a skilled
pianist and has
only been playing
3 years!
6
“We praise thee o God…”
The Gibbins family praises God because Troy’s hematologist informed him that the
blood clots in his arms are fully resolved, with only a little scar tissue left. This is
great news and we do not have to see that doctor again!
We are also thankful because we have really enjoyed all
of our church visits and love seeing God work through
this unexpected time in San Antonio!
The Hill family praises God because at her 6 month
follow-up Jill’s mom Rene is cancer free!!! We have seen
prayers answered in Caden’s more positive attitude
towards Portuguese learning. His bravery to speak more
in public is increasing as well! We also rejoice in
watching Rylee master writing her “R’s” and follow
directions with drawing; and we are thrilled to listen to
Addison count to 10 in Portuguese!
The Dye family praises God because we are seeing
continued improvement in Portuguese and are growing in confidence with
interactions. We give glory to God for the opportunities we have to build relationships
and to reach this community.
Prayer Requests
The Gibbins family asks for your prayers as
we consider what a transition plan will look like.
We also ask that you continue to pray for
physical healing for Troy, for pain relief, and for
muscle strength as we have exhausted many
options and still do not have good solutions.
We ask for your prayers for us to place our
trust in God’s timing and plan for our family.
The Hill family asks for your prayers over our Portuguese learning, and for time to
spend nurturing our family. We seek comfort for hearts aching with “saudade,”
and we request that you pray for us to be guided by Wisdom for our plans for the
city of São Luis. Please also pray for patience as Rylee is still potty training and
for us to find good doctors and therapists for her.
The Dye family asks that you pray for our discernment about the best decisions as
we finalize plans for Jude’s surgery in December. We also seek prayers for
discernment on the things we say “yes” to.
New friends to pray for:
Parents of kids’ classmates:
Antonio and Fernanda
Raul
Roberto
Orcelio and Taiana
Edvaldo and Gisele
Sandro
Emilio
Jone and Nadja
Carlos and Mércie
Alfredo
Ricardo
Marcos
Patricia
Guys at barber shop:
Piri
Kelson
Manuel
Philippe
Pharmacists:
Regina
Tianni
Maple Bear teachers/staff:
Hamanda
Leesa
Analea
Thais
Fernanda
Tâmisa
Denise
Eretuse
Val
Max
Rafael
Wellington
Other community contacts:
Paulo
Júnior
Lucas and Kátia
Ademir and Rosely
Edvan and Carolina
Adenauer
Carlos
Joãnn
Eliane
Lázara
Fernando
Edie
Rick
Isabela
Porteiros/neighbors:
Magno
Ivan
Júnior
Adrian
Manuel
Lívia
Bené and Rita
Geovani
Macio