Settling In

Dear Friends and Family,

The dust is settling, at least in our daily lives, not in the house :). We are in a daily routine of school for the kids and I (Julie) and work for Todd. He's been continuing work on his Portuguese, studying the lessons for Bible studies, going out and meeting people or talking to acquaintances, and still finishing up work on the house.

We also have continued the children's program on Saturdays. This week the children that have memorized the five verses from the studies will receive a certificate toward a Bible we will give them. It has been exciting to see these kids respond to the Gospel story with enthusiasm and open mouths sometimes. They are understanding the truth of the Gospel for the first time! We figure, besides the large kids program we had at the beginning, we have had up to 50 kids here at our house. Recently we have had a group of 5-10 boy coming daily to play basketball with Todd. It's been fun and exhausting at the same time. Please pray for us as we decide how to handle this large number of children--specifically, how do we share the Gospel effectively with them and open our home to them.

We have found that keeping up daily life, like buying groceries, is a time-consuming task. But along with it, comes meeting new people and building on-going relationships. We have to praise the Lord for the landlord of the house we live in. We have developed a very good relationship with him and his wife. They have helped us in many ways to figure out how to do things here in town and are always ready to help us more. Their names are Raimundo and Souzinha. Please pray for them to hear and accept the Word of God. They are wonderful people that need the Lord! There are two of our neighbor ladies that I have been walking with in the evenings. Both of their names are Maria. Please pray for an opportunity to share the Gospel with them or invite them to do a Bible Study with me.

Our big news is that we have decided to come home to the U.S. for a 90 day home assignment. We bought the tickets yesterday and the trip is planned for December 14 to March 8. Please pray for our preparations, setting up appointments with churches and supporters, for planning trips to Maine, Florida and Kansas City. It's going to be a quick trip, but our visa only allows these short 90 trips. We've been here for 2 years (at least will be in December) and we will be stuck to these 90 days limits for several more years until we receive our permanent visas.

We are excited to be going back home, but we were worried about leaving Croata' so soon. The Lord has given us peace that leaving now will be better than after we have many Bible Studies going and lots of involvement in the community. When we return it will be with partnership with other churches in mind and a strategy for starting a church plant. For now, we are getting to know people and trying to develop trust with everyone.

Please pray for Nathaniel (James and Molly Goossen's son) and Jordana who will be married in November and then move into our home while we are on furlough. They have committed to keep our children's program going and work on developing more contacts and start Bible studies while we are gone. They are participating in a 1 year short-term mission assignment here in Northeast Brasil and are praying about whether to stay on in Croata to continue working with us after we return from home assignment. We would enjoy that, but do pray for the Lord to show them His will.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. We are so glad to be able to be here in Croata'. After so many years of praying and preparing, we are here! Please pray for God to do His will in our lives, in our family, and in our ministry. Thanks for your care for us. You are so encouraging!

In His Service,

Todd and Julie Hendry