Sítio da Esperança Wood Projects: Building Tables and Benches.

After building 3 gazebos we worked on building benches and tables for the gazebos. We were able to use various pieces of wood that we purchased and that we were able to reclaim to complete these projects.

Routing the edges of the bench tops

We took new wood and made nice bench tops. It was great to do this in a team where one stained another cut to the right length and then others would route the edges.

Sanding Reclaimed wood

We found some wonderful hard eucalyptus that had previously been painted and used for another structure that had been taken down. We cut this to size and then proceed to sand and plane the wood until we got down to fresh hard wood.

Planing and preparing Reclaimed Wood

We were able to make supports and bases for many projects.

Nice bench getting Stained

The finished benches turned out great.

Building coffee tables

We even were able to set up work stations to help streamline the construction process.

Lots of reclaimed wood to plane

We reclaimed so much wood it made sense to send it to a place to get must of it planed for us.

Beautiful benches

The final product was 9 beautiful benches and various tables.

Baby Shower Online and Cards

We are thankful for the opportunity to have not only a baby shower in Brazil but also one online. We have a great network of family and friends who were able to participate. It is a fact of life for many missionaries that they are not going to be able to spend special life moments with friends and family but we are thankful for the ability to do this online.

There were also many who were unable to participate in the online showers but who sent cards or gifts. We are very thankful for all of the outpouring of love and support we received.

We got many cards that all happened to arrive on the same day from all over the US. It was a very special thing to receive the cards. We love cards even when they can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 3-4 months before we receive them.

Sítio da Esperança: Building Gazebos

This past week another missionary hosted a family who wanted to come and work here. We were so thankful to have them come and support the work at the Sítio.

One Gazebo pad

We had Matt who is a master carpenter and he was able to knock out the gazebos in no time flat.

Putting Up Posts

Matt was able to cut everything and then get it located and screwed in place very fast.

Setting the Rafters

With everyone’s help we were able to erect 3 gazebos and do it even more projects.

The completed Gazibo

Sítio da Esperança Wood Projects: Finishing Projects

As we work towards the completion of different projects at the Sítio it is good to finally finish some projects.

Stained wooden side table

After weeks of working in these projects we have finally completed two end tables and a coffee table.

Stained wooden end table

We absolutely love how these end tables and coffee table turned out.

Stained wooden coffee table

It is important to stain the entire table because of the way the wood will be preserved. It is also a way to protect the wood from the termite problem that is ever present.

Staining the underside of the tables

Part of the process of completing tables is finishing the filling of the termite holes with epoxy. I took advantage of the good weather to finish filling in the termite holes with epoxy.

Filling in the final holes with Epoxy

Drivers License in Brazil

The process to get things done here in Brazil can be complicated and full of bureaucracy. I began this process in January 2018 and finally completed the process in October 2020.

Online Classes

Examples of this bureaucracy are abundant. It took the department of transportation (DETRAN) over 9 months to process my initial application. Then they said I could not continue the process because my signature was not close enough due to a hairline fracture in my wrist. This followed with a year of not being able process due to DETRAN not accepting my temporary federal police ID card because it was not plastic. Then I had to restart the process with all new documentation so that they could re-open my application.

Log-in problems

After they re-opened my application I was asked if I wanted on-line classes or in person classes. I told them that I wanted to do in person classes but I did not understand that they were not offering in person classes due to covid restrictions. After calling them again after waiting 3 months they told me that on-line classes were only available.

Zoom Classes

Finally I was able to complete my 20 hours of on-line classes. The on-line classes were difficult also as it took up to 45 minutes just to login to these classes. I am so thankful that I am done with this process and now have my Brazilian drivers license.

Completed Online Classes

Baby Shower in Brazil

We had a baby shower here in Brazil on October 10. Due to the covid issues we had the baby shower in person and also online. If you want to see the videos look up Tati on Facebook. We got to have the shower at the church.

What a great turnout

Here in Brazil it is cultural for Christians to have a time of devotional. We were thankful for Cindy sharing.

Cindy Sharing the Scriptures

We were thankful that Angela was able to participate with us. Everyone had fun with the games that we got to play.

Doing Games and Handing Out Presents

The snacks were plentiful and good.

Food and Drink

We are thankful for all of the gifts that we received. Including the necessary diapers.

Presents

As Big as a…

Our child has been growing each and every day. It has been so cool to see the different fruits and vegetables that represent the size of our child.

Week 30: A Melon

Each week there was a different fruit or vegetable but every week I am able to feel our child moving more and more.

Week 29: Acorn Squash

Our child responds to my voice and it is great to feel the movement every week. I can sit on the couch for hours feeling our child’s movements.

Week 30: Not a Dinosaur Egg

One Year of Marriage: Making Memories!

It is important to make memories as a married couple. Our honeymoon was a great opportunity to make memories. Our second honeymoon was also a great opportunity. We work to make great memories by spending time together and doing special activities.

Eating Wonderful Meals

We made some great memories by visiting different restaurants.

Making Memories at Museums

We went to museums that I wanted to go to, like the geology museum.

Remembering The Pregnancy

We took photos to remember Tati’s pregnancy. Is that the size of our child inside Tati?

Taking Funny Pictures

We took some funny pictures.

Visiting Museums

We visited museums that Tati wanted to see like the perfume museum.

Making Films Together

We took different films to remind us of what we saw or to communicate to others.

Remembering Our Childhood

We took an opportunity to remember our childhood.

Eating Special Food

We did some special things that we have not done before like have a tower of fries.

Remembering Special Places

We remembered past times that we have had together.

One Year of Marriage: Celebration!

For one year of marriage we decided to do a second honeymoon. We wanted to make this a very memorable time.

We Visited Gramado

We got a great deal on a hotel room thanks to covid. We got an entire hotel to ourselves for the first 2-3 days of our second honeymoon.

We got a second Wedding Cake

We did special things like get a second wedding cake made. We talked with the baker of our wedding cake and he made 4 special sample wedding cakes.

We had great conversations

We had a great relaxing time. We were able to sit and take in some great views. During these times we were able to have some great conversations. I loved spending this quality time with her.

We saw some cool cars

Tati enjoys going to museums so we took various tours. We enjoyed seeing various sights.

We Visited some beautiful places

We got to see various beautiful sights.

We Visited Canela

We even had some times where we were able to re-create some of our wedding or engagement experiences.

We took some evening walks

One Year of Marriage: Pregnancy

One of our desires when we got married was to get pregnant the first year of our marriage. We were so excited for the pregnancy. It was hard to not share with the world immediately.

Positive Pregnancy Test

We got to celebrate our first Mother’s and Father’s day. We enjoyed our first days as parents.

First Mother’s Day

We had our first pregnancy scare. Tati was put on bed rest for about a month and a half due to pregnancy complications.

On Bed Rest

We got to track how big our baby was getting inside of Tati. It was fun to be seeing the growth from a grain of rice to larger than a head of lettuce.

As big as a…

We got to see our child through many different ultrasounds. It is really amazing to see how detailed the pictures are.

Many Ultrasounds

We got to hear that our child is healthy but has a bilateral cleft lip and a posable bilateral cleft pallet. We say that our child has Tati’s nose and my lip.

Bilateral Cleft Lip and possible pallet

As we have been going through the pregnancy we have seen many cartoons which accurately display what Tati has been feeling or experiencing.

Funny True Cartoons