A Message from Duda

I got this email from Chris today:

"This past Sunday, Duda handed me a letter he wanted me to translate for you all. Here it is:

'Beloved brothers and sisters, comrades in the faith…peace be with you all!

God has given comfort to our hearts. He has carried us in His arms. For this reason, we are strong and His mercy has filled our lives. Our daughter, Bianca is in the Kingdom of Heaven with our Father. There, she is in a much better place and we know that one day we will join her in worshiping and honoring our God together. Your prayers have given us much strength. We are thankful for you all! God bless each of you. Please read and think about 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Family of Carlos Eduardo (Duda), Branca, and Brenda Vilas Boas'

Email: dudavilasboas@yahoo.com.br (if you would like to send them an email, you can say something like: “Thanks for your email. We will continue praying for you. God bless.” Here it is in Portuguese that you can cut and paste: Obrigado pela sua e-mail. Nós continuaremos orar por vocês. Deus abençoe "

I'm home!!

It is so great to be back home for Christmas! This is my most favorite time of the year, and I am so excited to be back to spend it with my family! The first thing I did was surprise my sister at work, and I got to see my sweet babies at Harding. Then, I ate some Mexican food. Probably not the most wise decision.

Sunday morning worship at Florence went really well. Maybe it was just the new seating arrangements, but it is starting to feel more like family. After services, there was an Agape (fellowship meal) and a cake to celebrate Marco's birthday. It was a lot of fun, and everyone seemed to be having a great time! Fellowship meal's in Italy are like big family lunches.

After a lot of talking, praying, and planning I have decided to go to Catania for a visit when I get back to Italy in January. It is likely that I will be moving down there to work with the church and help Chad with all of Brandon's students since he will be leaving in April. Lindsay Walle will also be coming to Italy in February and will hopefully join us there. There is a great work going on in Catania and we all believe that it is important to have a team down there to keep it going once Brandon and Kristen are finished with their 2 year committment. I am very excited about this possibility, and would like to ask for ALL of your prayers in this very big decision!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARLEY!!!!!
yesterday...

Hooray for Coldplay!

England was amazing, and so was the concert! We had an absolute blast, and it was great to be able to understand the language...well, kinda. We got to see the University of Birmingham, watch some futbol, drive on the left side of the road, go out for a curry, experience The Mighty Boosh on BBC, drink English tea, and eat Marmite on toast. It was SO cold, and it even snowed the day we left!

The Christmas market in downtown Birmingham

A glimpse of Selly Oak, the student neighborhood where we stayed next to the University of Birmingham

Double Decker!

COLDPLAY!!!!!

Today, I have just been recovering-haha. Taxis, trains, planes, and buses really suck the energy right out of a person. I had the pleasure of joining David in one of his lessons today with two older gentleman: Franco and Celistino. They were sweet and really funny!

David has a cousin here visiting, and Brandon, Kristen, and Charlotte made it back from their visit to the States today! Tomorrow, they and Chad will head down to Catania. A group of students from the Harding University program in England will be arriving tonight as well.

Sad news to report: Luigi, the oldest man from the Florence congregation, passed away yesterday. His funeral is tomorrow morning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!
You can all send an e-card to kharris@bankofbartlett.com :)