It is with mixed emotions that I say we are leaving Brazil. We will be returning to a much different country than when we left 4 1/2 years ago. The move will put us in Anderson where we have lived before, it will put us closer to Ben and Meredith, John's brother and sisters and my Mom will be able to live with us. These things bring us great joy. But, we are also leaving a wonderful place called Brazil. Wow, what adventures we have had there. We have met many kind and generous people in Brazil. They have tolerated our butchering of their beautiful language. They have helped us when we were lost or confused. They have loved us. I will especially miss three families. Pierre and Marina Coudry have been our guides through our Brazilian Experience. They have taught us (in my case they TRIED) Portuguese, taken us on wonderful trips and shared the Brazilian culture with us. They love their Country. I will miss the precious Guh Family. Not only were they are landlords but they became our friends. The added wonder of it all is that they are strong Christians. Then, finally I will miss Priscila and her husband David. She became the adopted daughter of most of the Americans here especially those that went with us to the rug store. She has been my translator through thick and thin. In the midst of it all she became close to Meredith when she visited. That was a blessing for Meredith too. I will miss my rug store, our apartment, Romana's, my fruit and meat market and just walking and walking. You can understand the mixed emotions.
It took me a couple days to tell Kyle I was leaving. We had decided we were going to stick together through it all because so many of our American friends had left. I am sad to be deserting her. She and Sam have been there for us from the very beginning. I guess we can reunite for the Olympics in Rio. = ) Kyle would agree with me that we had the most wonderful American friend support while in Brazil. We almost felt like family. We were able to really help each other through difficult times and laugh hard through the good times.
John is especially dealing with mixed emotions. He loved the people he worked with in Brazil. They are good hard working people and very helpful. They, too, became his translators. He wouldn't have survived without them. Now he is on a new journey in a place he left 10 years ago. Please pray for John that this adjustment will go well.
The next few weeks will bring a lot of stress so I will need your prayers too. We will be purging, packing and leaving Brazil, we will be selling my Mom's home in Chattanooga (after 54 years this will be hard), we will be looking for the perfect home in Anderson, we will be shipping our storage from Dallas, Mom's house and Mom's apartment to Anderson. (I see a BIG yard sale in my future.) Mom will be leaving long time friends so this will be hard but I think she is looking forward to her new life in Anderson. She has good memories of Anderson. One of our funniest memories is my Dad mowing our huge yard in Anderson. We told him over and over not to use the riding lawnmower to mow the ditch. He did not listen. We rescued him many times.
I have been here for a long time. Celebrated Mom's 86th birthday, welcomed the birth of Rory Abigail, attended the wedding of Lindsay Palmer, visited lots of friends, and got to work at Propp Drugs for a couple weeks where I previously worked for 8 years or so while living in Anderson. It has been a packed couple of months. I am leaving Atlanta tonight for Brazil for my last time for a while. Thank you for listening to me for the last 4 1/2 years on this amazing journey. It has truly been an adventure.
Saturday Afternoon in Brazil. The comforts of family and friends and a sidewalk bar.
John in front of the Dom Pedro Shopping Mall Christmas Tree. Dom Pedro is the largest Mall in South America.
A coconut branch just hanging at the fruit market waiting to be cut and eaten.
We tried to go to the Mall tonight but there were no parking places at the Mall so we left. I guess there were many people Christmas shopping. But on our drive home we encountered Brazilian Soccer Fans on the way home. Nothing like Brazilian Soccer Fans. They were everywhere either walking to the game or trying to find a parking place. The Corinthians were playing and there are a lot of Corinthian Fans in Sao Paulo State. I was shocked when we got home that the stadium was not full. There were enough people in the streets to fill the whole stadium. 
