Update for a new year

Hello friends and family!
Much has happened since I last wrote. Not in the way of teams, but in the way of Brazilian culture and fun!
I was blessed to be able to spend Christmas with Louise (a friend of mine) and her whole family. Brazilian Christmas is not much different than my own family’s Christmas, except for the hours. Dinner is at midnight, the beginning of Christmas day, followed by presents. Bedtime is not before 4 or 5 am, followed by a wake-up time late on Christmas day.
It’s been unseasonably cool here, but even though it hasn’t been hot (very often), it didn’t feel like Christmas. When you’re used to Christmas temperatures that are below 50 degrees F, a warm Christmas is weird!
I have been doing some language study and am enjoying learning the ins and outs of Portuguese and being forced to communicate in a different language. I love learning to be a part of the culture here, because it’s allowing me to grow and change and depend on God to do His work in my life. Getting used to a new way of life and a new way of doing things is a challenge that I can’t conquer on my own.
We have our schedule of teams set but don’t know yet where everyone is going. Sunday we started visiting churches (we visited 3!) and will visit 2 more this week. It’s pretty amazing to be on the preparation side of things, because the preparation is work that goes into the clinic long before the clinic ever happens. It’s the behind-the-scenes work that I missed by only being down here while the clinics were actually happening.
We’ll be having 2 all-Brazilian clinics this year, one at the end of this month and one in March. Next month we will be having English classes for our interpreters to improve their English. My hope is that through these classes they will become much better in evangelism, and that we would be able to encourage them in their walk with God.
One of my new jobs (aside from the pharmacy responsibilities) is working with our interpreters – deciding who will work which clinics, depending on how many volunteers we have and what kind of work we are doing.
Prayer requests:
-That my study of the language would be fruitful and that I would be able to communicate better every day
-That God would grant Ray & Sharon wisdom as they decide what areas to work in this year
-That even our Brazilian doctors would see the need to share the good news of Jesus with the patients we see in the all-Brazilian clinics
-That I would be able to work well with our interpreters, and that I would truly get to know them
-That we would be able to encourage our interpreters in their walk with God over this year
Thank you all so much for your prayers!
For He alone is worthy.