Seasons

Good morning from hot and sweaty North Texas...we are officially uttering words that should never, EVER, and I mean NEVER, come out of the mouths of native, born and raised, tried and true North Dakotans........."CAN'T WAIT TIL WINTER!!!"  Yup.   We said it.  Curse us if you will our Northern amigos, but truth be told, come November....we'll be the Hap-Hap-Happiest group of North Texans ya'll have ever seen!

Okay, I'm done.  Lost my head.  Certainly I have better things to talk about than the weather.  But since we are on the subject, it is Winter in Brazil....and that's where we are headed today at 6:00 p.m. on American Airlines.  Once again, the Hanstad Family of 7 will embark on a journey to South America, seeking and searching for what God will have for them and encountering many people, both English and Portuguese speakers along the way, and hearing that question that always opens many doors of sharing our faith and our story...."ARE ALL THOSE KIDS YOURS?"

Boy are they ever.   And even though there are moments when all the planning, the details, the chaos (it's so loud--why do they have to be so loud?), the difficulty, the heartache and tears, the joy and everything that goes into to trying to do ministry in Brazil with five kids is completely overwhelming, it is certain that this is as it should be.  As we share with various people in our lives about going to Brazil, often they ask, "What do you down there?"  And so we go about sharing about our work, and the people and what we hope to accomplish.  But, I am starting to really grasp, and God is continuing to reveal to me,  that it is not at all about what we do down there.  God's got that.  It's about what God is doing in us.  In each and every one of us.  He is about the business of turning hearts toward him.  And although we hope to help him with that in Brazil, we have seen him work more in each one of us in turning hearts that want to live for US and molding them into hearts that want to live for HIM.  And we know that as God leads us, goes with us, and in us, beside us and behind us, he smiles and says to himself, "Those 7 Hanstads, Yep....they're all MINE."

Thank you for being our support and encouragement by reading this blog and praying for us.  We are definitely not alone on this journey and we are grateful for each one of you.  Please pray for safe travel and good health while we are gone.  Please pray that we will continue to find doors open for ministry in Brazil and that God's timing will continue to line up for our returning.

Zephaniah 3:14 "The Lord your God is with you,  He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Boa viajem!  (Safe Travels!)

Robbyn for the Hanstads