The Snowcone Lady!

Hello friends and family....things are slowly but surely returning to whatever normal might be for us since returning from Brazil.  We are enjoying a short visit from my Sister Lezlie and her daughter Raegan.   Showing them all the sights and fun places in Frisco and just some catching up time.  Celebrating Mother's Day together was a blessing. 

We are continuing to settle in to life here and look ahead to wrapping up with homeschooling soon while Jack will be in school until June 1....poor guy!  The kids continue to stay busy with baseball and softball and now will be playing even more with having been chosen for select teams with more tournaments and higher competition. 

We are continuing to seek God's plan for our return to Brazil.   We visited a school this week that is a part school/part homeschool Christian school that would encourage our time in Brazil and be very flexible with the long absence.   We are praying about this and would appreciate your prayers for this specifically.  Also, regarding employment for Brad, we continue to seek the right opportunity and trust that God will show us how this will look as well.

Shelby and Jack are getting more involved in the youth at church and are really feeling welcomed and part of the group.  Brad and I are in an adult fellowship that is full of very dedicated Christian people who are passionate as well about getting the gospel out here and around the world.  We are grateful to God for these new relationships.

We continue to feel somewhat lop-sided in our hearts as part of us is always in Brazil.   But God provides our comfort in this and we know that your prayers uphold us each day.

The Snowcone Lady!  What a treasure we have found here in Frisco....a tiny little building with a gravel parking lot and any flavor snowcone you can imagine for $1.50!  A great little treat for our family and I think our goal is try every flavor combination.  It's the simple things, right?

I will close with a precious comment from our little brother Drew today.   Riding in the car, he said, "Dad, why did we move here?"  Brad replied, "so we could be in Brazil more."  Good, because maybe then the kids won't cry so much when we leave like they did last time."

2 Thess. 2:8 "We loved you so much, that we were delighted to share with you  not only the gospel of  God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

In pursuit of HIM,

Robbyn for the Hanstads 

Home Again

But Brazil is home too....it's hard to have one's heart residing in two places.  Shelby and I returned home on Tuesday at about noon.   The goodbyes in Brazil were difficult, as always.  But knowing we will be returning soon with everybody made it a bit easier.   Our time in Brazil was good and fruitful....even had an invitation to teach Sunday school to the adolescent girls which was such a blessing.  Spent lots of time helping with the new baby and enjoyed all the kids so much.  Brad and the kids had a good time with Grandpa and Grandma.   They got to see lots of ballgames and had fun hanging out in our new home and town.  So thankful they could come and help!

Our next step will be planning our family trip to Brazil.   Brad is working on an Optometry license here in Texas and we are figuring out the school plan for the kids this fall.  We definitely covet your prayers for all of this.   We trust that God has all of the answers and will seek Him with great faith.  Pray for us that we will have wisdom in each decision.

Blessings,

Robbyn for the Hanstads

Brazil is Life

Hello Blog followers.....Life in Brazil is good.  What a joy it is to be here and to share love and encouragement to the children and others here.  My Portuguese has definitely improved as I am able to share many conversations with people and I think the kids really feel happy when I can speak to them in their language.  It is early fall here and so the weather is beautiful.  We have spent the last few days getting reacquainted with everyone and spending lots of time helping in House 7 with the new baby, Josue (Josway..."Joshua" in English).  He is only one month old and it seems as if he has grown even since we arrived.  Last night it was a joy to be here to celebrate the 17th birthday of Amanda, one of our sponsored kids.  She was so happy that we could be here for the special day.  And Shelby's opinion is that a country that has 3 cakes at the birthday party is a country for her!  Tonight will be church which is always a great joy to worship with our Brazilian family.  I will begin some crafting classes tomorrow with the children and a quilting project with the older girls.  Tuesday will be sharing my testimony with the housemothers at their weekly bible study time.  Please pray that these activities and all of our time here would be fruitful and encouraging to all.  We look forward to our return trip as a family.   We are in the process of working out the details of this so please pray that all things would line up for us to return soon.

Brad and the kids are doing well and enjoying Grandpa and Grandma in Texas.  We have skyped a few times and thankful for that great technology!

I am so thankful today that God is continuing to open the doors of ministry for us here in Brazil.  The verse he laid on my heart as I prepared for my first trip here continues to come back and bring me peace and joy....

Psalm 138:8 "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever-do not abandon the works of your hands."

May he continue to do a good work through us.

Blessings,

Robbyn

Brazil!

Dear friends and family,

Tomorrow is a big day!   We are thankful that Shelby and I will be returning to Brazil to minister to and spend time with the dear parents, children, and missionaries at Chain of Love.  We are grateful that Brad's parents will be arriving as we depart to spend the two weeks with Brad and the kids and learning about our new home here in Frisco, Texas.  I will try to update the blog while I am there but I am always so involved with life there that I don't often remember to get on the computer!  But, I will try.

A few notes about our trip....We will depart tomorrow at 2:45 and as it works we will meet with a Canadian friend in Chicago who will be serving with us at COL.  God really worked out the details for us to go together so we are grateful.  We will arrive in Brazil Tuesday at 2:45 p.m.  We will be working with the kids in crafting and sewing classes, ministering to the house mothers in bible study, helping House 7 with their new arrival...a one month old baby boy who was abandoned at the hospital, and assisting the missionaries with their work, playing with the kids, and continuing to build relationships with the people who are so dear to us.  We are grateful to be able to celebrate the 17th birthday of Amanda, one of our sponsored kids, while we are there.  We will leave Brazil on April 30, returning home on May 1.

Please pray for safe travel, luggage arrival, no problems with passports/visas/tickets, etc.  It is always a blessing to arrive there and return home safely.  Please pray for our health as we are there along with Brad and the kids while we are away.

Thank you for your great encouragement of our family, our move to Texas, and our work in Brazil.  God has been so good and so faithful.

I can't help but share a verse from James that has been so crucial to us in this journey.

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

We are so grateful for all of you who have encouraged us in our attempt to do this in a very small way.  May he find us faithful.

In Him,

Robbyn

Waiting?

Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."

Does anyone else feel like they are always waiting for something?  I don't mean for little things like red lights or the McDonalds drive thru.  I mean like waiting for something to change, an answer to prayer, a situation to get better...just plain waiting.  I am finding that God is constantly causing me to live this verse in my daily life.  When anxiety or fear or just plain frustration rises up in me, I find that often it is because I am waiting for something...and things just aren't happening fast enough for me.  The question then, I guess, is what do we do with our human, impatient, control-freak selves while we wait?  The answer is in that verse.  We go to HIS WORD.  That is where God will bathe us in his peace, his comfort, and his complete wisdom that reminds us that his timing is best and that WE CAN TRUST HIM.

Love you all.....

Robbyn

The Daily.....

Hello friends and family....

School started today!  We all decided that it was best for Jack to go to school to finish the year...to make some friends and get out of the house a bit.  He started today at a public middle school across the street from our subdivision.  The teachers and staff there were so welcoming and friendly and one of the guys from his baseball team was showing him around so pray that all goes well for Jack today.

All of the girls are starting with their homeschooling today.  It will take some getting used to for all of us but I think we can do it!

Easter Sunday was of course a special day for us as a family.   We went to worship and then took the kids to a Mexican Restaurant for lunch which was fun.

Shelby and I will finalize our Brazil preparations this week as we will leave on Monday, April 16.  Brad's parents will arrive the same day and everyone is looking forward to some Grandpa and Grandma time.

Please pray for us as we continue to get settled and accustomed to a very different life.   Frisco is a very friendly community and easy to get around in.  We are grateful for some new friends that we have already made.

Thank you for all of the love and encouragement.

Love from all of the Hanstads

Texas!

Greetings from Frisco, Texas!  So sorry it has taken so long to update the blog.   We have had a little trouble getting internet going at the house.  It is supposed to be hooked up tomorrow so for now I am at a Barnes and Noble with the family.  Many of you have called and texted today regarding the tornadoes and storms that were in the area.  We were actually caught driving in the storm but made it home with the sirens going and hail hitting the cars.  Apparently the storms very near but didn't quite hit us head on.   We are thankful.

We left Dickinson last Thursday morning and drove to Rapid City, picked up my Aunt Laurie, and headed to Yankton, South Dakota.  We had a wonderful reunion with Pastor Jon and Pam Cooke and family and spent some time visiting and catching up.  What a blessing to tour Calvary Baptist Church and see how God has been working through them there in Yankton.  Friday morning we got up early and headed to Frisco.  We arrived in our home at about 9:30 p.m.  It was a long day of travel but everyone did well.  Saturday brought our moving truck at about 9 a.m. along with a full afternoon of softball and baseball for Jack, Molly, and Ellie.  We took a trip to the mall, bought a refrigerator, and are getting acquainted with our new town.  Sunday we visited a church called Crosspoint which we all liked.   The kids will go there Wed. night and check out the activities.  We are a little homesick, having ups and downs, but overall are doing great.  We are so grateful that Aunt Laurie could be here to help us get settled.

She will go home tomorrow, and we will take the rest of the week off and plan to start school on Monday.  Shelby and I will leave for Brazil on April 16, and Grandpa and Grandma Hanstad will arrive the same day to spend some time with Brad and the kids while we are gone.

Here are a few prayer requests:  Please pray for the kids to get accustomed to a new town and unfamiliar people and activities.  Pray that they would feel welcome and accepted among the new kids.  Pray for Brad and I as we work on health insurance and getting the last of the utilities going...seems to always be more difficult than it should be.   Pray for us as we prepare for Brazil...that our time there would be fruitful.  Pray for the right job opportunity for Brad as he will begin looking soon.  Thank you for your faithful support of our family.

God is our refuge and strength and how he has put things into place continues to amaze us.  The first friend I made at Jack's baseball game lives around the corner from us.  And if that doesn't rock your socks off, does the fact that she speaks fluent Portuguese?  It did mine and I am continually reminded of the greatness of our God and his ability to direct our path.

In Him,

Robbyn

P.S.  Someone tell Mike Pitkin that we all listened to "The Great Adventure" by Steven Curtis Chapman on our way out of town!  What a good idea!!!!