The Mott's...currently in Puerto Rico

New Blog!

2010-09-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

We're so sorry we've been pathetically lax in posting to our blog, but it's because we've been busy starting up another blog. From now on we're not going to be posting as much to this blog since most of our energies are going to the new one. But it doesn't mean we've forgotten about all of you! Please check it out at http://myhopemalawi.wordpress.com

We won't be sending out emails anymore letting you know when we've posted, but that's because we are posting once or twice a week, instead of once in a blue moon. So the emails would start to annoy you! We will still send out an update via email every now and then, just not about the blog. But please check it out. Our lives and ministry here in Malawi have been going great, and we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. We love you all!

Joe and Melissa

We have arrived

2010-07-30T02:06:00.000-07:00

We have arrived

Thank you for everyone who joined in and prayed us through our journey to Malawi. It has been God directed the entire way.

Our journey began Tuesday morning about 2am with a last minute trip to the storage unit to find Melissa’s contact refills which were placed in a bag in the day before. We found the 24 hour access available sign to be false and we were unable to get in. But this truly wasn’t an indicator of how the rest of the trip went.

After returning, Joe’s parents kindly drove us to the Charlotte International Airport at 3:40am and then waited until we were checked in to pray for us.

Check in went very well….WE DIDN’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANY OVERWEIGHT BAGS!! This is huge for us. When we move, we do move, meaning we take books, medicine and a few other comforts. The counter clerks for United were very helpful and hospitable. We have learned that smiles will get you a long way.

Our first flight left charlotte at 6:00 am and landed an hour later in Washington D.C. In D.C. we were changing carriers to Ethiopian Airlines, and fortunately the Charlotte clerks were able to check our bags all the way to Malawi, but were unable to print boarding passes for us. Once we landed, the hunt was on to find out if we had to exit the terminal to get boarding passes, or if the gate clerk could provide them. The gate counter was able to provide them and we learned we were only able to take on board 1 carry-on of 15 lbs. or less. HA! This is a complete joke, anyone who has travelled knows that an empty bag alone can weight that much. We were reluctant to release our rolling carry-ons, but in the end we took out what was valuable, reorganized, paid them to place the bags in the cargo hold. They then wanted to weigh our laptop bags. Both Joe and Melissa’s bags were over 25lbs! We were blessed with clerks who chose not to charge us for them being over the 15 lbs. limit.

While we waited, we met a few other American couples headed to other African countries. We boarded our Ethiopian Airways 767 around 10 am and were off.
We watched movies, read, and napped. Around midnight we landed for an hour in Rome to refuel and get a fresh crew. On our leg from Rome to Ethiopia we slept most of the time.

We arrived in Ethiopia mid morning. We knew we needed to purchase an entry visa but other than that we didn’t know much. The visa purchase was fairly easy, except the officers where unaware that the airlines had indefinitely cancelled the afternoon flight to Malawi and kept asking why we were spending one night in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. One of our main goals was to wait in customs long enough to make sure that the luggage we checked all the way to Malawi didn’t come out and disappear. It didn’t. It went straight onto Malawi like it should have.

We exited baggage claim, and as we were searching for our hotel shuttle transport, we locked eyes with a man who looked very familiar. It was our friend, Sunny, who we knew/met while working in Uruguay in 2007. He works for the US consulate and is now stationed in Ethiopia. He happened to be waiting to pick up someone else. How good is our God?!?
Sunny was so gracious to take us to dinner Wednesday night and point out a few of the sights along the way. We had a great time, and it was great to leave the hotel. Ethiopia was colder than we expected it to be…in the 50’s. We didn’t have enough clothing with us in our carry-on, but we were able to layer. Sunny also brought us some awesome snacks for the plane ride the next day. Never underestimate our God. Me, Joe, and Sunny

Thursday morning we were up early again and back at the airport at 7:30 am, this time boarding our flight to Lilongwe. This flight was about 6 hours total, with one stop. It stopped in Lubumbashi, which is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A few passengers got off the plane and a few more got on. This was the first place I have ever landed that doesn’t have a security fence around the airport. Also it has these small paths leading in and out of the bush onto the runway. As we were landing, we saw people coming out to see us land. The man sitting next to us said they are probably waiting for some relief planes because the UN and other organizations have been involved there for many years. He also said that even though it is called a democracy, there isn’t much about it that is democratic.

It was a quick one-hour hop from Lubumbashi to Malawi, and thankfully entry into the country was very simple. The test was then to see if all of our bags made it. The entire baggage claim area consisted of one, half moon shaped carousel about 20 feet long. We’ve never seen anything like it servicing planes so large. Needless to say it was total chaos. If you finally got near to get your bags, the problem was then getting out. However we were surprised and amazed when we saw that all of our bags made it without problem and in a timely manor.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for our safe journey, we have arrived and have enjoyed our first week.

Please pray for next week as we begin a tour around the country shooting interviews for the programs. The district coordinators will also be starting to train the pastors in their region.

We are so excited to be here and we will let you know more about the culture, the people and the country soon.

Joe and Melissa

Update!

2010-07-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and family! Sorry it’s been so long since our last update. Our lives have been fairly hectic lately. Time to catch you up! Since our last post, we’ve been working hard to collect all of the results from what God did in Puerto Rico. Thankfully we’ve been able to count 13,790 people who told us they made decisions to follow Christ with their lives! Needless to say this fills us with much joy to know that God let us participate in something so huge. During the month of June we finished counting the results and worked to wrapped up the final details of the national office. On the 18th we held a celebration meeting where we met with all the people who made the project possible, and celebrated together the results. After some emotional goodbyes, we left Puerto Rico on June 30th to head back to the states for a couple weeks.

Currently we’re in NC, visiting family, and preparing for our next assignment. We’ll be heading to Malawi, a small country in south east Africa on July 20th to work on the My Hope project there. A team has been on the ground since the beginning of the year, and we’ll come in to help them in the final push. We’re praying that thousands of churches will participate when a program is transmitted and DVD’s are distributed this November.

This will obviously be a huge change for us. We’ve spent the last 4 years working in Latin America, but we’re very excited for this opportunity. We’ve been so blessed to be able to work for this wonderful ministry, do God’s work, and live in all these amazing places. When we heard that Africa was on the horizon, we just kept thinking; who are we to say anything but yes? Africa will have its challenges. But when a person accepts Christ as their savior and chooses to follow Him, it’s as if they sign on the dotted line. He then fills in the contract.

Please join us in prayer for Malawi. It’s one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Pray that Pastors will go to training meetings and get excited for their church to share God’s love.

We love you all, and appreciate your prayers.

Joe and Melissa

Puerto Rico Celebrates

2010-05-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

The environment in the national office of My Hope Puerto Rico is one of celebration. One year ago this small team of Christians began what has become the largest evangelistic outreach in the history of the island. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and 1804 local churches partnered together to train Christians to use a three night TV broadcast in April as a tool for personal evangelism. 19,068 Christians were trained, and reports and testimonies from those three days in April arrive to the office each day. Today’s totals show that with just 57% of the participating churches reporting so far, 10,093 people have reported making decisions for Christ.

Along the way the office has heard hundreds of inspiring stories. Below are just three.

20 year old Melito helps lead a weekly bible study called Solomon’s Porch in San Juan’s university area every Thursday night. Thursday, April 22nd was the first night of the My Hope Broadcast, so he and his friends invited anyone from the building to watch the program with them. Through the testimonies, music videos and Billy Graham’s message, four semi-professional wrestlers accepted Jesus Christ for the first time. After making that life changing decision, one of the wrestlers decided he wanted his fans and spectators to hear about Jesus too. He invited Melito and the other young adult leaders to his wrestling match to share Jesus during a break in the wrestling. Melito shared Jesus with the fans, and 10 more people made the life changing decision to except Jesus as their Savior.

Pastor Santana is the pastor of the Iglesia Casa de Adoracion Shalom (House of Adoration Shalom), a church of about 100 members in Humacao. Santana called the office to report the results of his church’s 10 Matthew homes this week. The first night of the broadcast there were 34 guests in the various homes that were participating. 21 people made first time decisions to follow Christ and four others rededicated their lives to him. The second night was equally amazing. Another 21 people made first time decisions to follow Christ. The final night there were 30 guests in the Matthew homes. After hearing the testimony of Yasmin Mejias, a well known Puerto Rican comedian, and a powerful message by Billy Graham, 25 people made decisions to follow Christ and three others rededicated their lives to Him. This small church saw 74 people make decisions to follow Christ, in just three days!

Pastor Fernando Ramos is the pastor of the Iglesia Cristiana Casa de Amor (Christian Church House of Love) in the city of Ponce. 17 families in the church opened their homes to be Matthews for the My Hope project. They hosted 86 guests, and were thrilled to have 32 first time salvation decisions, and 14 rededications. Pastor Ramos said that in one the of the Matthew homes, a guest brought her 27 years old cousin with her who had been diagnosed with cancer. After watching Franklin Graham’s message about the prodigal son, she accepted Christ into her heart. As if that wasn’t enough, before she left for the night, the family prayed for her healing from cancer. The following Tuesday she had an appointment with her doctor. The Doctor performed a few routine tests and then said, “What happened to your cancer? It’s gone!” Ramos says she has been faithfully attending church ever since the broadcast.

Hope to Puerto Rico!

2010-04-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Last week was a wonderful week in Puerto Rico! On Thursday Friday and Saturday night, over 20,000 Christians opened up their homes to their friends, family and neighbors to watch the My Hope broadcast on national TV. The program addressed an issue that is often overlooked in the media, hope.

We hear so much on the news about wars, earthquakes, financial struggles, crime, corruption, betrayal, and plenty of other negative yet very real issues. However hope is rarely mentioned.

Through interviews with well known Puerto Ricans, music, and short messages from Billy Graham and Franklin Graham the My Hope TV broadcast explained that true hope is only found in a relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ. The programs clearly explained what it means to be a Christian.

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” - Romans 3:23. We’re not perfect. We’ve committed sins against God, our friends, and family. Our sin separates us from God because he’s holy and perfect. We can’t be good enough to be with God in heaven.

That would be a hope-less piece of news, “but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8. God saw our situation. He saw we could never be good enough. He decided to act. He sent his son Jesus to earth to pay the penalty for your sin, for my sin.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. All he asks is that we receive the free gift he’s giving us. He gives us salvation. He gives us everlasting life. We just have to admit that we’re sinners, that we’re in need of him, and be willing to turn from our sin and accept his free gift of eternal life. When we do, he gives our life purpose, direction, and above all, Hope. It’s a hope that doesn’t spoil or fade, because it’s not a hope in a career, a relationship or comfort here on earth. It’s a hope in something that God has already done for us. And what we do with it has eternal repercussions.

After hearing the clear explanation of what Christ did for us on the cross, Christians all across the country shared with their guests what God had done in their personal lives. They invited them to put their hope in Jesus Christ, and follow him with their lives.

We’re in the process of collecting all the reports of what God did in Puerto Rico. We look forward to celebrating with you how he brought new life, hope, and salvation to thousands on the island of enchantment. We love you and appreciate your friendship and prayers.

Praise the Lord for Dominican Republic

2010-04-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

I was so thankful when Joe called and told me he had updated the blog and sent out an email update to everyone! I was already in DR, when I received that call from him. The week went fast but it was amazing. I am always shocked by how Jesus keeps his word. He took our prayers, interceded to the Father and Dominicans were saved. My favorite testimony from the week was from one of my drivers, who was also a pastor.

He received a phone call from a member of his church who said they didn't have power in their area. Gilberto, my driver, told this person to start praying and if they received power, wonderful, continue with the project. If they didn't receive power, he told them to apologize to the people who came, invite them back tomorrow to see the program and give their testimony. Gilberto called this person back after the broadcast and the memeber of his church told him they did not receive power. But the member of his church gave his apologies about not having power, invited them back the next night, and then gave his testimony. The member of his church had 17 people come to his home and 5 of them prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.

It is testimonies like this that remind me that I am so lucky to be able to work for the Lord.

In the past few weeks we have heard many similar stories, but also the staff in DR are reporting more than 6,000 Decisions for Christ. Gloria a Dios!(All glory to God)

Two weeks from today we will begin our own Broadcast in Puerto Rico.

Please pray for the pastors, matthews, and those who will hear the Gospel. Pray that the Holy Spirit will move in a mighty way throughout Puerto Rico.

Pray - My Hope Dominican Republic

2010-03-18T05:18:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I wanted to send out an urgent prayer request. As you know, Melissa and I have been working in Puerto Rico for the last year. We've been preparing a nation-wide TV broadcast that will share who Jesus Christ is, and what he's done for us on the cross. Across the country thousands of churches are participating. In each church, members are planning to invite their friends, family members, and neighbors into their homes to watch the broadcast. It's a way of sharing what this whole Christianity thing is all about. Our broadcast is right around the corner, April 22, 23, and 24. Please be praying for churches to continue to get trained to participate, and for the members to be praying for their friends. We're also finalizing the editing of the programs this weekend. Pray that God guides us as we edit.

However the more urgent prayer request is for our neighbor, the Dominican Republic. They also have been working for the last year, and their broadcast is already here! Tonight (Thursday the 18th), tomorrow, and Saturday at 8pm, they will have their program on national television. Over 40,000 homes will invite guests over to watch the broadcast. Pray that there will be no energy black-outs (power outages are common there). Pray that God speaks to the hearts of each person watching, and that they will see the amazing things that God has done for us through Jesus. Pray they will admit their sins, and accept God's free gift of salvation!

Thank you all for your prayers!

Much love to all of you,

Joe

Personal Air Show

2010-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, Joe and I live every close to the airport, so close that we can see planes land and take off, and now with the super dooper awesome camera, we can even zoom in and read the names on the airforce planes. So on Saturday they had several really cool planes(I think all refueling/reloading and heading to Haiti).

These first two photos are of Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey's. I am a girl and thought it was so cool. They look like a plane but take off like a helicopter.

These last three photos are of a C-5. Largest plane the air force has. This one is the "Memphis"(As the tail reads). Again super cool, on the ground this thing looks like a beached whale on the runway, but it was super quite, surprisingly quiet taking off. Just compare the sheer size of this plane to the poor airtran flight next to it. There was also a school of 6 or 8 smaller cargo planes but much less exciting after seeing these others.

Lauren and Sarah

2010-01-20T06:13:00.000-08:00

While we were home, Joe and I had the amazing privilege to have two of my favorite people take pictures of us. They are amazing photographers! If you are looking for a photographer I recommend them, just email for their info! P.S. It was FREEZING that day!

Where do I begin

2010-01-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that we are already in the middle of January 2010. Where did 2009 go? I also need to apologize and ask for forgiveness for being MIA for the past 2 months, we have no good excuses so I won't give you any bad ones either. God has done some amazing things in 2009, I am always shocked and awed by him. A year ago we were celebrating the more than 500,000 decisions for Jesus made by Brazilians through the My Hope project. In the past year we have moved to a new country, I began working with the project, and we have faced new battles and challenges with the project. Also in the past year, I think we have visited ALL of our family spanning from NC, Chicago, San Antonio, Louisiana, and California(now it is your turn to come to us), and we attended and participated as both my sister and Joe's sister were married. As my mind thinks through all the wonderful events of this past year, my mind stops at a tragedy that has struck at the beginning of this new decade. I know you all have heard about maybe even gave money or resources to help those devastated by the earthquake in Haiti. The My Hope staff began its work in Haiti several months ago meeting with leaders, denominations, different christian organizations. They began praying and probing for God's direction, if God had ripened Haiti for My Hope. As the earthquake hit on Tuesday many of us searched for itineraries to figure out if any of our staff were in the country, by God's grace they were not, but little communication has been possible. I want to challenge all of you to pray mightily for Haiti in these coming weeks, pray that as new infrastructures are set up, that as people are searching for answers and reasons, that they will only find Jesus at the end of their searching. Pray for a mighty revival! Pray for our fellow Christians and leaders in Haiti. Pray for the future of My Hope in Haiti.
Thank you so much for your faithfulness, with out your prayers and words of encouragement, we would not be able to do this.
For more information on what BGEA is doing go to: http://www.billygraham.org/News_Article.asp?ArticleID=766

Thinking through disaster

2009-11-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

As many of you heard through national news that 2 weeks ago. Below is an article I wrote for BGEA. But wanted to share the same thoughts and photos with you all.
Please keep Puerto Rico in your prayers as we head towards our training phase of the project!

“When the explosion happened Robby and I were shocked out of bed, I thought an airplane had crashed into the house!”

Juliann Smith is not alone in her experience. Last Friday night a large explosion caused 21 fuel tanks from Gulf Oil to catch fire in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They continued burning for two days affecting the 2.5 million people who live in the San Juan metro area.

Smith says that her son was an eyewitness. “Nathan, who was outside, saw the blast and the mushroom cloud that began to form. (He) ran home, yelling that the world is ending!”

"I was in bed and all of a sudden heard this really horrible sound,” said Teo Freytes, who filed an internet Report for CNN. “So I ran upstairs and thought the whole town had blown up!"

All over the city residents felt the power of the explosion, which the Puerto Rico seismic network says was the equivalent of a 2.8 magnitude earthquake. The gas explosion was the first major disaster in more than ten years. As the shock and devastation set in for the small Caribbean island many began to wonder what happened and why.

“An incident of such magnitude can shake the stability and security of this fragile world we live in. It demonstrates that we cannot put our hope and security in material things,” said David Casillas. “Because it was an event that could not be foreseen or predicted like a hurricane, the fire could not be planned or prepared for.”

Casillas is a San Juan Pastor and the national coordinator of the My Hope Project by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. My Hope is a project, which trains and prepares Christians with the tools needed to share the gospel with friends, family, and neighbors who are not believers, using specially produced television programs.

Casillas says it’s a way to share everlasting hope with those who need it most. “There is no doubt that the My Hope Project has come at a time like this to bring hope, peace, and the good news of a better tomorrow through salvation in Jesus Christ.”

After the explosion, the importance of sharing Christ with others hit very close to home for many in Puerto Rico like Juliann Smith. Though it wasn’t the end of the world, the bible teaches that Jesus will return. Christians in Puerto Rico say that through projects like My Hope, they are seeing new ways that they can share Christ’s love with others before the real end comes.

Surf's Up

2009-10-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, Joe and I were invited to a quincenero, which is the 15th birthday party.Quincenero's are very special, lavish, and BIG in all of Latin America, but this was the first we have been privileged to attend. This one, was a beach party with a band, and surf lessons for the guests!! Joe and I had a blast TRYING! Any real surfers would look at our waves and think we were pathetic, but it is hard! Happy 15th Birthday Robby!!

Andamos en bicicletas

2009-10-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have found this great place to ride bikes near our house. At first we thought that the area/boardwalk was only a few hundred yards long and not enough to really enjoy a ride or what we would pay to rent the bikes(which isn't much). But we decided to give it a try and found out that not only does the path go on for miles but it also weaves between following the coastline and a forest like ecosystem full of pine trees. It was very worth it and a beautiful day at that.

Even Lizards eat their vegetables.

Lots to tell

2009-10-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Life seems to be moving much faster than I can keep up with. I feel like each time I fall asleep life jumps 3 weeks over night. For my birthday,(and Christmas and Joe's birthday and Christmas)present. We got a new camera!!! It is very exciting. We have talked for over a year about getting a new one and an DSLR at that. After many discussions with friends who are very good with a camera(Thank you to all who helped) On my birthday we took our new toy to the old city to play and begin to learn how to use it. I have to say I was very nervous at first...of dropping it, or messing with a setting and not knowing how to fix it. I still don't fully understand how to use the manual setting but we are having fun trying.

These awesome cobalt bricks were used as ballast for ships coming from Spain(they weighed down the ships, when traveling to pick up goods from PR)

I also had the opportunity to spend some time with my sister Bethany in San Diego. We tackled renovating her kitchen and a few other projects.

First we painted the ceiling and walls.(The person who owned their home before smoked and I don't think he ever painted after 1950.

We still had time to spare so Bethany decided we should give the cabinets a face lift also.

This was my sleeping buddy Jesse! He is the sweetest dog ever, tying with my sister Meagan's pit pull Reese! And YES you read that correctly the nicest dogs Ive ever met are a pit bull and rottweiler. So if you are looking for a good dog, please think twice before investing in an overpriced yappy monster that can't defend you.(soapbox for the day)

Also while I was in SD I got to spend an afternoon with a family I worked for Charlotte while I was in college. They now live in Huntington beach, and their kits are several years older, I don't think they remember me, but it was great to see them anyway. I learned a lot about kids and life in general from Jill and Howie.

I am officially 26

2009-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

My best friend Stephanie, from High Point told me a month ago on her birthday that she thought 26 was going to be a great year, and I agree! So far it has been so exciting, we have been celebrating my birthday all week. I even bought myself some candy corns and Joe bought me these beautiful fall colored flowers! I love yellow

Oh Where Oh where could the Motts be...

2009-08-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hola!! It seems we have neglected our updates a bit and we are sorry, but it has been an exciting and very full month. Speaking of which, we can't believe it is September!
I am always amazed at where God leads us and how he provides for us. Over the past 5weeks, Joe and I participated in 3 more Rock the River events in St Louis, Quad Cities, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Holy Spirit worked wonders in all of the cities giving Franklin grace and guidance in his talks as well as the band members. Lacy from Flyleaf was so awesome, she is so articulate!!!!
I(Melissa) started my job at the end of July. I am working as a field assistant with the BGEA. It has been very different and exciting from what I have done the last 2 years, but I praise God for answering our prayers and providing me with a job with-in the Project.
We signed the lease and opened the My Hope PR office August 12. Their are currently 5 staff trained and working, with 2 more in the process of being hired. We are still searching for a few more but we have a great team so far. We have loved getting to know them and work with them.
Several weeks ago we also had a photo shoot with Puerto Ricans for our materials, and those pictures are currently being placed and worked with by a graphic designer who is preparing all materials for printing.
This project has had many firsts for Joe and I, though it is our third project together, we have never been a part of planning and follow through this early on. In other countries we arrive to staff and a office that is already functioning. We know that God only gives us what we can handle and that he uses things, people, and instances to stretch and deepen our faith, and for each of those we are so grateful. We always knew he didn't promise it would be easy and it has truely been some very trying moments at times, but as long as we are faithful, he provides!!!

I hope all of you will join Joe and I in praising God for all he has done in Puerto Rico already, but also we are asking for your prayers....
Please pray for the finance team, for continued unity in the office, travel and safety (I will be travelling to San Diego at the end of the week, to spend some time with my sister Bethany and my grandmother. And Joe will be travelling to the Dominican Republic in 2 weeks)
For God's guidance with a production company in Puerto Rico/Dominican Republic.

We thank you and love you all!!

Rock the River: Baton Rouge

2009-07-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

Joe and I were given the awesome opportunity to help out at the Rock the River tour in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For those who don't know, "Rock the River is a high-energy music tour traveling up the Mississippi". RTR(Rock the River) is hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). At RTR Baton Rouge they had a ministry tent to help with awareness of all the amazing ministries the BGEA fosters to bring the Good news through evangelism for God's Kingdom! Whoo, with that said, Joe and I got to share with people our passion of My Hope all day. The event was a hit. They had seven hours of great bands including Flyleaf, RED, Mary Mary and others! Franklin brought the message of Jesus in a clear and relational way that impacted many and planted seeds in numbers we may never know. The turn out was over 11,000 and over 500 decisions for Jesus Christ!!!! In saying it was such an awesome experience for me, does not begin to express some of the comments left on FACEBOOK by those who were also there, one wrote..."well even the protesters couldn't stop the amazing power of Jesus.... if only 1 person was saved, then it was worth the heat, sunburn, and sprinkles. God also painted a glorious sunset across the sky - who in their right mind could say there is no GOD. The thunder & lightening stayed in the distance, just enough sprinkles to cool everyone down." The lightening she was referring to actually occurred behind the stage as Flyleaf was beginning and added chill to the praises they were singing. We are heading to RTR in St. Louis in a little less than two weeks and are so excited to see God work there too. Please Join with us and pray for the upcoming cities: St. Louis-Aug. 2nd, Quad Cities-Aug. 8 and Minneapolis/St. Paul Aug. 16. Please pray for the staff, the weather, the message(Franklin Graham and the testimonies from the bands),and for those traveling to and from the event! Also know that if you are within a do-able distance of these events, COME!! Bring friends, bring family, bring the neighbors kids!! Please also know that they are still looking for volunteers in the remaining cities! For more info and to sign-up go to http://www.billygraham.org/RTR/RockTheRiver.asp. Here are a few photos to get you excited(please know some of these photos were taken from flickr, and I have no ownership rights to them)

Meagan is Married

2009-07-15T09:39:00.001-07:00

This weekend was so amazing. My younger sister got married. It was so wonderful to get to see my older sister Bethany and her husband Aaron who live in San Diego, so we don't get to see them often! Also my aunt and uncle and their not so young kids (they are teens) and other extended family came! While home we were able to get to know and spend more time with Eddie, Meg's new hubby. Though it was so much fun, it was also bitter sweet I think. This was my parents last child to get married. My mom had wedding planning down to a science! What chapter in life comes next? Well many say pets, though Bethany and Meagan already have them and Joe and I probably never will(we move too much). Kids? Yikes! Not for us anytime soon unless God has other plans.
The cute couple!
Bethany and Aaron
Aunt Gigi and Uncle Tony
At the rehearsal dinner!
Me, Mom, and Bethany

Joe and I with his parents

They were threatened not to smash cake on each other!
Father daughter dance
These two had so much fun dancing!
Grandma (She is the one who always threatens about the cake smashing, it has become a tradition beginning with my moms wedding)
My cousins Jacqui and Jon

Super quick update

2009-07-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

Last week, Joe's friend(and really he is my friend too now) Drake came to visit. Drake is so great, so far he has visited us everywhere we have been except for one. I will post more on his visit soon. But today I am rushing for the airport headed home for my little sisters wedding! Yeah! I am so excited to get to see my WHOLE family! Some how we always wind up in helmets with Drake!?!

Hiking in El Yunque rainforest.

La Noche de San Juan

2009-06-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last night was "La Noche de San Juan", Saint John the Baptist Night. John the Baptist is believed to have been born on June 24th, so many countries celebrate this day on the eve. Here in Puerto Rico, it plays out as hundreds of thousands of people flock to the beach for what can only be described as a Puerto Rican Mardi Gra or Spring Break beach party. At midnight all those participating flop backwards into the water, like they are being baptized....it is to ensure you have good luck for the next year. Some people may flop once, others, several times. Joe and I ventured out last night to see what all the fuss and traffic was about....Perplexing,interesting, as it was, like Carnival last year in Brazil. Luckily for Joe and I we believe in faith and not luck.

They apparently plan on sacrificing the sand alligator to John the Baptist also...

This is real video I found on YouTube from 2 years ago, but if you listen closely you can hear the countdown and then see them all flop! Kinda Funny.
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And this clip is even more interesting..."Ace, uniquely Puerto Rican detergent, commemorates Puerto Rican tradition of San Juan night when the island residents dive into the ocean at midnight. Even when you are far away from your homeland, your pride of being Puerto Rican will make you follow Puerto Rican traditions."(quote taken from the person who posted the clip)
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Play date in Old San Juan

2009-06-23T11:06:00.001-07:00

Ponce

2009-06-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Ponce is the the second largest city in Puerto Rico. It is situated on the southern side of the island and is nicknamed "the Pearl of the South". As you could probably guess, Ponce was named after Ponce De Leon. Ponce was the first town in PR, built in the late 1600's. Joe and I headed down for a day of exploration and fun. If you meet a native of PR they always tell you, you have to visit Ponce. If you meet someone from the US who has moved here they will say, I can't figure out the hype! It was fun to see how well preserved many of the building were and it only took us an hour and a half to cross the island. Unfortunately we got to Ponce about 10:30 and everything shuts down from 11- 2 in Ponce. So we enjoyed the outdoor scenery and then explored some of the local beaches. The sand on the southern part of the Island is dark grey/black. We also learned that no matter where we are most likely we are going to stick out like a sore thumb! So us trying to drive into a local hang-out all inconspicuous-like...NEVER works, I haven't figured out what gives it away. We had fun!

Costco and Quicken

2009-06-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

As we have been settling into our new home that has also come with setting a new budget and familiarizing ourselves with the area and our shopping options. We have been here on the island for about a month and after analyzing all our grocery reciepts, taking a tour of Sam's club, Costco, and Walmart. Joe and I decided that Costco could fulfill our needs at a better rate than the local grocery could (as long as we controlled our buying). It is easy to walk around and fill a cart with your hearts desires(ice cream, chocolate, pickles, top my list)but break you at the check-out. How do you remedy this? Make a list of what you need, decide if it is an item you will use in a timely manner if bought in bulk, and then ask will you spend more buying it at a grocery store in smaller installations in the amount of time it would take to use up the same item bought from costco? For example: We bought a box of 140 Glad ForceFlex Kictchen trash bags for about $11, our hope is we never have to buy trash bags again while living here. The grocery store carries the same bags in boxes of 34 for $7.99.
But also to help control our spending at Costco we signed up for Quicken, which is a banking solutions system that combines all your accounts and helps you categorize and track your spening, it will tell you how much you have left in each budget category. I know personally I use to log onto my online bank account and say "where did it all go?" Quicken will even give you spending predictions with a 10-day outlook. And if you are really couragous you can look at a graph of your spending! The best part of this is it is FREE, it isn't advertised on their home page but if you go to their products and services tab at the top, you too can have their free online product. We have enjoyed having it, mostly because it allows us to be good steward of the money we have!

We have an address....

2009-06-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

As we were approaching the end of our second week and heading into our third week in San Juan, we have spent countless hours on the Internet looking at apartments and calling Realtors, trying to set up appointments to view ones we liked and would fit into our budget and desires. Things like, having 2 bedrooms. Because San Juan is considered a vacation destination, often you find studio apartments that are well furnished but upwards of $3000 a month and don't fit into any of our categories, and then their isn't much price difference between a 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom, but a huge jump between a studio and a 2 bedroom. Also, it depended on if we wanted to be in the middle of the tourist district or in a residential area. Plus some of the Realtors here aren't exactly as "kosher" as Joe and I would have liked. So after much anticipation we found out late Sunday night that we were going to get our new home, all contracts were signed, deposits paid and keys passed! Once all the business was done and everyone was out, the celebration dancing, squealing began(Oh, for their to have been a video camera for that). After two days of finding everything a home we are moved in and settled! Some of you have asked for our address and I can gladly pass it on now!

Joe and Melissa Mott
Cond. Mundo Feliz
1 Calle Hermanos Rodriguez Ema Apt 1805
Carolina, PR 00979-5811

We are still working on the cell phone thing, but Joe's will stay the same as his Charlotte number and we can be reached on it for now. (If you don't have it, and want it, email me personally, please.)
Thank you for your prayers and praises!

June 1st = Hurricane Season Kick-off

2009-06-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

2009 Hurricane Season Predictions

The hurricane forecast team from the Colorado State University is predicting that the 2009 Hurricane Season will be an average one. The latest predictions from team call for 12 named storms of which 6 are forecast to be hurricanes, with 2 of these forecast to be major hurricane of category 3 or higher.

The team from the Colorado State University base there findings on ‘a weak El Nino maritime temperature fluctuation, along with an unusual cooling of tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures it observed in recent months’

Additionally the team are predicting a 31 percent chance that the US Gulf Coast, between Florida and Texas by a major hurricane with an average major hurricane landfall risk in the Caribbean.

From another blogger about Sonia Sotomayor

2009-05-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

I currently read a blog from a women who moved from New York to Puerto Rico a few years ago. Her posting is below and to me very interesting. Enjoy!

Locos por Sonia!

"Del barrio al Tribunal Supremo." (Translation: "From the 'hood to the Supreme Court") "¡Bravo, Sonia!" These were today's headlines from two of the major local papers here on the island. In case you haven't heard, President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor, an appeals court judge in New York, to the U.S Supreme Court. Puerto Ricans are ecstatic! El Nuevo Día, the island's main paper, over five articles about Judge Sotomayor can be found in today's paper alone. Relatives on the island have been interviewed, Sotomayor's bank account balances have been published, and of course, her Horatio Alger life story.

I find it refreshing to finally have a Puertoriqueña with intellect to gain so much media attention here. Normally, beauty queens and swimsuit models are the subject of interest on the island, to my chagrin. Puerto Ricans are definitely proud of Sotomayor, whom many consider to be just a liberal replacing a liberal (Judge David Souter). However, she has ruled against an abortion-rights organization in the past, and so I wouldn't be too quick to put her in the liberal category.

“A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life," Judge Sotomayor once said. Obviously, one's life experiences, ideologies, and beliefs do naturally affect the decisions one makes, and I do hope Judge Sotomayor will provide the court with another point of view to reflect the growing diversity of the U.S.

(FYI: "Loca por Sonia!" translates to "Crazy About Sonia!")
(Images above were obtained from www.primerahora.com and www.endi.com).
Posted by adriana at 6:33 PM 0 comments

New Country, New Journeys

2009-05-19T07:58:00.001-07:00

About a month ago, Joe and I travelled to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a very important meeting with all of the church and denominational leaders. Before we bring My Hope to a country we desire and request that the leaders offer us an invitation and their support. Without the support of the majority of the leaders My Hope can't proceed, we need them. During this meeting we explain the processes and phases of the project. That this isn't a crusade or festival, but a TV project that is produced for that specific country as a tool for evangelism, using music/artists and testimonies from people(some well known, others less so)of the country we are in. Then through training the pastors to train their congregation to invite their friends and family who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior, to their home for one or all three of the nights we broadcast. We put the program on national TV at prime time, for anyone to see. The meeting was amazing. Often times these meetings are the first time leaders from all Christian denominations have been in the same room let alone asked to work together. But it is so amazing to see God work through these leaders and pastors as they work together. It breaks down so many walls.
At the end of the meeting after everyone who wants, signs the invitation, we ask for recommendations for our national leaders and committees.

Over the course of the past month Joe and the other team members began sending out the invitations to the leaders and pastors who were chosen to be apart of the committees.
Then on Thursday, Joe and I officially moved to San Juan! God has so lovingly provided for us a car and a temporary apartment. And we praise him for those provisions.

Next week the committee members will meet for the first time and several very important decisions have to be made. So I ask you, Friends and Family to please pray for God's hand over these meetings, for no personal agendas to intrude. I ask that you pray for guidance and wisdom for Joe, Greg, and David as they lead the meetings. Please also begin to pray that the Holy Spirit start working in the hearts of those who will see the programs.
Joe and I want to thank each of you for your love and support over the past few years and we know that without your prayers we would not survive!

The Bane of my last two days

2009-05-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Joe and I, during this past week have been at Joe's parents house. Many know it as "the Farm" or by some of its qualities like the tack house, or the goats, or Emma. Joe's parents went out of town on Saturday and on Monday I was going to plant some tomato plants for Jan(Joe's mom). As I am preparing the area to plant I notice Emma, the Mott's 12 year old Great Pyrenees. She looks like a giant polar bear. I get the brilliant idea that I am going to let Emma out of the 3 acre goat pasture since I was outside and that way I could love on her when I was done planting. So all is good for about 2 minutes.... I turn to turn off the hose and head to where Emma is standing to commence "love on her time" and she isn't there. Joe and I had been warned, over a period of a few weeks, that Emma had a streak of wandering and so she was placed in the goat pasture to keep her fenced in and it allows her a the fun of chasing the goats too. So I ran to the bottom of the hill, shouted for her...nothing. I go to the end of the driveway...nothing. For a dog that acts so old and feeble and arthritic and senile, she sure did move fast. I hopped in the car and headed for the neighboring community and drove around calling for her, drove home, checked for messages from maybe a neighbor, then called Davidson PD, Charlotte PD, Cornelius PD and Huntersville PD. I reported her lost, gave all my information and then headed back to the car to start looking again.(The reason I called all is b/c all of those city lines cross within a few blocks of "the Farm" ) After several hours I received a phone call from Cornelius PD saying Emma has been seen at a Baptist church down the road. Short of hanging up on the officer, I ran to the car, drove to the church...but no Emma. A maintenance man said she was there a few hours before but had moved on in the direction of the woods at the back of the church. So my search continued, and continued with Joe once he got home. I had been in every neighborhood, down every private driveway and in many neighboring pastures. Around 7pm Monday night Joe and I called it quits as the sun went down and the rain moved in. The next morning, Joe had to head to the airport, but my searching began early. With Joe out of town I had planned on heading to my parent's house and had the pet sitter already lined up. I decided I would make a loop around the suspected area where I thought Emma was (though she was probably in the woods and probably ignoring me) but it had rained all night and was still raining. Some time around noon I got a phone call. A woman down the road was able to lure Emma onto her front porch. I rush over to find not the elegant white dog that ran off the day before, but Emma who had been painted by North Carolina mud. She was caked in it, with thorns and burrs stuck in her fur and something matted on her that smelled like manure. Luckily I didn't have far to go. I suited up in a rain jacket and rubber gloves and bathed Emma, having to soap her up several times. But she was clean, fed and safe back in her goat pasture for the pet sitter to never know the difference.

I'm trying to catch up I promise

2009-04-18T17:19:00.001-07:00

Now on to the good stuff,(Can I please preface this by saying the days are moving faster than I can write, and when I have just a few minutes to blog, I get caught up in everyone elses and then don't get any writing done myself! Sorry)
On Tuesday night(April 7th), Joe and I flew to San Antonio! We woke up to beautiful weather 85-90 degrees that continued most of the time we were there! Wednesday, with Joe's Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Evan we had wonderful breakfast tacos, headed to the beautiful and famous riverwalk,

and then off to the missions(which included the Alamo).
A Park Ranger playing a bamboo flute in one of the missions

I have an obsession with doors

One of the most interesting press conference was underway at the Alamo. Segways were being given away to Iraqi veterans whole had lost a limb fighting for our freedom! Thank you for serving us in our Military!
We enjoyed our time visiting with Joe's Aunt and Uncle and spending time with his grandparents in San Antonio! On Friday morning we flew from nice, warm, sunny San Antonio to Chicago. Where I am from, it was still nice, sunny, but not warm. I tried to warn Joe that it isn't the temperature that makes Chicago cold, it's the wind. And I threw in a few extra warm clothing items for him just in case. We gathered our bags and stepped out of the terminal just in time for the piercing wind to show Joe what it was made of. He immediately threw on his coat, hat, and gloves and decided it was better to wait inside for my Aunt and Uncle to get their. I found it funny. Joe had never been to Chicago and so much of my childhood was rooted their that I was so excited to show him around and let him experience the true taste of Chicago! Friday started with us heading immediately downtown for the lakeshore effect at the Field Museum(lakeshore effect meaning that it can be 15 degrees colder than the rest of Chicago). That night, Joe finally got to taste true Chicago style pizza, and it was good. Saturday we drove out to my Grandpa's house about an hour away from the city to have lunch and visit with him. I was able to see my uncle and cousin also, which was exciting since I didn't think I was going to be able to. Easter Sunday came quickly, and we celebrated Jesus at Messiah Baptist Church in Addison. My roots with this church go very deep. My parents met in the youth group of this church in the seventies, my mom grew up going to this church, she was a part of Pioneer Girls there(similar to girl scouts, I think) My grandfather drove the church bus, I remember when I was a kid, if we spent the night at my grandparents and had been good and were ready on time, we got to ride the bus with grandpa as he picked people up for church. I haven't been back to Messiah, since we moved, but it is funny how the faces of some people are still familiar. After church we had lunch at a friends of my Aunt and Uncle, and then played catchphrase. If you have never played Catchphrase, You need to. One day on a later blog I will have to explain my analysis of my family and the game, it's funny. Sunday night, we were able to have dinner with a really good friend of Joe's from High School, Adam! Adam moved to Chicago after college and has been working for a pharmaceutical company for the past couple of years.
Monday, Joe and I slept in!! And then went to tour my old neighborhood, show Joe where I lived, went to school, the firehouse where my dad volunteered as a firefighter and medic.
Monday night we went downtown to see the lights, we went to the top of the John Hancock building.

Visited Buckingham Fountain. And ate REAL hot dogs in Wrigleyville. Before we all headed to bed, Joe and I got to have one of the most meaningful prayer times with my Aunt and Uncle, It was so amazing to have that connection with them. Tuesday was an early morning trip to the airport(4am early) to head back to Charlotte. Wednesday was spent doing laundry and repacking for another early morning airport adventure(I will continue soon, but not today).

Wait, where are you?

2009-04-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

As my friend Tracey asked me on the phone this afternoon, Joe and I have been a little bit of everywhere! Our month of chaos really began in March, Joe's sister Jenn got married the weekend of March 20-22. They were married in the mountains of North Carolina so it was kind of like a destination wedding in that, it was hosted at an Episcipalian conference center and everyone invited to the wedding was also invited for the entire weekend. The morning of the wedding, several of us decided to take a hike before needing to get ready. It was very chilly but beautiful. We hiked to the top of Eagle Rock and back.

Congratulations Paul and Jennifer Redd!

A few days after the wedding, Joe headed back to Puerto Rico for his 3rd or 4th trip(I've stopped counting, it a little depressing). And I headed to my parents to spend a few days with them. Joe flew home on April 2, I drove home the same day to pick him up, I did laundry all day friday and then on Saturday we were back on the road headed to Richmond for Nancy and Paul's wedding(different Paul this time) Joe and Paul were close friends when Joe was working at NBC 29 in Staunton, Virginia. Staunton is so pretty and all the people are wonderful! We were able to spend the night and spend some time with my sister Meagan and her fiance Eddie. On Sunday we attended their church (which was amazing) and then headed back in Charlotte.

On Monday, I was so blessed to spend the day with my friend Amy and her wonderful little munchkin, Caroline, who is now 8 months old! (Joe had to go to work, sorry honey)

What a Cutey Batutty!

More to come soon on Tuesday through now!

Wii had fun

2009-03-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

This past week I spent at my parents house in High Point with my sister and her fiance, Eddie. Meagan and Eddie had registered for the Nintendo Wii, and had already received it from a friend. The console really was a family affair. I think for Eddie's enjoyment, the first game I played on it was boxing, and then tennis. The next morning my arms were sore ( I know, go ahead and laugh). The next night, we got mom in on it, and bowled, played tennis and had her ride a cow. We were all laughing so hard including mom we though we might need to call the ambulance to give her oxygen. But she kicked the pants off all of us in bowling, GO Mom! The third night we made dad play, and had dad and mom compete in riding cows. It was so much fun, and beat just watching TV! Way to go Wii!

From Summer sun to SNOW!!

2009-03-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have now been in the states for about a week! We arrived last Sunday morning into Atlanta around 6am, and learned that just about every flight was cancelled do to a snow storm that was headed right through the southern states. And anyone who has every lived in the south knows that the whisper of snow throws everyone into a panic. So our original flight to Charlotte was cancelled, but they did have one more flight leaving that morning for Greensboro, so we hopped on it knowing our bags (all 7 of them) probably would not join us. Though we were excited to get to go to Melissa's parents first, they never get the first period of time with us since we always fly into Charlotte. Exciting enough, Melissa has wanted to see snow for two years now, and she got it! Along with the rest of North Carolina, High Point received almost 6 inches of snow Sunday night!

After a fun filled day with the snow Monday, Melissa's grandmother let us borrow her car to drive to Charlotte. Anyone who makes fun of the boats that more elderly drive, need to test drive one, it drives smoother than any other car we have been in lately. Upon arriving to Joe's parents in Davidson (just North of Charlotte) this is what we found (they live at 19000).

As we begin to settle in and finish the 20 loads of laundry we have, we are missing our routine and friends from Sao Paulo (here are a few pictures from our last few days there) but we are super excited for what God has planned for us in the next few weeks and months!

Carnival, Medical Exams, and Turpentine

2009-02-26T03:34:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend and the beginning of this week was the carnival holiday. During Carnival in Brasil most of the country shuts down. Many, many Brazilians head for the beach, others travel to various Carnival celebrations. The famous ones are in Rio de Janiero, Salvadore and Ouro Preto, first two not especially safe. Each year Carnival is held the four days before Ash Wednesday; these four days leading up to Ash Wednesday are a time to feast, dance, party and simply let-loose before the tranquil weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter.
Some theories say Carnival began as a pagan celebration in ancient Rome and Greece (ancient spring Greek festical in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine). The Romans adopted the celebration with Bacchanalia (feasts in honor of Bacchus) then there was Saturnalia, where slaves and their masters would exchange clothes in a day of drunken revelry. Saturnalia was later modified by the Roman Catholic Church into a festival leading up to Ash Wednesday. It quickly evolved into a massive celebration of indulgences - one last gasp of music, food, alcohol, and sex before Lent - before the 40 days of personal reflections, abstinence and fasting until Easter.
A good friend of ours went to the carnival here in Sao Paulo and sent me these pictures! Everyone says you should at least see it once, Joe and I have chosen not to go last year or this year mainly because of cost(tickets are REALLY expensive).

During carnival, Joe and I were invited to attend a churrasco (BBQ) at the nacional clube physica(national physical club) Very similar to a city park and pool. It had a playground, trails, picnic tables and a small water park. But before we could go into the water park you have to have a medical exam and be approved. Our best guess was they were taking precautions from spreading something. I guess I just assumed that the chlorine would kill anything. So we went through the medical exam, then they watch you shower off(unlike in the US where everyone skips this step), and then we had to walk a turnstile the hand a mini pool full of some sort of solution. After being treated like we were going to spread foot and mouth disease, we were allowed to enter the pool. It was fun once we got thru all of that.

On a side note, Joe and I have been working on packing and cleaning up our apartment, preparing to leave Brazil. We have been selling all of our furniture and appliances also. One of the things I have never figured out here is how to clean really well. And for those of you who are thinking that really shouldn't be that hard, then go live in one of the top 5 most densely populated cities and then let me know how to do it. And New York doesn't count! Detroit has more pollution. I have tried every cleaner in the stores, and I have resorted to bleach. None of them work. So yesterday I started using turpentine, and Eureka we have a winner!

Walking through devastation

2009-02-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

This past week Sao Paulo has had many thunderstorms. Last weekend they were so bad that Saturday night many areas flooded, including our street. In the 14 months that we have been here we haven't experienced a storm like it. We aren't talking about a foot of water we are talking about entire cars underwater. Unlike the US, most people do not have car insurance. Sunday morning we woke up to blue skies, and a warm 75 degrees. But heading to the bus stop was less impressive. Everything on our street was covered in mud and silt(the slick mud) trees were down, a concrete wall had collapsed, and you could see the water marks on everything. It gave us an appreciation for those who went through Katrina first hand. Tonight we are suppose to have similars storms. Please pray for those in the city who do not have homes that they might find shelter. I have included a few pictures

For those of you who don't know what your looking at, the light in the middle is a cars flashers still going...underwater!

First comes love, then comes Marriage, then what?

2009-01-30T04:29:00.000-08:00

In our story it isn't a baby in a baby carriage! Not yet at least. So what comes next? Puerto Rico! Joe and I have again chosen to join God and the My Hope project in bringing this evangelistic project to Puerto Rico. But mostly we are so honored that God has allowed us to be a part of something so amazing, furthuring HIS kingdom. Joe and I took the opportunity this weekend to reflect on this year and to praise God for our time in Brazil. We also took time to Pray for God's will. Doing what we do, we get to choose to trust God with our lives but also be a part of the Great Commission! Last week Joe took a trip to Puerto Rico, he got to meet with many of the religious leaders in the country and get the first glimpses of what this next year holds for us. Each country has its differences, Brazil is HUGE, and Puerto Rico too with be a new encounter with God.
For a review of this last year, Brazilians are so amazing, they have so much life and personality to them, and warmth that we haven't felt anywhere else. God has placed his print on Brazil! Over this year we have met with pastors and leaders. We have shot two music videos and Joe was able to interview Kaka in Milan. But most importantly, several hundred thousand people watched the three day broadcast, and over 267,000 Brazilians have made a decision for Christ! All our Praises to God! This is why we countinue to do this, because we get glorify God by sharing the Gospel!

I have added a few pictures from Joe's trip to Puerto Rico:

Happy Birthday!!

2009-01-19T04:08:00.000-08:00

Saturday was Joe's Birthday. It was a great day, we knew it was our last to spend together for a week and a half(he travelled on Sunday). We woke up late which really isn't that late(8:15ish) Had a big breakfast of omelets, hashbrowns and muffins. Topped off with chocolate truffle coffee. After our lazy morning, we decided to run over to the mall to see if we could Joe some sunglasses. While we were home for christmas Joe lost his somewhere. But cheap sunglasses really don't exist in Brazil, so we got some ice cream instead and headed home for a nap. This year Joe and I have gotten into an element and we haven't ventured too far outside of it. Partially because Sao Paulo is HUGE and we could never get to everywhere, and another is we stay within our transportaion limits. But on Saturday we decided to venture out to a new restaurant that we had heard good things about. So looking at a map we knew we could take the train get off near the neighborhood and then grab a cab. We did just that took the train got of, and stepped off in a sketchy area so we walked fast and made turns with our best judgement. Luckely and with God's protection we found a cab, got to the restaurant and we so blown away with the ambiance of it that we quickly forgot the heart racing walk their. The restaurant was so nice, candles everywhere! Though when I told the waiter it was Joe's birthday he gave me a look of "so". Which made us laugh the rest of the night, but the food was ok, not great but good, the atmosphere definately made up for it.

You would think we would learn!

2009-01-16T02:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we arrived a week ago back to Brazil, and we are definately in the full swing of summer, meaning it's hot. I love it! (Sorry Aunt Gigi)who just informed me that they have had 35" of snow already this season. But in Brazil, last summer when we fist moved here, we learned that you don't go anywhere and leave your windows open because it can monsoon at any point, with little warning, but mostly it happens late afternoon around 5:30/6, right when Joe is trying to walk home. Needless to say we flooded our apartment. For those of you who are gasping, it wasn't that bad to clean up, all our floors are tile and we have drains in random places in the floor. Well, on Wednesday, I left to go teach a couple of classes and decided it is blue, hot and not a cloud in the sky, so Im going to leave the patio doors open just a crack to keep air circulating. After teaching I went to Joe's office to help count some info that needed to be organized and added to a database. Right around 3:30, I hear a huge crash of thunder, look out the window and the rivers in the streets have already started. I contemplate running home, but if water got in, then the damage is already done, I needed to go by the grocery store still, I wasn't finished, and I had white pants on. So I decide to stay and finish and just pray that our house isn't flooded again. We waited out the heavy rain, ran to the grocery store, and then ran home before the ran began again. Once inside, our first assessment is the stairs! Their is white plaster all over them, we still can't figure out from what, but I had just spent 6 hours on Monday cleaning. We head into the dining room, where the balcony door is and no water, run upstairs, check the floor, no water. So for the most part we are pretty relieved. Later that night, we go to bed, lay down, and the bed is wet! Go Figure.

2009-01-12T09:13:00.000-08:00

Crisis at Christmas

2009-01-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas for Joe and I might always be the busiest time of our lives. A year ago, we moved from Montevideo, Uruguay to Sao Paulo, Brazil at the end of November, 2007. We found an apartment, checked out some great places to buy furniture and enjoyed the summer weather a little and then made a mad dash for the airport to join family and friends in North Carolina for Christmas. This year knowing we still had some follow-up left in Brazil and would be returning, we headed to NC thinking this is the year we are going to relax and enjoy the snow! Well, relaxing is a very relative term when we are home. Their are always a thousand things we have to do once in the states. We have to do all our doctors and dentist appointments, catch up on all our mail that has been sitting in a box for months and months. Plus all the holiday stuff, like running to William-Sonoma at 7:45 on Saturday night without anyone knowing your gone(it is much more impossible then it sounds). This Christmas was joined with the celebrations of my younger sister getting engaged in November so of course we had to go dress shopping. I don't know if this sounds busy yet, but it is. We alot of times we feel like we are srinting through an entire marathon. But we really wouldn't have it any other way. While we were home, we were able to do what I love, do it yourself projects! No, seriously I really enjoy them. Joe's aunt and uncle hosted a painting party the day after Christmas to get his grandparents house ready to sell. While there we had the discussio of "did you take your ring off" "yes"(melissa), "did you" "yes, I put it in my jacket pocket"(joe), so after a wonderful evening with family and celebrating Christmas on the Mott side of the family, we drove to joe's parents house all stuffed and cozy riding back in the farm truck. When we got to Davidson, we unloaded everything and started getting ready for bed, when Joe asked me if I knew where his jacket was, and my response was No, the last time I saw it was on the porch at his grandparents, on top of some trashbags. So we go ask all other members of the family if they had see it or if their were any other bags that had come from the house. When the No's started piling up I started getting really frustrated, we searched the inside of the truck, inside the house. And Joe isn't quite at the hysterical point of driving back to High Point that I was at. (it's an hour and twenty minute drive). So I said he had a choice he could call his uncle, or we could drive back up (and we were both exhausted). So he called his uncle and rolled his eyes while doing it. Casey promised to go back by the house and see if he sees it or look through the giant trash heep we had created that day. The next morning Casey goes by but doesn't find it. After Joe got the cold shoulder from me all day. Casey calls back and says that after all the scavengers had taken alot of the trash during the day, he noticed several black trashbags on the ground at the very bottom of the heep. Inside one is Joe's jacket, with his wedding ring inside. THANK YOU, CASEY! To some of you, you might be thinking, what is the big deal? Well until that day I didn't realize how much these circular pieced of metal meant to me (and Joe). They symbolize so much more than just metal. They mean an endless trust, and commitment to each other, a choosing to love one another everyday! And know that no matter what, HE will always be the man God chose for me!

Final Bonito Pictures!

2008-12-12T04:07:00.000-08:00

One of our friends had an underwater camera with us on the trip. That = Fun.

A whole lot of nothingness, that is meaningfull

2008-12-12T03:43:00.000-08:00

So Joe and I know that many of you want to know where we are because we haven't updated lately! Well, we have been a little bit of everywhere. Right after the broadcast we travelled to town in Brazil, Bonito, the pictures are below in our last blog and then a week later we were Florida for a dear friends wedding,which was beautiful and really just reminded me of what a true church body should look like and how it should really function, we are waiting for pictures from others, our camera was on hyatus that night. Congratulations, Again, Tracey and Jeff. And we have only been back in Brazil for about a week and a half and again we will be off next week for Christmas! By the way, it doesn't feel like Christmas, it is arriving too soon! As some of you know, I LOVE CHRISTMAS, and everything about it! The meaning of it, the decorations, the music, especially the music! Joe has put up with alot of what he calls "corny" Christmas music lately from yahoo radio. Small tangent real quick, Yahoo radio has this absolutely revolting commercial about STD's and condoms. And if you open the webpage and that is the commercial assigned to you, you hear it over and over every 4 songs, so in that case we close the webpage and reopen until we get a different one. Along with preparing for Christmas, I always enjoy wearing the "christmas clothes" we all have. The red wool sweater, or green or both. My wordrobe is having a identity crisis! As we are headed into summer, it has been steadily, 85-90 degrees. Most of my short sleeve shirts and tank tops are in the beachy tones and pinks!
I learned something else this season, deoderant can go bad! One day I realized I smelled like a really cheap bar of soap, like the kind you took from the motel 3 years ago. It's ok we all do it. The investigation began and we realized that my deoderant had lost it's scent. So I opened a new one, smelled it and it too had lst its scent. (And the experation date on the bottom was 2 years away).
Some of you are wondering what happened with the bradcast here in Brazil! We thank you for your prayers! Brazil, is a wonderful friendly culture, they are so people oriented! Joe and I have enjoyed this about Brazillians all year. They don't consider themselves to be great at some of the paperwork and logisics that go with it. Currently we are Praising God for the 103,925 decisions that have been reported!
Last week we had the honor of having Gwen Matthews down in Brazil with us! She is the wife of Joe's boss Greg, and just a wonderful person to get to know. I decided on Friday I would take her downtown, show her some of the old city and then head to an area that is called, 25 de Marzo. It is where all the wholesale shops are. This is where all the people the south of Brazil come to buy goods for their stores. On deciding to go, I told some of my students and their response was, we will start planning your funeral. It wasn't that bad, but it was really crowded! If you like your personal space you wouldn't like this. At one point I saw some people start running with armsful of goods and told Gwen to get out of the way, and she asked why, what was going on? I told her I didn't know but it was always better to stay out of the way of running people. I asked a friend and she said that to sell things on the streets you have to have a permit and so when they start checking so permits, those who don't ahve one, run, they grab all their stuff and run!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Season and Joe and I can't wait to see people VERY SOON!

Bonito Part 2

2008-11-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

Each night we decided to eat a different, yet exotic meat. And so our first night in Bonito, we had Jacara, or in Eniglish it is known as the Caiman Alligator, served two different ways, grilled and in a soup. Both very tasty. We also planned all our excursions Thursday night. Friday we woke up early to head to a cave called the Gruta do Lago Azul. It was absolutely magnificant! We had the first tour of the day, whiuch is the best. The early morning sun shines right into the cave and illuminates the water in the lake! Early morning is the o=nly time of day you can see the water so clear and brillant. The excursion took about 2 hours to hike in and view the cave a several different points and hike out! That afternoon we went to a farm called a Fazenda, had lunch and relaxed before our next hike to several different water falls. That night we decided to try piranha and a different local fish. On Saturday we snorkeled in the Rio da Prata, a crystal clear river. We snorked 2 kilometers and it took about 3 hours. But it was amazing. The fish were huge. You aren't allowed to fish in Bonito, all the rivers are protected but it also makes them very clean and clear. After snorkeling we again went back to the place where we signed in and they too had prepared an azaming lunch followed by some napping in hammocks. Though, we were all very tired we decided to go to a giant sink hole that has become a safe haven for the big Macaws! It was amazing to see them fly by! Saturday was our final night in Bonito and so we wanted to end our trip with experiencing more exotic food. So we had a ;meat from a wild boar and capybara(which is part of the rat family, but much larger, similar to those rodents in the movie the Princess Bride). Sunday was bitter sweet, we woke up late packed said good bye to our hosts at the hotel and headed to tube down a river. It was cloudy and at first we thought it would have been really cold but it actually made the water feel warmer that it was. Though the tubing trip seemed really quick it was a nice end to our time in Bonito.

Bonito Part 1

2008-11-21T04:20:00.000-08:00

I know some of you are still waiting and waiting and waiting for the update on how the MY Hope broadcast went!!! That is still to come. With a country the size of Brazil follow up takes million times longer, but an update with come soon.

This past week we had Joe's friend from younger years here visting!!! Drake arrived on Wednesday last week and left monday night. We wanted to be able to show Drake as much of Brazil as we could in him time here. With that said, it is very hard to do. Most people don't realize how big Brazil is! It is the size of the continental US. So we decided to rent a car and drive to a place called Bonito! It is 13 hours away and it is near the Pantanal. It truly lived up to it's name, Beautiful! We stayed at a Pousada, which is like a small, simple hotel or resort. The Chale da Bosque, sat at the top of a hill overlooking the small town. Our room was a stone chale or cabin, with a back porch including a hammock. After arriving we decided to take and swim and check out ther rest of the property. It came with it's very own wildlife that called it home too. In an old tree stump, a family of tucan's lived. Along with Macaws flying around.

Excitement!

2008-11-12T02:15:00.000-08:00

Ah, I was finally able to add pictures from the wedding we attended

Their are just so many exciting things going on right now, and I have no time to post them so I hope you will have patience with us for now and we promise to update everyone on everything SOON! Like next week when the madness slows! Today Joe is driving for the first time in Sao Paulo traffic (yikes) and I can't go with to help him navigate because I am teaching this afternoon, I moved all my classes around so we could head out of town super early tomorrow morning! Joe's best friend from Davidson flys in today and we are taking him to a place called Bonito, the name literally means beautiful! Our friend Jeremy who works with us here and Drake and Sadaysha will all be making the trek with us. But just to give you a little something to enjoy, Joe and I attended our first Brazilian wedding two weeks ago. It was very interesting. They had 4 pastors and a friend all speak, ALL of the family walks in the pressional and I mean ALL like 2nd cousins twice removed ALL. And their is no respect for the sanctity of it. Everyone in the pews were carrying on with their own conversations in a normal tone of voice. Very Odd to me. But it was beautiful and we always enjoy getting to experience the culture! Enjoy the pictures of us at the wedding! Ok so for some reason blogspot won't let me post the pictures so I will post them later, same with the spellcheck button so sorry!

My Hope Broadcast!

2008-11-03T14:50:00.000-08:00

Hey all! We just wanted to let you all know that this is the big week! We've been working for 12 months so that this Thursday, Friday and Saturday the My Hope broadcast would be on national TV at 9:00 at night. There are over 50,000 churches involved and we expect a national audience of about 10 million, just from the churches that are mobilized. They will be inviting their friends, family, and neighbors over to their homes to watch the broadcast, to see testimonies and music videos that show what Jesus did on the cross for us.

Would you please join us in prayer for this huge week for Brazil?

We'll keep you posted on how everything went next week!

Two Weeks Flew By!

2008-10-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
The past two weeks really did fly by, I don't even know where to start...I guess with last weekend. On Sunday Joe and I accompanied two of his friends from work to the Brazilian National Air Force air show. It took way to long to get there, but once we were their we had fun. Like an American air show they display the planes and some of them you can get in. It was slightly depressing to see the state of some of the planes considered the best Brazil has to offer. I am beginning to understand why the US spends so much money on yearly maintenance. So of them really just needed a new coat of paint. But they do the same tricks and fly by's.

The Best Brazil has to offer

The nicest vehicle their were the Harley Davidson Police Motorcycles

Apparently we didn't get any pictures of the planes that were pretty beat up, and not from combat.
But it was still alot of fun!

This past week was a blur and then this weekend Joe was sick all weekend with a virus or the flu(neither doctor's can do anything for) So we stayed home and watched movies. We borrowed two really great classics from my friend Karen. I would recommend renting both! The first was, To Catch A Thief, a Hitchcoch thriller,but not freaky Hitchcock. It was good, suspensful. It has Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in it. It was filled in 1955.

The second was, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, filmed in 1939. Directed by Frank Capra and has James Stewart in it. It too was just realy good. I hope you enjoy them.

We also watched the first DVD of the Planet Earth series from BBC. That too was amazing, God is so creative! How were your weekends?

Italian Stallion

2008-10-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

So to start off, my wife is a way better blogger than me. Sorry! Well it’s been a crazy couple weeks for me…but not without its perks. I got back last week from a 4 day trip to Italy to interview Kaka! He’s was named by FIFA as the best player of 2007, and by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Awesome! Kaka is a Christian and he’s sharing his story of how he chose to follow Christ on the programs that are airing in just three weeks.

So it was definitely awesome to head to Milan and meet him. He’s playing currently for the soccer team AC Milan, and also for the Brazilian national team.

And of course, if you’re traveling to Europe, you have to stop and smell the roses. On the way there in flew through Lisbon, but my flight was delayed so I missed my connection. As a result I had a 7 hour layover! But I definitely didn’t care, because I made the most of it by taking a bus to the city center. I toured historic Lisbon, a castle, and a 12th century cathedral! Inside the cathedral they also had excavated parts of a Roman road and sewer system dating back to the 1st century! Once again, awesome!

Once we got to Milan we did the interview on Friday. We spent about two hours with Kaka inside the San Siro Stadium in Milan, and inside the team’s dressing room. Very cool. Saturday we shot some video around Milan and got to see the city. Gorgeous cathedrals and another large castle are mixed in with the relatively commercial/business feel of the city. The streets and buildings are gorgeous, and I don’t think I’d mind living there!

My quilt

2008-10-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the construction of my quilt. I am still working on the border and then the actual quilting process begins! This past week I also learned how to dye fabric. And I promise Joe will post soon about Italy.

What a "Whopper"

2008-10-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you know Joe recently took a business trip to Italy and are waiting on an update from that and also many of you have asked for an update with pictures on the status of my quilt. This topic takes great precedence over both! For those of you who work hard and celebrate with fast food for lunch everyday may not know the excitement behind being able to go to Burger King. Burger King's logo is "Have it your way", So last night hoped on a bus, rode for 20 minutes and got off for the best burger I have had in 10 months or more. We met up with 4 friends, two of who are Brazilians. Something else you need to know is that Brazilians LOVE beef! It is a subject of pride here. We are always asked two questions here, How do you like Brazil? and Do you like our meat? So Back to BK, Joe and I step up to the counter order 1 whopper with cheese, extra pickles(huge for me, they are imported in from the US), and Joe orders a double whopper with cheese. We both get the standard combo, fries with a soda. Next one of the guys Joe works with here steps up and orders a whopper with seven patties and a small drink. We get to the table sit down and he unwraps his septa-whopper. After we all stare for a minute at its massive size especially sitting next to a normal whopper. He even finished it off before most of us even finish our own burgers! Needless to say it was delicious.

Weekend fun and New Hobbies

2008-09-29T05:16:00.000-07:00

First I will tell you about my new hobby...Quilting! It has been proven to be alot of fun. When I was young I would sit with my Great Grandmother as she would sew. She was amazing at it. She could take something we were wearing turn it into a pattern and then make it. Last year when Joe and I moved to Uruguay a good friend of ours named Toni began to teach me some of the basics of sewing and quilting. Then when we moved to Sao Paulo, I met Sue! Sue has moved my desire to learn to quilt into a reality. I am currently finishing my first Sampler quilt, a sampler quilt is a quilt where ever block is different, each block uses a different technique or method and so you learn to do it all while making it.
So on Saturday, Joe and I, along with many of the ladies that are a part of my quilting group went to the "Gaudi House". Named after an arcitect from Spain whose style was very similar. Estevao, the owner of the home has spent the last 23 years creating this masterpeice and it still working on it. We had so much fun, the home has many differnt levels and different ways to get up to the roof, I can only compare it to cave exploration. Last year the BBC wrote an article about him and his house. You can read it at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7016930.stm.

Quilting pictures coming soon!

Protective Frustrations

2008-09-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

In the past couple of weeks I learned about a couple of things that annoy me but are in place for my own protection. The first is American Express. We love the points we get with our American Airlines American Express card, and it helps keep us from getting taken because of the protections in place. But they have a glitch in their computer system. Every month the special notes on our account are cleared out....So the special note saying we live outside the US gets erased every month. So We get the privilege of calling them from Brazil every month because our card gets marked as suspicion of theft by AmX's LP department. So I have gotten so accustom to the questions that I can answer them before they ask. During a current travel trip Joe and I were responsible for several hotel rooms and food for a team of people. We we went ahead and called AmX ahead of time to let the know we would have several charges at different places. The hotel clerk entered the wrong expiration date and thus starting the problem, he ran it again and of course that blocked all charges. I called them back 45 minutes after talking to them the first time. Answered all their questions and explained hoe embarrassing it is to be standing with a group of people who expect for everything to be already taken care of. The nice lady on the phone explained what happened and that it is a computer service that blocks all charges at that point, and they only do it for our protection. I wanted to tell them to stop protecting us so much, but then realized the minute I said that my card would have been stolen. So we are appreciative for their protection, even though it can be frustrating! The second occurrence of frustration is at the bank we use in Brazil to pay our bills. Because robberies are so common in Brazil all banks have security guards with machine guns. But they also have a revolving door that everyone has to use and it has a metal detector connected to it. So for people like me who are always moving about the city with a backpack on which has random paper clips and change stuffed in all crevasses, I always get stuck in the revolving door and then you have back out and try again after about three tries their are others waiting to get and my blood pressure is rising. The object is that I put my backpack in a cubby hole outside the bank that doesn't lock. I don't think so. Instead I wait for a bank manager to override the machine and let me in. What are some of your protective frustrations?

Sweet 16 at 25

2008-09-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had an amazing birthday!!!!!!! It started with waking up and getting a few minutes of quality time with my hubby, and then off to teach at 7:30. From there I headed to bible study where I was met with so many warm welcomes and a beautiful cake and of course the birthday song! It was a really relaxed day and rather enjoyable! Last night was little cold, actually really cold, so not cute summer dress for me. But once I was ready in my fun wool Argentinian wrap skirt and pink cashmere sweater, I wanted to get a picture but I had to find the earrings I wanted to wear and Joe kept telling me not to worry about them. I love little bags that come with little boxes and sparkly things inside! Joe took me to an amazing Italian restaurant. We had so much fun, This past week we spent time reminiscing about past birthdays. 16 wasn't anymore exciting than others. I got my driving permit late(I think because of the timing of Driver's Ed) and so I knew I wasn't going to the DMV on my birthday. And I knew what car I was getting, Old White Lightning as some called her. She was an '82' Toyota Corolla with leprosy spots of rust, But a good little car to me. What I do remember is that my best friend Stephanie and her mom walked to my house with a cake, just to sing to me! And thinking back farther, I really only had one other birthday that stood out to me, I was 7 or 8. I got to invite about 10 friends to go to Chi-chi's restaurant in Chicago. I got to where the big sombrero and we had a pinata, I even got a barbie or two. The big surprise last night at the end was the amazing giant snowball cotton candy cake they brought out! Birthdays in Brazil are HUGE, bigger than Christmas. People pay all year just to have big amazing birthdays. So every restaurant does something special. But I could have never dreamed for a more fun birthday cake. Thank you to all who were a part of my special day and to all of you who sent me wonderful greeting! 24 was an amazing year, and I 25 with be just as fun and adventurous! I love you all.

Pollution, and their affects

2008-09-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

This week has been extremely hot to still be winter here. It was 88/90 degrees. Which has felt great during the day! The only problem with it is in the winter it doesn't rain often, so the pollution in the city gets really bad. In the mornings as the sun comes up the sky is very pretty, but in a strange orange nuclear glow kind of way.

For a couple of days now we have had this little gray ladybug living in our apartment. Most people would have put him outside but I felt bad for him because he was gray. I thought that he was gray as a defect from living in a polluted city. But the Internet has proven me wrong! Their are over 5000 different species of ladybugs. This one is just happy in our house.

P.S. This isn't my picture. This one is better.
I also thought I would share one more ironic picture with you.

This isn't me just hating on the Hilton, although I say away from staying there (I'd rather not help expand Paris's shoe collection) But the contrast here is very common for Brazil. You can be in the nicest neighborhood and find the poorest right around the corner.

Weekend Recap

2008-09-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend was really busy for us. Friday started the excitement with an explosion in our kitchen! That is right folks you read right. Some of you know that I love to bake/cook. I made some dough for bagels Friday morning and then had to go to a class, and the dough needed time to rise. SO I prepared the dough, put it in a bowl and then in the oven(it wasn't on) and I left. I got home 3 hours later opened the oven and like a cartoon character my eyes got as big as they possibly could. The dough had risen so much, it overflowed the bowl and went all over the oven. Adding the wonderful activity of cleaning the oven to my already long list of to-do's for that afternoon!(But the bagels were a hit in a country that doesn't know what a bagel is).
This weekend Joe and I had a leadership weekend with our church. We were able to do some team building, make some good decisions for the future and good of the church. We were able to get to know each other better and have some great fellowship. We also got to meet and hang out with some of the staff from Christian Associates. They all had so many interesting and thought provoking and faith strengthening things to say. On Sunday we all went out to an Artisan Fair type of area and then headed to church where two more joined us! Our dear friends from Uruguay, Matt and Toni Daniels! We had so much fun catching up with them!

The Mott's in Rio de Janiero

2008-09-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

This past week Joe and I were in Rio de Janiero! It was so much fun. Though the week was spent working, we were still able to see the major sights (from a distance). It has a much different feel to it than Sao Paulo. It is pretty, and the constant breeze coming off the ocean helps to clear out any pollution. The week consisted on filming 3 testimonies and a music video, which also included the recording of the music video also. In all it was a very productive trip, almost all of the production for the broadcast is finished. Their is still a lot to be done, editing and training, etc. Please keep praying for the office and the broadcast as it is quickly approaching! Enjoy the pictures.

Us in Copacabana.

The cultural differences when ordering fried fish( I never thought it would come with the head, tail, fins and eyes).

The famous Christo.

The music video shoot with Grammy winner Aline Barros.

Attack of the Termites!

2008-08-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are already cringing, it is gross. We learned this week that when termites or "Cupins" in Portuguese hatch in the spring they have wings and are ready to mate. One evening this week, while I was making dinner we had our windows and doors open to get the nice breeze. But of course the sun was already going down and so we also had the lights on. Joe had gone upstairs to change out of his work clothes and when he can down he went into the living/dining room, and immediately made and shrill that I know as the "disgusting noise". Meaning something has just creeped him out, so I turn the corner from the kitchen to see what he is looking at, the reason behind his noise. I then made the same noise upon seeing hundreds on these little big winged bugs swarming around the light above our dinner table, the one we were going to be eating at in a few minutes. So as more of these things start moving in and taking over all the light fixtures in the house, Joe and I try to figure out how to get rid of them! So we decide(still not knowing what they are)to turn off all the lights(which really just makes them settle to the floor) and turn on the porch light to attract them outside. We then closed all the windows and doors, turned the lights back on and decided to smash the stragglers. Luckily we got out the majority the first time. But then learned when you swat at them, their wings fall off and the land on you. Hopefully you can picture the chaos. We eventually killed them all and we able to eat dinner(which I burned since my attention was elsewhere). Luckily for us Cupin mating season only lasted a few days! So what's buzzing around in your house?

Pastor Encouragement

2008-08-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

OK...So part of Joe/Our job is to encourage pastors through out the project. Sometimes that looks like us going to their church, other times it just means making a phone call. Last night we went to a Methodist church in an area called Butanta. It is a very poor neighborhood, also known as a favela. They can be dangerous, but mostly to an American who stands out like a clown in a chorus line, it was just scary. The taxi driver that took us was using a GPS to guide his way. After winding down several roads they GPS said we had reached our destination! We looked around and first you notice the dancing that looks similar to that of a college frat party and then you notice the beer cans. I looked at Joe and said "If this is a church, I'm not getting out of the car". So Joe tells the cab driver to go forward a little so everyone at the party would stop staring at us. Then we realize that the number address was different and so we turned around we up the street, through the party (again) and then found the church nestled on the corner of a hilly street.
Experiences like last night are so humbling! The people of this church we so friendly and had such great faith! After the pastor finished describing the project and asked who in the congregation would like to participate, 12 out of 30 members stood up! Which is an amazing percentage of participation! God will truly bless this little church...
And a quick prayer update, the broadcast will take place on November 6,7,8 at 9:00pm on Banderantes TV. Please pray for the people who will watch the program as well as Matthews who invite them!

Sorry for the silence

2008-08-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, Welcome Back! Sorry for the silence. For a quick recap/defense arguement. Beginning the end of June we were held in the U.S. slightly against our will for 6 weeks. Techniquely speaking we came home to renew our visa's. We were very confident that nothing would go wrong, so we sent them off to D.C. through a passport service, and headed to the beach with my family. Upon returning to Charlotte, we learned that we were denied for "jurisdiction issues". Meaning since Joe's last residence was Virginia and mine was North Carolina, so on paper we look like a married couple that don't live in the same state. So the next week we made the 7 hour drive to DC to turn them in, in person...because we were told if we turned them in ourselves they had to service us. So we drove up and drove right back. Not in our case. After waiting our 4 days we drove back to D.C. to find out we were still denied for the same reason and now they want an FBI fingerprint clearance form. My first question was how do we get that? After too many details to explain and two weeks of waiting we finally recieved our FBI clearance...A sheet with a non special stamp that said "no arrests on record". Duh, I could have told them that. Anyway we went back to good friends at the car rental company to pick up our 3rd car in 3 weeks, and headed to Atlanta. Why Atlanta this time? While we waited for the FBI papers we changed Joe's residency to NC. So now we were both listed as from the same address as our "perminent" address. Atlanta was such a different experience. The people were nicer, the experience was easier and their was a one day turn around! So crossing our fingers and saying our prayers we went back the next afternoon, AND WERE HANDED VISA's!!!! To those of you were able see it was wonderful, and we wish we could have seen everyone! So now we are back in the normalcy of Latin Life in Sao Paulo.

Colonel Mustard in the Library with the candlestick?

2008-06-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Could it be....no, just my wonderful husband in the living room with a hanger and a hot dog cooking dinner! For those of you who assume that because it is called SOUTH America it can't possible ever be cold, you are wrong. They have winter too. And finally it has gotten cold enough to use our fireplace. We had a wonderful picnic one evening this week...Hot dogs, mac and cheese, steamed broccoli all set out on our living room rug in front of our fire. One silly thing about Sao Paulo is the weather is very unpredictable and everyone will tell you that you can have all four seasons in one day...or at least all in one week, which did happen this week. Monday and Tuesday were freezing (low 40's) and then Wednesday was a little warmer, and then Thursday and Friday we were back to the high 70's. An interesting side note about the way construction is done here is everything is made out of concrete and central heating and air don't exist even though it gets hot enough and cold enough that it should. So when you get a couple of really cold days it cools down the apartment and traps it in, so many times we have to open up all the windows and doors on the warm days to allow the apartment to warm up again. This picture below is just a quick recap from last year on how cold it really got in Uruguay! And for those of you who can't tell what I'm wearing, I have on a t-shirt, a long john turtleneck, a heavy wool turtleneck sweater, a polartec fleece jacket, and a wind repellent shell, a wool scarf and gloves, a fleece ear protector, my hood and a blanket on top of that, all to ride a bus to a little colonial town and we still froze! But we still loved it!

Lights, Camera, Sing!

2008-06-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

This past week was super busy for us. So much so that most of it is a blur. But one of the more exciting events was Joe helped shoot/produce a music video, and I got to tag along and keep the singers wives company! I guess I always assumed that to shoot a music video you started from the beginning of a song and sang it all the way to the end. Nope, it is chopped up into sections and different parts of the video are done at different times and different locations. They started the shooting process early on Wednesday at a studio designed to look like the inside of a house, with a baby grand piano(I didn't participate on Wednesday.) But I did on Thursday...We went to the beach to shoot. The day started with the alarm going off at 3:30am...yeah I know, Early. We hopped into the van, grabbed the rest of the people going and met up with the camera crew. After the two hour trek to the beach, the camera crew immediately starting dragging generators, lights and a jig(a crane arm that you mount the camera on, this is how they get really cool sweeping shots) out on a string of rocks surrounded by the ocean, that we used as our stage. Technically speaking we filmed two videos at once, one in English and the same song in Portuguese. The song was originally sung in Spanish by Ricardo Rodriguez, he himself sang it in English this past week and then Paulo Baruk sang the Portuguese version. All in all it was an amazing experience. Both couples, singers and their wives were interesting to get to know and spend time with.

Suffering for the Lord

2008-06-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

Recently a terrible thing happened in the Mott household. I (Joe) was being a good husband and washing the dishes after dinner. It was a quiet evening. Music was playing in the background. All was well until the coffee pot slipped in my hand and cracked! Tragedy was brewing. Joe without coffee is like...well I’m not really sure. There's no analogy to properly describe what would happen without a coffee.

My loving wife suggested, as if it was no big deal, "Well, we'll just get another one when we go back to the states at the end of the month." She smiled. Apparently she thought this was a viable solution. She must have thought, "it'll be good for him to cut down on the coffee for a little while.”

I looked at my wife with a confused expression. "That's a month away," I reasoned, "You want to just not have coffee for a whole month?" The caffeine headaches seemed to already be arriving. In the back of my mind, I began to worry about the future of my marriage. After all, for her to just flippantly think it's no big deal not to have coffee, clearly shows a lack of understanding in our relationship.

Now you must understand. In the US we would simply by another coffee pot the next day at Wal-Mart. We'd spend 15 bucks, and it'd be no big deal. However for some odd reason, certain things have obscene prices here in Brazil. A 15 dollar coffee pot, runs for a good 45 dollars here. And I just have issues with paying 45 dollars for a piece of plastic, that doesn't even heat the coffee up to a respectable temperature.

Long story short…my wife, while not personally affected by this tragedy, out of the love of her heart hunted for the cure to my problems. This picture shows the short-term solution. That's right; the missionaries are suffering in the third-world country. Have pity on us. Life is hard. ;)

Silly Brazilians

2008-05-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Two very interesting things have happened in the past week. The first, happened last Thursday, which was holiday and so neither of us worked. We woke up late, had just gotten our coffee and were headed to sit on the porch. I look out and see this giant hot air balloon looking thing falling from the sky. All week I asked around about it, and basically everyone said that I was seeing things, except I got a picture of it.

Ok, so after watching this balao as the Portuguese call them, they are gang related and completely illegal. They are fueled by alcohol and fire connected to a fuse. At the end of the fuse, are a bunch of firecrackers. So, the gangs launch these and send them towards the airport, but ours got a little off track.

The second interesting event happened last night, from our apartment we overlook a large road that also leads to the football(soccer) stadium where their was a big game last night. Our dinner was interrupted by fireworks and singing/chanting, and when we looked outside we saw a long line of traffic and the drivers waving huge flags...and everyone thinks tailgaters are crazy: listen to this.

Passion World Tour

2008-05-26T04:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Joe and I were able to attend the Passion World Tour stop here in Sao Paulo! With David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin and Francis Chan and Louis Giglio. It was AMAZING! Living in Brazil, it was so refreshing and revitalizing to worship with American bands and speakers as well as getting to meet a lot of other Americans who are also living in Brazil . And for those of you who are thinking what makes this any more special than the times you have seen David Crowder Band and Chris Tomlin...we got to hear them attempting Portuguese (pretty funny), but an amazing gift to give to the Brazilians, they loved it! You can see pictures from the Friday and Saturday on http://www.268blog.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!

Welcome to Brazil

2008-05-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

Recently, we were able to head to the U.S. for about 10 days to celebrate Joe's sister Jenn's graduation. When we have the chance to come home, our time goes by so quickly and their is always so much to do and so many people we try to see! Needless to say we run out of time before we ever come close to accomplishing it all! So if you are someone we didn't get to spend time with we apologize and promise it wasn't because we didn't want to. One of the common questions we received was HOW ARE YOU?!?! And we realized we haven't been as faithful about sending our update emails as we were last year in Uruguay. Life in Sao Paulo is so fast paced. But really trying to narrow down what is going on in our lives, and have it all fit in an update email was really hard. We just had so much to say, but trying to pick and choose the more important things was impossible. SOOOO...of course we said nothing, like the smart, logical couple we are. And thus the birth of our blog!!!!!
So we say Welcome into our life in Brazil!!!!