Did you change your socks?
Sunday - August 3, 1997 10:22pm 81 degrees 70% calm
Friends & Family,
How many sundays ago was it that we last sent an update? There were only a few vacant chairs tonight and our worship service went well. Several first time visitors came with Dalvinha; she was thrilled.
Francisco and Miriam (youngest church couple - expecting a baby in December) have to move out of the place they are renting. Sooo, we have been working like mad getting Caninde's (26 year old fellow in the church) little one room house ready for them to rent. He is giving it to them at half the rent they were paying in order to help them get a place of their own one day soon. Miriam will have to quit work in a few months, so their goal is to trim the budget as much as they can. Unfortunately, they have had to spend over 50% of their meager income on housing (I know what Larry Burket would say about that...)
Tonight we recited Psalm 139:1-12 Jessica was the only child who memorized it; she is a blessing when we least expect it. During the next six weeks we will work on the last half of the chapter. Everybody is invited to participate and at the end of the memorization time we recite it in the Sunday Worship Service.
We will fill you in on the sound system and its instalation very soon. KEN for the Stuckys.
Sub Floor Down
Monday - August 4th - Tomorrow is our 8th wedding aniversery...
Friends & Family,
What a weekend! Thursday I had class at 6pm and then church prayer time at church (every other week it is in the home of one of the Christians). These times always end well after 9pm. We were delighted to have no mosquitos since last week we were in Ed's home down by the river and it was an evening with no breeze... They were so thick we could hardly see the light bulbs; 23 people squeezed in their 12 X 16 foot living room; and then there was birthday cake afterwards celebrating Edicelio's 25th.
Moving on to Friday: we had four young people over for pizza and then we played
Phase 10 which take hours if you play it clear to the end... Lori won and I took 5th
place of seven players. We have the church people over on Fridays on a rotation
basis; it is good fellowship and we get to know
them more all the time.
Saturday we got up at 6:30 (Eric, my cousin from Seattle and I) to go put up the wood frame for Caninde's roof. Francisco & Miriam are so excited about moving in that they can hardly wait. A one ton truck is reserved for Thursday after work when they will move their things. Anyway, by noon on Saturday, we were sore, tired but releived to have done a job well. In the afternoon, Caninde and several friends put up the tiles. At 7pm we had youth group which was a social time this week with swimming, volley ball, ping pong & 40 minutes of sing and share time. I asked each youth to give a word of advice/wisdom to the group, pretending that they were leaving for 3 years and would not be able to see their friends for all that time. We got some interesting and even some Biblical answers.
Sunday bright and early (6:15) I was up cleaning the back porch for Men's Prayer Breakfast which we have the first Sunday of every month. Each fellow (all married and unmarried men from age 12 to 99) brought something to share; these breakfasts start at 7:15. Sunday school follows at 9am and then the guys came over for some intense volleyball at 3pm. Six thirty is prayer time and Seven the Evening Worship Service.
And after that, we got to wake up to Monday (oh yes, there were classes to teach, lessons to prepare and discipleship lessons to administer inbetween). This week, our #1 goal is to get the Francisco family moved. Today we poured the whole concrete sub floor and so tomorrow the doors will be installed and plumbing put into the walls. Hopefully within a week, the water company will make it out to do the hook up. Electricity is wired to the house but we have a few lights to put up. Miriam has the dream of having a sink with running water! Wow! What things we take for granted...
Church baby...
Saturday 8:30pm August 9, 1997
Friends & Family,
Friday nights are reserved for having guests over for pizza. Lori makes a mean double layer job which usually fills you up on two pieces. This is thick stuff; somewhere close to 4 inches! By 5pm I had not gotten anybody invited; the week was a heavy one as we have been pushing to get the sound board running from the rear of the church and also getting Francisco & Miriam moved in (tomorrow I will write more, but they are moved and excited to be in)... So we decided that this Friday we would just recover from the week; as I was swallowing the last bite of my second piece, the phone rang and it was Gessiedna - having pains and no one to take her to the hospital, so I swung by Nevinhas (her best friend who won her to the Lord) and then by her house and took them to the Maternity Hospital (you don't have babies in just any kind of hospital in Brazil). Her Dr was out of town so the sub came in and checked her out. So far they are attempting to put off the delivery for 2 or 3 more weeks and medication is helping. So there you have it, no baby yet, but our church will grow one way or another sooner or later...
Praise God with me for excellent opportunities Francisco's move has brought. This afternoon I witnessed for 40 minutes to a couple (Caninde's brother and sister in law - Caninde is the owner of the tiny house we just finished building). He believes that when you die that is the end; she tells him that he needs to read the Bible more; he says that is was written by men - I shared with them and am praying that the Holy Spirit does a mighty work.
Tomorrow we will be videoing the worship service and there will be a couple of special numbers. We also just got invited to eat dinner with one of the power families of the city. (They own a number of businesses and we have taken little steps in sharing Christ with them over the past four years - I have been praying for this invitation for some time...)
Eric has one more week with us and so we are racing the clock to finish some projects. Oclervio (23 year old University student) is in charge of the Youth program this whole month; we are gratefull for this help in a busy time with my folks gone on furlough. They are 25% done with their travels and we are eager to have them home; they are also counting the weeks. All for now - Ken
Urgent - premie is fragile
9pm Wednesday - August 27 - hot & dry
Friends & Family,
Now is the time for you to help; pray for a little girl named Luana who was born Sunday afternoon. Her mother is Edna, a faithful member of our church, who struggled with high blood pressure since half way into her pregnancy. The baby was born at 7 months and weighed 1,300 grams and is now at about 1,100; this is less than 2.5 lbs!!
Edna is on medication; her pressure is still bouncing off the clouds; last reading was 230 over 170! The baby is in danger but is home with her; pray that we and the doctors would have wisdom in guiding Edna and her unsaved husband (Marcos) through these days.
Growing by leaps and bounds... Gesiedna also had a little girl (Marina) one week ago now. They just arrived home and are in pretty good condition. Our church will grow one way or another; time to add a nursery department I guess...
Thanks for your interest in our wild schedule; time to sign off; I have a 7 am class tomorrow. KEN for the Stuckys
JESSICA's corner:
Daddy, can we have some apples off our tree? Honey, we don't have an apple tree. Oh yes we do, apples with sugar on them. Not that I know of, Jessica. Daddy, it is out by the Baptist tree... Now I was really drawing a blank. She said, the one that looks like it has been off to a war. You know, the pinha tree, daddy. Then it all came together for me. Pinha is Portuguese for Sugar Apple; it seems to have been "through the war" because I did a severe pruning job on it; the "Baptist tree" turns out to be the small concrete tank that we use dual purpose for soaking in warm water and for having our church baptisms every 3 months. You have to really wonder what goes on in that overactive mind.
Luana update
11:20 am Saturday August 30th
Friends & Family,
Some of you have written wondering about baby Luana. She now weighs 1,050 gramms which is 2.3 pounds... Not a big thing, but seems to be stabalizing. Her mother, Edna has gotten her blood pressure under control and seems to be more composed. Marcos (Luana's unsaved father) is a skinny fellow and loosing weight himself. Pray that his heart will be sensitive to The Lord's Truth. We have had repeated opportunity to share with them and to befriend and help them these days. Today is a big fund raising event at church planned for the purpose of gathering money to buy chairs for the church. Pray that we will do effective evangelism during the afternoon; it lasts from 3pm to 7pm our time which is two hours off from Central USA time and 4 hours off from Pacific (like in Washington, California etc.) time. Soooo, as you eat lunch, remember us. If the letter gets to you late, pray for our recovery and of course for baby Luana who is about the size off your two hands end to end... KEN
Stop by our web site and see the new counter at the bottom; this way you can tell you are not the only one checking in. I was just there and registered as number 10. I was never a 10 before!!!
Successfull Sale!
Monday 2:55 pm - September 1, 1997
Friends & Family,
We had asked you to pray about the all church fund raiser... As we wrapped things up at 7 pm Saturday, total proceeds came to R$214.00 which is about US$200.00 - this is roughly equivalent to what two adults would make working for minimum wage for one month in Brazil. It was declared a success by all and very good exposure for the Church - one lady came to me and asked how to become a member of the church; she lives only two blocks away and had never visited our church. I suggested that a good place to start would be to attend our Sunday Worship service and get to know the church.
Several kids from the youth group put on an evangelistic skit every 45 minutes and handed out tracts. Donated treats were sold and kept even the men interested in the event. Quite a few items were not sold and we later realized that the fair was held one week before most people's PAY DAY; soooo, it looks like the first weekend of November might be a follow up event.
Baby Luana was at 1,050 grams on Saturday; Sunday was a crises and Lori spent nearly the whole day with mother Edna and Mrs. Alzenira (Luana's grandmother who is trying to hold things together over there). I was Mr. Mom and got the family to Sunday School 15 minutes late but fully clothed. This morning, Lori weighed Luana in at 1,090 grams; Lori searched the city for 24 hour pharmacies and came up with a better pump for extracting milk for the tiny baby (her grandmother affectionately calls the baby a little rat?@$ :0) oh well!)
Ken for the Stuckys
Luana - two weeks
Sunday 11 pm - September 7th, Brazil's independence day...
Friends & Family,
Luana has been in the hospital for 5 days now. She spent the bulk of this time on oxygen and is just today been gradually taken off. Her little heart stopped about 15 times during this these days and we have some concern with regard to brain damage. Please pray that we will be able to assist Edna and Marcos and continue to pray for his salvation.
There are reasons to be encouraged, but the whole situation is considerably draining for all of us. Today was the equivalent of July 4 in the USA and we had a full house for the evening worship service. A lady asked that I go to her home tomorrow to sit down and discuss her need for Assurance of salvation; this is from a church background where the ups and downs are considered saved/unsaved time in the spiritual walk. Pray that I will be able to help Ana Cleide allow the Lord to remove these doubts and restore a confident joy to her life.
Ron & Ranelle (my bro and his wife) and our family are heading out on a work vacation. Tuesday morning early we will take off on a 10 hour trip south to Maceio where we will be involved in some physical work and a youth event with fellow missionaries. We will be connected to then net, so keep those e-messages rolling. Luana's family appreciates your interest and prayers for them in their trial.
God bless you; have a good week. KEN
JESSICA's CORNER:
Jessica...Daddy, you look really sad.
ME........Well, I am so tired, Jessica, I need someone to rub my feet.
Jessica...ok, I can do dat; here (so for about 11 seconds she did - then she was
suddenly distracted by a new idea) Daddy, I can do two tings at one time both.
(she climbed on her chair and got a book down) See, I can read and rub your feet
both at one time.
ME........That's pretty nice. (she managed to adjust the book to look at it and rub
my feet for about 5 seconds and then she said...)
Jessica...Here daddy (handing me the book) you read it; den we can do two tings
all at one time, see? I told you we could do two tings at one time.
ME........This is working pretty well, Jessica.
Jessica...(she lifted my feet off of her lap and put them on the chair) See daddy,
you can put your feet on the chair and read the book; I know you could do it
daddy, two tings all at one time. You are really smart daddy...
One Kilo and 350 grams
September 20 - Saturday
Friends & Family,
Luana is finally getting the treatment she needed all along. In an incubator and with a tube through her nose she has now grown past her birth weight. Keep praying for endurance as the family has many days to spend at the hospital; praise the Lord that the service they are getting now is free. The last hospital sent them a bill for $2,200.00!! They make about $350 a month so you can see this is a huge mountain for them. They have contacted their land lord so as to move out of their house since they can't afford it and they are considering selling their furniture and other wedding gifts. Pray that we will have wisdom in helping them and pray for funds to pay these bills.
In general, Luana is gaining and is now nearly one month old. They expect her to stay in the hospital for another month.
Our trip to Maceio was successfull despite a delay on materials for the porch project. The Maher's home is used weekly in their ministry, so were were delighted to have a small impact on their ability to minister to the young people from their youth group. Thanks for uplifting us in prayer as we carry on the work here - KEN
JESSICA's CORNER: As Jessica & I got out of the shower, she said, Daddy, I am cold. So I told her to run in place to warm up which I promptly demonstrated to her great pleasure. She said, Daddy, stop, stop, you are shaking the whole house and it will break all to pieces. Now at this point, I was NOT laughing; remember our house is built of concrete and doesn't shake and rattle like houses made of wood... Time for a diet! I wish I could give a few pounds to Luana!
103.8 degrees
Monday - September 29 - 8:30 a.m.
Friends & Family,
Wow, there is lots to write, but I will give you just a few high/low lights.
Yesterday (Sunday) was intense for me as I was putting the finishing touches on the Sunday message. Several small crises popped up to distract me from my studies. There are three or four interpersonal conflicts going on among church members. Pray that I will wisely handle these and that we will grow closer as the friction is rubbed out of these situation. This afternoon I will be dealing with the biggest of these and appreciate your support.
Striving to faithfully represent the King and you, our supporters - KEN
Jessica's Corner: You know what? No, what? I am needin a little intention, that's what. And not only that, Daddy, I could use some lovin too. Well, I big hug and some kisses took care of that problem. Come to think of it, beings she is a semi-independent half grown up 4 year old, it is easy to neglect Jessica, giving the bulk of the "intention" to the fully dependent 10 month old.
PS Topping off our week, we spent two sleepless nights checking Alicia's temperature repeatedly and cooling her off with a damp rag and doses of Tylenol. We think she is finally getting teeth; the high was 103.8 degrees which caused concern.
On the road again
October 8, 1997 9:30 a.m. 87 degrees
Friends & Family,
As mentioned last week, Monday was intense preparation for Tuesday's Regional Holiday. Seventy-five people from church including 35 children came over to swim, play volleyball, eat cake and visit with one another. Following the afternoon of recreation, all church members were invited back to our place for a wiener roast, acerola juice and macaroni salad. After the meal, we discussed the church's future; a challenge was given to the members to walk in daily fellowship with God and each other, resolving conflict swiftly and biblically.
Wednesday was crash day; we left town, the door bell and the phone. Friends who live an hours drive into the bush had us to their place. Thursday morning I was up at 4 a.m. and caught the 5 o'clock bus for Fortaleza where I had mission meetings and church business to take care oft. When getting to Fortaleza, I experienced something new called Moto-taxi; it ranks as one of the quickest most modern ways to get to Heaven! In trying to save a few bucks, I climbed on the back of a Honda 125cc with a maniac who weaved in and out and used his foot to get slowed down when coming to stoplights. At least I did get there early for my meeting!
Then there was business downtown and car shopping with my brother Ron. He has spent about 50% of the past 3 months in the shop with his loaner car; they came to the conclusion that it was indeed time to take the plunge. Our search was rewarded with a good deal on a Chevy Cavalier equivalent. After a few purchases and checking up on the fiber glasser who is working on church chairs, Ron ran me out to the main highway just in time to flag down the 7:15 for home. I even got to sit down most of the way and Lori picked me up at the station in Mossoro - home by 11 p.m.
This week I'm gone again doing research with our camp building team. I am looking into a possible all concrete construction to save cost and maintenance. The first stop will be in Limoeiro where a church is being planted - it is 5 hours away from Mossoro; this part of the trip is cross country on the back of truck as I am taking some concrete forms for their building project). Maybe some great sermon illustrations will come to me while I am bouncing along...
Baby Luana is finally home. Pray with us for His supply for the hospital bill; if you know of a group or Sunday school class able to gather a small offering and letter of support, please send it to Harry Isaac at: 108 East 10th Ave, Hutchinson, KS 67501-6232 Luana is now nursing regularly and slowing gaining weight; Praise the Lord for her improvement.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK - KEN for the Stuckys
Getting Older
Oct. 17, 1997 - 9 a.m. - 83 degrees 74%
Friends & Family,
Serious travel for me. It began w/ a 5 hour trek across a wilderness on a 1960 something Chevy truck converted into a people mover of sorts. After spending the bulk of the day bouncing along, I arrived at the next missionary station 60 miles away. Had I taken the bus, I would have circled around on paved road taking about 7 hours on two busses going about 250 miles, costing $12 instead of the $5 truck ride. If there is a NEXT time, I'll go that rout!
In Limoeiro (truck ride destination) I joined Bill Graf who is my partner in researching the building of a new camp. Bill showed me the building site of their new church and we exchanged construction ideas. At 11 we headed for bed and I asked Bill what time we would pull out toward Juazeiro where we would study an all concrete style of construction; he said, "whenever I wake up." He awoke at 2:15 and we were on the road by 3 a.m., ouch! Eighteen hours later (900 km of medium road) we were back in Limoeiro; we had toured a Bible College, a Bible camp and been shown various buildings made of our proposed "all concrete" construction. We were beat. We brought back the primary form which had been used 33 years earlier for making the ceiling panels in some of those buildings! Getting this 16 foot steel form through the police check points on top of Bill's Chevy pickup is another story for another time.
Friday we went another 200+ km into Fortaleza to do business and meet with a 70 year old missionary who had built many concrete panel buildings. Many questions were answered regarding the structural and technical aspects of assembling these buildings. Cost, speed and low maintenance are the strong suits; it looks like our best option for the camp so far.
Meanwhile, I was dropped off out on the main highway to wait for the next bus; I forgot that it was Friday night and that all the busses would be full. My body ached from riding on the back of truck and pickup and two sleepless nights. The first 7 busses that I stopped had no room or refused to sell me a ticket. Finally at 7:30 (2 hours after dark; I had been waiting since 6 p.m.) a sleeper came through and they sold me a ticket for a relaxing air conditioned ride home for the same price as the common bus ticket (they usually cost double)! Lori had left the house to pick me up just as I arrived in Mossoro - I have no idea how she figured I would be getting home at slightly after 11 p.m. (I had not talked with her for over 24 hours) - getting home is great except I discovered that they had been out of water since I had left home, oh well.
I know, I know - these updates are getting too long. If you read them anyway, make sure to drop us a note of encouragement about once a month.
LATER - KEN for the family
Did she swim?
October 27, 1997 - 11:20 a.m. - Monday
Friends & Family,
Clouds have brought a reprieve and the heat has been slightly less intense. The winds, however, are still strong (the hardest winds I have seen in Mossoro in 5 years) causing dust to fly. We are in the process of changing our Venetian shutter windows for glass which should reduce the dust indoors; we are also gradually enclosing and insulating a wing of the house for future Air Conditioning.
Christmas Program Practice is in full swing; we have 8 more practices until the 21st of December; we will have a repeat presentation on Christmas Eve which is on Wednesday. Last year, 250 people came to see the Christmas Story; our goal for this year is 400. As in the USA, this is one of the few times of the year that some people go to church.
On the 14th of November we expect the elder Stuckys to return from their 5 month furlough; Dad & Mom have had safe travels in the States, but are eager to get back into the swing of things down here on the field. We have missed them and Jessica is especially excited about them getting home. October was another month of construction; Reriton who is our assistant pastor is slowly preparing his future place of residence. He has been building a wall around his lot for security: in October we built a 3,000 gallon underground water tank. This tank provides a reserve of water for construction and later for the whole house. We are glad to be done; we carried hundreds of gallons of water to the building site in barrels in the trunk of our car.
Progress is being made on preparing several young men to be deacons. We expect about 4 fellows to be ready for installation in this office by the first of January; I will keep you informed as to the progress. Please pray that this will alleviate some of the demand on the pastoral staff making it possible for us to dedicate ourselves more to the teaching aspects of ministry.
Baby Luana is growing every day; I stopped by her place last night after church at 10 p.m. We thank the Lord for his provision so far as several of our supporters have offered to help offset the costs of her long hospital stay; Edna & Marcos send their deepest feelings of gratitude - continue to pray for his salvation.
From MOSSORO - Ken, Lori, Jessica & Alicia STUCKY
Jessica Corner: After being considerably naughty the other day, Jessica was disallowed to go swimming (one of her favorite things to do in the warm weather). I told her that she needed to take time out to think about being good. After a few minutes she came to me and said, "Daddy, I am all done tinking good tings and werry good toughts." I said, "good". She said, "I really am all done, daddy." I said, "great, honey". She said, "I tinked dem so werry werry much dat my head hurted." I said, "oh, what should we do?" She said, "I tink dat a swim would help..." What a manipulator! If you want to know whether or not she got to go swimming, write and ask...
What goes down must get up!
November 3, 1997 12 noon
Friends & Family,
It was an amazing week with three hard falls for me. I seldom fall, but the first spill was on slick tile and I cracked my ankle hard on the floor; black and blue. Second was the most serious; I was down in a pit working on the water pump for our house. Upon climbing out of the 3 foot hole, I lost my ballance and fell back in with a crowbar in my armpit. It did not break the skin, but left a very long bruise. My salvation was busting my right knee into the cistern stopping me just short of where the crow bar would have punctured my pit. Now I was down two out of joint fingers, 3 slices on my left hand, one badly scraped knee, a very tender ankle and a seriously bruised left side and arm pit. Still trying to solve the water problems, I came around the corner of the house at 10pm and stepped on a pack of 15 half inch water pipes; these pipes being very round decided to roll and I hit the concrete hard with my right hip; I knew that padding was for something. Lori has not let me use anything more leathal than a typical tooth brush since then. For example, circular saw, drills, hand routers, welder, chop saw and the Kitchen Aid are all off limits untill she sees some improvement.
We had a good weekend; several unsaved visitors came including a young couple for whom we have been praying. Everybody who prayed was surprised they came - sounds like the prayer meeting long ago for Paul's release...
In two hours we are off to Fortaleza for meetings, business and much much more. Pray for safety; I have not heard if Lori is going to let me drive or not. We will be leaving the car in Fortaleza for my folks to drive home with all their international baggage as they are expected to arrive in 10 days. Pray for unity among our youth and that they would be willing to follow the church leadership in some recent decisions. GOD BLESS - KEN
Peter NOT Paul!
Friday November 7, 1997
Family & Friends,
Hey, only one person wrote back saying they had caught my error in the last Friends & Family letter. I said: "We had a good weekend; several unsaved visitors came including a young couple for whom we have been praying. Everybody who prayed was surprised they came - sounds like the prayer meeting long ago for Paul's release..." Well, as you know, it was indeed Peter who was in prison.
We made it back from Fortaleza on the bus ok except for a fussy baby who was too tired to be good and too stuborn to sleep. The natives gave lots of advice as to what might be her problem... When we got home, however, the we discovered that the freezer door had been slightly open for 4 days. Fortuantaly, we defrosted immediately and were able to save almost everything. Expect a normal update after the weekend. Pray for our special music night tomorrow (Saturday). IN HIM - KEN for the Stuckys
dangerous zipper
Monday, November 10, 1997
Family & Friends,
The count down to the Christmas program is now at six weeks! Play practice is going well and the Choir will have a mini-retreat next Saturday - a Brazilian Holiday. We are pushing everybody to learn their parts early so that we don't have the last minute rush. Because of the good turn out last year, we are scheduling two showings to reach more people with the Gospel Message this year.
We spent last week in Fortaleza performing mission duties with meetings etc. Ken also did a course on fiber glassing; the church will be building fiberglass chairs for the auditorium - we plan to do the work all volunteer with the men of the church. The $500 spent in developing a form and two prototypes will begin to pay off now that we can start producing chairs for the church.
Ken's folks are in Houston, TX packing up for their flight tomorrow. They are excited about getting home and we are eager to have them back; this give us an occasional break from parenting and it also provides them the pleasure of grand parenting. Having the full leadership team here also is a boost for the work in general.
We welcome several new Friends to our Friends & Family updates. Make sure to check out our home page. There are a couple of dark pictures of Baby Luana who is now almost three months old. She was a preemie born to church member Edna. We are still witnessing to her daddy Marcos who has only a little interest in the Lord. A special thanks goes to our friends at Monmouth Church south of Fresno who sent a generous gift to help pay Luana's hospital bill. Less than $500 is lacking to get the bills all taken care of.
Maybe you were shocked to hear of the various dangers Ken faced last week, well, check out the "Jessica Corner" to hear about the lethal zipper! Ken is recovering just fine though...
IN HIM - Ken, Lori, Jessica & Alicia
JESSICA's CORNER:
me - why are you crying?
Jes - whaaaaaa
me - what is all that blood on your face?
Jes - the zipper gotted me!
me - what? how? where?
Jes - I was trying to zip up Alicia's bag so that the stuff wouldn't fall out
me - and you had your mouth down in the bag?
Jes - no, the bag jumpted up and gotted my lip!
me - you need to be more careful!
Jes - I was being more careful, it jus gotted me werry fast wen I wasn't looking...
Carnal?
November 18, 1997
Friends & Family,
They have arrived (Ken's folks) and enjoy time with the Grandchildren as we had hoped. Lori smells relief ahead in the area of music accompaniment at church; she has singlehandedly covered for the past 4 months - and cared for Alicia simultaneously!
The Christmas Season is approaching; program practice is progressing. We are getting props in order and organizing the sound equipment, invitations and arrangements for having enough chairs for our visitors. The children are learning their parts, the young people are memorizing their drama and the choir just survived an all afternoon practice gearing up with 8 special numbers.
The heat has been intense and the dust had been extraordinarily thick; we have not seen winds this strong in five years! Even thoughts of the coming rainy season are refreshing; the family takes almost daily dips in the tank out back; we have also had others over to enjoy the cool water with us. Acerola Cherry's are blooming and there will be fruit in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas both; these take the place of cranberries - having grown up in Brazil I never understand the big deal about cranberries anyway...
Baby Luana along with her parents have moved back to their own place; their landlady graciously gave them 2 months rent free making it possible for them to keep the house while they were in the hospital and recovering at Edna's mother's place. The adjustment is very difficult with a fragile baby who cries much, but they are working through it. We praise the Lord for Baby Luana's growing strength and we thank those of you who have generously helped with her hospital bills; if you are interested, it is not too late to be a blessing to this family financially.
On the horizon is a baptism service, communion, members meeting, adults
gathering, youth evangelism night, more Christmas Program practice, a fund raiser
event for church chairs, ladies tea, planning meetings for the new year, staff
meetings weekly and all of the regular things that keep us
hopping.
THANKS FOR PRAYING FOR US; Write when you can - Ken for the Stuckys
JESSICA CORNER: Some words are a challenge for Jessica...
Long Week
November 23, 1997
Friends & Family,
I guess it happens to everybody now and then; after a long week you look back and can't remember what you did. It seems like you gave it your best and yet nothing stands out as having been much of an accomplishment, you know what I mean? In fact I was talking to Lori on Thursday about early retirement...
Oh yes, there is the normal; several church families who don't have water cisterns have been out of water for a week now. Now that's something to talk about! Four years ago when I was digging a huge hole in the deep red, rock hard clay 8 feet down - the neighbors considered me a modern day Noah in reverse. Well, guess how many times the 8,000 gallon cistern has saved us - to say nothing about all the neighbors who have borrowed water during times when the city wells were being repaired. Lets call this God's gift of "Wise Planning" 4 years back.
Another blessing: almost 5 years we embarked on the adventure of parenthood. In a highly permissive Brazilian society and with America not far behind, we had determined to rear ours in as consistent and Biblical a way as possible. We often feel it is a lonely road; many people discourage us and even accuse us of extremism and intolerance. This week Dr. Genivan (he owns several businesses in town) called me into his office; it turns out we had shared Brazilian Father's with his family at his place 4 months ago and he was wanting to discuss the topic of??? PARENTING! His first grandson was recently born and he is wanting to advise his son with regard to parenting; our example in 3 short hours at his home that Sunday stood out in his mind. Wow! Somebody does notice!
Three of our Acerola Trees are loaded with blossoms now; it won't be long... The mango tree drops fruit every day; with a wire basket on a stick we pick the ripest mangos to save them from the fall. Lori has made lots of mango butter (sort of a jam) and we drink mango juice every day. All that along with mango salad, mango cobbler, mango smoothy, mango ice cream... I think you get the picture.
An enjoyable Thanks Giving to everybody - Ken, Lori, Jessica & Alicia
What a STINK!
December 2, 1997
Friends & Family,
What a privilege! I get to write this time. I think it is because Ken is too bushed to sit at the computer and get his fingers moving. This past weekend was quite a big one for us. Saturday night we had our second Member's Meeting in our home with about 45 in attendance. Our goal is to get the members to see that being part of the Body has some great privileges. But as with anything that has privileges, there are also responsibilities. Being part of a local church means plugging into ministry as God has equipped with spiritual gifts and other abilities!
Sunday night was Music night. The fifth Sunday of the month (about once every 3 months) has a music emphases. This time we gave our mixer (part of that donated sound system you heard about several months ago) it's first real workout. I have even started to tape background music (that we are producing on the computer) on to video tape since our cassette audio deck failed; it was a stab in the dark, but turned out some pretty good quality sound!
Yesterday we received word that my grandpa (my dad's dad) passed away. It seems strange to know that I won't see him on earth again, but we are rejoicing that he is with the Lord. While explaining to Jessica that Great Grandpa went to be with Jesus, she decided that she wanted to make Jesus the Ruler of her life. She has already told me that she is ready to tell everyone at church on Sunday.
Today, Monday, Ken & his dad had the opportunity to sing the gospel with several hundred people at a kindergarten graduation. They sang "Everybody Ought to Know" in English & Portuguese. The "first lady" of Mossoro (our mayor is a lady) was present at the celebration. Ken had the opportunity to meet her and two city councilmen one of which is a Christian.
I am almost drowning in Christmas program practice, choir practice and scenery building. I look forward to the relief of being done late Christmas Eve, but we are also eager to share the Christmas Story with the many first time visitors who will attend at our two showings. That is what makes it all worth it!
For the Stuckys - Love, Lori
PS What bad smell you ask? Well, we found and removed late last week one dead snake. It was behind our bed... Uggg
Extermination
Tuesday - December 9th, 1997
Family & Friends,
Nothing spectacular to report this week. But, we are on the count down with 12 days to go until the first showing of our Spectacular Christmas Program. Bringing together over 35 people to present the Gospel through drama, chorus and Child Recitation is a big job. I am sure that Lori will not volunteer again for a few years. The biggest addition this year is the use of computer generated trax to accompany the choir!
Alicia had a quiet first birthday (last Friday - Dec. 5th); Jessica was far more excited about it than the honored little lady herself. We had a special desert and Jessica enjoyed Alicia's present from Grandma. Alicia's specialties are walking on all fours (note that there is considerable difference from crawling) and finding rocks, sand and dirt (these skills she has developed by watching her big sister). She was almost elected to the city government to manage its cleaning department...
Dust is at an all time high! After wiping off the counter top, it takes only 2.5 hours to have sufficient accumulations for name writing! This is no fun; it makes us even more eager for rainy season to come.
One blessing this weekend was to see Antonia (mother of three) present the Bible story in Sunday School opening. This was her first time and she was very nervous, but it was a testimony of God's grace. Her husband, Lindomar, was sitting in the third row smiling and encouraging her all the way. You might not remember that Lindomar was the same man who emphatically prohibited her from being baptized only 3 years ago; God is Good!
From the field - Ken for the Stuckys
Jessica's Corner: Many times, Lori & I have instructed Jessica to not take sand box material out of the sand box and to not fill buckets of with dirt, rocks, cement powder, or anything remotely resembling sand. Well, when I arrived home for lunch after a long all morning staff meeting, I found a trail of sand all along the foundation of the house and down the sidewalk. Having called Jessica, I asked if she know what it was all about; she said it was from her sand box - appropriate discipline was administered and later I held her as she sobbingly told me, "Daddy, there were so many ants in the house and I wanted them to eat the sand and die..."
Is Life really a BEACH?
Monday - December 15, 1997
Friends & Family,
Two main events made for a productive weekend! Saturday the church held a "garage sale" (these don't exist in Northeast Brazil) and raised $350 paying off the last of the construction supplies we used in January to complete the church roof. This has been hanging over our heads (pun intended) for almost a year and it is a tremendous relief to once again be able to look toward needed improvements. Most or the church members are poor, but even so, a few are learning the blessings of giving. Pray that we will teach this principle effectively.
Event number TWO was last night's baptism service! Four young men and a lady publicly gave their testimonies and identified with Christ through baptism. There were over a dozen visitors who heard the gospel and many of them promised to come back to the Christmas Program next Sunday night. We have begun inviting people already and have the goal of bringing in 400 people total to the two showings of the program. Last year, 250 squeezed in so we are expanding to reach more people with a program of multiple dramas and 9 choir numbers. (I am personally praying that 4 of these 400 will mark this event as a turning point in their lives.)
Pray for endurance as we are heavily loaded down these closing days of 1997. We have plans for several days off early in January; we are determined to teach several church members to become "ministers," carrying together with us the load of work & service for 1998 and beyond. Pray for wisdom in developing this kind of church members.
Yours for Christ in Brazil - Ken, Lori, Jessica & Alicia
ALICIA'S CORNER: It has been said that "Life is a beach," but I have come to realize that "Life is a swing." Let me explain: yesterday I took Alicia outside while Lori busily finished getting supper ready, gathered materials for Sunday night music and baking a pie for my Dad's birthday. As I was washing and filling the outdoor baptistry, Alicia stood up and started walking (something she usually only does when nobody is looking). Her target was Jessica's tree swing. When she got there (several feet away), Alicia started pushing little by little until it slipped over her head and went swinging behind her. Wondering where the swing had gone, she was suddenly struck from behind adding to her bewilderment. This knocked her over to sit on a hill of ants adding significantly to her confusion. Alicia's experience corresponds to the, "Getting kicked when you are down" principle that adults face almost every day. Sooooooo, I affirm to you, "Life is a Swing!"
PS NEEDED - 5 new one percent sponsors; this is how it works. The sponsor agrees to take on 1% of our monthly support ($31) and then gets in return blessing from 100% of the fruit of our mission in Mossoro. Pretty good deal, right? If you have never supported a missionary personally or if you are interested in sponsoring the work in Mossoro, write for further details.
Do they DRINK?
December 22, 1997
Family & Friends,
How sore can your fingers get? Friday and Saturday all day! I held a crash session to finish the wiring in time for the Christmas program. Lights for the drama stage, lights for the choir, house lights, narrator lights, sound board lighting and outlets all over. Fans to plug in, switches to install, 110 & 220 volts to deal with, circuit breakers - you name it! My fingers were so tender I could hardly shake hands with the guests who attended the Christmas Program.
On Sunday morning we had our dress rehearsal and then washed the church down with a 1.5 inch hose; we brought in borrowed chairs and were able to scrounge up 115 total. About 4 p.m. a very strong wind began to blow and we got our first half inch of rain for the season - some tiles from the church and our house were blown off, but nobody got hurt.
Then there was the electricity; in true Christmas style it went off, on, off, on, off and thankfully back on again. I think that the uncertainty of the rains and electricity kept some people home, but there were many first timers visiting. We had 135 people instead of the 200 we aimed for, but we presented the Gospel in the best way we know how. Pray for continuing results from the message which was spoken, sung and acted through drama. Wednesday night we have our second/last performance and we do expect over 200 at that one. Next week we will fill you in on how it goes; please pray.
Trivia for the week - these are the longest days of the year for us down under; it is now 6:19 p.m. and there is still a faint glow in the west. In June, it is pitch dark by a quarter to six.
STILL TO COME IN 1997:
Then we crash for a few days of long awaited time off. January holds Church Business meetings, Mission Business meetings, Staff planning and the normal full church program. Pray that we will lead His Church effectively into 1998.
Yours for Mossoro - Ken, Lori, Jessica & Alicia
JESSICA's CORNER: How about those stars in North America, do they drink? The other night I was out swimming with Jessica after dark - it was a special treat. She said, "Daddy, can you stand back? I need to splash some water up to the stars for them to drink..." I quizzed her on this one and she promptly pointed out a few stars which were not dehydrated; sure enough, they were brighter than the rest and twinkling away. It's amazing what you can learn from a four year old!
Program Let Down
Christmas Day 1997
Friends & Family,
I am human and must let you know that the low attendance was a blow. We worked very hard and did our best for the Lord, but a number of factors figured in to the equasion making for a smaller group than last year (and this was with two showings!) Today is, however, the first day of the rest of our lives and we are moving ahead. Saturday night we have a very important member's meeting in which we are hoping to begin working through some dissatisfaction and confusion that is taking place among church members. Pray that we will have wisdom in guiding the church family into a close fellowship and unity one with another.
Some people we have been working on for a long time did come to the Christmas program; pray that the gospel they heard will begin softening their hearts. Praise the Lord with us for the time off which we are desparately needing which is coming up very soon. We are running hard untill the 31st, then there is some slack in our schedule.
Lori is monitoring the progress of Miriam's labor; she is having contractions about every 5 to 8 minutes. In a couple of days we will let you know the details. Many (maybe most) Brazilian men do not go to the delivery room with their wives; Lori has promised to acompany Miriam (her first baby) and has given her birthing classes over the past months - preparation for giving birth is something non-existant in Mossoro. Having a baby is something that happens to you in this culture; most babies come C-section...
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE STUCKYS TO YOU! Ken for us 4
PS 86 degrees; we just came in from an afternoon swim.
Bestest Fruit Cake ever...
Dec. 29, 1997 w/ office AC on for 2 hours - it is down to 85 degrees
Dear F & F,
Baby Marilia Helen was born at 10 p.m. on Christmas day and as I promised, she came by C-section. The tragedy of a culture with no preparation for giving birth; 75-80% of hospital births are by surgery. The baby's head was crowned; she was so close, but mommy gave up. They are home and Miriam is recovering nicely. Francisco (proud daddy) has shooed away neighbors and relatives trying to give the baby everything from Turtle Shell Tea to who knows what. I was there this morning helping him fit the bathroom door to its frame; I held the baby who has more hair than I do.
Remember Baby Luana? She is 4 months and growing normally. Continue to pray regarding possible brain damage resulting from the times her little heart and lungs stopped. At our first Christmas Program showing, Marcos (her unsaved daddy) brought Edna; they enjoyed the presentation. This was their first time to church in 4 months! As they left, Marcos said, "see you on Wednesday" - the 2nd showing. Unfortunately he had to work, but he came after the program to pick up his wife. This is a consolation to the disappointment of a small audience.
Did you pray about the Member's Meeting Saturday? Not a pleasant time, but necessary just the same. Basically, the youth resent the adults; they spilled their thoughts about how things should be. Some think the youth group should not have an adult sponsor; others think that the youth should have a church key to come and go as they please; others think the church staff doesn't care about the youth. One fellow announced that he is leaving the church and another exhorted the body to be as Christ - humble. We are thankful these things came to light; pray for wise handling of delicate issues. The flip side is that some Christians are learning to minister to one another with encouragement, comfort and fellowship. One young couple is systematically inviting everybody from church over to their home for a meal.
I preached a record breaking short message last night - 28 minutes. Having promised to be short, everybody agreed to sit in the front 2/3 of the church; it was a service like none we have ever had. Some visuals also helped relay the story of John 4 - my title was "Frustrated Dreams." I suppose that in the whole Bible, there may not be anybody who had been through more relational pain than this woman who failed at 5 different marriages. The transformation in her life, however, brought many to Jesus.
Thanks for reading about what God is doing in Mossoro. Jot us your suggestions as to how we can better inform you of His work here.
LOVE - THE STUCKYS
JESSICA's CORNER: Keeping the Christmas theme, I shall tell you about Fruit Cake. Lori spent Christmas day running w/ Miriam & Francisco as the baby approached. Sooo, Lori wanted to make it up to us and got out a prize mix of Angel Food cake, saved for such an occasion. Jessica and I munched on left overs - then I cut generous slices of the cake for each of us. She nibbled a bit and then took a bigger bite and then gulped the rest in a flash. She looked up at me and said, "Daddy, this is the bestest FRUIT CAKE that I ever eated." I squinted at her and only later realized that the little green & red speckles which came in this particular box cake reminded her of the dead fruit Lori puts into her Fruit Cakes. Not being a master of the art of Fruit Cake appreciation, I have to agree w/ Jessica; it had been indeed the "bestest Fruit Cake ever..."