empty

Mar, '04 #17

Greetings from the desert floods:

This letter is overdue and longer than usual. You can always stop in the middle with a "To be continued…" Much of the delay is because Brazilian customs held my computer for almost 6 weeks. Two days ago it came and the letter’s on it’s way. (And one day ago part of it went up in smoke!)
We are quite happy with our new location and house* and the boys have adjusted well to the return - MUCH better than last time after a whole year away. Though the time there was short, they were not untouched by their time in modern America. When Greyson was asked where Jesus was born, he responded "In the Manger-dot-com". We were glad that the boys got to see some good snow, though I hear the really good ones came later. For the first month the temperature here was around 85 and the humidity 85-95%.
There are kids on our street the boys age and they enjoy playing in the trees*, riding bikes* and wandering the scrubland* across the street. I also have the grassy yard I always wanted, but no mower. I’ve been using a swing blade so much that my forearms are starting to look like Popeye’s. If I played golf, Tiger Woods would soon have some serious competition. Even so, the weeds in the back yard are so high I fear the government will annex them and make them a National Forest.
The return trip was interesting. When Michele’s Mom mentioned coming down with us, I thought of going early to get the car and house ready and the in-laws could help Michele come with the boys. A furloughing missionary friend offered to come down with me and help me.
The plan went like this: Pete (the friend) and I would leave on Jan. 6 from different airports and meet in Sao Paulo, fly together to Fortaleza and get a cab to the Mission school. We would bus that night to Bahia. Working around a retreat for the deaf starting the 9th, we would prepare and move into the house and make sure the car was ready for the 15 hour trip to Fortaleza to get Michele and the boys and her folks. A week or so later we would drive back to Fortaleza to speak in a conference at the last church where we worked and see our visitors off to the US.
But that would be too easy… First I missed my plane. A small adjustable wrench I’d carried for years suddenly became a deadly weapon (though I could find nothing "sharp or pointed" on it). I later barely escaped with some screwdriver bits. . . But more on that in another letter.
Anyway, the more they paged me the slower the Gestapo inspector seemed to go, though I had just been through the same booth 3 minutes earlier. When I got to the counter the plane was there but the door was closed and they wouldn’t let me on. I needed to make my Brazil flight or Pete would be stuck at the airport. The best they could do was Ft. Lauderdale and I’d have to get a taxi to Miami from there. After some checking around I took it. I barely made the Brazil flight and my luggage didn’t (in spite of several promises to the contrary). Since my luggage went through customs without me there to explain its contents or pay taxes some items were retained and others sent. They would not be released for almost 6 weeks - even after paying an import tax.
We arrived in Fortaleza late and I was not able to get documents for either car, nor were we able to get bus tickets to Bahia for that night. The deaf retreat had been postponed so once we got there we only had to worry with getting the house and car ready. Storage* is always hard on things. The list of offenders is long: roaches, rats, roads, rust, rain, rot, rough movers, dust, mold, dry rot, hardening, yellowing, scorpions, -- oh, yes, and a hive of honey bees*. If it wasn’t damaged by the move it wasn’t worth anything to start with. Fortunately, though everything suffers in a move, most of our stuff is already so beat up we couldn’t tell the difference.
The house* had been occupied and was clean and well maintained though we later discovered some inconvenient roof leaks. I had a triple bunk bed* made for the boys and we placed the furniture in the various rooms. I must have done OK because few changes have been made - though Michele has punched enough nail holes to sink a battleship. I also had the fridge and a couple of other things painted. This improved some items while others weren’t broken until someone fixed them. Little by little we are getting things into shape as we are able. Some things get more priority - like the sofa. I’ve never slept on a bed of nails, but it can’t be much worse than sitting on a cane couch without cushions.
The car* was a disappointment. Over the years I had slowly worked out most of the bugs . While on furlough I left it in a shop to do the semi-annual rust removal and some repairs and hoped to return to a trust-worthy vehicle. Now the bugs are back along with their extended family. One "bug" was the fuel gauge which reads full even when you’ve run out on the side of the road 20 miles from a gas station at the beginning of a long trip with a car full of people who got up too early. I pretended to go for fuel, but was really fleeing for my life. When the time came to go to Fortaleza to get the others, I didn’t feel it wise to take the truck so I decided to bus them down. Tickets were still scarce and I got the last seats available. This extra time let us take care of a few more major tasks and house and car were usable by the time everyone arrived.
We live near the heart of the northeast. With only 12 - 15 inches of rain it is a semi-arid desert with only thorny bushes and cactuses (cacti?) for vegetation. The rains started late this year, arriving about the same time as we did. Just after our visitors left the rains hit hard dumping close to 40" in a few days. Two bridges were out, diverting us to another road on the way back from Fortaleza. It may have been far out of our way, but at least the road was worse! After 10 hours of driving we were only 250 miles from the start. The day after we arrived back home, 50+ yards of the road into town washed* away as did many streets in the main city nearby. One week later, the only remaining highway north to Fortaleza was washed out and all traffic - buses, trucks and cars - was stranded for over a week. Most of the rains passed slightly north of us and on the other side of the major river so we were not directly affected much except for the plagues of frogs, flies, mosquitoes and potholes. Some of the holes are so deep that the other day I was sure I saw a Chinaman peeking through from the other side. The boys caught tadpoles and watched them grow into frogs. Greyson loves to catch toads and put them under the bed "to eat mosquitoes". Ironically the river is low. The dam* reduced the amount of water allowed by to help with the flooding, so here close by it is down from "normal".
Transition into the ministries here is going well. The small numbers at church is not for a lack of trying on their part. There are 6 days in February that don’t have a church or visitation service. Carnival retreat at the island camp was cancelled. This was especially disappointing, as traditionally it is the largest of the year. Our new colleagues are going to great lengths to help us get settled in and learn our way around 3 new towns and numerous ministries.
Though there were many advantages to our short furlough, we regret that we didn’t get to see and do all we wanted. We were unable to visit many - I guess you’ll just have to come see us!
On a more somber note, a pastor here has passed away after a year of fighting a brain tumor. He was well liked and respected, and leaves a wife and 2 boys. Because of the condition of the post-flood roads and the requirement that he be buried that day, many friends and immediate relatives were unable to come to the funeral. Even so, there may have been as many as 500 present. A group from a former church 6 hours away came but delayed the start by almost 2 hours. Please pray with us for all involved.
We are sending prayer cards in this mailing. Some already have one, but postal bulk requirements dictate that all letters must be the same. There are new pictures on our web site - www.theAthas.org. If you didn’t receive an e-mail telling you a prayer letter was coming, you’re not on the e-mail list. If you’d like to be added, send an e-mail to that effect to bwaii@yahoo.com. Our internet is long distance so replies may not be immediate, but we will answer. We may be reached by phone at: 55 74 538-1777 or regular mail at:

Byron and Michele Atha
Rua Araras, 12
Vila Santana
48925 Sobradinho, BA
Brazil S.A.

Yours in Him

Byron, Michele, William, Dalton and Greyson Atha

* pictured on the website


	Greetings from the desert floods: This letter is overdue and longer than usual. You can always stop in the middle with a "To be continued…" Much of the delay is because Brazilian customs held my computer for almost 6 weeks. Two days ago it came and the letter’s on it’s way. (And one day ago part of it went up in smoke!) We are quite happy with our new location and house* and the boys have adjusted well to the return - MUCH better than last time after a whole year away. Though the time there was short, they were not untouched by their time in modern America. When Greyson was asked where Jesus was born, he responded "In the Manger-dot-com". We were glad that the boys got to see some good snow, though I hear the really good ones came later. For the first month the temperature here was around 85 and the humidity 85-95%. There are kids on our street the boys age and they enjoy playing in the trees, riding bikes and wandering the scrubland* across the street. I also have the grassy yard I always wanted, but no mower. I’ve been using a swing blade so much that my forearms are starting to look like Popeye’s. If I played golf, Tiger Woods would soon have some serious competition. Even so, the weeds in the back yard are so high I fear the government will annex them and make them a National Forest. The return trip was interesting. When Michele’s Mom mentioned coming down with us, I thought of going early to get the car and house ready and the in-laws could help Michele come with the boys. A furloughing missionary friend offered to come down with me and help me. The plan went like this: Pete (the friend) and I would leave on Jan. 6 from different airports and meet in Sao Paulo, fly together to Fortaleza and get a cab to the Mission school. We would bus that night to Bahia. Working around a retreat for the deaf starting the 9th, we would prepare and move into the house and make sure the car was ready for the 15 hour trip to Fortaleza to get Michele and the boys and her folks. A week or so later we would drive back to Fortaleza to speak in a conference at the last church where we worked and see our visitors off to the US. But that would be too easy… First I missed my plane. A small adjustable wrench I’d carried for years suddenly became a deadly weapon (though I could find nothing "sharp or pointed" on it). I later barely escaped with some screwdriver bits. . . But more on that in another letter. Anyway, the more they paged me the slower the Gestapo inspector seemed to go, though I had just been through the same booth 3 minutes earlier. When I got to the counter the plane was there but the door was closed and they wouldn’t let me on. I needed to make my Brazil flight or Pete would be stuck at the airport. The best they could do was Ft. Lauderdale and I’d have to get a taxi to Miami from there. After some checking around I took it. I barely made the Brazil flight and my luggage didn’t (in spite of several promises to the contrary). Since my luggage went through customs without me there to explain its contents or pay taxes some items were retained and others sent. They would not be released for almost 6 weeks - even after paying an import tax. We arrived in Fortaleza late and I was not able to get documents for either car, nor were we able to get bus tickets to Bahia for that night. The deaf retreat had been postponed so once we got there we only had to worry with getting the house and car ready. Storage* is always hard on things. The list of offenders is long: roaches, rats, roads, rust, rain, rot, rough movers, dust, mold, dry rot, hardening, yellowing, scorpions, -- oh, yes, and a hive of honey bees. If it wasn’t damaged by the move it wasn’t worth anything to start with. Fortunately, though everything suffers in a move, most of our stuff is already so beat up we couldn’t tell the difference. The house had been occupied and was clean and well maintained though we later discovered some inconvenient roof leaks. I had a triple bunk bed* made for the boys and we placed the furniture in the various rooms. I must have done OK because few changes have been made - though Michele has punched enough nail holes to sink a battleship. I also had the fridge and a couple of other things painted. This improved some items while others weren’t broken until someone fixed them. Little by little we are getting things into shape as we are able. Some things get more priority - like the sofa. I’ve never slept on a bed of nails, but it can’t be much worse than sitting on a cane couch without cushions. The car* was a disappointment. Over the years I had slowly worked out most of the bugs . While on furlough I left it in a shop to do the semi-annual rust removal and some repairs and hoped to return to a trust-worthy vehicle. Now the bugs are back along with their extended family. One "bug" was the fuel gauge which reads full even when you’ve run out on the side of the road 20 miles from a gas station at the beginning of a long trip with a car full of people who got up too early. I pretended to go for fuel, but was really fleeing for my life. When the time came to go to Fortaleza to get the others, I didn’t feel it wise to take the truck so I decided to bus them down. Tickets were still scarce and I got the last seats available. This extra time let us take care of a few more major tasks and house and car were usable by the time everyone arrived. We live near the heart of the northeast. With only 12 - 15 inches of rain it is a semi-arid desert with only thorny bushes and cactuses (cacti?) for vegetation. The rains started late this year, arriving about the same time as we did. Just after our visitors left the rains hit hard dumping close to 40" in a few days. Two bridges were out, diverting us to another road on the way back from Fortaleza. It may have been far out of our way, but at least the road was worse! After 10 hours of driving we were only 250 miles from the start. The day after we arrived back home, 50+ yards of the road into town washed* away as did many streets in the main city nearby. One week later, the only remaining highway north to Fortaleza was washed out and all traffic - buses, trucks and cars - was stranded for over a week. Most of the rains passed slightly north of us and on the other side of the major river so we were not directly affected much except for the plagues of frogs, flies, mosquitoes and potholes. Some of the holes are so deep that the other day I was sure I saw a Chinaman peeking through from the other side. The boys caught tadpoles and watched them grow into frogs. Greyson loves to catch toads and put them under the bed "to eat mosquitoes". Ironically the river is low. The dam* reduced the amount of water allowed by to help with the flooding, so here close by it is down from "normal". Transition into the ministries here is going well. The small numbers at church is not for a lack of trying on their part. There are 6 days in February that don’t have a church or visitation service. Carnival retreat at the island camp was cancelled. This was especially disappointing, as traditionally it is the largest of the year. Our new colleagues are going to great lengths to help us get settled in and learn our way around 3 new towns and numerous ministries. Though there were many advantages to our short furlough, we regret that we didn’t get to see and do all we wanted. We were unable to visit many - I guess you’ll just have to come see us! On a more somber note, a pastor here has passed away after a year of fighting a brain tumor. He was well liked and respected, and leaves a wife and 2 boys. Because of the condition of the post-flood roads and the requirement that he be buried that day, many friends and immediate relatives were unable to come to the funeral. Even so, there may have been as many as 500 present. A group from a former church 6 hours away came but delayed the start by almost 2 hours. Please pray with us for all involved. We are sending prayer cards in this mailing. Some already have one, but postal bulk requirements dictate that all letters must be the same. There are new pictures on our web site - www.theAthas.org. If you didn’t receive an e-mail telling you a prayer letter was coming, you’re not on the e-mail list. If you’d like to be added, send an e-mail to that effect to bwaii@yahoo.com. Our internet is long distance so replies may not be immediate, but we will answer. We may be reached by phone at: 55 74 538-1777 or regular mail at: Byron and Michele Atha Rua Araras, 12 Vila Santana 48925 Sobradinho, BA Brazil S.A. Yours in Him Byron, Michele, William, Dalton and Greyson Atha * pictured on the website