Grandparents and the ZOO!

What an Incredible Blessing it has been to share our Brasilia experiences with my parents! On of our 'Excursions' was to the Brasilia Zoo! Here are a few pics, that I thought you would like!!! :)

(By the way... I would like it noted FOR THE RECORD that I have posted in a shorter amount of time than a month!! HeeHee!!!)

Happy TURKEY Day!

Happy Thanksgiving, America!!

We pray that you and your families had a Fantastic Thanksgiving day!!!

We certainly THANK YOU for all your support and encouragement! We also THANK the LORD for YOU and what you mean to us!! Thank you so much!!!

We spent today with Mom and Dad and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch with friends from Church, and a new Israeli family. It was very nice! We had our own little international dinner with Brazilians, Israelis, and Americans. All celebrating this day of THANKSGIVING! We had 10 corn seeds that we would throw into the center of the table and say our 'Thanks.' Caleb was very cute, as he was thankful for many things!! :) It was a great day! We hope that you also had a great day with your families or friends.

Of course, we didn't get to see the Thanksgiving day parade, nor will we have a big After Thanksgiving shopping sprees, BUT... all the stores are decorated for Christmas!! AND... we swam in the pool today! How many times can you say that?!?! We swam on Thanksgiving!! It's quite humorous to see Swimming pools, and Santa's next to each other! And Swim Suit racks with Christmas tinsel! We are looking forward to spending our first Christmas in Brazil. You will certainly be in our thoughts and prayers!! :)

We love you dearly!

The Fryars!

SMASH Update!

SMASH is going really great!! We are very happy to see about 25 or so turning out for each SMASH session! Chris has been leading these for the past several times, and been doing a great job! The kids are really responding. We continue to pray that our kids will SEEK Christ in all they do, and have a renewed desire to STUDY the WORD! We also have some kids that do not regularly attend church, and are not saved. We pray that we will be EFFECTIVE Planters, Waterers, and (we pray) Harvesters. All in God's perfect timing... NOT OURS!! Please continue to pray for us and this ministry that we love so much!! Here are a few recent pics from our SMASH gatherings. YES.. CALEB is almost always the STAR of the Show!! :)

Waterfalls!!

We had an awesome oppurtunity to visit some Brasilian waterfalls a few weekends ago. It was a very neat experience! We went with Pastor, Alessandra, the deSilva family, and Laura. Our 'purpose' of the trip was to evaluate this resort for possible SMASH retreat. It was very nice. Chris and the more 'adventurous' folks went on an one hour long hike up the mountain and through the waist high water.

He had a blast!! But was a little nervous before he left - See pic! But at the end, he thought it was really fun, and would do it again!!

Those of us who were less intrested in Adventure, and taking care of the kids (ME!), we took the 'shortcut.' We still had to do some pretty good climbing, and here is Caleb being a little mountain man!! (With his best bud, Nicolas).

At the end of the hiking was a Natural Slide. So we all, myself included, all took a turn on the slide. We slid off with the water into a pool with only waist high water! So you landed in a big pile of MUCK!! Needless to say, we found at least another half a dozen leaves in our swimsuits!! :) But it was fun!! Here is a pic of Laura jumping/sliding.

Much love,

The Water "FALLING" Fryars!! :)

October???

OH DEAR!! It's October already!!! Where in the world did MAY go?? Much less, August and September!!!

We are definitely staying very busy! But we can still see very clearly why God has us here. We are reminded that HE and HE ALONE will sustain us and continue to refresh us as we approach Christmas.

We will not be traveling to the States for Christmas, but Mom and Dad are planning to come here in November. That will be great! If any of you want to come.... COME ON DOWN!!! :)

By the way.... We FINALLY had our first rain! It was so refreshing! It was hard to pull myself off of the front window, while I smelled that FRESH RAIN Smell!! How utterly Refreshing!! It has only rained once, so full 'Rainy Season' hasn't started yet... but it should soon. It's really nice to see more and more clouds filling the sky! We haven't had ANY rain in the past 2 months... I've always loved the smell of rain... but it was a moment of SWEETNESS!! Much Anticipated!!

Caleb is still cute as a button! He is really good at writing his name now! And he's all about some Swimming! This is really a blessing, because last spring, he did NOT want in the water AT ALL! Then he fell in a friend's pool, and I thought that would put him over the edge... but HE LOVES IT NOW!

Chris hasn't burned again like the first time... And he's got a TAN LINE! So that's a great thing!! He's staying busy, but has the office almost on autopilot!! But, he's finding new projects to do every week!

I'm doing good, and getting in my groove with teaching. We have several high schoolers that will be leaving between now and Christmas, so please pray for them. One of my 'Sweet Babies' is leaving very soon (like in less than 2 weeks)! (You know, they are all my Sweet Babies!!!) The kids usually meet these moves with nervous anticipation and worry, but they still have some excitement about them. I still am enjoying teaching... but I get excited when I get to clean up head wounds, assessing Rashes, and bandaging Boo-Boo's! It's the best of both worlds!!! Where else can you clean up nose-bleeds and teach electron configuration!! :) :) :) (OK... I'm a nerd!)

PLEASE, PLEASE email us and let us know how YOU are! We love to hear any news we can from the States!
Thank you for your support, encouragement, and love!
~Beverly

Long Time... No Post!

Hey Guys!! I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to post in forever... but we've been quite busy! We've had a lot going on since we got back here, the first of August, but we did expect it. We are still short 6 staff members! That puts everybody on extra workloads, but everyone has had a great attitude about it, and we have not had any major problems. It's actually been flowing quite well.

I am busy with 8 classes, and our SMASH group, and I am starting on my Master's classes to work towards my teaching certificate. We've been able to balance it well, so far. I am also involved at the church in the children's church, and the Teen Sunday School class. I have started tutoring 'Unofficially' some of the boys in math after school. We are planning to make it a more formal arrangement soon.

Chris is busy in the Business office. Thankfully all the tuition is now payed at the bank, so that has decreased traffic flow, from Parents anyway. He's still daily working on new budgets and trying to map out a way for us to get into a new school facility. He has also been teaching the Adult Sunday School nearly every week. He still has his lunch duty with the little ones, which he loves!!

Caleb is getting cuter by the day, I think! See the pics! The one of him in the pool, is the first time EVER that he has gotten in the pool without me having to hold him!!! The water was COLD, but he had a blast! Of course, Chris and I got sunburned!! Chris was really miserable for several days! It's better now. He loves his new teacher, Ms. Raquel (we pronounce Rachel). She is so great to him and FOR him!! She has a wonderful calm nature about her. He is doing so good! And talking up a Storm! It's just amazing the new things he says everyday! Here he is in his new Batman outfit he got for his Birthday, being silly at school, and a pic of him being silly with his juice box. I told him to put the box lower, so that I could take a picture... well he did!! :)

Overall, we are doing very well!! We are thrilled to be in the middle of ministry and God's plan for us at this time!

Please continue to pray for us! I will try to post more often!! :)

Much Love,
Beverly

Smash is Back in Session!!

We are so excited that SMASH is back in session again!! That is our Youth Group. Last night, we had 22 kids in our house, and 4 adults! We ran out of chairs, food, drinks, and it was WONDERFUL!!! We had a great praise time, and Chris shared a great message, and of course, lots of fellowship! So awesome to see the kids reach out to someone new, and try to make sure everyone feels included! This is not always seen with this age group!! Our kids are so great! It felt very renewing to us to be with the kids in this format again!

Of course, it's always fun getting the kids TO SMASH!! Chris had 6 kids, plus Laura all loaded into our car!! That's 8 people in a 4 door Honda Civic!! Amazing! I'm just glad that there aren't any speed bumps in Asa Sul!! We might have lost the entire undercarriage of the car!! BUT HEY... We said it was a 'Ministry Car' - and that is definitely what we use it for!!! :)

Laura had the kids play "Oreo Hockey" where they have to push the Oreo with their Noses!! It was great fun!! Here's Chris starting his team off!!

Please pray for our ministry with these kids! We love them dearly! I super-charges us to get to fellowship and share God's love with them! Some of them do not know Christ personally!

Thanks for all you love and support!! It is deeply appreciated! We know the 'Kingdom Investment' will NOT go un-returned!!
~Beverly - for the Boys, too!

The Line-Up!!

Well, we are officially into our first week of school! Hump Day in fact! It's been a great week! The new kids are all starting to fit in just fine! No major problems at all! What a JOY it is to be back with them again! We really missed them!

Chris stays busy with his new lunch card duty, which has him in the lunch room with every class! He loves it!! He still enjoys his lunch duty with the little ones! They love him so much! The business office traffic is starting to slow down, so he feels much relief as the school year started very smoothly!

I am teaching the whole day for now. It's going really well, also! Other than the very long time it takes to do lesson plans for 8 classes, I am really enjoying teaching all the kids!! I am teaching 7th grade Math, 8th grade Math, Algebra 1, Geometry, Chemistry, Biology, Public Speaking, and Photography. I'm having a BLAST! The Jr High and Sr High kids are great!

Caleb is doing fantastic! Once again, Elastic Boy, has adjusted to me teaching full time with flying colors!! I try to get him in the car around 3:45 or so, and he sleeps until around 6 on a long day, but some days he has managed quite well with only 30 or 45 minutes! What a Blessing!! We are hoping this continues, and that he won't have to take a nap everyday, but maybe 2 of 3 a week. I know that will come!

We just can't wait to see all the the Lord is going to do this year!! We are so excited about how God is going to show out!! We can all just FEEL IT!!! It's just around the Corner! :)

Thank you for your continued prayers and love! It is vital!! Please pray for the new staff that is coming, and for their VISA's. Pray also for Unity within the staff. I feel that God will do so amazing things with our body of teachers and staff, that we will reap the fruit of it this spring!! That is the promise that I'm holding on to!!

May God bless you and keep you!!
~Beverly - for the Fryar GAGGLE! :)

BACK IN THE SADDLE!

Well... we made it back! All in one piece! No lost luggage, no missed connections or major delays, no blood shed! So, All's Well! :) We had a wonderful Summer visiting everybody and getting to speak English 24/7, even to strangers! It was a great, but very busy summer!

So it's Great to be back Home. Hummm... Home... Odd isn't it! A little strange... so I did what I do when I need to be able to conceptualize a particular word... Yep, Call up Ol' Webster! However, this would usually give me reassurance, however I'm still torn between...

Home: 1 a : one's place of residence 2 : the social unit formed by a family living together 3 a : a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment; also : the focus of one's domestic attention 4 : a place of origin 5 : an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs 6 : the objective in various games

At Home: 1 a: relaxed and comfortable : at ease 2 : in harmony with the surroundings 3 : on familiar ground

So, I am still a little perplexed. The definitions of HOME all fit here in Brazil, except place of origin (and #5 and #6 - although those have fit at times as well! :) ) The AT HOME definitions fit more into our American Home life. However, we are adapting to be able to agree with those as well.

I think our first reaction when we pulled up in our driveway here last Tuesday says it... We pulled up (and after a little exclamation about all the DEAD Grass!! Dry Season!) and were so excited about seeing the house. We stepped in and paused and it seemed as if so much weight was just released from us... We were HOME... AGAIN! So, for now we are Home! I know that may not be easy for our family and loved ones to hear, but this is where God has us... Therefore, it will be HOME for as long as God allows. But we will always be "AT HOME" in the States with all of our Families... Both 'Blood', and 'As Close to Blood as You can be!'

We love all of you Dearly, and we are missing you! We thank you for all the precious time we got to spend, even though it was short!

Much Love,
Beverly - for the whole Crew

We're Leaving On A JET PLANE... (Part 2)

Well... We are now less than 24 hours from getting back on the Big Jet Plane in the Sky!! We have had a WHIRLWIND of a Summer!! We got to see SO SO many people that we LOVE Dearly, but we also know that we DIDN'T get to see some that we LOVE Dearly, also. That is a hard thing! It's difficult to arrange schedules, and to know that someone will always be missed. But we thank you for your understanding!

We THANK ALL of you that opened your homes to us! The Kelley's and the Williams's homes will likely not be the same again! Thank you for your Gracious opening to us! We hope that it has not Steered you away from ever keeping someone again!! :) Just kiddin'! We love Ya'll!

THANKS to everyone for the Hugs and Well Wishes! They are cherished!!

Please PRAY for us as we leave tomorrow (7/30). We will be connecting through Miami and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Brazilian Flights are being delayed, cancelled and some times diverted to another airport. We know there will be some troubles, but we pray that they will be minor. Please continue to pray for the Brazilian air traffic control, and the pilots so that there will be no major problems.

Thank you so much for your love, Prayers, and support! I'll post again when we get back home, and let you know that we made it safe and sound! We hope to see you Next Summer, or before if the Lord allows! (Maybe that means YOU coming to see US!!) :) :)

-Beverly - for the whole Fryar Crew!

Summer Fun!!

Hey! Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, but we've been REALLY REALLY busy! We spent the first 2 weeks we were here at Pre-Field Orientation. They were long days, but we are so thankful for the experience and the information we gained. PLUS... We got to meet all the NEW STAFF that are coming! See how cute they are!! :)

AND... Caleb got to play with SO MANY people! He was playing with new friends and old friends everyday!! Here he is with some of his Favorite Friends, Anita and Mimi. They took him to the Movie that day!

And also at PFO, we got to meet some REALLY spectacular people that will be serving all over the world!!! Here is a picture of our small group from PFO! They are awesome servants of God!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! We head back to Brazil on July 30th.

~The Fryars~

BACK IN THE US!

Well, If you could hear me now, I'd be singing Bruce Springsteen's "BACK IN THE USS...A!!!" Doesn't quite fit as well as USSR... but anyone that was old enough in the 80's, knows what I'm talking about!! We landed in Memphis on Wednesday around 2:15! We were supposed to have landed at 9:20, but as in TRUE BRAZILIAN FORM.... the Air Traffic Control in Rio kept us at the Terminal for 2 extra hours Tuesday night, causing us to miss our connection in Atlanta... but all was not lost, as we quickly found what we had been missing... CHILI'S!!!! We arrived at 2:15 to a great group of loved ones cheering and waving us in! It was so awesome! We are now in Arkansas visiting family and getting some great rest! We'll be back to Southaven on Saturday, and then PFO starts on Monday. Email us and let us know you're contact numbers, so that we can call everybody!!

Much Love,
Beverly - ALIVE AND WELL IN THE USA!!!

We're LEAVING on a JET PLANE....

IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!!! YEAH!!!!!! The closer the time comes, the more excited we are about coming back to the States! We need a break! Although, really for us... it's not really a Break, but continued Ministry and Important Contact. But we are so excited to see everybody. Our calendar is almost completely full, but we know that God will help us meet with everyone that we need to!

So, in less than 24 hours, we'll be in the AIR! YEAH! Please still pray for us, because I have been pretty sickly over the past 2 weeks, and although it is better, the plane could still cause some problems.

And... WE'LL SEE YOU SOON!!!!! :) :) :)

New Pic!

Here's a new pic of us from Graduation, along with a picture of our Graduates.

What a blessing it was to go to a Christian School Graduation!! Although not all of our Graduates were Christian, the entire service including all of the speeches by our Graduates were full of meaning, thoughtfulness, and Praise to our Heavenly Father! It was a very special, very meaningful, and touching ceremony... Unlike any I have ever experienced before. The Kindergarten and 6th Grade also had Graduation ceremonies. It was very special!!

SCHOOL'S OUT!

Well... School is officially out now! We still have some more inservice days to go, but I have to admit it is kinda nice! The last weeks of school was like the Mad Dash to the Finish Line ending up with everyone out of breath, and with strained muscles! It was great though!

Sorry that I have not posted in a while, but our internet has been down, and it takes forever to get someone out here. They came today, so we should be good and set up for a while.

Can't believe that it will be only 10 short days before we get on a plane headed for the States!! Can't wait to see everybody!

Much Love,
Beverly