KernKids on our front porch

The Amazon River is rising – and rising fast! The River is already at a height, which (if attained in years past) generally happened toward the end of June – and here we are only near the end of April! Many are saying that the watermark will surpass the record set in 2009, a mere 80 cm away.

Waves crashing over retaining wall

While this might sound exciting – and it truly is awe-inspiring to feel the mighty Amazon at our doorstep – there is also the aspect of flooding and loss. We ask that you pray for the many Brazilian people along the River who have already been flooded out of a house, and, too, that God might halt the River from rising more and causing further damage.

We are doing well. The end of our school year is rapidly approaching. Our graduating seniors still have plans to finalize in their upcoming transitions back “home.” Pray that they would rest in Christ amid all the change and that they would live out their faith in God as His children.

On June 11, we are scheduled to return to the US for a quick home assignment-furlough until December 29. We look forward to seeing many of you. Drop us a note if we might come by and visit you during our time stateside.

Thank you once again for your partnership with us to see the last tribe reached for Christ in Brazil!

In Christ’s love,

David & Angie, Aaron, Aleah, Dayton, and Derek

PQQ Seniors & Kerns at the Falls

Well, this year Angie & I and our high school seniors did something different – instead of a sneak, we simply had a trip. Generally, the PQQ seniors try to sneak away on their senior trip without anyone else catching them. (When I was a senior at PQQ in 1989, we were caught – much to our chagrin – by my younger brother and his classmates when we tried to sneak – I’m still bitter. ) This year with our seniors, our departure was kind of fun – you know…simply walk down to the boat and zoom off for 5 days of enjoyment together.

In general, our destination (via approx. 15 hours by bus) was to the extreme north of Brazil near the area where the parents of one of our seniors work. What fun to be able to hang out with our seniors and share those few days together! One of the many activities we enjoyed was hiking into the jungle to some beautiful falls that very few know of or visit.

We thank the Lord for His safety on the trip. Please pray for our seniors as they graduate from PQQ (May 25) and continue with their studies and jobs back in their passport countries. May they continue to walk w/the Lord and be used of Him to spread His glory to the nations!

Derek w/a SMALL anaconda

It is a memory that most surely every missionary family has of returning to the mildewed tropics of a country like Brazil. Upon opening our suitcases, the fresh fragrance diffused throughout our room– “Ah! It smells like the States!” That pleasant scent stands in stark contrast to the otherwise mustiness of stale clothing, towels, and bed sheets – and so we had to stop and smell the fresh clothes, just for a little bit. After all, that sensation would soon dissipate into the moldy air.

Now, almost 7 weeks since our return to Brazil on August 1 – yes, the Stateside fragrance has vanished – we are in our sixth full week of school at PQQ where we have this distinct pleasure to serve the Lord in MK care and education.

Angie and I are active with teaching classes – Angie primarily in the first grade and I in grades 7-12. Other responsibilities outside of our family also occupy our time: Angie as the hospitality coordinator, I as the school administrator, and together as advisors to the senior class.

Our new refrigerator WORKS!! (unlike our old one)

We are grateful for our co-workers who have also readily assumed their functions to make this school year get off to a great start!

Our students are an absolute blessing to us – what a wonder to see them desirous of walking with the Lord. Our own children are no exception, a delight to our hearts. Aaron is in the 10^th grade, Aleah in 8^th, Dayton in 7^th, and Derek in 5^th.

We have a few prayer requests that we’d ask you to remember:

1. We are preparing for a spiritual emphasis time for our students during the first full week of October. Pray that those scheduled to participate from our home church in California will be able to prepare fully.
2. We continue in our efforts – by His strength – to resolve the registration/licensing of our Mission boat. Pray that the officials who handle that process look with favor on our situation. Having the boat available to use, especially for school functions, would indeed be a blessing.
3. We need more teachers and cafeteria cooks! If you sense the prompting of the Holy Spirit to commit to a semester or more of joining our team at PQQ, please let us know. We need teachers in the following areas: elementary (grades 1&2, 3&4), science (grades 7-12), history (grades 9-12), and math (grades 9-12). As mentioned previously, we also could use 1 or 2 more cafeteria cooks.

Angie, helping the senior class w/a fund-raiser: making tortillas

We reserve mention of YOU for the end of this post. Thank YOU for praying for us and for giving in so many ways – your involvement is vital to this work, and we are indebted to you. Be encouraged in the Lord – remember, He is the Master of the work, and we have the honor of diffusing His fragrance of the Gospel of Life.

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Cor. 2:14, ESV)

Aerial view of PQQ

Since 1958, NTM’s boarding school for missionary children in the Amazon has been providing a sound academic education in a school and dorm environment that allows and actively encourages spiritual, physical, social, and emotional development so that each student can be prepared for a life of service motivated by love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Each year, we have needs for teachers, and the 2011-2012 school year (and beyond) is no exception. Currently, we are in need of…

• a junior high/senior high science teacher
• a junior high/senior high math teacher
• a senior high history teacher
• By the start of the 2012-2013 school year, we will need an elementary teacher (grades 3-4).
  

PQQ 2011 Graduating Class

If YOU would like to help meet this need (or you know of SOMEONE who is interested), please let us know this good news.

NTM has application processes adapted for each term of service that you might be interested in, whether it be up to 6 months, up to 4 years, or full-time service.

We look forward to helping you embark on one of the most meaningful experiences in your life as together we assist in reaching the lost for Christ.