You know how puppies can win your heart? Tie your sentiments around their little paws? Make you somehow forget that there will be long hours ahead of you to meet their every whine? Well, puzzles with puppy pictures do not do any less. Especially when Peggy is shopping with me and we are walking around in the toy store. Add to this that she is thinking of two animal lovers in the house: NOT Daniel and David. YES Charity and Joy!
So, now you know how this puzzle got to our table, put together (not the table, the puzzle!), into the camera and onto this page. I did not have anything to do with it. Except, of course, I did have to approve the choice of it, pay for it, find that piece or two (or was it three?) to help put it together. It was only to make the family happy of course that I stayed up late one night to work out a portion of it. Alas! I would not have been able to sleep if it was not done anyway … uh … you know how puppies can win your heart? Tie you around their …..
An important irreplaceable part of my life since 1977, she finds her work to be mostly behind-the-scenes helping to keep the family going. Her hobbies lately are gardening and her favorite pastimes are putting together puzzles and playing board games. Her personal goal is to walk closer to her Lord, day by day, as He blesses. She has no career apart from her family and the ministry the Lord has called us to do.
Proverbs 3:5, 6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” This is an important passage of scripture to Peggy throughout the years.
She has as a favorite memory of the USA her home and family in Ohio, the Wooster Baptist Temple, and Pastor and Mrs. Floyd Koenig.
Her favorite memory of Brazil has been the kind people who accept us with all our funny and strange ways and the many who give of themselves to encourage these “pilgrims” in a strange land.
Her advice to anyone coming to Brazil is to “put aside all your likes and dislikes of the United States and come to Brazil with the intent of trying new things and seeing new things. Keep a prayerful heart that the Lord might help you leave Brazil with a better understanding of life in a foreign country and the lives of your missionary friends.”
When asked what she enjoys doing the most, she says “serving the Lord through my family”. Now you understand why she is an important and irreplaceable part in my life.
Although Ben has been out of the house and on his own since the year 2001, he is still part of the work here in Brazil. Like you, he participates in our work through his giving where he is a member. In his case this is the Victory Baptist Church in Kansas City, MO. His prayers are daily with us and his letters are with us weekly as well. Ben feels called into the ministry and thus is preparing himself presently by taking on preaching duties where he is a member, as well as in other churches which are without pastors. He enjoys street preaching and evangelizing as part of his seminary training at Mid-Western Baptist Theological Seminary. Besides these activities he is involved with Homeschool Alumni Association’s OutReach Program and leads a Bible-study and prayer meeting in the dorm at the Seminary. He always was very active with me in the work, as are his two brothers, and it is good to see him happy in the ministry yet.
Puritan literature and e-mailing head his ‘non-physical’ Hobby list and working out, hunting and horseback-riding head his ‘physical’ Hobby list. Really, he finds that whatever there is to do at hand becomes his short-term Hobby. Having classical and vocal music surrounding all the above is acceptable.
He counts glorifying God through our family now, and a family of his own in the future, along with church work as his personal goals. As for his career goal, which are pretty close to his personal goals he states: “Full-time ministry, with a general emphasis on–if the Lord allows–returning to Brazil to carry on the work there. Finishing seminary and engaging in full-time ministry, which is my calling, is another, more specific goal. Teaching and preaching at every available opportunity remains a constant goal, and a general measure of my progress in the matter of career goals.”
Ever the family man, his favorite memories of the USA are times with the family in Wooster, OH. Those times of enjoying hand-cranked ice-cream within the fellowship of church and especially family on hot summer evenings are high on his list of remembered activities there. While in Brazil, long, chatty walks through the countryside with the family on days-off figure among his best memories of Brazil.
If there were a choice and Ben could do what he enjoys the most, he says he would choose to be immersed in the Lord’s work in its various aspects and the resulting fellowship of the local church. Besides that, some time out on the rifle range would be alright too.
As one who has been-there, seen-it, done-that, his advice to anyone thinking about visiting Brazil to just sight-see in Brazil is: don’t waste your money and time doing that. However, if there is a spiritual and evangelistic element to your visit, his advice is considerably different. He encourages you: to strengthen the work of the Lord all you can and then your visit will be a memorable and profitable one. This he guarantees.
There are so many ways the family helps out in the ministry that it is hard to separate who does exactly what. Charity joins the others cleaning the church building each month in her turn. During services she often can be found babysitting a noisy child or befriending a visitor, sitting with them and helping to find the hymns during the song service or to locate the Bible references during the preaching. It is verily Christian charity in action. In the office Charity keeps the financial records of the various ministries in order.
Charity’s hobbies include animals and plants. Through the years it seems she has gained a degree in veterinarian science as she has tenderly cared for hamsters, guinea pigs, cats, dogs, birds and fish. She maybe in the running for an agricultural degree as well since she researches all over the world through the Internet to care for her house plants, our garden and the guava and cashew fruit trees at my office. Right now she is enjoying learning about medicinal herbs.
As a virtuous woman Charity keeps her hands busy. Beside the attentive care of the children and visitors in the services, the resourceful help in the garden and doing weekly household chores, she enjoys simple crochet projects and playing games with the family in her free time. If there are any spare minutes left in her busy day she really enjoys reading the newspapers.
Her personal goal is to continuing serving the Lord wherever the Lord would have her to be and with whomever the Lord provides her to serve Him through. This would describe her career goals as well. An important verse of Scripture to Charity is Deuteronomy 4:39, “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”
Favorite memory of the USA is the County Fair in Wooster, Ohio, with the baked goods and antique sections especially among her preferences. Favorite memories of Brazil include the ice-cream parlors offering varied flavors not easily found in America. Banana and caramel ice cream anyone? No? Then perhaps you would enjoy some fresh corn or burnt coconut ice cream?
Having grown up in Brazil she counsels visitors who desire to come to Brazil to accept Brazil for what it is. She finds Brazil is very different from the States, but the fact that it is different does not necessarily mean that one is worse than the other.
Joy Ellaina is our youngest daughter and our only child born in the United States. Her help is indispensable. In my office she is busy most in the area of filling and shipping the book and CD/DVD orders as well as working with me as a reviewer of the various translation projects that are in progress. Her typing and organizational skills are very useful in these areas. As with all the children Joy is always ready to pitch in and help with the cleaning of the church building. Also in the public work of the ministry her musical talent playing the piano/keyboard or accordion is always appreciated. Her presence in the home is a blessing as she takes care of a fair share of the chores. Her culinary abilities are verily appreciated every week too as she pitches in to fill in the schedule of regular family meals. Never one to be idle Joy stays busy with her hobbies that include collecting chicken recipes, caring for our pets – fish, dog, canary – and collecting cow-themed items – refrigerator magnets, knick-knacks, etc. To increase her usefulness in her own home some day she is taking sewing and knitting classes. Her favorite pastimes are reading, knitting, and playing the piano. Of her 25 years she has spent only about four of them stateside. But that has not kept her from making friends across the miles. Her favorite memory of the USA is playing the organ at the Wooster Baptist Temple. Laughing together as a family over the mistakes that we invariably make as a family when we try to speak Portuguese makes up her favorite memory of Brazil.
As far as goals are concerned Joy’s personal goal is to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He places her in. That is also her career goal. She cites that her favorite verse of Scripture is Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Since she has also been on both sides of the equator several times, she has this advice to someone coming to Brazil to visit or live: Seek to be as flexible as you can. There are a lot of items here that are different and many of the processes are performed differently. Therefore, be ready to improvise and you’ll survive.
Daniel (danielthegardner@gmail.com) is our fourth child and, as all except Joy, he too was born in Brazil and enjoys the privileges of dual citizenship. Daniel is our resident geek and stays busy with filming and editing of preaching tapes, maintaining my website, and keeping our computers running. As you may suspect, his hobbies include videomaking and interacting with the online community. He also enjoys acting and travel. His personal website is www.thinkGardner.com . His help in the ministry is not limited to technical aspects as he is also very active in the preaching and printing ministries. He, like his brother David, often accompanies me on preaching trips and I find his council and observations to be quite useful.
His career goals and his personal goals are the same. These include staying active wherever he is needed and taking advantage of opportunities that further his involvement with creativity and media production. Throughout the week, he is interns with a local TV outfit and is a volunteer at the local cancer Hospital.
Having been back and forth to the United States and Brazil, he has memories of both hemispheres. Visiting Washington DC and following in love with Ohio’s country roads and landscapes are his favorite memories of the northern hemisphere. His being nicknamed “Gringo” and traveling in South America are included in his memories of Brazil. If you are planning to visit or live in Brazil, his advice is: “Enjoy the food. It’s rather tasty.”
David Gardner, davidthegardner@gmail.com, is the fifth of our five children and the second red-head. Born in Brazil in 1987, his favorite memory of Brazil are the ten years spent growing up in Catanduva (1992-2002). It was there he learned to ride a bike, face fears, enjoy friendships, and how to be a goalkeeper in street soccer. His favorite verse is Psalm 119.114, “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”
This last furlough (2002-2003), in between traveling, David spent much time with Brother Earl Knote, member of the Wooster Baptist Temple. Bro. Knote took David and Daniel under his wing, teaching them important skills of construction, painting, electrician work, and landscaping. This became a favorite memory. David is glad to be among the second generation of Gardners who have mounted the tractor at the Wooster Baptist Temple and delightfully spent hours mowing the back 40.
David’s favorite past time is reading and his hobbies includes writing for a Christian youth magazine. Since David’s conversion at 17 years of age, his goals include learning the Word of God so that he can teach others the Word. He would like to have a Doctorate in Theology some day and spend his time in seminary-related work which could include a teaching position. His activities here on the field, since his homeschool graduation, include working in the print room, typing for me, editing the audio messages for the radio program, and joining me in the traveling and preaching duties in the various works.
As David has been both traveler to and resident in the United States and Brazil, his advice to those coming to visit in Brazil is to try not to get into the habit of comparing Brazil to something you know but try to learn from the new culture. He suggests also that visitors please try to avoid American conveniences while here to get the most out of the visit.
No Comments »
