Dear Family and Friends,
Today is a national holiday in Brazil. It’s when Brazil declared that it would be a Presidential Republic, no longer an Empire under the rule of Dom Pedro II. So, Samuel and I are hanging out at the house doing guy things. But where’s Vanessa and Ysabel? These two are at a sports tournament between American schools and it’s called Big 8. Vanessa is the cheerleading coach and Ysabel went because mom couldn’t stay away from her for a whole week, which leaves Samuel and I hanging out together until next Saturday. So, here’s a brief recap of what God has called the Flurry’s to do here in São Paulo, Brazil for this semester.
Ysabel is almost 3 years old (she’ll turn 3 on December 2). She loves to talk, to sing, and to cheer. Hanging out with the cheerleaders has rubbed off on her. She comes home and practices her cheer, stances, and moves. At the same time, she’s not quick to accept people. The cheerleaders work hard to get her to come to them, but she’s very reserved – yet she knows them all by name. Ysabel is also a little prayer warrior, praying for everybody and loves going to church. For her 3rd birthday party, Vanessa is making it a princess party. Ysabel is debating whether to go as Bell (from Beauty and the Beast) or Snow White. There will be about 12 of her friends, plus parents.
Samuel is currently in 4th grade and is a growing young lad. The big news on his part is that he’s going to be baptized on November 20. God’s been moving on his heart to follow Jesus and Samuel has learned that includes being baptized. Since he no longer goes to Junior Church, he’s been in the main service. And this last month, our church has emphasized missions. This has caught his attention and we might have another Flurry missionary in the future. On the school front, the boy has lots of homework, since he’s studying in two languages (English and Portuguese). If God allows us to stay at PACA until our kids graduate, both of them will get two diplomas – an American High School and a Brazilian Ensino Médio. Which means that they can choose colleges in the USA or in Brazil. PACA’s dual curriculum program does that.
Vanessa has the craziest schedule of us all for this semester. God has called her to help a very good friend from the school by taking care of Enrico, a precious, rambunctious 1 year old. Enrico comes over 4 days out of the week so that Vanessa and Ysabel can hang out with him. Ysabel loves having a little “brother” to take care of and gives lots of love and orders. What makes this special is that God knew of our financial needs and Vanessa is getting paid to take care of Enrico. This helps put food on our table and pay some bills during the month.
Another Vanessa duty is being the Cheerleader’s Coach for this semester. She’s got 8 girls on her squad and is currently at the Big 8 tournament, a sports tournament amongst the international schools of Brazil and Argentina. Part of the tournament includes a cheerleading competition. Vanessa and the cheerleaders have worked extra hard to get ready for this event. Plus, Vanessa lead the girls into several fundraisers to help raise money to pay for shoes and the cost of this tournament. Ysabel went along as the cheerleading mascot.
Besides taking care of all this plus the home, Vanessa is leading the church’s 4 to 9 year old program during the main service. It’s called Junior Church. She finds materials, organizes the teaching schedule, encourages the teachers and assistants, and covers for people who sometimes can’t make it that Sunday. This has been a demanding semester for my wife. It’s been God’s grace that has allowed her to make it all happen and with excellence.
Kevin’s schedule has been strongly divided into two major fronts at PACA. The continual demand for an international Christian education means that I give many tours during the week to potential families interested in PACA. This is a major element to our admission’s process. God has blessed the school with a great reputation and great teachers, making our program really outstanding.
On another front, I have organized a fundraising schedule for this semester that includes a school Walkathon, connecting with alumni, and contacting businesses to make donations to a major improvement project to our gym. We just completed the Walkathon and now the major task of collecting pledges starts to kick in. This means lots of phone calls and emails to donors.
It’s a struggle to keep both fronts balanced since there is so much follow up to make both successful. So, God has brought me an alumnus who is very creative on the graphics end and text editing. Peter is making some fantastic contributions to our marketing department. Our next project is to overhaul all of our marketing communication pieces: website, brochures, facebook, emails, and forms. I’m praying God will allow Peter to stay in my department for a long time.
God has also lead me to take on two new initiatives that involves investing – investing time into young people’s lives on a direct basis. I teach Middle School young people at my church’s Sunday School program. On average there are 8 kids coming. We have been going through a series of understanding why the Bible is the truth. The other initiative is I’m a discipleship group leader to 5 freshman boys from my high school. We meet every Thursday during lunch to discuss life and what God’s Word has to say about life. We are currently discussing what it means to be a man. We have looked at both Saul’s and David’s lives. Our next example will be Solomon. This is a time to connect with these young men and God willing give them sound advice for their future.
So, the Flurrys have been on a crazy schedule this semester. But we have seen God’s hand of blessing, protection, health, and provision over us. Despite it being financially interesting at times, God has been faithful to provide for our needs and in some cases blessing us unexpectedly.
We ask that you continue to pray that we keep God first, our marriage second, our family third, and God’s ministries in balance. We need His strength, patience, and wisdom to run the race. Thank you for loving us, praying for us, and in some cases supporting us. We are blessed to have you as part of our family.
Sincerely,
Kevin Bruce Flurry
We are missionaries to Pan American Christian Academy. If God leads you to help us financially ( plan for a rainy day, pay for medical bills, support a growing family, etc), you can give through the following ways:
Online Giving via credit card or debit card, use this page >> https://paca.site-ym.com/donations/donate.asp?id=3417
Sending us a Monthly Check, start your first gift by using this form >> https://theflurrys.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/flurry_giving_form_dollars.pdf
Financial support is processed by the PACA ALUMNI FOUNDATION. The Foundation is a non-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization dedicated to linking resources to develop PACA’s future. Every gift is tax-deductible. The PACA Alumni Foundation is located at P.O. Box 4182, San Dimas, CA 91773.
The Flurry's - South of the border... 