Moving to Brazil....

Soooo our life has completely turned around in a matter of 2 days. Last week Mat was applying for his OPT so he could work here in the States after his graduation. A lot of confusion from the international office later,we come to find out that he can't apply for it because his CPT(an authorization to work off campus while he is going to school) had been expired and he didn't know. He just assumed that because the international student office hadn't told him anything that it was still valid and the office had no idea either. So because he can't apply for this OPT our advisor told us we need to move back to Brazil.

A lot of tears,desperation, and rage later we are "at peace" with the situation. We are still researching about options on what we can do and if the situation can be changed, but for now we are working towards going back. The scariest part of it is that we not only have two kids now, the salaries are pretty low compared to a starting salary here in the USA. It's like going back to student life with maybe a little bit more. We are coming to find out we can't really afford to take what we have because it's all used and not worth very much and we would have to pay about 10.000 dollars to ship things there. (and that's because we are not paying any taxes at customs) SO we have no idea if we are taking things or buying them there. We will keep y'all informed :D

To say we are terrified is an understatement. We have stepped into the dark and have NO idea what's going to happen. So pray for us and if you happen to fast, include us in it please, because we are going to need all the help we can get. I'm sure the Lord has a bigger plan but because I have no idea what it is, it makes me really afraid to think about what life is going to be especially with our little girls. We don't have a job yet, but we are madly looking for one. We are using all resources we can and something is going to work out- IT HAS TO. We just don't know what it is yet :)

One thing I know, this is probably the only way I would be going back to Brazil for a low salary. I always wanted to go back, but with a stable situation,so I guess our prayers have been answered. We have been praying for a long time to be guided to where we need to go after Mat's graduation and the answer was pretty straight forward. We needed to learn to maybe be more humble and rely on the Lord completely. A lot of lessons were learned and are still out there to be learned by us.

This is more of a general idea about what's happening and I'm sure you will have more questions and I'll be glad to answer any of them.

So cheers to unexpected change and how our lives are totally not controlled by us :)

Barb