Lloyd & Athena Peace – prayer letter

Two weeks from today, we will arrive in Brazil!    We have been hard at work sorting, packing, and tying up all the loose ends that need to be cared for before leaving the country. In the midst of that, we are faced with difficult goodbyes and the anticipation of seeing friends and coworkers in Brazil.
For those of you without e-mail access: Athena had another CT at the end of February and her lung nodule has not changed. Since it has not shown any signs of change or growth, the oncologist said we do not need to follow it any longer. Athena’s follow up will include periodic labs and physical exams. She was able to have her port removed in early March. The chemo side effects continue to slowly improve. Fatigue and neuropathy are the most bothersome effects and can take up to a year to resolve. God has taught us a lot through this cancer journey and we have been humbled by the outpouring of love shown to our family through this time. We truly find ourselves without words to adequately express our gratitude for all the prayers, words of encouragement, meals, gifts, visits and many other kindnesses.
We are excited to have Ashley traveling with us. She is a young lady from Faith Baptist Church in Morris, Illinois, which is one of our supporting churches. Ashley will be helping with the kids’ schooling which will be a huge blessing while Athena and I work on getting our house cleaned, painted, and unpacked. Please pray that our family will be an encouragement to Ashley. She will be returning to the US to start college in early July. Lindsay, a young lady from First Baptist Church in Cottonwood, California, where Athena grew up, plans to join us in early July. Please pray for her as she is raising funds and will then be working on her visa application.
Lloyd learned about a month ago that the cost of the Super Petrel airplane increased significantly at the beginning of 2013. Lloyd has been in contact with the manufacturer for over a year. Because of that established relationship, the manufacturer agreed to sell the plane at last year’s cost. Typically, once an order for the plane is placed, it is six months before it is ready for pick up. In order to take advantage of the lower price, the manufacturer stipulated the plane would be completed by the end of May. Lloyd is looking into some temporary hangar options in Manaus until the hangar can be completed in Santo Antônio.
We enjoyed seeing many of you during our furlough travels. Lloyd calculated the other day that we have driven over 60,000 miles during furlough! We appreciate each of you very much. Thank you for faithfully praying, for the financial support and special gifts, for items from missionary closets, for the encouraging words and remembering our birthdays and anniversary. Please take note of our new contact information listed above.
Your partners in reaching the world for Christ,
Lloyd, Athena, Julia, Jessica, Jacob, and Lucas Peace