Living on the banks of the Amazon
Missionaries Kris and Mary Jane Howe live right on the banks of the Amazon River. In fact, Kris says, “During high water, our house is just a few feet from the river.”
They have recently moved to their new home because of a change in the direction of their ministry. The new location is a delight to their children, who love to swim, fish and collect random items that come floating by.
One day, Kris says, an assortment of all kinds of vegetables came floating by. “There must have been a boat on its way to the city to sell veggies there,” Kris says. “Either the boat capsized or the guy just ended up losing his wares. Two of our kids were out there shouting to us all the different veggies that were collecting there.”
Kris says he didn’t think much about this until their youngest child, who is just three years old, walked up with a half-eaten carrot declaring that it was healthy to eat carrots. Kris adds, “I told him that was true, but that I did not want him eating them out of the dirty river.”
Kris and Mary Jane are beginning their ministry as teachers at a boarding school for missionary children in Brazil. It’s a new ministry for them, and a big change from their former tribal ministry. Kris is preparing to be the fifth- and sixth-grade home room teacher as well as the high school soccer coach. Mary Jane will be teaching teaching third- and fourth-grade reading and language arts, first- through sixth-grade music, seventh- and eighth-grade English and high school literature.
Along with the other changes for their family, Kris and Mary Jane’s children will be making the adjustment from home-schooling to a classroom situation.
The Howe family anticipates these changes with peace, knowing that God guides their path of ministry. Kris shares, “God has used our weakness, mistakes and difficult experiences. Even things that we were in no way prepared for. … During these times, God has used Philippians 4:6-7 to speak truth into my heart. When there is no ‘logical’ reason that I would have peace, God has given grace like I never before experienced.”
Kris shares the verses that mean so much to him, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Pray for Kris and Mary Jane Howe and their family as they begin a new kind of school year with a new situation in a new place. Ask God to continue to give them peace in the adjustments and to bless their essential ministry of teaching and loving missionaries’ children.