Missionary Calvin Gardner Update

May 16, 2010
Dear Praying Brethren,
Greetings in our faithful Lord.
We are now Stateside and enjoying the fellowship of the brethren here at Wooster Baptist Temple. Monday morning, we caught a flight to Sao Paulo where we had a 9-hour layover. Daniel – who now works with a Christian publisher an hour and a half away from Sao Paulo – came to spend this time with us. We hadn’t seen him since January, so you can imagine the blessings of our time together.

We boarded at 9:30pm. After a 30-minute delay, we took off in the wild black yonder. It was nighttime. Our flight was without incident and we arrived in Cleveland via Washington, D.C., at 9:40 Tuesday morning. It was our surprise to be met with rainy, cold, 45-degree temperatures. Isn’t spring supposed to be warm and sunny?
Pr. Floyd Koenig met us and took us to Beechwood, OH. We could save $300 on our car rental by renting it an agency away from the airport. We had reserved an intermediate-sized vehicle, and the Lord provided the rental cost for our furlough. Because of our renting for an extended time, Avis Rent-A-Car gave us a free upgrade to a sedan. To this missionary, who is used to compact and economy cars on the field, the upgrade was greatly unexpected. We are driving now a 2010 Toyota Camry. As I looked inside, it seemed to have the space of a hotel room. So we have been greatly blessed with a comfortable car to use to visit many of you this furlough. It is luxurious to me and I hope that no one thinks we are unwisely using the monies God gave us for this need.
We are trying to get ourselves adjusted to a northern hemisphere time zone and weather. Mr. Parkinson finds it difficult to make the adjustment quickly and at times, he throws a fit. I expect him to settle down as we get adjusted.
The Wooster Baptist Temple is very generously taking care of all of our needs. I signed up for a Vonage phone. Without a lot of technical explanation, it works like this: it gives me an Ohio phone number from which I can call you and anyone in Brazil for free. This Ohio phone number you can use to call me if you need to, paying only long-distance to Ohio. We’ll see how this works. My permanent Vonage number is: (330) 439-6151.
I haven’t heard from all the works in Brazil but I expect they are doing well. Christ is their Head and they are looking to His Word for guidance. Therefore, they are in good Hands.
I thank you again for your prayers and support.

In Our Lord,
Bro. Calvin Gardner