Manaus

We are officially residents of Manaus, Brazil!

This week has been full. Day 2, we learned to drive manual transmission, and had a difficult time in some soft sand. An offer to help us turned into a full size tractor pulling us out of the dirt?! Below you can see our “new” vehicle, and the mess we made! We are learning to navigate a new city, a new way of driving, and heavy traffic. 

We are settling into our new apartment, and way of life. We have a washer with no dryer, so clothes hang either on our balcony, or all over our apartment while it rains. We have toilets, but cannot flush toilet paper, showers with primarily cold water, and each day we learn a funny new quirk about living or driving or cooking in our new country.

Below is the view from our apartment. The city is located in the middle of the rainforest, which makes for an interesting, beautiful dynamic. Manaus has over 2 million people, and it is located directly on the Amazon River. We hung our hammock on our porch, and have loved every second of laying in it while the rains (every day this season, perhaps?) cooled the heat of our city.

We are truly loving life here. God has been so good to make adjustment sweet and fun for all three of us. In different ways, and for different reasons, each day has brought about fun new memories we will never forget.

Thank you for your prayers as we adjust. The joy and rest and peace of God has filled our hearts and minds during what could be a very stressful time. We are so incredibly grateful.