(internet tower up the hill from camp)Our farm is so much fun and so beautiful. We are constantly finding new sources of water and Dane discovered some beautiful water falls in the creek on our property. The children have enjoyed wading downstream on hot days and running down to the creek to clean their feet. I have never seen so many different flowering trees and plants in my life. With the start of spring here, everything seemed to be in bloom. It was an amazing sight to see flowers everywhere. All the flowers attract thousands of butterflies. The butterflies are everywhere and when they settle on the ground, the children like to run into the middle of them and stir them up. It is like a snow globe only with butterflies. Furthermore, it is so peaceful and quiet here. The stars are numerous and the sound of the rushing water from the river close by is such a joy. Elijah and Dane saw a toucan yesterday on our property and wild parrots are around daily. There are tons of insects here that we have never seen before - very beautiful and brightly colored – an entomologist’s dream. 
Living in a semi tropical area, has presented many challenges. It has rained more in the last month than it has been dry, so we have had to deal with mud, mud, mud. I don’t have to tell you what happens when you mix mud and small children. Thank the Lord, we are surrounded by water and can clean up regularly. And I must tell you, the water comes out of the ground every where here. One day after several days of rain, Dane was digging trenches around our camp to try and keep us from getting flooded out and as fast as he could dig, the trenches would fill up with water from under the ground, not above it. Also, we survived a torrential rain storm that we did not know was coming. It hit in the middle of the night and by the grace of God none our tents blew away. All our clothing and most of our things got wet and we lost a few trees, but the Lord definitely showed mercy on us. Many of our neighbors lost their roofs, some their homes and this whole area has been without electricity for several days. David has recovered from an e-coli infection that we think he got by swallowing some dirty water when he fell into a hole Dane was digging for our septic system, the hole was full of water and David didn’t know it was there and walked right into it. Furthermore, we have had to deal with new things like bot fly larvae spread by mosquitos (in us), flesh eating maggots (not in us, but in one of our puppies that had a puncture wound) and many other things we have never experienced before. The bot fly larvea come from mosquitoes that carry the eggs of the bot fly. When a person gets bit by a mosquito that has bot fly eggs attached to it, a bot fly larvae can grow just under your skin. Two of the children have had one of these things. They are not dangerous, just irritating, and can be removed easily, but reason enough to more protective against mosquito bites. I know some of this sounds scary, but it really sounds worse than it is. Now that we know about these things, how to deal with them, how to prevent them, and so forth, we are more prepared for them in the future.
Dane and Javier have done a lot of work on the farm. They planted many vegetables on our property – corn, lettuce, tomatoes, squash, mandioca, watermelon, carrots, onions, garlic, cantaloupe, and cucumber. We look forward to our own vegetables soon. Javier built a big hen house for the chickens that we bought from our neighbor in Obera. Dane also bought a track vehicle – a tractor with tracks instead of wheels (picture above) that he and Javier have been working on. Dane hopes they can use this to work the land and plant in more areas. Little improvements are made everyday to make our camp more comfortable as well – more clothes line, a larger showering area, the hanging of plastic sheeting to protect our things from the rain, a door on the outhouse, etc. The rain has prevented the delivery of the wood for the house, so the construction has not begun aside from preparing for the concrete, but the wood is ready and should be here soon. Below is a picture of Dane and Javier harvesting yerba mate (the herbal tea that everyone drinks down here). We have several hectares of this stuff, but this was on Jim’s property. 
We have added some animals to our farm. We have thirteen hens and three roosters. It is nice having fresh eggs everyday. Our neighbor in town gave us a dog that had puppies a week after we got her here. She had five puppies – one of which Abigail has had to nurse because I had to cut it’s tail off after maggots got to a puncture wound that it’s mother accidentally made in it when she was trying to move it during a storm. The puppy is doing well and is stronger everyday. We also brought the cat from town that originally belonged to one of our other neighbors, but came to live with us soon after we moved in. Like us, all the animals like their new home and seem to appreciate the peacefulness of this place. We hope to soon buy some goats and cows too.
We got word yesterday from our friend in town that our residency paperwork has been completed and we just have to go to town tomorrow to sign one last document. That means that we can now live, work, and do business in 
Our neighbors the Sosas have been very helpful. They have given us much advice about living out here and how things are done. Javier works with Dane and his sister Andrea works with me. They are both here Monday through Friday. Javier helps Dane with whatever he is working on and Andrea helps me with the laundry, cooking, cleaning, and the children. The Sosas have been very good neighbors and we enjoy getting together and signing hymns with them on Saturday evenings. 
We hope all of you are doing well. We love to hear from you, so please feel free to call us anytime. Our phone number is the same because we have VOIP internet phone service. That means that you can call us at the same old 806 area code phone number that we have always had. Take care each and everyone.Jessica
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