We are in the US at my folks’ home in Toledo.  Everyone seems to be doing ok.  I have a uniquely beautiful family and it is always nice to be here.  Our trip was long and uneventful.  We went about 40 hours between beds!  We are glad to be here and our tentative schedule is below.  I wrote a few journal-type thoughts over the past week and these follow.

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Now – Toledo

June 5 – June 18 –  Tim – KC for international med course

June 15 – Bets and kids to North Dakota

June 18 – 20 All in North Dakota

June 20 – July 3 – Traveling

July 3 – 10 Pittsburg KS

July 12 – 14 Toledo

July 15 – 30 Charlotte, NC

August 3 – Sept 1 – Sunbury/Columbus area

Sept 1 – Oct 1 Unknown

Oct 1-ish – To Angola (best case)

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We would love to see you.  Please contact us.  kubacki.betsyandtim@gmail.com

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We are in our last few days and have sold virtually everything.  Each time we purchased something, we acknowledged that we may have difficulty recouping any money in resale and accepted the likelihood of loss.  But we sold our major items (house, truck, motorcycles, etc) for decent prices and pretty much everything else for 1/2 our purchase price.  Everything has been flying out of our house!

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A couple nights ago, Ben, Mer and their friends worshipped on our front porch for hours, with sharing, praying, weeping, thanking, lamenting the good-bye.  Their friends are such special kids.  It was sweet to hear but the depth of genuine emotion shared by these teens because of the upcoming separation was heavy.

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One morning last week, Bets and I were sharing a quiet morning cup of coffee on our couch when we heard gunshots.  We walked outside and saw two men tumbling and wrestling in our side yard.  A police officer was apprehending a man who had shot another man earlier.  Neither had been shot.  We never had THAT happen in our yard before!

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As I pray for each person after I consult with them, I usually emphasize to them that only God can heal and that the doctor and the medication are tools that He chooses to use at times.  I ask our Father to resolve their problem, give them wisdom in caring for their condition and I often finish with something like, “Pai pai, por favor toca ela numa maneira especial e a encoraja profundamente…”  A woman returned about a week after seeing me and told me that her 8 y/o son was laying his hands on, and praying for, everyone he knew using the exact words he heard me say, which translated mean, “Father, please touch her in a special way and encourage her deeply…”  She laughed as she repeated this phrase word-for-word because she’d heard it so many times from her son, who had heard it once.

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Many people from the interior see me as their doctor after I saw them in their home when traveling, so they seek me out when in town.  These past few weeks have been pretty special as many of them went out of their way to thank me for helping them over the past several years.  They expressed gratitude for going to their village, for caring, for praying, and for treating them.  It was so very nice.  Some mentioned that they never had a doctor in their home or really talked to a doc or had a doc who really cared for them, etc.  Every encounter has been special.

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As many of you know, a physician lives in a reality of high patient stress and for his/her family high hope, anxiety and expectation.  He/she receives little gratitude, and much criticism.  Because there is little gratitude in being a physician, when it is expressed, it is so special.  If you receive good care from a physician, please go out of your way to express your gratitude.

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The blessed rainy season has been extended this year and it continued right up to our departure.  The contrast here on the Amazon equator is striking, as the cloudy, rainy season is so tolerable and the sun and heat of the dry season almost intolerable.  Needless to say, we are grateful!

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The Strauss-Kahn controversy is fascinating to people here.  Our grocer, for example marvels at the human rights “norm” in the States and that a hotel maid can make an accusation and be protected by the law.  When stopping by our house the other day, he went on and on about the fact that one of the most powerful men in the world can be jailed based on the accusation of a commoner.  He is, of course, only personally familiar with a system of politics where power equals corruption and those in power are above any law.

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I am writing on the barge that carries us from Porto de Moz to Belem.  It’s about a forty hour ride and we are about 26 hours into it.  It began yesterday morning when we had a beautiful, tearful good-bye on the docks of our beloved little river town.  About fifty people came out at 7:00 am to see us off.  How we love these people!  And after less than three years.  It was about three years ago that we bought our house and began our move.  It’s not often that you say good-bye to people and know that you will likely not see them again in this life.  Especially when they are so precious to you…   It has been difficult.

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Many here have received our “radical” message of relationship, relationship, relationship.  Beyond a love relationship with our Father and with our fellow man (friend, family, enemy…), nothing matters (I Cor 13:1-3).  This is the basis for all things in the Kingdom.  All churches say this, but how many are truly indifferent to their comfort, their possessions, their status, etc?  We have endeavored to emphasize that relationship is not superficial friendship (which dominates this culture) and a few are stepping courageously into intimacy, honor, encouragement, honesty, and speaking truth with each other.  We have endeavored to emphasize that relationship with our Father is the opposite of religion, performance, and sacrifice, and a few are pushing into intimacy with their Father.

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As you know, when you are passionate about an emphasis, those who lack your passion are often offended.  Though this has happened in Brazil, it hasn’t happened in PdM.  Several people came up to me this last week and said that their vision of Jesus, His Kingdom, and church have completely changed over this past couple years.  I so appreciated this.  We’ve said before that we are not an evangelists, but it is such a joy to know that through our mentoring and fathering of these folks, the Kingdom will be communicated more accurately in this region going forward.  All have not received our message and some only partially.  If a few have been changed and see their Father as He is, apart from preconceived ideas and religion, our work has been worthwhile.  I now hope (and pray) that, going froward, our influence will be forgotten and the fruit will remain.