Does God answer prayer?

Perhaps a better question is "Does God care about the little things?" I can't assume to do justice to the topic of answered prayer when it comes to the tough things like a mom sitting up all night praying for a wayward child, or a spouse watching their best friend dying of cancer, or refugees with nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat.  Although in my heart my answer to them would be the same as my answer to this small antidotal question. "YES".

My kids wanted to see snow. We only have 5 weeks before we leave for Peru, and although Chicago is located in the mid-west, the lake effect often keeps snow from accumulating. Often the fall sees a light dusting, but real snow is reserved for the months of January and February. Yet, because we asked people to pray, Chicago got about a foot of snow two days ago. Mind you, only a few miles south of Bill's parent's home, closer to downtown, the snow DID NOT stick. But here in the northwest side, our kids frolicked in the snow, built a snowman, threw dozens of snow balls, and even tackled their mother (me) in the snow.

When we came back inside, William (14) said, "Now I can go back to Peru." To which his younger brother Cullen replied "Well after Thanksgiving and Christmas." That's the essence of furlough to my kids: seeing their cousins, (and the rest of the family), eating lots of American candy, and experiencing some of the simple things in life like throwing a snow ball.  Mission accomplished. Thank you Almighty Weatherman. :)

Getting Started

My family August 2015

I need to resist the urge to post-blog. Is that a word?  What I mean is to write a blog that post dates all my thoughts and experiences to date. That would be impossible.
I want to share all my story: how God called me to be a missionary pilot, what were the challenges of being a woman missionary pilot in a male dominated profession, how I raised my kids on the  mission field, how my life changed as I moved to from Brazil to Peru, how minimalism changed my perspective on the way I live and do missions, all the lessons I have learned in my walk with Christ. Yes, that would indeed be quite a long introduction so I think I will start where I am now. One day I will post pieces of my story.  Slowly, one episode at a time, so that others can read and learn about from the backstory.

Today we are just starting. Although I feel like I am beginning mid-stream, it is a reminder that there are always opportunities for new starts and new beginnings. 

NOV 2015 Update

The Carrera Prayer Letter View this email in your browser

Seven Weeks and Counting

Dear Friends and Family, Our time on furlough has gone quickly, but we are so happy to have accomplished so much in a short time. We have visited all but one supporting church, been to two missionary conferences, and Joy just completed her recurrent flight training at JAARS in Waxhaw, NC. We have a few more things on our to-do list like finishing up some online courses, working a bit more on our newsletter address book and format, and then pre-field shopping and packing. Now is the time to get all the one-on-one visits that we haven't had a chance to do due to our packed schedule. PLEASE contact us if you are in the Chicago area and haven't had a chance to get together with us personally. No matter what the calendar says, fall disappeared last night with the raging winds that stripped the leaves from the trees here in Chicago. As winter begins for the Carrera family, we are thankful for the God's blessings to us in the fall. The children continued to adapt to their schooling situations and are doing well in their studies. The boys have enjoyed a Friday night youth group, and Camilla has loved attending Awana on Wednesday night and being part of a girl scout troop every other Thursday afternoon. Even though we made week-long trips every two weeks, Bill and I have had a few chances to visit some of our favorite places in Chicago and go on bike rides. Despite our aversion to cold weather, we will allow you to pray with William that Chicago sees some snow before Christmas :) The kids would really like to experience this before we leave. Thanks again for your prayers. In Christ, Bill and Joy Carrera   Joy spent 10 days at JAARS training center getting her licenses current (bi-anual review and instrument currency) and complying with a required five-year training course. The first few days were spent in a simulator reviewing instrument procedures and taking advantage of the training time since outside it rained for almost the entire week. Upcoming Schedule   Nov 21-22 Saturday Night -                  Sunday Morning @ Faith Community Church      Davis, Illinois Dec 30 Return to Peru Fundraising Goals We are close to reaching the recommended support for returning to Peru. We have added a few new supporters and current supporters have increased their monthly gifts. THANK YOU! A few individuals have mentioned their desire to begin giving, and we are trusting they will join our team as well. Will you join us in reaching our goal of the $300/month remaining? Online giving can be done here. Car Fund   We've made it! Thanks to some amazingly generous gifts that came in this past month, we have raised enough money to purchase a vehicle that was built sometime this century.  :) Please pray for us to be able to sell our older vehicle to complete the funds and that we would be able to find a reliable used vehicle with 4x4 that we can use in our ministry in Peru.

Oct Prayer Letter

Keeping in touch. Dear friends and family,      It feels like furlough has just started even though we arrived in the beginning of August and quickly put 6000 miles under our belts. But now school is in full swing and everyone is busy. We were able to visit many of our East Coast friends and supporters, as well as take a few days for vacation as we traveled.  Thanks so much for your prayers as it seems the kids have adapted to their schools. William is doing well transitioning to a very large Chicago high school and even went on a college visit for a weekend. We are not ready for COLLEGE! But we are thankful we are in the US for this fall and can begin planning for the future. Camilla and Cullen are also doing well at their small neighborhood elementary school. Camilla is finally adjusting to saying good bye in the morning and is starting to make friends.          We are thankful for those who prayed and gave so that Bill and I could attend the South America Mission 100 year celebration in Panama. We needed that time away to hear God's word, reflect a bit about our ministry, see our new colleagues and friends from Peru again, and spend some time as a couple after 21 years of marriage.      Next week we are traveling to Atlanta to attend another mission conference, but this time to share about our ministry. Pray for our kids as they stay with their grandparents again for another week as we travel.      This is our new format for sending prayer letters and other items of news. Please let us know what you think about the format since this should be more mobile device friendly. We did enter names manually so if you notice that we do not have your name spelled correctly or receive this at two different addresses, please let us know your preferences. We are working hard at setting up a blog and Facebook page as well so feel free to share this newsletter with others. If for some reason you do not want to be on this mailing list there is a way to unsubscribe at the bottom.     Please check out the rest of the newsletter for our furlough itinerary and fund raising goals.      In Christ, Bill and Joy Carrera

UPCOMING SCHEDULE Oct 10 Missionary Study Class       @ Northwest Bible Chapel,           Chicago Oct 11 Sunday Night       @ Grace Fellowship Church,           Oak Forest, IL Oct 13-18 Missions Conference       @ First Baptist Church, Atlanta Oct 25 Sunday Morning/Lunch       @ First Evangelical Free Church,          Chicago Fundraising Goals We are excited that God has added one church and two individuals to our support team. This has taken us closer to our goal of returning to Peru at full recommended support. We are still looking for new monthly supporters to make up the current $600/month we lack. Online giving can be done here. CAR FUND We are also rejoicing for many gifts given to us on this furlough.  We still lack about 4000 dollars towards replacing our aging truck in Peru. Please pray for us as we raise this funds.