Just another reminder, that our 25th wedding celebration is coming up in a few months. We hope you already have plans to be present on Nov 25th, at 3PM, in Martinsburg, WV. The activities will take place at the Independent Bible Church, on Hedgesville Road. Hotel accomodations can be made at the Comfort Inn Aikens Center. They have a special rate. Call and tell them you are with the Turley group from Independent Bible Church.

Let me share just how blessed I am to have a wife like Diana. Even after 24 years, going on 25, we keep on kissing.

One of the greatest lessons I am continually learning is about the importance of relationships. It is investing my life in the life of another person. I beleive it is what Jesus taught when he told his disciples, "If you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be a servant to all." To be a servant, to be interested not in my own gain, but in the gain of others....their emotional, physical, and spiritual gain. To invest my life in the life of another....

If you have not noticed, our pics don't show lot of places. Yeh, we loved the mountains back in June, but most of our pics are about people; relationships; ministry to individuals and groups of individuals.

Diana has a wonderful relationship with the women of her small groups (she has 2) and is sought after for her wise counsel. We try to invest in families with other kids, but also enjoy the college/career age groups as well. we are beginning to believe that it is better to reach out to un-marrieds, first, in order to prevent so many marriage problems.

We continue to teach family seminars, and continue to invest in the lives of those that God puts onthe path we, too, walk. It is our duty to serve others.

Luke 17:10 "And when you have done all that is commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants, we have only done our duty."

Don't know if I mentioned it inthe last blog, or not, but we really ate, and ate, and.....well, you get the picture. Here are some more pics to prove we ate...
Rosevaldo makes some of the greatest pizza in the world.. I mean it is a mean pizza.
The grilled Tambaqui fish is a favorite. Makes my mouth water just to write about it.

Brazil is so blessed with a bounty of food. While beans and rice are the main staple, there is a variety of fresh foods, fruits, veggies, and the likes that you have never seen. God is good. WHy are there so many poor people in Brazil, you may ask? Well, let's say that personal political interest keep people in bondage and poverty. Brazil is not a poor country. It is a rich country with a lot of poor people is all.

Hey, everybody! The BrazilTurleys are back, with more pics of the month of July, even though the post is in August. Even though we don't have pictures to prove it, we were actually a part of a team from Miami called T.I.M.E. International for about th efirst 2 weeks of July. The 14 teens were from Fl and MA, and did 70 gospel drama presentations before 6,000 people in3 different cities. God gave fruit for the labors, and opened some incredible doors of opportunity. Our family spent the week at the beach with them (hey, somebody has to suffer). Hopefully we can get soem pics from them. I will get their web address for you to check out.

The last two weeks of July were with friends from MAnaus. Ivete and Deborah came to visit, and we had a great time with them in Campos do Jordão, Brazil's highest city in the mountains. Had a great time with them. Ivete was Joshua's 1st grade teacher that taught him to read. She was sooooo impresses with Charity Maria. Said she could see Josh all over again.

After the girls left Rosevaldo, Maria Ivete, Erika, and Hartur came to visit. We ate, and we ate, and we ate till we could eat no more. We ate pizza and tambaqui (a wonderful Amazon fish cooked on the grill...see pics) till we could eat no more. Oh!, by the way, did I tell you we ate while they were here???????

Rosevaldo and I go waaaaaay back, when I first went to Manaus in 1984 with SMITE Singers. His wife Maria Ivete was one of Joshua's fav teachers at CEBAM. She, and Ivete, Josh's 1st grade teacher, are now teacher supervisors, and may I say, very competent ones at that. Way to go girls.