This last week and half has been amazing. We are slowly getting settled into life here in Portugal. Portuguese lifestyle is very different to what we are used to. Culture is extremely relaxed here. Sometimes people show up on time, sometimes not. Sometimes we know what the week holds in terms of ministry opportunity and tasks to be completed, sometimes we don't. All that being said, life here is good.
We have now learned to use the transit system here in Lisbon, which consists of the train, the metro, the bus, the tram and boats. We have used all of them except for the boat. I'm not sure how often that will be used, but it feels good to have some independence here and experience big city living. Where we live, in Massama, we typically walk. It's a suburb of Lisbon I guess, but everything we need is within walking distance (well, except for maybe Starbucks - that's a train ride away).
The Portuguese people are a very private people. It takes a lot to be invited into someone's home for a meal or a coffee, so relationship building for us is a huge undertaking, considering we still do not speak the language. We have had some neighbors ring our doorbell, but that was only to tell us that we left our outside light on, so we don't really consider that to be a successful engaging in relationship. Within the church, enjoying a meal together is more common. We have been blessed with meal times with fellow Christians here in the Massama church and we are hoping that as language comes, we can build better relationships and get to know the people we have already met better. Language is a huge barrier for us right now. We commonly use the phrase "nao falar Portuguese", which means I don't speak Portuguese.
In terms of ministry stuff, it's been a little slow here. We have been doing tutoring monday evenings with some of the high school and university students in the Loures church. This past week I tried to explain the concepts of an article on U.S. Foreign Policy through google translater to a girl in University. I'm not sure how well that worked out, but hopefully she understood a little bit of what the article was saying.
This upcoming weekend, us girls are going on a women's retreat with the ladies of the Massama and Loures Churches. I am really looking forward to this weekend and having the opportunity to get to know these ladies a little better. There are some beautiful people here in Portugal.
A lot of our time is spent at the Espaco, which is the church here in Massama. Our job is to bring life to the church building by just spending time there hanging out. We're hoping that as people walk by, they might stop by to check us out and build relationship that way.
On Saturday evenings, we spend time at the youth group, which is an amalgamation of the Loures, Amadora and Massama churches. We have only had 1 week so far of youth, which was a bible study, so we felt a little useless there as none of us really understood what was being talked about. The missionaries here say that just us being present there, is a huge testimony and example to the youth, so we continue to go, regardless of our communicating ability.
Some other things about life in Portugal. The day here doesn't usually get started much before 10am. Often we sleep until 10 or 10:30am and aim to be down at the church for 12ish or so. Lunch is sometimes eaten around 1pm and can last for about 2 hours. People are always at the cafe's and coffee shops all throughout the afternoon. Life here is considerably more relaxed than in North America. It's kinda fun.
Supper is typically anywhere from 8pm - 10pm. No one goes to bed before midnight. If you do go to bed before midnight and somebody calls you on the phone, it is considered embarressing if you are caught in bed so early. After midnight it is acceptable to go to bed. I guess that's why they can allow for later starts in the morning.
People here do not smile readily. Like I said, people keep to themselves. Except, a girl walking down the street can often be whistled at by men walking or driving by. That is not uncommon. But you just don't engage in conversation with people on public transit or while walking down the street.
A piece of encouragment Otto, our lead missionary here, gave us was that you can look at all the apartment buildings here in Lisbon and feel discouraged very easily at the lack of people coming to know the Lord, but you have to focus on the fact that we are being obedient to where God has called us, regardless of the number of people converting to Christianity. We are called to be obedient to God and allow Him to use us in whatever way He chooses to plant seeds. We may not see results, but that doesn't mean that God is not working in this place. We are not expecting a big revival in Lisbon. The harvest is not ready yet. But God is working in the few people we know and that is exciting. This is what we need to focus on. We are here to be the hands and feet of Jesus. That is it. We are living life and trusting that God will move and work in and through us here.
Stay tuned for a picture update...
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