A Whirlwind of a Week

It feels like this week that has passed has been the fastest week here on record. Here is a little glimpse into the life of a Trekker in Portugal:

Monday: Heidi and I spent the night at Doug and Myra's on Sunday night to cut back on transportation time because we had to be in Loures to spend the day with Josh (Matt & Kiri's youngest) while Kiri had some doctor's appointments. We ended up spending the whole day in Loures with Matt and Kiri and family. It was a long day, but I continued to be surprised by the joy I get when I have the chance to bless people around me. I had the privilege of being able to help make Mieka's birthday cake. Making a cake with a 7, 4 and 2 year old definitely has its challenges, but it's a lot of fun too!

Tuesday: Mieka (Matt & Kiri's oldest) celebrated her 7th birthday. We all went over to their place for a pizza lunch, headed out to Portuguese language class and then returned to Matt & Kiri's to continue with the birthday celebrations. Aleah put together an awesome piniata for the kids and we ate a ton of cake and candy. 

Me and my buddy Josh.

At 8pm as per usual, Donovan, Heidi and I taught ESL in Loures and then headed back over to Doug and Myra's for our weekly girls sleepover. Seeing as we have bible study first thing in the morning on Wednesdays, it works out that us girls just spend the night on Tuesdays. 


Wednesday: Us girls have bible study at 9:30am. We are studying the Beth Moore series, "The Patriarchs", which has completely blown me away. I have learned so much. It is one of the most life giving times of my week. This week happened to be the week of the Loures Bazar, so there was prep work that needed to be done. Heidi and I went with Otto and Doug to load bags of clothes into vans to take to the church and then helped unpack the bags and get the clothes set up on tables. Unpacking the bags are so much fun because you never know what you might find in them. Items can range from the ugliest 8o's outfit to a set of fox pelts. Laughs are always had.
As a little side-note, the government of Portugal fell this week. This country is an economic crisis and it definitely takes its toll on the churches. In the past, when the economy has taken a turn for the worst, the numbers in the churches decline. People are in search of greener pastures, so they relocate to France or elsewhere in Europe. We are praying that despite the difficulties in Portugal's economy these days, that the members of our churches here would remain and that they would continue to grow.


Thursday: On a weekly basis, we try to have a team meeting with the Massama leaders, which include Otto and Marjorie and Jose and Paula. It's a sweet time of sharing a devotional and enjoying some worship time together. It's a good morning of refreshment. For the rest of the day, Heidi and I enjoyed a day off since we missed our scheduled day off on Monday. It was a blissful afternoon full of naps, journaling and coffee shops. It was exactly what my head, heart and body needed. 


Friday: All 6 of us headed out to Loures to play basketball with our friend Celcu for the afternoon. We try to play on a regular basis - usually every Friday we play. Heidi, Donovan and I had worship team practice and a meeting at the church and then all 6 of us headed back to Massama to spend the evening with the youth. For the last few months, the youth group has consisted of only guys, but a few weeks ago we had our first girl come and then this last week, we had 2 girls come. This has been an answer to prayer. Most of the guys in the group have girlfriends and we have been encouraging them to bring the girls right from the beginning, but it's only now that they are starting to come. Please pray for more of the girls to come.


Saturday: It was definitely a slower day. We took the morning and early afternoon easy. Half the team went to babysit at Matt & Kiri's, while Donovan, Heidi and I went to youth in Loures. The Loures youth group has been struggling with attendance the last little while, but last night there were 8 youth in attendance and what was even cooler was hearing their discussion about what it means to live a life of faith. Discipleship is lacking in the younger generations here. We continue to pray that God would raise up leaders in the churches and that there would be discipleship happening among the believers.


Sunday: We went to the usual 2 church services, Massama and Loures. It was sadly our last week teaching sunday school in Loures as our only 3 students (Mieka, Sofia and Josh) are leaving for Australia next Sunday. We are so sad to see them leave - they have become a big part of our lives here. The Loures church is in need of young families to attend on a regular basis. Please pray that there would be families that would led to the church. There is a joy that fills a building when there are kids around. Matt and Kiri's kids do a pretty good job in bringing life to church, but we need more. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me". Well, we need those little children in this church.


*Update - Kiri's health has remained much the same since last week. We continue to lift her up to God for healing but trust that God has a plan for Kiri. I'm sure she would appreciate your prayers, especially as she is getting ready to travel next week.

So, tomorrow our week starts all over again and it's shaping up to be a good one.