Home.

My TREK adventure has officially come to an end. I am enjoying being back at home, even though there is nothing all that familiar about my surroundings (my parents gutted the house and remodeled while I was and as a result I don't really have a bedroom yet. I'm sleeping on the floor of the office until my brother moves out next week and I can have his room).

TREK actually ended last Friday, but I took a few extra days to spend time with some family and Kristy in Abbotsford. I'm glad I chose to do that because it was great to see and catch up with people. But as of yesterday at 12:19pm, I arrived safe and sound in Winnipeg.

TREK debrief was great. We ended off our time together with a great BBQ, worship time and of course lots of volleyball on Thursday afternoon/evening at Steve Klassen's.

Talk about a stunning view

Our lovely interns: Sarah and Jes

worship with Kevin Boese - always an amazing experience.

As our last TREK hurrah, we had a dessert evening Friday night with friends and families to share stories and some of the things we did over the last 10 months. Included in that was some awesome worship time with Kevin Boese. There was one song in particular, "The Adventure of Jesus", that caught my attention and resonated in my heart as I thought about returning home. Here are the lyrics.

  I want to live the adventure
 I want to burn with the passion 

I want to be filled with the presence of Jesus
    I want to pray with the power
  I want to live the adventure 

I want serve with the kindness
of Jesus 


 Blessing the poor, healing the sick
This is the life of love that Jesus lived  Teaching the heart, forgiving the sin
This is the life of love that Jesus live

Then he said, we would do these very things
Here and now, I want to find out what that means

I want to live the adventure
 I want to burn with the passion 
I want to be filled with the presence of Jesus
    I want to pray with the power
  I want to live the adventure 
I want serve with the kindness
of Jesus

All I need is to give what I have
Here and now, I want to see the kingdom come

When I think back to these last 10 months, all that I have learned and seen and transformation that has taken place in my life and in the lives of others, I want to continue to adventure with Jesus. Just because I am no longer on TREK, does not mean that the adventure stops here. I want to be sure to continue to live out what I have learned this last year. I want to tell the stories of the things I have experienced and the people I encountered and how God has worked and transformed my life. So, the regular routine of life may continue, but I am continuing my adventure with Jesus, very much as a changed person.


As I re-enter this next season of my life, I will be returning to my old blog to update people on life. It is a private blog, so if you would like to continue reading about how God is working in my life and hearing about the day to day stuff, comment with your email address and I will add you. My blog address is: www.karafriesen.blogspot.com

Thank you for sharing in my journey this last year - for your prayers and emails. I have appreciated them more than words could ever say. 


Let the adventure continue!!!

Coming to an End

With only 2 days remaining in debrief, our time is winding down rather quickly. It is surreal to think that Friday I will be saying goodbyes to teammates and fellow Trekkers who have, over the last 10 months, become dear friends and key players in my life. There is definitely a bittersweetness that accompanies leaving this place and heading home. 


The debriefing process has been a good one. I have enjoyed listening to people's stories from other teams and hearing how God has been working in their lives and around the world. We serve an extremely awesome God! We, as team Portugal, had the chance last Friday to share in depth with the TREK community about what we did and how we experienced God in Portugal. It was neat to reflect on our time there as a whole and remember some of the standing stones along the way. I have a hunch I will continue to recall memories and experiences in the months to come as I head home and re-enter into life in Winnipeg. 
I have been reminded these last 2 weeks, as we have heard different speakers present on re-entering into North American culture, how thankful I am to have had this time to debrief and unpack my experience and figure out how I will share what I have seen in Portugal and how God has changed my heart. The debrief part of the process is a crucial one I am learning and one I do not want to wish away too quickly. As I return home, I want continue to live out what I have learned in the last 10 months and I want to re-enter in a positive way.
Sorry, that was a little more rambling than maybe needed. I suppose I just have a lot going through my mind these days.


I will leave you with some photos of some of our time here in Abbotsford these last 2 weeks.

We love Cultus Lake. I mean, what is not to love???

 Each team was required to make a meal that was authentic to the country we visited. We made bacalhau com natas (successfully I might add), salad and baba de camelo for dessert. Everything turned out really well and everyone seemed to enjoy it, so extra bonus for us!

And of course, all of our free time has been spent on the beach volleyball court. It has been good to play again. I forgot how much I loved the game.

Oh, and just as a side note, anyone in the Abbotsford area, Friday night TREK is hosting a dessert night where we will be sharing more stories of our time in Portugal, Thailand and Mexico. If you are wanting to hear some incredible stories of how God is moving all over the world and enjoy some delicious dessert made by Corina, please join us at South Abbotsford MB Church at 7pm this Friday June 24. It would be great to see people there!

A Change in Seasons

I have been reminded of Ecclesiastes 3 these last few days and how it talks about how there is a time for everything. Seasons end and new ones begin. Yet, in each season we walk through, God orchestrates and carries out his plans, regardless of our understanding. His purpose prevails and in each time, regardless of where God takes us, we are called to be obedient and to fear him. There is beauty to admire in each season, even if some seasons appear to be more dry and void of anything good according to our perspective. The truth is, God uses those moments as teachable moments.

Being back in Abbotsford has been wonderful. It has been awesome to catch up with the Thailand and Mexico teams and to spend time in worship and quiet time with God. Despite the loveliness of this place and time, I find myself caught in the tension of a season that is ending and a new season beginning shortly. This TREK season is not yet over - there are still 10 days for me to soak in all the things that God has yet to teach and show me through debrief. As I begin to prepare to enter the next season of life - life at home - I trust that God will continue to lead me and go with me. There will be challenges to coming home and fitting back into a life that I have sort of forgotten over these last 10 months, but I want to remain obedient to God in it all and I trust that His ways and plans are far better than I could ever imagine. My heart is full of peace and also, definitely excitement as I anticipate reunions with the people I love.

As I continue to reflect upon this TREK season and all that I have encountered and experienced, I hope that I have taken all the opportunity possible to enjoy this particular season to its fullest. I hope that I have been faithful to notice the fingerprints of God around me and in the lives of people I have encountered this year. I hope that this season I have been obedient to who God has called me to be and what He has called me to do.

Our debrief schedule is a full one.In the last 3 days, we have done the following:

• Enjoyed amazing worship with Kevin Boese.
• Played a few games of volleyball
• Enjoyed God's creation handiwork at Cultus Lake
• Indulged in Corina's amazing cooking (this never disappoints)
• We have started to debrief together as a group and today individual debrief meetings begin.
• Watched game 7 on the big screen as a big group.
• Enjoyed some Starbucks. 
• Had some lovely walks and talks with Carla. So good to catch up. 
• Lots. Of. Sleep.
• Drinking lots of coffee in order to stay awake during the day in order to not mess up our night sleep schedule.

I am reminded at how good it is to be back in this place where I am surrounded by incredible godly leaders who are committed to processing this season with us. I'll try and post more pictures in the next few days.

Canadian Soil

After a long 24 hour day of travel, I am happy to report that Team Portugal is back on Canadian soil. All of our luggage arrived safe and sound, including our very smelly baclahau :) It's good to be back here in Abbotsford, back at the Mark Centre. Oh how I missed these amazing beds! My sleeping schedule is a bit off, but hopefully that corrects itself over the next few days.

It's a busy 12 days of debrief and I am looking forward to every bit of it. There are some good things lined up as we process our time in Portugal with leaders here, hear stories from the Thailand and Mexico teams and take part in more sessions and worship times. It's gonna be good!

More posts coming soon - I'm working on a couple!
Time for Corina's breakfast....always good.

No Longer a Butcher Shop

Yesterday we finished our work at the new space in Massama, aka: The Annexo. It's not completely finished, but our work there came to an end. There are some finishing touches that need to be done like hanging the curtains, hanging some wallpaper in one small section and filling it with furniture, but others in the church will do that once we are gone. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. It is amazing what a couple coats of paint can do to a room!


I must say, my skills were put to the test through this project. I have sanded, painted and cleaned like I never have before. Spots in the wall that were once holes are no more. Yup, that's right, I filled a hole with rocks and covered it with putty and sanded it down. I was pretty impressed with my handiwork on that one. My dad would be proud. Here is a little glimpse into the progress of the Annexo:


The Beginning:

And actually, these pictures were taken once we had done a little bit of primary work like taking out some concrete and washing the floors, but these were the beginning stages.

Making some Progress:

Jacob and I filling in some of the holes in the tiles with putty.

Rachael and Aleah scraping paint off of the marble

The paint goes up. Coat 1 of 3

 More or Less Done:

I can't wait to hear the amazing ministries and opportunities that will come out of this space. I wish we were around to see it in use. I know for a fact though, it will be a place where the community will meet Jesus. That makes the long hours of painting and sanding and scrubbing so worth it.

Our Last Week in Portugal

As our time here in Portugal comes to an end, our weeks seem to fill up at warp speed. I have a hunch that this next week is going to go by much faster than I would like it to. It is my goal to soak up every last bit of Portugal that I possibly can before I get on that airplane on Monday. A lot of this upcoming week will be focused on packing up and cleaning up our apartment. It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated over the last 7 1/2 months. Where did it all come from? We will also be spending a good chunk of time finishing up work projects, namely the Annexo renos and soaking up time with people we have come to love while being here. Last week, we occupied our time with a lot of these same things as well. 


Heidi and I were given the task of creating a backdrop for the Massama VBS this summer. Since we won't be here for the actual VBS, we were asked if we could possibly have something done by the time we leave. Heidi and I were up for the challenge. Now, for those who are aware of my artistic skills, you will know that drawing and crafting is not a forte of mine. However, the Spirit must have been guiding my fingers because I drew a back drop like I have never done before. Heidi and I were amazed at what we created.

The animals I drew were the giraffes, the hippos, the middle lion and the pigs.

After we stepped back and admired our beautiful handiwork, we took a big bite of humble pie :)




In the 7 1/2 months that we have been here, we had not been very intentional about doing something "fun" with Otto, Marjorie, Doug and Myra, until last Thursday. The 10 of us all went bowling followed by a delicious dinner of homemade hamburgers at Doug and Myra's. I'm not sure why we never made time to do this prior to 10 days before we were leaving Portugal because we all had a lot of fun together. Man, I'm going to miss these lovely people!

The Blazers

vs. The Strikers

Intensity at its finest!

Due to the lack of time until our departure, we were running out of time and opportunity to spend time with some of the people here, so us girls decided to invite all the ladies in the Massama church over last Friday night for dessert and coffee. It was a wonderful evening full of encouragement and an opportunity for the ladies to ask us what our plans are for the future and about our experience here in Portugal. Again, I wish we would have been more intentional about having these ladies over more often than we did.

Saturday evening, us girls had a night out with our dear friend Paula. Paula is one of those incredible ladies who is so giving of her time and herself to the church. She is genuine and someone whom anyone would trust. Paula is incredibly gifted musically and she really likes Fado. Fado, for those who do not know is a genre of music that is very much Portuguese. The word Fado means fate, and as such, the lyrics of the songs are very much centered on the fate of a person's heart - their love, their sorrow, their tragedy and also the fate of the country. The music is incredibly moving and Fado singers can do amazing things with their voices. There are 3 "F's" of Portugal: Futebol, Fatima and Fado. We had experienced the first 2 and only had Fado to experience yet before we left and we wanted to do it with Paula - someone who really loves and appreciates the music. As it happened, there was a show going on at one of the casinos called "Fado, A People's History". It was a musical of sorts as it depicted the history of how Fado began and how it has evolved over the years. The show was awesome! I loved every minute of it. Sadly, we could not take any pictures inside the casino or during the show.

Here is a youtube link of a well known Fado singer if you want to check out what Fado is all about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm4GdfaMA8Q

Last night after church, Otto and Marjorie hosted us, along with the youth from Massama over at their place for supper as kind of a last horrah with them. All in all, there were about 25 people or so crammed into the living room, which was tight, but it was nice to have all the youth present. The youth asked us some questions about what will be next for each of us and about what we experienced here in Portugal. I was hugely blessed and moved to hear how we had also impacted some of the youth. Often, you wonder what sort of impact you have on people as you serve them and often, you never find out. As we listened to some of the youth share how we had impacted them, I was moved and honored to have had the opportunity to share in part of their lives. I came to realization that saying goodbye to these youth and our friends here in Portugal is going to be a lot harder than I ever imagined. 

Aleah, Heidi and Jordan

Mila and Celma

Paulino and Celso

Myself, Debora, Damaras, Celma and Mila

Last night was also a night of goodbyes. Our dear Doug and Myra are en route to Italy today for a little holiday before they head home to California in July. Because they will not be around for when we leave on Monday, we had to say our goodbyes at church last night. These 2 amazing people have made a huge impression in my life. 2 years ago, they retired from their jobs and decided to commit themselves to serving through MB Mission as global servants. I have learned so much from them these past months. I think it is so cool to see 2 people, who could be living the "comfortable" retired life somewhere in North America, use their time and their gifts for serving others. It is my hope, that when I get to that age, I will do something along the same lines. Their term in Portugal is coming to an end, but I know God has great things in store for this couple. He is far from finished with them yet! Much love to you Doug and Myra. It has been an honor serving with you guys and learning from you.

Here's to our final week, a week full of more lasts and final goodbyes. It is a bittersweet moment.