Faithful Examples

Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to painting the house of Pastor Figueira's mother-in-law, a women who is very dear to all those who know her.  She is a wonderful example of one who has dedicated her life to serving the Lord, and it was a joy to help freshen up her home.

For the past week Caryne, the girls, and I have enjoyed several get-togethers in the homes of families of our church.  We are thankful for the opportunity to fellowship with them, and are blessed by their hearts for the Lord.  I continue to teach English twice a week to Jose Luis, a young man who is also a member of our church.  It is awesome to see the Lord use these times to further His kingdom!

Thank you so much for your prayer, love, and support!

Pray for the Youth of Portugal!

As we get to know the precious young people within our church here, we have begun to feel a tremendous burden to see them completely focused on what the Lord has for their lives.  In shear economic terms, Portugal is an extremely difficult place for a young man or women to grow up in. More than one in three youths (36.2%) were jobless in the first quarter of 2012 according to the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE).  With the country being so spiritually desolate, it is our fervent prayer that this generation of Christian young people will face the world with a clear understanding of the Lord's call for their lives!  That is, that they would live each day for Him, giving their lives sacrificially to Him!  Romans 12:1 - "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."  I have learned the hard way that living my life according to the world's values only leads to struggle and heartbreak.  It is our hope that the Lord can use our example to help these young people to only focus on what God wants for them, and not what the world wants!  Please pray that we ourselves would continue to grow in spiritual maturity, and that the Lord may use us to affect the youth of Portugal to further His kingdom.

Its Been One Month!

Today marks one month that we have lived in Portugal.  We have been so blessed beyond measure!  We are truly thankful for so many things, beginning with the faithful love, prayer, and support that has come from all of you.

We are so humbled by how the Lord has provided for our needs.  We are excited as the girls have begun to learn the language, friendships are forming quickly, training is well under way, and opportunities to be a witness abound!

Things you can be in prayer for:
 - We continue to need to raise an additional $350 of monthly support to cover for taxes here.  Praise the Lord we have already had response to this need!
 - Opportunities have begun to open up to teach English here at church and around the city.  Please pray that some of these opportunities will come to fruition.
 - There is a possibility through a man at the church for us to be able to purchase an affordable vehicle from him.  We have very quickly realized that for us to be most effective here in ministry we will need to purchase a car.  Please pray for wisdom, and that we will do as the Lord leads in this matter.  We will share more about that in the future!

We praise the Lord that we can be a part of His ministry!

A Caminhada Ate' a Igreja (The Walk to Church)

Most mornings I walk from our apartment to our church to begin my day.  It is about a mile away, so I thought I would share with you some of what I see as I walk.

Home near our apartment building

Continente is the grocery store across the street from our building

A Roman bridge 

Highway headed north

Uninhabited home

A very contrasting home directly across the street from the one above

Approaching our church (building straight ahead)

Feliz Aniversário Cora!

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th birthday of our sweet and beautiful Cora Lucilia.  We had an enjoyable, full day that included our first visit to the beach, and ended with cake and rice pudding with Pastor Figueira and his family. Cora is a true blessing to us, and we are so thankful to the Lord for our children!  Happy Birthday Cora!  We love you!

All the King's Men

Today was another very full day of work on the addition at church.  Once again, much was accomplished!  These times working together have been very beneficial for the men of the church. Please be praying, as the next step will require additional funding. The Lord's timing is always perfect, so we know things will come together according to His plan.

Yesterday we spent the morning together as a family at the open market.  Monday is Cora's 4th birthday, so we began the celebrations with a balloon, flowers, and ice cream!  The day was also important for a different reason, as I began teaching English to a man from our church family.

We are truly excited for what the Lord has for us here in our new home and country.  Our prayer is that we commit every day to following His will for our family.  Thank you for being a part of this journey!

Visas Received!

We are praising the Lord as yesterday 1-year residency visas were approved for the entire family!  It was a long day, but the girls were troopers, and we are so thankful for the relatively quick manner in which the visas were received.  Thank you all for your prayers for each of these steps!

On another note, I am an uncle again!  My sister Jen had a healthy baby girl yesterday.  Ivy Kathryn was born at 11:30am yesterday morning, weighing in at 6 lb. 15 oz., and 21 inches long!  We are rejoicing for these wonderful blessings from the Lord!

Please be in prayer concerning our support.  We are needing to raise at least an additional $350 per month to cover taxes here in Portugal.  The Lord has it all in His hands, and we rest in that truth.  Thank you all for your prayer and encouragement.

This is the Day the Lord has Made!

On the first Sunday of each month the Antioch Baptist Church family spends just about the entire day in worship and fellowship together.  Yesterday we joined for lunch after the morning services, followed by a business meeting (in which we were accepted as members, praise the Lord), finishing the day with the baptism of a young man named John, and communion.  What a truly awesome time it is with the congregation!  We praise the Lord for the hearts of these people!  Please pray that the Lord will continue to use this church to reach the lost here in Porto, and around the world.

Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support!  We are so thankful for your investment in our family.  It is a great privilege to have all of you alongside of us!

Our Street :)