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Thursday, August 2, 2012

This Is My Father's World

I am so thankful that this truly is my Father's World!  I am thankful that I do not rest my hope on the things of this world, but on the promises of an almighty God!  I feel so helpless as I observe the troubling times that we live in.  We serve a God who is infinitely more powerful than anything we face here on earth.  I was reminded of this fact recently, and it renewed my gratefulness for the awesome privilege we have to serve the one, true God here in Portugal!

Our beautiful Isabel

This past month has been an eventful time of orientation.  We have spent some very fruitful time with several individuals and families of our church, and we are thankful for the friendships the Lord is bringing our way.  I have enjoyed working with the men of the congregation on an addition behind the church building, as well as with Pastor Figueira's son painting the home of his sweet grandmother "Maezinha."


Maezinha's Home BEFORE
Maezinha's Home AFTER

As a family we are getting to know a small portion of our community.  It has been great fun as we become familiar with the owners and employees of the various businesses around us.  Very close to our home there is an arts and crafts store, a frutaria, a florist, a butcher, and several cafe's.  Every Friday we walk as a family to the open market, where we have met great people who have blessed us with their kindness.  For the past month I have been teaching English to Jose Luis, a Paraguayan man from our church.  It has been a joy to help him learn the language, which we pray will be a useful tool to further God's Kingdom.  Additionally, Caryne did an awesome job playing the piano at church the past two Sundays!  She was filling in for Pastor Figueira's wife as they were on vacation, and it was a great blessing to watch her work in that capacity.  Please pray that as we become more comfortable here, that we will answer those opportunities when the Lord calls us to share His love to those around us!


Things You Can be in Prayer For

 - Please pray that God would give all of us as a family the ability to learn the language as soon as possible.  We feel this is a tremendous priority, and we would appreciate your prayers for wisdom as to the best way to accomplish this.

 - Pray that we would have an impact on the the youth of our church as they face more and more responsibility in their lives.

 - I have had the opportunity to visit and drop off my resume at several ESL (English as a Second Language) schools in and around the city.  Please be in prayer that I will be able to receive part-time hours working for these schools.

 - Lord-willing I will be going to Iowa in October for a week of training at the annual BILD Summit.  Please pray that we will be able to raise the funds needed for the plane tickets to the States (around $800)

 - We are in need of an additional $350 of monthly support.  Please pray that those funds would come in a timely fashion.

We are so grateful for the prayer and support of each and every one of you!  We can never say thank you enough!