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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Important and Exciting Changes!


The address for our support funds has changed! Here is the new information:


Twin Cities Church
memo: Portugal (Darling Family)
2375 W. University Ave, Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55114

Any questions please contact finance@tccmn.org.


NOTE: You can also go to http://tccmn.org/give/ to give online or have automatic withdrawal set up!


Seven years ago a man named George Stagg felt the Lord leading him from Oakwood Road Church, the church where BILD International was founded, to plant churches in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. They now have a thriving church that meets in both cities (You can read a little about their story here - http://tccmn.org/about/).


This church (Twin Cities Church) has recently become a partner of our church here in Portugal, Antioch Baptist Church. They have felt led by the Lord to join forces with us in reaching the lost here in the city of Porto. George and his wife visited us just a few months ago, where we strategized together on the best way to organize our churches so that the Gospel will spread in the most effective way possible.


We are very excited about this and everyone involved felt it important to make this change, as Twins Cities Church is at the moment better set up to handle all finances involved with our support. As you read above, there are now many different ways you can give, which we hope will make things easier for you going forward.


Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you, as always, for your partnership!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


In Christ,


The Darling Family

P.S. Stay tuned for an update on what's going on in the ministry here in Porto!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Blessings Abound!

Baptism
The Lord continues to bless the ministry of our church here in Porto.  Last week we had the joy of witnessing the baptism of a recent convert who came to Christ through the faithful example of a member of our church. Please pray for this young man from Colombia named Jhoan.  Pray that he would grow in spiritual maturity as he seeks to serve the Lord.

Bible Studies
An awesome part of our ministry here is the opportunity to have weekly Bible studies with several of the young people in our church.  I meet with three of our young men on separate days of the week, Caryne meets with several of the young women at least twice a month, and together we meet with a young dating couple each week.  It is such a privilege to study and grow in maturity together, and to see these young people with the desire to serve the Lord with their lives!  Please be in prayer that the Lord would guard their hearts, and that they would be effective witnesses to those around them!

A Special Visit
We were so blessed to have my parents here in Porto for two weeks!  They had a great time getting to know the ministry here, and visiting places in and around our city that are special to our family.  The girls loved the time with their grandparents!

What a joy it is to serve the Lord in Portugal!  Thank you for your partnership!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Plans for a Trip to the States

A Furlough
As the Lord continues to bless the work here in Portugal, we have begun praying about the possibility  of visiting the States to spend time with family and partners.

It is such a privilege to be a part of the Lord's work here in Portugal.  On June 15 of this year, we reached two years of living in the great city of Porto.  We are now praying for the opportunity to visit the States on a short furlough in the summer of 2015.  We are looking specifically to arrive on June 20, and stay until August 20. We will begin to connect with our church partners to see about opportunities to visit and share all about what the Lord is doing here.

Trip Expenses
As we are a large family, the biggest financial challenge will be the cost of airfare.  We will be needing to purchase six plane tickets.  We will also have in-country expenses like van rentals, etc.  Our plan will be to spend time with our families in the northeast, as well as visit each one of our church partners, both on the east and west coasts.  Would you prayerfully consider giving towards our visit to the States?  Thank you, as always, for your partnership!

Important
If you would like to give specifically towards this trip, please write your check out to BILD International (as always), and include "Darling Family Furlough" on the memo line.  You can also give by credit card by calling BILD at the number in the upper right hand corner of this blog.


   

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Greater is He that is in You


New School
One of the awesome features of our new home is that the local school is within walking distance for Caryne and the girls.  For both Anadia and Cora it will mean moving to a new school and everything that a change like that brings.  This past year they had been attending separate schools, but praise the Lord they both have been accepted into the new one!  They certainly are excited that they will be together every day!  Please pray for them that they will integrate well will their new teachers and classmates, and that above all else they will be able to show God's love to those around them!

Special Project
As you all know, there are always extra expenses at the beginning of the school year for things like books and supplies.  If you would to give toward a special project specifically for the girls' schooling, the costs will be around $200.  

This little one has discovered the joys of walking :)
Recent Convert
Please be in prayer for a recent convert in our church named Laura.  Please pray that she will grow in Christ, and that we as a church will be effective in leading her to maturity in the Lord.  We praise the Lord for all that He is doing through this local church!

From a recent day trip to Gerês, northern Portugal.  

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Getting Settled

Our New Home/Cora's Birthday
We are feeling wonderfully blessed as we settle in to our new home.  On July 9 we had the joy of celebrating Cora's sixth birthday, along with hosting our Casa Farol (led by Pastor Figueira).  We had many church families come to celebrate with us, and to dedicate our home to be used for the advancement of the Gospel.



Prayer Request - Neighbors
We are encouraged as almost right away we have connected with two neighbor families in our new community.  Our girls have struck up friendships with the children of these families, and we are excited about what the Lord has in store.  Please pray continually that the Gospel has an impact in our community!

Thank you for your partnership!

Friday, June 20, 2014

On the Move

We're Moving!
We have reached the two-year mark since moving here to Portugal, and we have decided to move to a new house and new area of Porto.  When we first arrived we were tremendously blessed to move into a beautiful apartment in the same building that Pastor Figueira and his family live.  It has been a wonderful place to call home and it will be bittersweet for us to say goodbye to it.

But as our church continues to move forward with the vision to reach this great city for Christ, we have felt the Lord leading us to strategically relocate so that our family may be used by the Lord in a more effective way. Our new home is in an area close to several families of our church, and Lord-willing we will launch a new Casa Farol there.  If you remember (Info on Casas Farol), Casas Farol are an important component in the vision our church has to reach the lost of Porto.  It is a home located in a quieter area of the city, with a little more space for the girls to play, and within walking distance of their new school.  Thank you for your prayers as we make this move!

Special Project - There will be some new expenses related to the new home, so if you would like to give to that specifically, you can send funds to BILD International with a note containing the title "Darling's Moving Expenses."


Nana's Visit
We had the wonderful privilege recently of receiving a visit from my grandmother, affectionately known as Nana, along with her friend Sue.  They spent several days with us here in Porto getting to know our church family and our city.  I was also able to travel down with them to Lisbon, where we spent another several days revisiting where I grew up and where Nana and my grandfather had visited so many years ago.  It was a true blessing from the Lord to be able to spend that precious time with her and Sue!

Music School
Several weeks ago, another important component in the vision of our church, a music school, was launched. Understanding the importance of music for the growth of any church, we began in May with over 10 students, with classes in music theory, piano, guitar, and bass guitar.  Several of the men involved in this school, including myself, are either current or future leaders of Casas Farol.  This school will enable us to learn to read and play music, giving us the ability to lead worship within Casas Farol.  The school also gives our kids and youth interested and/or gifted in music an opportunity to develop their abilities.  Please pray that this school will be used in a mighty way to spread the Gospel!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

"My Help comes from the Lord"


Photographic Reflections









Thank you, as always, for your partnership!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

"If we live by the Spirit..."

Church Addition
For the past months a building has been taking shape directly behind our church.  This multi-use building has been a vision of this ministry for many years, and praise the Lord through recent financial blessing we have been able to move forward with construction. It will include a new kitchen, and Lord-willing will be used for outreach programs (such as providing meals in our community to those who need it), as well as youth activities and more.  We are very encouraged about what the Lord is doing now, and will do in the future, through this ministry!
Happy Birthday Isabel!
Our awesome and full-of-life daughter Isabel recently turned three years old!  She is a joy to our family, as well as to all those she comes in contact with.  We know she will be used of the Lord in exciting ways!  Parabéns!

Prison Ministry
Please continue to pray for our church's prison ministry in the nearby town of Custóias.  Lives are continually being impacted with the Gospel in many different ways. Tomorrow we will begin taking soccer teams into the prison to play a team of inmates.  Please pray that these games will be used as another way to spread the good news of the Gospel!

Ministry Partners in the States
Pastor Figueira returned today from a two-week ministry trip to the States.  There he met with many current and future ministry partners who are working alongside our church, both in northern Portugal and in other Portuguese-speaking nations (like Mozambique and Brazil).  Praise the Lord for a fruitful and safe trip! Please be in prayer concerning these partnerships, as the Lord continues to open doors for the Gospel in the Portuguese-speaking world!

It is a blessing to have you alongside us!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Wonderful are Your Works!

Recent Converts
Please be in prayer for four specific names - Catarina Teixeira, Catarina Guiomar, Sérgio Peixoto, and Jhoan Viafara.   They are four young people that, through the ministry of our church, recently accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Each one of them have unique backgrounds and stories, and our most important objective now is to help them grow in maturity in Christ.  Please be in prayer for that specifically, as spiritual growth is what is so crucial now in their lives.  We praise the Lord for what He is doing through our church!

Casas Farol
A very important component in the ministry of our church are our Casas Farol - our Lighthouses.  Every week different groups from our congregation meet in homes throughout the city of Porto.  It is a much more informal and intimate setting where we sing praises to the Lord, pray for one another, and study His word. These Casas Farol are also very important in our church's strategy to see the Gospel spread throughout this city (a city with approximately 1.3 million people).  Because of the more relaxed setting of these Lighthouses, it is a great opportunity to invite unsaved friends and family.   Additionally, Casas Farol are key in the overall vision to establish new local churches in this part of the world, as they can be a catalyst for the Gospel in each of the communities where they exist.

Please be in prayer for this particular ministry of our church.  Each of these Casas Farol require a faithful, spiritually mature leader who is able to teach God's word effectively.  Men are currently in training under the teaching of our pastor for this very reason.  Also, we are soon to launch several new Casas Farol in other parts of the city.  Its an exciting time, and we are so thankful to have all of you as partners with us!

Ministry to Widows
We have several widows in our church family, two of whom just became so.  Not too long ago we decided that a great part of the ministry of our young people would be to regularly visit these widows, to spend time with them and encourage them.  We visit these women's homes, where we sing, pray, read God's word, and eat together.  It is a great blessing to all involved to see these women's spirits lifted, and to watch the effect this ministry has on the young people.

Thank You
Many of you answered our need for additional monthly support, and for that we are grateful.  It is such a blessing to be able share with you in this ministry.  As the apostle Paul would say, grace be with you!











Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Monday, January 13, 2014

"All to the Glory of God"

We are now entering into the middle of our second year in Portugal! We are so humbled and thankful for what the Lord has done, and will continue to do, in our lives. We are truly grateful for the investment that so many of you have placed into our family!

Monthly Needs
We are so encouraged about what is being accomplished through our church here in Porto!  The Lord is using this church to reach people in this city as never before (more on that in minute)!  Thank you so much for your vital partnership that enables this ministry to continue moving forward!  We wanted to share with you our current financial situation so that you could be in prayer with us about a specific need.  We are currently at approximately 75% of monthly support.  An additional $600 monthly is needed for us to be at 100%. Our stategy has always been to take on part-time teaching hours to supplement any financial shortfall. Unfortunately, getting enough hours can be quite challenging, so we are praying for full support.   Thank you for praying with us, and for your consideration in financially partnering with this ministry!

Reaching our "Jerusalem"
As mentioned above, the Lord is using our church - Antioch Baptist Church - to reach those around us like never before.  We have a powerful ministry in a local prison, where we meet with at least 20 inmates every Saturday to pray, sing praises, and share the Gospel. Members from our church meet inmates individually during the week just to spend time listening and praying with them.  The Lord is using our young people to reach families in a low-income housing neighborhood, as well as spend time each month with widows in our congregation.  The Lord has also opened up new doors to provide basic needs to downtrodden families, with their salvation always as the primary focus.  Praise Him for what He is doing!

Your Partnership
We can't wait to see what the Lord will do this year in Portugal, a country that is in desperate need of the Gospel!  Your partnership is vital!  Thank you for coming alongside this ministry!