Feliz Natal!

Downtown Porto

We have been in Portugal now for six months! As we celebrate the birth of our Lord, we are thankful for so much.  We have been blessed with a wonderful home, a loving church family, opportunities in ministry, opportunities to teach, and a tremendous network of partners alongside us.  We are very encouraged to see the movement of the Gospel here, and are humbled to be part of God's work in Portugal.

After spending several days with my parents in Connecticut, I returned from the States on the 16th of November.  Praise the Lord my father is doing great following his surgery, and his rehab is going well.  I also was wonderfully blessed with the opportunity to share with North Haven Bible Church family.

The Lord has graciously brought so many awesome partners to this ministry.  We are praising the Lord for your support, as the needs mentioned in the last blogpost have been met!  Finances were given for our winter necessities, and another generous gift given enabled us to pay for the car we've been using.  We marvel at how the Lord always provides for our needs.

The last thirty days have been a busy time in the life of the church.  I continue to have the privilege of spending the weekends with the young people, and have greatly benefited from theological training every Monday and Friday. Additionally, the Lord has provided Portuguese lessons every Tuesday through the English school I work for. These lessons have already greatly improved my ability in the language, which of course is a huge help as I communicate with the youth.  Meanwhile, Pastor Figueira has had the opportunity to minister to several Portuguese communities in the region.  There are church-planting movements in both the Azores (Portuguese islands), as well as in Luxembourg. Pastor has recently met with key leaders in both those areas.  Please be in prayer that these growing partnerships will be used of God to spread the Gospel throughout the Portuguese-speaking world.

The girls are all well and are enjoying their first Christmas season in Portugal.  The church family has wonderfully embraced our family, and the girls love to spend time with them.  We see almost daily improvement in their grasp of the language, and its great to watch them become a part of the culture here.  Caryne and the baby are also doing well, praise the Lord.  Please pray that the Lord would watch over this pregnancy.

As year 2012 comes to a close, we reflect on all the Lord has done.  We are thankful for His love, grace, and provision.  We are thankful for each one of you, as your partnership is absolutely vital, and its a true joy to share our passion for this country with you.   We rest in the knowledge that He has everything in hands, and we look forward to what He has in store for the future!

Grávida!

Isabel is going to be a big sister!

Well, the Lord has brought along another blessing! We recently found out that Caryne is pregnant! We are thankful for the wonderful news, and we appreciate your prayers as a new life prepares to join us.

I have spent the past week in leadership training in Ames, IA, at the annual BILD Conference.  What a true blessing it was to worship and train with several hundred men and women from all around the world.  I am grateful for the opportunity to meet and share with fellow believers in Christ.

I am now in Connecticut spending the next several days with my parents before I head home to Portugal on Thursday.  We praise the Lord that my father is recovering well from his recent surgery.  Today I had the great privilege of sharing and updating our wonderful partners here at North Haven Bible Church.  We are so thankful for their love and support of our family.

Preaching and Teaching Workshop at BILD Conference

Caryne and the girls are doing well.  I rest in the comfort that they are well taken care by our awesome church family in Porto.  

Specific Things You Can Be In Prayer For:

*We are in need of approximately $1550 to pay for the car that a man from our church has allowed us to use.  He would like these funds by the end of the year

*With the winter coming up, we are in need of $400 for the purchase of space heaters and wood for our home

We thank each and everyone of you for your partnership in this ministry!

Jerry Neuman (Brazil), Myself and Pastor Figueira in Iowa

Cora enjoying a warm water bottle

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"

Commit Your Works to the Lord

Proverbs 16:3 - Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

It is a regular occurrence for me to be surprised when the Lord provides exactly what we need at exactly the right time.  He is always faithful, always.  He promises to supply all our needs (Phil 4:19), and yet we are amazed time and time again when He does the very thing that He promises He will do!  I am ashamed of my unfaithfulness, and forever grateful that I serve a forgiving, powerful, almighty God!

We have officially made the transition from the "acclimation" phase to the "very busy" phase of our life here in Portugal, and we are loving it!  Our week consists of Bible studies, home-schooling, English teaching, small group fellowship, leadership training, language training, soccer, culminating with the church gathering together for Sunday worship.  We are so thankful and blessed to be a small part of this awesome ministry in Porto!

The Lord has continued to provide teaching hours for me in and around the city.  Just today I was given a new class that will furnish hours all the way to June!  Teaching has given me the chance to meet new people, and I have had great opportunities to share my faith with many of them.  Please pray that I will be effective in both my teaching and, more importantly, in sharing my faith.

The past few Fridays we have had the young men of the church in our home for Bible study.  The Lord has given us a burden to help each one of them understand the very clear purpose the Lord has for us as men.  It is a joy for me to come alongside them with the common goal of growing closer to our Savior.  Please pray that these times will be fruitful and honoring to the Lord.

Caryne and the girls are adapting well, and we are thankful for the church family for making the transition as smooth as possible.  A dear friend from the church gives Portuguese lessons to Anadia and Cora every Wednesday, and each day after lunch I help them with their Portuguese homework.  This is in addition to their daily homeschool with their awesome teacher Caryne. :)

Things You can be in Prayer For:

 - I am traveling to Ames, IA, October 30 - November 10, for leadership training at the annual BILD Summit.  Please pray for traveling mercies, as well as for Caryne and the girls as I leave them for the first time since we moved here.

 - In August the Lord graciously provided us with a car through the generosity of a man at our church.  We are still in need of approximately $1550 to pay for the car, and the owner would like the funds by the end of the year.  Please pray that these funds will be provided.

 - Finally, please be in prayer for my parents.  My father will be in need of hip replacement surgery as a result of very painful arthritis and deterioration.  Please pray for my father for successful surgery and recovery.  Please also remember my mother as she cares for dad, while she continues to help care for her parents in Canada.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry!  We cherish your faithful love and prayer!

For in Him we Live and Move and Exist

Acts 17:28 - For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your poets have said, 'For we also are His children.'  This verse resonated with me recently.  In a sinful and hopeless world, we have the joy of living, "existing," in the hands of the Almighty God.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve Him!

The church meeting together for a meal

We are excited as many new opportunities will begin these next few weeks.  Every Friday, beginning September 14, we will be having a young men's Bible study in our home. Please keep us in prayer as we study together what it means to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord."  We will be studying 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and Colossians. This Sunday I will also begin leading the youth in study during the Sunday school hour.  My language proficiency is still a work in progress, so you can imagine the challenge these times will present.  Thank you for your continued prayers concerning our language study.

I am in constant contact with the ESL schools in the area.  Please pray that I would be able to gain some teaching hours in the next few weeks, as we are in need of those funds to supplement for what we still need in support.  We rest in the fact that the Lord has everything in His hands!  

We had the great privilege last week of visiting our dear friends Beca and Samuel Trancoso.  Beca basically became a part of our family while my parents were missionaries here, so much so that my father walked her down the aisle in her wedding. Samuel is a pastor of a church in Barreiro, just outside of Lisbon.  It was a joy to reconnect with them, and we are thankful for their faithful example in Christ.

Please also lift up Pastor Antonio and Pastor Barnhart (visiting from Minnesota), who left for Mozambique yesterday.  They will be there for 2 weeks, training and encouraging national pastors from several provinces in the country.  Our church here is heavily involved in prayer and support of the wonderful pastors and leaders of that Portuguese-speaking nation.  What an amazing work to be a part of!

We cherish your partnership in ministry here in Portugal!  Thank you for your faithful love and prayer!

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!

Clarification

I just wanted to clear up any confusion regarding our updated support needs as described in the last post.  Our original goal, based on the research we had done, was to reach a total of $2,000 of monthly support.  After spending a few weeks in Portugal and learning of the tax system here, it was decided between our family and the church leadership that we need to raise an additional $350.

I trust this clears up any misunderstanding from our last post.  Thanks so much for your prayer and encouragement!

Viva Portugal!

Praise the Lord for a safe arrival!
As we begin to get settled here in Portugal, we are thankful for the Lord's provision.  Each day I am reminded that He is in control of every step we take.  My prayer as I wake has been to let go of my concerns and fears, and to be completely open and aware of what God has for us.  We are humbled that He even allows us to be a part of His work on earth!  We cannot do any of this on our own, so we praise Him who has it all in His hands!

Prayer Requests 
Concerning Visas
The Lord has opened the door for us to swiftly receive the necessary documentation to be able to work here legally, and to open bank accounts.  We have a meeting on July 4 that will Lord-willing result in the whole family receiving extended-stay visas.  Please pray that the meeting will go smoothly!


Concerning Support
Also, after learning of the tax system here, we are needing to raise additional monthly support.  The new figure is $2,350 per month.  Will you prayerfully consider joining us in monthly support?

Our Beautiful Girls
Anadia, Cora, and Isabel are beginning to adjust.  Everything is done later here in Portugal, so that has been a challenge!  For instance, out of necessity their bed times have changed from around 8pm to 9:30pm!

They are already getting used to frequent walks with Caryne to the various grocery stores and open markets around our apartment.  We have even begun hearing Portuguese words in their vocabulary.  They are warming up well to the congregation at church, and we are so appreciative of how welcoming the people have been.  We covet your prayers as we raise our girls!

Thank you so much for being a part of the ministry here in Portugal!  We are so thankful for your love and support!  Please subscribe to our daily blog, http://daybydayonthedouro.blogspot.pt/, for more frequent updates!

The girls at a local playground

Our Street

Young people at our church sharing in song