Spiritual Desolation in Portugal

Did you know that the population of evangelical Christians in Portugal is currently at .08%?  Christian sociologists report that anything less than 10% is considered "unchurched."  This is quite astonishing, and something that has really hit home with me recently.  In addition, out of the 84% of people who claim to be Roman Catholic, only 1/3 actually regularly attend mass.  Portugal is in desperate spiritual need!

Our plans for once we arrive in Portugal are as follows:  I will be discipled and trained by Pastor Figueira, while I will immediately be in a leadership role with the youth of the church.  I will Lord-willing also be accompanying Pastor Figueira as he assists numerous church-plant movements in Portugal, Mozambique, and the United States.  The Lord has really grown in us a passion to be used to plant new churches in Portugal!  There is such a tremendous need!  Will you join us in this passion!  We are currently at 40% of our monthly goal.  If you would like to give, the information is below.

Thank you for your love and prayer!

If you would like to support us monthly or with a one-time gift:

Please write check out to BILD International, include "Darling Family" in the memo line, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

*Please indicate with a note if gift is either monthly or one-time

Update/Pastor Figueira Coming to the States

We are encouraged as we watch the Lord guide each step of our lives.  We have so enjoyed the process of letting friends and family know of our passion and plans for a permanent move to Portugal.  We are currently at 40% raised of our goal of $2000 a month.  Things are also coming along well in the work visa application process.  Please be in prayer for these things as we move forward.

Pastor Figueira will be arriving in the States May 9.  He will embark on a 2-week journey to meet with friends and churches to share his vision for church planting in Portugal and Mozambique.  Please be in prayer for the Lord to bless his travels and ministry.  We will spend a day with him in Virginia at the home of the Parrish family, great friends who were in ministry in Portugal with Word of Life.

We will be headed to Connecticut and New York to share our plans for Portugal in several churches June 27-July 5.  We will be using the train as our mode of travel, a new adventure for the girls.  Please be in prayer that our time will be fruitful, and for traveling mercies. 

Isabel is healthy and beautiful, and Anadia and Cora absolutely adore her.  We are so truly blessed with a home full of smiles, laughter, and challenges.  Our greatest desire is for our children to grow up with a deep love for our Lord and Savior.

Thank you for your love and support.  Thank you for coming along side us in this ministry!

If you would like to support us monthly or with a one-time gift:

Please write check out to BILD International, include "Darling Family" in the memo line, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

*Please indicate with a note if gift is either monthly or one-time

Isabel Berlyn Darling Has Arrived!

Praise the Lord for the birth of our third daughter, Isabel Berlyn Darling!  We are so thankful to our Lord for allowing her to be born healthy and strong.  She was born 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and she is beautiful.

We are so glad she is here.  It is now the time to really push forward in our plans to move to Portugal.  We are currently in the process of applying for new passports for Cora and Isabel, as well as applying for work visas.

Would you prayerfully consider joining us in financial support?  We are currently at 15% of our monthly support goal, and we are also in need of one-time gifts for things such as plane tickets, furniture, and visa application costs.  If you would like to give, the information you need is below.

We cherish the opportunity to share with you in this ministry!  Thank you all for your love and prayer.

Please write check out to BILD International, include "Darling Family" in the memo line, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

*Please indicate with a note if gift is either monthly or one-time

Details, Details, Details

As the months fly by, we just wanted to give you an update on specific needs regarding our move to Portugal.  We are currently in the process of applying for visa's for each member of our family.  This includes getting new passports for Cora and eventually the new baby.  This is something very specific you can be in prayer for, that we will receive visa's as quickly as possible.

We are asking the Lord for the opportunity to move to Portugal by September of this year, just six months away!  We have targeted between $1500 and $2000 per month to be raised.  With the employment we are confident I can obtain, we feel that this is a good goal to set.  We also need to raise "start-up" funds for specific things like plane tickets, an apartment deposit, furniture, and the cost of new passports and visas.

We thank the Lord that He has brought in some initial support.  It is a true joy to sit back and watch Him put the pieces together as only He can.  Would you prayerfully consider joining us now in prayer and financial support?

Please write check out to BILD International, include "Darling Family" in the memo line, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

*Please indicate with a note if gift is either monthly or one-time

Thank you so much for your love and support!

Pastor Antonio in Mozambique

At the moment, Pastor Antonio is in Mozambique, and I wanted to share with you some details concerning his ministry in that country.

A few posts back I shared with you what BILD International provides for church leaders around the world.  BILD has developed a curriculum that is based completely from Scripture that is used to train up new leaders right inside the local church.  As the Gospel spreads rapidly in many parts of the world, this is a tremendous tool available to pastors who do not have the resources to send new leaders away to seminary.  With this curriculum, pastors can keep their leaders to train and "learn on the job," and then be able to send them to a new church plant.

A few years ago Pastor Antonio began to translate this curriculum into the Portuguese language, and it is used to train leaders in the church in Porto.  The Lord also began placing in his heart how this tool could be mightily used in other Portuguese-speaking countries such as Mozambique.  So for the past few years he has been traveling there to meet with pastors and instruct them on how to use this tool to train leaders within their churches.  The Gospel is wonderfully spreading in this country, and we are in constant prayer that the Lord will use this curriculum to supply leaders for new church plants all over that land!

This is one part of the ministry of the church in Porto that Lord-willing we will be involved in.  I truly have a love for the Portuguese people, and it would be an awesome joy if the Lord allowed us to be a part of the growth of the Gospel in the Portuguese-speaking world.

Please be in prayer for our family as our third child should be arriving anytime now!  Pray for strength for Caryne, and that the delivery process would be the easiest one yet for her.

We continue to target September of this year to move to Portugal permanently.  If you would like to join with us financially, the information you need is below.  Thank you for your love and prayers!

Make the check out to BILD International, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

Please write "Darling Family" on the memo line of your check.   

Back From Portugal!

What a awesome time Caryne and I had!  We are back from Portugal and we miss it already!  The Lord truly blessed our time there and we have come back to the States with a tremendous passion to go back and serve our Lord in that country.

The first couple of days we spent getting to know the city of Porto and its surrounding areas.  On Wednesday I had the opportunity to go see my favorite soccer team play near the Porto area.  What great fun!  On Thursday Caryne and I were able to go to a huge outdoor market in the town of Barcelos.  These markets have all the necessities: clothing, fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, live chickens :).  We love the atmosphere of the open market and we can't wait to be able take advantage of this great variety! 

On Friday we visited a number of grocery stores to get a feel for what was available, and then stopped by another outdoor market close to the church.  Friday afternoon I met with two ESL schools for interviews.  The interviews went well and we are excited that there is opportunity to teach English in the Porto area.  Friday night we gathered at Pastor Figueira's home for a "Lighthouse," (small-group) meeting.  Each Friday there are several Lighthouses held throughout the city.  It is just a wonderful time of food, fellowship, and Bible study.  The picture above is of that Lighthouse.  That night we had a birthday celebration for Caryne, which was a complete surprise to her! 

Saturday morning I played indoor soccer with several men from the church, and then we had a delicious lunch with our hosts, the Cristofanos, a family we grew to love in the short time we were there.  What a blessing from the Lord it was to get to know such a beautiful family!  Saturday afternoon was spent at the church with the children and young adults.  Each Saturday they have programs of games and Bible study for each age group.  We also spent a brief time with one of the leaders of the church discussing the cost of living in the Porto area.  From that information we will soon be able to share our target amount of support to be raised.

Sunday morning we spent at church, where I had the opportunity to share with the congregation what had been happening over the past year.  I was able to share some of it in the Portuguese language, which I was encouraged about.  It was a joy to be able to worship and fellowship with fellow believers, even in a different language!

Monday morning Pastor Figueira graciously loaned us his car, and Caryne and I headed north to spend a couple of days just the two of us.  We did fit in a precious time with great family friend, Manuel, for lunch, and it was great to see him.  Caryne and I had a wonderful time together traveling through the beautiful countryside and along the coast.

Now we are back, and eager to set out accomplishing the tasks that will bring us to Portugal permanently.  Would you prayerfully consider joining us in prayer and financial support?  We continue to target September of this year to move, which is not long from now!  Things to be in prayer for: the birth of our third child (March 30), the application process for a work visa, the next step in the interview process for the ESL schools, and support raising.  If you would like to give financially the information is below. 

Thank you so much for your love and support!

Make the check out to BILD International, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

Please write "Darling Family" on the memo line of your check.

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  We enjoyed a wonderful break with my wife's side of the family in Philadelphia, PA.  Now its back to life's responsibilities.  Our immediate task for this month is to get ready for our trip to Portugal on the 24th.  Praise the Lord I was able to set up a number of interviews with ESL schools in the Porto area.  Please pray that these interviews will go well and we would clearly see the Lord's direction.  Pray also for wisdom as we go over the details that come with leaving our children in the care of my parents.

We will be spending most of our time in Portugal with Pastor Figueira and his family, as well as the church family there in Porto.  We will also set aside time to get to know the area, find the location of food markets,  and possibly look at apartments.  We are truly excited to see what the Lord has for us on this next step of our journey. 

We had the awesome blessing of seeing our first monthly supporter join us in December.  We continue to ask the Lord to provide support to supplement employment so that we can move permanently to Portugal by September of this year.  Would you prayerfully consider joining us with a one-time gift or in monthly support?

It is all in the Lord's hands, and we sincerely rest in that fact.  May the Lord bless you and your family as you embark on a new year.

If you would like to join us in support, please send gifts to:

Make the check out to BILD International, and send to:
BILD International
2400 Oakwood Rd
Ames, IA 50014-8417

Please write "Darling Family" on the memo line of your check.