The team is in flight home.
Thursday
Wednesday!
We had a few spare hours in the morning, so we took
a quick trip to down-town Lisbon to see the “commercial
area”, which is lovely “old” buildings which are really
not so old. Lisbon was almost totally destroyed by an
earthquake in the 1700s, and completely rebuilt, so the
buildings are relatively young.
We dashed back to Tojal to get ready for the
“graduation celebration” in the afternoon,
which went really well, with lots of hugs,
kisses, and tears. The students were so
drawn to the team, who loved them well.
Idalia, a Portuguese, told her story, which
was very good for these ladies to hear.
Some show real interest in what Ron
and Idalia (full-time GEM missionaries)
are doing in Portugal.
In the evening, all our team plus the two missionary
families who helped us, had a appreciation dinner at
a nice restaurant, shared experiences, what God did
in us during the week, and exchanged gifts. Very nice
time.
Tuesday
Teaching Tuesday!
On Monday, while the one team was teaching, the other team
was invited by Vicki, another missionary here, to go and see
a monastery. They enjoyed the library, the town and some
beautiful flowers, blooming on the trees. They also shared
some delicious pastries with the rest of the team when they
returned to the Bible Institute. (if it seems that we are
enjoying the food here, it is TRUE!!) We all taught in
the afternoon, continuing to teach vocabulary, but also
increasing the conversations we are having with our
students. We are learning about their families, their
likes, their jobs. We are truly enjoying getting to know
our students!
was invited by Vicki, another missionary here, to go and see
a monastery. They enjoyed the library, the town and some
beautiful flowers, blooming on the trees. They also shared
some delicious pastries with the rest of the team when they
returned to the Bible Institute. (if it seems that we are
enjoying the food here, it is TRUE!!) We all taught in
the afternoon, continuing to teach vocabulary, but also
increasing the conversations we are having with our
students. We are learning about their families, their
likes, their jobs. We are truly enjoying getting to know
our students!
Monday evening Idalia prepared a delicious meal for
our team, 3 of their children, and Vicki and her daughter.
Patti shared from the book of Hebrews for devotions,
reminding us to spur one another toward love and
good deeds. It was so great to have the Fairbanks
and Vicki here to share in our devotional time.
Ron encouraged us that we MAY not see the fruit of
our labor but we can trust that as we obeyed the will
of God in our lives, HE will bring about fruit. We had
a sweet time of prayer together.
our team, 3 of their children, and Vicki and her daughter.
Patti shared from the book of Hebrews for devotions,
reminding us to spur one another toward love and
good deeds. It was so great to have the Fairbanks
and Vicki here to share in our devotional time.
Ron encouraged us that we MAY not see the fruit of
our labor but we can trust that as we obeyed the will
of God in our lives, HE will bring about fruit. We had
a sweet time of prayer together.
We finished out the day by playing a couple of games,
requiring creativity, expressing ourselves with many
words, one word or by acting out a word!! If laughter
is good for the soul our souls must be very healthy!
requiring creativity, expressing ourselves with many
words, one word or by acting out a word!! If laughter
is good for the soul our souls must be very healthy!
Again, thank you for those who are praying for us.
We are grateful that you share in our ministry.
We ask that you pray as we say good bye to
our precious students, that their hearts may
have been softened to the Gospel; that they
realize we love because Christ first loved us.
We are grateful that you share in our ministry.
We ask that you pray as we say good bye to
our precious students, that their hearts may
have been softened to the Gospel; that they
realize we love because Christ first loved us.
It’s our prayer that we are one link in the chain of events
that will ultimately bring them to the saving knowledge
of Jesus and they, too, will find themselves in a personal
relationship with the Lord!
that will ultimately bring them to the saving knowledge
of Jesus and they, too, will find themselves in a personal
relationship with the Lord!
{Click on Pic to Enlarge}
Monday
Sunday In Portugal
Sunday gave us a glimpse of what the missionaries’ lives
look like as we attended 2 church services.
It was great to worship with the Portuguese! We even knew
It was great to worship with the Portuguese! We even knew
some of the songs.
At the 11am service in Lisbon the Angolan pastor shared
about a 14 year old girl who has never heard the name
of Jesus. He had the 15 young people of the church
stand and challenged them to be bold in their faith.
Then the congregation prayed in small groups for
150 free tickets to an upcoming soccer game;
each of the 15 young people are to invite 10 of
their friends to the game so that they can meet
a few of the players and hear their testimonies.
Join us in praying! He also challenged the
adults to be a part of this to provide the necessary
transportation.
He then preached on Galatians 1:6-9. Do you know
He then preached on Galatians 1:6-9. Do you know
the Gospel the way God’s Word presents it? Is it a
pure Gospel? We must know the one True Gospel!
After enjoying a nice lunch at “home” we piled back
into our cars for another church service at 4pm. This
church is the daughter church of the church we attended
in the morning, and the services are held at the institute
where Kate, LaVerne, and Lesley teach English. This
was a much smaller church, and after the service we
enjoyed a light dinner.
Pastor Paul preached on Matthew 9:35-38 – the harvest
Pastor Paul preached on Matthew 9:35-38 – the harvest
is plentiful but the labourers are few! He reminded us
that if we are disciples, we are automatically labourers.
And what happens if it’s not harvested? We lose the
harvest, so act now!
With no financial, family, or geographic limits, what
would you be doing? Perhaps this is what God is calling
you to.....
What a wonderful reminder that our God is the God of
What a wonderful reminder that our God is the God of
all people, tongues, tribes, and nations!
(Click on Picture to Enlarge!)
Sunday
Friday's Update
As the supervisor, I can say that the teachers are doing
a wonderful job.
a wonderful job.
I am so proud of them!
They are teaching like professionals...
and sharing the joy...
and love of Christ...
with their students.
The students love them!
We are all aware of your prayers...
every day...
and are seeing answers before our eyes.
{Click on Pic to Enlarge}
Friday
Thursday Update!
At group time, Neil is explaining the meaning of a
Biblical story.
Here is Aaron, Patti, and Beth outside of the Portuguese
Bible Institute. They are preparing for another day of
teaching at the school in Pòvoa.
Bible Institute. They are preparing for another day of
teaching at the school in Pòvoa.
Lesley is standing in the beautiful foliage found around
the campus at the Portuguese Bible Institute.
Each day the teams prepare for the lesson. Games, activities,
conversation, and vocabulary repetitively enforce English language
learning.
After teaching the memory verse “I am the light of the world”
John 9:5b to the students at the school in Pòvoa, one of
the students taught the verse to Aaron in Portuguese.
It reads: “Eu sou a luz do mundo” Joas 9:5b (it sounds
a lot different than it reads)!
Tony is teaching the pronunciation of a word ending in
“th.” See how he is using his tongue... he is exaggerating
the mechanics of the mouth in order to produce the sound
effectively. “Th” is a very difficult sound for the Portuguese
to produce.
This is an example of a drawing completed by Tony
which was used as a visual aid for learning the parts
of the body.
{Click on Pic to Enlarge}
Thursday
Teaching English Today!
Yesterday was our first day of teaching!
One group (Aaron, Tony, Beth, and Patti) taught from
8:30-11:30am then again from 3:30-6pm. The other
group (Neil, Kate, Lesley, and LaVerne) taught
from 2-5. Though the numbers of students aren’t
exactly what we expected, we trust that the Lord
has brought the right students to the right classrooms
with the right teachers to accomplish what He wants
this week!
8:30-11:30am then again from 3:30-6pm. The other
group (Neil, Kate, Lesley, and LaVerne) taught
from 2-5. Though the numbers of students aren’t
exactly what we expected, we trust that the Lord
has brought the right students to the right classrooms
with the right teachers to accomplish what He wants
this week!
A challenge is that our students understand and comprehend
a LOT of English from watching English TV and listening
to English music; however, they are at various levels of speaking
abilities. The first team, at the public school, has all level one
students (about 16 altogether, split into 2 classrooms).
a LOT of English from watching English TV and listening
to English music; however, they are at various levels of speaking
abilities. The first team, at the public school, has all level one
students (about 16 altogether, split into 2 classrooms).
The second team, at the school for children and adults with
disabilities, has 7 students, many of which are upper-level
one, but there are too few students to split according to
levels so they are all in one classroom. All of the students
are eager to practice their English with us! Pray that
the teaching would be valuable and the conversations
meaningful!
disabilities, has 7 students, many of which are upper-level
one, but there are too few students to split according to
levels so they are all in one classroom. All of the students
are eager to practice their English with us! Pray that
the teaching would be valuable and the conversations
meaningful!
Following our English lessons, we taught a Bible lesson
from John 3:1-16, the story of Nicodemus, and a few
of our students knew exactly what we were sharing.
They knew John 3:16 in Portuguese and were able
to clearly explain the story in their own [English]
words. We are anxious to continue the Bible
lessons with the hope of engaging in deeper conversations.
from John 3:1-16, the story of Nicodemus, and a few
of our students knew exactly what we were sharing.
They knew John 3:16 in Portuguese and were able
to clearly explain the story in their own [English]
words. We are anxious to continue the Bible
lessons with the hope of engaging in deeper conversations.
After singing “Glorify Your Name,” one student asked
me what we meant by “worship” and why we say that.
They are listening to and watching us; pray that we
would be Jesus to them and that His love for them
would be abundantly clear.
me what we meant by “worship” and why we say that.
They are listening to and watching us; pray that we
would be Jesus to them and that His love for them
would be abundantly clear.
After our day of teaching, we enjoyed another dinner
with the Fairbanks family.
with the Fairbanks family.
Pray for Ron’s back – he often feels this pain when
teams are visiting and God’s doing big things. We
are ready!
Wednesday
The Day Before Classes Begin!
Praise be to God for the return of Carolyn’s missing
purse containing the funds for the trip!
purse containing the funds for the trip!
Tuesday morning we had breakfast at Pasteis de Belem.
Pasteis de Belem is a world famous pastry shop which
was started by a group of nuns in 1837 to raise funds
was started by a group of nuns in 1837 to raise funds
for the monastery.
After leaving Pasteis de Belem, we went and took a
brief tour of the monastery.
brief tour of the monastery.
Continuing on, we walked to the Tigris River and viewed
sculptures and other historical monuments that represented
Portuguese explorers.
sculptures and other historical monuments that represented
Portuguese explorers.
From there, we toured both facilities where we will be
teaching starting Wednesday.
teaching starting Wednesday.
We are split up into 2 groups; 4 of us at a high school and 4
of us at Cercipovoa which is an centre for persons with disabilities.
of us at Cercipovoa which is an centre for persons with disabilities.
While we were there, we were able to observe some of
the work/groups that take place there on a daily basis.
The rest of the evening was spent preparing our lessons
for the following day of teaching and sharing in devotions
and prayer.
the work/groups that take place there on a daily basis.
The rest of the evening was spent preparing our lessons
for the following day of teaching and sharing in devotions
and prayer.
Please pray a good turn out as some of the student numbers
have been reduced. Please pray for confidence in the team
members and the ability to communicate effectively to the
students.
have been reduced. Please pray for confidence in the team
members and the ability to communicate effectively to the
students.
Please pray for continued health and safety (especially
on the roads as 2 of the team members are driving).
Pray for continued team building and the opportunity
for fellowship. Ciao!
(Click on Picture to Enlarge)
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