Sunsets, 5 Kids & Language Lessons

I am always putting the pretty pictures on my blog. I guess no one wants to take pictures of the ugly places, but they are here too, just like they are in the States.

Yesterday was our first day in Portugal without a helper. I took Ms. Lora to the airport yesterday morning at 3:45 am. She was such a blessing to us while here. We praise the Lord for working everything out so she could come with us. Thank you Ms. Lora for being a willing vessel.

When we needed to run errands yesterday, the kids went with us. Heads turned everywhere as we walked through the electronic store looking for alarm clocks. Several folks stared at us, some tried to not appear to be staring, but others just didn't care. When we went into another store, the owner just came right out and asked about our children and wanted to know if they were all ours. When we confirmed they were and we rattled off every ones names and ages, he replied how unusual that was. He asked if he could take a picture and he pulled out his phone and took pictures and videos of the kids.

Tonight I made homemade chicken noodle soup for supper. It was a comfort food that everyone loved. I thought we'd have enough for tomorrows lunch, but there wasn't anything left over. These kids have been hard to fill up since we've arrived in Portugal. As I walked to the small grocery store today to get some eggs to make noodles, I passed several folks along the way. A lady was fertilizing her garden and the stench was just about unbearable. Two men leaned against a car parked right in the middle of the very narrow road. I couldn't decide if the one man was upset or if he was always that animated when he talked. Once in the store while I was looking at school supplies, I knocked a few notebooks to the floor. The young clerk ran over speaking quickly in Portuguese while trying to help me get them all picked up. He was very kind. Even though I've never seen him there before, he knows us. I think everyone in this village knows us. They've been talking to one another. Probably each sharing of their own encounter with us. We've tried to make contacts with our neighbors and the local shops. Michael does much better at speaking Portuguese than I do. I just smile a lot right now. I nod my head and greet everyone I pass. I try to communicate and ask for help from them. Today, when I stopped in the coffee shop for a coffee and a breather I asked to borrow a pen, Only I didn't really ask. I made the "invisible writing" motion with my hand and he came back with a pen. I then asked him the Portuguese word for pen and he told me. I repeated it several times and he congratulated me on a job well done. I smiled, said "thank you" in Portuguese and went on my way.---I hope that encounters like these will help soften hearts so that after some official language training, we'll be able to return and eventually share with them God's Word.