The Breakdown

So we're on our way home from a coffee bar night, caravaning along the highway...and the car began acting a little funny. We phoned the lead car and told him we were having trouble and might have to pull of the road. No sooner had be hung up the phone then it got worse and decided to pull over. The car was having trouble shifting and once we pulled over we actually could not even get the car back into gear.

We sat there in the car for no more than two minutes and all of a sudden a tow truck pulled up in front of us. The driver got out and came to our window beginning to speak to us in Portuguese. We asked him to speak english but he unfortunately only spoke Portuguese. We (very badly) tried to communicate that the car was broken and we needed to be towed to PBI, no progress. We called Matt who was in the car ahead of us, he was studying Portuguese and thought maybe he could help. After a long conversation with Matt the tow-truck driver handed the phone back to us (thank God for cell phones, we had picked ours up just the week before!) and suggested we phone Ron (who speaks fluent Portuguese) for assistance.

We had already phoned Ron once, we called him again and this time had him speak to the driver. After conversing for a while the driver gave us the phone back and started hooking up our car to the truck. Ron told us he was on his way and would be there shortly. One thing to note in all this is - here in Portugal it is AGAINST THE LAW to get out of your car on the side of the road without an orange vest. So picture a broken car, on the side of the road, with 5 girls in it being pulled up on a tow truck - quite the sight let me tell you!

While we were sitting there I mentioned to the other girls, "you know I know is no such thing as coincidences, but how random that we sat here for seriously no less than two minutes and a tow-truck of ALL things pulls up?!" So my friend Sarah, who was sitting next to me says very humbly and very confidently, "well I prayed. I prayed that someone would stop to help us." Yet again the Lord surprises! 5 American girls, driving at night, in a foriegn country - car breaks down and He provides. While there are many bumps in the road and turns along the journey, there is no place I would rather be than in the arms of the Lord our great provider. He brought us the tow-truck and transportation home. He is good.

Snails Anyone?

Sunday evening a group of us on the team decided to attend the evening festivities at the Loures (pronounced Lor-esh) Snail Festival. Yes, there is a huge tent with tables where people order plates of snails and sit and eat them. No, I did not eat any...well not yet at least :)

We were all standing around waiting for a table, and I think many of us would have at least tried them, but it was taking too long so we decided to walk around the grounds. There was an area with booths, many people were selling their creations. The creations were of all types, paintings, jewelry, shoes, sculptures, and many others. We walked around for a while but then proceeded into a gym area were the concert of the evening was to take place, this was the reason many of us had come that night.

The concert was of Fado (Pronounced Fa-Doo), this is a style of acustic music and is played with an acustic guitar and another instrument of which I do not know the name. These musicians play the entire time while various singers come out and each sing two songs kind of in folk style. This kind of music is quite popular here in the Portuguese culture and as I looked around the crowd there were people of all ages there in attendance. Quite the experience and introduction to an aspect of culture here in Portugal.

My Own BiG Adventure

Well unlike Saturday we were not going to be early, we were actually very late (yes I realize you are not surprised). It was Sunday morning and we were finally ready for church and I was backing the car out when a policeman walked up and began talking to us in Portuguese. I of course stayed calm and collected, not expecting a worst case scenario in the least. Ok, so maybe that's not exactly how it went down, I actually immediately began to wonder if he wanted to see my passport, Drivers License, Insurance...any and ALL paperwork a foreigner is SUPPOSED to have...and saying to myself, NOT NOW!

We kept asking him to speak to us in english but he would not, finally after we sat in the car for a minute or two wandering what to do he spoke in english and asked us to move the car back into the driveway. I did and it was then that he decided to tell us why. It was not to examine any paperwork but rather because there was a bike race coming our way. He told us that when it was ok for us to leave he would let us know. Within minutes some riders passed and he let us out of the driveway and we were able to head onto church. Well it wasn't exactly as easy as all that.

We were supposed to pick up two girls, Carla & Daisha at PBI to attend church with us. Carla was not feeling well so Daisha joined us and we were on our way, and making good time too. We were within eye shot of our next round-a-bout when traffic was at a standstill. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. People began to turn around and try to take alternate routes. A woman in front of us turned around and Daisha said she looked familiar...I made a joke (surprise) and we WAITED some more. Finally part of the bike race came through the round-a-bout and we were on our way again. We had now been delayed twice by the bike race.

As we proceeded we reached a place where two roads were supposed to merge together, I had the right of way (however much that means in Europe) but I looked over and in the next car was that same woman Daisha had recognized. I let her in and we all joked that she too was on her way to church also. As we proceeded and Daisha continued to give me directions it turned into...just turn where that lady did or follow that lady. The funny thing is, we followed her all the way to church - BOY, am I glad I let her merge! :)

We were sure that we were late, because contrary to other churches in Portugal this one is supposed to start ontime. Well as we entered the sanctuary they were just starting...see I really am not late ALL the time! The entire service was in Portuguese, which I enjoyed but at the same time I began to realize just how lonely it is to be somewhere and not understand the language. Many of the songs I could recognize from the music and tried to follow along and sing the words in Portuguese, yes the emphisis is on TRIED. The sermon on the other hand was quite difficult to follow. I really look forward to starting language school and hope that my understanding will increase quickly even if my ability to speak is slow.

So that was my BiG adventure on my way to church. I do hope that it is not repeated, however I am a little nervous as I have learned that Sunday's are biking days and usually have a race.

Sammy's BiG Adventure

So this past Saturday morning we are on our way to PMO (Pre Ministry Orientation). Like all good interns we are attempting to arrive EARLY. That's right, you read it correctly...I, Heidi was in the group attempting to be early to something. We would have been there early too except that a certain dog decided to have a stare down with our car.

My roommate Lisa was driving and the dog was in the middle of the road just staring down our car. Lisa slowed down and immediately told us we needed to open the door and grab it. Cec and I were like "WHAT?!" Lisa pulled over and proceeded to try and get the dog off the road and to run away, nicely of course. When that was unsuccessful and the dog just laid down on the side of the road she was distressed and didn't know what to do. She tried coxing the dog to follow her, but it would not. Lisa kept asking us if she should try and pick it up, now keep in mind that this is definately a STRAY dog. The dog did look hurt and like it had been stray for a little while, however it was not that old. Well after waiting what I considered a VERY polite amount of time I gently informed Lisa that if she was in fact going to pick up the dog and bring it with us she needed to do it soon or my "D" personality was REALLY going to kick in!

Lisa picked the dog up and we proceeded onto the PBI (the Bible Institute) where we hold our PMO classes. Before we arrived at PBI the dog had already been named Sam and once there Lisa got the her settled outside and we participated in our class. At the end of the day Sam received a bath, a visit to the Vet, another bath and we headed home. Now keep in mind that we do have landlords, they speak no english, its 9PM at night and we are coming home with a stray dog. Thankfully Lisa had a note written in Portuguese to show them and as soon as they saw the dog they were happy to let her stay until Monday. The plan being to try and find her a home or take her to a shelter.

Well Monday has now come, there is no room in the shelter and no new home for Sammy. You see here in Portugal dogs are not seen as pets, they are instead viewed as guard dogs and often are mistreated. In addition, the month of August is when everyone in Europe goes on holiday. Here in Portugal people often release their dogs while they are on holiday rather than finding someone to care for them. This is why the shelters fill up so quickly and why there are so many stray animals.

Well Lisa spoke with our landlords (with the help of our Portuguese roommate, Andreia) and they have told Lisa she can keep Sammy until she finds her a home, all Lisa has to do is buy a dog house for her. So Sammy now has a temorary home here with us...and that was Sammy's BIG adventure.

Now I know that I did not come here to minister to dogs but hey I've got to start small :)

Sights of Sevilla

After receiving our visa's we began scouting out Hostals for our overnight stay. They were all pretty much the same and a little more expensive than we originally anticipated. However, in the end we decided on one - a key factor being there was air conditioning. Air conditioning is a luxury we had been learning to live without during this past month and was an exciting perk on our trip.

Once our night's sleeping arrangments were secure we decised to use the "tour bus pass" we had purchased. It was good for both days and would take us to many of the "sights" of Sevilla. As we wondered around the city I found that there were some beautiful buildings but could not exactly understand why this was a touristic city. We wandered the streets and saw so many tourists milling around. While I am not sure if this is true but, there was an enormous cathedral and I can only imagine that with the influence of Catholicism in Spain this may be a source attracting people to Sevilla.

There were many plaza's and parks throughout the city. This picture is one I took looking out of the doorway of a building in the form of a semi-circle, across its plaza at a tower on the other side. I am not sure yet what this building and plaza are or were used for, however the structure itself was a treat to see.

VISA is in HAND!

Mission number three...the Portuguese Consulate - Pickup visa. Well we were a little aprehensive about this process as we had heard stories of people going to a government office and being told different information then what was provided through email or via the phone. Praise God that was not the case for us. We walked into the office and stepped into line behind just a few people. A woman behind the counter told us she would be with us shortly. When it was our turn, she had papers sitting in front of her and asked each of us "which one are you?" - meaning she was expecting us and ready to process our visa's.

The ONLY issue we ran into was that she asked Lisa to re-take her passport picture for the visa. However, she told Lisa exactly where to go and that once Lisa came back she would process all of them for us within the hour. What an answer to prayer!

I just really want to thank you all for lifting us up over these past few days. The trip went better than I could have imagined with little to no issues, we really walked away from the consulate knowing that God had paved our way and blessed us.

Sevilla, Spain

We arrived safely in Sevilla, Spain and began our pilgrimmage to find the Portuguese Consulate. At first we tried to drive around, according to our directions, and find it. Well after that was unsuccessful we began to look for a parking spot.

Contrary to parking in the US, it seems that in Spain you can park pretty much ANYWHERE you desire. While this seemed to be true, the funny thing is we still couldn't seem to find one. After driving around for about 10-15 minutes we found a small plot of dirt on the corner, large enough for two cars. Since there was one there already, we decided that it MUST be ok for us to park in the remaining area. Well mission one accomplished, parked car.

Now onto mission number two, find consulate. Well we knew the general area of the consulate's location and headed in that direction. After walking around for at least an hour, stoping to ask multiple people, being reminded each time that MOST Spanish people do NOT speak any english (contrary to portugal) we FINALLY asked a person that knew where it was. Interestingly enough it was directly across the street! In a matter of minutes we were off again, this time deffinately headed to accomplish mission number three. VISA'S

Starbucks...hmmmm GOOD

Well we arrived in Sevilla, Spain ontime and safely - Praise God! Then we proceeded to drive around in search of the consulate. After many turns and back tracking we stumbled on a sight for sore eyes, no it was not the consulate but a STARBUCKS!

There are no Starbucks in Portugal and the Portuguese idea of coffee is more along the lines of order, down it, leave - all while standing at the bar. While I am sure I will adapt to the Portuguese coffee scenerio I was extremely pleased to have my Vanilla Latte one last time...ok so we went twice - a year is a LONG time to go without Starbucks:)

CaN YOu SAy RoAD TriP?

Well I can say road trip! After a long week of PMT (Pre Ministry Training) Ron has given us two days off. So, since all of our visa's have now been approved - PRAISE GOD! We (Myself, Lisa, Bobb, Bri and Nichol) will all be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning. Our desination - Seville, Spain. Or as its pronounced here, Sevilla.

Please try to keep us in your prayers this Wednesday & Thursday.

- For safe travel

- That we will have ALL documentation needed to receive the visa's (the government can sometimes tell you one thing over the phone and another thing when you show up)

- Some relaxation

- Maybe even a LITTLE sight-seeing.

Thank you all for lifting us up over these next couple of days!

THE WINNERS

Here is the winning team for the cuetip game! Go us! From left to right - Heidi, Debra, Carla & Lisa

We had an opportunity on Saturday night to meet the Portuguese youth group at Ron's church. We were expecting to arrive and maybe socialize and eat pizza. I won't lie to you, I had been looking forward to the pizza ALL week long! Well we arrived at the church around 8PM and "hung out" for over an hour and a half. I am sure there was a plan, but none that we were really aware of. So, after chillin' in the back court yard of the church, watching the pizza and pop arrive and having no one instruct us to start eating...yes stomachs were now at a loud roar...we were instructed to go into the church for a praise and worship time.

Even though we were all very hungry I have to say it was a very neat praise and worship time. We only sang one song but we were singing it in Portuguese and English, how amazing to hear the voices of His children praise Him in many languages!

So yes, after singing Open the Eyes of My Heart we all gathered for the FOOD! Yeah!

All in all, it was a neat but different experience. I mean its sad to say but there was little mingling between the two groups. There were no ice breakers or introductions to be made, just a laid back time with fellow believers and we were to make of it what we would. I guess it just made me realize how program oriented we can get in the US, and that while difficult to break in, the more laid back-relationship-oriented focus has its merits.

Training Can be FUN!

This picture is for those of you who think that training is boring :0
Although much of our training is in a classroom setting, we do have the opportunity to play a game now and then. This one was fun as we got to wrap a teammate in masking tape and then blow cuetips at them through a straw. My team of course won the game and I felt that it was a great bonding experience for the entire group - I mean if my team won it had to be fun, right?!

1 down 51 to GO!

Well, although this really isn't my attitude it is difficult to believe that I have already been here one week! Yikes! It has been a great week, filled with lots of great new relationships, learning and deep discussions. I am sitting here now, far too late at my computer, just wondering what this next year holds. I mean I know that there will be highs and lows but...can it get better? I guess it is a little like money sometimes...I know God will provide, I just have NO idea from where it will come! So, I know there will be higher highs and low lows...but I don't know how God, from what situation or person will it be delivered? I guess only time will show me the answer, and you know I am ok with that.

Beauty is Everywhere

Just another of the flowers in the garden...

A View from the House

Here is another view from my front door.

Thanks Gang!

Thanks Gang for a great send off! I had so much fun and as you can see from the earlier postings about my new home it is beautiful. I haven't seen the beach yet...but there's time :) However, I have visited two malls already and during one visit the power went out in the entire mall - I guess that's life in Portugal :)

Anyway, I really want you all to know how much it meant to me to be with great people my last night in the states. THANK YOU for all your love, support and encouragement - You guys are the best!

The Gardens - Can you say BEAUtiful

The Silva's are our landlords and love to garden as you can see. They have a small grape vineyard, beautiful flowers, and veggies. They are tremendously gracious and giving - I am sure that we will enjoy some of their grapes and veggies :)! This is the view from my front door. I am outside the city in a quite area but very close to the bible school where the college interns will be staying and much of our training during this next month will take place.

My New Home

Can I just say God is GOOD! This is the home I will be living in for the next year. It will be cozy as the inside has small rooms and we will have 4 girls in their 20's occupying the ground floor. The garden is beautiful, and I know many hours of enjoyment will be spent enjoying it! I met Kec today and was delighted to find that she attended Moody Bible Insitute (before my time there) for a year. She is wonderful and I am sure I will enjoy getting to know her over the next few months she is here.

I am here!

Well I am finally here! I arrived in Portugal yesterday after an uneventful flight (of which I am thankful) to an eventful time at the baggage area. I will no longer grumble when traveling in the US that I have to wait for 30 minutes for my luggage. Almost an hour and a half after arriving at the baggage claim area I strolled, all bags in hand to find Ron & Linda (whom Ihave NO idea what they look like) - after wandering the airport for a bit (not really knowing where I should be) I was stopped by a woman that asked, "Are you Heidi?." I was excited to find someone spoke english and that they knew my name, "Could this be Linda?" So I said, "Yes, are you Linda?" Well needless to say I was excited and relieved that her answer was YES. Although I was much sleep deprived (Some of you know why) I managed to help get my luggage to the car and stay awake for the remaining activities of the day. I spent my first night in Portugal with Ron & Linda Landers. Ron is the supervisor for the internship here in Portugal and it was so nice to be with the family for my first night here.

The Landers dropped me off at my new home (well for the next year anyway) this evening and it is beautiful. The landlords love to garden so the outdoors is full of fruits, veggies and beautiful flowers. I am sure many an hour will be spent enjoyig the garden for study and such. The home itself will be nice, the rooms are cozy and I will be sharing the home with 3 other girls in their 20's.

I packed and re-packed my suitcases 4 times before leaving on Friday...I don't imagine I will have the same problem with the unpacking :) which is what I now must be off to do!

10 Days and Counting...

Praise God, I am fully supported! My plane ticket has been purchased and my departure date set for July 7th. I really can't believe this is happening, I will be moving to another country for 1 year...I can't wait! Its been amazing how God has worked out all the details above and beyond my own hopes and expectations. He is good.

I will be renting a house with several other girls just outside the city of Lisbon. I have an address and phone number for the house, if you would like to receive it please just shoot me an email or comment indicating so. I was also just informed that I should have a good internet connection at the house I will be renting, this should enable me to keep this blog updated and respond to emails.

Looking forward to sharing in this journey with you!