Miscellaneous Missionary

Sometimes I really struggle for what to write when it comes to news about myself. First, because it is no longer news to me after it has passed. Second, because it tends to be things like these that follow:
I was a bit embarrassed yesterday, since the teacher singled me out and kept asking me what my greatest struggles in the language were. Each struggle I mentioned resulted in the whole class doing some drill. However, the day ended well, as I was able to watch some extended highlights of the Nebraska Bowl game. I did not know what to think. I guess the mystery over who deserves to win will never be solved.
Yes, that is right. Today we learned the more than perfect tense. It was a little hard figuring out exactly what "more than perfect means," but it was very easy to construct. It was just a little hard to learn when to use it. In fact, the teacher said that we would find it in certain older documents and some very formal documents. In other words, this tense will enable me to understand lawyers. Don't hold your breath. I think that is impossible. Sorry lawyer readers, I had to try a lame lawyer joke.
I have mixed feelings about writing things like this. I have friends and family that ask for this news in as much detail as I have time to type. I have other friends and family that say don't bore me with the details, keep the focus on the larger things. I personally am excited about learning the idiosyncratic nature of prepositions, tenses, and pronouns in the objective case. Most people are not. I guess the biggest struggle is in determining whether or not learning Portuguese is really a ministry. After all, my goals are to be planting churches in remote parts of Africa that have little to no missionary activity. Here I am in a city. I am learning Portuguese at a secular university. I attend church services, but am unable to participate because of a language gap. However, as time has passed, I have been able to understand more, and develop relationships. I can also better learn biblical language and paritcipate in small group discussions at a low level. This is all part of the big goal. I am here in Portugal precisely because I can learn more quickly and better, thus I can be ready to begin the tribal work much faster.