Tuesday, February 21, 2006
A Day Late and a Euro Short
This past weekend was a bit hectic, and I apologize for being a bit late on this news. I had a lot of composition assignments to write, plus some special meetings with some folks from church. In addition, a family headed to Senegal with NTM stopped to visit all of us students on Sunday, so that was definitely a full day. It was good to hear how God is working in their lives and fellowship a little.
It was a very good weekend, though a very wet one. The sun is now shining, but everything is still drenched. I had clothes that were soaked (umbrellas did not even function in this weather), and they would not dry. I wanted to wash them, since city rain is usually pretty dirty, but it would have done no good, since they would have only hung out in more rain any way. It is an answer to prayer, though. Last year was very dry here, and the traditional rainy season (now) never brought rain. The farmers are very happy now, and the rivers are getting back toward the usual levels.
Although I am committed to Africa, I want to challenge others to other needs, and Portugal is one of them. This last weekend was a celebration of a national saint as her body was placed in a final memorial to her main source of fame, her vision of Mary. Thousands of people stood out in the pouring rain to honor her and that apparition of Mary. To the left is a picture of that cathedral, though without all the people. The people at the Sunday evening service were very emotional as they saw the devotion of so many of their own people committed to a false system of worship. That is how it is here in Portugal. People are either seeking that type of metaphysical experience or they are functional atheists as a whole. Some small groups of true believers exist, but they do not have a strong voice because the overwhelming majority in Portugal is contrary. Please pray for all who preach the gospel in an increasingly hostile world.
It was a very good weekend, though a very wet one. The sun is now shining, but everything is still drenched. I had clothes that were soaked (umbrellas did not even function in this weather), and they would not dry. I wanted to wash them, since city rain is usually pretty dirty, but it would have done no good, since they would have only hung out in more rain any way. It is an answer to prayer, though. Last year was very dry here, and the traditional rainy season (now) never brought rain. The farmers are very happy now, and the rivers are getting back toward the usual levels.
Although I am committed to Africa, I want to challenge others to other needs, and Portugal is one of them. This last weekend was a celebration of a national saint as her body was placed in a final memorial to her main source of fame, her vision of Mary. Thousands of people stood out in the pouring rain to honor her and that apparition of Mary. To the left is a picture of that cathedral, though without all the people. The people at the Sunday evening service were very emotional as they saw the devotion of so many of their own people committed to a false system of worship. That is how it is here in Portugal. People are either seeking that type of metaphysical experience or they are functional atheists as a whole. Some small groups of true believers exist, but they do not have a strong voice because the overwhelming majority in Portugal is contrary. Please pray for all who preach the gospel in an increasingly hostile world.
