Miscellaneous Missionary

A week without class does not mean a week without learning. It does not mean a slow or empty week. This past week was, in fact, very busy. This past weekend was especially full. Some good friends of mine, the Rodgers, are leaving this week for Mozambique. They were really helpful in getting me settled here in Portugal. We "New Tribers" got together for one last time with them. After that, I went to a farewell party at the Portuguese church. After that, I had a choir practice (that is right, I sang in the choir, missed several words, but had a great time doing it). After a very short night, I went to a sunrise service and breakfast, after which came sunday school and church. The services tend to be long anyway, but since this was a special day, the services went extra long. I stayed a little longer to say one last goodbye to the Rodgers, and the afternoon was almost gone. I went to the evening service, and by the time I got home from that, I was tired.

I realize something this morning that is very encouraging. I spent just about the whole weekend immersed in Portuguese. The encouragement is that comprehension is going up. Six months ago, I did not get anything out of the church services or conversations, unless they were in English. It was very intimidating. Now, I have to ask sometimes for a repeat or an explanation, but it is possible to get the conversations and so forth around me. I praise God for this. Never satisfied however, I ask you to pray that I will be able to get more than this out of my studies. I want to be able to speak like a Portuguese speaker and think in Portuguese as well as I do in English. That is the highest level of fluency, and that is my target.

Até logo.