Monday, April 10, 2006
Personal News
The last week passed with a lot of rain. On Saturday, I went exploring on another side of town. It was very beautiful, but the hills made the walk pretty tough.
I observed a few interesting cultural items. First, as the season of Páscoa has started, the stores filled with huge piles of candy and chocolate eggs. It is not traditional to have egg hunts for the children, but the eggs aredefinitelyy part of the culture. Last Sunday, being Palm Sunday, the Catholic Church was packed with people when I passed it. (They must be CEO--Christmas, Easter, Obituary--Catholics mostly.) I noticed that nearly all of the people had bundles of what I judged to be small palm branches. I was on my way somewhere else, so I did not stop to observe. I feel a little strange staring and taking pictures anyway. Though they are different, they are people not landscape. Finally, the biggest news of the weekend was the Super Liga. The top two teams faced off in a pretty good game. It was interesting to note that the sport may change, but society still loves its spectaculars. With major elections in Italy, protests in France, floods in Eastern Europe, tornados in the USA, wars in the Middle East, and debates over the direction of the government here in Portugal, it all gave way to the discussion of what will happen to the standings after a weekend of futebol. I was reminded of how that happens also in the USA with our sports.
Please pray for me to keep my focus on study, even during this week off of classes.
Please pray for the Mozambique field as they continue to face the challenges of the new field.
Please pray for the Rodgers, a family here, that is headed to Mozambique in about a week.
I observed a few interesting cultural items. First, as the season of Páscoa has started, the stores filled with huge piles of candy and chocolate eggs. It is not traditional to have egg hunts for the children, but the eggs aredefinitelyy part of the culture. Last Sunday, being Palm Sunday, the Catholic Church was packed with people when I passed it. (They must be CEO--Christmas, Easter, Obituary--Catholics mostly.) I noticed that nearly all of the people had bundles of what I judged to be small palm branches. I was on my way somewhere else, so I did not stop to observe. I feel a little strange staring and taking pictures anyway. Though they are different, they are people not landscape. Finally, the biggest news of the weekend was the Super Liga. The top two teams faced off in a pretty good game. It was interesting to note that the sport may change, but society still loves its spectaculars. With major elections in Italy, protests in France, floods in Eastern Europe, tornados in the USA, wars in the Middle East, and debates over the direction of the government here in Portugal, it all gave way to the discussion of what will happen to the standings after a weekend of futebol. I was reminded of how that happens also in the USA with our sports.
Please pray for me to keep my focus on study, even during this week off of classes.
Please pray for the Mozambique field as they continue to face the challenges of the new field.
Please pray for the Rodgers, a family here, that is headed to Mozambique in about a week.
