Day 12 - With the MB Churches in Lisbon

Today was a day of worship and continuing to build relationships, but it was also a day of saying goodbye. A few people from our team (Grant, Dani, Steve, and Sheryl) attended the African church service in the morning at Amadora. In the afternoon, our whole team met at the church plant at Massama for the service. Finally, we went to Loures for the final service of the day. In the afternoon services, Sheryl, Steve, and Dani had opportunity to share their testimonies, and James preached in both services on missional theology, which seemed to connect well with the congregations here. After the last service, we, along with several youth and youth leaders, stayed to watch the women’s world cup soccer final (USA vs. Japan). It was an exciting game and a fun opportunity to hang out together. Grant even got the opportunity to join a few of the youth in a conversation about dating and relationships. And, it was good to skype again today with NFC. Thanks so much for your prayers.

Saying goodbye after a week of building relationships is difficult. We had such a good time this week getting to know the youth and youth leaders from the churches here! I was really impressed with several of the youth that I interacted with: Samuel with his joy, Paulino with his heart for ministry, Lucas with his leadership and passion, etc. (I could go on). Otto told us a couple of days ago that we had really gotten into the lives and hearts of these youth, but they also dug their way into our hearts as well. Each of us on our team was impacted and touched by different youth and experiences and it is definitely sad to move on. Still, Otto has encouraged us these last few days, expressing his great appreciation for us coming, saying that we really have made a difference and have infused the youth and church leaders with energy that will encourage them for the coming months.

We came to Portugal to do simple things: connect with Otto and Marjorie and other church leaders here, facilitate an English camp, and build relationships with local youth. Yet, through these ordinary activities, God has been at work through us to touch lives and grow God’s kingdom. Thus, we leave saddened that we must physically disconnect from our relationships here, but we also leave encouraged at the good work that God has done, and excited for the continuation and development of relationships in the future.

Tomorrow we have a day of 'debriefing' with the Portuguese leadership team here and touring some of the historical sites of Portugal. Please pray as we reflect on our experience here and what God is saying to us. We fly home Tuesday morning. This may be our last blog post, so we look forward to seeing you back in Fresno.

Phil, for the rest of the team