Changes in the air

Greetings from Mike,

One of the things we have enjoyed immensely here in Portugal is the fantastic view we enjoy from both school and our house. I especially enjoy watching the innumerable planes land and take off below us at Lisbon International Airport. The origins and destinations read like the index of an atlas and stir images of exotic locations and fascinating cultures. What a different week this has been! Very few flights in or out as northern European airspace has been shut down due to the volcano in Iceland. Who would have thought? Actually some of our missionary family here have been hosting people in their homes who are either stuck here or have found their way here to use Lisbon as a way out of Europe. Lisbon has maintained and even added flights to the US to help people get in and out of the EU.

Another change in the air is more personal as we have solidified our exit plans as well. We have considered the possibility of spending another year here but have reached the conclusion that there is not need for our abilities and have been looking for other options and places of ministry. We plan, Lord willing, to leave here May 30 and fly to London (assuming no volcano issues) for a few days before crossing the Channel to spend a week in and around Paris. After a few more days of "touring" we will return to Lisbon on June 15th to pack up and head for the USA on June 17th. All this planning has indeed "turned our hearts toward home". Emotionally we are ready! We both will see an increase in our duties as one of our key colleagues is leaving in early May. Pray for us that we will finish strong in the tasks set before us at GLCA.

Along with this, has come the apparent opportunity for me to rejoin the staff at EIU. I am pleased with this and look forward to the associated challenges.

We had an exciting week highlighted by Kati's hamster having several "blessed" events that was a complete surprise to all of us. Apparently the "hamster-sitter" was not as careful as she needed to be during spring break. Kati had some classic statements like wailing "We never should have let them get married!" (a school event several weeks ago). Needless to say there was a lot of excitment. Unfortunately (sort of) none of the litter has survived the first week.

The Portuguese country side is a spectacular blend of spring greens, olive trees, orange blossom aromas, and wild flowers... We are really enjoying that part of the environment here as well as the fellowship of our extended "family". Only a few more weeks to go...

Mike for all

April 11, 2010

After driving for about 7 hours from Portugal we arrived in Andalusia, Spain to spend a week at the Marriott Resort....the sun was shining and we were ready for a vacation! The resort is very family friendly and quite beautiful. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea on the southeastern coast of Spain. After exploring the grounds, we settled in for a night of rest on soft, overstuffed mattresses in a lovely suite decorated in the Spanish style.

Sunday morning was Easter so we decided to try to find a church...there was nothing except Catholic masses available so we decided to attend an Easter Processional in the nearby small town of Marbella. The processionals are a yearly event. Since we had never attended one, we thought it might be interesting and educational. We couldn't tell much of what was going on but, when we returned to the hotel, Mike looked it up on the Internet and gave us some back ground. It seems the processional is based on the medieval guilds and fraternities...each group wearing its special colors and carrying relics designated to that guild. Somehow it is all tied into the church and Holy Week. They also carried large floats depicting various Passion Week events and people.

We did have a moment of panic when Mike realized he wasn't carrying our camera. He thought he had left it sitting beside the car. As he sprinted back to our parking spot, Nina and I prayed the camera would still be there. Mike returned with a thumbs up...he had locked the camera in the car!

Monday we woke to a gray sky...and this after the weather report had promised sunshine all week. Go figure! We decided it was a good day to just hang out at the resort...the girls played basketball and soccer and ping pong while Mike and I explored the beach...ending up at a little cafe where we drank a coke...from a bottle, no less.

Our plan for Tuesday was to visit the Rock of Gibraltar...which is actually a part of England. Of course, that meant a lunch of fish and chips at Smith's London Style cafe. We rode the cable car to the top of the rock...it is way, way up there...where we could see for miles. To Kati's delight, she got to see the monkeys that inhabit the rock. They are wild but protected animals.

Wednesday brought the sun out in all its' glory. We had breakfast at an outdoor cafe, visited a street fair and then headed back to the resort to take advantage of the sun and surf.

That night we went to dinner at a restaurant that served authentic Spanish food...the girls didn't much like the shrimp with their beady eyes staring at them from their plate of paella. The evening ended with a wonderfully energetic threesome dancing the Flamenco for us.

Thursday brought more sun but some cooler temperatures. We drove the hour and a half to Ronda, the oldest city in Spain and where bull fighting started. The drive took us through the mountains over winding, twisting roads (that is why it takes an hour and a half)...with spectacular views. We took lots of pictures on the way. I was pretty tense because of my fear of heights, but Mike is a great driver and maneuvered the roads like a pro. I can't describe the rugged beauty of this area...you'll have to see the pictures. The city itself is amazing, build on a gigantic chasm that separates the old (pre-1300's) city from the newer (post 1400)...again, the pictures tell the story.

Friday was our last day so we decided to go to lunch and then stick close to the resort enjoying the amenities it has to offer. It turned out that the restaurant recommended to us for lunch was a place out in the hills...no town around...that offered an amazing view, and the best meal we had had all week.

Saturday morning we said goodbye to our soft beds, showers with lots of water pressure, the view from our balcony (in one direction were the mountains and in the other direction the sea) and, of course, the maid who brought in fresh towels and tidied up each day. Yes, we got a bit spoiled!

On the drive back to Portugal, we stopped to look at some Roman ruins in the city of Evora. There is nothing quite like seeing something that was built over two thousand years ago. To imagine that the Roman empire reached so far and wide...that the Romans were in control of the Holy Land during the time that Jesus walked this earth and that their influence reached all across Europe and into Asia...it is mind boggling to me!

Thankfully the Lord granted us safe travel and we are now home...ready to get back to real life here in Portugal. School starts tomorrow.

Swiss trip mini-report

Hey,

We had an awesome trip to Switzerland last Friday (3-19), good weather, great travel mates, and a vistas galore. EasyJet worked well for us and we arrived in Geneva about noon safe and sound. We bussed downtown for a quick lunch and a look at the Reformer's Wall, a monument to Reformation leaders that were centered in Geneva in the 15 and 16 hundreds. Also played checkers with huge pieces in the park. Took the train back to the airport and caught another train (this will be a trip-long theme) to the town of Vevey which is west about 1/2 way down the north side of Lake Geneva. The French Alps are on the south side of the lake and are spectacular. From Vevey, we took a local train up the side of a mountain and then hiked the rest of the way to the Emmaus Institute for a late supper and our rooms for the night. We found the place and the people outstanding and enjoyed our visit very much. We were to return on Sunday night.

Saturday morning, we headed back down the hill and "trained" further west to Chillon to visit the castle there. It was very cool as you can see. A picnic lunch by the lake and then we were back on a train headed over the Alps to Interlaken. The slow train revealed vista after vista of rugged mountains, chalets, and quaint villages. We arrived late (another theme of this trip) and took a cab up a mountain to our supper and digs in Beatenberg. Spectacular is the best word I can think of to describe the views.

After breakfast, we bussed down to Interlaken and arrived early (an exception) for English service at a small church. Since it was raining a bit, we dropped into a local bakery/cafe and enjoyed a warm drink and the ambience. Church was a highlight for several in our party. Good sermon, singing, and fellowship with a small motley (Germans, Swiss, Americans, French, Canadians, and 3 Africans from different countries seeking asylum) group of people meant for wonderful worship. Lunch was cheese fondue (Kati's birthday meal) and then the fast train to Bern, Geneva, and Vevey and up the hill to Emmaus again.

Back to Geneva in the morning, a short tour of the area where John Calvin did most of his great theological work and then back to the airport for the EasyJet ride back to Lisbon.

A whirlwind tour for sure but well worth it. I have left out lots of details about the trip (including taking the wrong train the wrong way and "losing" part of our group by doing so) and it is impossible to effectively report on the fun and laughter we enjoyed. It was a great time and we should recover soon..

March 25, 2010

This is Nancy's take on the Swiss trip.

Switzerland! Think postcards pictures and chocolate. Yes, being in Switzerland was like being in a life-size postcard! It is as beautiful as you ever imagined.

We arrived in Geneva on Friday afternoon to bright sunshine and warm temperatures. This weather was especially welcomed by the Swiss people because, as one lady said, "It has been a long, cold winter." We had a few hours to explore before heading to the Emmaus Institute, the Bible Institute where we planned to spend Friday night. We hopped on a bus...well, actually it wasn't quite a hop since we had to figure out how to pay for it...needed exact change for the machine, in Swiss francs. Thankfully, Miriam, one of our group is nearly fluent in French. After struggling for awhile to figure out the machine on our own, we asked the bus driver. He was quite helpful and we finally made onto the bus with our tickets in hand. Just as we were settling into the seats, one of the group suggested we would be more comfortable wandering around Geneva if we shed our backpacks. So, we hopped off the bus and headed back into the bus station to stow our backpacks in lockers which involved another quest for exact change. It turned out to be a great suggestion!

Finally we were back on the bus and headed to the City Center of Geneva. The bus was packed with a group of preteens from Ireland who were in town for a gymnastics tournament. We talked to them, as we always do when we hear English being spoken in a foreign country. Their Irish accents were really fun to listen to. Once at the City Center we headed to the river where we picnicked on bread and cheese (you have to do that in Europe, don't you?) After lunch we walked over to the the Monument to the Reformers...and Mike and Kati played a game of giant chess in the park. Before we knew it, it was time to get back to catch our train to Vevey where we would be staying that night. Somehow we found out that there was a train we could take back to the airport/train station/bus station that took only 6 minutes rather than 30 minutes by bus, and at the same cost. Duh! We took the train.

Back at the train station, we bought tickets to Vevey and found the correct platform so we could catch our train. Now, there are fast trains and there are slow trains (that stop at EVERY little berg)...guess which one we happened to be on? So, even though we thought we had lots of time to get to Emmaus...it took longer than expected. We panicked just a little as the minutes ticked by...we were to be at the Institute by 6:30 if we wanted the evening meal we had reserved. Finally we reached our little berg...we got off and looked around and found ourselves in the middle of a residential neighborhood with no idea which direction to go on foot. It was already after 6:30 by this time and dusk was approaching. Fortunately we saw a car with two women sitting in the parking lot next to the tiny, deserted train stop. Miriam talked to them in French and, after they gave us directions, the seven of us started trekking up, up, up a small street/trail through the houses. We had no idea how far it was but we felt confident we were going the right way. What a relief when we actually saw a sign ahead that pointed us on to the Emmaus Institute.

What I haven't mentioned is the beauty surrounding us...Geneva itself is nestled at the foot of the mountains and it is lovely, but it wasn't until we were walking along to the Emmaus Institute that I first felt the awesomeness of where we were...snow-capped mountains were in the distance, but not so far in the distance. This is when I first felt I was living this moment in a postcard setting that was real!

After more upward walking, we came to the Institute. Everywhere you can look from there is beautiful! We just couldn't get enough of it. I hope our pictures will actually be able to convey the beauty. Even though we were late, a hot meal was ready for us and we were shown to our rooms. Charlene, our hostess couldn't have been nicer. After our meal, we settled into our rooms for the night...no television or computers to distract us so we...slept.

Saturday morning the mountains were still there! That may seem obvious, but, you know, I just had to look out and make sure. We ate breakfast in the dining room... in full view of the mountains...delicious bread, yogurt, fruit and, of course, coffee and juice. Charlene told us, since we were returning to stay at Emmaus on Sunday night, we could leave anything we didn't need in our rooms till we returned. This lightened our backpacks somewhat...in fact, Mike and I combined ours so we only had one bag to carry. The rest of the girls and women decided that they each wanted their own bag.

This time we trekked down, down, down the hill (which by the way is a lot easier) back to the train station. Today, we were headed down the lake to see the most visited place in Switzerland, a castle in Chillon. After a short train ride we were at the castle. Once at Chillon, we toured the castle...well worth the couple hours it takes. Mike bought a hat since he had forgotten to bring one and he wanted to avoid getting sunburned. The historical aspects of the castle were interesting...the human suffering that went on inside despite the beauty of the surroundings outside is a subject for both poetry and art.

Once again time was getting away from us...this seemed to be an on-going theme...so after another picnic lunch we caught the train to Interlaken which we had hoped to explore. Riding a train through the mountains is the way to go. No worry about getting lost or traffic. Well, if you have a fear of heights, you may not want to look too closely at the tracks which are very close to the edge in some of the mountain passes. We passed through small villages, by late season ski runs, farms, waterfalls, streams, lakes, and wineries, and a few towns. It was truly one glorious sight after another. Again, we were on the slow train that stopped at many small towns so the trip lasted longer than we expected. We enjoyed every minute of it, but now realized we would be lucky to make our 6:30 meal at the place we were to stay on Saturday night. (the Bible Institute in Beatenberg).

We arrived in Interlaken and asked about the train to Beatenberg. That is when we found out there is no train, only a bus, and the last one of the day was gone. One of our teacher who is from Canada had had her first, second, and third ride on a train today. Now she would get her first ride in a taxi. We hired a 7 passenger taxi and headed up a very, very steep mountain to the Bible Institute. Again, we were about thirty minutes late for the evening meal. Not to worry. God was good and the hosts were kind and we ate a hot German meal. Did I mention that this part of Switzerland is as German as the area around Geneva is French. The language, the architecture, the food and the customs are all German here.

Since time had flown by and we hadn't gotten to do as much as we had intended on Saturday, we were determined to get an early start on Sunday morning. After breakfast, we sprinted to catch the bus back down to Interlaken. It was literally pulling out as we got on. Of course, for some reason the bus trip down the mountain was quicker than we had anticipated and we got to Interlaken an hour before the English-speaking church service we planned to attend. Since it was drizzling rain, we began to look for a place of shelter. We found just what we needed at a coffee shop and pastry bar. While some of our group had their picture taken with a group of American soldiers on holiday from Germany, the rest of us settled down to a cup of warm mocha. Since today was Kati's 11th birthday, Miriam surprised her with a chocolate bunny and we sang "Happy Birthday" to her for the second time. We had promised her we would sing to her at every meal today.

A little before ten AM, we headed over to the Brethern Church for service. The regular minister was out of town so the speaker was a retired missionary who had spent his career in New Guinea. It was great to sing and hear a sermon in English. I think that is one of the things I miss most about being in Portugal. After the service, we met others who were visiting the church. Among them were three young men from different parts of Africa who had come to Switzerland seeking asylum from the dangers in their war-torn homelands.

After a lunch of cheese fondue (a big thing in Switzerland)(of course we sang "Happy Birthday" to Kati once more)...we were off to the train station again.

It was time to head back to Geneva. This time we decided we would take the faster train and go by way of Bern and Lausanne. The trip gave us a very different view of Switzerland from the one the previous day...much flatter, less rural, more German and frankly, quite a bit less beautiful...but it was faster and if it hadn't been for getting on the wrong train on one of the switches we would have made it back to Emmaus with time to spare. The wrong train switch was a mini-adventure in itself...you know one of those things you look back on but in the moment it seems big...we rode the wrong way to the end of the line (which fortunately happened to be the next stop) took a taxi back to our starting place and found the correct connection.

As we trekked back up the hill to Emmaus it had started to rain, but even that didn't dampen our spirits because we knew where we were going and we knew a warm meal and cozy accommodations awaited us...we made the walk at a fast pace and got there in under 15 minutes!

The next day, our last, we headed out early for Geneva after settling up our bill at Emmaus. We had the routine down and were sure we would have lots of time to explore and "meander" around the city. Things went smoothly but of course time flew by and we found ourselves rushing around to do all the things we had planned. We bought take-away lunch (that is what it is called here) and ate in a little park. We found old town and explored the church where John Calvin preached. We looked at Swiss watches in lots of shops...none of us bought one. Suddenly it was time to get back to the airport to catch our Easy Jet back to Portugal. Just a few days ago I had commented to Mike, "Why would anyone wait to buy souvenir's at the airport?" As we were buying chocolate for Mike and a hat for Kati and a t-shirt for Nina I realized why...because they ran out of time while touring!

Our whirlwind Switzerland trip came to an end and we got back to Portugal Monday evening and started revving up for another week of school...but hey, spring break starts on April 2...so stay tuned.

Nancy

March 17, 2010

Early Friday morning we plan to fly out of Portugal on Easy Jet and head for Switzerland. We are taking only what we can each get into a backpack. The great thing about that is there can be no fashion or hair expectations. Most of our travel during the 4 days there will be by foot, train and bus. We don't want to have to lug suitcases around. There will be seven of us on the trip...Mike and six females...another harem trip. One of the women has been to Switzerland before and in fact has relatives living there. She will be our guide. Hopefully we will have lots of beautiful picts to share next week! N

March 16, 2010

This morning we did something that was so Portugese...we woke up and remembered that we had no bread so Mike and Nina headed out to the Pastelliria and came back with...hot, freshly baked bread...which we immediately slathered with butter and ate for breakfast. MMMMM!
Just wanted to share a moment of sunny (yes, we have had 6 days in a row now of sun) Portugal with you. N

On recent weekends, we have been enjoying our AOGGTG (Anne of Green Gables Therapy Group) with Nina and Kati and some friends. We have seen three of the episodes and are looking forward to finishing the complete set before starting over. Meredith and Naomi (series owner) are as much entertainment as the DVD could ever hope to be. It has been great for our girls as well. Kati has been so impressed that she wants to name her dog (of the future) Gilbert. What a good way to spend a rainy Friday night. Wish some more of you would come over for the pizza and a movie...