A Jon Post
Well, another eventful week and plenty of new words to go along with it in Portuguese.
We learned quite a bit this week and have plenty to study this weekend. We have only 5 weeks left and we must be sure we use our time here to the fullest extent we can. We practice with each other as often as possible and our tutor this week has been fantastic. As our finish date draws nearer and nearer we continue to feel confident that we will speak and understand well when we are leaving Portugal at the end of next month.
We went to a new town this week. We met a friend from church named Elizabeth who was an incredibly gracious guide for us. She drove us around and showed us things we would NEVER have heard of had she not been willing to host us. She even took us to some Roman ruins that date back to 100 B.C.
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- A restored Roman garden
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- Jon at the Ruins
Elizabeth was more than helpful and it was an incredible joy to spend the afternoon with her.
We had a bit of an adventure getting back to our house the evening of our trip to Coimbra. There is a metro-train system here and one of the trains goes very near our house. We got on the train about 7 stops before our house and sat back and relaxed, waiting to hear our stop announced over the loud speaker. Before our stop, this train goes through a large station where all of the other metro trains connect as well. It is a large station and normally many people get off at this station. We arrived at the large interchange station and noticed our train start emptying most of the people but assumed this was normal and that everyone was getting off to catch other trains. As we were sitting, waiting for our train to start back up and continue on to our stop, the lights turned off, and the doors closed. A little perplexed we looked at each other but didn’t think too hard about it. The train started off and we sat back, ready to go home. Suddenly, the train turned off the main track down a side track and I thought, “This can’t be good.” I looked back up the train at the same moment Layne did and we both realized we were the ONLY people left on the train. Uh-oh…
We walked up to the front car and got the attention of the conductor who informed us that the main station was our trains last stop and we were supposed to get off there (hmm… it was starting to click). He told us this train was heading to the garrage for the night. Woops! He made a phone call and got permission to let us off at a stop on his way and we got a train back to the main station and MADE SURE the next train we caught was actually going to our house area. A little flustered, but none-the-worse for wear we got home and laughed at ourselves for not putting together the whole “lights-off, train-empty” connection.
Empty Train
Woops!
Somehow these posts always turn huge. I don’t know why.
We went climbing again this weekend. Layne lead her first climb!!! Lead climbing is when you clip the rope in as you climb up. It’s a bit more dangerous and takes more skill. I was so proud of her! She did wonderfully and I look forward to her leading more and more.
We love you all. Please do keep praying for us as we pursue minsitry and a life of service.
Thank you all so much.
We love you guys!
Hehe,
Those trains are freaking tricky. I still haven’t tried the lightrail here in Phoenix. I’d totally end up doing the same thing. You guys are stellar. Keep it up.
Ya’ll are so cute! I love the story , please write these things down for your children:)
I love your updates & pictures! It’s great to see/hear what you are up to! Glad to hear you made it home after the train incident… wow! We are thinking of you and praying for you. I have a package ready to send you but I can’t seem to get your address from anyone at the moment. Please email it to me as soon as you can. Thanks! Love & hugs!