Author: Layne

A Layne Post

Jon and I have been here in Porto for a whole month! In some ways it completely feels like it, and then when I think that we are now 1/3 through,  I can’t believe it.  It is hard to gauge our progress with language. We feel okay about it. We hope to study and practice more with each other this month. It is hard to get motivated to study in the evenings. My mind is tired of translating all day! Our tutor this week said we aren’t ahead or behind… we would rather be ahead. =)

The church we tried last week did not work out so well. We were the only ones there… Due to some awkwardness, we ended up leaving. Instead we went home and listened to a sermon we downloaded.  It was quite refreshing to be challenged spiritually. We decided that we should go on-line and do some searching. Jon has found an English speaking church that we will try tomorrow. We really liked the looks of their website and the sound of their hearts. It is about a 30 minute train ride, but will be worth it if we can find a church family. We will update this week!

No news on visas yet. As soon as we know, you’ll know!

Churches here are in the evenings,  so it leaves us most of the day on Sunday to relax. All of the museums here in Porto are free on Sunday mornings, and we decided to take advantage! We went to a museum of contemporary art and quite honestly, Jon and I do not have an “appreciation” for that kind of art. We did, however, get some good laughs in. Also, the grounds of the museum has some amazing gardens. Click on the pictures below to see full sizes.

This past Thursday we went surfing with a guy from our school. I cannot say we caught a lot of waves, but we had a good time. To our credit, it did not seem like anyone in the water was catching much. The water was very cold. We rented wetsuits, but my feet still went numb, which can be a tad problematic when you are trying to stand on surfboard that is moving.

We ate some McDonald’s this week. Wow, I believe it was the best beef that I have had since being here. Sad? Perhaps. I savored every bite, and the ketchup… oh, the ketchup! Ha! It is the little things when you are overseas. =)

We love you guys. Thanks for your prayers and support. Any questions, feel free to comment and ask!

Layne

A Layne Post

Basilica

Old Convent

Has it only been a week since our last post? Wow! I feel as if I could sit with each of you for an hour or two and share with you stories and updates. I will attempt not to go on and on; however, no promises! =)

For those of you praying that we would find a good church, we have found a small one! We are not fully convinced that we will stay there, but we have attended two services, and plan to go again this Sunday. The church is a small Assemblies of God. Their praise and worship is fun, and we recognize a few of the songs! Tuesday night there was even an accordion player; I had to giggle a bit.  It is about a thirty minute walk from our apartment, which is an enjoyable time for Jon and I to chat about our  opinions and whatnot. There have been approximately 20 people attending, one of which is the sweetest girl from Angola! What a blessing! She is willing to offer as much help for us as possible, however, she has lived in Portugal most of her life. Her parents are still living in Luanda, Angola and attend an Assemblies of God church there. She wants to contact the church to see if they would be able to help with the visa, which would be amazing!

As the days pass and slowly the months, I have to fight the urge to panic more and more. So far, my faith can overcome quickly! Continue praying for that peace in our hearts. I know the Lord has a plan and a time. I know we are where we are supposed to be right now, so the next step is up to Him.

In other news, our schooling is going quite well. We had a little switch up with our tutors, which was a bit difficult during the beginning of the week; we had gotten into a rythym with our previous tutor. By Wednesday we felt like we were learning quickly again. There are a lot of grammatical technicalities that are just a matter of practicing and memorizing. We can say more than we understand. If people talk slow, we follow better, but the sermons remind me just how far we have to go!

We went on another outing with the school. We went to see an old stock exchange building, which was quite amazing. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures. It was a bit of a shame because the detailed granite work, beautiful wooden floors, and plaster decorated walls were unique and gorgeous! There was a room called the room to “impress”. No kidding! The walls, columns, and ceilings were terribly intricate with gold, blue, red, etc. plaster work to look Arabian, along with rose glass windows full of color. I was impressed!

Food here is quite interesting. Due to our lack of vocabulary, we never quite know what we are getting. The other night I accidentally ordered boiled squid. Boy was that bummer. Ha! The Portuguese love their starches. Your meal will include a roll, rice, and french fries. Vegetables are a bit hard to come by. We did find a Subway. Oh the joy that filled my heart! I filled my sandwich with lettuce, bell peppers, onions, and more. So refreshing!

I will share something with you that you may scoff at… Jon did. This morning I sighed on our walk to school and Jon asked me if I was alright. My response: “Oh the monotony of life!” Go ahead…scoff, like I said, he did! Here was my train of thought: We wake every morning and eat one piece of toast with butter and cheese, and one with peach jam; we drink earl grey tea (no variety); we read the Bible together; we catch the same bus, walk the exact same streets, take the same elevator, go to class, and walk the same streets back, etc. It feels a bit more monotonous than life in the states for me. Jon’s response, “Oh yes Layne, we should get out more, take more adventures, travel more.” I know, I know. I have an amazing life, though I want you to know that I have the same feelings and struggles no matter where I am at. I am like you! We are like you!

Because of that… we need your prayers!

• Pray for our witness here in Porto, our witness at the school.
• Pray for our ministry at the church.
• Pray for our faith and peace about the visa.
• Pray for the Lord to move.

It may sound repetitive, but my heart is overwhelmed with gratefulness when I think about you. I tear up thinking now. We could not be here without you. We want to make you proud. We want to honor your generosity.

a layne post

We are here!

The journey was good. As Jon has mentioned, it was sort of “half” our regular journey, so really no prob. Neither of us slept much on the London flight, so we crashed hard on the 2 hour Portugal flight. After taking a taxi to our apartment, and thankfully finding it, it was time to meet our host! Maria is precious. She is round (is that a nice way of putting it?) and joyful. She speaks very little English, which make our conversations quite comical. Many laughs and strange looks. Soon though, we should be understanding more and more.

Descriptions…

The apartment is small, but nice. Our bathroom is good. Hot water. The bed reminds me of a slab concrete. =) No air conditioning. Very humid. A lovely balcony coming off our bedroom, over looking a bit of a noisy street. (Fun during the day, loud at night) The temperature highs are in the 70’s. It is great, even a little chilly in the evenings and mornings. Buildings are old. They like tile, and the fronts of buildings have their own flair. Shops typically line the bottom floor and apartments and more shops on top. Our apartment happens to be on top of “Sublime Lingerie”. Ha! It is no longer open though. =) Right next door is a little shop full of veggies and fruit, which is great. And one more door down is a little internet cafe with free Wi-fi. Awesome!!

Getting to school was an adventure. Because Maria speaks such little English, it really was a joke trying to get directions. We got that we needed to take bus 701 or 702 and then walk to the school. From what we understood, you need a pass, but could pay cash. We took a leap of faith, and got on the bus we thought. Jon attempted to ask the driver about the stops or how much, but for now, we do not speak Portuguese… The driver = not friendly. He grumbled something, pointed to the back, and starting driving. Jon and I scurried to find a bar to hang on to and not fall over. Well, that ride was free. Ha!

We hopped off and then started walking. Where? We didn’t know. Finally we decided to ask. We know how to say “excuse me”, and we knew the address of the school, so we could ask where the street was. Okay! We got a few directions. A little fuzzy, but we could ask when we knew we were a little closer. Walk, walk, walk. Confused. We ask a very friendly man, who did not know, but was determined to find out. We were at the right road! Walking a little further, we found it! The 5th floor… boo! We had been walking all over, uphill! I am thinking we are going to get in better shape. =)

We walked in and they were waiting… speaking English! How nice. We chatted and laughed a bit, which felt nice to be understood. Off to our room for lessons! Our teacher, Ana Rachel (pronounced more like Raquel), is just wonderful. She is 27 and married, so it is a nice fit for us. According to her, we had a great first day and we are moving faster than most. Normally she does not speak much Portuguese on the first day, but she was able to speak quite a bit. We follow OK. Speaking is alright. The “sh” sound is all over. It will just be a matter of practicing. I am sure our Spanish and French backgrounds are helping. We have been promised we will be speaking well by September. Encouraging!

After lunch, we went to lunch with the other students (from England and Holland) and teachers from the school and had a traditional famous Portuguese sandwich. It was pretty good. Two pieces of bread, a piece of cheese on top, lots of meat… some that I am not sure what they were, and a sauce poured over the top.

This afternoon we napped and read, and now we are e-mailing.

First two days = Success!