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Category: Angola

Plans, ideas, hopes, dreams for Angola

In Arizona!

a layne post

I am sorry we did not get a post up this past weekend; it is our goal to post between Friday and Saturday every week, however, that did not happen this go around.

Mainly I would like to update everyone on our upcoming schedule. We will be in Arizona until October 19th, when we will fly to Corpus Christi, Texas to visit my family . On November the 6th we will be making that long international flight again; this time to Johannesburg, South Africa.

From there we will rent a car, drive to Gaborone, Botswana to pick up our 4×4 that some good friends have been looking after and some of the things Jon had left there previously. This is where it gets a little tentative…

We will either be driving to Mozambique or Angola, and this will be determined by our visa possibilities and invitations available. We have currently have a couple of things in the works:

  • One international organization is praying and considering partnering with Jon and me. They are already established in Angola, which is a must. There is a possibility we will meet a staff member in Angola in the beginning of December to meet people and get a feel for the organization.
  • The other is a pastor, who has connections with a school in a town nearby to where we would be wanting to live. He has offered a letter of invitation, and we are currently “becoming clear” on expectation and requirements involved.

We would really appreciate prayer for wisdom and discernment as we go through this process of making a decision. If we do not have a visa ready, we will spend some time in Mozambique “waiting” and learning. Jon and I feel that it is imperative that we be in a Portuguese speaking country, in order that we maintain our language acquisition.  We have been put in touch with some ministries there, and I strongly believe we can learn and grow, if the Lord decides to place us there for a period.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask. We love you all!

Just us...

Just us...

October 7, 2009
Angola, Visas
1 comment

Traveling home…

A Layne Post

Jon and I have left Portugal now, and we have begun our long journey home. Thankfully, we will spend one night in London before the long flight over the ocean. We hope to rest well.

We have a huge praise report already, and our travels have just begun. Because our flight to London was booked separate from our flight to the States, the airline on our way out of Portugal said our weight limit was cut in half. According to the new limit we would owe approximately $1000 in order to get our bags back with us. Jon explained and explained, as this had not been a problem on the way here. Apparently, it should have been, but thankfully we were shown mercy. As long as she could check our bags all the way through, she would not charge us the extra. It worked! We were and are so very thankful. Now we will continue to pray our bags make it on the airplane tomorrow.

Our last few days in Portugal were wonderful. We spent much of our time with friends we’ve made along the way. Because of the internet, “Goodbyes” are not quite as horrible. Staying in touch has become more and more possible.

We have what is possibly very exciting news.
There is an organization in Europe and Africa (Angola included!) that we have been put in contact with by wonderful friends we made in Portugal, Elizabeth and Armenio. The branch in Portugal had a meeting this week and looked over our business plan, which has now been sent to the main European office. They will be making a decision about whether or not we can possibly partner together soon. It seems that their goals and ours could mesh quite nicely.

Please join with us in prayer as this process continues. We want the blessing of the Lord in every step we take. If this is our open door, we praise Him. If not, we praise Him still.

We hope to see many of you very soon in Arizona and then in Corpus Christi. I am constantly amazed by your love and support for us. Thank you.

P.S.

Ladies, there is a neat opportunity to support Jon and I and get a really nice lip-gloss. Pretty cool, huh? My best friend, who lives in Ohio, sells a product by the name of Arbonne, which many of you probably already know. (Great quality!) She has teamed up with a few of my family members and they are doing a fundraiser called “Lip Gloss for a Cause”. There are 6 colors of gloss (https://www.arbonne.com/shop_online/showCatalog.asp?category=183) each selling for $11. Jon and I will receive 52% of the profit.  If they are able to sell 500 glosses, Jon and I will receive approximately $2850! This is a great time to think about Christmas and upcoming birthdays. If you are interested, let me know and I can put you in touch with one of the sellers. =)

Here’s some pictures of our last week in Portugal. Click on them to see the full sizes.

September 26, 2009
Angola, Personal, Portugal
4 comments

Harder Weeks

A Jon Post

Some weeks are harder than others. I guess this was one of those. It’s funny because there are actually so many things that should have made it a GREAT week.

We struggled a bit with Portuguese this week though we sent many emails to native speakers who told us we were speaking well.

We felt discouraged by the lack of progress with our Angolan visa though we actually made many good contacts, heard from some, have good friends here working hard to help us, and, in a practical sense, saw more progress this week than we have in a while.

So we keep pressing on. Some times our emotions don’t line up with reality and we just kinda deal with it.

We have only three weeks until we fly back to the United States. Some times that’s hard to believe.

Good news! Voices of The World (www.votwmissions.com) has officially received tax exempt status from the IRS. That is great news and a culmination of a lot of work from a lot of people.

To do our laundry we go to a local Laundromat a few bus stops away. It’s a bit expensive but then… everything is expensive for us because the US Dollar is so weak compared to the Euro. Also, it’s the only way to get clean clothes so we do what we have to. Usually we listen to a sermon podcast from a pastor in Dallas, Texas. We took a few pictures of our trip this weekend. Click on them below to see the full sizes.

I know we say it a lot but we really do love and need you all. Pray for us please.

September 6, 2009
Angola, Personal, Portugal
2 comments

2/3 along the way…

a layne post

We are at the two-thirds point now, as we only have four weeks left. That Mexican food keeps calling to me, keeping my loyalties to America strong. Pathetic! ;)

Classes have continued to be productive, and Jon and I feel very good about our progress. Over the past couple of weeks one particular thing that has improved is our writing. I believe this is because we have learned a handful of new verbs, which allow us to speak more specifically about the past.  Also, our comprehension is gradually improving. We are still not where we would like to be, but we are on our way! By October, we should be set. One of our goals when we arrived was to be able understand our host, Maria. Now, we can! There are a few times when she gets going fast, and it all becomes blurred, but for the most part we can understand. Hooray!

Even still, every now and then I will reach busy counter of people ordering and asking questions, and for some reason my mind goes entirely blank. I say really silly things and use big hand motions.  Then I walk away knowing exactly the beautiful sentence I should of said, full of adjectives and adverbs… it is sad!

I had a new surge of inspiration this week to scour the internet for Angolan contacts. I thought I had found everything, but this time I found some new working emails and sent some inquiries. I have had a couple responses, and now we wait. One good contact I will not be able to chat with until the end of September. Honestly, we have so many wonderful people working hard to assist us in this process; people who believe in what we want to do, and are being so very helpful. We are blessed.

This weekend I am missing the birthday party of one of my nieces… these are the times when I remember the sacrifice of leaving. I can overwhelm myself with emotions when I think of these sweet little ones and the fact that they may never know their Aunt Layne and Uncle Jon the way I would want them to. We have counted the cost, and we know it is worth it, but it can be a little tough sometimes. Thank the Lord for internet and Skype. It is more possible than ever before for missionaries to remain connected to their families.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support. We hope in the Lord and trust in His perfect plans for us.

(Click photos to see larger version)

August 28, 2009
Angola, Portugal
No comments

New words, New friends

A Jon Post

Well, we’re still here and we’re still learning Portuguese.

Last weekend, Layne and I were a little discouraged. We felt like we weren’t moving very fast with the language, we felt like nothing was happening with our visa to Angola, we felt like our time here was just not being used to its fullest.

Language: We both did well when we were in college and, when we don’t feel like we’re excelling in a class we’re taking, we get frustrated. Last weekend we just felt like we weren’t doing very well. We took it as a wake-up call and buckled down and resolved to study more, speak to each other more in Portuguese, and not take for granted that we were one third of our way through language school. This last week we were rewarded with noticing that we are beginning to understand more and more and feel more and more comfortable speaking.

Church: We visited a new church. It is about a 30 minute train ride away but is without a doubt our favorite church we’ve found here. Riverside Porto (www.riversideporto.com) is an English speaking church specifically ministering to people here for a short time. We met some new friends there who are anxious to help us get into Angola and start ministry there. They are missionaries themselves, working here in Portugal, and we spent Wednesday afternoon with them talking about ministry and how they want to help us get into and stay in Angola. It was so refreshing and encouraging to meet these new friends and feel so supported in our heart to serve the people of Angola. They know and introduced us to some missionaries to Mozambique who are on furlough here in Portugal. Mozambique is another Portuguese speaking country and it was a great time of fellowship and talking about Southern Africa and the needs there.

Our friends from church invited us to a Medieval Festival near Porto and after that we were able to go with them to see a basketball game between the Portugal national team and the national team of Bosnia. For those of you who have been to the Renaissance Fair in Arizona it was like that but with a castle up on a hill built in the 900s. Definitely cooler.

Please keep praying for us. We need it so much. We cannot do any of this alone. We need prayer that we continue to learn Portuguese. Please, please pray that we learn well. Please pray that we get a visa to Angola.

We love you all. Thanks for reading this massive post. Click on the pictures below to see the full sizes.

August 9, 2009
Angola, Portugal
4 comments
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