Oh how I will miss you

Just thinking about all God has done here in Porto and within my heart makes me want to fall on my knees and give Him praise. 

Today is my last full day in beautiful Portugal and it's truly hitting me like a  ton of bricks how much I will miss it. 

The Father has introduced me to friends here that have forever left an imprint on my heart and life; I will never,ever forget those I have met here.I have seen sights that I never imagined my eyes would have to privilege of beholding. 

My first  week in Portugal, I remember struggling to sleep at night due to the rustle and bustle of the street, the sound of  dogs barking, and seagull squawks. However, now I cry thinking about not hearing these.

I will miss older women walking down the street wearing aprons, smiling and telling me "Bom dia!" 

I will miss  intricate blue and white tile on every other building displaying the beautiful history. 

I will miss running to catch the bus or metro and them being my means of transport. 

I will miss not understanding the Portuguese  preaching in church, yet completely feeling 

the Holy Spirit's presence. 

I will miss singing at bus stops with Hannah. 

I will miss Guarana (my new favorite Brazilian carbonated drink) 

I will miss the cobble stone roads and sidewalks. 

I will miss going to Abigail's every Friday. 

I will miss my neighbor calling her cat to come in the house at all hours. 

I will miss sweet  kisses on each cheek used to greet each other. 

I will miss living in the apartment with Hannah. 

I will miss the coffee. 

I will miss my Portuguese church family. 

I will miss worship sung in Portuguese.

I will miss day  trips with the Milam family and being around them. 

I will miss opening a window instead of flicking on the a.c for a breeze. 

I will miss the river front and all it's glory. 

I will miss cooking for me and Hannah. 

I will miss precious little cafes on every corner. 

and so much more...

I will miss everything about Porto, Portugal!! 

My life is forever changed because the Savior placed me here for a semester. 

I do hope to come back again one day. One major lesson the Lord has taught me here in Porto, is that missions does not begin and end here( in a another country) No, missions is right outside your door. 

We are ALL called and everyone plays a significant role in making His name famous among the Nations. If you have a pulse, then you called to make known His love; you are called to be a missionary. My prayer is that I remember what I have learned here when I return to the U.S. I pray that I intentionally recklessly abandon myself and pick up the cross and follow Jesus in Alabama and anywhere else the Savior may place me. It's not a sacrifice to die to self, but a rather a  privilege.  

"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD,and all the families of the nations shall worship before you." Psalm 22:27 

I've never been good at Goodbye

 Today was our last day to visit the Children's home.

I can't believe our time with these sweet, goofy, and full of life kids has come to an end so quickly.I have never been good with saying goodbye, but can not  thank God enough  and praise Him for allowing me to be apart of their lives for a semester. My  prayer is  that they each one grow up fearing the Lord and putting  Him first in all they do, and I also pray that I showed them Jesus' love fully in my time with them. This has been such a beautiful chapter in my life and I will never forget these precious kids. I am humbled and amazed by all that God has shown and taught me through visiting the Lar  each week and being  able to live in Portugal. Today we gave presents and had a little Christmas party; here are a few pictures of our time together making snow flakes and enjoying the day!!!

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you" Philippians 1:3

locked out

Okay so, Hannah and I officially have the most amazing people in the world as our neighbors here in Portugal. 

Ze annd Abilio are wonderful!!

Tonight, Ze rang our door bell to bring us a cake that was leftover from the church lunch  and in a rush to not leave her standing in the rain, we walked out the door forgetting that it locks itself each time it shuts; the door always closes really,really quickly, but  this is never a problem because we have our keys in our hands, (well , Hannah always has her keys) however, this time that was not the case. for either of us. Soo...half way down the stairs we realized that we had locked ourselves out of our own apartment! 

Through sign language and broken Portuguese, we explained to Ze what happened and she said my now, new favorite  Portuguese phrase, "Nao faz mal", which in English means no big deal or no problem.Ze then  gently held my arm and I walked with her up the stairs to her and Abilio's home (she insisted that Hannah stay in the hall way bc she did not have any shoes on).Ze walked in her house and  asked Abilio to grab a credit card and follow her to our apartment. SO maybe you can guess what happened next...

 To give you a great mental picture, Abilio worked an old plastic card into the frame of our door while Hannah, Ze,Samuel (their son & also,our other AMAZING neighbor they called to help), and I pushed on the door to  in hopes widen the seal for easier card access.Needless to say, you never have to worry about any of us breaking into your home, bc we couldn't manage to get the door open after trying for a good 15/20 minutes. All along, Hannah and I felt very sorry that this happened and that we were interrupting everyone's night. We were  trying very hard to open the door before calling someone for help;We didn't want anyone to have to get out in the rain and drive to help us. 

However, after the card didn't work, we knew we needed to call for some help. So, we then gave Andy and Michelle a call and while they worked on contacting  our land lord to get a key, Abilio knocked on our other  neighbor's door and asked if they  had any unlocking door tricks up  their sleeve.

The reason I tell you this whole, drawn out story about us  getting locked out of the apartment, is to tell you that the Lord works in amazing and mysterious ways. When Abilio knocked on our neighbors door, we all introduced ourselves and played with their little boy for a bit; Ze told us afterwards, that she knew we did not intend on locking ourselves out, but that  God wanted her to meet our neighbors and she also told us that she wants to begin building  a relationship with them and share Christ's love. 

The Lord wanted to show us that His way is always better.We seem to always get frustrated at little bumps in the road,but the Lord allows things to happen for a reason.

 Because we locked ourselves out of our apartment,Ze and Abilio now know the young couple in our building and hope to invite them to church and show them God's love, also, Hannah and I got to spend precious time with Ze and Abilio;They are genuine examples of Jesus. 

 Oh, and If you are wondering, thanks to Andy , we did get back in the apartment.
( thank you so much again, Andy)

God is so  good and if  He needs to lock us out of our apartment to  allow us to meet new national friends or make Himself known, then He can surely do it again if need be. God is at work in many ways all around us and he does not work like you and me.
When one door closes ( or is locked), the Father always opens a new one.


 "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." 
Colossians 4:2-4