portugal/spain outreach

a late farewell...

2006-08-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

thanks to all who tuned into this blog while it was going. my apologies that we didn't finish it well...the last week just kind of faded but here are a few photos from it to give you an idea of how spain ended for us [fantastically!!]. i hope this finds you all well, heidi sand

Wed 14th June

2006-06-16T10:37:00.001-07:00

party people in the house, from the front to the back, let me hear ya say "shamon".

what a day! woke up fairly late and headed straight out to the car park to wait for our van. "where were you going?" i hear you ask...

TO A WATER PARK!!!! it was an amazing time. after a fairly long drive in our lovely van (YWAM love their vans!!!) we arrived at Aquavelez. We were treated to a choice of slides, my fave being "kamikaze". (if you go there, its the big red one on the right hand side!) lots of fun was had running up the stairs to get to the front of the queue (*line* for all the Americans reading this...) before the silly British tourists and the little Spanish kids that were skipping school.
Myself and Heidi left at 5 minutes to 3 to go over the road to the mall to watch Spain thrash Ukraine 4-0. A fantastic atmosphere with all the security guards from the mall sitting down and watching with us, it was great.

We left the water park at 5:15 and headed back to base. We then had a short rest before heading off to the beach for our goodbye bbq. it was a wicked time just chilling out with the team and the guys from YWAM Malaga. some of us went in for a refreshing swim and were treated to a brill time of water arobics led by Kristi. (aparently Heidi was the star student, but i think she paid Kristi to say that!) After that, Steph and Kristi did a couple of ntertaining dances for us and then came the time for Alex to be thrown in the sea by Lance. Then the pack up of the bbq equipment and a van ride home. Then it was bed.

It was a fantastic day. A really good last full day in the beautiful country of Spain.

A shout out to my Portugal peeps, Danny, Chem, Joy, Family and friends. love you.

uni's, flyers and footy

2006-06-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

tuesday the 13th june:

we headed out a little later than yesterday at 10am...walked down to the bus stop and made good time to malaga. bus wasn't full, arrived at the uni an hour early so we seized the moment and had a team meeting...happy days! :) alicia arrived on time and we split into (new) groups and went crazy on campus, telling people about jesus! well...not really but successful conversations were had and plenty of posters were put up on student notice boards. result.

we met for lunch a little earlier to ensure that maximum 'fellowship' time was had. joel joined us and laughs were had by all. they stressed how much they'd enjoyed having us and relations between ywam and agape were seriously strengthened through our team. good stuff. they were really cool people.

lance (the legend) and pablo picked us up around 2.45pm and drove us to churriana (prostitute town) and gave us a tour of their local ywam owned gym. we were then unforunate enough to witness a disgraceful "full-contact" fight between lance and angel (local guy). not a pretty sight at all...what is it with men and too much testosterone?! it was pretty mad. after the fight, we split into four teams and leafleted the local area, promoting the gym. i went with steve and had a wicked fun time...finished up early and found a LITTLE hole in the wall to watch the france v switzerland match. thierry should've scored a few but he didn't...shame. we headed home early, much to everyones relief, and had a chilled evening. steve, al & i headed over to the mall to see the end of france (and got moved on by security!)...carolyn watched the brazil match in town and the rest of us saw "10 things i hate about you" (again)!!

an early night was had by all...our last day of ministry concluded well and left us all pretty nackered. my energy has all but gone...but having said that, i have strangely mixed feelings about leaving malaga. i will miss lance, beth, pablo, AARIS and the gang a lot...they've been the most incredible people ever to work with. our approach and visions have meshed perfectly and luckily things have ended on a very positive note. God is gracious!! happy days. bring on the england match on thursday!

peace,

heidi

p.s. still missing you, mem martins crew. hope you're well...come on portugal! :)

Saturday 10th of June 2006.

2006-06-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Today was all planned out and we where ready to go ahead with the fantastic plan, but then it changed. Instead of having a beach bbq we ended up having a training day for the visiting Texas crew. We taught them the dramas and the small dances that we had. It all went well.

After the teaching session we went out, us the English people (us, come on Oskar, you’re Icelandic), and saw the rather brilliant match between England and Prague*. Good match witch England won, come on lads.

After that we set out to go and find the Texas team on the beach getting ready to play some volley ball. Me, being me, not liking sports, unless the ones that evolve around cars, I went out into the sea and had a swim, along with the other non sport liker’s. after that we got them to hand out fliers about the Sunday school we are doing tomorrow. We also invited people to the station plaza again and the Texans got their chance to try out the dramas and the dances. It was a lot of fun.

After that we just went to bed.

Óskar Pétur Sævarsson

p.s. mamma, ég er alveg að koma heim. :-)

(* i believe he means paraguay! blog moderator)

Fri 9th June

2006-06-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Texans everywhere!!!

Started off with the usual but were all joined today by 29 Texans from the US & A! hehe..... what was our quiet little world in the Centro Multiuso has now been invaded by many many people. hehe........ But at the same time, Lance and the YWAM team here have made us step up a notch in helping them "staff" these guys while they are here. The day hasn't been bad, just a little busy. We got ready for our outdoor kids ministry on the beach, getting dramas ready, new dances made up and "speeches" ready. The guys were all teamed up with the Texans who came out tonight to join our team and see what we've been up to.
Carolyn and I stayed behind to cook burgers and get dinner ready for them when they came back. Everything was ready by 8pm although we weren't expecting them for another 1.5 hours!!! ooops..... good thing we have ovens that can keep things warm! keke.

Anyways in the time I waited for them to come back, I watched the "Dukes of Hazzard". Funny film. Still missing Chem, still odd that she's not here, and I don't think that I will miss her any less.

Can't wait to come home though, last last week!!! Yippee!!!!

Cherry

Wednesday 7th June

2006-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day. It began, as usual, with a team meeting and leadership was handed over to Oskar for the day. To start he shared a word with us about picking up your cross and surrendering all to Jesus. During the meeting we discussed plans for the evening outreach program. As the two events we did last week went so well, we planned to do it tonight too. A full plan was drawn up and a brand new drama created. And then some news over the lunch table flipped those plans upside down…

Chem had decided that she would return to England to be with her grandma. It was hard for a lot of the team to take, as Chem is such a massive part of this team and such a great encourager.
Rather than continue with the outreach, we had a prayer time for Chem, before Heidi took her out for dinner. The rest of us stayed back at the base and, while watching ‘Save the Last Dance’ (oh my word what a film!), blew up loads of balloons and got ready for our ‘roof party’ in honour (honor for all the Americans in the house) of Chem. It was a really good time. We also went down for a swim (paddle really) in the sea, very refreshing at 12:30 in the morning!!!

And that was the day that was. Oskar did a fantastic job in adjusting to the changes, Iceland, watch out!

Mum, Dad, Phil, see you soon!
Danny boy, looking forward to seeing you mate…
Joy, missing you.
Esther and Deb, not long now, ONE WEEK!
Portugal crew, much love to you guys.
Chem, dearly missed, love you mate.

Steve.

P.S. The girls got together with Chem after lunch and dressed her up as “girlie” as we could get her. That girl has guts. She had 2 scarves wrapped around her and with more jewellery and hair clips on that any girl could wear at once. We all headed out over to the shopping mall with our girly Chem among many laughs and stares we shared a “final” crazy time with Chem before she heads back tomorrow. We’ll miss you tonnes babe!
Cherry x

pray, pray, pray [cherrys day]

2006-06-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

tuesday 6th june.

well since cherry (miss organised) was leading today, she'd had it planned for quite some time...we even had little intercession-books made up for us! impressive! we started the morning with team time...feedback, announcements, schedules...mundane stuff that needs to be covered. chem was on a roll and had plenty of encouraging words for the group...like i say "with chem, its all or nothing"! we then had a really good extended time of worship led by the highly talented kristi. it was really good to connect with God in the form of musical worship and faith levels were raised all around, i think. after coffee, cherry briefed us for our "day of prayer" which was roughly broken up into three categories: team & families; ywam malaga and vision & future. she then let us loose...to roam wherever we wished and pray during scheduled times...a very good idea!!

i headed down to the beach for ultimately refreshing prayer time...i believe chem & al were also in the general vicinity. i think the others mostly stayed around the church [on various levels] to take up their requests with God and hear what's on His heart. the team met back at 4.30pm to share what God had said and encourage each other with words...

i took a rare leader privilege and extending my time out from the group. i stayed on the beach and went for a divinely refreshing swim. its pretty hot here right now but i'm not complaining! the highlights of the evening were discovering two cute kittens who have chosen our 'garden' as their new home...and a second, rather more successful attempt at a MOVIE NIGHT (with the projector & sound system)! we started off with 'casino'...then changed to 'evolution'...big ups to pablo & beth for lending the movies to us! ;)
(the kittens)
countdowns are now the most popular topic of conversation....for me & steve, the fact that we are only 2 days and 18 hours away from the WORLD CUP is a constant excitement!!!! for the rest, the fact that we're heading back to england in 9 days is pretty welcome information. having said that, we have some amazing stuff lined up over the next week...wed, thu & fri evenings we will be doing more beach/kids open-airs; on sat we have an all-day football tournament here at the church [with a 2 hr break to watch the england match!]; sun we're doing an international service in torremolinos then having a beach bbq afterwards; mon & tue we're teaching at a uni in malaga then WED we're having "team debriefing" in a water park and a big fat bbq on the beach with lance & co.!!! wooohooooo! good stuff! i still find it a privilege to work with lance, tabita, raquel, tina, pablo & beth etc....they are such incredible, fun people and we have a great rappor with them. they are impressed with the team and we are equally impressed by them!

well that'll do. our apologies for not updating this more. better late than never eh? please hang in there...we couldn't do this without your prayers and support! thanks for your ongoing interest all!
heidi

p.s. jorge crew: still missing you like crazy! wanna come see you soon! hope you're all well. :)
p.p.s. please pray for my newfound friend antonio…a guy who works out at the gym here, he used to live in london and is very open. cheers. J
p.p.p.s danny, thx for all your comments…can’t wait to see you soon! take care bro.

Monday 5th June - Day Off!

2006-06-08T07:52:00.001-07:00

Today was probably our first proper day off…with no schedule and 7 euros to spend for some excuse for Mexican food. It wasn’t really that good and I was ill the next morning but I sucked it up, because I’m tough like that. But back to the day off, I decided to buy a giant sized breakfast for everyone made by our future chefs, look out for them ready on the beach catching some rays and waves and chilling out. Most of us had to do washing which really sucks big time cause it took me like 5 hours to wring out my towel but the rest sat down in front of the projector and just watched a movie and stank. Later on I had a craving for chicken so after much hard work cleaning the kitchen with alex, I feasted on a film called “The Transporter” and choked on my huge Lemon that Steph gave me.

That concludes the team day off!!!!

colour key:
heidi
steve
kristi
rachael
alex
stephanie
oskar
chem
cherry

Sunday 4th June

2006-06-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Steve’s leading day and after the busy day we had yesterday he had a tough day in front of him. But he did such an amazing job. We got up in the morning to have a team meeting and get ready for the children service we planned. The clowns (Oskar and Chem) got ready to head back down to town to dish out some more fliers to remind people about the service while the rest of us practiced the skit and cleaned up the place.

The theme we did for the kids was friendship with God, and we did the story of Zaccheus, and very aptly, I was that SHORT man who Jesus befriended!!! Hehe. We played games with them, taught a couple of songs and then did some crafts after. We found out after that a couple of the kids didn’t come to Sunday school normally and this one girl said that she wanted to be Jesus’ friend herself. Her parents had come to too and was sitting in the church service and were quite impressed with the way we had “entertained” their daughter. Hopefully they will come back this Sunday as we hope to plan another children program.

Everyone just chilled out after our most busy weekend since we’ve been in Spain. Chem and Kristi did a crazy photo taking session of themselves in our room which they found very entertaining. So now, we have tonnes and tonnes of pictures of the two of them. Happy days for sure! Day off tomorrow with a yummy cooked breakfast in the morning compliments of Steve so I can’t wait.
Cherry!!

Mum & Dad: Can’t wait to come back and see you both.
Janice: Keep up the good work in school, not long now til we go on holiday so hang in there and do the best you can ok.
Val & Wendy: Thinking of you guys, can’t wait to head to Vancouver with you guys. Think of everything we can do and we’ll go eat til our bellies burst! hehe

Saturday 3rd of June

2006-06-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. Chem was leading and we had a big day ahead of us.
It started in the morning with us helping out in a local bicycle race. We starded blowing up balloons, about 400 of them, an then we headed out to three separate stations along the ten kilometre bike race.

There is a fun way about how they do things in races around here. There are no winners and no losers, everybody just ride along in a big group. Some had the job of handing out water but others went down to the end of the line, wich was the town hall in Rincon and helped out in preparing the stage where they held a raffle in the end. We ended handing out water and Fanta Naraja to the contestants and ended then in big water Fanta fight. It was fun.
(6-0 to england v jamaica, come on!)
The afternoon was free to have some time to relax and gather energy for the evening. In the evening we went to Malaga to a Christian concerts. That was a lot of fun and amazing band that came on stage. It was really cool and definitely something that they should do more of around here. It was great.

With great love and missing feelings,
Oskar Petur
p.s. Mom I miss you. Dad I miss you.

Friday 2nd June

2006-06-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

(heidi & steve's england shrine!)
Steph’s leading day!!! Hehe……. We’ve got such a busy week it’s unreal, although I know that we are going out there and doing what God wants us to be doing in Spain. We had a day of much walking today, up and down many hills! Hehe…… we were handing out leaflets today to all the houses in the area to promote the Gym here in La Cala. We all split up into 3 teams to walk around the local area and post fliers into everyone’s post boxes and to just go out and pray for the area. It was a beautiful day and to just go and walk was actually really nice though very very hot. It was like 30°C out!!!!

We all met up after the leafleting on the beach to have our packed lunch, a bit of worship and music, then many of us just chilled out on the beach. The sea was so warm it was amazing. The girls all headed into the sea and we walked out so so far!!! It was a so cool for a shorty like me to walk out so far and not be drowning already! Hahahaha. Me and Rach went over to the rocks on the pier and pretended to me Ariel from the Little Mermaid.

It was so funny, would have been tonnes better if the waves were massive, we just had to make do, still it was an experience definitely. Anywho….. most of us stayed in the sea or on the beach for a couple of hours, except for Chem, me and Rach who stayed an hour or 2 more than the others. It was nice and relaxed which we needed considering the day of ministry that we had to follow. Don’t even have that much to say about today. We came back and took it easy, doing my best to not over exert myself when we have such an early day and long day tomorrow.

Everyone is really looking forward to heading home. It’s not like we don’t want to be here, but it really has been such a long time to not really have any contact with family and friends. I know a lot of that is me not emailing but when internet is not convenient, it’s amazing how easily it is to lose touch with people.

Can’t express how excited I am to go home and see Janice and the rest of my family. To go back and see all the guys from YAF and just people who makes up “home”……. I miss everyone back in Bristol and can’t wait to spend some time with Karen.
Spain coming to an end soon, but so happy that God has blessed this opportunity to even be here. Love to all who know me!!!
Cherry

1st June (Thursday)

2006-06-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

Today was Rachael’s day to lead, and it turned out to be structured much like yesterday. We had an abundance of various meetings in the morning- not really my style, and I was getting rather antsy by the end, but it was productive nonetheless. We’ve joked about YWAM standing for Youth With A Meeting, and I’m beginning to see the truth in that. We planned tonight’s event- another children’s night down at the beach, which we are finding to be a very good outreach tool. We talked and planned all morning, then came a delicious lunch of seafood paella made by the kitchen whiz Tabitha. After lunch we had a bit of free time, and then we all had things to prepare for the event. Steph and I invented a genius dance- well, we ripped off The Routine by Ross and Monica from Friends, and then added our own quirks, including cartwheels. It was way over the top and completely idiotic, but that’s what made it so fun and appealing to the kids. I gave a talk after the dance about trusting God to catch us- he is strong enough! Chem and Oskar were, once again, brilliant clowns- they just get better and better every time. Steve and Alex put together a show of circus skills, Diablos, Juggling, Yo-Yos. Al spoke, too. The theme of the night was Trust in God and Friendship with him- how he wants us as his friend, and we can always trust him. It was definitely a better production than last night, we are learning as we go along, and we improved quite nicely! With a clear theme and message, I think we really got something across to both the kids and their parents. Faces were painted and sweets were given out after the show, as were invitations to an event we’re having this Sunday here at the gym/church/music school thing we’re staying at. (More to come on how it all went later…)

(clowning around! pic no 3: chem, lance, oskar)
It was a great day, Rachael’s leading was absolutely fabulous, so thanks very much to her. ‘Mad props, Sis’ as our good friend Danny would say. Word.

Thanks to everyone who prays for us- it is most certainly making a difference in our ministry. Keep up the praying.

Mom, Kenny, Kari (and everyone else I love back in the legendary state of MN)- I’ll be seeing you in a month! Whoop. Dad, Aunt Leesha, Uncle Charlie- Three weeks!!! So excited. I miss you so much, I love you!

Kristi

apologies

2006-06-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello all.
We are all still alive!
This is just a quick note to say sorry that the blog hasn't been updated in a while. All of the days have been 'blogged' and are waiting, on a laptop, to be uploaded. Hopefully this will happen within the coming days...

A big shout out to my friends in Portugal, missing you all.

Take care,
steve

Wednesday, 31st May

2006-05-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday...
(our little darling aris)
(Before David P left)
Leadership was handed to Rach today as we continue to develop our skills in that area. She got us together for our morning meeting which was longer than usual as we had to plan the evenings outreach program. We had gone out in groups the previous day (Tuesday) to see where the main groups of people hang out so that we would know where to target with our clowns and ballooning/face painting.

We had a fairly chilled out afternoon and headed off early evening for promoting our evangelism event on the beach front. A group went to the plaza and met quite a few kids and their parents and brought them along. Another group went to another plaza and invited a lot of people too. The group that i was in went to a park area in a housing estate on the far side of La Cala. We met a family that had moved to Spain from Chile, so that made for interesting conversation, which was great. Onto the main event...

It was fantastic! We did a few dramas and dances and i was able to share about the team and what we are doing here, while doing some tricks on the diablo. It was a really great evening. There was a few tourists that stopped to watch aswell, two families, one from Switzerland and one from Bulgaria. They both spoke a decent amount of english, so translators werent needed to talk to them, which was good. Lance did all the translating throughout the program though, and he did a bit afterwards aswell, as i tried to teach a couple of the lads the diablo. Lots of face painting was going on and batman and spiderman made quite a few appearances, as did lots of flowers and hearts.

All in all, a great day. My first “open air” experience was really good, i enjoyed it loads.
Thanks for all the prayers...
Portugal Crew, missing you guys!
Deborah, Esther and Joy, missing you lots.
Danny, miss you loads.
Mum and Dad, not long now.
Phil, 17!!! Cant believe it bro, love ya!
Much love to all, Steve.

Spy Mission [Alex's Leading Day; Chem’s Blessing Day]

2006-05-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 30th May, 2006.

as usual, we found out today's plans at the 11th hour from lance (last night at 11.40pm!)...which didn't quite suit alex's organised personality but he coped well. carolyn and i have decided to allow the students to spread their wings and have a go at leading. alex kicked it off and did a very thorough job. our morning started with a harpers team-time, which then flowed into a team-time with the malaga crew. lance delivered some excellent teaching on relationships which gave us all a lot to chew on. the bottom line was to have the mentality of what we can bring to the relationship not what we can get out of it. very wise words indeed. after his teaching, lance's cousin (kristin) viewed our dramas and spent some time teaching oskar, steve & chem how to be clowns!

the afternoon was free so people scattered (making note of their whereabouts on the accountability board!)...i think Bible study and napping were the most popular activities. we got together at 6pm and beth briefed us on how to 'spy out the land'...meaning see where people hang out, the age groups, what sorts of activities we could do in the various places and what God has to say about all of it. after praying for a God-given heart for the area, we split into groups of three and set off. the groups were: kristi, chem & stephanie; david p, carolyn & alex; steve, al & cherry; oskar, rach & me. we headed first to the plaza, documented our observations, then walked along the beach/boardwalk, into a little square, along the main street, to the fountain...basically did a thorough survey of the area. i even managed to spot a drug-ring of sorts...more like a bald middle-aged man supplying teenage boys with pot. they were growing marijuana plants on the balcony, in clear sight of everyone!!!

some time after 8pm, everyone congregated at 'cafe habana' for some well-earned chill time. steve & i were excited about the england v hungary friendly, which wasn't actually shown until 12.20am here. very unfortunate. :( most of the crew sat outside in the beautiful evening glow, steve, oskar, chem & i sat indoors and watched the germany v japan match. only 11 days till the world cup...CANNOT WAIT!! thats about it really...quite a chilled end to quite a stressful day i guess.
("crazy"!)
the words i leave you with are from none other than Jesus Christ and the perfect moto for spanish life:
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matt. 6:34
heidi

p.s. big ups to england for winning 3-1!! J

Mon: Where the spirit of the Lord is there is FREEDOM!

2006-05-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

Well sorry to all my fans I have been absent due to ill health, plus an amazing black eye! Which I have been extremely proud of, to Carolyn’s disgust as she wanted to use her artistic skills on my face. However I am a hard nut (soft inside), so have wanted to show it off to everyone. Thank you for all the prayers the Lord has been good in showing me patience! A big thank you to Isobel Mc Cubbin who was a great substitute mum and looked after me whilst she was here.

So today was pretty much the first chill day we have since we left Portugal, ahhhh! Most people took it pretty easy and took advantage of being able to stay in bed! I arouse at around 10am looking forward to not doing much and chilling with the big man. I showered and walked to the mall to check emails and stuff which was cool to catch up with the world. Thanks for your email Helmer it was much appreciated, good to see all our friends are still keeping track of us! I then went to eat with Clipper (Kristi), it was really good to just chill with a great gal.

Walking in the wilderness! Much of the time I feel I am walking in a land that is not known. So I took some time out with the big man to gain some perspective on my walk in the future. I really see a future emerging here and feel that I could be part something really cool. So God is good because even when we feel we are wandering in the wilderness, God is holding a compass and directing the path. I am so glad for that, because my sense of direction is rubbish.

To finish the day off we all crammed onto the sofa’s and watched the film ‘BIG FISH’ It was really nice after everyone had been apart to gather to end the day. I was glad when my head hit the pillow! I joined the rest of the sleeping beauty’s of the day (Al)

A good day off had by all!

A rested Chem x x

P.S. See you soon Jackie, David, Steph, Michelle and Nimscum. Missed you loads!

church and chill

2006-05-29T04:20:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY, 28TH MAY 2006.
first of all, a big happy birthday to Alex...
and now, the rest of sunday...

the day began with a short meeting. the meeting ended and the dance practice began.
Church began at 12 and our team performed 'Hola' and 'Shout to the Lord'. Rach did a mini sermon and Oskar and AL both gave short words of what God has been doing in them over the DTS. Very good i must say, well done team! (all was translated by the legend that is Lance). David P's sermon brought the congregation to tears. it was a very challengeing message about forgiving issues from the past and moving forward with God. Well done David.

Lunch was tasty, mash and some mix of various odd's and end's, well done Cherry and Heidi. Alex's Birthday cake was lovely, strawberrys, yum..!

In the evening, we went to a pasta place* for the 'real' birthday meal. and then found that the prices were very high, so relocated to a pizzeria at the plaza in the town.

Some of us went with alex to round up his birthday with some ice-cream.
That was followed by a walk up the hill and a film (Big Fish) and then bed.

Tattey byes. Obrigado, Graçias and thank you.

steve
(the whole crazy gang!)

* to elaborate a little...it was a very fancy italian restaurant that was apparently affordable to our limited budget. so all of twelve of us were seated in the restaurant, perused the menus...
...were just about to order when the waiter told us that the pizzas were personal pan, not large ones! what followed was one of the most awkward moments yet on this dts...embarassed looks, giggles, faces hidden behind menus...we asked the guy for a coupla minutes to collect ourselves. some suggested we do a runner, others suggested we stay, but finally we concluded to apologise and leave with as much dignity as could be mustered. it was an embarrassing moment indeed but something to look back on with laughter down the line. haha. anyway, we did find another restaurant down at the plaza...so we opted for that instead. happy days.

just as we were leaving the plaza, cherry recognised a man from jocum in portugal!!! how bizarre! so she went over and chatted to him for a while...he raved about salomao and apparently is living here in la cala (of all places!) for the next 2 months, then hoping to go to england. what a small world!

i think that'll do for now. its been a long, exhausting two weeks but we're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel; actually having a few laughs again like the good old days!

jorge & crew: thinking of you lots...a day doesn't go by without a mention of you guys! thanks for making our outreach so incredibly special and for the t-shirts! God bless,
heidi x
**12 days till the world cup...come on!!**

Saturday, 27 of May 2006

2006-05-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

(Steph & Kristi praying for the day!)

WOW!!! What a fantastic day. We had a big beach barbeque and invited some people. We woke up around ten and headed down to the beach after the normal morning meeting at around eleven. When we got there Lance had already arrived and was starting to set things up. We helped a bit but then we went for a swim. Around twelve the BBQ was lighted up and in order for us to draw some attention to us we started playing football. We invited a lot of people but only three came to play. That was alright though because they where just as bad, I mean good, as us.

Around two we had some hamburgers and did some more swimming. Four young people came over and we fed them, both with food and with God. The people we worked for on Thursday also came and Lance and Al had some brilliant talks to them.

Around three-ish we headed back to the sea and around five we went back to the church, finding the showers not working, much to our disappointment and the kitchen flooded, much to our joy. We had some brilliant team bonding time cleaning all that water up.

After that the Girls decided to have a girls night in, wich was pretty easy for them as all the males, and one female, where leaving the building that night to go down to our local Habana to watch a football match between Spain and Russia. I do not know what they did during the evening because I’m not a girl, but if I where to guess, I would think that they had pizza and watched friends. Us guys and Heidi went down to Habana to watch the match and had a good time being served by Jesus.

From sunny Spain.

Oskar

Friday 26th May

2006-05-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well this is a privilege to blog alongside the experienced bloggers!!!

Today we had our morning meeting; Isabel lead us on ‘Running the Race’ which I felt was very appropriate, sensing that we are slowly beginning to wind down and think about our plans after DTS when we still have 3 weeks left to serve Spain! We need to keep our eyes fixed on the goal and stay positive and spur one another on with brotherly and sisterly love.

Shortly after we head outside and began weeding away at the ground, mainly around front steps, in order to make the building look a bit more presentable for tonight’s movie nite! I had my first experience using a ‘electronic weed killing contraption thing’ , which was awesome although hard work!!

Meanwhile, Joy was packing inside preparing for her trip back to the base in Harpenden. It will be different without her with us, but I believe that it is the best thing for her now. We will all be praying for her – Joy if you are reading this hang in there and keep close to Jesus.

This evening we had our prearranged movie nite showing the one the only… Bruce Almighty dadadah… Unfortunately nobody showed up which was if we are honest disappointing and we decided that it might have been better to hand out the invitations this afternoon rather than Wednesday. But hey, we still had fun hanging out as a team and afterwards we set up our own little karaoke nite which was a lot of fun- happy days as the Heidi would say! All in all a good day, with mixed emotions after loosing another of our team members. I trust that God will continue to reveal Himself to all, personally and through others.

Rach…

Ps. Hello, Steve here. I’m writing to confirm the credibility of Rach’s blog!!! It was sad to see another team member leave, but we commit Joy into the Lord’s hands and continue to pray for her (love ya mate!).

We were also treated to a work out session led by Kristi and Steph. ‘Feel the Burn’ began at 4 in the afternoon with a quick run down and up the hill next to the church and then 45 minutes of muscle burning. “If you don’t spit blood, it’s not a work out”, that’s the motto of ‘Feel the Burn’. One particular exercise made us all laugh, as it was similar to the action that a dog does when he is emptying his bladder.

Just want to give a massive shout out to my Portugal peeps, Jorge, Miguel, Helmur, Rosa and Marco. We miss you lots guys and hope that you are all doing well.

A big noise goes out for my HBC crew. One more shout out to my little bruv, Phil. Miss you mate, not long till we see each other! (Ge’ Down!)

God bless, Steve

Thursday 25th May

2006-05-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, first off, ‘Hello’ everyone – Alex here (from the part of the DTS that went to Belfast/Moscow). Well on with the day.

By Spanish standards, Thursday started early at 08:30 hrs. We headed off to Rincón de la Victoria to help out with a sports event for kids with disabilities. It was a good day. After helping set up, we were each in charge of running a particular game or activity, ranging from basketball, to giant table football, tug-of-war, to volleyball and skittles. We were then treated to an exhibition of gymnastics,
followed by various 25m and 50m sprint races. It was humbling to watch at times as the kids (and sometimes adults) put in 100% effort and enjoyed it 100% no matter what their ability or the result.

After helping clear-up, we had a couple of hours to ourselves. I just chilled out, had a quite time, and then wandered around La Cala del Moral for a bit. I thought it would be a good idea to have a haircut, as I hadn’t had one in five weeks. I should have checked my Spanish was up to explaining what I wanted first, as it came out a little shorter and different than expected. But it is good nonetheless.

(Alex getting all pampered by our Kristi!)

In the evening we had a little celebration, played some silly games (ask Heidi to show you her impression of a elephant!!) and then, in the name of ‘team building’, each had a face pack (of course I didn’t partake in a strawberries and cream moisturising face pack – my skin feels so smooth now).

Big ‘Hello’ to Mum, Dad, Ru, Fi and Ian. Also, Deborah, Esther and Joy, missing you all loads. Take care all.

GBY

Alex

[Danny boy, we love and miss you too! portugal crew] :)

P.S. by Kristi

Hey guys! Yeah, it was a good day, all in all, a little sports, a little gymnastics, a little games, a little pampering. We really miss you all, Portugal friends, and talk about you all the time! Hope you’re having a good time over there, don’t forget about us!

Wednesday 24th May

2006-05-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos!

Today started out with a bit of team time as usual. Isobel had a word about Fear of the Lord for us, which was really good to hear, I think it got a lot of us thinking.

From 11 to 2 we all pitched in and tried to help Lance and the church with the outside of the building. Landscape stuff mainly, weeding around the church parking lot. It was nice to be doing something constructive even if it was manual labor.

This blog is going to be pretty short, not too eventful to be real honest. But nonetheless good ol’ team bonding. After lunch we had the afternoon to just chill out, gain back our strength from the long morning in the weeds. It has been so nice cause being only a10 min. walk from the beach, it is so easy to just head down there every free time, so a lot of us laid in the sun after lunch. Real nice.

About 6 o’clock we all regrouped for a prayer walk/handing out flyers. The flyers were an invitation to this movie night we are planning here at the church on Friday night. We asked people if they knew English and or wanted to learn more..and that we were hosting an English movie night with a group of young people from England. Pretty cool chance to meet people, we are showing the movie Bruce Almighty, way funny and also awesome message which we can talk about with them afterwards.

So all went well until..Miss Chemaine had to head off to the hospital. She was really in pain so Isobel and Raquel (a girl from the base) took her in the middle of the night to go see what it was. She came back with some antibiotics for her kidney infection that they discovered, and also a big fat black eye. Apparently Chem doesn’t like needles and freaked out as they drew her blood, fainted and landed head first onto a stool, hence the blackeye. There is a picture we posted so you can see the real deal, I think it is like 7 colors.

So all in all it was a good day, weeds, beach, invites and a black eye. Hope all is well with everyone who is reading this blog. We send our love to you all.

God Bless and adios,

Stephanie (for those of you thinking who is that? I’m from the other half of the dts, who went to Moscow for the first half) nice to meet you J

Just a little P.S. We’re trying our best to get on with things here in Spain, though it certainly doesn’t have much with actually DOING things here in Spain, rather than BEING here as a light in Spain. It’s been tough trying to work out exactly what God wants us to do here, but a word was given to us, that although back in Portugal we were sowing God’s seeds, here we’re plowing and working the ground ready for others to come and sow seeds. I know that we’re doing a lot more than we can see with our physical eyes. Trying to do our best to work on with a good attitude. Anyways, we are incorporating the other team in our blog so you will be hearing for other people. But we will do our little notes to let you know how we are all doing.
Missing home. Looking forward to coming home to you guys!! Love you all very much.

Cherry

apologies

2006-05-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

just a quick one to say sorry we haven't been updating the blog more. we aspire to keep it going more regularly...thanks for your patience!

danny boy, we miss and love you! thanks for your comments.

h. x

A Parallel Universe

2006-05-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 23rd May, 2006. [approx. 33'C, humidity: high]

We started the day off with some Team Time with the Malaga staff. Pablo led us in a time of worship, then Lance & Aunty Isobel gave words to the group. The meeting centered around Unity and the massive importance of it. Without God's love in our team, how can we go out there and tell others about it?! So there is a general resolve to sort through the gunk (Isobel's word) and get it sorted. With it came the news that Joy will be heading home on Friday...so time was spent ensuring that things with her ended in a good place. Once again, can I just say how INCREDIBLE God's timing is? Isobel's arrival saw me at the end of my rope, hanging on by the skin of my teeth (its been a hard week)...into the situation. Thanks a ton Aunty Izzy! :)

I think the team are starting to adapt to the flexibility of Spanish unscheduled life...and are going along with the flow nicely. We have a schedule just so we can change it (Lance's words)!! Over lunch, I managed to sort out the afternoons plans with Lance & Carolyn and some much needed free-time was granted. People dispersed in different directions...most to the beach, some to Carrefour (across the road) & the internet, some just sun-bathed back at the church. What at one stage seemed like primitive accomodation has now become home. The girls have been divided into 3 different rooms (by picking names out of a hat!) and rather bizarrely they came out with the Portugal girls in one room & the Moscow girls in another...although there are no distinctions, we are one team!! it did cause us to chuckle though, God definitely has a sense of humour! I can't quite remember what I did yesterday afternoon...seems a lifetime away...think I did some interneting and attempted to escape. With all the overhanging tense storms, my introverted nature has kicked in BIG TIME! By the grace of God, I still stand...and will not be shaken!

Anyway, at around 7pm, we sorted out some packed dinners and headed down to the beach. Oskar & I talked, prayed and stopped at Mark's ice-cream shack (a Christian guy from Nigeria, I'm told...however, I think he's more taken with the girls in our group than studying the Bible, but thats just me -- forever the cynic!). We met up with Pablo, Beth & Eris [their adorable daughter] down on the beach and had an amazing time of worship & intercession for La Cala. Words of Truth were spoken over this neighbourhood and quite a few old people gathered at a distance, no doubt with heckling in mind! Joy, Cherry & I looked after Eris [who I've decided is my new best friend...mentally on my level these days] and it was a beautiful evening, the sunset in the distance...God's creation surrounding. At around 9pm, we called it a night...some went back to the church...some stayed on the beach...Osk & I had a One-on-One (honest) at Habana...great conversations flowed. (Steph worshipping and praying under a palm)

As we walked up to the church later on, I was struck with the bizarre parallels between the Sintra Jocum base (Portugal) and this one. Mem Martins was wide open, almost begging to be heard and loved (Sao Jose School, the locals etc)...it was so easy to get plugged in socially...yet Jocum was scared to venture outside the safety of its own gates. Malaga, however, has an amazing team that are all about being relational and befriending the local community, yet it seems very hard to break into it. Its a bizarre contrast yet you have to leave it in God's hands and hope that perseverance for the Malaga crew is the key. We are really enjoying being a part of them for this time.

Ooh, how could I forget? Chem went to the hospital for a check-up, had a blood test, fainted, whacked her head and now (as a result) has an enormous black-eye which weirds me out to even look at! Stay tuned for more detail! She's doing ok, but please pray for her...it hasn't been an easy road!

"Oh no I've said too much, I haven't said it all..." [REM]

Please continue to pray and uphold us over the next 3 1/2 weeks. The battle is on big time but we are up for it...determined to press in and press on. Thanks for your interest, peace be upon you.

Heidi

P.S. Jorge crew: Obrigado por todos os dias felizes. We miss you loads!
P.P.S. Some of our beloved team mates (Moscow) will be making some entries on here soon, wait in trembling anticipation!!
P.P.P.S. Jackie, I really miss you, can't wait to see you next month!

Monday 22nd May

2006-05-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

Day off today! I have a bit of a boring perspective on the day off, because I spent the entire day until 4:30 introverting, taking some desperately needed time by myself. I spent a lot of time with God, and then had a good time to email my family and a few friends.

The Moscow crew spent the day debriefing with Isobel, and the rest of the gang headed to the beach. Apparently the waves were huge, as was evidenced by Cherry’s thrash marks! My Little Bean…beat up by the waves…broke my heart.

We all got together at 4:30 to go to a Churrasqueria! With Isobel having arrived yesterday, and David, Vera, and Daniel having arrived today, it seemed like a good way to connect as a group and just have a good time. We thought the place was just a 20 minute bus ride, but discovered we then had to walk a ways to the train station, then take the train about another half hour. When we finally arrived, we found out that we couldn’t even get in until 8:00 because it wasn’t open yet! We were questioning whether it was really worth it, but the doubts quickly left our minds when we finally sat around the big table, plates waiting in expectation for the abundance of meat soon to grace our presence.Well, you know how Steve was the resident Portugal Mr. Anaconda? I am proud to admit that Steph from the Moscow crew gave him a run for his money! Yes, Steve-O, the churras champ, beat by a girl! A proud tear is threating to tumble down even as I write this.

So yes…not a whole lot else to report for the day. I’ve gotta get going, so that Al can write the one for a few days ago.

I love you all, miss you loads!

Kristi

Sunday 21st May

2006-05-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day at the local church, actually in the gym! A massive room with a big stage and wonderful musicians just for a few people! I was trying to imagine it full of people worshipping God…

After the worship time in Spanish (but we recognized some English songs translated), the preaching was in English, by a teacher from the theology university. He talked to us about the way that we should study the Bible, with eagerness to know about the real nature of God.

At the end of the afternoon, we walked to the beach to worship and pray. The scenery was as amazing as usual, and it’s so much easier to give glory to God when we face His creation.

But the best part of this day was the arrival of our auntie Isobel from Harpenden! After spending a bit of time with us, she took Heidi and Carolyn out for dinner.

The Pinheros family missed the plane so they got here at about 3 in the morning!!!

Already a week here, it’s just incredible! We still miss Portugal loads…

Love,

Saturday 20th May

2006-05-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hello, this is my first blog since we came to Spain. So now all you fans of my lack of writing capabilities can rejoice in reading this blog, for Oskar is back on the keyboard ready to shock the good old t’internet.

Today (being the 20^th of may) was an interesting day, to say the least. There was a tension in the group and we had some meetings about that in the beginning of the day. They went all right, could have gone better but some of the tension was released (in the name of JESUS!!!) so they had a good result this meetings (they should have, they lasted for four intense hours(I was going more nutsJ)).

After that we headed out to do some ministry. We went back down to the square that we found yesterday. Some of us worshipped, some (being Steve) played football with a couple of young lads, named Alejando and Pedro, and the rest of us made balloons and did some feece (Face) painting. I found myself having nothing to do after all the balloons ran out (and everybody that know me a bit, know that I can’t paint), and I wanted Steve to suffer a bit, so I went and bought a pair of water guns. After that I called Chem and we filled them up and completely drowned pour old (ok, he is actually not that old) Steve. The kids where quick to follow in our Chems footsteps and took the guns of us and poor Steve got more wet then a fish in the sea. I felt sorry for the poor lad, so I suggested to him that he would take one of the guns of me after I had filled it and spray some water on me, sort of to make thing even.

After that me, Heidi, Rachel, Chem and Cherry down to our new local, wich is called Habana. We had a good time there and got to know the waitress some more. Good place, but not as good as our Gorges.

Hello out to my mom, my dad, my bro, my nan, my granddad, my friend Brynja, my friend Bryndis and a special hello to my sweet couple of Arnor and Hjordis. Also to my YMCA youth group. Eg sakna ykkar allra alveg rosalega mikid!!!

Endilega sendid mer post ef tid viljid frettir.

p.s. Jackie, me and Chem miss you a lot.

Friday 19th May

2006-05-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

We got up to a late breakfast then team meeting when we started reading Proverbs together. We got together with Lance after that to discuss what we could do here in Spain to outreach to people. We jotted down many ideas which was fun, it’ll be exciting to find out which of those ideas will materialise J The “dancers” got together after lunch with Tina to carry on cleaning up “Hola”. She is an amazing teacher, so much patience and such a beautiful dancer, she is helping us so much. It’s coming along really well and we’re having so much fun with it too. It’s going to be exciting to see what the final thing looks like.

After dinner (toasties…. just like in Portugal!!…… (or for me, Rach and Chem, we headed over to McDonalds! Hehe)), we all got together to decide on where we would go to check out the local outreach. Around half the group headed to a “plaza” square type thing to just sit, worship and play with the kids there. It was a real gem to find the square because it’s kinda hidden behind shops and flats and we almost missed it completely. A few of us went back to the Habana bar to check it out. Much to our delight it actually gets quite busy and there’s real potential to get to know the people who go there regularly. Pray that God will guide us to the right people.
Steph, Oskar, Rach and I decided to go for a yummy yummy ice cream after that and went back to Fresia, a nice little ice cream store we found on our first night as we tried to look for a place that resembled Jorge’s in the slightest way. Cute little place, but not a scratch on the home we found at Jorge’s. We miss you guys in Portugal!!!

Til next Friday!

Cherry xx

P.S. A big shout out to my Canadians out there. Can’t wait to see you all in July!!

My dearest family, miss you all a tonne, please give dad a hug for me and tell him I miss him.

Our amazing friends in Portugal, we keep remembering you guys everyday. We miss you all lots!!!

Thursday 18th May

2006-05-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

Oh, I was treated today! Yesterday, Chem came up with a way of helping to unify the two outreach teams into one- take one day to bless each member of the team, as though it was their birthday. It was my day today, and I couldn’t have asked for more of a blessed day! Alex kicked it off and set the bar impossibly high by bringing me a breakfast tray complete with toast, cereal, fresh orange juice he squeezed himself, flowers, a card, and a Mars bar (for later, of course!). After the team time of Psalm reading (we finished the whole book today!), a devotional by Steve, and prayer, we headed out for a prayer/intercession/worship walk along the beach, which extends the whole length of Rincon de la Victoria.

We prayed for the city, sought out what the specific strongholds are that we need to pray release over, and prayed for our time here. We worshipped (the Lord, of course) by a statue of a virgin- quite famous around these parts.

On our way back, Heidi blessed me with an amazing ice cream bar- called Brownies- it was fudge with brownie bits on the inside, and the whole thing covered in chocolate. A-ma-zing. We were back in time for lunch, and after lunch we tried- notice I said tried- to further perfect Holla. We still have a ways to go, but I can authoritatively say that we are progressing very well! As Heidi would say, “I’m well impressed.” After dance, me and Steph went for a run and then a swim in the wonderful Mediterranean, so beautiful!

Chem got me a box of Oreos, which I now must admit with some shame are all gone, and during dinner Cherry, Al, Joy, Steph, and Rachael all ran into the dining room cheering, their faces painted with “KRISTI” or “KRISPY DUCK”, so on and so forth. It was so funny! Steve got me pink Disney Princess body glitter (oh how well he knows me…), Joy gave me an envelope full of encouraging Bible verses, Carolyn made me a “Scooby”, and Al planted an encouraging card in my Bible. I won’t write the prank Oskar pulled to bless me, but I know that the team won’t forget it for a long time!

After dinner we had “an extended time of worship,” which was really good. It started something good in our team, but it still needs to be seen through into completion. I know we won’t give up, though, and I love that about this team. We won’t settle for anything less than the best that we can be- the most unified that we can be. Perhaps it will be a DTS-long process, like, we’ll always be growing more, learning more, coming together even more, learning to love each other more. As wonderful as it would be to finally “get there”, it’s also great to know that we’ll always be striving after something greater, that we will never grow complacent with where we are at.

Well, it’s 1am, I’m sitting in bed in a room crammed with 8 other girls as I write this, and the flies are started to buzz around the lit-up screen. And so I think that it’s time to call it a day. Goodnight moon, goodnight stars, goodnight room. Goodnight all!

Kristi

P.S.- Family, miss you so much! Can’t wait to see you again this summer….Boundary Waters, here we come! (Goodnight, cockroaches…haha, Dad, that one’s just for you!)

Dance Rememberisationage and Football Disappointment

2006-05-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 17th May

i know what you're all thinking... it's been a while since heard from that YWAM lot!!!

well, here it is, with many apologies for its tardiness...

The day began with the team meeting. We looked at some teaching that Lance's 'boss' had given during the summer of last year on a DVD, it was absolutely fantastic! After teaching, and a fairly long stint of sung worship, we had lunch. Lunch in Spain is eaten at 2 o'clock, so it's taking a bit of getting used to, as breakfast is a must to carry you through until then!

The afternoon saw us put on our dancing shoes and show the other team, and staff at the church, what we had created. Holla and Gotta Get Thru This were performed. I feel we did a grand job! The Belfast/Moscow team performed their class acts, one of which was Holla. As the two groups have different 'style' in the dance, we spent the rest of the afternoon polishing up our moves and getting the two teams to be doing the same moves at the same time. Very challengeing for Tina (the professional dancer!) at times, but it is coming on a treat!
As lunch is at a later time here, so is Dinner (evening meal, supper, whatever you want to call it). we usually sit down for it at 8.30, but as the Champions League Final was being played, we had a 7.00 dinner so that we would be able to get to the cafe in time for the match (game, whatever you want to call it). We have some of the DTS from Madrid with us at the moment and they were all supporting Barçelona. Most of the Harpenden crew, stuck to there 'roots' and supported Arsenal. It was a great atmosphere down there, with the people close to the TV (the Arsenal crew) and the Barçelona folks sitting further back. As the match kicked off (began, started, whatever you want to call it) cheers were heard across the town from 'Our Crew'. (slight exageration). There was alot of hostility (in the pleasant christian way) flying about throughout the match between the Harpenden and Madrid DTS's & the staff from Rincon. Unfortunately, Barça won through (somewhat unfairly i might add, but thats the way its goes). The walk home was a good one, lots of fans (supporters) out in the streets and cars beeping their horns. hame about the result, but we can deal with it...At the end of a long day, it was about time for bed. After a short dressing up session (Oskar, lol), we all made our way to the comfort of our beds and the security and warmth (not that it is dangerous or cold here) of our sleeping bags.

Esther and Deb, i'm missing you like crazy, but i know that what you are doing is what you should be. Stay strong.

Danny lad. Missing you too bro, hope things are going well.

The Jorge Crew, i love and miss you all.

God bless,
steve

P.S. It was our baby Rachel's 19th birthday today too..... bless you sweetie :)

rincon de la victoria

2006-05-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

today was our first full day in spain, as a complete team. we are grateful for a good, restful sleep (after the night-bus adventure) and had a brilliant 'team time' this morning with the malaga, madrid & moscow teams. lance encouraged us; we heard a really good video teaching on being real, salt & light etc etc and felt very inspired. although its still a hard transition...going from being a very united, loving, extroverted portugal team to joining the slightly more introverted moscow team...God is faithful. pray that unity is formed, that oddities are overcome and that we become one big happy family over the next month.

the ywam people we're working with here are brilliant and i feel honoured to work with them. lance is such an inspiring, down to earth, real guy and we are blessed to be under him & tabita. the schedule and way of life seems to be a natural continuation of portugal...very laid-back, unscheduled and relationship orientated so i think we will do just fine. the mornings start late, afternoons are lazy and evenings are late...my idea of perfection! :) we will be getting out there soon and doing more stuff but for now, we are having some much needed rest time.at present, we're all at the ywam internet cafe, doing some much-needed communication to friends and fam back home. please pray that unity will happen between our two teams naturally and that our friendships will spill over from portugal to spain. this evening we will be doing a prayer walk around rincon de la victoria, getting to know the local area a little better.
yesterday i went in search of another jorge's type place but there was none to be found...i think treasures like that only happen once on an outreach! we are missing the jorge crew very much and hope they are doing well and at peace. love you people!

thats all for now peeps, might add something more next chance i get.
heidi

p.s. say a prayer for arsenal tomorrow night since i will be surrounded by hostile barcelona fans! ;)

p.p.s. ben, i miss you...wish i was watching the match with you tomorrow night!
the afternoon: [cont.]
most of us walked back to the base/church in the early evening hours (rather quickly) and were pleased to hear that our prayer walk had been cancelled! sore feet, God is merciful!
instead we went up onto the second level of the church and had a time of worship/intercession with the madrid crew. lance shared some of their [amazing] vision and prayer needs and then we had a freeing time of worship. something lifted...a bit of heaviness and oppression...and God's clarity descended. many of us received encouraging and clear words for the future of ywam malaga and it really brought everyone together. we had dinner at 8.30pm (those of us who could manage to eat) then people were free to do whatever they wanted. chem, cherry, al & i headed over to the mall (across the street) for some chill time, the rest went in search of ice-cream. people seem to be settling down a little better now, gelling and actually enjoying themselves. its a relief to see! for me personally, its been a very draining day and bed felt very appealing. portugal peeps, we still miss you! :)
we'll try to post pics soon deborah & esther! love you girls. x

Happy Days!!

2006-05-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Monday 15th May, 2006.

Well we arrived after a very, very long journey. However we were on good morale, which must be the grace of God because we were all very tired. Apart from Clipper (Kristi) as she took a sleeping pill. Much of the day was spent connecting with the other team, which was very interesting. We had very different experiences, but you know what they say, different people, different needs! ha ha!The accomadation is very differernt to Jocum, Oskar is sleeping on a stage but we feel he his ready for it as he has been humbled. Basically the boys room is behind the stage, there are 9 in the girls room, quite a challange for me as I am still grieving and wanting space. I am still next to (ME) Heidi which is really nice, Cherry had a bit of a head fit as there wasn't anywhere for her to unpack, Al was just happy to see a flat floor to lie on. Kristi has already mis laid most of her stuff and is in the process of locating it all again! Our team our really struggling with difficulites at home, and illness in ourselves so please pray for rest and for us to be restored physically, spiritually and emotionally.

We we able to go for a walk around in the evening, didn't find anywhere like Jorge's but a little icecream place. It was nice and they sell my faviourte drink too, which was a bonus. If you know me you will know what that is! Well what more can I say we miss portugal very much and all our good friends, we would be back like a shot. It seems God has plans for us here though, all to be revealed.

Hello to Jorge, Miguel, Rosa, Jorge's mum, Mr Mario, Jorge's sister, Helmer and Marco. We miss you all very much. You are very much in our thoughts and prayers, love to you all.

A big shout out to Jackie, Mich and Nimscum I miss you all loads and sooooo look forward to seeing you when I get back.

Chem

Sunday 14th May

2006-05-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

MISS PORTUGAL ALREADY!!!

It’s been a packing and cleaning day for everybody.

Just before we left the base, Jorge, Miguel and Helmer came for a last good bye. It really melted our hearts to see this thirty-year-old big guy’s tears…
But unfortunately, it was already time to go. Salomao came to pick us up, asked us how we did on this outreach during the journey to Lisbon, and ended up praying for us and thanking us for our work there. He even invited us to come back whenever we wanted.

The journey to Malaga was interesting: eleven hours in a bus stuffed with pretty dodgy people looking at us as we were aliens! We just stopped once for half an hour, and tried to sleep in the most uncomfortable positions the rest of the time.

Fortunately, when we got to Seville, which by the way seems to be a wonderful city, a lot of people took off the bus, which allowed us to spread a bit!

I’ll let Chem tell you about our arrival in Malaga…

All I can say right now is that we miss Portugal already!

Love,

PS: For those who read our blog daily, we don’t have any internet access on the base, but we’ll try to update it as often as possible.

PPS for Jorge: Last night we were wandering around, just looking for a place to hang out… Miss you and your family loads!

Saturday, what a day, a fantastic day.

2006-05-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

Our last Saturday (13th May) here and what a Saturday it was. It began with the normal breakfast and then we headed out to the beach, to do some debriefing. We came to the beach in Estoril around twelve and quickly got into debriefing one and another. At around two we where done and headed up the street and had ourslefs some bacon and eggs, omlets, chips and last but not least, ketchup (Chems to much joy). Around three Steve and Heidi got glued to the telly to watch the FA-cup final, Liverpool against another team (do not remember right now what it was).

The rest of us headed back down to the beach to catch some sun and some waves. Me and Chem where the first ones to go in the freezing water, boy it was so cold our boobs almost fell off (yes you read it correctly, ours :)). After the match Heidi and Steve joined us again and for the first time since we have been to Portugal the whole team went into the sea at the same time. It was so much fun, but soooooo cold!! Brr!! Even I thought it was cold and I live in a country with the name Iceland.

Around six we headed back to the base to change into something smarter. We all dressed up as nice as we could and headed out to an Indian restaurant. Much to our luck Gorge showed all of a sudden up as I opened the gate to reverse the van out, and he helped us to find the place. And how good was the food. Wow (that means a surprising sound not World of War craft).

After Dinner we came back to the base to get some sleep before we headed out with Gorge, Miguel, Helmer and Marco to the karaoke place. There we had the most amazing time together. Cherry and Al sang individually, then Gorge sang, then Gorge and Marco sang, then Kristi and Cherry took a number together, Al came then next and finally after much waiting (sorry Heidi (she was getting pretty tired towards the end)) me and Steve got up on stage to shock the crowd, and the world, with our performance. We got home at around five in the morning well tired.

Gorge, Helmer, Muigel, and Marco followed us home and we said a bit of our goodbyes to them. It is so sad to leave them. They have impacted us so much, and we them. Our relationships with them have been a blessing from God. It will be hard for us to leave. Although we have only been here for five weeks, the time here has been so precious, giving and teaching. I have learnt so much in the time I have been here. It has been really hard for me and for this team. It is like we have never had a quiet day. There has always been something happening, and that has taught me a lot, especially to be humble. I thank God that he put me in this team, they are so great each and every one of them. The time here has been hard for them, and I did not my part in making it easier. God has been teaching me recently that I am CWAP (Corpse With A Purpose), and he has been showing me what it takes for me to be a true follower of Christ. This has not been easy for me to grasp, but the team has been there for me and they have kept me going. God has spoken to me so much through them that I do not have any words, neither in English or Icelandic to describe it. Thank you guys, our are all legends and true friends. Especially you Heidi, for being the best leader a lost person could ask for.

With a humble and grateful soft heart,

Oskar.

Friday 12th May - Another Churras!!

2006-05-13T03:19:00.000-07:00

Last night’s BBQ left us all very tired this morning. Planned was a pretty chilled out day with just meeting up with Igor our football player friend a little later. BUT……. God as always seemed to have other plans. We were woken up at 10am this morning to be told that we were going to be doing something at a school (which has around 700 students) at 11am this morning.
We prayed that Tatiane would meet us before we left to go to the school and God was good. She arrived at the Jocum base just as we were pulling out of the drive. We got there and found that we were joining these kids in their lunch break. The sound system was absolutely amazing!!!! It was so loud and just got us so in the mood to dance and do our performances.

Hola came on, music was so loud and as we got dancing, we had our biggest “audience” yet as the kids gathered around us and watched us dance away. Music messed up in the middle of Hola which meant we couldn’t finish the dance, but it definitely got their attention. Chem and Steve shared about our Daniel Bedingfield and “Mack” Drama while we didn’t even perform!!!

We joined Igor in the afternoon where we were treated to McDonald sundaes….. yummy. We sat and talked with him for a while. What a great man of God he is. He plays for a footie club in Portugal, and we got to watch him on Sunday for steve’s birthday. Great day.

After we left, we decided that we would BBQ (Churrasqueria!!!) the rest of our meat left over from last night’s BBQ and like our own mini Chrassqueria, we got the BBQ started and cooked. A good night was had when we all ate, had drinks and just totally enjoyed each other’s company. Amazing night, so much meat!!!! Going to be fun……. Not long at all now til we get to Malaga. Let’s see what God actually wants us to do before and when we get there.

We found out today that Deborah and Esther won’t be joining us in Malaga next week. We’ll miss you. Stay focused on what God wants you to do. He’ll bless you through it all.

; ) Cherry xx

Thursday's Post! (whoops)

2006-05-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a good day...full of emotions, and Oskar, sitting next to me, just exclaimed that it was a "fantastic!" day.
We visited the schools for the last time, which was quite emotional, tears flowing- from both us and the kids. We got addresses and pictures (not of them, just random magazine pictures they thought would make good gifts). Heidi wanted me to add in that the "football match" was fantastic- she scored an "absolute belter." [good goal]. The kids didn't get into any fights, which is a first, and they even cheered on eachother when they scored goals- something new. As we were leaving, it was sad for me to say goodbye to the girls. Over our time there, we played some games, promoting teamwork, but mostly we just sat and let them braid our hair, or sit in our laps and just be held by us. They are so obviously starved for affection, and it was difficult to know that now that we're leaving, they won't get that little piece of love. It was good, though, to pray over them as I hugged them goodbye, and trust that God will continue to work in their lives even after we're gone. He was there before we showed up, and he's there now that we're gone.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for our barbeque (churrasqueria in portugese) that we invited all the locals we've made friends with. Jorge turned out to be the savior, as we were going to bring our own barbeque, table, and chairs to the beach and eat there. He called the police to make sure that it was okay, and it definitely wasn't! Good thing we had him...he told us another public place we could use, where there are already barbeques, and tables and benches.

Helmer, Jorge, Miguel, Rosa and her son and his friend.

Cherry started up the barbeques like a true legend...oh, the skill! Amazing. We performed our dances- Holla, and Gotta Get Through This. It was entertaining for all...them and us. A good laugh. Heidi was going to organize a football match- them against us, but was as soon as she saw Miguel and Helmer's breathtaking skill, she quickly backed out, with some sort of excuse...I'm not sure. Just as well for me, though...I'm not so good. More embarassment.

We had such a good time, hanging out, talking, laughing, dancing (and I don't just mean our two "dances"- Oskar was busting the moves big time, he even got Steve and Miguel into it). Oskar shared his testimony (in Spanish!) with Miguel and half of it to Helmer, and it was clear that it really touched Miguel. They are sad to see us go, and the feelings are returned in full. I think everyone on this team is going to miss all of these guys immensely! Such good friends, they are...
And thus concludes the Thursday post. Sorry for it being so late, shame shame shame. Well, now we're off to the beach for debriefing (it's Saturday today) but wait, you'll hear all about that in two posts from now.

kristi

Sorry! I'm late!!!

2006-05-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to blog on wednesday night but these past few days have been a bit busy...

Let's come back to wednesday! We had to prepare everything for our barbecue with Jorge, Miguel and some other friends on the beach the day after. After a few times of going back and forth to the "supermercado", we finally had all that we needed!
We wanted to spend the afternoon in Sintra because we had never been up to the castle, but after a really nice ride, we found out that it was 1 euro 50 just to enter the gate, and then 6 euro 50 per person to visit the castle!!!
So we decided to go to the beach when we had a great time worshipping and praying for thursday night. It's such a pivilege to spend time with God when we are surrounded by His amazing creation!
After dinner, Heidi and Steve went to the pool place to meet some friends who they had pretty cool conversations about God with. Again, it's all about relationships!!!

Love,
AL

Out and About [Cherry's Day]

2006-05-10T03:47:00.000-07:00

9th May, 2006. Sao Jose School. 25 'C [approx]
Another day of school visitations were on the cards and it was Cherry's turn to lead. Our morning meeting was enriching as always and put us in a good frame to take on the day. We headed out on foot to San Jose School and were greeted by little smiling faces as usual. Touched our hearts!

Some of the girls
Steve, Chem and myself opted for football...we have built a real rappor with the lads and I believe they are quite impressed with our footy skills. The three of us took on around 12 of them with the help of a goalie...at first our defense was lacking...but we managed to pull off an amazing come-back. I got my henry hat-trick, Steve must've scored around 6 goals and it was such fun! We are hoping that in the little ways (breaking up fights, loving on them), we are able to leave a lasting impression in the lives of these amazing kids. The girls (& Oskar) had fun ballooning and it was a highly successful morning all in all.

After a lovely lunch consisting of chicken [which brought much cheer & hysteria to Chem!] we had time out to reflect, sleep, pray, etc. Then it was back to school for another round of footy and group games with the younger kids. Words fail to express the love that God has given us for these children...I cannot begin to imagine the bleak home situations that some of them must endure. Its a sad thought that we will soon be leaving them...but we commit them into the Lord's hands which is the safest place for them to be.

My Little Philippe
I think Sunday's departure is starting to dawn on us and its not a happy thought. Our time here in Portugal has been incredible, mainly because of the people God has led us to, not so much the planned 'activity'. Just BEING salt and light...I know, I say it every time, sorry! But I'm sure good things await us in Malaga...

Anyway, in the evening local outreach continued in the form of Chem, Steve & myself being at Jorges...it was his last night open because they're refurbishing the kitchen. I will miss my second home. Cherry, Al & Oskar went to Sintra for dinner and merriment...which apparently they found. Kristi had a pounding headache and needed rest. Do pray for her & Chem, health-wise since they are struggling a little. I would also appreciate your prayers for wisdom as being the only leader has its challenges at times. Thanks.

Well, thats all. A big shout-out to my dad: Happy Birthday, you're the best!!!! Love you.

Moscow-crew...it will be exciting to see how many of you will await us in Malaga! Can't wait to see ya.

Peace,
Heidi

"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." David Brent.

Food, Fellowship and Fun (A humbling Day)

2006-05-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

What a day to lead!! A day off, which means that I had it easy. I can’t believe I have already been back a week, time flies when your having fun. I must admit it has been very hard to be here, when there is so much going on, but it is so great to experience the true meaning of casting all your cares to the BIG man. I have been asking lots of questions about what I able to do and why on earth am I here in this difficult time. But I am so glad that it is God’s plans are far greater than mine. I spent the day chilling with (me) Heidi, (me) Midge, that’s cherry by the way, just look at her three quarter shorts that are full length trousers to discover the meaning of her nickname!! He he!

After the day had finished for Jorge, we delved into a conversation about his opinions about us. I then asked him if he wanted to hear my story? A few of the locals were they’re, including my good buddy Helmer. I shared how the love of God had sustained me through all my trials and troubles in life. It was a real connection time of sharing life experiences and the love of God. It humbled me so much, because I realised that I had been so wrapped up in worrying that I was not effective in being used by God. And then it clicked; it’s not about me! It seems my loss of granddad has brought about great conversations and touched others hearts, which has been a real comfort. I’m so glad it is God in control and not me!
Chem doodled all night!!

As for the others, well Oskar went for the longest walk (6 hours) to the beach. He was very tired when he returned, but said he had enjoyed it. He joined us for dinner to replenish is body after his long day. Kristi, Steve and Al had a movie fest, which they enjoyed, snacks, good company and good entertainment. So it was a very good day at by all, I think. Food, fellowship and fun had by all, I even think Heidi might have enjoyed her day off!

Big shout out to Hulford’s, especially Jackie, Michelle, and Nimscum, miss you loads. Hope you had a good trip to Tenerife David and your back and leg is holding up. Michelle hope you get better soon. Sooooooo much love to you all.

P.s – we are mentally, spiritually and emotionally preparing for Malaga (basically we have got our bus tickets) Big shout out to the Moscow crew, see you there guys. Bring on THE HARPENDEN JANUARY DTS 2006

Much love from a humbled heart

Chem x x x

What a day... I was treated...

2006-05-08T02:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome all.

Oh my word! What an amazing day!!!
I lay awake at 9.00 wondering whether or not to leave the safety and warmth of sleeping bag. I heard some footsteps, slowly coming up the stairs. The door creaked open... and there was AL and Kristi who had come to sing happy birthday to me (at the exact time that i was born 19 years ago!).
The team had a slightly longer lay-in as plans to go to an international church were scrapped at the last minute. I went in to breakfast/lunch (sometimes called 'brunch') at the lovely hour of 11.oo and found that AL and Kristi (the angels!) had made pancakes (the good ol' American stylee too!).
After eating those, myself, AL and Kristi went up to the train station to sing some worship songs again. We got in a conversation with a lovely old man. When i say conversation, he didn't speak english and we didn't speak portuguese. As far as i could understand, he was saying that 'God created the world and people too' or something to that effect!

The afternoon saw Estoril Praia football club lit up by our beautifully painted faces. We had gone all out for our friend Igor (the brazillian guy that gave us the tickets to the match, (game)) by making a giant banner with his name on it. A few moments before half-time, GOOOLLOOOOO. It was my main man IGOR SOUZA! A brilliant lob from about 10 yards out, AMAZING! He was substituted midway through the second half and as he left the pitch, he came running over to us in the stands to give Heidi his shirt!!! It was a great match. The lads (Estoril) played an okay game of football for a team positioned 9th in the league playing against 2nd place. The game ended 1-1 from a last minute equaliser from the oppositions captain. We followed Igor's wife to the players exit where we met up with him and another family that we went to the Belenenses game with, for some pictures. And also got invited to Igor's house for lunch on thursday!!!

We went straight from the football to Cascais (5 minutes drive) to have some dinner. Pizza, good! As we got back to the van in the car park, Heidi turned aroung and said "Steve, do you wanna drive the van around the car park for a bit", so of course, i said "yes!". That was a lot of fun, driving a left hand drive ford transit van!! It took a bit of getting used to, since the only other car that i have driven was a Citroen Saxo! From there we visited the beach that we had been at the other day and sat on the rocks for a few pictures. It was a really great time.

We got back to Mem Martins at about 9.30 and went straight into Jeorge's to finish off the day. His Mum had made me a cake (my favorite one too!) and i put candles on it that had been sent from England by my lovely Nan. Thanks Nan. A good end to a good day.

So, a great day. I have to thank my team for making it so enjoyable. Oskar, where would i be without your driving. Chem, your singing is great and keeps me smiling. Heidi, you let me drive! LEGEND! Thank you for enjoying football with me. Cherry and AL (sorry, you both fall into this category!), thank you for all your support and smiles. Kristi, thank you for your smile, oh, and your support too!
And ofcourse, i have to thank my parents (they're a pretty key part in my existence!) for being such amazing people.
And to God too.

Thank you all. Love you.
steve (the 19 year old!)

Saturday, Oskar’s Dictatorship.

2006-05-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

This day has been a good day. We had brunch at 12, instead of breakfast and lunch, and a late-ish meeting at one. After that we headed up to Sintra to do some worship under a tree on the main square. That was a lot of fun and people where stunned to see a group of young people singing and not wanting any money.

We got some viewers who stood close too us and wondered what the songs where about. After that we prayed a bit and headed back home on the base with the van because Salamo said that he needed to use it at six. So we where back at 5:30 to be there in time.

After dinner we went to Gorge’s as usually. Our old friend who works at the supermarket during the weekends showed up and we had a nice talk with him. After that me (being Oskar) went back to the base to do some e-mails and try to call my mommy. Chem, Heidi and Cherry went out with Rosa and did some karaoke. As far as I have heard it went very well.

I am not good at blogging so let’s call it a blog.

Respect to ya all.

Oskar “Carmaniacsuperfastultracooldriver” Petur Sævarsson.

p.s. I love you mom. Og ég sakna ykkar allra geðveikt mikið!!! (The last sentence is in Icelandic and says: And I miss you all insanely much.)

Friday 5th May - Steve-O leader

2006-05-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

It was steve's turn to lead the group today. We got up and did our usual morning reading but on the grass instead because the Portgual DTS were preparing to get off to their next outreach location. Didn't want to get in the way. The team (without me and Chem) went to the school in the morning to continue to work and play with the kids during their break. Chem and I stayed behind. We're really going to miss these kids when we leave. The guys came back and me and Steve got ready to make lunch for our team. It was yummy..... as Steve said...... the 2 of us DO make a good team when it comes to cooking.

Anywho....... Oskar felt that God told him the day before that we should play a game of football with the kids in the school. US against THEM :D, to show them that even if we mess up, it's ok, it's about having fun and that it's not a big deal if we don't get it right. Decided to do that in the afternoon with the slightly older kids. It was actually fun, though many of the girls came out and ended up standing in the way because they weren't used to me, al and kristi playing footie, so they just came to us ON the field instead. We ended up winning 4-3!!!!! haha...... it's not about the winning, hopefully how we play and the fun we have will be something the kids see in us.

Came back from schools and the girls had a girls night out planned, while Oskar took Steve out for his early birthday present (another Churrasqueria...... Just the two of them!!)

(Happy early Birthday Steve!)

(Look at that MEAT!!!! haha!)

We went to the pool hall and Heidi and I played our new game "Christian Pool", rules of which we are still to clarify, and the 5 of us just had a good time up there. Everyone was watching us, coz I don't think they get many girls up there and certainly not to play pool. All in all, a great night with the girls, many many laughs. Thanks girlies!!! :D

(Al playing pool for the first time and getting Everything IN!)

Popped back over to Jorge's later on to have a nice drink and dessert where we met Steve and Oskar looking surprisingly not that sick! hehe. Some of us popped out with the locals to hang out more and spend more time with them while the others called it a night and headed home for a well deserved nights sleep. Great day....... not long to go, starting to really not want to leave this place really. Great people, going to be hard to leave that's for sure.

Until then tho, hope you guys are all going well.

Cherry xx

P.S. Janice, Val, Mum, Dad and Wendy, miss you all tonnes. Praying for you guys (in the sun!!! :P)

Beach!

2006-05-04T13:17:00.001-07:00

What a great day...maybe some of that was to do with the unprecedentedly fabulous leadership today! Yes, so today we kicked off a new "project", if you will, called Everyone Takes A Day To Be The Leader. It's this thing we do where everyone takes a day to be the leader. Today was my day, it all went smoothly enough, no major fires to put out, or people to take down. I did call for a bit of a later breakfast than the normal 8:00, but you know, ya've gotta take some liberties as a leader for the day! It's like being Queen for the Day. Who wouldn't try on all her jewelry in that day?? Of course you would.

Quite the amazing afternoon...beach! We went in this time, it was cold at first but so amazing after you got used to it. There were some massive waves to frolick in, and only minor injuries were suffered- a few scrapes, and one bloody nose (mine). Ah, but it was all worth it. I felt like a little kid again, back in Southern California. It was probably the funnest time I've had in a while.

While some of us were galavanting in one of the finer pieces of God's creation, Al found a family of French-speakers and struck up a conversation easily enough. After a few minutes of getting to know eachother, she noticed the dad was wearing a cross necklace. She asked him about it, and soon enough they were discussing God, and he was asking questions like "even after my whole life of walking away from God, would he really take me back?" Al got to be the true picture of an evangelist, pointing the way to the truth of who Jesus is, and bringing him one step closer to the Lord. Praise God!

The rest of the gang are now up at Jorge's, watching a football match (oh no...too much time of being the only American on this team!) ahem, i meant soccer game, but I couldn't get into it enough to sit there for 90 entire minutes. I'm not even sure who's playing. (Ah, okay. A bit of my heritage back.) But I'm sure Heidi will fill you in later.

in Him,
kristi

P.S. Shout out to Mom, Dad, Kenny, Kari- miss you so much!

resting and serving (good combo!)

2006-05-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

wednesday, wednesday, wednesday...
NICE!

the day began with breakfast and was closely followed by the usual psalm reading and worship time. we broke off into our prayer partners for a short session too (which was great for me, as it gave me an opportunity to catch up with Chem for the first time in a little while).

The morning was rather chilled out as we waited for Salamao to arrive. The plan was for our team to help around the base here in practical ways (cleaning, mowing the lawn etc). Time rolled by and then came lunch.
At lunch we found out that some mis-communication had occured and that Salamao was no longer coming to the base. So we delegated the jobs between us and got down to business. Myself and Oskar began to cut the lawn, but after about 10 minutes, the mower packed up ('broke' for all those who do not speak the language of me) so unfortunately, the grass is only half done.

(Oskar trying to fix the lawn mower in the lovely Portugal sun.....)

The late afternoon saw a very tired portugal team take some well deserved rest time. i think there was a point where just about everyone on the team was in bed!

In the evening, Heidi and Oskar went to Salamao's house for the final 'Athletes Por Cristo' meeting. Oskar was especially happy, as he saw a lamborghini something-or-other (a really nice car) that was owned by one of the football (soccer) players.

("Oh My Word!!!!")

They were also able to get tickets to a football (soccer) match that happens on Sunday (MY BIRTHDAY!), so i am extremely happy with that birthday present (thanks Igor!).

(Igor (front centre), the Estoril Striker that got us the tickets, legend!)

Cherry went out with Jeorge and some others from the cafe at night, i gather that a good time was had by all.

Elvis, i miss you loads. I hope things are going well for you.
Some mad love goes out to my Moscow crew. missing you guys too.
a shout out to the HBC Massive (you know who you are!)

thanks for your time,
Norman (steve)

cute girls; fighting boys

2006-05-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

we weren't expecting to go to 'sao jose school' today but salomao called last night to say the schedule had changed. so...being quite used to taking things as they come, we adapted. met a little earlier than usual and with chem's return, our team-time felt complete at last. as always, she brought the right word for the right time. i think as a team we're at a really good place right now...unity-wise, this is the strongest we've been so pray that it will continue naturally...of course we miss danny but believe he is in the right place.

so...onto the school. got there a little early, chem & steve showed off their footy skills while the rest of us conserved energy for the onslaught. out they came...boys straight onto the footy 'pitch', girls playing hopscotch or some such thing. chem & i decided to break the cultural mold and become (possibly) the first girls to play football with the lads...steve got his crew together, we got the short end of the stick (players and numers-wise) but we're not here to win are we?! had a fantastic time...the boys were cautious and mis-trustful of our capabilities at first but once we proved to them we could kick the ball, they passed to us loads. it was great fun! we lost, but i had a highly enjoyable time. the rest of the team did some organised games with the remaining kids...trying to promote teamwork. we stayed half an hour longer than we should but it was a great start to the day!

after a delicious lunch, we spent some time interceding for various things: jocum (ywam here), the kids at school, the moscow team and our local blossoming friendships. please do pray for these various things, especially that jocum will take on the baton once we've left: with the school & local community and dare to venture a little outside these gates. returned to the school for the afternoon sesh...which turned out to be the younger bunch.

gave some yoyos out which delighted the kids...steve played more footy (and had to intervene in a few fights) and the rest enjoyed loving on the kids. we always come away from the school very inspired and refreshed...its such a cool opportunity to be going there so regularly.

the rest of the evening was spent doing various things...the worship trio headed back to the train station and had a great time; a few went to jorge's for a while and some took time-out from the masses (that being me, the only remaining introvert on this team)!!

a few people who have been on my heart lately are this little old man (antonio) who frequents jorge's everyday, simply watching life go by and rosa who works at jorge during the mornings, she has a 4 year old son and no husband.
rosa.
antonio & jorge

all in all, a fantastically full and rich day. i leave you with the wise words of david brent from 'the office': "If at first you don't succeed, remove all evidence you ever tried."
David Brent

peace,
heidi
p.s. moscow team, what are you up to and how are ya?!!!

Perfect Love casts out all fear (The Great Return)

2006-05-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today, well the day of my return! What a day to come a day off! Just what I needed, It gave me real time to catch up with the most amazing leader and friend in the world (HEIDI) It also gave me time to reconnect with my team. I could not ask to be with better people, they have been so sensitive to giving space, love and affection. I went to see Jorge to arrange dinner tonight, I couldnt have asked for a better welcome from all the locals. Everyone chilled and then went their serperate ways for Dinner, some to Sintra and some to the 'local'.

What can I say, I would really like to say thank you to my team for all their tender loving care and prayers. Also to Jorge, Miguel and the rest of the crew for all their wonderful smiles and Cultural kisses. I cannot forget Anne Slone and Isobel Mc Cubbin (the Oval Team) who have truly been amazing with their advice and reasurance that what I am going through is normal. I think that's the first time I have been told I am normal! I could not forget the most wonderful family in the world The Hulfords, especially Jackie who has spent time mopping up my tears and chucking my tissues away, plus all the ripped up pieces of paper as I was trying to construct a speech for the funeral. Just so you know all went well, touch and Go moments but I'm sure my granddad would have been happy.

Please keep my grandmother in your prayers, she is the most wonderful woman you could meet. I truly love her from the bottom of my heart and she has been a great tower of strength. It feels like I have come to my second home and extended family. God has really been challenging me to trust him with my life and follow him, even when it gets hard and tough.

Well love to anyone who reads this - Again thanks for all your prayers

Chem (Returned safe and sound)

Five fish each!!!!

2006-05-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

Last week, Kristi, Steve and I met totally out of the blue the pastor of the Assembly of God, just two streets from our YWAM base (but we didn't know that!). We were worshipping at the train station as usual, when a guy passing by started to sing "Jesus, lover of my soul"!!! It turned out that he was a itinerant preacher in Portugal, Brazil, England, and the U.S.

He invited us to his church, so Kristi and I went today. We didn't have a clue where the church was and we were going in the wrong direction, when I saw a young guy, walking quite fast, by himself, carrying a massive Bible. We decided to follow him and of course we ended up exactly where we wanted to go!

The preaching was about the Holy Spirit, and how it's not about speaking in tongues rather than leading a holy life. He told us that, since the coming of the Holy Spirit was a mutlilingual and multicultural experience, proving that being saved wasn't just for the jews but for everybody else, we should as well, if we are genuinelly filled by the Holy Spirit, have a love for those who don't know God.

Reginaldo and his wife Alexandra invited us after the service to have lunch with them. They were expecting us to eat five grilled fish each!!! So funny! Kristi and I stopped after two! But we had a wonderful time, just sharing and getting to know them.

AL

Saturday, Candy-day.

2006-04-30T06:05:00.000-07:00

Today (being Saturday because I could not be bothered to blog this last night) was a rather slow and a nice day. We did not have anything planned here, only loads of stuff planned for today 300 kilometres away. So we took it easy.

(Outside Jorge's chilling out as a team..... Chem we miss you, waiting for you)

Late brunch at 11 and then a prayer meeting at 15:00. After that me (being Oskar) and Steve (being Stephen) went down to the pool hall to play some pool (what a shock:) ). Others went to Gorges and Kristi and Al went to the train station to worship. Other than that not much was done except counting flies on the ceiling and watching Mission Impossible on the telly.

So a rather calm day.

Oskar out.

P.S. while oskar was counting flies on the ceiling, the rest of us were out and about getting to know the locals. cherry & i spent time with jorge, his mum and miguel and also got to know rosa (who also works at jorges). she lived in france for 5 years, speaks french so i think al & her will get on well. after multiple conversations, jorge took us back to his home where we got to spend time with his mum (who was still baking) and were properly introduced to his lovely little dog! so rest assured that God is on the move. keep praying for us.

heidi (team leader)

Come on Team.......8 hours of team building!!

2006-04-29T05:45:00.000-07:00

Friday Blog : Part 2

OK..... so I'm actually blogging this for a 3rd time!!!!! so so annoying! :P

We went back to our San Jose school today and took with us the long promised balloons. We got there to find that we could make dogs, giraffes and mice...... (all of which has the same general form, with either longer necks, shorter legs, smaller noses or longer bellies!!! hehe..... so we're good really!! :P haha) Some of the kids are so cute, we were actually quite pleasantly surprised that they didn't fight over the balloons too much. Going to miss many of them when we leave here.

Came back to the base after school to get ready for our weekend down in the Algarve where we were heading to work with one of Salamao's friends. We were all looking forward to the trip, nice change of scenery and give us time to adjust to some of the changes again to our team. The Algarve was a welcome change to all that's been happening here...... Left around 6.30pm in an attempt to avoid the rush hour traffic in Lisbon. Didn't really escape it too much, as we sat in traffic for about 1.5 hours. Finally got moving once we got onto the A2 highway, much to Oskar's driving bliss............ then came a Bang!!! and a Pppsssssttttt.........

(Our engine.... looking..... NOT so healthy!!)

Only about an hours drive from Lisbon...... (traffic aside that is)....... Our van breaks down. You have to understand that this was NOT expected as the servicing on the van was only done yesterday!!!
So here we are, a team of 6 people, foreigners in a land where we don't speak the language, with phone with no credit, a portuguese sim card which none of us know the number!!!! haha. We resorted to having to use my contract sim, so we got over the phone credit problem, only to realise all our phones were low on battery!

We had to call the police...... and the conversation went a bit like this...... "Fala Ingles?"..... "We have a van and we've broken down on the A2"........ got cut off that time..... and then had to try and get Al to see if they could speak French!!! haha.... Finally got through to someone who kinda understood her french. Anyways, we had to call Salamao in the end and they had to call the insurance and the assistance people because it was all in Portuguese. We all got out of the van and waited on the embankment waiting for rescue vehicles. Singing, worshipping, looking at the amazing stars in the dark sky and team bonding was all that we could do.

(What could have been us on a sandy beach, but was in fact just a sandy highway embankment)

(Heidi giving a Big Ups to the rescue truck and our outreach!)

By the time anyone showed up it was around 10pm. A guy from the roadside safety showed up first to put out some cones so we were a little more safe. The mechanic showed up sometime later to have a look at the van, and after some looking and some water to the engine, we got moving a little further, eventually he got us to a place further down the road, were there was more light.

To avoid paying the road toll for 2 vehicles....... he put the van on top of his tow truck......... only thing was........... He put the van on with us in it!!!!! It was like going up a rollercoaster the angel we were on! (see the big orange light thing in front of Oskar? That's the top of the tow truck!!!haha.....)

Turned out that we had to get the van to the garage cos it couldn't be fixed for us to drive back. We got to the garage with the girls in a cab and the guys in the tow truck and in the end we all got in 2 taxis and headed back to where we started off 8 hours before..... Final arrival time to our original location? 2am ish!!!!

What a Night!! :P One to remember with many stories to tell that's for sure!! haha

Much Love
Cherry xx

Algarve here we come! hehe

2006-04-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

Day started with our usual reading and Isobel gave us each some words to really encourage us. Danny has left which is just a little odd right now. We know it's the best thing for him, but we all love him and he brought such a fun-ness to our group. He's going to be missed big time.
Chem didn't make it back today, so we're expecting her on Monday. Praying for you babe. Come back soon. Missing you tonnes!!

Heading down to the Algarve for the weekend to Quarteira. We're working with one of Salamao's friends down there so it should be interesting because we're just found out they don't speak English down there. We're not actually sure that we're going to have net access down there so we'll be blogging on the computer and then upload everything when we get back.

Not much more to say as of yet, because much of today hasn't happened yet! Going to miss Jorge and Miguel this weekend for sure..... :)

wednesday, what day: Thursday, THIRD DAY!

2006-04-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

What a day, what a day. Yesterday was the day I am to write about. Here goes.

Deep breath.

Morning as usual- worship, prayer. The afternoon brought us a train ride into Sintra, where we found a nice courtyard type thing on top of a hill. We worshipped for a while, then split up into our prayer partners and jumped into intercession for the city- it's so amazing to intercede for this place. Such a good way to get a bit of God's heart and vision for what he wants to do here. Fills us with a new passion and zeal for ministry here.

(Worshipping up in Sintra)

(Girls having a nice rich hot chocolate! Yum!!)

It was Danny's last day here, which put a bit of a damper on the mood, although a few of us had a bit of a wacky time with him to say goodbye. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say we had fun with weird dress-up clothes and video cameras. A good way to say goodbye, that is for sure!

Okay, I know that you´re used to a little more meat to chew on in a blog entry, but I can´t think of much more to write. So this will have to do until...tonight...when we write about...today. Yes. Efficient.

Kristi!

randomtitlesarethebestjustincaseyouwerewondering

2006-04-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

A SHOUT OUT FROM
THE SAO JOSE MASSIVE!
RESPEC'!!!
welcome all. (i'm not a big fan of capital letters anymore, so any english teachers reading this, i sincerely apoligise for the fact that i can't be bothered to press down the 'shift' key and for the shocking spelling too!)

in the morning, we had the usual team meeting, which included a short time of worship and a time of prayer (always good to start the day with prayer and worship, just some advice if you're wondering what to do after brekky ;)).

the meeting was shorter than most as we went to sao jose school for morning break (or recess for all the americans in the house, much respec' to you by the way!). at 10:15ish we were in the van and off to the school, it was a nice journey. 5 minutes later, we arrived at the school and got all our stuff sorted. a smiling portuguese lady greeted us with broken english and ushered us through to her classroom where we found the cutest 5 and 6 year old kids (that's 'children' for those of you who dont understand 'propa english') in the entire world. we took them outside and myself and Oskar played football with them ('them' being the boys, not that i'm against girls playing football, it's just the way it was). Danny spent a while talking with one of the teachers and it turns out that one of her brothers works with a mission organisation. i'm not sure where she is on the whole 'christian thing' but if you're reading this, chuck up a line or two to the Big Guy for her. (the 'Big Guy' being God, just incase you were wondereing). not sure of her name at the moment, will try to find out from Danny later on...
AL, Kristi and Cherry spent the morning playing a counting game (in portuguese, so it was slightly hard for them) with the majority of the girls. We had an hour there, and then headed back to base for a relax and lunch.

pictured, are the girls helping the team with their portuguese numbers.

lunch was nice.
beef and carrots with rice.
it was very tasty, with just the right amount of spice.
(that's a poem by the way, i just wrote it)

the afternoon saw us back at the school for another fun time with the kids. Myself, Isobel and Cherry went into and english class. the kids were very loud and being quite annoying to the teacher, bless her! some of the rascals are pictured below...

after school, we came home and relaxed (again!) before myself, Kristi and AL went up to the good ol' train station for a short worship session, was good. we met a bloke there who started playing 'the poor excuse for a drum' that we had with us. he played it well though, good lad! the legend gave us his card and invited us to meet him again, which was cool. (send prayers up for him too, Jesus crew) Name to follow as well...

and that was the day that was, (slight pause)
ladies and gentleman, (slightly longer pause)
it's been a pleasure...

(this information was compiled and written by stephen john weston (AKA justin nimblesnake))

Freedom Day on the Beach

2006-04-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Lisbon; 25th April, 2006; 25'C, slight humidity.

today (well...technically yesterday since i'm doing this a day late) is portugal's independence/national day...something to do with the revolution that took place 30 years ago or something, but don't hold me to it; i don't claim to be a history buff!

our morning meeting was interrupted by a 'revolution day' parade consisting of a little fire-brigade marching band banging their drums on the street right outside jocum! it was a welcomed diversion and considerably lifted the spirits of all of us, along with isobel's team exhortation. she encouraged us to continue doing the friendship evangelism even though we might not see much (if any) of the fruit. most of what we've been doing here is pioneering...i think we are the first team to go into the sao jose school and also what we've been doing at jorge's [being salt and light] is pretty cutting edge around these parts. so it was great to hear that we're doing well and just to continue being real and get on with it. we plan to invite the jorge crew (and other local friends) over for a barbeque towards the end of our time here, to thank them for all the hospitality they show us and also to show them our dramas & dances! ;) i continue to be humbled by their incredible capacity to invest in the lives of those around them, expecting nothing in return (jorge & his family)...they truly are incredible people.

since the weather permitted, we headed out in the afternoon to carvavelos beach since salomao promised us there would be lots of people there today. he was correct...the beaches were jam-packed with families, youngsters, couples out to enjoy their free day in the sunshine. isobel was pretty excited about the 24'C temperature...and the fact that harpenden only boasted 16'C fueled her joy!

we settled in, the boys got out the diablos and juggling gear but didn't really generate all that much attention...people were far too focused on perfecting their tans. however, isobel had a few meetings with the students, and the rest of us sang worship songs and just enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. we headed back to mem martins well in time for the big match*, arrived to a ready cooked dinner [ana is sooo incredible] then a few of us headed over to jorge's to catch up on the events of the day and also to watch arsenal get through to the champions league final for the first time in their club history and also extend their defensive record to 10 clean sheets! wow, incredible...it is still sinking in!!! :) for those of you without an appreciation for the beautiful game, i sincerely apologise. we stayed a while longer, isobel & kristi got accosted by some old spanish man(!!), the rest of us hung out with jorge & miguel.

on a personal note, i am very thankful for the timely visit of isobel mccubbin...it has been great to be able to process all the events of the past 3 weeks with her and just have that extra bit of support. thanks a lot isobel, you're amazing!!

chem, we're thinking of and praying for you loads. things aren't the same without you...can't wait to see you on friday!!
belfast crew: hope the transition into moscow goes smoothly and that you're all doing well. we miss you!

heidi

*villareal v arsenal, champions league semi-final 2nd leg.

Day Off - Churrascaria!

2006-04-25T02:42:00.000-07:00

Today was our day off, which is always a welcomed day. We had a relaxed morning with a nice bit of sunshine. But the plan for the day was to go out with Salamao and his bruvver - to a churrascaria. This is a Brazillian type of experience, which has spread to Portugal, and even Spain. It is basically like a barbecue in a shop that serves it to you.

In all honesty it was a bit more than a barbecue. They practically bring whole barbecued animals on a metal spit and hack lumps off onto your plate. They just keep coming until they notice your face has turned green and you have hidden your plate somewhere, so they can't feed you anymore. But it was fantastic - well for the carnivores of the group, I did notice vege AL tring to find some undigested grass in one of the cows. I think she managed to eat a lot of salad tho - which must have been great for her. I love animals however and ate lots of them.

Steve however was the suprise. Salamao renamed him Mr.Anaconda, cus he was just munching and munching, and he resembles a long thin snake that swallows a whole cow and sleeps for a week. It was really cool and something one must do to ones self once in ones life at least once.

The rest of the day was spent digesting and chilling, all in all a great day.

Something I feel I must add was the Pentecostal experience of Sunday pm. We turned up and found ourselves in a massive marquee, with a hectic sweep we were ushered to the front row where we were sat down next to some translators, two of the three could speak english which was useful, the other however was speaking some native tongue of her own. Very confusing, but amusing. We were dragged into the mass of dancing and running and generally quite hectic style of worship. We did our bit and the guys danced like legends, for a minute I thought Oskar and Steve were actually Michael Jackson and Justin Nimble-snake. We then finished off at the end of the service with a treasure hunt, they were inspecting peoples hands for gold dust, really no joke. They were all delving into their bags for their torches, and inspecting our hands for gold dust. I had loads of it, but then realized that I have the sweatiest hands in Europe and it was just sweat and not hidden treasure. But the pirates, I mean the rest of the church were convinced that it was gold, so that was weird. Salamao's word was good, about true passion for Christ, so it wasn't all completely amusing. But yeah an experience.

Anyway, just want to pay my respects to my Grandma who passed away on Sunday morning and ask you to pray for the family, especially my Grandpa.

Peace, love and loads of meat,
Dany Boy.

An unusual sunday

2006-04-24T08:45:00.004-07:00

Good news!
Isabelle McCubbin is here! And the best surprise is that she's gonna stay with us until friday. Good to have someone from the outside on the base. She also decided to bring the sun with her (as well as peanut butter and our mails...)!

(Isobel lovin Portugal)
The afternoon, we went to a pentecostal church where Salomon was invited to preach. People there were very expressive in their way of worshipping and praying. We did a few dramas, and for the first time, our "Hola dance"! In spite of a few mixed-up with some steps, it went quite well.

(Salomao the YWAM leader)
I shared my testimony about our drama called "The mask" and Cherry told the church what she received from God when we were praying for them: since it's all about relationships here, they have to work even harder to show to non-christians that they are different, and not only "normally friendly".
The service lasted from 5 to 9!! No joke!

Tomorrow's our day off... We're planning to go for lunch to Lisbon with Salomon: Churrasqueira (barbecue)!!! Some of us can't wait!!

AL

Wonderful food and Amazing People, what more could you ask for?!

2006-04-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

So just to let you guys know back in England, it does actually rain here in Portugal and today was one of those days. It actually rained a lot!! Our plan A for going to the beach to a prayer room was cancelled because it rained so much. The morning started off with the usually psalm reading, worship and prayer. We ended up breaking off into smaller groups and just going to the local areas to carry on with our relationship building with the locals. Heidi, Oskar and I went to Jorge's cafe. Everytime we go there, such warm smiles greet us whenever we go there. Just sat there all afternoon with them, talking and being with them. Oskar even got himself into the kitchen today to talk with Jorge and his mum.

Kristi, Al and Steve went down to the train station to sing and worship again. They met a pastor down there who spoke some english. Apparently, if Steve wants to go there and preach, the pastors wife would translate for him!!! Maybe God is saying something to Steve?!
Day went by faster than we thought, and before we knew it, we were back and the base and we had chocolate cake for dinner which Ana had so kindly made. It was so good to have warm cake, fresh from the oven.... yummy. :P
Heidi, me and Oskar went back to Jorge's later on because we thought there was some car show on that Oskar could watch. We saw our usual weekend locals who come in. Franky the security guard, Noel the guy the historian who stayed there with us til the end of the night.

We had such a chilled out and relaxed time, we were there after Jorge closed the place and just sat there talking, watching tv and being so well looked after. They even fed us as we sat there enjoying their company the whole night. Happy Happy Days!!! Isobel McCubbin comes tomorrow, can't wait!! She's so amazing, let's hope the weather will pick up so she can just enjoy the sun while she's here :)

P.S. Chem, we missed you so much tonight. Empty seat where you really should be :( Can't wait til you come back and complete our group again. Praying and thinking of you always. *big hugs*

Cherry ^.^

An Essentially Original Day

2006-04-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

The day started off with the usual- Bible reading, worship, prayer. We went on to perfect the Holla dance, at which we are progressing at an alarming rate. I'm really quite proud, actually.

The afternoon brought a fun time of hanging out with Barbara, a woman here who does a lot of relational ministry with the punk scene of Portugal. She brought us to a park in Lisbon where a lot of alternative/hippy young people hang out- it was amazing. Guitars were a-plenty, and various percussion instruments were in abundance. Near the end of our time there, a guy just came up and asked to play Danny's guitar. We of course consented, and Barbara talked to him a little bit. I was wishing we didn't have to leave- open doors everywhere- but alas, we had to rush off to a church youth group meeting. I'm sure we will be back.

It seems that every day we are here, we learn a bit more about this enigma known 'Portugese Time.' The youth group was to start at 9 pm, so we arrived at quarter till 9, to find a locked up building and one very confused cleaning lady. We just had to laugh at our insistence to still follow our own mindset of time, when we blatantly just need to get on board with the Portugese concept of time. The service started about 9:30, we played a few games, and then performed our three dramas: Gotta Get Through This, The Box, and the Mask. Steve, Oskar, Al, and I also gave them some words of encouragement. The basic message we wanted to get across was that even though we are here on an official 'mission trip,' this city is their mission field, and since they know the culture and speak the language, they are probably even better equipped for this mission field than we are. God wants to give them a vision for this place, and we encouraged them to get on board with it.

Yes, folks, it was a great day...only 4 more minutes left in it! And so, without much further ado, I shall say goodbye.

Kristi

One Rainy Day In The Portugal Outreach…

2006-04-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Good morning, evening or some other time that you are reading this.
Today has been a very good day. We woke up this morning and we had a fantastic breakfast cooked by a genius (nota bene: the cook himself, which is very modest, is writing this blog) and it tasted fantastic. After the breakfast we put our dancing shoes on and practised HOLA a bit. We learned some more steps and perfected other parts of it previously learned. After work duties we had lunch and kept on dancing until three. After that we where supposed to go to another school but because it rained so much we had to cancel our visit to it. So what to do when it is raining and you can not visit schools and evangelise kids??? Take a prayer walk!!! Jeij, in the pouring rain, but when we got under way it actually stopped raining and the walk was a pretty good one.
After that it was normal stuff again, and after dinner me (Oskar) and Heidi went to Georges and sat down to watch some football. And talk to Gorge of course. Helm showed up and a couple of his friend we went out with the other day. We spent the whole evening there talking to them. We also ran into a florist who comes originally from Pakistan, he has lived here for two years and it is finding it hard because he misses his family. Pretty interesting and we look forward to see some more of him, Steve especially (He lived in Pakistan when he was younger).

But now the day is over and an exiting day lies ahead tomorrow. We are going to meet Barbara in the afternoon in Lisbon and she is going to show us the sites, pretty cool.

Until next time,
Oskar “Dance-star” Petur

Gotta get thru this Video

2006-04-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

well, we decided to go public with one of our masterpieces. enjoy.....

its all about the kids...

2006-04-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

chem and miguel [bye bye chem]
this morning was quite a somber one because of chem's impending departure. she is heading back to england for her grandad funeral incase you don't know. we had our usual team meeting and managed to brain-storm a little for this afternoon: our first day at the local school for troubled children. before lunch, the whole team piled into our (borrowed) kings kids van and drove chem to the airport for her big send-off. it was pretty sad to see her go...the timing isn't ideal...just when the team really started to settle and bond, more change took place...but it has to be done. i guess thats all part of the plan for this outreach team...change and adapting!! it seems that every week a new dynamic is thrown into the mix. oh well, it keeps us on our toes! ;) so we sent off a tanned chem, wishing her peace back home in england and hoping for a quick and safe return.

the afternoon saw more of the usual sun-worshipping...i mean tanning...and relaxation at the base. then we headed to the local school without a clue as to what to expect...how many kids there would be; their ages; what the expectation on us would be; whether we'd be inside or outside, etc etc. typical outreach stuff i guess. so we arrived and were met by a lovely lady with exceptional english (guess she's the boss) who calmed our fears in a matter of minutes. she gave us a tour of the school then let us loose: basically just hanging out with the kids, playing footy, etc. oskar, steve and i got invited to join an english lesson and help teach. it was amazing fun! very informal...the teacher was lovely and let us just get to know the kids and stuff. i was marvelling at how amazing the non-western world is...you can just walk into a random school, into a classroom and are entrusted to teach the kids. amazing.

a personal highlight for me was getting to teach a kid that steve & i had be-friended in town a few days earlier. he just happens to be a student in the school we'll be working in regularly! phillipe is the name and he's a right character...i think his home-situation leaves a lot to be desired and he is so hungry for love and affection. i wanted to take him home with us, give him a good feed, wash, new clothes and let him play footy! its just brilliant when you see little meetings like that fall into place...encouraging. most of the kids were really open and warm...we left the school a very happy bunch indeed and took it easy for the rest of the evening.

i headed into town to watch the arsenal v villareal match (we won 1-0 which makes me v. happy!), oskar went to athletes for christ and the rest of them continued their 'friends' marathon. all in all a good but long day.

chem we miss you already!!! hope you're well.
heidi x

BIG UPS TO THE ARSENAL!

Silence is silver, but music is gold...

2006-04-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Today (being tuesday) was a nice day.

Started off, as usual, with a time of sung worship (notice the 'g' at the end of the word sung, its not sun worship, as AL may have you believe!) and prayer. We are currently reading our way through the Psalms as a team, which is really good, and it get's you ready for the day ahead. The rest of the morning was full up with our 'worka duties', and then... lunch.

In the afternoon, we headed out with Ana (our host(ess)) who showed us the school where we would be working the following day. We broke up into our prayer groups and did some prayer walking around the school and the neighbourhood in which it is situated.

Myself, Kristi and AL headed up to the train station later on in the afternoon to sing a bit of worship, which was great. We met a guy who plays guitar really well (blues style) and he showed off a bit of his skill to the passers by too. Kristi soon recovered the guitar and worship was back on the cards. Worshipping God in a public place is an amazing feeling. Lots of people passing by and trying to figure out what we're doing. The odd mention of 'Jesus' in the songs is a bit of a give away, but we haven't had any deep theological debates with anyone as yet. (The blues man suggested we put down a hat to collect money!)

The day was rounded up by going round to Salamao's house to visit his family and have a meal. Chicken pies were on the menu, nice! aswell as eating and talking to the family, we watched the AC Milan Vs Barcalona match. Not that thrilling (the match that is). Was a good evening though, and a good day too.

Much love to my homies,
Big ups to my belfast crew,
and a MASSIVE SHOUT OUT to my lil bruv, Phil.
take it easy folks,
steve

Day off

2006-04-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Today was a day off for all of us.
We had a late breakfast, and extra time with God.
Then everybody was free to do whatever they wanted. Some of us went shopping, some of us played snooker, and the others just chilled.

Kristi and I went to Sintra to get piercings. We were a bit scared but it went really well. Kristi got her nose pierced and I got a new piercing on my ear. We decided that each one of our piercings would have a meaning. So Kristi decided that hers would symbolize her bond to God. My 3 piercings mean "consecration to God, relationships with the others, having fun", which is actually a good mission statement for this outreach.

This week will probably be busier, now that easter holidays are over. We are gonna work in schools with chidren in difficult situations.
Look forward to it.

AL

PS: Sorry for the english mistakes...
I'm a poor french girl of armenian extraction trying to speak english in Portugal! How disturbing is that!!!

a strange day...

2006-04-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

the day started out well enough...a late-ish breakfast, sunshine and a leisurely walk to salomao's (the ywam leader) church. the service was in portuguse, as one would expect...so we gathered as much as we could from the message without translation and rather enjoyed the communion with real wine. ;) being easter sunday, it was based around that very topic. we socialised a little bit with salomao's family afterwards then started the journey home...picked up a stray dog on the way who obviously thought he'd found a new home...we tried to lead him to our demon-possessed dog next door but he wasn't having any of it!! arrived home to the smell of lunch...our sweet host ana had cooked lunch for us and was waiting with outstretched arms...lovely lass. she's coping quite well with the foreign invasion (all her peeps left on friday so she's here all alone with us lot).

after a delicious lunch, it promised to be a lazy afternoon in the sun...but alas, fate had other plans. chem received a phone call from england informing her that her grandad had passed away during the night which put a major dampner on the rest of the day. a mad flurry of phone calls arrived, arrangements for chem's return to england were made and we were all left in a state of bewilderment and helplessness. i took chem out to jorge's for a bit of bereavement counselling and i expect the others got on with whatever they got on with...back at the base. it turned into quite a strange afternoon...quite sobering as i realised all i could really do to help was shut up and listen. what words of consolation can you offer to someone who has lost a dear one? all seems empty. my own thoughts turned to death and the fragility of this life. our lovely jorge somehow sensed the vibe and sent over free drinks to cheer us up...what a man!
(our friends miguel & jorge)
dinner was delicious, thanks to cherry...and the evening turned out to be quite a mellow one too. apparently next week is going to get pretty busy -- with lots of school work and the like, but its certainly going to be really different without our lovely chem*. :(

heidi

*she leaves on wednesday

It’s about being and not doing!

2006-04-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

So the day began with TEAM TIME, we all really met with THE LORD! We found it very funny that God has such a great sense of humor, especially in the way he humbles us. Here we are half qualified DTS students, all charged up with scripture to preach and teach. And what does God say, serve me and my people, clean toilets, and scrub the decks. A few of us have been frustrated with not having anybody saved yet! And God steps in and replies in my timing my eager children. I want to rate David. Pinhero as he washed our feet this morning.

Not mentioning any names but someone had to do a pre-wash! (You choose?!!)

The Holy Spirit was reaching our souls and really refreshing us. It has been a true blessing to me to have not very much structure and routine. And if you know me you would know God has been working in me!

We prayed and all morning I had been thinking of a little old lady, who heads up a family business. I have been going there most days just to get to know the locals, (ME) Heidi sticks to the young locals! I felt God prompt me to take her a flower today. I felt like a right numpty but went and bought her a flower. I took it to the shop and she wasn’t there I tried to explain to her daughter, there was no understanding, not even with my expressive body language. Feeling like a right DIV, I met the others who seemed to be really successful in the younger hang out. I decided to go back. She couldn’t believe it was for her, it made me get goose bumps to see her smile. I rejoined the others in our local ‘Nicola’s’. Where we began to make ourselves known with names, we even got free drinks! Please keep in Prayer (Miguel and George). We also met a security guard on his break who spoke English! Heidi and me found him in the supermarket and because it was busy he got a member of staff to open another till. I am sure this couldn’t have been achieved without Steve, Kristi and Al worshipping near by. All in all a relationship building day! God is Good all the time, even in PORTUGAL!

All our love from a humbled team (CHEMaine!)

P.s- Miss you mummy!

p.p.s: the evening: danny, chem & i (heidi) headed back to our cafe (nicola) to see our buddies jorge & miguel and also to meet up with our new-found friends for the benfica match. chem was tired and headed back but sure enough, our security mate showed up...bought us drinks...chatted for a few mins then headed off!!! what kind of a brilliant country is this where people buy you stuff and don't wait around for the next round?! we managed to have a great chat with jorge, filled him in on what we're doing here and grilled him with questions. he said he's happy to help us out anytime -- what a bloke! our second friend (noel) arrived, with a present for us (chocolate covered almonds) which blew us away. these people are sooo amazingly friendly and generous! anyway, we had a grand time with him...chatting about everything from jose mourinho to travel. it was jorge's younger sisters 18th b-day so they brought cake around for everyone. love the family feel in southern europe. so anyway...we stayed and chatted, befriending the locals and watching benfica win 2-0. left just as they were closing up (11.30pm)...i think i've found my home here in mem martins! :) heidi x

The lost Tribe of Goooolooooo

2006-04-15T03:22:00.000-07:00

Today, which was yesterday - because I am running on Brazillian time - we did the "morning thing", which is always fun. Breakfast, prayer, worship, and a few words of exhortation. It gets ones spiritual and physical metabolism going, which is handy, when one wants to move in both realms.

Anyway to the point. We spent the afternoon travelling to Belem which is South Lisboa, quite a beautiful place, it is the proud owner of a big bridge, a big monument thing and also the staue of Colonisation of Brazil, which David P. was excited to see. We travelled there with two ladies, one of which used to be a Carumba worshipper in Brazil, which is kind of Devil worship of some sort, but now is a worship drummer for a church band, which is a really amazing testomony.

Our ultimate destination was estadio de Belenenses clube de futebal ("soccer" for Kristin's mother), we recieved free tickets earlier in the week from the goalkeeper - Marco Arelio, more or less his name, you can never be sure though. We met up with Ricardo and his family, who we met at atheletes for Christ earlier in the week, he speaks good English and is an editor for a magazine. Nice family.

First 10 minutes, and goooolooooooooooo. A penalty to Belenenses, which was slotted away nicely, the crowd went wild and flags were amast. We enjoyed a further 3 goooooolooooooos, although one of them was for Vitoria ( the enemy ( who we love still)). The final score was Benenses 3 - 1 Vitoria. It was a real chance to understand a bit more of the Portugese culture and also gives us a good conversation starter, which is cool. As Steve would say, "OOOh Danny, we are treated".

The Portugese team left yesterday for there pratico (outreach), they are headed North, somewhere near Porto and then on to Belgium and Holland. There are only two students, but I think 5 staff went as well. Nice bunch.

So yeah, all in all a good day, we are developing a heart for the place, and people.

Anymahoo, lots of love, peace and hair grease, "the Portugal team". (Dan Knee).

Day 4. Úúújjjééé

2006-04-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

Alright, day four in

Portugal

, and what has happened today?

This morning we woke up, ate breakfast and then we practised the dances and the dramas a bit more. We completed our own drama (that is about three guys in a club picking up gals/birds/girls, and then they get dumped (it’s pretty good (memories of high-school sometimes come up but we deal with them:) ))).

In the afternoon we went to the town centre of Sintra. There we drove up the mountain, which was amazingly much fun to drive, especially the tight corners and battling oncoming traffic, and the car was superbly good to drive, and the power was staggering. So much driving pleasure from a van I never had before. After a fantastic drive up the mountain we parked in front of a big castle that now serves as a five star hotel. There we prayed over the town bellow us and walked down to the town centre (that walk was almost as fun as the drive).

There we prayer-walked and started to head back to the van, at least me (Oskar) and Danny. That walk uphill was not as much fun as in driving up it. But we finally made it and drove back to pick up all the others. That trip went well, and so did the trip back to the base, although a less known way was taken, that was the driver fault and I have sent myself a letter of complaint.

This evening we had a love feast for the DTS here. They are leaving on outreach tomorrow and tonight everyone involved in getting them ready came and said goodbye and good luck. It was a lot of fun and we got to show of our circus skills a bit. We where quite good, mostly because God has been challenging us in learning and practising our acts, so now we are sort of ready for the streets.

Tomorrow we are going on a football match that one of the footballers offered us to come on. That will be so much fun, we can’t wait.

Until tomorrow. Ate Logo.

Oskar “Schumacher” Petur.

Written by a Petrol head.

Rising Generation in Portugal

2006-04-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Wow!! God has blessed us with such an amazing day. We got up and by 9.30am, the sun was already warm and shining down on us. Started practicing some more of the Holla dance so that we could maybe teach it in the afternoon, only we found out later that we wouldn't have that much time anyways. Still, bit of exercise never hurt anyone!

Went to teach Kings Kids in the afternoon, we did 2 dramas, The Mask and The Box. They turned out to be really really good. Chem then gave a word to encourage the kids. God had told her this morning that they were a rising generation, one that was going to win back Portugal for God, and at the time we really hadn't gotten to know any of them. But after that, we got talking to them, and started playing some games...... My goodness, God was so right about these Kids. They have so much energy and are so welcoming and on fire.
We had such a fantastic time, by the time we had to leave, we just didn't want to at all. They were so cool (fis) to hang out with. I don't think any of us expected a day so blessed. With all the video footage too, this is going to be an unforgetable day :)

Going to be walking up the mountains tomorrow, to just pray for us and the area. Hope the weather continues!

With love
Cherry

P.S: Athletas de Cristo:

Unfortunately the whole team wasn't able to experience tonights' athletes for christ meeting [with various local footballers] so i took danny along with me...or rather, salomao allowed danny & i to join him! it was a brilliant experience...basically a cell-group for the rich and famous, well...footballers and their wives/families! it was good fun...we had a go at worshipping in portuguese, then had a translated message from salomao then just ate and got to know people.

(igor, second from left)

i spent most of my time talking to a crazy brazilian footballer called igor [estoril] who was larger than life and the guy to his left in the pic [can't remember his name!]. igor was an absolutely cracking guy...simply exuded energy and Jesus. we got past the usual polite chit-chat then he asked if i would come cheer him on (and pray) at his next match...damn straight!!!! could it get any better?! we were given 9 free tickets to a game on friday...by the keeper of Belenenses [superliga] which made my week! they were all such lovely guys and we just had a laugh being with them. got invited to loads of matches and stuff, so hopefully some of them will come to pass. if all we do in portugal is go to footy matches, evangelise the crowd and exhort footballers, i will be in heaven! ;) Heidi

2006-04-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

The whole team outside of the YWAM base we're staying at-(left to right) Danny, Kristi, Steve, Al, Chem, Heidi, Cherry, David, Oskar.

Practicing the Holla dance in the courtyard.

In the dining room.

Catching some rays.

We had a good day today- productive in the morning, relaxing in the afternoon. We practiced all of our dramas and dances this morning, and tomorrow we'll be responsible for teaching them to a group of King's Kids in Lisbon. This afternoon we got to explore the village within Sintra that we're staying in- Mem Martins. We're praying for vision on what God wants us to do while we're here- we have a pretty open schedule, just waiting on the Lord for what he has planned for us.

Alrighty everyone! See you tomorrow. Well, probably not. Unless you're in Portugal. Lisbon. Sintra. Mem Martins. JOCUM. My sunbed.

Much love,
kristi

ps. good. efficient.

safe and sound

2006-04-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

woke up quite early to go to the airport (3.30am). got on the plane. plane took off. under-way. we arrived at lisbon airport to find our bags all together and safe. we were met by the base leaders of ywam sintra, and taken to the nice blue van. after loading up the van, with people an bags, some lovely portugese policemen decided to tell us that the van was not covered on insurance to carry people. after getting in the queue for the taxis, we then had to unload the van of the bags, because the van "wasnt safe enough to carry luggage". meanwhile, heidi, had arrived at the base in sintra and was being entertained by three mad brits, who are also staying at the base.

after a while of chopping and changeing at the airport, we got into two taxis with all the luggage and managed to find "our new home" very easily. on the way, we had two great drivers, who took time out to teach us the correct way of pronouncing various portugese words!

the afternoon saw us on the train (minus Oskar, who was in bed, rather ill) heading into lisbon. we then jumped on the metro (underground for those with no sense!) and got off at various stations, not finding the correct one for quite some time, thanks to our new found friends (chris, steve (donny) and will)!!!

the afternoon was very slow and dilusional, but the warmth of the portugese afternoon sun was luverly. people were, and still are pretty wrecked after the travelling.

towards the end of the afternoon, whilst outside maccy dees (McDonalds), an old man came and asked our mad brit friends to dance! (chris and old man are pictured). that woke us a bit and then we decided to take the 40 minute train ride back to sintra.

thank you for your time..... Steve

welcome

2006-04-07T04:11:00.000-07:00

hi all, thanks for checking out the portugal & spain team blog! :) we intend to update this regularly with all our incredible adventures and experiences. we even endeavor to upload pictures as we plod along. we are a team of eight consisting of six different nationalities and will be spending 4 1/2 weeks in lisbon, portugal then 4 1/2 weeks in malaga, spain. hopefully we will be doing everything from working with street kids in slums to beach parties! above all, we want to remain open to the leading of God and expect great things to happen. this journal will officially begin on monday the 10th april as we fly out at 4am that morning. please be praying for us as we try to accomplish all the practical details and prepare ourselves for the journey ahead. thanks for your interest.
heidi sand [team leader]