Sunday, October 8th, 2006

Sunday seems to be the day that Sam and I have more time to explore around our area. We've found a road with a few trails off of it that allow for some great views!
Top Left: My favorite gated entryway. It's drive is covered with grape vines and leads to an area with fruit trees!
Top Right: The stone bench and flowers around it are always a welcoming stopping point.

Bottom Left: A view from the trail.
Bottom Right: The town of Freixial.









Top Right: Sam on our trail
Top Left: Up close with Sam







Bottom left: Sam seems to be a mix between a Portuguese/Spanish hunting dog. This is evident as she constantly has her nose to the ground and tries to scurry after every lizard possible.
Bottom right: Her watering hole...:)






Every Sunday for the first month and a half here in Lisbon, I visited a variety of churches in the area. Most were recommendations by individuals we had met or come in contact with. The church I have committed to for the year is the church attended by fellow GEM missionaries, Ron and Dalia Fairbanks. Dalia is Portuguese and the pastor is her brother. The church is an Action Bible church and is lead by a board of elders, along with two pastors. There are over 100 members which is larger sized church here in Portugal. There were a few things that I really liked about the church. During the time of teaching and worship the members are very involved. They often have times for open prayer and reading from the word. There is a noticeable joy in their worship. I also appreciated the diversity of people with the largest numbers coming from Portugal, Angola, and Brazil.

Today was the first Sunday they added a second afternoon service. The morning service was becoming overcrowded. We were encouraged to attend the afternoon service, though much smaller, since we would have more translaters:). I have found the time of worship very helpful in that I'm able to pick-up a variety of words since some of the songs are ones I recognize.

Boa Semana (Have a good week!)