Easter in Portugal

HE IS RISEN!!!

We have returned from a full morning of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior with our local church family. At times, our limited language has made church a bit stressful, but not today! Our hearts are full! Our Easter celebration began on Friday night as we met to worship and share the Lord's Supper as well as sharing the dinner meal with the church family. It was truly a time of remembrance as we shared the bread and the cup.

This morning we began with a small but special service atop a hill in the local park. It was a beautiful morning.

We then shared breakfast at church and were joined by more church members in a long (10:30-1:00) but special service. It was a wonderful time of praise and worship and Andy & I even got to sing! (in english of course) The Lord really used the time to lift our hearts and our spirits.

As we left church, just like every Sunday, we passed the Catholic church. Most Sundays there is very little activity. For a long time we didn't even know it was the Catholic church! However today, there were people everywhere. We could hardly get through. My heart just broke. For most of these people, they were doing their duty and could mark it off their list now. Later in the afternoon we went to the local park and I was amazed at how many people were out, as if it were any other Sunday afternoon and many of the shops and restaurants were open as well.

Today was a wonderful time of celebration and remembrance of our Lord, but also a reminder of why we are here - "so that all may know".

As we celebrate the marvelous ressurection of our Lord this week, let us not forget the walk He took on our behalf and all that it means to us today.

Happy Easter from our family to yours. May it be a beautiful time of remembrace and thanksgiving.

Still He Walked
Author Unknown
Apr 7, 2009

"Still He Walked"

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were His chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify Him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as He came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, every laugh, and every shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger
His heart broke,
But still He walked.

Was He scared? You and I would have been
So His humanness would have mandated that He was.
He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed Him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and He saw very few.
Then He turned His eyes to the only one that mattered
And He knew that He would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd...
At the people who were spitting at Him
Throwing rocks at Him and mocking Him
And He knew that because of Him,
They would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd.
The sounds of His cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as His hands and feet were nailed to the cross,
Intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice
Inside His heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let His son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead He asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive Him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting Him.
As He hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And His heart filled with love.
As His body was dying, His heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love He feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
...I remember His walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
...I remember His walk.
When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,
...I think of His walk.
And to show Him how much I love Him,
...I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to Him,
.......And I walk.

Pedro & Ines

Today we went visited the city of Alcobaca and learned the story of Portugal's real-life Romeo & Juliet - Pedro & Ines. Enjoy the pictures and the story.

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Turning 13

It is hard to believe that we have an official teenager in the house. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were bringing him home? Time flies so quickly. We want so desperatly for them to crawl and walk, then wish they would stay put! We are so excited with their first words and then wonder will they ever be silent! We wonder will they ever be able to feed themselves, then wonder where are they putting it all and will they ever stop eating!

It seems as if we blink and the time is gone. I look at Micah and realize that we now have a young man on our hands and all of the new responsiblity that this stage brings. Will we survive? Will he? What do we do with a teenager?!

We are so grateful to God for this wonderful child He has given us and for the extrodinary gifted and talented young man that he has become. He has such a caring, quiet and tender spirit.

We love you Micah and look forward to seeing all the Lord does in your life as you enter this new stage of life!

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