Caught in a Vortex

One of the questions I had when I came to Portugal was whether it would be possible to have fellowship with Catholics as we have had in the United States; to leave aside, for the most part, our doctrinal differences, talk candidly about spiritual matters, pray together and encourage one another’s faith. The answer is yes. The early-morning peripatetic men’s group I’ve asked you to pray for has been having a spectacular time doing those very things. Each morning we read and discuss a verse or two from the Bible printed in Portuguese and English. They help me with the Portuguese. I help them with the English. Our most enthusiastic member, Senhor Araujo, says his life has changed completely as result of our discussions and prayers. He says he sometimes prays spontaneously with his family at home now, much to their surprise. He may be in the process of being born again. Please pray it would be so. Please also pray for the continuation of the group after my departure for Lisbon at the end of June. Finally, pray I can get another similar group started in Lisbon. By walking together and staying away from church we not only get good exercise, we avoid a lot of unnecessary conflict.

It looks as if this house may be turned into a foster home for kids under the care of the Bomfim Foundation, the foundation affiliated with our church, the same foundation that operates Vivarte. Our landlords met here today with Anabela Pereira, the Executive Director of Bomfim and my co-Sunday school teacher, and Carla Pego, Austin’s sister-in-law and the person responsible for the operations of the foster homes. Everyone was very enthusiastic. The next step is to get the house approved by the authorities and make a few minor modifications. The foster home that may move here might be that of Alvaro Azevedo, former Habitat for Humanity construction assistant, and his wife, who care for seven foster children who often play in the street where they live now. What a blessing it would be for them to have this big back yard and the neighborhood soccer court a stone’s throw away.

Please pray for Drex. When one is accustomed to the clever, delicately balanced repartee of a household such as our own, having one parent 366 kilometers away can be disorienting. Translation: He's tired of his father harping at him all the time. "Are you having bad days, Dad? You seem angry," he said this evening. And I thought I was doing great today! I was Mr. Patient! I was feeling real spiritual. What must he have been thinking last week when I was dragging a little? Maybe Drex isn't the only one for whom you should be praying. Whether it is a manifestation of these stresses or deeper relational issues between him and his teacher, Drex is finding it difficult to face his professora day after day. He says she criticizes him. Here, Drex is caught in a vortex. At home, he receives the standard American lavish positive reinforcement treatment. About the harshest criticism he hears for anything other than deliberate disobedience is, “Good try!” But positive reinforcement has not yet arrived in Portugal. When a math problem is incorrect, it is “bad.” When a tree is not green, or a sun is not yellow, they are bad, too. What is a nine-year-old to think? One good thing that has already come of the conflict is that it has made Drex more a man of prayer. Please pray he would be increasingly so and that God would transform his relationship with his teacher.

God bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you this week. Thank you very much for your prayers.