Sept 14-Oct 4

We are starting to mourn our leaving at the end of this week!  Everything I do I think "this is the last time I will do..." the brothers are so special and have embraced us as mothers and grandmothers.  Many are working with the English far away from home.  I was with a brother last week and after our afternoon together he said "I am going to call my grandmother tonight and visit my parents next weekend". I think we have helped to fill a void for the younger ones which is most of the congregation.
We had dinner last week with 2 couples.  One night we went to Gabriel and Beatriz 's home. She roasted chorizo sausage at the table with a tiny barbeque dish. Delicious! Claudia and I had to buy one to bring home.  How am I going to pack this stuff?!  She also made a traditional Portuguese dish,  bacalhau, a dried salted cod mixed with corn bread and onions, ect.  Kind of like a fish stuffing baked in the oven.  We had such a good time.
We also went upstairs to our neighbors,  Alvro and Connie.  He is Portuguese and she is from New Zealand.  They met when she came here to do need great work.  They have just been married about 3 months.  We had lasagna and salad with them.  She is a wonderful cook and he was a perfect host.  His sister, Carla joined us along with an American sister, Susan.  We played Tumbling Towers...otherwise known as jenga. Must be the Portuguese version.
Such sweet, caring people.
This week we went to Coimbra...about 2 hrs north by train.  Another "Claudia and Gloria get lost in Portugal" story.
The website said our hotel was just around the corner from the train station.  The problem was the train station is in the middle of an industrial area, with nothing like hotels around.  You know how I said everyone speaks english in Portugal?  Not true!  Apparently everyone speaks english in Lisbon,  not Portugal as a whole. Trying to find out where we were took some time and much pantomine.  So, there are 2 train stations in Coimbra and we arrived at the wrong one.  We deduced that if we followed the tracks eventually we would arrive at the proper station.  About 1 mile down the road we found it and sure enough the hotel was around the corner.  The hotel was very nice and right in the middle of town.  The streets were narrow and winding and often ending up in a church square.  There are so many churches in Portugal, one around every corner.  We visited the Coimbra University which is one of the oldest in the world.  The books can date back 12th century, and the library where they are stored dates back to that time also.  It is beautiful.
We took a bus to Combringa which has Roman ruins that date back to before the time of Christ. It has a part of the old roman road that was traveled on in the 1st century.  It is mind boggling to think of things this old.  I want to talk to the people who lived there and get a feel for what life was like.  The city walls were 13 meters thick, so apparently there was reason for fear.  Won't it be thrilling to hear stories from the ressurected ones.
On Sat we spent the afternoon and evening with Ben, Linda, Claudia and Daniel.  Daniel is the only child in the congregation.  The family was asked to move to the english congregation because they had no families.  He gave his 1st, #3 talk a week ago.  He did such a fine job even tho he said he was very nervous. He is 12 yrs old, I believe.
In their neighborhood they have a petting zoo that we took a walk around after we had lunch.  They are such a loving family and we have enjoyed them immensely.
Sun evening after mtg we again were asked to dinner.  We had bacalhau again, but made in a totally different way. Sergio and Sandra are a young couple who work full time and spend most evenings in the ministry.  The zeal of our brothers and sisters here is a beautiful thing to behold.  We were out way past our bedtime but what fun!
Thurs. Evening our sweet Ellie made us bacalhau,  imagime that! The best one yet! We were surprised when several from the KH showed up to share dinner with us.  It was lovely but brought many tears.
Fri at mtg was tearful also..good byes are hard, but I feel so loved!  We have many new sons and daughters.  They will be a part of my heart forever.
This past week we tried to make sure we had all our gifts and souvenirs.   Over the last six months I have bought things a little at a time. Fast forward and all these small things make a very large pile!  How am I going to get all this home?  There was no way it was going to fit in my luggage, so off I went to buy another bag.  I thought this one would work for you carry on....so Heavy!  I got rid of several things...some clothes were a little big so we donated them and I left some shoes behind, but still the cases were over the allowed weight.  What to do. I will check 2 of the bags and just have to pay the overlimit fee.  We arrive at the airport and go to check in and discover we have no return flight. Apparently because our flight initially arriving in London was late and we could not make the flight to Lisbon and they had to book us a whole new flight the other booking was cancelled.  No problem, will have a lay over in London, but thats cool.
All in all another beautiful day in Portugal.

September 4-13

The days seem to be flying by now.  There is still so much to and things we want to do, but I am reasonably sure many will be left undone.  We had planned on going to Paris next week but decided that we did not want to rush seeing Paris, so we will leave it for our next stay.  Instead we will go to Coimbra which is north of Lisbon about 1 hour by train.  We are told it is a beautiful city with ancient Roman ruins.  We are looking forward to it.
Most of our days, of course have been spent in the ministry. It has started to rain in the city but it is still hot.  It can be 80 degrees and raining. It's hard to know how to dress and we carry an umbrella with us now.  We will probably spend more time on buses and metro until we come home.
Last week I was coming home on the metro and a young man and I started a conversation.  His name is Yungba and he is from South Korea.  He is a Protestant Christian and was very interested in our work here.  When I asked if he had heard of Jehovah's Witnesses he did not think so.  Of course, it may be said differently in Korea.  I was able to give him the tract on our wesite and he said he would check it out.  He is only in Lisbon 3 days.  There is a young woman studying and attending our meetings from Iran.  She has been studying cell biology in Norway for 3 years and has recently come to Lisbon...maybe 4 months ago.  She was only going to stay a couple weeks but when she was introduced to the truth she decided to stay longer.  She shared a story about being stopped by the police in Iran because she had some of her hair showing from under her scarf and she had on red sunglasses.  What a crime!  They penalty is a large fine IF you become more modest.  She said there is no respect for woman...in the family or out.  So wonderful to find out Jehovah teaches his people to treat women with respect. We have many interested ones attending the meetings and it is so encouraging to see their progress.

I had another part in the TMS. I think this was my 3rd.  It is encouraging to see how hard the brothers work to handle assignments in the school. The sister Debra who is with me did a really fine job.

We had a congregation picnic on Saturday evening after the ministry.  It was at the top of a hill (yes, another hill) in a park quite a ways from our home.  There were alot of trees for shade so that was a good thing. A congregation picnic here is not like at home. We were to bring our own food to eat.  We asked why  doesn't everyone bring a dish like we do at home?  The answer ...most will come from the ministry and what you get is 10 bags of chips.  That's what comes from having young single people making up the majority of the congregation.  We had a good time until we were in need of a toilet and realized there were none!  We suffered for a time and then said we had to go!
Everyone was about ready to leave by then so made it home with no mishaps.
All in all another beautiful day in Portugal.  :)

August 26- September 3

Just as I said it was a whirlwind 9 days.  We tried to get our visitors to see in 9 days what we have seen in 5 months!  Wasn't possible of course, but we did give it the old college try.  We did morning service the first day.  Colleen went with Claudia on a bible study and Sue and I had the cart by the ships.  It was a terribly hot day and we had no shade so I was ill from too much sun for 2 days.  I was drinking water but it wasn't enough I guess.
We took a ferry acfoss the river and had lunch, but too hot to explore much.
We spent a day in Caicais and they loved it.  They took a paddle boat out in the bay and had alot of fun.  I sat in the shade.  We explored Lisbon and took them to see things we enjoyed.  Another day we visited Sintra a`d saw the palace of Pena again.  After we went to the palace of Monserrate with its beautiful gardens.  The estate is huge and we must have walked 2 hours exploring the gardens.  The palace is still being restored but it was beautiful all the same.
A couple days were so hot we only ventured out in the mornings. We played alot of dice and cards and laughed incessantly!   Drank wine and sangria and laughed incessantly!   It was a fun filled time until this morning when we took them to the airport.
Tomorrow we must hit the road running to start the new service year.  I can't believe we will leave for home in a month.  Part of me is sad and part can hardly wait.  There is so much work to do here and we feel so needed and as if we are deserting the congregation.  I will probably return at some point in the future if I am able.  They are beautiful people and I will miss them all.
All in all another beautiful day in Portugal.

August 18-25

This week things have slowed down a bit.  We were able to finish our time for the year so we were able to take more walks and go to the park for coffee in the morning.   Many of the neighborhood parks have coffee kiosks and tables so you can sit and read or visit for a while. 
I included a picture of street cleaning.  One man uses a broom to sweep and others hose it down.  At least it employs people as that is a problem here.
On Thurs we went to Antonioand Tia's for dinner.  I was very nice and he insisted that he take us all the way to our last bus connection to see that we arrived home safely.  What a beautiful elder!
I went out 3 days this week and on Saturday I was able to go on a bible study with a sister.  The student is a woman from Sri Lanka and I forget the language. One I had not heard of before. Sister Sandra had her get out her laptop and she walked her thru finding her language and the good news brochure on line.  It was good for me too.  I have downloaded the bible study video in some common languages, but have only been able to show it once.  It was very encouraging.
Today Colleen and Sue from Long Beach arrived for a 9 day visit.  It took them forever to get out of customs because 3 international flights arrived about the same time.  We went wandering for a while and then had lunch in the city.  They rested a bit this afternoon and we played cards this evening.  It is nice to have them in the house.
Tomorrow we start exploring and there is so much we want them to see.  We will all be exhausted by the end of their visit.  Time to say good night  and all in all another beautiful day in Portugal.

August 10-17

I forgot to tell about our hotel in Porto!  What an experience!  We stayed at the Eurostar just at the end of the metro which made for a quick trip into the old city.  This is a newer hotel with many updates and "new technology".  The first thing we noticed was this lovely window...between the bathroom and living area!  What's up with that?!
Claudia found an extra blanket and stuffed it in tight so we had privacy.  All's good.  We go sight seeing for the day, come home and attempt to open the door...NOT!  New technology.  You must scan the card, pull door towards you while turning the handle and push in.  These 3 functions took 3 hands and alas each of us only have 2.
They are all separate on the door...scanner, knob and handle that turns.  This made for much frustration and laughter, because you have to laugh, right!  We stayed 3 nights and 2 of those we had to go back to the desk and ask for assistance.  They probably were all discussing the two old, crazy ladies on the first floor.  Had a blast though!
Then we called them up because the sink wouldn't  drain.  NEW TECHNOLOGY,!  You must push down on the stopper to get it to go up.  Who would have thought.
This week we have been back to the ministry and I am just about  finished with my hours for the year.  Makes me happy.  I worked with two different young brothers.  Amilton is looking for work but will only take part time  (which is very difficult to get in Portugal) so he can continue to pioneer.  Tiago was just appointed ad a MS and he is a pioneer.  I enjoy my time with them very much as they are a great encouragement to me.
On Wednesday we had lunch with the 3 Italian girls from upstairs.
They are very hospitable and I have fallen in love with them.  They are happy, kind and loving.  We have adopted each other.  I will hate to see them go at the end of the month but I feel I have made friends for a lifetime...eternity.
Thursday I worked with Beatriz at the ships.  We just got the new carts
and I had no idea how heavy they are.  You must pick them up at the KH, get it into a bus or metro and get it out again.  Then walk some distance with it to the ships.  I wish people knew what effort we go to so they can come to know Jehovah.   Perhaps they would have more appreciation.  After service I met Claudia and Reubens mother, Maria, for lunch across the street.  We had a lovely time while using translationg dictionaries to get our points across.  She took us to the KH where she attends, which is just around the corner from our apt.
On Sat I met at the KH for service and there were two sisters there whom I had not met.  Turns out they had only one day in Lisbon and they spent the morning in the ministry.  I partneted with Gwenella who is originally from Guadalupe  and now lives on St Martin in the Carribean.   I so enjoyed my morning with her and getting to know her story.  She is an aux pioneer now although she reg pioneered for many years.  She has to now work full time, but it is essy to see where her heary is at.  One of my greatest joys has been meeting bro and sis from so many nationalities.  What a blessing.
Sunday afternoon we had all of the single sisters from the congregation for lunch.  There were 12 of us and it is a joy to see what hard workers they are in the ministry.  We had meat, cheese, rolls, fruit and green salad. Gelato for dessert!  We are trying to have everyone over for a meal before we leave. Only about 7 weeks left!  Unbelievable! All in all another beautiful day in Portugal.

August 5-10

Tues I spent the day in the ministry.  It is quite a ways to go back to the KH aftermorning service, but we aretrying to support the mtg for service.  I was out until close to 6 and need I say I was tired after a full day!  On Wednesday we incorporated some sightseeing  along with the ministry.  We went across the river to study with Treasure.  She was so excited because Claudia got her a gift.  She loves to make the braclets out of the little rubber bands, so Claudia found a kit with lots of  colors and Treasure was ecstatic to say the least.   It was hard to get her to concentrate as her mind was now elsewhere!      After her study Claudia and I met up with a couple to spend the afternoon.
Muigel and Geiselle are from Switzerland.  He was a Swiss banker and she was an architect.   They learned the truth in the early 70's and became inactive after a few years.  They made alot of money and retired to Portugal and began looking for property to build their dream home that Geiselle designed herself.  What a dream come true!  Well, now the dream ends...after putting 1.2 million into this dream house Miguel's retirement money disappeared.   For 4 years they have been trying to prosecute to get the money returned and their dream house sits empty with none of the inside finished.  They were contacted by the brothers here and the congregation is endeavoring to help and encouage them.  You can't help but think of the futility of seeking material things.  They may never recoup that money and I think "you could have built a small home for the $200,000 (the windows alone cost $250,000) and be very cozy."  I feel for them because Geiselle's very emotional about it all.  After seeing the house we continued on to see a monastery close by.  We really had a nice time with them and we are happy that they are very regular at the meetings now.
On Thursday we went to Porto.  It is a city in northern Portugal on the mouth of the Douro River, where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.  The old city is beautiful . You can sit outside in a tiny cafe with a gorgeous view of the river.  We got one of those sightseeing buses...hop on hop off.  We still only scratched the surface of the things to see.  The one thing I wanted to see was the oldest book store in the world was closed when we went.
We had dinner Sat night with a couple from the congregation whom we met at the C/A and again at the R/C.  He is from the US and she is from Angola.  He told us she spoke 5 languages and she was embarrassed and told us she didn't speak them all well. "In my country there is a saying" she said.  "A one eyed man is king in a kingdom of blind persons."  We had a very nice evening with them.  On Sunday we went to the meeting.  Their KH is a double hall in a historic building that they have met in since 1971.  The city wanted to kick them out and take it over but, because of a law having to do with their having the use for so long, they were able to purchase the building.  They sit right below a watchtower.  One side of the hall is very large and the English and Sign language side very small.
I think there were maybe 50 seats and 33 were at the meeting.  They have 24 publishers and need help.  They were very welcoming and were able to have a picture that is enclosed with one of the KH also.
Instead of dwelling on Aug 10 being our anniversary, I enjoyed my day with Claudia and the congregation, with only a few tears.
We are home in Lisbon now and back to the ministry. I spent over 7 hrs in the ministry yesterday and was exhausted...but I did sleep well!
Another beautiful day in Portugal.

July 30-Aug 4

The last month of the service year and a special campaign!  Need I say more about how husy we are?   We are meeting now at a different KH as ours has been under repair and we thought it would be done by this time.  However when the brothers went in to start repairs they found major structural damage.  The pillars have cracks in them so it could  be very dangerous.  We may not be returning to that hall.  On the plus side....the KH we are meeting at is the newest and nicest in Lisbon.  It is a double hall with parking underneath so the brothers with cars are happy.  It is a longer bus ride so we have to leave earlier.
Reuben and Marieka left last Thurs for the international convention in Maryland so Claudia and I have the house to ourselves until we leave in Oct.  After convention they will go to Ashland (Oregon) where she was raised and her family still lives.  They work with a family business so they can combine business and pleasure.
We have some new need greaters from Italy.   They have moved into our building and we have been enjoying their company.   Gioia (Italian for Joy) went in the ministry together on Sunday and then they fixed lunch for us.  I think none are over 20 yrs old.  There are also 2 fleshly sisters with her, Emanuella and Elisabetta.
August in Lisbon it is said, will be a city with much fewer people.   Everyone goes on vacation to get out of the city heat.  Happily the temperature for July and so far for August has been lower than usual so I hope that continues.
Yesterday Andre and Akime took us by car to the Portugal Bethel.  His uncle and aunt serve there (picture included) and they invited us to lunch.  We had chicken and rice with a curry gravy AND WINE.  Many of the european branches serve wine for lunch and dinner. I have included some shots of the bethel and a picture of myself with Pedro and Sylvia.  He serves in the service dept at the branch and I came to know them because I  gave a demo during his talk.  They are the sweetest couple.  Treated me as if we had been friends forever!
We had a beautiful day and stopped on the way home for gelatos.
I miss all of you and wish I was rich enough to live 6 months at home and 6 months here.  Reuben and Marieka would love us to be permanent housemates.   I couldn't stand to be away from the family that much time so they would have to come with me.
All in all another beautiful day in Portugal.

July 19-28

These last days have been busy ones with many late nights.  Many of you know we were able to work on the drama this year.  Our lovely Claudia played Jennine, the older sister with the walker.  It was a stretch but she did amazing,  altho that walker moved pretty fast!  I was back stage assigned to Heather (Beatrice) to assist her with changing, having her props ready to go on stage and being sure she went out the correct side.  The job was easy.   Beatrice was thoroughly prepared and acted with such good  "attitude".  She made the perfect young wife and sister.
I had a demonstration on Fri afternoon right before the drama.  I was the angry, unbelieving mother to Tiago.  I am sure a different name was used at your convention. We all know I am not an actress, but apparently this is one of the gifts Jehovah can bestow.  I managed to portray anger and hurt and authority, all in the span of 2 minutes!  I didn't get the part until the Sunday before the convention and didn't practice with Tiago until Wed evening in fromt of the District overseer.
His comment was "the script says mother is 45" and my comment was "this is what you've got" and he said the message is what is important.  In hindsight I wish I had said "what makes you think they didn't get it right" or perhaps "what gave me away? "
We have been practicing every Monday night for several weeks.
Our schedule this past week was to go to the convention site every evening and practice.  Monday and Tuesday we practiced the drama 2 and 3 times and arrived home close to midnight.  Wednesday was full dress rehearsal for the CO and DO and we got home maybe 11 o'clock and same thing on Thursday.  We were really getting worn out but it was worth it as everyone said it went very well.  I never knew how much time and energy were used to get to the finished product!  I can't imagine the dramas from old times when costumes, beards, and those props like big rocks  have to be made in addition to rehearsing.
We had many new ones at the convention from other countries...Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Canada and others. Our peak attendance was on Sunday with 454.  We had some speakers from Bethel and a member of the branch committee gave some talks.  Both of these brothers have been working hard on their english mainly because the governing body wants branch committee members to speak english.  The brother I gave the demo for, Pedro, gave at least 2 talks and has been learning just a little over a year.  Such a humble, kind brother.  We will go to visit the branch in August,  we hope.  We had one young woman baptized.  Her name is Jian and I include a picture of us together.  The talk was so lovely as the brother used her name throughout.  It was so personal, just for her.
What a wonderful and exhausting week it has been, but, all in all another beautiful day in Portugal.