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.
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