One of the most recent blessing of acquiring Portuguese in Portugal was that we were able to attend the WELS European Reformation Retreat in Germany. While we enjoy the blessing of fellowship with the Lutheran Church of Portugal, we also appreciate studying God’s Word, worshiping, and having fun with other WELS members who likewise live a fair distance from “home.”
Over 50 members attended the retreat in Germany’s Black Forest. The retreat was attended by people who live in England, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, and also Portugal. Many of the families currently serve in the US Armed Forces, others are working for international companies, and others have a European spouse and have made Europe their home. Additionally, some attendees are Europeans who for a variety of different reasons have come to call WELS their church.
Pastor Josh Martin and his wife Katie did much of the organizing and preparation for the retreat. Pastor Martin serves the WELS members in most of Western Europe as if they are all part of one single European congregation, and these twice yearly retreats are the only opportunities for this congregation to worship together in one location. Normally, over the course of each month, Pastor Martin leads worship in three distant locations within Germany, and also once per month in England and in Switzerland. Many of the families of this “broad” congregation also contributed by bringing snacks and drinks, organizing musical accompaniment and choirs, and helping with Sunday School.
The retreat was refreshing and encouraging for us and our families in every respect. We met some old friends and made quite a few new friends. Worshipping in a “large” group IN ENGLISH is always an extra special experience when it only occurs occasionally. Our children also enjoyed Sunday School lessons, songs, and projects with kids their own age, who speak the same language. This is also a rare occasion for them.
We appreciate Pastor Martin and his family, as well as the ministry Pastor Martin has been called to, and we also appreciate the OWLS who right now are generously supporting the European Chaplaincy program.
Here are links to the European Chaplaincy website and the OWLS website if you are interested.
Both before and after the retreat we had the opportunity to visit some old friends we made while living in Malawi. We first traveled to Jena where we visited the Mothes family and Elise was able to reconnect with her first best friend. While in Jena we visited many sights, most importantly, the Wartburg Castle. It was very interesting to see where Luther worked and hid long ago.
We also visited our good friends the Schneiders, just south of Suttgart in Beiberach. It was great to see them again and for Audrey to reconnect with her first best friend. They girls seemed to pick up right where they left off a few years ago.
Although it has taken some time to adjust to life in Portugal, we realize that being able to travel to other parts of Europe affordably is a true blessing. This would not be possible if we were not living in Portugal. We have hopes and plans to visit a few other places before we head south to Mozambique. Until then, you all are welcome to come visit us and you would have a place to stay and eat for free. We love visitors and would put you up for as long as you were here.
God bless you all until the next blog update.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Slow Moving in Mocambique
I finally made it back to Africa, but only for a couple weeks. Missionary Jeff Enderle and I spent two weeks in Nampula, Moçambique working to sort out the registration of our Lutheran Mission, and also gathering more specific information regarding potential homes, vehicles, and schools for our children.
Our registration has been a trying process. Twice in the past three years we have been invited by Moçambique’s Department of Religious Affairs to register our mission and begin work, yet we still have not finished the process. Just prior to this trip, we assembled all of the information and paperwork we thought would be necessary to finish our registration application, and we had high hopes that when we returned to Portugal, we would return with our application completed. And, during the two weeks, as we worked with the Department of Religious Affairs, it seemed everything would be completed. However, on the Thursday before leaving Nampula, we found out that we had been misled as we had been given the instructions for registering a church, not the instructions for registering a foreign mission.
While this was very discouraging, it also led to some self-examination and I believe we simply have moved too slowly since we were first invited to register in February 2005. Since the first invitation to register, the Chief of the Department of Religious Affairs has retired, and many policies and guidelines have changed. So, we are left to cope with the changes and re-organize ourselves. I am still confident we will finish the process, it will just take a few more months than planned. The main delay is that we are now required to have a list of signatures of 500 Moçambican resident-members of our organization who in effect are petitioning the government to grant our registration. This is one of the new and very recent requirements for registration. Fortunately, because of the ministry in the border regions of Moçambique near Malawi, we will be able to collect these signatures; it will just take a few weeks to finish this work. Then we will reprint all of our other documents and have them all notarized again (always a requirement in Portugal and Moçambique) and then head to Maputo to submit our application.
During our stay in Nampula we were very happy to find that our children will be able to attend a good school with an American curriculum. This school existed a few years ago, but only had one teacher and less then ten students. Now, the school has 27 students and three teachers, and they expect over 40 students for next school year. They have a great library and are trying to buy land to build a new campus with athletic fields, art rooms, and science and computer labs. It is a wonderful blessing to the expatiate community in Nampula. This school begins with first grade, which works out well as we will likely send our children to Portuguese language pre-school and kindergarten, so they will speak the language of Moçambique before entering the American school.
We also learned that both housing and vehicles are expensive and difficult in Nampula. Vehicles are readily available, but good vehicles (even used) are very expensive and are targeted for theft. Older less expensive vehicles are available, but are obviously less reliable and spare parts can be hard to acquire. For housing, we could simplify the options by putting them into two groups. One group has homes in the center of the city with good water service, but no yard at all. The other group is on the edge of town with a yard large enough for kids to play in, but extremely poor water service. We are praying for something with a yard and reliable water and hoping the Lord will provide. A yard is very important as there are no parks or green spaces for children to run in within Nampula, leaving the home and the yard as the only space for play. The need for water service is important in any city.
After our trip, we have re-adjusted our goal for residing in Nampula to late spring of 2009, hopefully April or May. If we are able to submit an application for registration in Maputo before Christmas, then this goal seems quite reasonable. In the meantime, we will continue to work to improve our Portuguese. Some of the missionaries we spoke to in Nampula told us they wished they had stayed in Portugal longer than one year just to improve their Portuguese before arriving in Nampula. So, it seems, the Lord has provided us with this opportunity. We also hope we will in fact now have the opportunity to make real contributions to the ministry of the Lutheran Church of Portugal. As our Portuguese improves, we will become more involved in leading worship services and teaching Bible studies, and we are indeed networking among the people we meet and trying to witness.
Please continue to pray for our health and safety, as well as praying for the registration of “Missão Luterana—WELS” in Moçambique.
Our registration has been a trying process. Twice in the past three years we have been invited by Moçambique’s Department of Religious Affairs to register our mission and begin work, yet we still have not finished the process. Just prior to this trip, we assembled all of the information and paperwork we thought would be necessary to finish our registration application, and we had high hopes that when we returned to Portugal, we would return with our application completed. And, during the two weeks, as we worked with the Department of Religious Affairs, it seemed everything would be completed. However, on the Thursday before leaving Nampula, we found out that we had been misled as we had been given the instructions for registering a church, not the instructions for registering a foreign mission.
While this was very discouraging, it also led to some self-examination and I believe we simply have moved too slowly since we were first invited to register in February 2005. Since the first invitation to register, the Chief of the Department of Religious Affairs has retired, and many policies and guidelines have changed. So, we are left to cope with the changes and re-organize ourselves. I am still confident we will finish the process, it will just take a few more months than planned. The main delay is that we are now required to have a list of signatures of 500 Moçambican resident-members of our organization who in effect are petitioning the government to grant our registration. This is one of the new and very recent requirements for registration. Fortunately, because of the ministry in the border regions of Moçambique near Malawi, we will be able to collect these signatures; it will just take a few weeks to finish this work. Then we will reprint all of our other documents and have them all notarized again (always a requirement in Portugal and Moçambique) and then head to Maputo to submit our application.
During our stay in Nampula we were very happy to find that our children will be able to attend a good school with an American curriculum. This school existed a few years ago, but only had one teacher and less then ten students. Now, the school has 27 students and three teachers, and they expect over 40 students for next school year. They have a great library and are trying to buy land to build a new campus with athletic fields, art rooms, and science and computer labs. It is a wonderful blessing to the expatiate community in Nampula. This school begins with first grade, which works out well as we will likely send our children to Portuguese language pre-school and kindergarten, so they will speak the language of Moçambique before entering the American school.
We also learned that both housing and vehicles are expensive and difficult in Nampula. Vehicles are readily available, but good vehicles (even used) are very expensive and are targeted for theft. Older less expensive vehicles are available, but are obviously less reliable and spare parts can be hard to acquire. For housing, we could simplify the options by putting them into two groups. One group has homes in the center of the city with good water service, but no yard at all. The other group is on the edge of town with a yard large enough for kids to play in, but extremely poor water service. We are praying for something with a yard and reliable water and hoping the Lord will provide. A yard is very important as there are no parks or green spaces for children to run in within Nampula, leaving the home and the yard as the only space for play. The need for water service is important in any city.
After our trip, we have re-adjusted our goal for residing in Nampula to late spring of 2009, hopefully April or May. If we are able to submit an application for registration in Maputo before Christmas, then this goal seems quite reasonable. In the meantime, we will continue to work to improve our Portuguese. Some of the missionaries we spoke to in Nampula told us they wished they had stayed in Portugal longer than one year just to improve their Portuguese before arriving in Nampula. So, it seems, the Lord has provided us with this opportunity. We also hope we will in fact now have the opportunity to make real contributions to the ministry of the Lutheran Church of Portugal. As our Portuguese improves, we will become more involved in leading worship services and teaching Bible studies, and we are indeed networking among the people we meet and trying to witness.
Please continue to pray for our health and safety, as well as praying for the registration of “Missão Luterana—WELS” in Moçambique.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Month #7 in Portugal
Hello!!! I have created a Meier Family Blog as another way to keep in touch with everyone. This blog will include family updates as well as mission updates.
After nearly seven months in Portugal, we finally feel like life has settled down and we are in a routine. It was a real rough start with having sick kids and not having any furniture, plates, pot and pans and many other basics in the apartment, but now life seems to be more normal. We have mostly figured out the public transportaion and can get around fairly well. Thank the Lord for seeing us through these challenges and helping us find some contentment here.
Bill has finally found a tutor he can meet with almost daily to practice his Portuguese as well as going to class three hours a day. He continues to take courses online through MLC for synod certification and meets with Pastor Villares a few hours each week to learn the liturgy in Portuguese. This past month has been busy as he was making plans to travel to Mozambique with Jeff Enderle. They fly out tomorrow and while in Moz they hope to get the church registered, apply for VISA's, look for houses, find a school for the girls, look at the price of vehicles, and sort out all the necessary details needed to live there. They will be gone for 16 days and we pray that they have a very informative and productive 16 days.
I have kept busy doing the mom thing and studying for a few fitness certifications so I can teach classes in Moz. There is a gym next door to our apartment that I have been working out at and they have been very helpful in my learning process. They let me use their equipment and facilities to practice and one of the instructors is working with me to improve my hands on knowledge. Having the gym next door has been a real blessing. The Lord knew just what I needed while here! In a week I will teach my first class and hopfully it will be the start of a new and exciting career. I have also found some other moms who have small children and we get together once a week for mom and toddlers group as well as play dates. These women have become a real support network for me and I thank the Lord for them and their friendship.
Elise is doing great and is now in first grade. She is really picking up Portuguese and loves going to school. She continues to draw, color and make projects out of anything and everything she can ger her hands on. She always tells me she is "recyling" our garbage. When she is not at school or drawing she tries to veg out in front of the TV and watch as many cartoons as possible.
Audrey is also doing well and is in kindergarden this year. She was very excited for school to start, is loving school, and is also picking up Portuguese. She has developed an interest in cooking and being in the kitchen with me. She is a great helper at meal times and is so eager to learn...and snitch the food? We are often told on the subway that Audrey has beautiful eyes and the Portuguese really like her.
Maria is really growing up fast and talks a ton!!! She is putting together five and six word sentences and loves to sing songs. She loves playing with dolls and being a mommy. Next week she will start going to a play group two days a weeks while I meet with a language tutor. She is very ready for school and we hope that she also learns some Portuguese.
It has been a real blessing working with the Lutheran church here in Portugal. It is a very small church with about 25 confirmed members in three different cities. Pastor Villares travels to these cities each month to conduct worship services and administer the sacraments. Although the church is small in numbers it has very faithful members. Please pray for this young church that they may reach the lost souls in Portugal and that we may be a blessings to them while we are here.
The next few moths will be busy for us. Next Wednesday Bill's mom is coming to visit for over two weeks. She will be a tremendous help while Bill is away and will get to see Bill for a few days after he returns home. At the end of October we will travel to Germany for a Reformation Retreat with many other WELS members in Europe. Before and after the retreat will will visit friends that we made while living in Malawi. It will be great to see them again. Soon after returning from Germany the Holtz family from Malawi will visit us for about a week before going to the States for furlough. In December my parents will visit for Christmas and ring in the New Year with us. Our plans after January are still unknown but we hope to move to Nampula around that time. We will know more once Bill and Jeff return from Mozambique.
After nearly seven months in Portugal, we finally feel like life has settled down and we are in a routine. It was a real rough start with having sick kids and not having any furniture, plates, pot and pans and many other basics in the apartment, but now life seems to be more normal. We have mostly figured out the public transportaion and can get around fairly well. Thank the Lord for seeing us through these challenges and helping us find some contentment here.
Bill has finally found a tutor he can meet with almost daily to practice his Portuguese as well as going to class three hours a day. He continues to take courses online through MLC for synod certification and meets with Pastor Villares a few hours each week to learn the liturgy in Portuguese. This past month has been busy as he was making plans to travel to Mozambique with Jeff Enderle. They fly out tomorrow and while in Moz they hope to get the church registered, apply for VISA's, look for houses, find a school for the girls, look at the price of vehicles, and sort out all the necessary details needed to live there. They will be gone for 16 days and we pray that they have a very informative and productive 16 days.
I have kept busy doing the mom thing and studying for a few fitness certifications so I can teach classes in Moz. There is a gym next door to our apartment that I have been working out at and they have been very helpful in my learning process. They let me use their equipment and facilities to practice and one of the instructors is working with me to improve my hands on knowledge. Having the gym next door has been a real blessing. The Lord knew just what I needed while here! In a week I will teach my first class and hopfully it will be the start of a new and exciting career. I have also found some other moms who have small children and we get together once a week for mom and toddlers group as well as play dates. These women have become a real support network for me and I thank the Lord for them and their friendship.
Elise is doing great and is now in first grade. She is really picking up Portuguese and loves going to school. She continues to draw, color and make projects out of anything and everything she can ger her hands on. She always tells me she is "recyling" our garbage. When she is not at school or drawing she tries to veg out in front of the TV and watch as many cartoons as possible.
Audrey is also doing well and is in kindergarden this year. She was very excited for school to start, is loving school, and is also picking up Portuguese. She has developed an interest in cooking and being in the kitchen with me. She is a great helper at meal times and is so eager to learn...and snitch the food? We are often told on the subway that Audrey has beautiful eyes and the Portuguese really like her.
Maria is really growing up fast and talks a ton!!! She is putting together five and six word sentences and loves to sing songs. She loves playing with dolls and being a mommy. Next week she will start going to a play group two days a weeks while I meet with a language tutor. She is very ready for school and we hope that she also learns some Portuguese.
It has been a real blessing working with the Lutheran church here in Portugal. It is a very small church with about 25 confirmed members in three different cities. Pastor Villares travels to these cities each month to conduct worship services and administer the sacraments. Although the church is small in numbers it has very faithful members. Please pray for this young church that they may reach the lost souls in Portugal and that we may be a blessings to them while we are here.
The next few moths will be busy for us. Next Wednesday Bill's mom is coming to visit for over two weeks. She will be a tremendous help while Bill is away and will get to see Bill for a few days after he returns home. At the end of October we will travel to Germany for a Reformation Retreat with many other WELS members in Europe. Before and after the retreat will will visit friends that we made while living in Malawi. It will be great to see them again. Soon after returning from Germany the Holtz family from Malawi will visit us for about a week before going to the States for furlough. In December my parents will visit for Christmas and ring in the New Year with us. Our plans after January are still unknown but we hope to move to Nampula around that time. We will know more once Bill and Jeff return from Mozambique.
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