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.