Before my first trip to Portugal I wrote a Top 10 things I am excited about and a Top 10 Things I am nervous about list, and I thought it would be fun to write a new list for this crazy adventure of being a missionary in Portugal full-time!

Top 10 Things I am Looking Forward to:

1.Fulfilling God’s calling

I have felt God’s calling to Portugal for the last 13 years and have been working towards the calling ever since. I am so excited to be fulfilling this calling and to see how God leads me when I am on the mission field! I am excited to see the Christian body grow in Portugal and to see Portuguese people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

2. Meeting my whole team

I have had the opportunity to meat everybody on my team except one couple that I will be working closely with when I am in Portugal! I have skyped with them and have emailed back and fourth but have not had the opportunity to meet them in person yet, unlike everyone else!

3. Learning Portuguese

I am so excited to learn Portuguese and to one day be fluent in the language! I am excited for my first dream in Portuguese and to lead my first Bible study in Portuguese! What an awesome adventure that will be!!

4. Surviving Culture shock

Culture shock is something that I know I will have to go through, it is inevitable. However, I am excited for the day that I am through it for the most part! I know that, as a missionary, culture shock will be that friend that you are never excited to see and try to spend as little time with as possible. I will go through it each time I return to Portugal and each time I return to the States but I will survive and fall more in love with both cultures because of it!

5. Helping Lead an English Ministry

This will be such an adventure! I am excited to have the opportunity to work with the team and lead the English ministry and to see how it grows and expands to meet the needs of the people we are ministering to. I am excited to see the lights bulbs go off as they grasp a new concept in English and they teach me a new concept in Portuguese and teaching!

6. No Snakes

I am excited to not have to deal with snakes! I will never have to see them, unless I go to a zoo or aquarium! I am 99% sure that Portugal has some sort of special border that doesn’t allow snakes into the country!* It’s fantastic! For those of you who don’t know, I have an extreme fear of snakes. I am pretty sure they are of the devil, read Genesis 3. 

*This may or may not be true but if it’s not true don’t tell me!

7. Traveling!

I love seeing new places and experiencing new things, it must  be part of my heart for missions! One of the perks of living in a new place is that you get to explore a new place! Also, throughout my orientations with TEAM I have had the opportunity to become friends with a couple single ladies who are also heading to Europe to serve long term! We will all be arriving in our specific country around the same time and will be able to visit and talk with each other when we need encouragement and reenergizing. I am excited for this awesome support team God has put in place for us through TEAM!

8. Delicious coffee and food

I am a coffee addict. I love coffee. I could drink coffee anytime of the day and be perfectly content. A cup of coffee, a shot of espresso, a no foam latte, or anything else, as long as it has coffee in the name I am down to drink it! I am also excited to try new Portuguese dishes. I have had some yummy traditional foods and some foods that are specific to the north. For example, there is a sandwich called the francesinha, which translates to “little Frenchie”. I have no idea where the name came from because the sandwich is not little in any way. The sandwich is filled with wet cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage, and steak or roast meat, it is then covered in melted cheese and and a special thick sauce, and if that is not enough for you then you can also get a fried egg on top. The sandwich is served surrounded by french fries. When I tried the sandwich I could barely eat a quarter of it! It is an intense sandwich, I think Man vs. Food needs to try and eat the sandwich!

9. Fado

Portuguese folk music is called Fado and is almost like their version of the Blues. Fado means “fate” in Portuguese and can be described by the Portuguese word, “saudade”, which has no direct translate but it roughly translates to a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia but is often used to describe the Portuguese temperament. I first fell in love with the music because without understanding the words you can understand the emotion. To see Fado performed live in a Fado House is a special experience! Picture this, you are sitting in a dark dining restaurant that is usually in the basement and the only light comes from dim lights and candles, as you sit a woman comes out dressed all in black with a black shawl around her arms and she begins to belt out a song from the deepest parts of her soul. The music hits you and you sit in awe of the emotions being conveyed. This is why my heart loves Fado!

Check out this video to see one of my favorite fadistas, Mariza, perform "Meu Fado Meu":

10. Movies with intermissions!

This might sound silly but think about the last time you went to the movies, you get your drink and your snack and inevitably halfway through he movie you need to go the restroom! You don’t want to miss any part of the movie so you sit and suffer! But not in Portugal! Every movie has an intermission! It is fantastic! However, sometimes the intermission happens and the most inopportune time, for example during a monologue! Either way, you will always be thankful for the break and the opportunity to get a refresher!

Top 10 Things I am nervous about:

1. Going through culture shock

Culture shock will be one of the most difficult things I will have to go through when I am in Portugal. I have such a love for the country and for the people but I know that one day the things that I love are going to be hard for me. Some of the things that I already know are going to be difficult for me to acclimate to are their interpretation of time and how you accept something offered to you. To the best of my ability I always try and be on time or early to something but in Portugal this is a big no no! In Portugal, for example, if you are invited over for dinner and you arrive on time then you are telling your hostess that you don’t care about them and you are there for the food, but if you arrive late then you are telling your hostess that you care about them and the food does not matter. As for how you accept something offered to you, during my first trip to Portugal the missionaries I worked with would offer me a drink and if I said, “no,” they would normally respond with, “Is that a Portuguese no or an American no?” See, when something, like a drink, is offered to you in Portugal, you are first suppose to deny it and after being offered it a couple times and being assured it is not a bother, then you are allowed to accept it! I hope that I will be able to implement these cultural changes and that I will not struggle too much!

2. Not knowing Portuguese

For those of you who don’t know, I am a little more than half Portuguese and my last name is actually Portuguese. During my first trip to Portugal, I quickly realized that I needed to become like Madonna and not have a last name. If people found out that I was Portuguese, then I would normally get a lecture about how I was not a good Portuguese person or that my family failed me. I am nervous to go back to Portugal and not have a decent understanding of the language but, luckily, that will change quite quickly! I will not have to stay in this awkward state for long because I will be learning the language and I will eventually have a very firm understanding of the language!

3. Being far from family and friends

This is going to be a tough one. I have lived in a different State than my family but living in a different country will be hard. Currently, I have been living with my parents, grandma, and one of my nephews; and my brother and his family live two doors down. The only immediate family that lives faraway is my sister and one of my nephews in Arizona. I also have been blessed with amazing friends that have become like family and they have started their families. Being faraway from my family and friends will be hard, especially with nieces and nephews that range in age from a couple weeks old to 19 years old. Having to change our relationships to Skype and FaceTime based will be difficult but it will happen. Realizing that 3 of my nieces and nephews won’t remember me as someone who was with them now but will only know me as the auntie/tía on the computer. Knowing that the next time I see them in person they will be walking and talking is crazy to think about! 

4. attending University…again.

Attending university can always be a crazy adventure and doing so in a foreign country definitely seems like it has an extra dash of crazy! When I attended Multnomah, I started out not knowing anyone and had to start from complete scratch when it came to everything relationally. However, in Portugal I will know about 8 people!!! Oh man! Not knowing anyone, however, just means you get to meet new people!! 

5. Helping lead an English Ministry

See number 5 above and change excited to nervous…

6. Having to kill spiders

Well, if there is anything I hate/am horrified of as much as snakes, it would have to be spiders. I think they should all die but I am too scared to kill them. For real, I always call my dad to kill the spiders. I don’t think I will be able to call my dad to kill the spiders when I am living in Portugal and unfortunately Portugal’s border doesn’t keep out spiders like it does snakes. I wish my budget had a line item for a live in spider killer, or maybe I can just have that as a requirement for anyone who comes to visit me, they have to kill all the spiders!

7. Being single overseas

Fact: husbands were made to kill spiders. The end. 

8. Living situation

Will I have a roommate or will I be by myself? How many rooms will my apartment have? Where will it be located? What will my neighbors be like? will I have to buy a whole kitchen? These are just a few of the questions that go through my head whenever I think about moving to Portugal. It is pretty crazy to think that some huge decisions will have to be made by me when I get to Portugal. 

9. Not speaking up when needed

  For those who don’t know me well, I am not a confrontational person. I would rather just try and persevere through it than confront someone. However, over the last year I have been working on these skills because I need to be able to express my concerns or frustrations in a healthy way with my team. I have made huge leaps and bounds too! I have learned to speak up for myself in healthy and respectful way. However, I am nervous, because often I am more quiet and reserved when I first meet people because I want to observe them and figure out how to relate to them. When I am in this stage I tend to be even more non-confrontational. Hopefully I connect quickly and am able to build relationships with everyone quickly. 

10. Netflix

I love watching movies and shows to relax. I am currently watching the entire “House, M.D.” series. I don't think that Netflix is in Portugal…yikes! However, I have heard that you can buy this special program that will allow you to access American websites, aka Netflix and Hulu, but I am not sure about the cost or if it is even real. 

Exciting Changes and Goals!

The beginning of this year seems to have flown by and my goal departure date seems to be rushing towards me! Last Saturday I had a great event at Cypress Community Church, where I got to share about God’s ministry in Portugal and how I will be a part of that. My time in Portugal has had a few large changes made! Normally when a missionary is starting out and need to learn a language they are placed in a location to learn the language and then they are moved to their actual ministry location. This is done for a couple of reasons but the most important is so that if the missionary makes any huge language mistakes, they will not follow them in their ministry. For example, a young missionary goes to a bakery in her small village and orders, “um pão cortado (sliced bread)” and makes a cutting movement with her hands, because she is nervous about her language skills, but actually threatens the baker with a spanking if they do not give her the bread (oh the joys of non-verbal communication!). Although this is a pretty mild story, it is an example of the language mistakes that can happen and follow a missionary as they minister to the people in their area if they study the language in their ministry area. 

However, TEAM must have a little faith in my language learning skills because they are using me as a guinea pig to learning the language in the area that I will be ministering in. I am being made the guinea pig for a couple reasons. First, my main ministry focus at the church plant will be teaching English, which is definitely something I can do as I learn Portuguese. Second, the university that we will be focusing on has an excellent Portuguese program, and so it doesn’t make sense to study the language at a different university. Third, taking classes at the university will give me more opportunities to reach out to the university students and build more relationships. Lastly, since I will be attending the university I will be given the opportunity to live in the dorms for my first few months, which will again give me many great opportunities to build relationships with students at the university. 

My language learning and living arrangement changes are huge game changers in my access to the university students and ability to reach out to them. I will be able to promote the ministries currently going on at Norte Verdadeiro, the church plant, and invite many new people. I will also be helping out at those ministries and my involvement in ministries will increase as my language comprehension increases. I will be starting out focusing much of my time on the English ministry, game nights and easy English, but as my language skills increase I will be able to lead Bible studies and speak at women’s events. 

The current goal is for me to be in Portugal by the end of May or beginning of June. How do I get to Portugal? Through support, I currently need prayer and monthly financial support. The prayer support is the backbone to ministry overseas, and anywhere really. If you would like to join my prayer list please email me at serving.in.portugal@gmail.com. The other part is financial support. I am currently at ______ monthly support and I need to be at 60% by Tuesday, January 26, so that I can attend Pre-Departure Orientation, PDO, in February. By attending PDO in February I can leave for Portugal as soon as I hit 100% in monthly support. If I do not make it to PDO in February then I have to wait until the end of June to attend PDO and will not be able to leave for Portugal until after that. If you would like to become a monthly supporter, please email me at serving.in.portugal@gmail.com and I would love to share information with you about how to sign up. 

What I need to reach my upcoming goal:

2 people to pledge $25/month

4 people to pledge $50/month

1 person to pledge $100/month

Could you take on one of these pledges? Is there a different amount you could support me at? Would you like more information? Please contact me at serving.in.portugal@gmail.com

Portugal Dessert Night!

Bom dia! So much has happened in the last couple months! I was able to attend Organic Outreach in Monterey, Ca and have been able to meet with many amazing people! Yesterday I had the opportunity to Skype with a couple of the missionaries I will be working with in Portugal! I was able to gain new insight about ministries currently going on at Norte Verdadeiro (True North in English, the church plant in Braga, Portugal) and I was able to gain more insight about what my first 4 years in Portugal will look like! I am more excited than ever to get to Portugal and to begin language study and ministry to the university students! If you would like to hear about what ministries are currently going on at Norte Verdadeiro, how I will fit into the mix, and what my time in Portugal will look like, then I would like to invite you to my event on January 16 at 6:30pm, at Cypress Community Church, Portuguese Dessert Night. At the Portuguese Dessert Night you will have the opportunity to eat yummy Portuguese treats like arroz doce, salame de chocolate, and the very special pastéis de natas; listen to amazing Portuguese Fado sung by some great fadistas; and most importantly you will get to hear about God’s ministry to university students in Braga, Portugal. This is also a great event to invite your friends or small group. 

This month I also have some big goals ahead of me!! I am currently trying to get to Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) in February. To get to PDO I need to be at 60% of my support, I am currently at 41% of my monthly support support, which makes me about 19% ($780 in monthly support) from my goal. This goal is very attainable! If you would like to be one of the new supporters to help me reach my goal or would like more information please contact me, serving.in.portugal@gmail.com! If I go to PDO in February then I can leave for Portugal anytime after that (as long as I am at 100% of my support). However, if I don’t go in February then I have to wait until June for PDO and I won’t be able to leave for Portugal until after that. I would love to be in Portugal as soon as possible so that I can get situated before diving into intensive language classes over the summer! 

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for January 16 at 6:30pm!! It will be a great event to learn more about God’s ministry in Portugal!!! Please let me know that you would like to come (so I can make sure we have enough yummy desserts!) serving.in.portugal@gmail.com. 

Blessings,

Diane

Encouragement from Portland

Two weeks ago I got to spend the week in Portland meeting with different people about Portugal. It was a whirlwind trip of meetings with old and new friends. I started my week by meeting with a missionary kid from Portugal, who is now the librarian at Multnomah. This was a great time of talking about our common love for Portugal and the ministry currently going on in the villages and towns. Monday evening, I also spoke with a fundraising coach from TEAM and it was great to get his opinion on my talk and his encouragement to trust God while I am in the fundraising phase.

One of my favorite evenings during the whole trip was when I got to meet with 7 individuals that worked on the mission field in Portugal. It was an amazing time of hearing their stories of what God did in Portugal while they were there. It was also a great time of encouragement for me also, at one point my hand could not write as fast as they were giving me ideas for support raising. They were giving me ideas for churches to reach out to and communities I should target for support. I hope that I can meet with all of them again in February when I, hopefully, head back to Portland for some more support and relationship building.

The following day I got to meet one-on-one with a couple from the night before, the Wootens. The Wootens have been mentors to me since I met them back in 2009. We began with just writing letters because they lived about 6 hours away but when they moved to Portland I was able to meet with them weekly. Our weekly meetings included a cup of Portuguese coffee, talking about the mission field, and lessons in Portuguese. Sharon would get her notes out from when she learned Portuguese and would go through each lesson teaching me a new skill in Portuguese. I loved hearing all of the different stories from their time on the mission field. During my time with the Wootens, 2 weeks ago, things were much the same however the Portuguese lesson was replaced with them encouraging me in my support raising and journey to the mission field.

Overall, my trip to Portland was filled with encouragement from friends and retired missionaries. It was just what I needed as I strive for my upcoming goals. I needed the reminders that God is in control and will get me to the mission field when He wants me there. I needed the reminder to trust God! It is a concept that has always been in the back of my mind and I would remind myself of from time to time but it was exactly what I needed to hear from other people. Sometimes you need others to remind you of the simplest things about your faith.

As I look ahead here are some of my goals and prayer requests...

Goals:
1. To get very close to or at 60% by mid-September...that's two weeks away!

2. To attend Pre-Departure Orientation in October (I need the 60% to attend)
3. To prepare to leave well, even though it is not anytime soon.

Prayer:

1. I remember and hold fast to trusting God during this time.

2. Meetings with potential supporters go well.

3. I am able to attend Pre-departure Orientation in October.

4. The missionaries currently working in Braga start out the university school year well.

5. The hearts of the university students are prepared to hear and receive the gospel.

My Current Support Status:

365-14 days till Portugal....

My wonderful mentor, given to me by TEAM, has worked out an amazing timeline for me. On this amazing timeline my mentor has given me a departure date (God willing). April 18, 2016. 351 days. Before I met my coach, I had a great departure date, sometime in June 2016. I figured June would give me enough time to get situated and ready for an intensive summer Portuguese program, but I guess April is better.

I was going to write this post 2 weeks ago when it would have been 365 days but I got overwhelmed. I started thinking about the things that I would be missing when I was gone. I will be missing birthdays, milestones, and good old fun with my family and friends. I started thinking about what time would be best for me to leave, but I could think of a reason to stay for just about every month. I had to realize that although I will be missing some great memories, I will also be making some amazing memories, great friends, and an adoptive family. Most importantly, though, I will be doing what God has called me to do.

God called me to the mission field 12 years ago (That is just crazy!!!) and I have been preparing to go ever since. I went to Multnomah for the purpose of preparing myself for ministry overseas, ministry in Portugal. I have had times of extreme excitement and extreme sadness on my road to Portugal, but I wouldn't trade a moment for anything. In each of those moments, both happy and sad, God was teaching me and growing me into the person I am today and preparing me for ministry. And I can't WAIT!!!! I am beyond excited to finally be so close to heading to Portugal to work in ministry! A calling that I have had for so long!

Before I head to Portugal, though, there are many things that I have to do to prepare for life overseas. First, I have to prepare myself for life overseas and family life via Skype. I have to network and fundraise, sharing my story with many people. I have to go to Chicago for pre-diparture orientation, hopefully in October! I am so excited for the next 351 days and for the adventures God will be taking me on! Here's to Portugal April 18, 2016!!!