The graduate, summer journeying, and back to school for ALL of us

Classes complete, tongue twisted, and diploma in hand, Steve aced his first semester of Portuguese at the University of Coimbra. Did we have any doubts that this Master’s prepared pilot could do it? No. But, was it harder than he thought? Yes. He described it like taking 3 years of a language in high school combined into several weeks. It’s not called an “intensive” semester for nothing! He went from Portuguese “ABC’s” to “ I was 17 years old when I went to Africa for the first time”. Yikes! Steve absorbed as much as he could, but we’re both hoping for a good review next semester and a slower pace in the next level which starts September 1.

The University’s “Faculdade de Letras” held a mini ceremony for the summer language students in one of their beautiful conference rooms at the end of July. Royal blue fabric walls, long mahogany table and chairs, and old books lining the walls from the early 1900’s decorated the ceremony room. One of the professors gave the welcome and charge to encourage every student to continue learning and practicing Portuguese. Via Skype or email, the professors would be available to the students in the upcoming year for any questions. 100 students from about a dozen different countries excitedly accepted their diplomas and began the next chapter of their careers. For one girl, that meant returning to Iceland and finishing her last year of high school while her older sister advances to the next level of Portuguese and beyond in order to obtain her engineering degree at the university. Can you imagine getting an entire professional degree in a foreign language? For another student, he was just learning Portuguese for summer fun. For many others from France, China, and Japan, knowing a 3rd language means greater job opportunities.

What a cool testimony for Steve to share why he is learning Portuguese! And believe me, many have asked. He kinda sticks out… he’s the “old” guy 🙂 He may only be 30, but he’s got an average of a decade on most of these students! When Steve shared why he’s there, most are in awe that we’d go to Africa, let alone with a young family. And yet many others have been inspired, saying that they would love to come visit and help one day. We may need to start recruiting at the School of Medicine for our MozMed program and the mission hospital! We’ll see. Either way, being the hands, feet, and testimony of the Gospel is why we are here today. We look forward to continuing this journey building relationships with classmates, sharing our story and sharing the Good News. By this time next year, we will be able to share the love of Jesus Christ in the air and on the ground more effectively in Portuguese!

Would you believe everybody is Europe takes the month of August off? Its like the entire continent shuts down and takes vacation. They call it “ferias”, or in English “holidays”. What a great way to rest and spend time with family. It’s been a nice break for us to recharge, and get ready for everybody’s first day of school on Monday (including Hannah). We took the opportunity to explore the country a little bit and even crossed the border to Spain. Steve and I are learning that our days of exploring Europe look very different than when we were in college. This past month: forget the museums, cultural performances, and late night outings. We found the BEST parks for kids to run around and crawl in, learned how to cut up just about every kind of cultural delicacy in bite-sized pieces (and found the best McDonalds in all of Europe with a huge indoor playground), and learned how to majorly SLOW down and enjoy the ride (literally, sometimes riding the Metro IS the amusement of the day).

We did, however, see some historical sites and eat local yummy cultural food. We explored the Lisbon aquarium, visited a cathedral/ monastery where Vasco da Gama is buried (Portugual’s greatest explorer of the 1400’s), walked through Madrid’s Royal Palace (Bekah kept asking where the King and Queen were), and ate Spanish paella and churros con chocolate. They did pretty well in the car too. Coming back to our apartment in Coimbra, Portugal after some exploring was really good for us. We were all happy to return “home.” Up until now, life in Coimbra still seemed a somewhat foreign to us. What a breath of fresh air to return to the place that we’ve made our little nest, safe-haven, and place of refuge. For that we are so grateful.

Tomorrow morning we ALL start school! Steve and I are in Level 2 of Portuguese language class at the University of Coimbra. Bekah is in the 4-year-olds class of a local Portuguese pre-school and is super excited about it. She is now 100% potty-proficient since learning that was a requirement for attending her school! Hannah will be in a baby’s class at a local daycare near to Bekah’s school.

Please pray for us all in a great ability to learn and understand the language and to be lights to all we meet. Pray for Bekah to make friends well, be bold in using her limited Portuguese, and to thrive in her new school. Pray for Hannah to adjust well to new caregivers, acclimate to being away from us each day (napping, taking a bottle, etc…), and for her to thrive, as well, in her new environment. Praise God for a recent positive report about Bekah’s eye (still doing well, exactly as it should be), solid neighbors who care about us, and His peace in being so far from family and friends. God is good. We trust and thank Him in all challenges and blessings.

Thank you for praying, caring for us, and reading about our journeys. Let the new school year begin!