Three months in....

I find that life is moving quickly here in Portugal. Around the 20th of January, I left the snow laden country side of Michigan to be greeted by the sunshine bathed mountains and seaside of Portugal. I have now been living in Portugal a good solid three months. It is hard to believe that the time has passed so quickly and yet my life in Michigan seems so far away. So many things have happened that it is hard to believe that it has only been three months and not three years! Upon my arrival I bought a car that I had little idea how to drive and absolutely no idea where I was driving to. Since, I have somewhat mastered the stick shift and now have a continually growing map of the area discovering new side streets and short cuts every day. (I am also happy to say that Joao, my car, is sounding much better after getting a new muffler!) When I arrived in January, I moved into a fully furnished apartment with my roommate Jasmin. However, since the beginning of this past month, we have been looking for a new place to live in since our current land lords wish to make the big bucks renting it out for vacationers during the summer. I have decided to move to a new place with a couple different roommates. My new home will now be in a cute spacious apartment located only a 5 minute walk from the boardwalk running along the beach. Along with the apartment, I have gained two new wonderful roommates and a dog!  Stefanie and Ashley are two American girls from the deep south of North Carolina who are working with Young life in the international schools here in area. They are both fun loving girls who love to entertain and host. They are also both good cooks which is great news for me because I can’t cook and have hence been living off of salads and grilled cheese! I will be moving in sometime during the next week and am hoping to grab a few men to help in the process of lifting our new fridge up three flights of stairs. I don’t have a ton of stuff yet, but after a couple trips to Ikea, one does seem to attain more heavy lifting items. I’m looking forward to feeling settled in my new home. When I arrived in January, rain seemed like an every day occurrence, but since then the weather has made a turn for the better with still warmer days to come. My volleyball team has also been reaching new heights as we are now into tournament play. We ranked high enough to continue on in the league and with some extra leg squats and more work on our defense, I think we have a real shot at victory, at least that’s what our coach keeps telling us. Ministry is also going well. I am will be leading the youth every other Sunday in exploring the different ways in how we connect with God, beginning first with discovering how we can connect with God in nature by going on hikes together, reading scripture and sharing our experiences with each other. I have continued to teach physical education at Conerstone Academy and might even get to doing some teaching at Lighthouse, the surfer small group that meets on Sunday evenings. God continues to open up doors for ministry and who knows what another three months will bring. Thanks so much for all your support, prayers, thoughts and care packages! I have been truly blessed. Hope to hear from you soon!