Thursday

We're home!  After being stuck in Newark Sunday night, we split up and made it home safely on different flights on Monday.  All is well!

What an amazing trip!  It is over, but the experiences will last a lifetime. I don't think any of us came back the same people.  We were so impressed with the staff and volunteers of Teen Challenge and what they are accomplishing in Portugal.  We joined them as they went into the darkest corners of Lisbon to witness to men and women on the streets.  We felt God's presence at the Coffee Shop as some of those men and women gave their hearts and lives to our Lord.  We saw the joy in their hearts serving our Lord.


We thank all of our new friends for their hospitality and love.  We will continue to pray for them and their ministry. We will never forget.  Here are a few snaps of our new friends.......May God Bless you in mighty ways!!

Part of the gang at the coffee shop

Rui and Sandy 

Rui and Sandra

Sophia

Toze

Carlos, Director of Teen Challenge, and his wife Julia, with Pastor Brad and Jana

Paulo and Catalin

Friday - the A team (aka Annointed Team) cleaned the compound. We swept, hauled junk and garbage to the dumpster, and organized the storage area.  When the bosses are away, we tend to play:)

This will be our final posting for awhile. We will not have access to internet tomorrow and Sunday is a travel day. God has blessed us in so many ways. The blessings have been coming and going. Goose bumps from the Holy spirt have been felt all around.

We hope to make more entries in a few days.   We say farewell to our new friends from Fanhoes and Teen Challenge. We appreciate their hospitality and are so amazed with how God is using them on the streets of Lisbon. 

Friday
Today B Team worked in the kitchen to serve lunch to the Teen Challenge Campus.  Bobbie was the top chef with many helpers.  Bobbie is truly gifted at making food for a large number of people.  It was a truly amazing experience, and the food was wonderful.  We were told by one of the counselers that calories are little bugs that sneak into your room at night and eat your clothes until they shrink.  Working side-by-side with our new friends was so much fun! 

This trip has been absolutely life-changing! It was day one.

Operation Joshua has been the most interesting to me, their mission is amazing! They constantly go out on the streets and are known by name by the local men and women, they take classes, they live in a community setting that is close and yet so welcoming.

They have been so kind to all of us and have opened their homes, hearts and lives to us, everyone we met has. It's so nice to see people go out of their way to make complete strangers feel at home. Their joy is contagious!

Thank you for the prayers! They are truly felt!
Amanda

The B team, AKA BLESSED team went to Lisbon to work with the children. They helped serve a snack , sang songs with the children and gave them presents. The children were taught a lesson on forgiveness.

Prior to going to Lisbon they worked in the kitchen, went grocery shopping for tomorrows meal, and cleaned the chapel. They were also honored to be invited into the home of one of the staff members named Toza for coffee, cookies,  and persimons. The hospitality, and love we have been shown has been amazing.

Cooking for 130 folks here at the center. Grandma Bobbie exercising one of her many gifts with Anna Harrington. Pray for these people cuz they ain't ready to eat her cooking cuz it's delicioso my frenz.

Gary

Hey Everyone,  Is there big enough words for what we have seen this week?  Amazing just doesn't cover it !!!  We will have to design a new word for all the incredible things that have happened to us and through us this week.  Memories of a lifetime ---- again is just to cliche' for what we have been part of.  And then there are the friendships that are being established........ WOW !!!!  Again just not a big enough word.  All I can do this thank God for everything, everyone, and all He has done with and through us.  He continues to show us His work in us and hopefully his plans for us.  Thank you again for all your prayers,  in His name,  Lori