Kingdom Seekers

We have been in Portugal now for almost two months. We arrived on 6 July 2024, so today is day 54. Just over 7 weeks. Our last update on our Whatsapp group was more than a month ago. We are still in the process of finding rhythms and making time to plan, write and send our updates and communication. Here’s what’s been happening this last month.

This month flew by so fast. We had 6 interns living in the house with us, so we had a full house. This meant that we also had a full life, but also full hearts. In the last few weeks we have been struggling to stick to our disciplines and rhythms that we are trying to build to create some structure and stability for our life here. It felt like we had no routine or fixed schedule because we were spending a lot of time with the interns and other people.

All of this helped us to explore and get to know the city of Porto better and to also make time to do fun things and learn to enjoy our surroundings and life here.

The Douro river that runs through Porto into the ocean.

Eating the traditional Portuguese dessert – Pastel de nata. It almost tastes like South Africa’s milktart/ melktert.

We had a fun city tour day with all of the interns. It was super special to explore and experience the city together.

Porto is BEAUTIFUL!

Gaia is another part of the city across the river from where we stay.

We’ve gone on two different hikes with friends. There are many beautiful hiking spots close to us. (20-30mins drive)

This is a beach in Gaia which is across the river from where we stay. We looked after a friend’s house and pets this past weekend while she was away. It was a massive blessing and felt like a weekend away.

August has been a lovely warm summer month. We are thankful that we had some time to also fit in a few beach days. We love living at the coast and look forward to embracing and utilising the perks of this more and more as we settle in.

We love going for walks to the beach in the evening after dinner, since the sun only sets around 21:00. This evening we worshiped and prayed together on the beach. What a blessing! Thank you Lord.

We haven’t been spending a lot of time surfing, but we have had a few good surf sessions with the church on Sundays, and when friends invite us to go with them. André is getting his surfer look on and his tan is fitting in well with the Portuguese people.

I think in a way it was good for us to relax and be less task focused this past month. The first month that we got to Portugal we were so disoriented and just focused on figuring things out and trying to adapt to all the change. We were also very task driven to organise and buy things for the house. Every day we had so many to do lists and we were constantly thinking about what’s the next thing we need to work on and get done. We struggled to take time off to make time for fun and rest, but this past month we tried to live more in the moment and be more present with the people we are surrounded by. Sometimes it’s okay to relax and just go with the flow, but the flow can also keep you busier than you thought it would.

Connecting with people has also helped us to start building our lives and friendships here. It has been so difficult to leave all our people behind, and it is a blessing now to start building relationships with friends here.

Now, three of the interns have already gone back home. It was so sad to say goodbye. They were here when we first arrived in Porto, so it feels like we got to know Portugal with them in it, and it feels so strange to now have Portugal without them.

The other three interns left on Monday morning to go to Surf Camp for the week. So this week is the first time that André and I are home alone. It feels quiet and empty, but now we have time to refocus ourselves and to prioritise finding routine and rhythms so that we can transition well and settle in.

We are greatful that we got to celebrate and witness three baptims this month. We pray for many more to come.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_LrQ0ACeec/?igsh=azZ2bnpzd3lvZGE0

August has been a blessed and fruitful month. We look forward to September and the months ahead. We pray for all of you to have a wonderful September and spring time in South Africa.