From our corner of the world.: Igreja Evangelica Batista

Today, as fitting on Sundays, we went to church. The church we went to, a local baptist church, is one that we are partnering with to plant another church in the town we are living in. And boy, did they welcome us with open arms and kisses on the cheeks! One lady took me by the hand and walked me around introducing me to everyone she could find. A little girl came up to me after service and gave me a hug and tried to speak to me in English, so I tried to speak to her in Portuguese. She was our shadow for much of the afternoon after that :)

The street the church is on.

I tried to get a close-up after we left, but it is
the white building.

All in all, it was so great to finally meet the people we will be in fellowship with as well as working with over the next couple of years. During service, the pastor talked about the history of missions in Acts and then went on to talk about the beginning of the history of missions in Vila do Conde (at least, that is what I caught with the little portuguese I know!). He brought us up front along with his son and his son's wife and the other families living in Vila do Conde. It really was great to stand up there knowing exactly why we are here and standing beside people who want the same thing, of which with some of them we can't even communicate with. Pretty spectacular to be used by God in this way. Here's to a God and a gospel that transcends culture!

Potluck lunch! Mmm. We like this church already
:)

A closer look at lunch. On the left are two different types of
Feijoada: bean stew, usually with beef and pork.
It is a typical dish in both Portugal and Brazil.
And Michelle brought the American dish: a la macaroni.