Faces of Portugal

Hilldale will take a mission team to Porto, Portugal next July. Should you be going with us?

Porto, Portugal

Copied from offbeattravel.com
"Porto, Portugal, is a city with soul, populated with a genial and supportive community. The unhurried pace of life in Porto mirrors the graceful flow of ocean waves rolling on her shores and makes the strife in the world seem distant and remote. Brilliant blue skies set against red tile roofs and the sun glittering on the Douro River summon the anticipation of summer and the promise of adventures to unfold. Northern Portugal is a remarkable oasis for travelers in a destination-saturated planet."

 

 

"Old Porto is the hub for sightseeing, cuisine and river tours. Amidst the narrow streets that wind their way through town lie several stretches of pedestrian-only cobblestone streets. These quaint thoroughfares are lined with shops and cafes, bistros and wine bars."

 

"The public squares in Porto are filled with ornate fountains and Portuguese statues, overlooking grand stone churches and the multi-colored tiled fronts of old buildings; the structures contain shops and businesses on the ground level and apartments and small pensions on the higher floors. It is common to see the city's residents gazing from their small balconies down on the colorful and busy streets."

 

 

This coming July I will be leading a group from Hilldale Baptist Church to work in Porto with Andy and Michelle Milam. Check them out here The 4 Milams Their January Newsletter is posted below. (We are one of the groups mentioned coming in the summer.) Andy is a friend of mine who was a Worship Pastor here in Tennessee until a few years ago when he and his family answered God's call to full-time mission work in Portugal. They are very excited about us coming to join them in their work.

Here are a few of the opportunities that await us in Porto:

• teaching English classes at some of the churches (notice the English classes in the newsletter below)
• helping with a block party
• encouraging the congregation of Igreja Batista de Antas and helping equip them for future church planting
• prayer walking

We can add to this list if you have experience in other mission activities and want to join us. Let me know if you are interested in going. If you feel God calling you to go I know He will help you with the funds to make the trip possible.

Click on newsletter to enlarge it so you can read it.

ESL Update

I ain't gonna say ain't no more cuzz me and Joebob is gonna learn you some good English.

If you don't have a problem with that first sentence ESL probably shouldn't be your first ministry choice. Just thinkin' out loud... haha.

I'm very excited about our new ESL Ministry. We have around 20 people who are part of our team. We have had some great responses from people in the community.

For example - I was at one of the local restaurants last week and gave a poster to the gentleman at the register. He said, "I'll have to tell everyone about it." I was thinking, "I know. That's why I gave you the poster." As I was leaving one of the employees came over to see what we were talking about. I heard her say - very excitedly - "Oh! English classes! We have to go!"

We have decided on a curriculum that looks very good. It's called "Side by Side." When I ordered the teacher books the lady at Delta Publishing said it was their most popular product and always had the most orders. I was happy to hear that.

On Sunday afternoon, September 26, we will have our first ESL class. The first day is just an informal getting-to-know-you type meeting. We'll have refreshment, fill out enrollment forms and everyone gets to take a test. A test? Yes. We need to know how many need to be in a beginner class and how many in an intermediate class. We probably need an advanced class too, but we need to have some more teachers trained.

Speaking of training teachers... we're working with the Language Missions folks at the TBC (Tennessee Baptist Convention)TBC Language Missions to have an ESL training here in Clarksville next winter. This will allow several on our ESL Ministry Team to take the training so they can be certified ESL instructors.

So what can you do to be a part of this ministry?
Pray for us as ESL Ministry Team members that God will guide us in what we do and that we will be effective in our new ministry..
Pray for our students that they will come and not only learn some English, but will see the love of Christ and want to know more about Him.
Pray that in the weeks to come that we will have opportunities to share our faith with our students.
Tell others about this learning opportunity. Are there people you work with that would benefit from English classes? (and I don't mean your Southern friends who say "ain't" and use double negatives. They had their chance in 8th grade to learn English. haha)

Maybe there are parents of some of your child's classmates whose first language isn't English. They may be very excited to know that they could improve their English with free classes. (And we'll tell them they ain't suppose to say ain't.)

I'll keep you updated about how our ESL ministry is going. We're all excited! Woohoo!