30 May 2007

gOt cOmPaNy 4 fEw dAyS...


And what a company!!! My special little brothers and sister...Jesse Borden (Lisa 's oldests son), Dane, Christian and Carlie...
They are so great and so fun !!! We've been among many things (like helping me watering the plants ) having lots of fun observing all sorts of animals, climbing trees, and now they are determined to dig the old canal that used to fill our swiming pool !!!
Huuuurray !!! Hopefully we can go for a swim tomorrow already... But here are some the pictures...
They will still stay till friday :-)


Chris cleaning a bit the pond...well, and playing with the frogs :-)

Picking cherries...they're getting good !!!

Jesse always needs to be wild...he just can't help it...his African nature !!! :-) don't worry, he didn't eat it..nor harm it !!! The frog is safe !!!

And we found in the pool a smaller turtle to join the one in the big pond... I was already wondering how I could get a friend to the one in the big pond :-) So cool !!! I hope they get along ...

They also climbed the trees... they can't help it !!! :-)

Cool Picture ha !!!

Yep, they were high !!!


Aren't they sweet ?!!!


And silly too !!! Daaane !!

Jesse got me !!!

Check out this nice cherries...and the beautiful flowers that Carlie arranged!!! and Dane , still silly !!! :-) I love him !!!

fresh mint tea !!!

Carlie making some handicraft out of oak seeds!!!


Digging the canal for the water to go to our pool !!! Yey !!! soon we'll be swiming!!! Hopefully !!! :-) This guys are great !!! This will improve the summer here :-) For sure !!!

And resting as well !!!

O.K, gotta go... we're all hungry now !!!
Maybe next week I'll come for more updating !!!!

17 May 2007

mUcH wOrK tHeSe dAyS...


Pfff... I'm feeling tired these days!!! The sun is getting stronger and the plants bigger, so they need much more water... which means, much more buckets to carry (more than a 100 a day) :-/ Fiiiiiu !!! My muscles are getting stronger as well :-) !!! Look at that !!! eh, eh, eh... goophy me !!!
But things are getting really beautiful on the land :-)... here goes some pictures with sub-titles...


I'm missing Miri here :-/ ... I saw her last time in Porto as I came from the weekend in Germany... she'll be out for 3 weeks or more, she doesn't really know...but she will go back for sure to finish her driving lisence :-) she'll probably stay in Germany for the G8 protests...How I wish to go to... most of "da famaly" will be there... pray for these guys during these days... A lot of "Jesus Freaks"/Germany and the "Speak" network/UK will be together there as "angels" of peace... they'll be hosting an area in the activist campsite for respite, prayer and reflection and taking part in various campaign actions. Check the Speak web site for more details...
This is Bruno explaining me how to work with the water motor...so cool !!! Now it's much easier to water the potatoes and onions, and me and Willi are preparing a little plan to take the water down for the veggie garden and the new trees...

Look how our "dolls' garden" is... that's what our neighboors call it... Oh well, I can't plant much than this for now... too much work already...with the water system maybe we can plant more :-)


We've already eaten our own lettuce :-) Yammy !!! Oh and the "radies" are gonne already...they were good !!! our first fruits!!!
It's so nice to watch things grow and then taste it...

And the green peas are getting ready as well... so sweet !!!

The Cherry season has started too ... wow, they're soooo good !!! If you want to come and work there are a lot of people around who have big fields and need workers :-) ... It can be a good experience... the season goes till the end of June I guess !!!


I've also find some interesting animals lately ...
like few snakes swiming in the smaller pond... But they're not poisonous, so it's ok, maybe they kill some of the frogs to keep it balanced !!! :-)

I also found in the big pond this sweet turtle... so cool !!! I thought I saw it before, last year, but I was not sure if it was a turtle or a frog... I was so happy to see it...

And this is just one of the many frogs we have in both ponds... Nice music all night :-)

This is Michu again... having a nice nap as I was playing my guitar... At least I guess I'm not playing that bad... if she can sleep !!! eh, eh, eh...


And this last one you'll not be able to see it, but the part on the right is the "roof" of my hut in the woods, and on the left there's a considerable big foot print of a wild pig... Yes, they are around, and I was caught by surprise in the middle of the night with this strange and loud sound from the woods... I knew it could only be wild pigs, and they sounded like a big family...I didn't know what to do, and I was only afraid that they would not see the tent and would fall on me through the plastic "roof" ... Oh well, I could hear it just next to me on the other side of the plastic... I just prayed and I had a lighter in my hand wandering if I should light it or not... I had no idea what their reaction could be... so I did it... I lit the lighter and I kept hearing it smelling... after a while they went away... Pfffiu !!! Cool, now I know what to do next time :-)
I like that these animals are around... Makes life much more exciting !!! And it's nice that they can be around us :-)


07 May 2007

cOmMuNiTy… uToPiA oR rEaLiTy ?!!!


I just arrived from a 4 day trip to Germany where I got to meet some friends from different countries in Europe… Some I already knew from some other times ( Connect Europe , Jesus Freaks , Slot Art Festival ), some others I got to know and hear their stories for the first time…
This was a time not only to connect with people but also to pray and share together a common desire : TO LIVE IN COMMUNITY !!!


This was not a new topic for me as I’ve been desiring and actually living in community in different settings for the last 11 years or so… even before I heard about Jesus and His Kingdom !!! Actually, I met Jesus in a community, and I guess I would always resist Him if it was any other way :/ God knows how to lead us, Ha?!!! ☺
For me personally community is the best setting to realize Jesus is real in the lives of those who follow Him… and that His teachings can be practiced in real life !!!

I have to admit that these days were not satisfactory for me in terms of getting to share specific questions and struggles which living together in community brings up… As most of those who participated are not living together in community, but mostly just thinking about it or more as “dispersed communities” (not living together in the same place, as I’m more interested in)…
We heard good stories though of how God is using some of them in the society through their gifts or professions…
But as Mirko (Jesus Freaks) said, it was worthy just to be there and meet everyone, no matter what the theme would be :-)… It was a good hang out time, the weather was great and the place was nice…I enjoyed a lot of conversations I had during meals or at break times…
It was encouraging and hopeful to realize that God is sharing the same desires and dreams everywhere :-) It always makes me confident that we’re on the right track ...

I had some thoughts during these days , but couldn't really express them till now…
one of them is that it would be good for Christians to visit some of the already existing communities in Europe for a while…we can learn a lot of things from them …there’s a book called “Eurotopia” with more than 300 “intentional communities” (that’s the term they also use) and “Eco villages” already registered in more than 23 countries, from Iceland to Israel and all over Europe …
I thought a lot about the name “EUROTOPIA”… if they would only knew that that is right in the centre of God’s heart :-), and that Jesus can make the Utopia into REALITY :-) …
But there are many people going for it already !!! believing there must be a better way to live in this world…

It also made me think that this all thing about living in communities is a longing that God must have put in every human’s heart, because in a way, we all desire it :-) , even not knowing it’s God’s will for us…
HUMANS WERE NOT CREATED TO LIVE ALONE…WE WERE ALL CREATED TO LIVE IN COMMUNITY…
I believe in this !!!

Going to a Rainbow gathering would be also good for a lot of Christians ... But it would be good to be sure first that Jesus is the way :-), because some people get so impressed by the way they live together, share lives together, serve one another, etc, that they end up being confused about “Christianity”… because the truth Iis that most of Christian communities and so called “churches” don’t really put those things in practice… which we are all longing for, deep inside of us …
The next European Gathering will be in Bosnia I guess, but you can try to find out in the internet, or maybe the information will come to you (that will be more rainbow style :-) )…

I’m just sharing this because I realized how much I learnt with these people, whether rainbow people or other freaks in Europe, Indian families in India, and Angolans in Angola…

Spending some time in Africa, Asia or South America (living with native people and preferably “middle class” ones) would be a good suggestion as well to learn more about what is to live together in community , sharing all things, living simple, etc…


Simply traveling together is a good way as well… I love that and had nice experiences already!!!

I was also reminded of my time in YWAM community (Youth With A Mission) in Angola where I learnt sooooo much…things that I believe will be part of me forever… That’s where God took me to get to know who He really is :-) and where I received the basic teachings of Jesus which I carry till today… From that time, I keep in my heart and mind most of my best models of Jesus’s friends and imitators… friends with whom I lived together with for almost one and a half year…seeing God providing, making miracles and changing hearts…

Actually , when I think or share about people who really showed me Jesus and taught me His teachings, I think about people with whom I lived together with (like the Borden’s in Lisbon ☺ )… whether for long or short time… whether in a specific place or on the road :-)
We can learn many things through sermons, teachings, books, etc… but when I live with the person who is teaching me something, I recognize the authority of their words or actions, in their daily lives, by the way they relate with others, by the way they face struggles, etc…
Well, but that’s me !!!

As I write all this I feel really thankful for the way God has been leading me till today… And I believe our lives today are just the result of what we lived before, and will be part of what we’re going to live tomorrow …


In the last day I was really blessed to get to know Dave, his wife Susan, and their beautiful daughter Sarah , and spend the rest of the Sunday with them, visiting their friends and family…getting to see where Dave spends most of the days with the neighborhood kids and the love and passion he speaks about them…
After this days Dave has a lot to process he said, and he considers now that maybe he is being a community together with these kids, he just never thought about that before :-)

I also got to enjoy their amazing hospitality sleeping at their place and being driven to the airport at 5.30 am …
That’s the way I love to meet people :-) it makes me feel we are all part of a big family :-) And aren’t we ?!!!
Of course we are !!!
Phil, from UK also shared how amazing it was to spend 3 days with people from a lot of different nations whom we never met before, and how easy it was to share our hearts and have deep conversations with one another…
THAT’S THE FAMILY OF OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN… THAT’S THE KINGDOM OF GOD AT WORK !!!

So, do we believe life in community is not merely an Utopia ?!!!
And what could make us different from so many others ?!!!
A girl who was here at the land some weeks ago said : " I went to many communities before, but this one is different !!!" ... what was it so different then, I wonder ?!!!
Do we believe the way Jesus lived together with His 12 friends is still possible this days ?!!!
Do we believe the way Jesus’s friends kept living together with others in the first centuries (before Constantine decided to make christianity another oficial religion) is possible today as well?!!!
LIVING TOGETHER EVERYDAY…PRAYING TOGETHER… LEARNING WITH JESUS' TEACHINGS…SHARING AND HAVING ALL THINGS IN COMMON…ONE IN HEART AND MIND...SEEING THE POWER OF GOD AT WORK THROUGH OUR LIVES, BEING ADMIRED AND RESPECTED BY THE SOCIETY THEY WERE SURROUNDED WITH, ETC…
(ACTS 2:42 TO 4, ETC )