ThE FirE iS hErE!!!

I was this Monday at a prayer meeting of young people in Porto (in the north). Some time ago they had 200 young people together praying for Portugal …I was really encouraged by what they´re doing…I shared with them about the 24-7 prayer rooms and about the Prayer Campaign in April…I challenged them to set an experiment room of 2 or 3 days before April and they seam to be interested…they are from different denominations and not only from Porto but also other districts around…and they are praying that God will join more denominations and more people from other districts…it´s so cool…they call themselves “Aliança” (Alliance)… they are having wisdom with the pastors as well, they are not in a rebel attitude, but they recognize the changes that need to take place …besides the Monday meetings, they also have every once in a while a meeting called “The fire is here” and that´s where they had 200 young people…they try to invite different people to preach and last time they had a pastor from a gipsy church with prophetic gift and it was powerful… of course some pastors didn´t like and even said some things were heretic… from all the 4 big gathering they had, there´s always some pastors saying they don´t agree with this or that, but then they just accept their opinion and thank them for telling them, but still, they allow God to be the judge in their hearts…I felt a lot of potential there…the only thing was that most of them were Brazilians and Peruvians, not so many Portuguese, but on the bigger gatherings there´s more Portuguese I think…
Wow, I´m happy and hopeful …
I believe the youth will break a lot of the things that divide the Body of Christ in Portugal…Pray for that !!!
Oh well, if this is God´s, who will stop it :-)

MORE ON THE PRAYER CAMPAIGN

O.K guys, I think we need to change strategy here…
I`ve been travelling with Paulo Pascoal to share the vision of the prayer rooms for April, but I feel we´ll get no where through pastors…I mean about the Prayer Campaign, ´coz Paulo is sharing about the vision of reaching every county still unreached in Portugal…But for the Prayer Campaign I feel we need to reach the youth…
We´ll have a prayer room set in a Mission Congress for youth between the 29th of December till the 1st of January…And we´re still struggling to convince them to project some power points we have to challenge all the youth there (around 300)…
So, what came yesterday to my heart, and I already started to challenge some people about it, is to connect with key young people in different districts and organize prayer rooms of 24 hours for 2 or 3 days…just for them to get the taste and desire for more :-)
We want to challenge the youth at the Mission Congress to participate in the organization of one of those, so they can get the vision and spread it to other districts…
So, I need your prayers for this…
First of all, for openness of hearts to receive the challenge…and key people in each district who will have connections with other young people from “different churches”
( I know it´s weird to say that knowing that we´re suppose to be One church, but you know what I mean, right? A major problem in Portugal is division among the Body...needs to change!!! )
Then, if I need to carry things to all these different districts to set up prayer rooms, I will need someone to lend me a car, and money for petrol… And if the churches have no financial conditions, I will also need some money to buy some things for the rooms, as paints, tape, candles, etc…
I would also need a lap top to present the power points we have and the web site for people to have a better idea how things will work on April…I might have one I could use, but I´m not sure yet if it will be available or if it will work because is an old one…
O.K, I think that´s it
Thanks
Shalom

Barbara

“LET THE FIRE BURN,
BURN IT IN MY HEART
TO SEE THE DREAMS OF GOD COME TRUE”

I started my tatoo...

well, it has been long time since I wanted to make this tatoo, and finally I got the right thing to do...My brother in law, Paulo, is a wonderful tatoo designer, so I could trust him...I just told him the idea and he draw it...just like that !!!
So,let me explain...the black bracelet is the same as my best friend had,Jorge, a wonderful person and amazing artist (he died in 1997)...he has made it many years ago, it was also designed by Paulo specificly for him...I didn´t know Paulo then...only when he started to date my sister some years ago...the world is small
:-)!!!
So, underneath the bracelet I will put a Bible verse where it´s writen "Greater is the spirit in me" (I john 4:4)...I will leave that for christmas time when I visit my sister again...
From those letters, the fire will come, representing the Holly Spirit
From the fire comes a Tree, which seed God created... the tree of my life,which bears fruit in it´s season (Psalm 1)...and you can see the 4 seasons in it :-)...
It still misses some colour, but it looks great already!!!
So, I´ll send you more pictures after december :-)

A Whole month of 24hour Prayer in Portugal

Me and Jasmin started to share the vision of the prayer month with the leaders of each district of Portugal…We are going with Paulo Pascoal, a portuguese visionary who God put in the Evangelical Alliance to mobilize the Body of Christ to be and act as one…The vision God put in his heart, inspired and supported by Dawn Ministries, is to reach till 2015 all unreached areas in Portugal (still 46 counties), making the Gospel accessible and relevant to all Portuguese till then…
There are 3 basic areas, Prayer, research and strategic vision, which he would like every district to have a leader for…So, he has been travelling already throughout the country, to every district, to pass on the vision and raise up those 3 leaders in each district…
Me and Jasmin come here with the National Prayer Campaign in April, which we are coordinating , mobilizing the Body to get involved through prayer rooms…
We´re making a web site, which is almost done, we also have a power point to present of “The Vision” (by Pete Graig, translated in Portuguese) and we made another one to challenge the Church for the prayer rooms in April…
We are presenting this in every district (when it´s possible, because we don´t have our own computer…pray for this please, we really need a computer to work), and we will present it also at a Youth Congress that is going to take place in December, with approximately 400 young people from all over the country…

The reason I´m writing this is because we need as much prayer as possible…
We all know how hard it is when we deal with PRAYER and UNITY…
This last 2 weekends we went to 3 of the districts, Setúbal, where 50 pastors were invited…only 3 churches were represented there…nobody even bother to say they couldn´t come…and those who did, simply said they wouldn´t come because so and so would come…there´s a lot of divisions among “denominations”…they are even taking issues to the Court…what a shame to God´s name…
this last weekend happen the same in other 2 districts...
So, please pray for this…Pray for open and humble hearts…I believe this is a Key time for Portugal and God is already aligning everything…all these visions, the one to reach all Portuguese counties, the Youth Congress and the Prayer Campaign in April, came into different people´s hearts, and God simply crossed us to work together…because these are visions of the Kingdom, these are visions for a Nation, and hopefully they will bless other Nations as well…

I suggested Paulo that he would not only invite pastors, but also youth…because they are noticing the youth is actually gathering to pray, without any problems of “denominations”… He agreed, so hopefully, the youth will come and bring unity…

Thanks for your time to read and pray.
God bless You with His presence

PEACE
Barbara

More often and shorter? Don't think so...

O.k., I think I shouldn´t even have a blog…sorry guys, my last post I said I would write more often and shorter, but here I am, 2 months later, trying to update you about my life in Lisbon…
I love writing and I love communicating, but I don´t have a computer I can access internet and I don´t have connection in my house…so, you have to excuse me :-)…
I was trying to make this less boring, but now I have a bunch of things to share again…O.K, I will try to make everything short…but as I know myself :-) I´ll not promise anything :-)…
About that computer I got offered, I still didn´t get the chance and transport to get it here, maybe tomorrow…
Oh well, but Life is good anyway…I love it !!! God loves me :-) !!!

A HOUSE OF GUESTS

A lot of things have been happening actually…I´ve been having a lot of guests coming over and I´ve been pleased to hang out with them, get to know them, showing them the city, sharing hearts, visions, etc…
Simone from Jesus Freaks (Berlin) was the first one to visit me…she´s half Portuguese, half german and she would like to come to Lisbon one day…we´ll see…

she´ll come for another visit in March…I only spent one day with her and her friend ´cause she went to the beach in the south…I don't blame her :-)
There was a girl named Hanna, also from Berlin, friends with some Jesus Freaks, who also stayed for a week… I didn´t even met her actually…how silly is that!!! In the exact same week, I was at the Borden ´s taking care of the kids while they were out for the 24-7 leadership gathering…I had to take the kids to school, soccer practice, cooking, etc…play the mom…well, the big sister I would say!!!…it was fun…and they are all easy kids, they helped me a lot as well…
But Hanna enjoyed my room and my house mate anyway…she was coming to rest and chill and I guess she did that…I live right in the centre of Lisbon, so it´s nice also to go anywhere… I´m glad my house can host whoever needs a place to stay and rest…
After that week I finally “arrived” at my place…it was hard to settle down again… I just love to have a house so I can receive people or throw parties, otherwise, I would rather live in a van or something :-)
On that week I got a phone call from a Polish couple, Martin and Ola, friends of friends I met in Germany…they are involved on that great festival SlotArt Fest …they were at the end of their Honey-Moon, they were in Lisbon on their last day, and they would have their flight that night at 1a.m … I said “they would”, and this is not my bad English, I mean, they didn´t fly that night…They made a mistake with the date, thinking that 1a.m. would be of the night of that day, when it was actually the early morning… Ups!!! I wouldn´t like to make such mistake…
They called me from the airport and I was not even at my place…I was at a friend´s birthday, and my house mates were not there as well…luckily my landlord lives on the 1st floor and has the keys of the flat, I just told them to go there and ask…Thank God he got convinced that they were telling the truth (Whatever language they may have spoken) and he opened the door for them…


So, after stressing about it and realizing they had nothing to do except enjoying the extra holydays, they end up getting a new flight for a week after that…they got their Honey-Moon extended :-)…It was really good to get to know them better, they are awesome… we end up learning different things from each other´s experiences, having a lot of conversations about “simple church”, because they are in the same process as we are here… In interesting ways, God is still making connections everywhere…
After they left (the day after I think), I got another call from a German young guy, Leon, who got my contact through another person…he was coming from Germany with his van, surfing along the cost and heading Lisbon, where he would work for 6 months with a German Church…but he didn´t reach Lisbon, well, not the way he thought he would…someone crushed his van and there was no way to repair it…so he called me and told me he needed a place to stay… “- Come on, of course you can come to my place”…This time I laughed, this was too funny…one after another…”-O.K. God, if that´s what you want me to do, I love it, simply welcoming and hosting people.”
As we got to hear each other we realize we have friends in common from Jesus Freaks.
Some days after, a friend of mine arrived from Germany as well, Judith, one of the Jesus Freaks from the “rainbow family”…

this one I was already expecting and looking forward to see…a little sister God connected me with during my trip…
It´s interesting how I can already see the purpose of those 5 months travelling around in Europe…I met such nice people who are becoming such true and lasting friends…
so I had 2 guests at a time. Don´t think my house is huge, but it´s always enough
:-).
Judith stayed for 10 days and it was so nice, we had really nice times speaking with each other, praying, having fun and we even went for a swim in the ocean one time…it was really hot and the water was good…it´s not so normal for late October, but it can happen :-)…
Leon stayed till the end of the month, but he moved in November to a room I got for him through friends…he might move back here in December, ´cause one of the girls who live here is moving out… we´ll see…
It´s a blessing to be able to offer a shelter and a home to others… I love that !!!
And during my trips I felt also so blessed to have so many shelters and so many homes…some with people I just got to know…

So, that´s mainly what I´ve been doing…I´ve been giving my time to people…and offering them a place of rest and peace…as much as I could… I´ve been hanging out , sharing lives, cooking and showing around… it´s a real pleasure to be that for others and bless them somehow…
I´m already looking forward for the next one in December, Yuri, from the rainbow family, also from Jesus Freaks (Austria).

Oh, this was my birthday, on the 1st of November...
you get older, you get sillier :-)



LISBOA MATRIX

That´s my spiritual family, my community, my church, whatever you wanna call it…they are the ones with whom I grow together towards Jesus likeness…mostly they are the Borden´s (Byron, Lisa, Trevor, Colin, Heather and Jesse, even though he´s studying now in the Usa), Jasmin, my dear sister, Ben, my lovely brother, Nelly, another dear sister and the Uhler´s (Marty, Carey, Christian, Dane and Carlie, even though she´s also studying in Usa now)…These are the closest ones, then there are others with whom we also meet around Jesus…I hang out with a group of Portuguese young people who meets at my place every 2 weeks or so…we´re still trying to get the best time for all of us, but meanwhile we just spread the word and get together…here is Ben and Jasmin as well, then Ruben, Pedro, Ivo, João, Mena, Tehur, Bruno, Marcia and Nuno&Paula (couple)…It´s a nice family too, we´re still getting to know each other better…Ben, Jas, Ivo, Ruben and Pedro have a band, “Triplet”(www.tripletrock.com ) which Tehur and João hang out pretty much with…We met Mena through João, and me and Ben introduce them to Marcia, Nuno and Paula…We all have a desire to grow together as friends and also in our faith as a real spiritual family, getting to know more of Jesus through each other, letting The Spirit flow among us as we meet around Jesus…
We call the big community “The Matrix”, because we just see it as a web of relationships, connected through Jesus, which spreads as we get to know more people and they get to know us, and through us, God…We are from different ages, styles, nationalities and we have also different passions, like music, surf, skate, arts, nature, etc…and we have in common the passion for prayer, for the poor, to see God´s Kingdom come, to see lives transformed, etc…(you can check in www.lisboamatrix.com but we´re still working on a real web site and changing some things)
We´re still trying to figure out the meaning of “The Matrix” (without freaking much about it), but what we really want is TO SIMPLY BE a Christ centred community who Love God above all and Love our neighbours as ourselves, making disciples of every nation, tribe, people and language…

HEART IN PORTUGAL

I´ve been also involved in what God is doing in my country, Portugal…I´ve been spending most of my time alone with God…listening, speaking, relaxing, resting, learning and acting…And as I do that, He puts more and more hunger in my heart to see this Nation transformed…Not that I will do it…But I know He can and He will…
I feel it´s a critical time for Portugal…He´s aligning things and people…He´s building up and connecting His Body…
Perhaps because I was out for 6 months, but when I came back, I felt a bit like Neemiah felt when he was walking through Jerusalem and saw how destroyed it was…
Portugal is facing one of the worst crises ever…financially, politically, socially and ecclesiastically …
WE NEED A TRUE REFORMATION … AN HOLISTIC ONE…
AND I BELIEVE IT´S COMING…
REVIVAL IS COMING… AND HOPEFULLY REFORMATION WILL COME ALSO TO CHANGE THE OLD WINESKINS, SO THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THE NEW WINE GOD WILL POUR OUT …
We had our second Connect Portugal (see www.connecteurope.org ) in the end of September and it was really good…we moved out of Lisbon and went to Faro (south) as we want to connect with young people from other districts of Portugal…

It was much different from the last one…Heidi from Connect Europe was suppose to come but in the last week God closed the doors…Not only for her, but also for others who wanted to come from Lisbon…we end up being only 12…but it was so powerful…we spent most of the time praying for the Nation and for each other, encouraging and supporting eachother…It was cool on Sunday morning ,

when we took all the teenagers from a local church to pray for them …They got really encouraged and thankful for all that…
And that´s what we feel God wants us to do… To go throughout Portugal, to every district, encouraging teenagers and young people, simply speaking God´s destiny over their lives… encouraging them to be instruments in God´s hands to change their friends, theirs schools, their nation, their genaration…


With this in our hearts, we are also organizing a NATIONAL PRAYER CAMPAIGN which is going to mobilize the whole Body of Christ in April 2006 , specially the young people, to pray for the nation, setting up 24 hour prayer rooms
(see www.24-7prayer.com )…
We are making already a web site where anyone can take all the information needed, and we will also be travelling to share this among the Body of Christ…
But this I will leave for the next posting as this one is getting way too long, as usual…
Sorry guys, and thanks for your patience…those who read !!! :-)
LOVE GOD…
LOVE ONE ANOTHER…
KEEP THE PEACE…
SEEK FOR JUSTICE…
AND MAKE ALL THIS WITH JOY IN YOUR HEARTS,
KNOWING THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND CARES FOR YOU,
NO MATTER WHAT :-)

Back in Portugal

HI whoever follows this blog...
I just forgot I should post something...ups...
I'm back in Portugal and trying to settle in a shanti way...
I only went twice to my flat to clean and organize thing again...it's weird to have a room again and more then 2 sets of cloths :-)...I've been most of the time with the Borden's (my family here)...I missed them soooooo much...I missed being here actually, it's Home for now...

I'll take some time now figuring out how to make this blog look better and less boring (this is my opinion)...and I'll try to write more often and shorter...I got offered a computer to have in my flat, so now I hope to have easier access to internet so I can post and read other people's blogs...there's good stuff out there but to be honest I never have time to read...
O.k, I'm off...
LOVE

Herrnhut & Rainbow Family

I´m in Herrnhut now trying to look back and reload what God has been showing me this past months...I came to do that here, I needed some rest after 3 weeks in the mountains at the "Rainbow gathering" and one week at "Freakstock Festival"...I was suppose to come here with a Ywam team from Freakstock, but somehow I lost them and they came without me...I had the feeling God had something stored behind that
:-)...He did :-)I end up coming with some of my "rainbow family": Yuri, Mathias, Nicola,Anna&Jonatas,Kameal(Glorious Undead-London) and Emma(from "Speak"-she met me on her way back from the palestine...she volunteer to drive a truck together with 3 other men bringing Fair Trade Olive oil...isn´t she a warrior or what?!!)...oh, and Amelie of course, that´s Yuri´s dog...so, we all came to Herrnhut in Yuri´s van...I was going to stay and they would all go to a small "Rainbow gathering" in north Czech...we arrived in the night and I didn´t even had the address...silly me I know...I only knew it was an old hospital some christians were restoring to make prayer rooms and so...I e.mail them one month before telling that me and a friend would stay for a week...now it was me and some few more friends...Oh God help us !!!
Thank God we found out where it was after asking few locals in the street...
we were so well welcomed by this small sweet lady named Maren Winter...she was like a precious angle for us...we woke her up (it was 10pm already) and she came down with her tiny sleepy eyes to welcome us...I was sorry for her actually...she had wonderful guest rooms waiting for us...with beds, a kitchen we could use, hot shower, clean towels and even chocolatte bars..can you believe that ?! it was like a 5 star hotel after rainbow and freakstock..eh, eh,:-)
I just found out today this is what they call the "prayer house"...lovely place...
What a blessing..the others end up staying till tuesday morning...on monday Maren went on a "spiritual tour" with us in Herrnhut telling us all about Zinzendorf and the moravian community...

That was so cool for us, after speaking so much about building up communities centred in Christ and so...suddenly God takes us to a whole village that was built around Christ...Cool!!! Very inspiring and encouraging...
We had nice times praying and worshiping too...
I moved to the Hospital after they left, because new guests would come...Emma decided to go with them so I stayed by myself...I think God wanted me for Himself too, after so much time around people...I needed that solitude too...
the Hospital is Huge, is just in front of the "prayer house" and it still has a lot to recover...but it has already few guest rooms, where I´m staying now...I have a kitchen there too...God is spoiling me sooooo much during this trip!!!
He loves us all a lot !!! Yes He does !!! He knows exactly what we need...
I got a cold though, but it was o.k. for me to rest...after they left on tuesday the cold got worst...so, since tuesday till yesterday (thursday) I basicly slept...I did some cleaning to help Maren, but besides that I had no strength to do nothing more....it was like a truck passed through my body or someone beated me...it was all aching... maybe I was also tired from the rainbow and freakstock all together...
But I´m fine now, and Herrnhut is a nice place to rest...
Today I felt better so I spend the morning in the "watch tower" above the moravian cemetery...peaceful place...

I miss the "RAINBOW FAMILY"...these are the ones I got to know better during the rainbow gathering...it seams like I know them for soooo long ...I met some on the way, from Willow Freak (May) till the gathering, but we end up really knowing more of eachother during this time in the mountains...we woke up together, had breakfast together, laugh together, we worship and pray together, we were silly together...well, we were family together...I really love them...

Hajo and Rebecca, what a lovely couple,they have a lot of visions and I do hope they follow them...they want to go and start new things, but somehow God have them stuck in germany for a while...I feel God´s using them to challenge the Jesus Freaks to GO...Johaness was always thinking for us :-) about the practical things we needed to do and he built most of our camp...he´s so good on that!!!...he also came with cool insights for us to pray for during the gathering...Sasha, always "tranquilo" and ready to cut some wood, it was his dream to see christians among the rainbows too, I think he was really glad with how things worked out...Johaness&Clara, another sweet couple, always in the back watching if everybody was o.k...he always brought wisdom in the conversations and she carries an amazing peace and merciful eyes,I love them... Mathias, "the activist",I miss his melo worship, he´s just cool, he hangs out everywhere and with everyone...it was cool when he played an "anarchic punk" song during the "magic hat" (that´s how rainbow provides food for all, by donations of thos ewho have to give)that was a well known german song about peace and everybody joined in...Nicola,sweet and quiet sister but always with some wise thing to say when it needed to be said...she has a wonderful angelic voice and a big sweet heart for people...Tabea and another Hajo came for few days from Stuttgard, they brought us strength on the right time...Tabea loved the Israeli people with whom she had a lot of conversations...she just loves to be around everybody...she felt she was not "doing" enough, but I guess she got the picture...God just wanted her to be herself...Kerstin and Norbi, always in action...I think they learnt to chill out a bit :-) I don´t know, I´m just kidding, they´re just like that...they´re lovely...passionate for eachother and even more for Jesus:-)...Marren , our little sista, she turned 20 when we were there...we had a party with pasta and cake!!!I just loved her presence and her big smile...Frede, her boyfriend came only for a weekend with our pop&mom Al&Tina...he rocked in the first morning, it was great...God blessed us so much during our worship times in our woods in the morning...some would come and just feel something different...some told us they felt "A peace" in that place...one israeli kid that day was amazed to see christian freaks worshiping like that...he took one gospel of John we had in Hebrew...waw...

another day one of the "elders" of the rainbow people was seated in our prayer tent in the meadow while having some tea and told us "- Yah, we need some more of Jesus here, there are too many Hare Krisna and Shiva..." ...What about that ?!!!
Al and Tina (I have to say they´re around their 50´s)are travelling for 6 years I think with a Rainbow caravan in the States...they basicly go from Rainbow to rainbow with a bunch of kids in several vans and just live together with "rainbow people"...ministering to those God has been placing in their hands...They love the rainbows, anyone can tell that...and now God is telling them to come to Europe to encourage and love the Freaks here...They surelly do that well...when they look into your eyes and say Jesus loves you, you can just feel it straight into your heart...I love them...we need moms and pops !!!
Ulli&Steffi with their amazing kids Milan,Melody and Elias were there for the first days and then came back for the last week ´cause Ulli had to work...they have been in the rainbow scene for many years, and it has been 12 years since the last time they were in a rainbow...they´ve been experiencing many communities since then, that´s their passion, you can tell...I believe God has many things to do through them stil,l and I hope they follow their heart´s desire :-)I loved Steffi´s laugh...
Yuri and Amelie(his dog) came from Vienna-Austria, even though he´s italian...a sweet guy, a lover of S.Francis Assissi...oh, and I miss to play with Amelie too...she´s such a funny dog...
Yuri told us that the first time he came to our camp and we were already worshiping, he felt like his feet were lifted from the ground to a celestial place while he was still walking...
oh sweet Umoya (that´s Judith´s african name), I was so glad when she came, ´cause she was not sure if she could...she´s another sister for me...we had so nice conversations...I love the way she loves people...she´s a free spirit too...no bonds...
Talking about free spirits, we met a wonderful woman, Anka, nobody knew her, she just went to the rainbow ´cause she heard christian would be there (I have no idea where she got that from...we didn´t anounced it!!!)...she was just everywhere meeting people and inviting them to come to our prayer tent for worship...she met a christian couple in the village nearby who also came to worship with us a few times...they even invite some of us in the end to spend a day with them, to have shower and make laundry, and cook a lot of meet :-) What a blessing!!!they were sweet too...
We also met Frank, another guy from Jesus Freaks who we never met before...he joined us sometimes...he was quiet and observing...we end up meeting him at freakstock and get to know him better...
Robin and Evelina with their small children Jeremias, Anastasia and Nicole...he´s South African and she´s Polish...he has been in the Rainbow Scene for 20 years...10 years ago he became a christian and since then he has been praying that God would raise up christians among Rainbow people in Europe...he has been quiet discouraged and non supported by other christians and this would be his last gathering because he,and specially Evelina,couldn´t handle it anymore being alone as christians at the rainbows...for his surprise, when he met us, we were around 20 there...God gave them hope for sure...
GOD HAS AMAZING THINGS TO DO AMONG AND THROUGH RAINBOW PEOPLE,NOT ONLY IN EUROPE,BUT I BELIEVE ALL OVER THE WORLD...THE WAY HE SET UP THINGS FOR THIS MEETING TELLS ME SO...THE WAY HE´S CROSSING PEOPLE´S WAYS AND NETWORKING US ASURES ME...THE WAY I´M EXCITED TESTIFIES IT IN MY HEART !!!
we met another brother "ocasionally", Peter, the flute man with his nice dogs, Snoopy and Ginger...he also found us there...he´s a simple loving guy...he also has a heart to live in community as a family...

I BELIEVE WE ALL CAME WITH THAT IN OUR HEARTS, AND I BELIEVE THAT`S GOD`S TOO...I BELIEVE HE`S NETWORKING THE NOMADS WITH THOSE WHO WANT TO BUILD UP MONASTIC COMMUNITIES, WEATHER IN THE CITIES OR THE COUNTRY SIDE...IN EUROPE; INDIA; SOUTH- AMERICA; MIDDLE EAST; AFRICA...SENDS US GOD HERE WE ARE!!!:-)
CHRIST CENTRED, LIFE GIVING COMMUNITIES ALL OVER THE WORLD...YES GOD!!!

Oh, and I cannot forget to mention our "brother Bear" Eric...he´s a guy I´ve been hearing about for 2 years...I´ve been trying to get a hold of him ´cause I knew he has been going to Rainbows in Europe, but it´s kinda hard to know where he is...India, Israel, here, there, everywhere...He´s a nomad...a sweet guy, a worshiper´s heart...it was amazing when he was worshiping...I remember one time after the first "food circle" (that´s twice a day when we all eat together...usually we make 1 or more circles, depends if we were 1000 or more people), Eric started to worship with his guitar, I followed him with a little djembé, Rebecca and Maren were there also...we were simply and naturaly worshiping...people around were joining in and apreciatting...some would come and go...one time I opened my eyes and saw this girl wraped in a blanket staring at Eric with tears falling down her face...It was not Eric´s funny hat that was making her cry, that was sure...the Holy Spirit was touching her...I look in her eyes, she looked also and I gave her a smile...she stayed still for a while and left...we saw her after that and she spoke with Eric ...during that time another woman came behind me and huged me...I kept druming,I pulled my head back and could hear her crying... she stayed for a while...then I recognize it was another christian we met, she was from Berlin and just stayed for few days...she also desires to see more of God´s presence among Rainbows and "out of the box"...

I CAN JUST PRAISE GOD FOR ALL THESE THINGS...AND I KNOW WE DIDN´T SEE ALL THAT GOD HAS DONE IN THESE 3 WEEKS AND YOU WOULDN`T HAVE MORE PATIENCE TO READ IF I`D WRITE ABOUT IT...
IT WAS GREAT AND I JUST WANT TO THANK GOD FOR ALL,BECAUSE HE WAS BEHIND IT AND BEFORE US ALL THE TIME...WE COULD JUST FEEL IT...THANKS FOR ALL WHO PRAYED,AND KEEP PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO WENT TO CZECH AND FOR OTHER FUTURE MEETINGS...
I BELIEVE GOD JUST STARTED SOMETHING THAT WILL GROW BEYOND OUR PERCEPTION...
WELL I GUESS YOU GOT THE PICTURE OF THE RAINBOW GATHERING...


IT`S ALL ABOUT THAT : BEING A FAMILY...
GOD SIMPLY USED US THE WAY WE ARE...WITH THE GIFTS HE HAS BEEN GIVING US...WE JUST WORSHIPED HIM...WE DIDN`T GO WITH BIG STRATEGIES AND IDEAS...WE WERE SIMPLY THERE AS HIS FAMILY AMONG THOSE HE LOVES AND WANTS IN HIS FAMILY TOO...

I will not tell much about Freakstock in this post ´cause it´s already too big...but there we gave a workshop about the rainbow and many Freaks seam interested...we met 3 more who joined the ones who went to the Czech gathering, Anna&Jonattas, and Kameal from London-"Glorious Undead" church...

Love you all
PEACE

sorry, I´m really bad on this things...

Yeh, sorry everybody...I thought it would be a good idea to have a blog to write on the way, but it seams harder and harder...
I´ll not write much now anyway...I´m in Herrnhut..Resting...what a beautiful place and what nice and lovely people I came to meet...
I was 3 weeks in the mountains at the Rainbow Gathering..thanks for all who prayed...it was an amazing time...
then I went to Freakstock...totally different thing...I was in cultural shock in the beginning...but it was great and we made a presentation of the Rainbow Gathering experience and many freaks showed up...God is definitelly starting something in this culture here in Europe...Finally...I´ll tell you more later...
I was really blessed during all this time with Jesus Freaks and I can say I have a new family here...They´re just amazing !!!
My time is almost over..I´ll go to Romania from here and then to Prague where I´ll stay few days with Jane and Martin, which I know from Portugal and are going to get married in september :-)...and I´ll also meet my sis Jasmin which I miss so much...I haven´t seen her since February when she left to the States...Gosh...
After that I go to Bristol and finish my trip at Greenbelt Festival...I feel it´s gonna be a great time an great connections there...
O.K. I´m gone...
Love you all...faithful ones...

PAZ

Baba

I´m back...I´m not lost :-)

waw...I don´t even know what to say...well, I do, ´coz I have lots I´d like to say, but I don´t know if I´ll have the time to do it now...It´s not easy to find a computer on the way where I can stop and write with time...and cyber cafes, besides the cost, don´t really inspire me...
oh well...now I´m in Berlin, at Kerstin Hack´s house, a wonderful friend and woman of God...she left this morning and let me use her computer, but I had a lot of e.mails to reply and now she must be coming back soon...
I do have a lot to say since I last wrote here...I ´d love to put some pictures too ´coz this page looks a bit boring to me...but I don´t really know how to do it, so, I ´ll have to wait for the time I´ll be with someone who´d explain to me :-)
After Köln (I think that´s the last news you had from me),I went to Karlsruhe...Wonderfull welcoming :-)...I hitch-hiked with a guy from Köln and the van who took us went purposely out of the high-way just to drop me at the train station in Karlsruhe...Mark Reichman, the contact I had from there, also provided someone to pick me from that place, because he himself was out of the city...it couldn´t be more perfect...I waited maybe 5 minutes...God has been blessing me so nmuch with rides and places to stay...I love to see His hand on that :-)...He´s such a caring father...

so, in Karlsruhe I found a great community and I was so blessed meeting Mark, his wife Nadine and their lovely child Noah... they´re basicly doing (or Being) what I envision in Lisbon...they have a cafe-house,"Kubik-entertainment" even though is kinda underground ´coz they don´t have the license to open it to the public yet...but the cool thing is that people already know about them and just go there...I came on a perfect week, they were running a 24/7 prayer room in the cafe :-)...I stayed sleeping in the 4th floor of the same building, in a flat where some young people of the community also live...Cristoph, Arnhild and Doro, they are great, it was so nice to meet them...they were all doing their things, but that´s how I like to meet Church, in the normal day life and not only in special meetings...I spoke a lot with Mark, as I said, and it was so encouraging to hear what God is already doing there...it´s so much like what we´re starting to do in Lisbon...trying to BE church instead of doing...focusing in relationships instead of activities...being an organism instead of an organization...being real with eachother as a family, instead of playing roles out of positions...etc...
we also spoke about the monastic way of living christianity and that is pretty much the "Blue House" project that me and my crew in Lisbon have in our hearts...some of you know what I´m speaking about, but it´s pretty much that, a urban monastery in the heart of Lisbon...it will have also a cafe-house open to the public, with place to have concerts and other performances, rooms for all kinds of art exhibitions, music and dance schools, recording studio and a room for bands to practice, etc... we will have also a prayer room with different atmospheres for all peoples to come in and we will be (as the foundation of all these projects) a living community of Jesus´ followers...a discipling and training place where young people and families will come in and out and take something more of Jesus...a Light house for the city where social work with the poor will be made from...a resting place for pilgrims...whatever God wants to do with it...That´s a dream I have in my heart since 1999 and now I share with more people in Lisbon, my crew, my family...That´s a God dream...and the more I meet people like Mark in Karlsruhe or like Markus and Andrea from 24/7 in Dresden, who share the same dream, the same basic idea of just being a life giving community in the centre of our cities, the more I believe it´s a God dream...and if it´s God´s dream, I´m sure it will come true...
I´ll take this opportunity to share also about the "Blue House"...that´s basicly an empty building with blue tiles :-) ...it has 5 doors to the street and 4 floors...it belongs to a catholic institution who has a bunch of other buildings in the city but is not really doing anything with them...before I started this trip I presented the project as a Social Centre for youth both to the City Hall and this institution and we´re just waiting for a reply...PLease pray with us for this building if God brings that into your heart...feel part of it !!!

Well, I do have more to say about Tübingen and the meeting with the crew who´s going to the rainbow gathering, Stuttgard, back to Kubik :-), Taizé in France,Nurenberg and Eva,Elli and Tod, the beautiful city of Dresden and the wonderful couple Kai and Conny...and Berlin, yes, I feel I´ll have a lot to say on that...But as I told you, my time is short now ...

O.K, I have to leave it to another day for the rest...gotta go...
:-)
Enjoy your days...
PEACE

Baba

Germany and Jesus Freaks...

you guys have to excuse me ´cause I don´t know how to work well with this blog thing...I don´t know what I did to post two times the same thing...and now all the things are in german and I don´t even know how to get it in english...oh well, hope you understand...
I have so much to write that I don´t know how to do it...I don´t wanna be boring, but I don´t want you to miss anything, and I also don´t want to speak about some things and not others...
I´ve been meeting so many people who impacted me since I arrived in Germany that I don´t wanna miss anyone...
Even before I stepped my foot in this country I knew God had stored great things for me here...it´s the first time now that I´m able to sit and write about it all...God just provided for me in Cologne a nice room just for myself with a computer and internet...it´s from a budist guy that is travelling with his girlfriend now, eh, eh, funny isn´t it...well, there´s 3 other guys who live in the house, all Jesus Freaks, pretty cool and sweet...a messy boy´s house :-), but homy !!!
o.k, but going back a couple of weeks ago, as I was saying, God gave me a love for the country in the first place...
I hitch-hicked from Hahn (that is far from Frankfurt, in the middle of nowhere)to the north-east, where Jesus Freak´s leadership meeting(willow freak) was going to take place, in Gotha... I got 1 car and 3 trucks and got near the place in the evening...from a little town I got a train to Gotha, where I arrived at night already...I looked for a place to sleep...I didn´t walk much far from the train station till I found some nice grass :-)...there was a building in the middle that looked like a library or so, but I didn´t care...I just wanted to take some rest and sleep...I was ready to close my eyes when I started to feel some drops of rain falling...I begged Jesus to stop it, but it didn´t work...o.k, I packed my things and went to look for a better shelter...maybe God had a better place...EXACTLY !!! I found a cool tent in a garden, in the middle of some buildings...looked perfect for me...under the shelter there was a table surrounded by long banches, some gardening stuff, and a little detail, 3 candles :-)so sweet... I just layed myself in one of the banches, put myself under my sleeping bag and had a wonderful sleep...I thanked God so much for His provision during that long day...but more was awaiting me next day...I woke up with some noise behind me...some gardeners were cutting branches from the trees..."Ups, I better wake up, maybe they need this place here" I thought, then a woman was passing by and noticed me..."Oh no God,I hope I´ll not get in trouble", I smiled and greeted...oh oh, she was coming closer...and she´s speaking deutsch...I kinda guessed, she was asking me if I slept there...I said "Yah"...she seemed worried and was asking me if I was not cold in the night...I was trying to convince her that I slept wonderfully, which I did, but she didn´t seem to accept that...then she asked if I wanted a coffe or tea..."weeeeell, Yah, tea."...I was hoping I was not totally wrong in my deutsch interpretation :-)...so I carried my bag into one of those surrounding buildings and I realized they were offices...she lead me to the kitchen (yes, she was offering me tea) where they had a big table and I set down while she was preparing tea...she called a young guy who spoke english and finally I could explain what I was doing there...and I also found out they were all tax collectors (it reminded me of something, eh,eh) more people were coming and they all end up knowing I slept outside in their garden...oh well...then, when I mentioned the "Siloah" eco-village, where I was going for "willow freak", they seemed to know the place...they seemed to know Jesus Freaks too, because the big summer festival, Freakstock, is near Gotha as well...so, Siloah was actually 20Km from Gotha...I asked them to show me in my map,but it was a small place, so the guy went to the internet and printed a map for me...I was feeling spoiled already, but those people were really glad to help me, so I asked if they knew which buses were going there...the guy called the bus station, but he found out there were none to Siloah directly...but then he remembered that he knows a guy in Siloah, to whom he collects taxes...Great! He called the guy and in few minutes he was there to pick me up...WAW !!! sorry to write all this so detailed, but isn´t God amazing ?!!
it couldn´t be better !!! Thank God for the rain :-)
so I got to Siloah tuesday morning and I would only meet with 24-7 guys on thursday arround 5p.m (24-7 and Jesus Freaks were going to meet on the same place ´cause Pete Greig was going to speak to both groups)...Siloah is just a beautiful farm and eco-village, with horses, cows, sheeps, play ground for children, clay and wood workshops, fruit trees, etc...sooooo cool...a dream for me, God was still surprising me more and more...I even got to sleep just next to the horses :-) in a nice wooden house (I could hear them in the night, so cool)...I also met the people who work as volunteers at siloah, mostly young people...really cool...and more was about to come...during breakfast, a girl called Aninha, started to speak with me and somehow told me I looked like an american indian(don´t ask me why, maybe my traveller leader pants) and mentioned the rainbow people...we imediatelly connected and I found out she was in rainbow before she became christian too, and she told me about this other guy that was there too who lived in a rainbow community for a year ...Johannes, he came too and we spoke more...that community is in Beneficio, south Spain, one of the biggest alternative communities, and I happen to know a few people who live there too...small world...they were both from a Jesus Freaks community in Friburg...I told them that one of my ideas inGgermany was to share with some Jesus Freaks about Rainbow and try to get a group to go to the european gathering in July...For my surprise and more excitement, he said that he heard about some Jesus Freaks wanting to go too... I just had one thought in my mind "- THIS MUST BE GOD!"...Yes, I was excited...next day I just fasted and rested trying to processe all this stuff...I was in awe...I had not enough words to thank God...and I was still feeling more was about to come...(for those who don´t know, rainbow people are my "heart people", "my tribe")
at the end of the day I end up meeting the 24-7 people...it was only 8 of them and I started to realize that was not exactly what I was expecting (not that I like big groups, on the contrary)...I didn´t need much to find out that was a more specific gathering of people who were already connected and I just observed trying to figure out what was my role there... (the thing is that Byron and Lisa were the ones who were supposed to be there, but Lisa said it would be cool for me to go instead)...well, the day after, I definitely realized I was not suppose to attend their meetings, I felt it was not my place,it was more a gathering of an organization or movement which I don´t feel I belong to...they were nice and so, but it was not the best timming and place to meet them...it was o.k though...
and so I join the Jesus Freaks who started their program that day in the evening...cool worship and cool people...
on saturday I had the opportunity to share with all about my trip and specially about the idea of going to the rainbow gathering...then I challenged all those who were interested to gather and speak more about it after...for my surprise we were 9 who gathered...we all shared why we were interested and it was amazing to discover that we all had the same desire, but we all felt lonely somehow... 6 years ago, when I was feeling discouraged about that vision, God told me that He was sharing the same vision with many others all over the world, He was preparing us, and that one day He would cross our ways :-)...I felt that promisse was coming to pass:-)...
it´s time...It´s God´s timming...He´s starting something...:-)...
After that meeting, I met another italian guy who heard from someone else about what I shared and told me he was also wondering when God would use him back in rainbow... I feel we all share the same love for them, it´s so cool...a girl from switzerland also came to me and told about a guy from her community who was almost becoming a budist monk till God told him clearly "NO", she says he will probably want to go too...still another girl from Berlin came to me and told me that she and her boyfriend want to go and she told me there´s a group from the USA coming to this gathering too... It seemed God had everything planned :-)...Not much work from us!!!
Waw, I have no words to describe that weekend...it was amazing to connect with so many christian freaks and hear about what they are already doing and what they are dreaming to do...
I only knew where I was going next on saturday night...A girl came to me and told me about a Huge festival where they use to go and have a stand there...she said it was a new age festival, but I found out later that is actually a Jazz Festival, but arround
the area we find many stools of many different things, food, handicraft,etc...and a lot of freaks just go to have a funny weekend...it sounded good for me...I had a ride
and a place to stay till the festival, so, why not...I went with Paulus, who is the leader of Jesus Freaks in Duisburg, Zanque(hope I´m spelling his name right) who lives next to Paulus and a couple, Thomas and Joana who are from another town one hour up north...all wonderfull people...
So I stayed in Duisburg in their community...they have 4 different flats already in the same block, and their vision is to have all the blocks :-)...Paulus live with York,in the same building there´s a couple with a beautiful baby I forgot their names
(I´m bad with that, sorry),Zanque is next to them,then there´s another sweet couple, Armin&Katharina also with a sweet little girl, Devina...they are expecting another baby soon too :-)...then they have others who live in the surroundings and they meet pretty much like a family... I really enjoyed my time with them all and had really good times speaking with Katharina who made for me a couple of times...
Then we went to The Moers Festival, just a few km from Duisburg, close to the Netherlands too...
It was fun to build up the tents and set up everything...there were a lot of people helping...one more time it felt like family !!! So, they had one stand in front with different literature in one side (which I didn´t understand ´cause it was all deutsch), then another stand on the side called "No hope in Dope" and had many information about all kind of drugs...the guy incharged of this one was a hippie from the 70´s, really sweet, with long and white hair and beard, he had a book with his own testimony and he just spend most of the time seated in his chair and talking to all those who would like to talk about drugs...then people could go inside and buy some cheap second hand close, and behind all this we had a few more tents, one with "Kika" (that table soccer game) which punks loved, other to chill out, other with tables and banches for us to eat or seat with people, other was a prayer tent for us (we had different hours for different groups to pray during the day, or just for those who would like to set apart for a while) and a big tent where they put a small stage where different bands played worship and it was there also where people could get some coffe or tea for free...there was pillows all over the floor, carpets and some low tables for people to chill out too...this was the place where we had our morning meeting before starting the day when somebody would give a message and so...in the evenings this was the place also where there was some worship and testimonies and many people would come...
well, I can´t tell all the things that happen those days...it was tiring, but totally worth it...I had the chance to get to know better some more Jesus Freaks like Franzisca, Catrin and Danika,Anja,Norbi,Kathrin and Jo,Maren and Frede (both couples would go to rainbow too),Gigi and Maria, and others (I´m bad with names, but I´m seeing the faces)...Oh, and Judith...one more special encounter...she has a heart for rainbow people too...she just came one day with other friends and left the day after...we just spoke for few hours maybe, but I felt so connected with her...I´ll meet her in rainbow for sure...she just finished her DTS (youth with a mission school) in South Africa and she´s wondering what to do next...a precious girl I can tell...
I had a special encounter with another girl called Marie, she came from Mastricht, where she study arts, and she was wondering about all the Jesus stuff...I had wonderful times with her, just listening, talking, walking arround the huge park between "stoned" and drunk people...but above all sharing hearts...maybe she left with more questions than answers, but she surely was impacted by a bunch of freaks about whom she said "they are just too nice"...
oh well, it was all great...maybe try checking www.jesusfreaks.de/duisburg to see pictures...
After that I came with the crew of Köln (Cologne), where I am right now...I spent the first nights in a caravan facing the river Rhine and the city...so nice...another dream...I had a van just for myself and I had a good time of rest after such busy days...
waw, I never thought I would be able to describe so much of these days, but I did...I´m glad..now I need to sleep...it´s almost 2a.m. here and I spent almost all day answering e.mails and so...
Love you all...
Shantii, Shantii
Baba

Emma and Louise

Waw, so many things I want to share with you...
I didn´t even have more time to write about Emma and Louise whom I met in England and
who impacted me so much with their passion for God, for people and for justice in the world...they are both part of an organization I mentioned already, called SPEAK, and I suggest you to check their web site www.speak.org.uk
After spending a couple of days with them in London and having a wonderful time with them and Jesus in a Trance party...well, it was not only a trance party, there were many bands playing, including one african band, hip-hop sessions and others,also many organizations and movements who promote peace and justice in different ways were there too..."Speak" was invited, and of course, together with "Speak", Jesus is invited too...so we went...Louise had the brilliant idea of having a kind of prayer and meditation tent, yes, right in the middle of the party..."ecological meditation"
they wrote, and inside people could read some cool texts from the Bible, like the Vine and the Branches, the vision of the throne of God and so...we don´t really know what God spoke to many people, but we had cool conversations with people who not expecting to hear about God in that place...they put paints and squares of fabric for people to write a message for the G8 summit that is going to take place in July in Edimburg, and they had also other informations about their campaings for justice and fair trade...
it was day light already when we left the building(well, it´s under a bridge actually)...it was very fun !!!
This was really a good ending in England...Emma and Louise, definitelly God´s warriors, going where not many christians go...they revived the warrior in me too, they challenged me to be more active...I thank God for their loving hearts and their determination to do His will no matter what...they are challenging people who will challenge the world, and they are challenging the church also, not to be still and apathic to world issues...

Rest of time in U.K

O.K, I'll be leaving the U.K. tomorrow morning and I'll still connect with this christian community in Camden this afternoon (in an hour actually)...they are called "gloriousundead" and they are mostly punks and goths...
But I'll speak about it after I met them...
So, After Harpenden I went to York to visit a sweet friend of mine, Sharon...I met her in Portugal in a youth camp, King's Kids, where I was helping...she's Australian, but went early to China...she studied in a portuguese school in Macau too and she speaks japanese too (besides english, portuguese and chinese)...waw, I have no words to describe my time with her...it was so refreshing and pleasant...we spent most of the time speaking about Jesus...she reflects His presence in such a sweet and childish way...I love it !!!
during this time I stayed at the house she's staying too...Sarah is another beautiful person I met, she lives in the same house together with 2 other girls...Sarah is christian too and she just have this big heart to serve others...
York was a nice town, placed in a beautiful place and full of different spiritualities...it seams to attract a lot of seekers...
I was with a couple from Youth With A Mission who are pioneering a new training school there for young apostolic leaders...they were really nice and friendly, with 2 beautiful children...I found out that I'm gonna be with him at the Jesus Freaks' gathering next week 'cause he's one of the speakers...small world !!!
After 4 wonderful days in York, mostly with Sharon, I went to Leeds where I was expecting to connect with the people from SPEAK, that organization that was at the Target Europe Conference too...I contacted another girl I met at the conference, Kai, and she would meet me at the bus station...but geting there I found out that the SPEAK office and Emma, the girl I wanted to connect with, is actually in Manchester, not so far from Leeds, but still... But God knew all about it :-), He really wanted me to meet Emma, oh yes He did...she happen to be in Leeds that night for a concert, and she was at the same place I was going to have dinner together with Kai...waw, so many "coincidences"...so, I end up having a wonderful dinner and fellowship in this house with pretty interesting people (also discovering to BE church) and after the concert Emma went to grag me and she drove to Manchester...
Well, I have to leave to another posting as I'm running out of time here...

Love all...
I really appreciate those who have been replying with encouraging words...

Shantii

Baba

scrolling notes on Target Europe (part III and last)

well, I hope I can do this, but I really wanna finish scrolling my notes on the conference Target Europe...specially for those who have been following it...sorry that is taking so much time, but being on the road is not easy to find a place to sit and relax while you type...I'm actually in a internet cafe in Kentish Town Road, Camden, London...and I also want to write later about the rest of my trip in England...but I'll make another post for that...O.K., I'll keep scrolling my notes on the conference (forgive my english mistakes by the way) :

GOD HASN'T GIVE UP OF EUROPE...
HE DIDN'T FINISH HIS WORK
- we need to be set apart from the system & GOD WILL BREAK THE OLD MINDSET.
with our mindset changed we will go in the power of the Holy Spirit -> THE SYSTEM WILL NOT RESIST... :-)

Next day we spoke about African countries and how we have a huge dept towards them...
(I'm just thinking now that usually we speak about Africa's dept towards western countries, but it's so the oposite)
THERE'S A URGENT AND DEEP NEED OF FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION...
God spoke personally about this to me, as I am both portuguese (or european if you prefer) and Angolan (African)...actually God has been speaking that to me in different times...I believe a lot of bad stuff can be broken in the spiritual realm through repentance, forgiveness and prayer...both for Portugal and for those countries which were colonized in our past...the church specifically need to have a great role on this, 'cause initially the portuguese ships went discovering new lands so that the Gospel could be spread...even the first thing they would put in the land to mark their presence was not a flag, but a cross made of stone...if we get to go to these countries and watch how the church is there, we 'll realize that we didn't took only the Gospel, but we also imposed our culture...most part of christian communities in Angola and Cabo Verde(that's what I've seen) have so little expressions of their own culture...simple things like the worship style and the gathering format, but so important...well, I could say so much more on this, but I won't take more space here...
I just feel to share very breefly and experience of a pastor and a reporter in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a month after the Tsunamy...they found out that those people hated portuguese because of what they did in the past (also in the name of Jesus unfortunately)...they even say that the tsunamy was a curse from the portuguese who were there exactly 500 years ago...they actually had to ask Holland for help to kick the portuguese out of there...soon they felt convicted of our national sin and they had to do something about it, so they went to look for some local churches...they attended 2 gatherings, one with 2000 people, other with 200 and they had permission to ask forgiveness for our past...there was brokeness in both places and a pastor even confessed that till that time he hated portuguese too... God even gave them the opportunity to ask forgiveness to a budist leader (the second most important) who received it... God does turn bad things into good if we are willing to submit to Him and humble ourselves...
we need to be aware of this things 'cause God wants to bring healing to the nations through us...

Back to the conference now...they even mentioned a meeting that took place in Berlin in 1984 which gathered 14 different nations to decide the borders in Africa...the interesting and sad part of the meeting was that none of those countries were Africans...how weird is that !!! for more info e.mail

There was also a girl called Louise from an organization called "SPEAK" who shared about their work and how we as christians have the obligation to speak for those who cannot speak and change things in the system that are not according to God's will...they basicly organize campaings exposing different social unjustices as they also pray for changes...(I'll speak more about it in another posting)for more check www.speak.org.uk

there was still someone sharing about finances, and how that is so much part of the battle...
- the enemy is trying to keep us poor and keep us from the duties that we have, the priviliege that we have to care for the poor (that's a key to release more finances)
- Finances are under atack

Money represents God's blessing in our lives ( this doesn't mean that we are under God's curse when we struggle with money, because we do)
when we give our lives to Jesus and confess Him as our LORD, this means He is Lord of our money too as well as all other areas...so we lose the right to do what we want with our finances...instead, we become stewards of all that He gives us: time, money, gifts, talents, etc...all for the sake of others...
If we're faithfull He will give us more...
We have a lot of needs: water, oxigen, food, etc...God allowed these needs in our lives so we may recognize we're totally dependent on Him to provide...
THERE ARE ONLY 2 THINGS WE CAN TRUST IN:
- Our own hands (give me, give me...save, save, save...)
- Jesus (who gave His life for me when He had everything)
Jesus says to us "-I'll make sure you'll have all that you need, but trust in my character...I AM FAITHFUL !!!
so, we can trust God when we have needs...

THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME TO NOT TRUST THE SYSTEM OF THE WORLD...
We need to be good stewards of the money God gives to us.
THERE'S A SEASON OF CHANGES ABOUT FINANCES TOO...GOD IS GONNA CORRECT SOME THINGS...
WE(CHURCH) HAVE BEEN TAKING MONEY FROM PEOPLE BUT WE'RE NOT USING IT HAS WE SHOULD...WE ARE NOT GIVING TO THE POOR...

In Europe we are used to apostles we plant churches and then settle down being supported by those churches...it doesn't necessarily need to be like that...an apostle, pastor, prophet, evangelist and any other christian can have a regular job if that's God's way...
Paul was building tents at the same time he was planting churches and training other apostles...in fact, he was renting himself a house where he was having his meetings with his co-workers...aCT 20:33-35
SO, WE WILL SEE A CHANGE ON THAT ALSO...APOSTLES WORKING AND EVEN SUPPORTING THEIR DISCIPLES...
Paul did all things in the name of Jesus...preaching, teaching but also working and serving the local community...
AT THE SAME TIME, AS WE DO THIS, GOD WILL RELEASE FINANCES AS NEVER BEFORE...NOT FOR US TO BECOME RICH, BUT FOR US TO HELP THE POOR AND SUPPORT OTHER MINISTRIES...
Nee 13:10-12
The problem is that we've not been good stewards...because THERE IS MONEY !!!

- SOME ARE MARKED TO BE GIVERS, GOOD STEWARDS...
- SOME HAVE TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF SHAME ABOUT FINANCES (NEED TO FIGHT FOR THE PROMISSES OF GOD)...
- SOME ARE UNDER THE WORDLY SYSTEMS...
- SOME WILL BE BLESSED IN THEIR JOBS IN SOCIETY...
- SOME ARE DOING REAL PIONEER WORK, IT'S THEIR CALL TO SERVE THE LORD ...
THERE'S WAR TO CUT THEIR SUPPLIES...WE NEED BREAKTHROUGH IN FINANCES...THERE'S PEOPLE WHO ARE ENSLAVED BY THE "CHURCH"...WE ARE NOT PEOPLE'S PROPERTY...WE NEED TO HAVE TO RIGHT MEANING OF WHAT IT IS TO SUPPORT SOMEONE FINANCIALLY...
(finish my notes here)
Well, I have to say that while this guy was sharing about all this, I was feeling really rich :-) ...not that I have a lot, but I miss nothing (that's my definition on being prosper)...
in the end we raised up an offering, both to cover our expenses of the conference and to give to the poor...
But I just felt I should give an offering to switzerland in the name of Portugal...I believe we need a lot of insight about finances in Portuguese church (mostly because of some "churches" who preach a lot on "prosperity" and turn people to the wrong focus of the Gospel)...we (portuguese) usually are the ones who receive help from other european countries, and I believe we have been trusting that too much...we don't consider giving, because we are a "poor country" among other european countries...so that was the reason I felt to give an offering to switzerland, one of the richest countries in europe, also mentioned during the conference...I went to the guy who was sort of leading the gathering and told him what I was feeling...he directed me to a swiss couple and I explained what I felt...before that I asked the Lord how much should I give(I had some euros for my trip) and he told to keep 20 euros...so I looked in my purse and realized I had 70 euros...so my offering was 50 euros...As I said, I explained the couple that they should offer that money to someone else (it was mentioned also that Switzerland has been retaining money more than giving, so that would be a profetic act for them as well) and then I prayed for them...they prayed for me also and I was touched when they started to ask forgiveness for the way they mistreat portuguese people there, giving them the worst jobs and so....waw, I knew that but I was far from thinking about it...in the end she also shared with me that 10 minutes before I went to them they have given their last £5 trusting that God would provide...Waw, isn't God amazing...the guy went on saying that after they give those 50euros, God will give 10 times more again :-)
YES, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE WORLD'S...IT'S A BIT WEIRD AND CRAZY, BUT IT WORKS BETTER !!!
This wasn't over...the day after I got a lift with a friend who lives in London and guess what...God told her to give me £100, also in a prophetic way, releasing finances in the Portuguese nation... WAW, what else can I say...
with that money I could also bless people along the way...actually, I gave more than I kept...but anyway, I didn't need all, I missed nothing :-)...I'm not saying this to bost of myself, but to glorify God's faithfullness and the truth of His word...I'm not giving so I can receive either, because I know God will give me what I need anyway...I'm just really thankfull for the way God has been providing for me, and it's so cool to trust Him...I went through financial struggles many times, I'm one of those in a pioneer situation wandering how should I do it... but God has never let me down...HE IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME !!!
Thanks for the patience of reading...I know I can get too detailed sometimes, but I just see God in every little thing and we should praise Him for that :-)

Shantii, shantii

Baba

more on the conference (part II)

O.K, I found a computer on the way again...
I´m in Harpenden now, north London, at a Youth With A Mission base (missionary organization)...I´m feeling very welcomed here...I came to visit a sweet couple I met in Portugal, Samuel and Cida...they are awesome people, true servants of God...they are already grandparents of 7 grandchildren, waw...and somepeople think God can only use them in their youth !!! they are here in Harpenden for more then a year already, Samuel is restoring a lot of the buildings here (he´s great on that)and Cida is coordinating the work in the kitchen (she´s great on that as well)...I was just speaking and listening to them also and Samuel said something that really strucked my heart...he said that all he wants is to please God´s heart while serving others...so simple and so powerfull isn´t it?!It´s amazing how God builds up His body with so many different gifts...

Going a bit back, I just wanna share more about the conference...
once again I´ll just scroll my notes...
the second day someone(sorry, but I´m really bad on keeping names) started to share how all these is just a combination of many winds and rivers... he went on saying that 3 things need to happen for God to move in nations:
1st- a prayer movement
2nd- the profetic voice being heard
3rd- a movement of the spirit in a new way
(and I would add a 4th- apostolic action:bringing the profecy down to earth)

we are living a great moment...God is showing His mercy again...
The body of Christ is being repositioned everywhere..God started to shake the Body of Christ (local church, ministeries,etc...)

GOD IS DEFINITELY GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD...
WE NEED TO TAKE OUR PLACE ON THAT TIME...
God is working HIs purposes in our cities and countries...
we are salt and light and we need to find out hoe to be that in a new way in this situation.
What happen then ?
- Some people started to hear A voice...God wants His people to walk beside Him...God wants us to listen and discern where the Spirit is blowing...GOD WANTS THE NATIONS TO TAKE ITS PLACE AND ROLE IN THE KINGDOM...
most of us, europeans, can´t see Europe (we´re not speaking about E.U.)...We are a family of nations...
- Many from other nations started to pray for europe...so europeans started to think they should have something to do...
EVERYTHING IS CHANGED...IS TOTALLY NEW, BUT IS CONNECTED WITH WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED...

We´re here because of what it´s coming, we should never stand where we are now...
when John the baptist was asked who he was, he said that who he was only had meaning concerning HIM that was to come...

Structures are not the big issue...the problem is our heart, when it´s married with the structure...
GOD IS COMING TO SHAKE EVERY STRUCTURE...

Ezeq.24:15-27
context: 527 bC the Babilons took over Jerusalem and took prisioners.they didn´t destroy Jerusalem, but they took significant people, including Ezequiel. they were intact and they stood with great hope for the future.The Temple was always there.
in 597 bC the Babilons destroied the city and the Temple...

Many of us feel like we´re exiled...separated from what we had and coming into something NEW...
Ez. 24:15-18,v.20-21, 25-27
Relationship between what happen and what was to come...if we compare the bad with the good, was out of porpotion...The good that was to come was much better...
Ezequiel didn´t weep and mourn for his circumstances but he weeped in the light of what was to come...

-WE ARE BEING FREE OF THE CONTROLING POWER...
-THE CHURCH IS WEAKER AND WEAKER, BUT OUR PRIDE IS STILL THE SAME...
- GOD IS LOOKING FOR A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO CAN BE AS WEAK HAS WE CAN BE.

There are greatest challenges...the challenge is not to bring people out of one structure into another structure...
any STRUCTURE carries the same pride and the same weadding to power (not God´s)

God is questioning "-how can you live like exiles?"

It´s not time to open our mouths yet...is not time to proclaim...First we weep for what is to come...
THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE THE ONES WHO WILL PAY...
The place to set new government is not in Jerusalem but in exile, in a strange land and strange culture...profets and apostles are emerging in a strange land and strange culture...

We should embracthe place of exile, our personal disapointment, and sow it into the future FOR THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO RISE, FOR STRUCTURES TO COME DOWN, SO THEY BEGIN TO RISE IN A WHOLE NEW PLACE...
WE MUST BREAK 100% WITH THE PAST...IF WE DON´T DO THAT, WE HAVE NO FUTURE...
WE SHOULD MARRY OURSELVES WITH THE FUTURE THAT IS NOT YET ARISE.
AND THE WAY TO FIND OUT MORE IS TO MAKE A COMMITMENT...COMMIT TO JESUS AND WE´LL FIND THE TRUTH...
----------------------------------

GOD IS NOT CONFUSED...WE MUST NOT MISS THE TIMING OF GOD...
Psalm 74 - Europe
LET´S WEEP, ´CAUSE JESUS IS WEEPING...
It´s time for REPENTENCE
(personal obs : II Cron.7:14, Hosea 10:12)

JESUS IS SAYING - " I´M THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH "
- Oh YYYYYYes you are Jesus !!!

There´s a lot of opinions and a lot of cultures, but the word of God never changes...
THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS NEVER BEEN SHAKEN...AND IT WILL NEVER WILL...

O.k. friends...my time is running, I´ll keep scrolling my notes in next post...
see ya..
Love ya...
SHANTII, SHANTII

here again...didn't give up on the blog thing

Sorry, didn't get use to it yet...
I hope I will during the journey...I'll departure to London on the 13th and
will stay overnight at the Boiler room in Reading...next day I'll be going
to this conference named "Target Europe" down in POrtsmouth...
Then I'll see...
Be praying for me during this trip that will last till the end of August...
The purpose of this will be to get to know better and more personally what
is going on in Europe in general...and also to see how is the church going
in different countries...
I believe there's an awakening of God's people throughout Europe and the
World...I wanna see it with my own eyes and not only hear it as a rumour...
I also go to meet people and connect with them somehow...
I go pretty much with no plans :-) the way I like it... I wanna get more
sensitive to God's voice and follow His directions as I go along on this
journey...
Thank you for all those who somehow are part of who I am and what I do out
of that...
PEACE