iT wAs 2 bRinG pEacE...

it was to bring peace that Christ was born...

what did we do with it?

(click on the title and watch a little movie on YouTube which needs no more words)

 

oNe mOrE rAnDoM tHoUgHt...

I've been quiet and silent lately... wandering around in the depths of my thoughts and feelings... I love thinking... I love the beauty of seasons and rhythms and how we can appreciate every different one... it has been freezing here...literally, and two days ago the rain finally started to pour down... perfect season for retreat and be in solitude... to let the hermit in me awake, and allow myself to give it some space...
So, here goes one more thought that just popped up in my mind now... about devotional singing and praise :

We don't worship God
because we have to,
not even because we need something from God...
if we worship like this,
we better check our intention,

again...

God doesn't need our worship,
even though some may say so...
God is God,
whether if S/He's worshipped
or not ...

We should worship God
simply because God is Worthy,

of reverence and adoration

of our lives and our dedication...

Worship is not about
a gathering either,
is not about playing instruments
and singing songs...
these are simply expressions,

and we all have different ones...

Worship is a lifestyle,

and you don´t even need to be religious...
it is a total surrender
to God's Sovereignty,
it's an offered sacrifice
of our whole lives,
ready to be burnt
by The Spirit on the divine altar...

burning all that is not serving us,

or our neighbour,

or  God,

so we become the light

God created us to be...

To worship is to choose 

to turn our backs 
to the world and its imperial ways,
and allowing God
to daily renew our minds

and receive revelation

of what is justice, 

and what is love

and what it means "God is Holy"
in every single created thing
in every human being...

to "worship in spirit and truth"

is to turn our backs to "Holy Temples",

and "Holy lands",

to "Holy priests"

and their "Holy sacraments",

which only serve a few,

and condemn the many 

that God wants to Love.

This, for me,
is Worship...

a pOeM iN tHe miDdLe oF ThE NiGhT...

for many years
I was trying to destroy
many boxes I was put in...
by people,
by society,
by culture,
by religion,
by myself...
in the end,
it was just me
and I felt free...
I ended up in a wide open space
and God was there
all over
and inside me...

mAkiNg oLiVe Oil iS aN aRt...

We had an amazing experience yesterday and I'd like to give you my full report about how Olive Oil is produced in this particular "Lagar" (Press)...

Unfortunately there are not so many anymore, when once there was at least one for each village... it's not actually something we can make on our own...not as easy anyway for a ton of olives...

we got to see how it was made in the old days... but it would be still impossible for us to do it that way... it's a complex process and lots of work...
so, let me guide you on a tour, as they did with me on the "Lagar" in "Sobral do Campo"...

the day actually started very early when the sun was not even up...after my short night taking care of Mischu, I woke up at 6am to leave around 7...it was freezing...literally...

it's the second frost this year... I even had to clean the front window of the car to be able to drive...
We went to pick up Tia Adelina (our neighbour ) who lives in the village...she knew the way, and we were carrying our olives together in the tractor of Sr. Marcelo... 

a very nice man who gave me the tour in the "lagar"... he has been coming here for many years with other people´s olives... he has a tractor with a trailer and does the service...  for me all of it was an exciting adventure and I learned a lot about olive oil ...

So, here's Sr. Marcelo emptying the tractor to a huge funnel where all the process starts... You can see on the first picture on this blog, the big piles of olives that people unload... this part is for those who press the oil from their own olives, and you need to have more than 500 kl for that... 

from the big funnel they come through this map where they get washed and cleaned from leaves and other stuff...

then they fall on this big container that takes them into another machine...

here they are warmed and crushed... ready to go to the next machine... 

This one here throws the waste waters out...actually, all these waters go to a huge tank called "hell"...I thought that was funny...

And from the same machine, on the front side... the olive oil comes out... beautiful... all this with a process of hot water... and pretty complex systems inside those machines... the pots you see in front of the picture are the measures to take the olive oil out of the big container where it's dropped ...

And here are the huge containers of the "lagar", where then they serve the clients who want to buy... this is for the ones who sell their olives and bring olive oil in exchange without waiting for the whole process... others, like us, pressed our own olives and brought our own olive oil home... 

This is the "waist" from the crushed olives...which is not actually a waist at all... nothing is a waist here... even in "hell", they still go there and take some olive oil out after another process...

this "waste" here is still crushed again and some weaker oil is still extracted, good for frying...

the dried "waist" is used for the furnace that warms the water that is going to be used for the machines that make the olive oil ...Wow, this is a nice closed cycle...

Here is the older Machine, with 2 huge stones called "Mó"... it's still working...they run it for us to see...

The paste from the first grinding would have been put in layers on this mats and these big presses would have smashed them into oil...

Lets have a look at our own olives now 

being crushed...

Coming out on the last machine...

And here it is ! beautiful... and tasty ! Liquid gold...

Here they were filling up the containers for us to take...

This is all the olive oil we took... not ours, this is Tia Adelina's and some other people from Povoa de Atalaia that Sr. Marcelo brought...

with our 200 Kl of Olives we took 30 liters of olive oil... I still paid 25 Euros for the "Lagar"... I could have given them 6 liters of our olive oil, but it was not so much, so I thought it would be better to take it all...

Tia Adelina paid Sr.Marcelo for the transport, and she wouldn't let me pay my share as I took the car she said... bless her !

I still got a present from the owner of the "Lagar"... a bin to make our water heater...Hmmm... warm showers soon !
This was really cool too...actually, all the people there were very friendly... it was like a big family...
May God allow this work to continue for many years and many generations...they started 40 years ago this one...and many are closing because they cannot keep up with the demandings of the EU regulations...
There is very good olive oil in Portugal, but we just cannot compete with the prices...
I guess we need more fair trade here as well...

MiScHu'S sUrGeRy wEnT FinE...

Mischu's surgery went fine...I took her early on tuesday to Castelo Branco after spending all monday fasting...she thought it was just a bad idea that I locked her in the kitchen all day... poor one, she wouldn't even guess what was awaiting her... I was so sorry for her...after a traumatising surgery (not because it went wrong), she had to spend one more day fasting, because she couldn't eat for the next 12 hours after surgery...

in this picture it's her first time out of the kitchen to get some sun and do some pee... she couldn't get cold as well, so I wrapped her in lots of layers of blankets and let the fire on...

But I couldn't just leave her alone in that situation and she could need something in the middle of the night...

so I moved in in the kitchen with her and she slept with me under my sleeping bag...

she did need me in the middle of the night...she was starving...so I had to feed her at 3 am... and she kept trying to walk around  even though she barely could stand on her feet...poor Mischu... I'm so sorry for her, but I still feel it needed to be done, otherwise she would spend all her life pregnant... and I also think 70 Euros is a bit too much for it... it should be for free ... Oh well, I hope she'll get totally fine and recover...and I hope I'm doing the best for her...

another thing I don't particularly like is that I need to give her shots everyday...and I never did it before...it was scary!!! I hope I´m not doing anything wrong...

In January I need to take Sambo, Duma and Pula too...

tHeRe'S fAmiLy nOt sO fAr...

me and Jared just had an amazing Sunday ....it was also our "holiday" from the olive picking work...finally we finished all the work and we'll be taking the olives tomorrow morning...

This Sunday we got to go on a trip to "Moses" to meet a family, the Winter´s.
They got my contact through Mike Love, who heard about Mount of Oaks through Emma...

I also met him in Palestine last year, and he's also one of the 2 guys who lent us part of the money to pay for the land on time... So when he heard the Winter's wanted to go on a tour in Europe with a van, he told them about me and that we should connect...

The Winter's left London some months ago, starting an adventure that would eventually lead them here...they just didn't know it then...  they actually had no idea of where to go, as they only picked a map one hour before leaving London after having everything packed... they only knew they wanted to find a piece of land where they could move in and live in a self-sustainable community with other people, preparing a resting place with many gardens for people to enjoy, contemplate, meditate, etc... as Vonetta is a yoga teacher, they would also like to set a yoga retreat centre, as their idea was to be together with other couples and people who also teach Yoga... they thought they would find some land in Italy, but once they got there they didn't feel that was the place...so they thought about Portugal...
eventually they got stolen in Bilbao and they lost my contact, but some weeks ago I found their blog again and wondering where they could be I went to check it out... 

for my amazement and surprise I found out they have already found their land, and an amazing story of "coincidences" that you can read in their Blog ... I was amazed not because they found a place, but because they were just on the other side of the mountain, a bit more than 1 hour by car from us... isn't that amazing !!!
So, I was even more curious to get to meet them...and I felt all those "coincidences" were no coincidence at all...
we had an amazing time... they are Andrew, Vonetta, with 2 beautiful children, Joshua and Eloise, and Michell, another yoga teacher... They went to show us their land , "Moses" (which in Portugal has nothing to do with the name of a man...it is simply the name for more than one "Mó", which is a huge stone that grains cereal, usually attached to a water mill)...

Moses is also the name of their amazing dog...who kinda led them all there...he must be a prophet dog...before they departed they knew Moses would lead them to the "promised land"...and that's why their blog is called "poop in europe"...I found that name great !!! but the whole story is in their Blog if you want to read, so I won´t write too much here...
the place is simply beautiful in itself, but they have amazing ideas to make it even more beautiful...Vonetta is a gardener too, so she can't wait to start making beautiful places everywhere in the land... it's huge, 3 hectares with plenty of water, and bordered by too streams of rivers... simply amazing...it's in a valley with lots of trees as well... it has a few stone ruined houses that they will restore, and Michell has another house too...there is another couple who bought the field next to it also with some ruined houses, so they have a lot of space... 

They want to restore that for themselves and then work out a way to build mud huts for people to come for the yoga retreats or other things... there will be a place, that will be a kitchen where everyone will eat together... the place where fellowship will happen, where conversations will flow between people from different backgrounds, cultures and belief systems...that's Andrew's dream...

These are all dreams so far... and I totally believe they are God's because that's what I have been hearing from different directions throughout the world... whispers in the air ...
I'm excited about all this...
after seeing all the land we were starving so we went to a cafe and snacked on something before we could go to the restaurant and have dinner... in the cafe we met all their new friends, 3 young couples from Oleiros, the nearest village... very nice people who have been helping them since they came...  

It was like we knew each other from before... we shared lots of stories, we drank, we ate, we laughed together, we drank , we ate... and so the night went on...  after dinner in the restaurant, we went back to the same cafe, their friends were back there too...so we kept talking, eating, drinking , some were playing cards, laughing, eating, drinking... until it was time to go back home...

it took us about 1 and a half hours...wow, we'll definitely see each other more often...
we actually might go back on friday because they're giving a party for their friends there and would love us to come...they will be leaving for London next week, and taking care of their things there...selling their house, etc... they wish to come back around March...
I came home tired...but totally content and my heart was filled with gratitude for these wonderful new friends ...

a DaY WiTh pApErwOrK...

I spent the whole day in Fundao (our local town, 15km away) to take care of all the paperwork that was still missing to finally finish all the process of the land and have it in White Stone´s name... I also had to pay the tax for the car and to pass it from Paulo to my name...
so, I went back and forth... from department to department...getting stamps here and there, paying (in my opinion a lot of money) for a piece of paper... and being sent again and again, back and forth from one place to the other... 

And still, in the end, there was one more thing missing to finish it all...

I'm so glad I don't need to do this sort of thing every day...I rather spend the day working hard on the land than dealing with papers and people that think I should know all about what I am doing... but I cannot complain about people actually... they were all very nice...
And speaking about nice people...I just met a wonderful family this sunday who are also moving to an amazing piece of land just on the other side of the mountain... but I'll try to write more tomorrow, as I need to spend another full day in the city... 

I go to Castelo Branco, because I´m taking Mishu to be sterilised ... well, she just can't have kittens all the time... in January I'll also sterilise Duma, Sambo and Pula... it's a lot of money, but I guess I need to do it otherwise we'd be overpopulated with cats...

LeO tOLsToi ...

I 'm reading this book which I'm finding amazing...for a few different reasons...
first it was from my grandma, as you see in the picture, it has her signature and a date, 1949...wow, that's amazing in itself....to read something my grandma read so long ago, and now she´s on the other realm...

another amazing thing is that it is a romance, which is not at all my kind of reading...but because it is Tolstoi I thought it must have something better than simply romance...and it's true...he has an amazing way to describe people in a social kind of view that i like... I'm still in the beginning though and it's captivating...

and last, what amazed me was his own introduction, more than 100 years ago, with this quote from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
" He who begins by loving Christianity better than Truth will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity and end in loving himself better than all"
wow... provoking isn't it! There´s some food for thought there...

Maybe some who will read this will call him heretic like the religious people of his time did...
actually his introduction is mainly a defence from many letters he received by the same religious who accused him of many things such as "old devil" ..." you will end up like a dog in eternal torment" (well, I wonder where this person got this about dogs).

I'll just leave you a few more things Tolstoi wrote afterwards defending some of the accusations...
" I renounced the Church that calls itself Orthodox. That's absolutely right.
But I didn't renounce the church because I rebelled against The Lord. I renounced it, on the other hand, because I wanted with all the strength of my soul, to serve God."

Interesting isn't it !!! This guy was far ahead of his time... even for today´s people...
I don't agree with everything he said either, but a lot of things I really resonated...

This is the end of his introduction (it´s a rough translation...sorry ) :
"I started by loving the Orthodox church more than myself: then I loved Christianity more than the Orthodox church; today I love the Truth more than anything else in the world. Truth and Christianity meet sometimes. I declare myself as a christian; and it's through the efforts I make to conciliate my actions with my beliefs , that I live in peace and joy, and it is in peace and joy that I walk towards death" (1901)

Tolstoi has some things to say... even today...

oLiVeS hArVeSt aLmOsT dOnE...

I've been trying to finish this post for 3 days...uploading pictures can take so long sometimes...
we're almost done with the olives... besides the ones who came for my birthday, it was mainly me and Jared who picked all the olives which took us almost 2 weeks, and now we're just separating some to preserve...

Because of the flies who did some damage, not many are perfect for preserving, but most of them are good for olive oil ...

we had much fun picking the olives from the trees... and so much work as well, but I particularly like it a lot !
even the kittens would join us ...
they probably thought we wanted to play "cats" or something ...
Jared would climb on the trees and I would go with the ladder to reach the most difficult ones...
now Jared knows why he trained so much when he was a kid and he can tell his grandmother that there was a reason for him to climb trees after all...

This was on my Birthday, all guests helped to sort some good olives for curing...

That's our harvest...all these basins... and the fridge in the back is full as well... we have 2 qualities of olives, the black ones, "galegas" and the big green ones, "cordovil"...

Now we are separating some good ones for curing... this day was so cold that we made it next to the bonfire...
we're also listening to the audiobook of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain...
And our Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (the dogs) also joined us to listen ...
later on, our neighbour Tia Adelina, who was also picking olives, brought us some nice sardines for our lunch... perfect !
little delights of rural life !

...mOrE oN cReAtiOn...

There is a passage that says that "all creation is groaning in eager expectation for the revelation of the children of God"...

God not only shows us the groans of creation, but also glimpses of the redemption that is to come...what we all long and hope for...what creation itself also longs for...
...I'll just post the pictures and add some comments to it... well, I guess words were not even needed..
this first one is Violeta with Sambo...aren't they sweet !!!

"The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox."
Isaiah 11:6,7

Isn't that a beautiful image !!! That's what awaits all creation !
O.K, a cat and a dog is not exactly the same as a lion and a calf... but still ... 

Sambo, Pula and Duma...they love washing each other...so funny !

these are olives in one of the trees we picked these days...more on that in next post...

this is an amazing leaf I found...aren't those colours amazing ? It´s like a Rasta leaf...

And these are our flowers blooming in splendour in winter...
despite all the bad things we see around in the world...God is still the Creator, who created everything with the potential to be good...  This wonderful creation surprises us every single day ... in big things... and in small details... we just need to look around !

I leave you with a thought to meditate on... a sign I saw in Castelo Branco... a quote by Gandhi...

“You can tell the greatness of a nation by how they treat their animals."

pUnK rOcK iN CaStElO bRaNcO...

I couldn't help but think that Miri and Edi should have been there ...
me and Jared went yesterday to Castelo Branco to watch a punk rock concert... There were 4 bands lined up, Gang Band Cowboys , Hepatite P and 2 others I forgot the names...all local bands...
Lopes, one of our friends who lives nearby, invited us to come along ...it was fun!!!
I couldn't understand any of the words (which most people seemed to know), and the sound was not the best, but hey, it was punk rock afterall...

I just enjoyed seeing all those young people who seemed not conformed to the world that has been presented to them...some might just been following one more fashion wave...but some seemed very honest in their protest...not only by the way they were dressed, by their piercings or hair style, but I could feel an honest shout rising up from the depths of their souls :

"WE ARE SICK OF IT ALL...Fuck the system...I don't want to be part of it"... sorry for the language, but I purposely didn't want to use the "F" with 3 dots because I don't like when we avoid saying what we actually mean...

It´s the thing I like about punks, they are often frontal and honest... and that makes them a lot of times misunderstood... 
they're looking for something different... sometimes not really knowing what that is... maybe for lack of examples and role models... some people think they just like to be against, but that´s not really true... Against the established oppressive system? Yes. But also for justice and for human rights. 

Not all has to be destructive... I hope the time to build up something new will come, and may this generation be prepared for it...

Most of the people there seemed to know each other, like a family... maybe that reflects the longing of their hearts as they might not find that in their own homes and families...yes, let us not be naive... their homes are also part of the system as well...


Suddenly something got my attention...among young people shouting, moshing, drinking, dancing, banging their heads back and forth, I saw 3 others, 2 boys and a girl, a bit older but not that much, wearing the same vests... it was written in portuguese " Generation +...with you in the night "... what was that all about I wonder?... one of them, the one with the long hair, seemed to know a lot of the kids there...they would offer him drinks but he would just nod his head like saying "I can't, I'm on service"... I was intrigued...they didn't seem like cops or anything...they were actually enjoying the music and chatting with the young people... 

I waited for the band to stop playing so I could have the chance to speak with the girl without having to shout in her ear... They are part of a group of an Organization of social workers and psychologists who support young people... they just started this "night intervention" in september and they go to concerts , bars and discos and they are there available for those who need their help... they have a van outside to support them, where they offer alcohol tests, condoms, pregnancy tests, HIV information, flyers about drugs and its effects,etc...and if those young people are interested they have daily care of counseling and psychological support if they need it... they are not to judge, but to help kids having a safe night out... she was telling me there are a lot of young girls who want pregnancy tests and councelling about sexual relationships... last week, she said, they met a young guy who was on a "bad trip" and they had to stay with him at least 2 hours until the guy was more conscient to realize what was going on...

I was amazed with all their work... it reminded me of the time me and Juran went to sell beers at this rave party near Sintra where we ended up taking care of the ones in need, making coffee, offering a place to lay down and sleep, making lots of friends , etc...

We need to create a better world, and not just complain about the existing one... not only say "Fuck the world" but actually do something to change it !!! starting in our own lives...

Not only criticizing those who say "Fuck the world", but actually hearing their shouts and encourage them in the things they are right about...
I wonder if this is also what these kids are looking for ... I hope so ...
I hope they find the right cause worth fighting for !

fEeL sPeCiaL & LoVed...

I was filled with gratitude as I felt special, and loved !

Do you feel special and loved? well, you should because you are...
yesterday I was celebrating my birthday. I've completed 33 cycles... I like this number.
Many people made me feel special and loved this day... many calls, messages, e.mails and also visits...
Marcia, her brother Junior, the Hurst family,(Denny, Maureen, Alana and Isaac) and the Farmer kids, Noah and Eden, came from Lisbon... Juran and Nico came from Porto...Thank you all for making this day special...

Paula and Spencer Farmer were also on their way when their car broke down 20 Km from the land and wouldn't start...in the end, they were towed back to Lisbon and I picked up the kids on the high-way gas station... What a shame for Paula and Spencer...

I got a special call from my mum who lives in Angola...it touched me deeply when she shared the way I was born 33 years ago in the northeast of Angola, in the middle of civil war, in an hospital where everyone was too busy tending wounded people to give attention to a woman in labour... it was me and my mum, and eventually a nurse called Edna, like my sister... "I'm here now, thanks to you", I said... and my mum said  "yes, God really wanted you to be born"... Wow, yes, that is the truth... God thought of me even before I was conceived... God created me the way I am...
God protected me even when I was just a few months in my mom's womb and my parents went to some place to have an abortion... I don´t blame them, considering they were on the verge of a civil war when they found out they were pregnant...They already had 2 kids, 4 and 2 years old and things were insecure... But God didn't think that would be a problem... They heard of a place where they could make an abortion and were prepared to drive 500 km to get there... They had friends in the middle of the way and decided to have a break... when they went back to the car, a new car, it wouldn't start... my dad tried all the troubleshooting possibilities, but nothing... it took a long time and many trials... my dad was furious about it... then my mum told him to stop trying and have a moment... she also had a moment of silence... maybe praying... that´s when she felt she was having the baby and they were not supposed to do the abortion... after this my mum asked my dad to try again, one more time... he did just to please my mum, and the engine started as if nothing was wrong with it... at that time my mum said "Let's go home, we´re having this baby."

I'm thankful to God and to my parents that at that moment  they decided to give up on the idea of aborting me.... In the end God did provide a place for me to be born in peace, even in the midst of war... and after my birth there were also many miracles that provided a way for my parents to be able to evacuate and find refuge and a new life in Portugal.

I was born into this world at this time because God wanted so... My story is one in many where this is more obvious, but I believe that every single one of us meant to be born...

Let's be thankful for life, for all lives...

I want to thank God for my life, for the way I was created to be, for the family I was born into, for the friends I have, for the Spiritual family I have all over the world...people who are dear and special for me, and who make me feel special and loved so often...

I will finish here with a piece of God's Words for all of us:
a part of Psalm 139... 

" Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day. "

THANK YOU GOD!


Heather and Colin also sent me this picture all the way from Tanzania ...Sweet !!!
I love you all ...

GoD iS sO gEnErOuS...& hE uSeS gEnErOuS pEoPLe...

This is the second time I'm going to type this... last friday I was just uploading the last photo and...everything was gone ...

I have no idea of what happened...but anyway, that doesn't stop me from writing it again...defeating technology by patience and perseverance ... especially because I want to praise God in this post...
so yes, God is generous...and God uses generous people... I was thinking about that on thursday during my trip from Porto in this beautiful car ... I still can't believe I actually have a car... a convertible car for a farm, it almost sounds like a joke, but it´s not...

At just the right time, because now we will start picking olives and I had no way to carry them... This is not exactly the kind of car anyone would carry olives in, but well, it will have to work... maybe in smaller portions...

Paulo, my brother in law gave me the car... just like that... he was about to sell it because they didn't need it anymore and it was one more expense and I just asked if I could use it until it´s sold... and he simply said " You want it? You can keep it !"...

he even fixed something that was broken and gave it a complete washing up before he handed it to me... Paulo is an amazing person... This is just the way he is ! And Edna, my sister as well... they are not only generous, but they are so hospitable with so many people that come and go through their house... actually, most of those who come here through Porto airport end up staying one or more days in their house... and everyone gets impacted by their friendliness, hospitality and generosity... they already have 2 extra "sons" living with them, Nico, from Angola and Juran from Italy, besides the 6 cats and 4 dogs... and they just had twins ! It´s a full house all the time... I hope they also receive from all those who pass by, and that doesn´t become too much for them to handle... When I visit it seems like everyone is helping...

I'm so thankful myself... they've been a blessing to me in so many different times...
All this made me think about many other circumstances when God blessed me... and I'm only referring to material things, because if I would mention all the others this would be a never ending post... 

I can't help but be in awe and gratitude for all the things God has been giving me...
like this laptop I'm using now and the mobile internet...I remember 2 years ago just saying in one e.mail that my communication was not so good because the computer I was using was almost "dying"...a friend replied and said "why don't you share with your friends and raise some money to get a new one?!"...and he was the first one to give some money... I never thought about that...How could I just ask for money to buy a new computer?!! well, but I did it...and in one week I had all the money... God is generous...and God uses generous people... What about the iPod that I'm charging now too?!! well, that was a funny one...I had a friend coming over and he had an iPod...I just thought in my mind..."Hmm, that would be great to have in the land"...believe me or not, next day I got a package from my sister... she was sending me her old iPod..,isn't that amazing ?! it took me almost a month to figure out how it works, but now it's a blessing in the land... it´s our "sound system" !

The craziest story you might know already...how we got this land ...well, how God provided 30.000 Euros in 5 weeks...
All this is crazy to me... these are things that I never thought I could afford, and I never even dared to ask for... first because I don't have any savings account (saving what anyway), I don't have rich parents, and I never buy anything on credit... thank God!
God is generous...and He uses generous people... And I'm so thankful to all those who have been participating in my life through their money...people that believe I am supposed to be who I am, and do the things I do...
I´ve been living like this for almost 10 years now, and God has always been faithful... giving me even more than I could think I could ever have...

I remember one day when I was in Lisbon... Those were the "not so wealthy days" of my journey (well, not that much has changed since)...I was counting every cent to buy the essential food I needed... I was renting a room mainly because Byron and Lisa were supporting me every month and I would rent 2 rooms to students to cover most of it... 

I remember it as if it was today... I was coming out of the train, it was a hot summer day, and a desire just came to my mind : " it would be so good to have an ice-cream now" ... For me that was an "extra" need, a luxury, and I couldn't afford to have "extra" needs then... I didn´t have a job, I was receiving money from people, so I shouldn't have more than the essentials... These were my thoughts then... and that's when God taught me a lesson... I felt a voice saying : "- Go buy an ice-cream for your own pleasure, please"... it was almost like a command... and then God started to speak to my heart... "- you are not my slave, you are my child and my friend... and I like to give you good things and satisfy your heart´s desires"

So I went and bought myself my favourite ice cream...

Not having a job is not because I don't want to or I don´t like working... I do work, but mostly volunteering...  I don't have a 9-5 job because God wants my full time to be available to serve other people...
I learned to be ok with that, because it´s not easy in this society to try to explain it...There are times when the pressures of society make me feel bad about it...
For some people it's even preferable and more secure to have a 9-5 job with a paycheck at the end of each month to do what they want with it... and that's ok , if it's ok for them...
As for me, I gave all my time to God and God gives me things and money for me to be at service  and also for the things I want to have (I don´t think I have many needs)

when Jesus said :" -...do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' But seek first God´s kingdom and Justice, and all these things will be given to you as well." ... I believe in this promise.

I just want to end up giving thanks again to all those who've been participating in my life with finances...This is a lesson I learned with one of my mentors, Marcos Azolin (already with the Father in Heaven now), when I was struggling about "living by faith" asking other people for money...he told me "- but you will not ask people for money, instead, you will give them a chance to participate in your life and what God is doing through your life"... and that changed my perspective since then...

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles...you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.
Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received... the gifts you sent.
They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
(Philippians 4:11-20)