oN tHe wAy...2 tHe rAiNbOw gAtHeRiNg...

we travelled on monday and arrived on thursday... only now I'm having the time to sit and try to write about it...me, Marcia, Lyna and Juran went on a short trip to a rainbow gathering down south in the Algarve...I feel I lost the momentum to write about it, but lets see what comes up in this post as it flows...

when I arrived I was filled with lots of feelings and emotions, heart connections, lots of stories in my heart, lots of beautiful pictures in my mind... I have to say that I didn't take many pictures there because I don't feel comfortable as I know many people don't like cameras... Most of the things we saw and experienced cannot be captured in a picture anyway...

we had a nice trip, around 5 hours long...we stopped once in Portalegre to have a coffee and to admire an ancient tree, a massive 160 year old "Plátano"/Plane tree... Simply Beautiful !



We arrived after lunch and set up our "tent" on the hill...

beautiful view as well...

Look at the beautiful flower I've found just next to our camp? I have never seen anything like it... it was as if it was made out of wax or something... amazing!
over the rainbow camp and the beautiful valley of green, yellow, purple and white... a strong fast river run through the valley and along its bank the rainbow camp was set...tents were all over in different places, the main kitchen, 2 tipis and the "coffee shop" from where we could hear shouting "coooooooffee" all day long ...

in about one hour we were ready to join the others...
I feel at home in the rainbows...if you're not familiar with these gatherings you can find out more here in a previous post I wrote...
people received us with a warm hug and the usual "welcome home" saying... some were already preparing dinner in the kitchen, a couple of children were playing in the water naked, some others were arriving too.. .we went to the main circle where the fireplace is always burning and we joined the musicians... the guy with the guitar started to sing a nice song...I don't remember now exactly but it was something like "Jah is with us , we don't have to fear" , I followed with my drum and it went on and on until dinner was ready ..." Foooooooood circle" ... time to gather all around the fire and join hands...we forgot plates...silly us !!! but Provision never failed ... we cut a bottle in the middle and there was a plastic plate and even a normal one for us to use... the food was always good as well !

I met old friends I haven't seen for years, I met new ones...there were around 60-80 people... all beautiful , each with their own characteristics, each one special...
nights were filled with fun, music and dance...

some nights more than others...one time people were getting wild making animal's sounds...it was so fun!!! so freeing !!! so releasing !!! hard to describe with words...

many people asked us about our community and we left directions on the "information tree"... we are hoping to have some of them over as there's another gathering happening soon near us in Serra da Estrela... We also heard about a "natural trance party" called "walking to Zion" near Covilha, where people are invited to join with all sorts of instruments ... I would love to go to that one, but I don't think I'll go to the other rainbow gathering...there is too much work in the garden on these hot sunny days ...

I really wish some of those people we met will come here... That's what this land is for too, to welcome the pilgrims, the nomads, the travellers who need a bit of peace and rest on their journey... of course it is also nice, and necessary, that everyone contributes with work and money for food, but so far we have been really blessed with those we´ve been hosting. 

As a nomad myself, I know what it's like when you just need a "home" to come back to... I miss travelling actually, and being on The Way...but I know I'm on the right place at the right season... I love hosting as well... it´s a privilege...

we also met a nice English couple who shared about permaculture and they will come as well... we could learn a few new things to put in practice here at the land, and I felt challenged to attend a 72hours course on Permaculture Design which will give me lots of new insight and ideas to use in the land... I'll pray and research about it...

Thursday morning we woke up early to start our trip back to the land...we wanted to be with Emmanuel who arrived just the day before we left for the rainbow... it was a pity we didn't get much time to hang out, but I'm sure he'll be back...next time for a longer period...

we left our "roof" to a girl who had no rain proof shelter... another beautiful person we met... we went to the kitchen and coffee shop for good-byes and we were ready to get our feet on the road... I mean in the car...

There is one more nice story to share...
we wanted to have a coffee and some food before our 5 hours drive, so we stopped at the first cafe on the way... there were people on both tables outside so we asked a man if we could join him... "of course", he said... we went in to order our things and only when we came out we noticed he was a traveller too... an older man, in his fifties, and not portuguese... we asked him where he was going... "I'm a pilgrim"... we laughed  and said "so are we!" ... " I can tell", he said ...I wondered why? ...

He was going to "Santiago de Compostela"... it's his second time...the first time was 15 years ago and he said he discovered himself... now he came to discover Portugal... he's from The Hague-Holland, divorced 20 years ago, a retired policeman (he worked in the human department services he said), lives alone and he was surprised to hear we were living in a community... he never heard such a thing and that surprised us as well... he was challenged by the idea I guess... 

we all felt we were before an amazing person with lots in his heart to share... he was also a musician, he had 2 instruments, one for the inside, the violin, and the other for the outside, the harmonica... his words carried wisdom and he would not speak only superficial things...
when I asked him where he was on his journey with God, he pondered a lot and started to share... he said he went through some shadow places in his life, but he learned a few things... in his first pilgrimage he said he lost his arrogance... he thought he didn't need others, that he could be happy alone... that was his arrogance...but he learned he is a social person and he needs humans for him to realise he is human... It reminded me of a movie I saw recently, "Into the Wild",  which I recommend everyone to see...

when he finished I went to the car to pick up my Bible and read to him a Psalm that came to my mind as he was speaking... Psalm 23..."The Lord is my shepherd"...he was grateful ... Juran also played for him his "Mbira", a kind of hand piano from Africa, with which the man was amazed...his name was Anner by the way, even though I'm sure it's not well spelled...

the presence of God was clear in our midst and we could all fill it...
he liked my hat... he didn't have one, and he didn't have much hair to protect him as well, so I gave it to him... you should have seen his joy...

Lyna said he looked like Heidi's grandfather...we all laughed ...he didn't want to accept it in the beginning, but I was sure it was not my hat anymore... I was happy too... Juran also gave him a necklace he carried with a nice green stone... Anner didn't know what to say nor what was going on...

Neither do we... we just knew it felt right... we went on our way, leaving him on his journey and followed ours...
we couldn't say much to each other, we all felt we just had a sacred encounter... set up by God for sure...

we went in silence and in awe for a while and I stopped to put on Shimshai's music..."I sense Your presence..."
it was so strong... so real... so beautiful... tears almost fell down my face, my heart was full...

we were also looking forward to being back home... to be with the others...to see the garden and the trees...and to have a nice "sweat lodge" before a good night of sleep...

rAiNbOwS iN tHe sKy...

The rain hasn't stopped yet... so we're really getting smarter these days... Maren left with Taini back to Germany... she probably will come back after doing what she needs to do there..Marie Ivone (Mami, for all), Lyna's grandmother who has been with us for several weeks, is also leaving tomorrow, back to France in her little "twingo" car...it has been a pleasure to have a grandma around...she's really funny... especially in the nights when her English fades away and she insists in speaking French to all of us as we would perfectly understand her...

Juran and Emmanuel are coming tonight as well...
Emmanuel managed to have a break from his busy life in Sweden and he's back with us for a few days to have a rest... Juran is coming from Porto again to join me and Marcia on a road trip to a small Iberian Rainbow gathering down south, between here and Algarve... I'm hoping to meet and reconnect with some friends and also to get to know new people who live in communities, both in Portugal and Spain... it's going to be a good time I'm sure...
Judith from Jesus Freaks Cologne is also here to visit us for a few days...

I just want to share a few pictures of amazing Rainbows we´ve been having the privilege to see...

Colours in the sky... and it's good to remember God's promise:
(Genesis 9:12-16)
God continued, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth."

aNoThEr tHoUgHt...fRuiTs oUt oF sEaSoN...

I like to eat fruits in its season... it it the best!
Do you know what I'm talking about by the way?
I'm simply asking because I have many people coming over who hardly know what I mean...
(most people we host come from what we call western "developed countries")

I have difficulties with these terms and I don't want to discuss this common terminology now, so I'll just use brackets... 

In the "western civilization" today we can eat all sorts of fruits any time of the year...some of these fruits I wouldn't even be able to spell correctly because they are so foreign... Most people get all excited about it, but aren't we losing something with this, I wonder?

I was just offered a piece of melon which I refused, simply because it's the only fruit I don't really like ( I tried often to see if my taste buds had changed, but it still doesn't convince me)
I always admire the pleasure of those who take a bite on a nice piece of melon in a hot summer day, but it really doesn't appeal to me...

Now, wait a minute! it's not summer yet! we're still in the beginning of spring here...Hmmm...
That's when I started to think we are missing something here...
I believe most of us are losing the gift and pleasure of appreciating the right things at the right time...
We're raised with a mentality that when we want something now, we have to have it NOW...
we no longer want to deal with things like "waiting", "expecting", "looking forward" ( I will not even mention "faith" or "trust" here)...
And we are losing something good with that mentality...
we are losing the excitement of when the expected things arrive... or the surprise... or the acknowledgement of a miracle taking place...

We are losing the joy and fulfillment when something that we are so longing for finally arrives...
I used to do something to allow myself this kind of feeling... I walk bare-foot, I always loved it since I was a child...the cool thing about it is that we are able to feel all sorts of different grounds, and each of them give us a different feeling...
Some are rocky and thorny, not so pleasant I would say, and usually I tend to walk more carefully and slower... but some are soft and grassy, or muddy and mushy, and it feels good for my feet (specially after walking in thorny grounds)...

You might wonder what I´m trying to say here... What fruit in season has anything to do with walking barefoot?
what I get from these bare-footed experiences is that I can only appreciate the pleasure of walking in soft grassy ground after I've experienced walking in a rocky or thorny ground...
Does it make sense now?
Going back to the fruits before I get lost (or probably you are already lost here, sorry)...

Wouldn't it be much more pleasurable to enjoy each fruit in its season, freshly picked up from the tree (with no chemicals of course), instead of eating any fruit whenever we wanted it?
For instance, Mango trees (which is one of my favourite fruits) only bear fruit in Angola between December and January (if you're lucky you can still get some in February still)...and what a treat it is to eat them there at this time... they are absolutely delicious...
I refuse to eat Mango in Portugal because we don't have them growing here, so I'm sure they're all imported (I'm not even going into the carbon print or fair trade issue here, don't worry)... even if they are well frozen and transported, I know it would not be the same taste, because they will have to be picked when they are not fully ripe...
I also don't think it would be practical to travel around the world to different places just to eat the things we wanted (not so good for the ozone layer, and only accessible for rich people)... again we 'd be feeding the same mentality "we want, we get"...

I don't have many chances to go to Angola because it's too expensive for me, and last time I went to visit my parents who live there, 3 years ago, I didn't get any Mango because it was the end of February... I should have planned it better...
But when I go there in season I have a blast of feelings in my mouth with my first bite on my mango... And there are loads of different varieties too...

There are regional and seasonal fruits for a reason :
for regional and seasonal needs...
we have plenty of citrus throughout the winter because our bodies need a lot of vitamin C to resist the seasonal cold and flu...
isn't that perfect?
we have nice melons in the hot summer, because we need extra liquids to keep hydrated and I guess because it also feels nice and refreshing...
Isn't that perfect?

Are you following me still? Sorry for the ramble... I guess I´m just longing to appreciate every little thing in its right moment, in its right season...

God speaks in the Bible about a tree planted by the river which "bears fruits in its season" (Psalm 1), and we can also read about "the fruits of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22,23)...
We're not always loving,
but when we need Love (to give or receive) God will always give to us...
we're not always joyful,
but real joy can often come in the most miserable times,
we're not always peaceful,
but how good does it feel when that peace
that surpasses all human understanding comes...
We're not always patient,
we want everything NOW,
and we think it´s the best for us...
but how much do we learn and grow
in times when we have to wait and be patient?
we're not always kind, or good to others all the time,
but what a pleasure and fulfilment it gives us
when we exercise that gift...
we're not always faithful
but isn't it amazing how God always trusts in us?
There must be a reason...
eventually God´s faithfulness becomes contagious in us...
we're not always able to control ourselves ,
(probably the hardest of things),
but it's so comforting to Know that the Holy Spirit is in us
and can help us on that too,
bearing that fruit at the right time...

we might not be able to taste every fruit
all at once,
but for each season,
according to our needs (not desires),
God will delight us with the right fruit...

I leave a suggestion if you would like... if you don't have a farm with fruits yourself,  find out which are the seasonal fruits in your local area and buy it from the local organic farmers (if there are still farmers around you)... Then enjoy it! and be thankful if you are able to do that... if not, promote some native fruit planting in your area... that could be fun!

jUsT a tHoUgHt cRoSsiNg mY MiNd...

I 've been having really cool times reading and taking time to do what I often have no time when we have so much work to do on the land...the main reason is because it has been raining "cats and dogs" (funny English expression) throughout the whole week... 

I don´t complain as it is very good for our trees and garden...and for us to take a rest... I love living with natural seasons, and in this region they are really pronounced...

A good thing to do on rainy days is to reply to some e.mails and read some good books... as Maren said, "when it rains, we get smarter"... 

One of the books I devoured , and I highly recommend it to anyone was the " Irresistible revolution "
by Shane Claiborne ...he seems to be one of those Christians who is really serious about following Jesus´ teachings, so most churches have problems with his ideas... That´s actually what makes me want to read his books... he was in Iraq during the war, to protest against it... he has been in jail for defending homeless people´s rights, as every christian should...

While he attended a prayer meeting with some Iraqi brothers and sisters (yes, there are Christians in Iraq), one bishop said to him "we will be praying for you. We will be praying for the church in the USA...to be the church"... 

We should be praying more for those who call themselves christians to be the church who follows Jesus´ teachings, and stand for what Jesus stood for :  Justice, Love, forgiveness, inclusion of all,etc... We should also pray that those who call themselves christians are not standing for what Jesus never stood for : war, use of any violence, segregation, hatred, prejudice, racism, white supremacy, colonialism, slavery, different sexual orientations, women who choose abortion, etc...

I often think about a passage in Hosea 4:1-9...

"1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
"There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3 Because of this the land dries up,
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.

4 "But let no one bring a charge,
let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.

5 You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother—

6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
"Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God,
I also will ignore your children.

7 The more the priests increased,
the more they sinned against me;
they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful.

8 They feed on the sins of my people
and relish their wickedness.

9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.
I will punish both of them for their ways
and repay them for their deeds."

I don't like when Christians "point the finger" to "the sinners" in this world and don´t look at their own faults, and participate in the unjust system we live in ...

Isn't it our fault? That there aren't more people concerned with justice, poverty and war? Aren't we, "God's priesthood" the ones to point the finger at?

Are we playing our role on earth? Are we taking care of the poor? Actually, are we living with the poor, as the poor? 
Are we seeking justice on earth? Are we not conformed to the patterns of this world?

Who do we think we are, to point our finger at anyone else?

we are not perfect I know... we'll surely never be in this existence... but are we willing to be broken, vulnerable, humble, gracious ,  transformed ? recognising our own failures and constant need of God's mercy and grace !
Who are we to blame but ourselves?

Didn't Jesus say to love our enemies? Look at Paul for instance... he killed a lot of christians and supported those who did the same... and Jesus went to pick him, and transformed him to be one who would protect with his own life those who followed the same Lord he did... After he had his eyes open he could not unsee anymore, and gave his life to show the light to many others... Do we still believe in redemption ? Even of the worst person that comes to our mind...

There was another quote from Shane's book I really liked...it was actually one of his friends who said: " 'Jesus never talked to a prostitute because he didn't see a prostitute. He just saw a child of God He was madly in love with'... When we have new eyes, we can look into the eyes of those we don't even like and see the One we love...we are free to imagine a revolution that sets both the oppressed and the oppressors free."

"The revolution begins inside each of us, and through little acts of Love, it will take over the world. Let us begin to be christians again. Jesus, give us the courage" (Shane Claiborne)

I'm left with this prayer:

I want to pray more... for myself, to be who you created me to be...

for the church to be the church...

and every spiritual enlightened person to be faithful to the path that was presented to them...

for this decaying world to be enlightened and redeemed ...

For us all to know the depths of your Grace...
Let your Kingdom come,
on Earth , as it is in Heaven.
Let your will be done.

Amen

sO mAnY tHiNgS 2 sAy...ViSiTs, LaNd aLmOsT pAiD, GoD hEaRs SiLLy pRaYeRs tOo, eTc... rEaD oNLy iF u hAvE TimE :-)

I have lots to share since I last wrote...and I didn't have much time lately, so, I'm sorry if this will get too long...
I'm using my day of rest to do what I wanted to do for so long...
there's a lot of work now on the land...every thursday and monday we water all the trees, more than 200, that we planted...they are so beautiful, and that's so encouraging !!!

We're also finishing our bathroom which is taking more than a month now, but it has been made with so much love by so many people, that I´m just letting it go...

we're also busy with our veggie garden, which is finally taking shape... sooo beautiful and peaceful to contemplate !!!

LUKAS AND JOEL LEFT US FOR A FEW WEEKS

Lukas and Joel left us after their birth-days...24th and 25th of March... we had a nice barbecue party...Joel brought a generator to have some music on, but it didn't work quite well...anyway, we had fun !!!
The next day we were saying good-bye, as they were leaving for Germany for a punk-rock concert and also for Lukas to see his family and friends... they will hitch-hike back soon... we all miss them here...
The next day we gave Lukas his presents... including a recipe book we all participated in... he was delighted with that ... 

we had our first "community meeting"... it was mostly a time to hear each other's expectations and motivations to be here at this time... it is now the first time after one and a half years that a small group of people consider staying for longer periods... 

me and Ton feel committed to stay for 10 years, Lyna and David who will soon have their baby here, will stay at least one year and Marcia until the summer...

Miri feels this is her home, but she wants to travel around as that is part of her nature (or the stage she is in at the moment)... Maren will go to Germany now to take care of some stuff and she doesn't know yet if this is her place for the moment... Joel will decide when he comes back from Germany and Lukas also said he feels like this community became his family and he will consider coming back after going to Germany for the summer...
It was a cool time and it was good to make things more clear...
One thing I know...this will remain God's for a community...as long as we follow God's purposes, God will be with us... that's what makes this place special to me and to many... 

I believe God will bring the right people at the right time...people who will stay for a longer time...people who will come and go...but God will remain the same...and hopefully the vision for this place will remain forever (whatever "forever" means) ...

MOST PART OF THE LOAN IS ALREADY PAID...THANK GOD AND MANY WHO PARTICIPATED ONCE AGAIN
As most of you know, God is in the centre of the story of this land right from the beginning. I reminded us all about that in the meeting we had, as it is important for me, and it is the foundation of this place...
God spoke to a couple first, who sold their business to buy this land for God... they eventually stepped back and we faced the challenge to buy the land back to God...or better saying, keep it as it was before... so we raised 30.000e in 5 weeks, to pay back to this couple, 10.000 of which were loaned by 2 friends for a year without interest...
Thanks to many of you who contributed to the "magic hat" these last weeks, we were able to gather 6.500e which I already sent last friday, 28th March, to these friends...we have around 2000e more, so we only need 1.500e to complete the full amount of the loan...
Once again, Praise God for being generous and using generous people... thank you all !

GOD ANSWERS SILLY PRAYERS TOO
God answers "silly" prayers too (sometimes I feel my prayers are silly, but I do it anyway)...so, this week I had a couple of those... first for one of our cats, Sambo...she and Duma got sterilized on friday the 28th, and I had to give them shots...I hate that part...so Sambo didn't really like it either, so one morning she just ran away and was gone for 2 days... on the 3rd day in the morning I went to my prayer time and was calling her on the way... I couldn't hold it any longer...I could only cry and asked God to bring her back safe and to not allow any infection in her body... I felt I couldn't just stay there and cry, so I took a bit of cheese from my breakfast and went around calling her... nothing...no "meeaw" anywhere ... I went back to the prayer tent and worshipped God with the others who came (we now have prayer times together from 9-10 am )... As I went back to the kitchen, little Hanna came to me with excitement saying "Sambo is back"... wow, you can imagine my joy and gratitude... God started to speak to me, "Can you cry like that for those who are lost in this world without a family, without a home? can you go after them the same way? I'm so looking forward to bringing them back home"... Wow, I need to chew on this to even know what that means... It is still moving my heart... I want to be crying for those who are lost in life... I want to feel God's heart for them... May this land be a home and a family to many...

The other "silly" prayer was a bit more silly...ok, our water pump broke down...and we need it especially now to water the garden...it takes us at least 2 hours now to water everything every evening...

I had spent the whole day fixing the pipes and when I was ready to run the pump I noticed that the fuel was all gone and dripping somewhere... I was pulling the rope over and over, but nothing... Fuck!n ow what?!! 

we couldn't wait, so we just went back to our old way of watering the garden...I picked as many buckets as I could find, Ton, Marcia and little Hanna came to help and we pulled bucket after bucket from the pond to water all the plants...
we need around 200 litters to water all the plants... but we made it ...  Hanna was our command, she wouldn't stop saying "schneller, schneller" ( it's "faster, faster" in german)... and that made it really fast, and really fun !!!
The next morning in our prayer time I dared to ask God to fix our pump as it was really tiring last day... my faith was not so bold, so I asked at least to get someone who could fix it... after siesta, I was going to the village to find someone who could come and see the pump, but I decided to go check it first... the fuel was not dripping anymore, so I thought about the prayer, and even though I felt silly I decided to give it a try... I didn't even have to try several times as usual, it started immediately ... I couldn't help but laugh, and thank God...

This prayer stuff works, I tell you...

SOME MORE VISITS

we had Juran back for a couple of days, together with Pedro, my cousin from Porto...he's like my brother, we grew up together as our parents were best friends...It was so nice to have him here, even if it was just for a couple of days...

Edna, Paulo, Pamy, Joshua and Nelson also came form Porto to spend a night and a day...it was so pleasant to have them all here...

here's Pamy planting some Cherry trees with me...
Christian also came from Lisbon... what a boy (sorry Chris to call you boy, I hope you don't mind)... it was such a blessing for all of us to have him around...he just carries the presence of God in such a sweet and tender way... he delighted us with his amazing troubadour's romantic heart and songs... Thank you Chris... you are such a beautiful person... he also helped Juran prepare a good "sweat lodge" ...

it was so nice, even though not quite hot and sweaty yet... we need more blankets... And the lodge could have been a bit lower... next one we will improve...

The following was much better, covering all the holes around and making the stones very hot ...wow, so good!!! it's becoming a nice fellowship time as well, for those who go in the sweat lodge, and for the others who stay outside praying and playing guitar until late in the night...
some of the privileges of living in the wild ...


LIFE IN THE LAND

with all the busyness, some storms, some spectacular and some normal things of daily life in the land, life goes on... Lyna and David are almost finishing putting up their Yurt...

shantii, shantii... I guess the next storm will test it ...it's looking good though...
The work in the garden continues... Marcia and Maren are helping

and Julia often joins me to help...

Miri is almost finished with the last details of our bathroom, finally...Ton is always busy with the trees and the upper forest. It's becoming so beautiful as well...
It's been very good to have the prayer time in the mornings, and once a week (we still didn't figure out which day would be better) we have the "Dance Floor", where we'll feel free to dance with the Spirit, being led as The Spirit wants...we never know how it will look like...


CRAZY WEATHER
We've been having some crazy weather as well, with really strong winds, rain and haze

Now a very hot sunny week...
it makes me wonder about God's creation, and how fragile we are before it... 

It´s easier to realize that when we live among trees that bounce around like crazy dancers, like our fragile tents in the middle of the meadow... but we are all safe ...
Another storm is coming again soon by the way...I can hear the thunder already now...I better go take refuge in my hut...
bless you all

PEACE