Enderle Update - September 27, 2008

This weekend you may have raked some leaves, bought a pumpkin or watched college football – all signs that fall is in full swing. This year our fall has been different compared to last year, but busy none the less. What have we been doing this fall in Portugal?

Portuguese Class: This past month we have spent more time hitting the books. Normally we meet with Marta, our instructor, for 2-3 hours a day. In addition, we have been meeting with two tutors, Flaviana and Anna, for an hour or two a few times a week. We enjoying using the café downstairs for studying and homework. It is a great feeling to understand what people are saying to you, but we still have a long way to go before we sound like natives.

Visitors: There hasn’t been a month yet when we haven’t had visitors to Portugal. This month Pastor Larry Schlomer from Latin America was here for a week followed by Pastor John Buchholz and his wife Sandy for another 4 days. We hosted the Buchholzes at our house and were able to spend a day touring the Douro river valley with them.

Football: No, not soccer, real American football. Jeff started the season with a 3 day training camp in a small Portuguese town near the Spanish border. Unfortunately he hurt his hamstring during the first practice, proving he is not as young as he thought he was. He practices twice a week and, although the coach speaks English during the workouts, Jeff has been learning lots of new Portuguese words from the other players.

Izaak: While we are studying, Izaak has been staying at the infantario. His two teachers, Amelia and Sonia, report that he is very bem disposto (happy). He weighed in at 7.3 kg at his last doctors appointment. (That’s 16 lb for those of you who aren’t familiar with the metric system.) He loves playing in his saucer, sticking things in his mouth and testing out different screeches, gurgles, and coos.

Big Trips: As you read this Jeff and Bill are on a plane flying to Mozambique. They will be gone two weeks and have a lengthy “To Do” list while they are there. Most important, they hope to register our church with the Mozambique government and apply for work visas. Soon after they return, both of our families will fly to Germany for a retreat with other WELS members in Europe. After the retreat we will spend a few extra days touring some Luther sites.

Prayers: Keep both our family and the Meiers in your prayers as Bill and Jeff travel. Hopefully both men stay healthy during their two weeks in Africa and both moms stay sane. J Pray also that the registration process goes smoothly for our church so that we can make plans for our move to Nampula.

Enderle Update ~ August 29, 2008

This weekend many of you will be grilling brats, relaxing with family or scrambling to get ready for another week of school. Most, if not all of you, are thinking, “Where did the summer go!” We have been thinking the same thing; here are a few things that kept us busy in August:

Camina: We spent the first week of August at the home of Pastor and Mrs Villares in Caminha, a small city along the coast, near the border with Spain. Since their daughter Marta is also our Portuguese teacher, we still spent a few hours having class each day. But we probably got more practice just by listening to and speaking with Isabel, her mom. We did a little sightseeing at some of the neighboring cities and even managed to spend a few mornings at the beach.

G-ma and G-pa Visit: Jeff’s parents came

to visit the last two weeks of August.

The first week we showed them our favorite sights in and around Porto. The second week we rented a car to see other parts of Portugal. We spent two days touring the Douro valley and four days in the Lisbon area.

We enjoyed the sightseeing. But one of

the biggest highlights

was when Jeff’s dad preached at Congregação Santíssima Trindade a

nd Jeff translated the sermon into Portuguese.

Izaak loved all the attention from grandma and grandpa as well!

Football: The football (soccer) season has begun in Portugal and has everyone across Portugal excited. This fall, Jeff will be playing instead of (or maybe in addition to) watching. Some members of an “American football” team here in Porto asked Jeff to play with them. The team plays against other teams in Portugal and Spain. The season begins in two weeks with a 4 day training camp. Most of the team is (a lot) younger than Jeff, so keep him in your prayers.

Izaak: While mom is missing being back in the classroom this fall, Izaak is getting excited for his first day. Well, okay, he has no idea that he will be going to day care this Monday, but we can pretend. He discovered his hands last week and loves staring at them as well as making lots of interesting noises. We can’t believe how much he has changed in three and a half months!

Mozambique: Before we can move to Africa, our mission has to be officially registered with the government of Mozambique. There have been some complications in the process so Bill Meier and Jeff will be making a trip to Nampula to sort things out. They will leave the end of September and be gone until things get straightened out. How exciting to see the city we will live and work in! Pray everything goes smoothly for them and also for the “moms and kids” in Portugal.

Prayers: Thank God for granting us and Jeff’s parents safe travels and ask that he be with Bill and Jeff while they visit Mozambique. Thank Him for a healthy Izaak and pray that he adjusts to being in a new day care. Pray that our language training continues to go well and that the application process for our church in Mozambique goes quickly.

Summer is well on its way and we have been busy traveling back and forth. Here are some quick highlights from the last few weeks:

Back to the US: We left bright and early on June 23^rd for Chicago via Frankfurt. Izaak was a great flier and we found that flying with a baby gets you to the front of every line. Grandma Hieb met us at the airport. For the next 2 weeks, we barely ever had the baby in our own arms. Carrie and Jon wonderful chance to catch up with the extended Hieb/Enstad relatives. The next week we spent a night at the Dells with the Enderle family and enjoy time relaxing at several pools. On the 4^th we celebrated Grandpa Bublitz’s 89^th birthday. During the two weeks we also managed to see several friends as well as squeeze in some doctor visits and a little shopping. It was tough saying goodbye, especially knowing the Izaak won’t remember most of his relatives and that he will be 2 years old the next time he sees them in person. However. all in all it was a great time and it made us realize that our home is now in Portugal.




Wonderful Fellowship: With only a day to recover from jet leg, we had a big weekend in Gaia. WELS members Brian and Ruth Grundmeier drove up from their temporary home in Spain to join us in worship. They arrived Saturday along with several members from the church in Lisbon. We spent the afternoon touring the sites in Porto and eating spaghetti at the Meiers. Church the next day was packed, by our standards, with 29 people! It was great to have so many Christians together. After the service we headed to Pastor Villares’ home for a feast prepared by his wife Isabelle. Not only were we celebrating our fellowship together but also Isabelle’s birthday and the Villares’ wedding anniversary. After the meal we toured one of Gaia’s many wine cellars and returned for supper and fellowship before our visitors headed home.

Back in the swing of things: After being gone for almost three weeks we knew we would have some serious Portuguese reviewing to do. It is amazing how much you can forget in such a short time! On the other hand, it was nice to come back and speak enough to communicate. Unfortunately Jeff had to use his Portuguese with our phone company who had disconnected our phone and internet service while we were gone. It took a while, but we got our phone and internet back working about a week and a half later.

Izaak: Our little baby is growing! I have started putting clothes away that don’t fit him any more. He’s moved from the little to his full size crib in his own room. He’s even outgrown the kitchen sink for bath time. We love “happy baby time” when Izaak is full of smiles and have started reading little Bible stories to him at night as well as singing songs before bed. We both smiled when he started cooing along with our music. Amazing how the smallest of hearts can be soothed by the gospel message!

Prayers: We are comforted in knowing God hears all our prayers and that all of you are praying for us! Please ask that he bless Bill and Pastor Villares as they travel to Mequon for Missionary Conference. Ask that he bless our language training in Portugal and that he keep both our family and the Meiers healthy.