Simeon

"It all depends on this, that we with the dear old Simeon open our eyes and see the Babe, take Him into our arms, and kiss Him, which means, that He is our hope, joy, comfort, and our life."

Martin Luther, Sermons from the year 1544.

Enderle Christmas 2008

With so many things happening in our lives this past year, I figure you’ll only have the patience to read through the highlights of what’s happened to the Enderle family since last Christmas. Thanksgiving is generally a time to list blessings and accomplishments are commonly compiled when we prepare to enter a new year. So you can decide if this list is coming to you too early, too late, or at just the right time.

Lessons in Patience
After we had packed up our worldly belongings in Omaha last January, it seemed like an eternity before our visas arrived allowing us to move to Portugal. But that was only the introduction to a lengthy course on patience. At the end of September Missionary Bill Meier and I made a trip to Nampula to give our personal attention to our mission’s registration with the government of Mozambique. After making regular visits to the local office of Religious Affairs and assembling an impressive stack of official documents, we returned to Portugal without successfully registering the mission. Now we are working and waiting to submit a new set of documents that will allow us to apply for the registration. Since we need the mission’s registration before we can apply for our personal visas, we have no accurate estimate of when we will arrive in Mozambique.

Home Sweet Temporary Home
This delay reminds me of the many blessings for which we can give thanks while we remain in Portugal. You might be jealous of our amenable climate in Portugal. We’re also thankful for lives free of the stress of driving and keeping up with fluctuating gas prices. But we are especially thankful for our friends here who have shared our joys and challenges the past nine months. The Meier family is accompanying us on our meandering path to Mozambique and the


family of Pastor Artur Villares has been indispensable as our hosts. Transitioning to life on this side of the Atlantic would likely have been much more frustrating without the help and support of these two families.

Healthy Baby Boy
On the other side of the confusion from the language barrier and the delivery room urgency, we are able to pause and thank our gracious Father for the birth of a healthy baby boy on May 11th. It didn’t take too long to recover from the trauma of that day. And Angela also bounced back quickly from the delivery. Now Izaak is seven months old. We marvel at his development and enjoy the entertainment provided by our playing, talking, laughing, smiling, solid-food-eating little boy.

Guests and Visitors
We have been privileged to host three siblings, one in-law, and one set of parents so far during our stay in Portugal. We’ve enjoyed the opportunities to join them for some travels. But we’re still not sure if our guest planned ahead with the realization that Portugal is a much cheaper travel destination than Mozambique or if our families perceive more sightseeing opportunities in Porto than in Omaha.

Peace
Lastly, and most importantly, we count as our greatest blessing the peace which we have through the birth of Jesus Christ. Our world has plenty of doubts about the economy, politics, and future world events. There is so much that our small family doesn’t know about our future. That’s why it’s especially comforting and appropriately encouraging to take to heart the angel’s Christmas message: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas,
Jeff, Angela, and Izaak Enderle

Back in Porto for a while

Where will you be this Thursday? Will you be eating turkey and mashed potatoes or enjoying some other type of feast? Will you be up shopping at 6 am Friday morning or putting up your Christmas decorations for another holiday season? Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, we hope you are as blessed as we have been the past month!

Mozambique: Already a month ago, Jeff returned from his first trip to Mozambique. The registration for our church will take longer then planned, but the trip was still a success. We learned many new things about the city we will be living in and the culture we will be doing mission work in. The plan now is to resubmit our registration in December and hopefully move in the spring.

Germany: We were very blessed to spend 10 days seeing Lutherland in October. Our trip started in a beautiful little village in the Black Forest. We attended a retreat for WELS members in Europe, many of them in the military. Then we drove to the other side of Germany and stayed with our friends, the Drechslers, in Zwickau. It was a beautiful time to see the Wartburg Castle and the city of Wittenberg, all the trees were full of color and the weather was brisk. The vacation was a nice chance for us to spend time together as a family and recharge before returning to Portugal and continuing our language classes.

November: After a month of irregular classes, due to all of our travels, we restarted Portuguese classes. One change this month has been the opportunity to meet with a Mozambican for cultural classes twice a week. It has been very interesting to here him explain the history of Mozambique. Another change is that on Fridays we are having a “practical class.” Jeff meets with Pastor Villares to work on liturgy and other church related language while I meet with Marta and “teach” a recipe and a bible story to her in Portuguese. It has been a nice change from the typical classroom setting we are used to.

Izaak: Our little guy just turned 6 month this past week and is becoming more and more interesting each week. He can sit alone, although a pillow behind him is still a good idea, just to be on the safe side. He started cereal, but is not a big fan and still prefers mom’s milk. He continues to go to daycare while we are in class and greets his teachers with a big smile every morning.

Thanksgiving: Last year we had 17 family members enjoying turkey together at our house in Omaha. This year, the numbers won’t be as high, but we are still looking forward to having guests! Jeff’s sister, Joy, and her husband, Rick, arrive this Sunday and will be here a week. Although we will be in Lisbon on Turkey Day, I am sure there will be plenty of opportunity to eat while they are here.

Prayers: Please continue to pray for the church’s registration, we can not move until this has been completed. Also keep both our family’s health and the health of the Meiers in your prayers – all of us have been suffering from colds and the flu. We join with you this Thanksgiving, and praise God for all the wonderful things he has given to us and pray that he continues to bless us in the years to come!

Back from Nampula

The first thing you notice once you step off the plane in Moçambique is the smell of smoke. The dry season is coming to a close. In anticipation of the upcoming rainy season, large and small plots of land alike are being cleared by traditional slash and burn techniques. So the smell of burning wood and brush constantly hangs in the air. A slight smoky haze obscures surrounding landscapes. Month after month of dry season contributes a fine mist of dust to the ever-present smoke to help paint bold colors on the horizon as the sun begins to set.



That was my first impression on my first visit to Nampula, Moçambique. The second thing I noticed, that greeted me every day of our visit and still sticks with me, is the constant presence of people wherever you go. On the road from the airport on our initial trip into town, pedestrians overflowed the sidewalks and makeshift market areas onto the streets and intersections. Driving through town meant navigating around foot traffic on the fringes of the roads, bicycles carrying entire families or loads of straw or charcoal, motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic, chapas (mini-buses the size of VW vans packed with 15 passengers) dropping off and picking up passengers at random, and huge trucks weighed down with goods and plenty of passengers standing on the beds or sprawled out on the loads. Walking through the center of town, people are everywhere. Some on in hurry, on their way to work or busy with appointments. Some are busy selling goods and doing their best to give you a bargain. Some are just there.




Of course, to Christians this huge mass of people isn’t just an obstacle or a spectacle. Each person is a soul, bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. Far from a typical tourist stop, Nampula is the future home of a new mission endeavor. Missionary Bill Meier and I just returned from a two week trip to our future home. We had a short stay. But hopefully it was an important step toward establishing a long-term outreach effort in the north of Moçambique.


Registration for the WELS’ latest official mission field was the goal that brought us to Nampula. Before the missionary families can begin to make arrangements for our move to Moçambique, we need visas from the government. Before we can apply for visas, we need to have our mission officially registered with the Moçambican government.


So we arrived in Nampula with stacks of documents and an appointment with the Department of Religious Affairs. On our first visit to the office, we list of required documents and a clearer idea of what it would take to successfully submit our registration. We received cooperation from friends in Malawi, Zambia, Portugal, and Milwaukee. We learned out way around town tracking down more information. In the end, after all our efforts, we were unable to submit our registration.

In the process, however, we were able to acquaint ourselves a little better with our future home. We learned about schools and investigated options for vehicles and houses. We were able to meet new people and make some valuable contacts.

Our trip served as a good introduction to life in Nampula. And we pray that we will be able to submit the registration soon. But until we hear news from the Moçambican government we will be continuing our studies here in Portugal.



Prayers: Thank God for safe travels for Bill and Jeff to and from Nampula. Pray for safe travels for both families traveling to the WELS retreat in Germany this week. We ask that Bill’s health continues to improve as he recovers from (another) bout with malaria. Pray that God will bless the efforts of those working with us to register the mission in Moçambique. Thank God for the opportunities we have here in Porto to continue our language training.

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

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.