By Donna:
We welcomed 2025 in Zhuhai ! During our time in the mainland we were blessed to meet together with some dear brethren from our past fellowships. It was great to connect with old friends after many years! God continues to move mightily in the mainland and we were inspired to share our vision for future plans for the Lord’s work. We also made new friends and we are excited to return whenever possible! We are very positive about God’s promises, forgetting the things that were before and looking forward to the things that are to come! The future is as bright as the promises of God, dear Lord increase our faith.
Back in Macau we were able to spend valuable time with family and friends. Outdoor activities together were a real blessing for everyone. We celebrated Emanuel’s birthday a few days early, with the enthusiasm and joy that we were together again and that Emanuel is thriving, healthy and fit as ever!!
At the end of our stay we moved forward to start learning some Turkish vocabulary from Selen. I have to admit, it is not an easy language to impress on the memory, and after spending 3 days in Istanbul, I do think I was finally able to say thank you in Turkish and actually could hear someone echo it back to me, albeit more quickly and with a different cadence:)
Besides the lovely time we enjoyed with Selen’s family, we learned lots of history during our short stay in Istanbul. Constantine, the Byzantine Empire and Hagia Sophia, the Ottoman Empire, etc. etc.
It is amazing to realize how much of the growth of Christianity took place in Turkey. Just a few things mentioned in the book of Acts: On the day of Pentecost, Jews from Cappadocia, Pontus , Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia , all part of modern day Turkey, along with Jews from other nations were gathered in Jerusalem. and they all heard the gospel in their own languages. Acts 2:10. Paul , formerly Saul, was from Tarsus, which is in the shadow of the Taurus Mountains, located in modern day southwestern Turkey. Paul later wrote many letters to the churches established in Asia Minor, i.e. Turkey. The believers were first called Christians in Antioch, south central Turkey. Acts 11:26. Paul and Barnabas had extensive missionary journeys in Asia Minor. The letters written by John to the 7 churches referred to in Revelations chapters 1-3 are all located in Western Turkey. The isle of Patmos where John was exiled to is in Turkey. Noah’s ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, northwest Turkey. The First Council of Nicaea was held in Nicaea, now Iznik, Turkey, from May until the end of July in 325. It is an interesting study indeed and I am still investigating different aspects of this history.
Upon arrival in Portugal, we were just in time to celebrate Cristiana’s birthday! It was a very festive occasion with lots of music, singing and dancing! Cristiana, Nuno and Afonso are very happy in their new abode and are very excited for the year to come.
As of today we are back to the farm. Upon arrival we were greeted with intense rainstorms.gale force winds and low temperatures. It has been an intense winter so far and we still have a few months to go! Before we left, we pruned many of the olive trees but did not have time to clean up all the cuttings. We purchased a small tractor to help us haul all the branches to the front of our property in order to burn them. This vehicle has been a great help and is saving our backs and knees! We are in the middle of the clean up, but it is much easier now!
On the 21st of January, Philip celebrated his birthday. We chatted online and are glad to see he is feeling great, was dropping the kids off at school and heading to the gym! (sorry, no pictures received.)
Last, but not least, Xin Nian Kuai Le to all those who celebrate Chinese New Year! May the joy of the Lord be your strength!
Assorted images from January:
