Donna:
Psalm 74:17: “Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.“
The summer at the farm is taking its course with its cool mornings, delightful sunny days, and fresh breezy evenings. The veggies in the soil are growing, each at its own leisurely pace waiting anxiously for their evening watering. The pear and honey fig trees are producing abundantly and the olives are plumping, getting ready for the harvest. We haven’t done much around the farm except protect the existing young trees from the hot sun and water periodically. The rest is in God’s hands. 🙂
Jorge and I took a weekend trip to Penacova to ensure all was well in that part of the realm. The campground’s main entrance is still closed awaiting repairs after the winter landslides. This resulted in fewer campers and a quiet, peaceful atmosphere. The beach area has been restored after last year’s flooding destruction, and the beautiful Mondego River was flowing naturally to enrich all the surrounding areas. We then parted ways to enjoy different areas of the country for one week. Jorge travelled Wesr with the caravan to various places around the Aveiro region. The weather was very fresh and distinctively cold in the mornings due to the humidity and fog in that coastal region. During his stay he enjoyed discovering new campgrounds, beaches and nature scenes to film for wordproaction ministry. Donna travelled down south to enjoy the beaches of the Algarve with Cristy, Nuno, and Afonso. We enjoyed the warm sunny climate and warmer waters further south. Little Afonso is an avid swimmer and loved his time in the sand and the water! It was a lovely relaxing time for all!
Gabriel and Selen enjoyed a trip to Yunnan in southwest China. From the pics it looked like a scenic adventure, although it was a bit rainy at times. Julie, Zach and Riley took a trip to the Hawaiian Islands and were blessed with good weather, sea and surf! Beautiful pics from them as well!
The birthday celebrations in August began with Joana on the 2nd, Isabel on the 3rd, and Jason turning 23 on the 23rd. Interesting numerology indeed! We wish them all a very blessed and productive year ahead! Jorge’s birthday wason the 31st. (four in one month)
After tidying up the farm, we found ourselves off to visit Czechia and Poland! This was a trip that I was long wanting to make and by the grace of God and the generosity of our children it is currently happening ! We left from Lisbon via TAP on a 3.5 hour flight to Prague.
It was nightime and raining when we arrived in Prague. We travelled to our cosy apartment by bus and ” slept the sleep of the righteous” We were so happy to wake up the next morning and see the sun shining brightly over Praha! We began our walkabout early and were amazed at the stunning beauty of the city! We travelled via tram, bus or metro for free since we are ” Seniors” . 🙂 This made it so easy to get around everywhere! We did the suggested tourist route of the main square with the Astronomical clock, Charles Bridge and up towards the Castle. All very beautiful and historical. During the trip we were intent on understanding why Czechia is one of the most non-religious countries in the world. This led us to investigate the life of Jan Huss, the spiritual spearhead of the the Hussite movement which then led to the 30 Years War. We have shared links to this history if anyone is interested in learning more. Hence we visited the St. Nicholas Church Hussite service on Sunday morning. Later we found the Bethlehem Chapel the place where Jan Huss preached and lived until he left Praha and was martyred for his faith. This helped us to understand the protestand/ nationalist struggle against the empire, nobility and the Catholic church.
We also enjoyed some memorable cultural events in Prague: a classical music concert in St. Francis of Assisi Church near the entrance to the Charles Bridge, a boat ride on the Vitava River and meals of goulash, dumplings and black beer! Many footsteps were spent in the side streets of the city exploring the paths less taken but nevertheless just as interesting.
One evening we visited the Sokol club down the street from our apartment. The Sokol all-age gymnastics movement was founded in 1862 to promote physical fitness, moral training, and Czech national consciousness under the principle of “a sound mind in a sound body.” Today it continues to maintain a large membership with participation in different sports modalities in all parts of Czechia and beyond national borders.
After three full days in Prague, we boarded the train for Olomouc. It is a beautiful city, a small scale Praha. It is a university town full of young people and few tourists. it was nice to see the local population and culture existing side by side the monuments and churches. Beautiful parks adorn the city center as well.
After 80-90% of the city being destroyed in WW 2, Warsaw was reconstructed brick by brick and it took 20 years to finish. Today the Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a city built from it’s own ruins. At the same time, the rest of the city is a modern capital full of businesses, skyscrapers, and wide avenues with a good transportation system. There are green parks, busy streets, and a lively riverbank where people relax in summer. The city is divided by the Vistula River, half of the city is the urban center, the other half a protected nature reserve with an urban beach.
Today, although 90% of the people are Catholic they say church attendance has been slowly dropping, especially among younger people. Still, you’ll see crosses in schools, churches on every corner, and religious holidays are national celebrations.
One of the most famous Polish sayings is actually the city’s official motto: “Contemnit procellas”, which translates to “It defies the storms” . It perfectly captures Warsaw’s spirit of rising above its turbulent history. There is so much to see and we were very blessed to see all that we did during our 2 day stay.
We thank all of you for making this trip a reality and we hope you can visit these lovely places and experience the Slavic culture for yourselves!
Love and prayers to all.
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