The State of Things (And a Few Pics)

Well here is a little photo log of what we have been doing the last few weeks.

Top left; Eden on the beach with a bunch of kids from the Aldiea SOS orphanage learning to surf.

Top Center; is Noah's black eye from getting punched by one of the Nigerian kids at his school.

Top Right; The volunteer fire department parade coming up our street on Sunday morning.

Bottom Left; Kelton, Branson, and Noah at the beach. Kelton and Branson were visiting from Amsterdam.

Bottom Center; Saying good-bye our German friend Eddie, and our American friend Jared as they got ready for their walk about to Spain and on...

The Euro is strong against the dollar ($1.57 as we speak) and oil is $109.00 a barrel. Americas banking institutions are standing on rocky ground and the stock markets across the globe are on a roller coaster ride. Kosovo is seeing fighting again. Tibet is going crazy. And who knows what kind of darkness waits around the next corner.

Yet this is exactly why we are doing what we do. In the words of Jesus, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have over come the world." Earth quakes, famine, cancer, war...they're not going away. The poor will always be with you. Trouble, trouble and more trouble, but Jesus, he's the great Lover of our Soul. The Comforter. The Teacher of the Good Ways. The Over Comer of the World. In this crazy world, we are bring the crazy upside down kingdom of Jesus to people who need Hope.

So pray for us. Pray with us. This Easter may we have beautiful feet as we bring the Good News.

Be Blessed

New Rhythems

Teaching is our new rhythm. P and I are both working part time at the International Christian School of Cascais. She is teaching American History and I'm still teaching theatre. Not only are we able to develop relationships with these young international students, but we are also able to take a little pressure off of the cost of tuition.

This picture is of Eden's 5th and 6th grade class working on their Easter drama.

So now we are working out our new rhythm/schedule. Who is doing the grocery shopping? And when? What about that pile of dirty laundry? Who takes the car to school and who walks? Etc, etc, etc. So much of our life's are centered around routine. Yet so much of our growth happens when we are in uncomfortable positions. And we are uncomfortable right now. Uncomfortable with our lack of time. Uncomfortable with the learning curve. Uncomfortable with the things we don't know.

One thing that is starting to be less uncomfortable for the kids and me is having P go away on business. She just flew to Amsterdam this morning for a ServetheCity leaders strategy/planning event. She will be home Sunday. But hey, five days is nothing after having her gone for over three weeks. We're pro's now. Pray for good work to be done in Amsterdam with the ServetheCity leaders. Pray for us as we are with out mommy again. And pray for us to keep leaning into being uncomfortable. Miss ya all. Be Blessed

You Don't Have to Read This

This is one of the pieces of thought provoking graffiti that are sprayed on the walls of the board walk down by the beach between Estoril and Cascais. There is another one that shows a family kneeling in prayer with an oil barrel over their head, and the statement "In God We Trust" below them. Another shows two people, a man & a woman stick figure, embracing with thought bubbles over their heads. His bubble shows his thought, "XXX". Hers shows "$". Or how about this one, "Democracy, some assembly required", with the picture of pieces of a tank being put together.
All these are statements about how the graffiti artists see the world around them. (Check out Romans 1: 18-32) They have something they want us all to think about. Like modern prophets they spray their messages for the world to see. War, and what they see as the lies of democracy. Sex, the misunderstandings between men and woman and what really motivates them. Religion, the hypocrisy they see in the world around them and where people really put their trust. Ezekiels for their generation.
Now I don't think God called these people to deface public property, nor do I think that most peoples live are motivated to change because of these spray painted murals, but what I do find interesting is that this person has something to say. Something they feel strongly enough about that they will spray paint it on a wall. Are they wanting to challenge the way people think about the world around them? Or are they expressing a view point that many of the younger generation today are feeling, that life sucks? That war, greed, the system, people, the world, and God have failed them. That sex, money and power are the only truth that seems to matter.
Have they given up hope? They must feel that something can change or else why spray paint this message for the world to see. They must desire to see change. Something in them must believes that there is a new way and a new message. "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" The hearts are prepared, the field is white, and we must paint our message for today's generation to see. May they Be Blessed!

Reality Check

When there is nothing on AXN, (That's the channel with CSI Las Vegas/Miami/New York, Criminal Minds, ER, Life, etc.) we will check out the discovery channel. The whole channel is dubbed in Portugese but on some shows, such as Myth Busters, you can kind of hear the english underneath. We like Myth Busters. Not only can you kind of understand them, but they do all sorts of cool stuff. They smash things and blow things up and shoot things and all of this is done simi-scientficly.

The two hosts are these crazy guys Adam and Jamie. Paula thinks Jamie looks like a scarey cat creature. He has this massive crazy mustache and always wears a black beret with a white shirt. Adam likes to wear black t-shirts with pithy saying on them. One of them is a stick figure guy falling over, the caption reads, "I do all my own stunts". I like that shirt.

Last night he was wearing a black t-shirt that had white lettering that read."I reject your reality, and I substitute my own" Anyhow I started thinking about the saying and the whole idea of reality. How do we deal with this idea his shirt was proclaiming and what is MY reality?

Jesus said LOVE was the greatest thing. He didn't say being super spiritual or powerful or anything else was the greatest. It was love. That was his command to his band of brothers. "Love one another as I have loved you." Love wildly, freely, at all cost. This is the reality I need to substitute. God is love. I am identified with God. I live in Christ and He lives in me. His Spirit guides me. I am Jesus to those around me. "For God so loved the world...that he sent Jesus" And "For Jesus so loved the world ...that He sent me." So my reality is to love, no matter the sacrifice. No matter the cost.

Maybe I need to make my own t-shirt that says something like this, "I reject your reality and substitute it with LOVE." Maybe I can start by living it. Be Blessed. Be Loved.

We're doing it again! 24/7 PRAYER

This is the message we sent to the Matrix community this week. Thought you might enjoy it. (It had all sorts of cool graphics but I couldn't get them to import.)

Maybe you would like to join with us during this time of prayer. (From 6:00 pm on Friday the 15th to 8:00 pm on Sunday the 17th)

CAUTION !

PLEASE read this so you are aware of the dangers of being
involved in a 24/7 PRAYER ROOM

24/7 Prayer is highly contagious.
Symptoms of a 24/7 prayer fever may include the following:

· Blurry eyes as you get up in the early in the morning hours to PRAY!
· The urge to skip your 24/7 PRAYER time because your bed is warm.
· Wondering why you are driving across town at 3 in the morning.
· A sense of anticipation as you walk towards the 24/7 PRAYER room.
· Nervousness about interrupting the PRAYER time of the person in there.
· A sense of wonder as you enter the Holiness of the PRAYER ROOM.
· Feelings of awe as you encounter the Living God in PRAYER.
· A powerful desire to see YOUR WORLD CHANGED!

You may experience the loss of time, the feeling that an hour couldn’t have gone by all ready when the next person shows up for their hour. That is normal. To reduce the likely hood of this you may sign-up for more than one hour at a time.


Also the is not responsible for any powerful spiritual experiences you might have, or any deeper desires to pray, or for any answered prayers.

Should you wish to continue on with your journey towards the
24/7 PARYER ROOM see the attached document.
Or Go to www.lisboamatrix.com

Mexico Bound-Our Story (Part 4)

Paula was coming back. I drove into East Sound and picked her up from the airport. (It was actually a run way where a single engine plane could land and take off.) I was very excited to see her after our time apart. I was dirty, dressed in my manly green frock, my hair was henna red and shaved into a long mohawk. Welcome home baby!

When she stepped off the plane I was stunned. She was radiante, with a short spiked hair cut, a fauxe white fur coat, a black velet hat and mini skirt. Remember we had been living a grungy life style there at Doe Bay. (It was the early 90's and we were just outside of Seattle) So seeing her all primped and pampered was breath taking. Thing's were looking good.

But romantic moments aren't made to last, except in books and movies. We went back to our love shack in the woods, back to the disfuntional. My sense of what was right and wrong was not completely gone. I knew that even though I was not planning on marrying this person, she was going to have our baby, and I must do the right thing and marry her. (I don't know why that was what I thought, but it was. I knew it before she returned.)

"Paula will you marry me?"

"No!"

What? You have got to be kidding me. It was like jumpping in a cold lake. I couldn't believe she was saying no. I was crushed. It hurt. I was not going to ask again. So that was it. We would be the babies Mommy and Daddy and life would go on. No worries. Except for the fact that life around us was melting down as Winter pressed in. The harder the conditions the worse everyone was treating each other and we were not pleased with it. P had traveled with the sun as she had been bouncing around and the cold grey of the Pacific North West was getting to her. It was time for a move. We needed to find a place to have the baby and it needed to be warm.

I had read a book about being a plant Shaman and had seen that there was a man in Mexico that I could study Plant Shamanisim under. For those of you who are not familiar with Plant Shamaisim, it is the spiritual practice of learning to commune and talk with the spirit of plants so that you can heal the plants and be guided by them.

We decided that was it. That was our plan. We would leave Doe Bay, head for Mexico so I could become a plant shaman, stop at my dads place in San Diego to earn some money, and P could have the baby down there. (Mexico is cheap) We had a gas card, about 20 bucks and a few cans of soup for the journey. We loaded all our stuff into her 1977 Chinook pick-up/pop-up camper. All of our stuff fit into 4 small cardboard boxes. It was raining as we left. (Rain in Seattle?) And the floor board of the Chinook was rusted out and covered with cardboard. So within an hour of leaving my legs were soaked up to the knees from water spraying up through the floor board. This was going to be a long trip. Wet pants, a sick pregnant girl friend, no food or money, and we were running out of illegal substances to smoke. It couldn't get much worse, could it?

NEXT MONTH: HOW DID I END UP BACK IN MY HOME TOWN?

Welcome Home Mommy

Just over three weeks ago P flew to California to connect with supporters and do some very much needed emergency support raising. Three weeks, plus a few days is a long time for us to all be apart, but we made it. Sunday night she returned to us safe and sound.We are all very happy to be Four Wild Geese again. She is wiped out, but content. I am looking forward to hearing all the wonderful stories she has from her time there.

What I want to say most of all is Thank You! Thank You everyone who supported her and loved on her. Thank You for all the financial gifts and the physical ones. Thank You for opening your homes and hearts. Thank You Linus for the miles. Thank You Christian Associates for keeping us afloat through this. Thanks to our Mom's and Dad's. Most of all Thank You for standing with us. We couldn't do it without your prayers and knowing you are there with us. So Thank You all!

For those of you who have wondered what happened to the rest of "Our Story" it is coming. I have decided to post it on the blog once a month so I don't burn out on writing it. So as I said to my friend Whitney, "COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR YOU, PART 4 MEXICO BOUND "

You are a blessing to us. Be blessed too!