Before I go...
Actually, we're already gone. The last three weeks have been filled with all the varieties of duties...church services, consular duties, and translation jobs, all the more urgent in view of our travel plans. In the end, not all that was planned got done, but one has to be at the airport when the plane takes off.
For us, the plane took off yesterday from Funchal. Had to be at the airport at 6 AM. The rest of the day yesterday and all day today were filled with meetings at the embassy, including meeting the new ambassador. He's been in Lisbon for a couple of weeks, but I heard when I got to embassy yesterday morning that the ambassador was presenting his credentials to the Portuguese government. After lunch, as I was trying to locate certain persons for meetings, everyone was abandoning the building. Bomb threat? Fire drill? Neither. The tradition is that when the ambassador enters the chancery for the first time after officially presenting his credentials, everyone stands on the front steps and claps as he comes up the steps from the car. That is something that happens only once every 4 years or so, and I happened to be there for it. Today I had about 25 minutes with him in his office, which was a very interesting time.
But tomorrow early is the start of a new chapter: our first trip to Israel. We're part of a group of 20 or so from various Baptist churches in Portugal, and we'll be returning to Lisbon on May 11. As I have opportunity to blog, I'll keep you posted on our progress. With time, I'll try to present a sort of travelog of our 11 days of travel.
Disaster Fund
Since last report, I know of another €1700 that have come for the fund, bringing the total to approx. €3954. I contacted officials to get a list of possible candidates for this help (approx. another €3000 on the way from the US), but have not yet got a reply. We do appreciate your prayers. The newspapers are continually reporting on areas of the island that have scarcely begun to recover from the storm two months ago.
For us, the plane took off yesterday from Funchal. Had to be at the airport at 6 AM. The rest of the day yesterday and all day today were filled with meetings at the embassy, including meeting the new ambassador. He's been in Lisbon for a couple of weeks, but I heard when I got to embassy yesterday morning that the ambassador was presenting his credentials to the Portuguese government. After lunch, as I was trying to locate certain persons for meetings, everyone was abandoning the building. Bomb threat? Fire drill? Neither. The tradition is that when the ambassador enters the chancery for the first time after officially presenting his credentials, everyone stands on the front steps and claps as he comes up the steps from the car. That is something that happens only once every 4 years or so, and I happened to be there for it. Today I had about 25 minutes with him in his office, which was a very interesting time.
But tomorrow early is the start of a new chapter: our first trip to Israel. We're part of a group of 20 or so from various Baptist churches in Portugal, and we'll be returning to Lisbon on May 11. As I have opportunity to blog, I'll keep you posted on our progress. With time, I'll try to present a sort of travelog of our 11 days of travel.
Disaster Fund
Since last report, I know of another €1700 that have come for the fund, bringing the total to approx. €3954. I contacted officials to get a list of possible candidates for this help (approx. another €3000 on the way from the US), but have not yet got a reply. We do appreciate your prayers. The newspapers are continually reporting on areas of the island that have scarcely begun to recover from the storm two months ago.
posted by EP | 9:35 PM | Permalink
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home