Portugal: Days one and two

Dear Prayer Partners,

We arrived in Lisbon at 5 pm Wednesday evening. We didn't even have to open one single suitcase at the Customs area. They just stamped an entry visa into our passports and away we went to see if our ride was awaiting us. Sure enough. It was.

You remember we stopped in London first. Below are three photos of the London airport. There are very few movable passageways from terminal to plane such as we are familiar with in major U.S. airports. You go down the ramp from the plane (in the light rain) and board a bus. The bus then transports you to the terminal (about 10 minutes ride). The bus travels through the back areas of the airport to get to the terminal. We were a little too busy with luggage to get pics at the Lisbon airport.

We were taken to our place of residence--not the Ramada Inn, but in the town of Ramada, about 30 minutes outside of Lisbon proper. Our missionary "helpers" who themselves have been in Portugal less than a year, had dinner prepared in the exact kitchen where we will be preparing our meals from now on. They and the couple we are replacing as caretakers ate with us, making the tiny kitchen just a we bit crowded. We were then introduced to our office. See photos below.

The next morning we were up at 7 am and met with two missionary ladies who took us shopping at the "feira" a street market to purchase some essentials for eating, living, etc. Prices at the Feira are cheaper but much farther away the the small grocery stores, and with the cost of gas ($6 a gallon) and tolls roads ($4 round trip) it will probably be just as well to shop at the store. Photos of both below. In the grocery store I am standing near the front of the store; you can see the back of the store. It's pretty small but covers necessities.

We were home by 1 pm and then began work cleaning the facilities, gettting it ready for a marriage encounter group coming in on the next day. Our first day was pretty full--8 am to 8 pm. Today, our second day we concluded our cleaning, attended our first meeting with the other eight families who are with the same mission, had lunch with them and headed back to the training center. It's now 4:30 and the group is soon to arrive. Their program is fully self operating and do NOT want any outside help during their sessions. They cook, clean, counsel, walk the property, etc.--and we get to stay in our room and REST. Yeah.

Thank you again for your prayers. Will update the blog in a couple days with more pics and information about what we are doing.

Love to all,
Bill and Cathy