Summer Newsletter

Notícias Henderson (Henderson News) July 2010

Roman bridge "Arquinho" - Valpaços, Portugal

[Nehemiah quoting himself] "Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work…

[Nehemiah again, in response to opposition] “The God of Heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding.”  
Neh 2:17-18, 20 – NIV

At “A Ponte” (“The Bridge” Evangelical Church) here in Porto we’ve been studying the book of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, in which the community joined in repairing the breaches section by section in spite of obstacles and opposition to the work. In this culture houses are surrounded by walls, and many cities have remnants of defensive walls from medieval or even Roman times. Wall-building is symbolic of building up our lives and the life of the body of Christ, the Church. There are lots of interesting walls in Portugal and we’ve included a few photos. As in the first photo of a communal village bread oven, some of them are falling down and need rebuilding!

Rebuilding Angola

After so many decades of war Angola is certainly in a rebuilding phase, both literally and figuratively. Recently, Mission Aviation Fellowship commissioned a new airstrip at Tchincombe Ranch, south of Lubango. Tchincombe offers apprenticeship in commercial farming skills such as animal husbandry, as well as evangelistic outreach under the leadership of Stirling and Donna Foster. The new airstrip has reduced a 4-wheel-drive trek of up to 6 hours or more, to 30 minutes in the MAF aircraft. Several additional airstrips are under consideration for remote locations.

There are now clinics operating at the former hospital sites at Cavango (founded by Dr. Foster’s parents,  who are about to return to live their final days in Angola) and Catota (founded by Norm’s parents in the 1940’s). Both hospitals, along with some 150 mission hospitals in Angola, were destroyed during the civil war leaving only one in operation. Throughout the interior regions of Angola, health care today is very limited and many people are suffering and dying needlessly. We have been hearing devastating stories from a Canadian obstetrics nurse that has just completed three months’ service at the Centro Evangélico de Medicina do Lubango (CEML) where we expect to be stationed early in 2011, after completing our language study here. In one case, a mother wondered when her baby would come since she had been pregnant for more than a year – the child had died months earlier but she hadn’t known. Kevin (an engineer) and Angela initially planned to stay for a year, but were unable to obtain Angolan work permits.

Part of the vision for the CEML hospital where we hope to work, is to reach out into isolated areas like Cavango, Catota and Tchincombe, bringing hope to some of the world’s most needy people. MAF is a key partner providing aviation and technical support.

Language Study

We have now started into our third and final Portuguese textbook which should take us to level “B2” in the Common European Language Framework. It would be great if we understood all of the rules for the Subjunctive mood! Today we discussed a short poem about how the river Tagus inspires the people of Lisbon. Each day we have homework: listening, reading, writing about defined subjects from the textbook or about a Scripture passage, as well as conversing with people in the community.

Last week we were able to spend three days in the company of other couples from “A Ponte” at a farmhouse in the village of Miradezes near the Spanish border, about two hours’ drive east of Porto. This was great oral language practice as well as an opportunity to sample some local specialties like “Feijoada”, a bean and pork stew; enjoy the view of rolling hills with a patchwork of olive groves and vineyards; and swim in the river – it is much hotter there than here at the coast, where we benefit from a cooling ocean breeze. It was also a good opportunity to share spiritual encouragement back and forth, in Portuguese of course.

Visiting Canada!

We are delighted that we have been able to reschedule the trip that Audrey was unable to make in April. During our tutor’s August vacation (which is typically Portuguese), we plan to visit family in Canada. It will be a short trip but we hope to see a good number of you at one of the following events:

Sunday August 8 – 9:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Crosshill Mennonite Church

2537 Hutchison Road, Millbank, ON (near Wellesley)
The church service starts at 9:45; we will be sharing in the all-ages Intergenerational Sunday School program at about 11:00.

Sunday August 15 – 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM

St. George’s Church

152 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa, ON (at Gloucester St.)
The main service starts at 10:30 AM; we will be sharing in Missions presentation starting at about noon.

If you are able to Email us (norm.audrey@gmail.com) to let us know you intend to participate in one of these events, it will help our planning.

Ministry Partnership
Thank you so much for faithfully supporting us in our ministry with MAF! We have so often appreciated knowing that many have prayed for us, and it is to God’s grace that we credit our smooth experience to date. In terms of fund raising we are essentially “on target” for monthly (or quarterly/annual) contributions to the MAF ministry in which we are involved, subject to a few delayed pledges being received. If you aren’t yet involved in a financial way, could we ask you to consider helping to provide funds for a vehicle for the MAF ministry to which we are assigned? Please contact the MAF Canada or MAF US office, or refer to https://mafc.org/donate.htm and designate your gift* “Vehicle Fund – account C478 - Henderson.”

With our love and God’s blessing,

Norm and Audrey

P.S.: We would love to hear from you by Email, letter, or phone. Norm is also on Facebook.

* “Each gift designated toward a MAF board-approved program will be used as designated with the understanding that when any given need has been met, additional designated gifts will be used where most needed.”

Thanksgivings
*    advances in our language study
*    the gift of a summer trip back to Canada
*    deepening relationships in the church here and with several not-yet-Christians
*    for God’s grace during their move, and more stable health for Audrey’s parents

Prayer Requests
*    to move from the theoretical to the instinctive in our Portuguese
*    for our community contacts, that they may find new hope in, and grow in Christ
*    for the Vehicle Fund for the ministry
*    for timely Angolan work visas

Portuguese language fun!
Like Canada and the USA, Portugal and Spain have at times had a rather unequal partnership, the smaller country anxious to retain its identity. One wag told us that Portuguese grammar is deliberately complex “para confundir os espanhois” - to confuse the Spaniards!

Senhora (= lady)   vs.   Cenoura (= carrot)
these differ only in the nasalized “nh”. C/S, and o/ou sound the same in these words.

Antiga    (= old – in years, maybe centuries)
Idosa    (= aged – a person, i.e. a “senior”)
Velha    (= old – usually meaning well-used)

Therefore, referring to your grandmother as “a cenoura velha” isn’t kind.

Permanent mailing address:
315 Clemow Ave.
Ottawa, ON K1S 2B7
Canada

Internet phone: +1-613-526-1245
http://salmos127.blogspot.com
norm.audrey@gmail.comSkype: norm.audrey

Until mid-December 2010:Rua dos Castanheiros, 92, 4D
4470 Maia (Gueifães)
Portugal
Norm   - cell: +351 (91) 066 05 12
Audrey - cell: +351 (91) 063 72 36

MAF Canada office:
264 Woodlawn Rd. W.
Guelph, ON  N1H 1B6
Canada
www.mafc.org
1-877-351-9344