The Reign in Spain

No Wonder I'm so Confused!

   Learning a second (or in our case, third, fourth, or fifth) language is never easy.  Everyone assumes that since Spanish and Portuguese are both Latin-based, then learning Portuguese must be a breeze.  We wish!

   Here are just a sampling of words that exist in both Spanish and Portuguese, but hold (sometimes very) different meanings:

             Spanish                               Portuguese

latir:  to beat (like a heart)             to bark

pegar: to hit or stick                       to grab, to pick up

luego:  later                                   (logo) now

es:  is                                            you are

nos:  ourselves, us                          we

vaga:   lazy                                    spot, opening

prenda : piece of clothing                a gift

acordar: to agree on                      to wake up

quedar: to stay                              to fall

tirar:  to throw away, to shoot       to take out, to take away

mala: bad                                      suitcase, purse (Brazil)

rosa:   rose                                  farm (Brazil)

azeite: oil (any kind)                      olive oil

esquisito*: exquisite, delicious      awful

*This one got us into some trouble before we figured out what it meant in Portuguese!

    Pray this week as we continue to adjust to the language and culture, and as we pack up and prepare to move at the end of the month (into the apartment above the church).

    Please keep the Santa Marta community in your prayers as we are engaging in some real spiritual warfare as the church continues to grow and the enemy retaliates. 

    Thanks for your constant prayers and support!

       Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

The Power of Persistent Prayer

   For those of you who have been following our journey from the start, you probably read our very first newsletter "from the field" telling of a young, pregnant African woman we met while wondering through the shanty town of Santa Marta do Pinhal (where we now have a growing church).  She invited us into her home and shared with us for a while before we had to be on our way.  In that newsletter we asked you all to pray for Zuleica, as she did not know the Lord, and she had a great deal of sadness about her.

    Since that day, the Lord has brought her to mind many, many times, and we have prayed for her much over the past 18 months.  When we first moved back to Portugal, we had hoped to find her attending the church, but to our dismay, no one had ever seen her there.

    Last month, during a special service for youth, a familiar face came through the door, carrying a small child in her arms.  It didn't take long for us to recoginize that it was Zuleica!  After the message, she made her way up front, and asked us pray with her so that she could accept Jesus into her heart.  It was a touching moment for us, as we saw the Lord's faithfulness in answering our persisent prayer that she would become our sister in Christ.

    Now it is such a joy to sit beside Zuleica and worship our God together.  She loves when we share our Bible with her so that she can see God's Word for herself, and her tears of sorrow are being transformed into tears of joy.  Praise His name!  He is FAITHFUL!

     Please continue to pray for Zuleica and those living in Santa Marta, that the Lord's presence would envelop them and that they would become new creations in Him.  Especially pray for those new believers struggling to overcome drug, alcohol, and tobacco adictions.  Also pray for the MANY unmarried couples living together and raising families without officially making a commitment to one another (but who have recently made a commitment to Jesus).  We would like to see many strong marriages come about which honor Christ.

   Also pray that we make a wise decision about our housing situation.  We will more than likely be moving at the end of the month since none of the problems with our apartment have been resolved.

   Thanks again for your prayers and support.  We couldn't be here without you!

                                                                Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley