Day 13:

"How are you doing, Henry?" Luis had asked as we entered the small business on the far side of town.

"Life is good!" Replied the man as he warmly greeted us with an enthusiastic smile.

"That's what I love about Nigerians- life is always good." Upon hearing Luis' light-hearted comment I have officially decided that from now on I am going to be Nigerian.

Walking down the street singing, "Here Comes the Sun" in the rain with my good friend was a wonderful way to start the day. Feelings of excitement for the ministry had stirred and  intermixed with my anxiety over my plans with Fabio- not that I was nervous to be working on my own with Fabio, but the concept of a sister and brother working together alone was very foreign to me. Culture shock. Fabio knew it too, for all the visitors from the states found it odd, but he and the elders had explained to us that in a hall of such little publishers where service groups are pairs of two in territory that isn't safe for sisters to be unaccompanied by a brother, it was the norm. So I said a little prayer and waited at the meeting point.

Turns out that we had run into a brother, Luis, working lonesome for the morning and invited him to join us. Not that I felt overly uncomfortable with the idea of working alone with a brother, but the third party was nice to have around and I found the morning quite enjoyable. We took the metro through the city, stopping in towns to make return visits and to join Luis on a study of his. We walked the streets, talking to whom we could when we got the chance and visiting store owners whom Luis had found interested in the truth that we had to share. It was interesting to observe the differences in cultures as we spoke to people. For example, I quickly learned that those of Muslim backgrounds would not shake my hand or look at me directly and if I were to ask a question, I was to be answered through the brothers, indirectly. I respected this because I understood why they did it, but it made me very curious as to what other cultures were like- cultures that I often ran into and never really tried to understand.

As we popped in and out of businesses, I soon began to notice a strange sensation upon my skin that also burned my sensitive eyes and made it hard to keep them open wide. A light, almost unfamiliar, had appeared within the sky and engulfed the city streets with a renewed spirit. The sun had come out for us! Just in time for our study with Henry, the sun had come out to grace the world with its presence.

"That's what I love about Nigerians- life is always good"

"I got out of bed this morning, I spoke with my family, the sun is out, I'm smiling- what more could I ask? You want heaven to come down on me now?" I liked Henry. He had a point.

Today's positives:

Stayed out in service until five and enjoyed every second of it

Got to face-time my dad and saw a big smile across his face as he giggled and told me how good it was for him to see me

The sun came out

I found beauty in the heart of the city on top of a hill in an old abandoned house

I am feeling sound in my heart and mind, at peace and settled

I'm in Portugal doing the finest of work with the best of people!

Day 14 promises more service and girl's night out on the town

What else could I ask? For heaven to come down on me?