Merry Christmas

Hello Everyone,

Merry Christmas from Portugal!  We hope this finds you well, celebrating Christmas with joy. 

2015 has been a whirlwind of transitions for us.  One year ago we were just finishing up fundraising with MAF in Washington.  It seems like a lot longer than that!  In March we “moved” to Idaho for a couple of months to do our final stateside training with MAF, and that is when things started getting exciting.

Our first week of classes Diego broke his arm riding his bicycle (with training wheels, and the bike did not crash – not really sure how this happened, but my mom thinks it is payback).  Anyway, Diego turned five in a cast past his elbow and learned to build Legos mostly one handed.

As for Holly and I, we were very busy learning MAF procedures for flying and maintenance, which included flying into the most difficult airstrips of our careers.  This culminated in a four day backcountry trip landing on mountain airstrips as short as 900 feet and as steep as 20% (for reference, you get “steep grade” warning sign on roads with a slope of more than 5%).  It was very challenging and extremely fun.

We both passed – I will not say who was evaluated higher (and that is probably all you need to know).  After flight training was maintenance training for me – then we did a few weeks of cross cultural and outreach training, which was really good, and has helped us even in Portugal.  Holly’s brother Cody and my sister Roberta (and nephew Sammy) all got to come see us in Idaho as well – so it was great to get to tell them goodbye in person.

When our training finished, we had less than a month to sell, give away or pack everything we have accumulated in our combined 67 years on Earth AND board a plane to Portugal for language school.  It was a very hectic process, but with a LOT of help, we were able to get it done.  We even made time for Lucas’ first camping trip with my mom and brother Jody, and several days to say goodbye to Holly’s parents in Texas.  For a variety of visa reasons we did not know when we were leaving for Portugal until two days prior, but it all worked out in the end.

We got here mid-June, one day before Lucas turned 7 months.  With the money Diego had from selling a lot of his Thomas the Train sets, we had ordered this Lego crane to be waiting for him in Portugal.  It worked really well keeping him excited for the move!

Our classes started the end of June, but the boys’ kindergarten and daycare did not start until September, so my sister Jenna flew over and played nanny for us.  We all really enjoyed it, and during the break between summer and fall classes, Jenna’s husband Carl flew over and we travelled around Portugal together.  Short jaunts are relatively easy here because Portugal is only slightly larger than Maine.  Holly’s parents also come over for a quick trip, and plans are in the works for another visit this spring.

In September the boys started school.  Diego was very excited to begin, but being the only English speaker and adjusting to Portuguese lunches has proven difficult.  On the bright side he has made a lot of friends, learned a lot of phrases (and a few songs), and is almost always happy when we pick him up.  He has also mastered riding around on his scooter, even the brake, and averages several miles a week on it.

Diego’s school split into groups to complete projects based off interest, and Diego picked an aviation group.  Holly and I gave a presentation on flying last month which was a good test of our Portuguese.  Diego also helped build a model cockpit, and was excited to go to school on the days they were working on it.  Lucas got to try it out after going to the school Christmas program.

Lucas, on the other hand, does not seem to mind getting dropped off at daycare at all.  He is coming up on half his life in Portugal, and he is more likely to quit doing something if told in Portuguese “não!” than in English “no!”  (Although chances are he’ll continue climbing to the top of those stairs either way).  He also eats soup at least once a day, and has generally morphed into a fairly respectable Portuguese baby.  He learned to crawl in August, walked in October, and turned one in November.  He is definitely an extrovert and will cry if someone leaves the room, but if you put him down, he’ll walk out of sight without ever looking back, even in a new location – he is one after all, so he can just about take care of things on his own.

Holly and I have been very impressed with our language classes, and our University feels like it is out of a fairytale.  The old section was a Moorish building which the King of Portugal renovated into his palace, before a later king gave it to the University. 

I can now speak Portuguese almost as well as I could speak Spanish (after taking it for four years in college and living in Costa Rica), and Holly is only one course behind me.  I say “as I could speak Spanish” because when I try to speak Spanish now I generally get laughed at (although people here generally guess I am a Spaniard if I am speaking Portuguese).  We still have six more months here before Mozambique, so hopefully I’ll sound less Spanish by then.  Our classes are made up of people from twenty countries on five continents (and we have Australian friends here too), so multicultural would be an understatement.

Tomorrow we are eating a traditional Christmas lunch with our landlords, who live above us and have been amazing.  They have turned into an extra set of grandparents to the boys, help all of us with our Portuguese, and continue to provide us with a never ending stream of fresh food from their garden.  We can pick the oranges from our window!

We have delighted in finding Christmas concerts in 900 year old Cathedrals (each with an elaborate manger scene), and can follow the smoke to the chestnuts actually roasting on open fires in the city squares.  The downtown is illuminated with lights and last week Holly heard a Portuguese bagpiper! There are even Christmas choirs singing carols in the mall sometimes.  

Both our families traditionally took Christmas light appreciation drives, but we had found only a handful of houses with single strands up here, so we headed an hour north to Aveiro.  Called “Portugal’s Venice,” their downtown lights decorate the canals and traditional seaweed-harvesting-turned-tourism-gondola-boats.  It was “food for the soul” and, of course, Diego’s scooter made an appearance as well.

We wish you could come enjoy it all with us, and thank you so much for all of your prayers and support this year.  
Feliz Natal and Bom Ano Novo!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  ~ Isaiah 9:6

With much love from Portugal,

Grady, Holly, Diego (5) and Lucas (1) Nace 

(with a surprise appearance by our stockings this morning)