The End of An Era

What will a year of life in Portuguese schools do for your children?

Diego spent months crying and worried about school.  Every day was a challenge to get him to school, and sometimes it started the night before.  But now? His school year is done and he is sad to be leaving his friends and teachers behind.  We have even been by to visit the school and play for a couple hours (they have a summer program).  It is amazing to see this guy's transformation throughout the year.  He now eats so many more food options. Even lulas (squid).  When I see him in action, talking with the other kids - in PORTUGUESE, at high rates of speed - I can hardly keep my jaw from dropping.  His language skills far exceed mine.  Diego's favorite songs are Portuguese, he can sing the chorus to the Portuguese national anthem (he learned with when Portugal won the European soccer cup) and Happy Birthday in Portuguese as well.  He knows the Coimbra city bus routes better than I do and he recognizes all the different types of trains in Portugal...This kid even had a few lines of Portuguese up on the stage in the year end play - he was an airline captain! 

(Diego's last day at the Jardim de Infancia)

Lucas turned 7 months the day after we arrived in Portugal, and now has a whopping 20 to his name!  That's almost 2/3 of his life spent in Portugal.  He has always gone happily in to school and would be heartbroken if he understood that he isn't going back.  He can be given instructions in both English and Portuguese and will usually understand what you are saying.  He loves soup and his favorite meal at school is spaghetti noodles with chicken sauce.  His teachers say that he speaks about 10 words (we can only understand olá, agua, sopa, mama and dada).  He also knows each of the other kids' by name in his class.  He gives beijinhos (kisses) and abraços (hugs) with joy.  And he loves to clap and dance!  Lucas has become our little Portuguese explorer... cats have nothing on him when it comes to curiosity! Everything must be climbed.  This includes kitchen counters, suitcase stacks, fountains... And every space must be discovered. Every kitchen drawer and door, every little thing must come out and be dumped on the floor.  Keeping him away from the knives and breakables is a challenge!  

(Lucas' last day at the Creche)

We've been doing the summer life for the last couple weeks, waiting on our visas and going a little stir crazy.  Most of the toys are packed (we finally unpacked some of the legos for Diego) and many of our friends have moved away or are gone on holiday.  Every so often we take a field trip, some little and some big. To the market, to the playground, to the windmill, to the Douro, to the grocery store... Diego says they are all fun because they all involve a ride on the bus! :) 

(Stircrazy antics - wrestling on the bed and climbing on the dresser)

(It was a pleasure to visit this windmill and watch the corn being ground - fascinating!)  Grady's video on how it works is here on youtube: VIDEO

(A ride down the Douro River to Porto. We went through one of the world's tallest locks 35ish meters.)

And then, at the end of this week, we got the email I had been obsessively checking throughout the weeks for... our Mozambique visas arrived at MAF Headquarters!  They're currently in France, in the care of Fedex, and headed our way.  Tickets are being purchased for the end of next week.  Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our visa status, this is a huge answer to prayer  and there is much rejoicing this weekend in the Nace household! Praise God for his continued provision! 

(Chilling in the square... waiting for those illusive visas)