Foxes have Holes....

....But all we need is an apartment! As you pray this week for us in our flat hunting. Please pray

• That we would find one in the right location. We'd like it to be quite near where most of the activity and outreach has already taken plaxce in the northern end of the Park of the Nations and not far from the others we have begun to know.

• That we would find one with a large living area. Our apartment will become the main venue intiially for meetings so we need enough room for people to be able to come and feel comfortable. Lisbon apartments tend to be tiny because of the premium on land area, but we have seen some really nice spacious living areas.

• That we would be able to have a natural way of dividing off the family area from the living room. Fortunately most apartments are designed in this way, because Portuguese family life tends to be quite private.

Also, although, it's only the two of us, we do want Colin in particular, but also the two girls, to feel that this is their family home and that they are not just short term guests in our apartment. So we are lookng for at least 3 bedroomed place.

And finally it needs to be affordable!!! Prices are massive. Park of the Nations is at the top end of the the urban lifestyle with costs to match. We are so thankful for the promise of God's abundant provision and are looking to Him to provide.

The Gift of Tongues

Even if you're not too charismatically inclined, we hope you'll be praying for the gift of tongues for us. Or the gift of one tongue, to be exact. Please pray

1. For concentration, for the ability to focus during our four hour sessions, 8am to 12 noon, 4 days a week, and for our memories to be clear for all the new words and grammatical structures.

2. For good Portugese friends, who will help us, encourage us, and, yes, correct us in our faltering sentences.

3. For confidence in conversation, and that we will find opportunities to use what we learn in everyday life.

Housing

As we get seriously involved in the processes of packing, shipping, storing and selling, the whole business of the roof over your heads takes on a particular importance. When we had our dog "Chokey" with us, (he's gone to another family now and enjoying the wild coast of Donaghadee) he used to get extremely agitated when we show any signs of packing or moving. He used to pace up and down the hall, sniff our suitcases, and follow our every movement with his beady eyes. Well, we probably don't have the body language, but we also need to cope with the insecurities moving brings. So please pray :

• For the decisions we need to make on every little thing, as to whether to keep in storage, take with us or dispose of. This can be especially painful with things that have a lot of memory for us
• For Colin, for whom this is the main home he has known in Northern Ireland, and it will no longer be his to come back to when he leaves for Southampton
• For the right accommodation when we get to Portugal, that we will find it soon and for a safe place for storage of our belongings, until we find a place and begin to get set up
• For Sharon, who is currently homeless also, in London, along with her three housemates. They had given in their notice on their current house but not found an alternative as yet

And we're so grateful to God, that we have found tenants for our house in Coleraine who will be moving in October 6th, and also that we have somewhere to stay when we first arrive in Lisbon, and up to Christmas if need be.

"The LORD your God went ahead of you on your journey,
in fire by night and in a cloud by day,
to search out places for you to camp
and to show you the way you should go." Deut 1:33