Written in a park in Porto - May 17th, 2014 @ 13:35
We are sitting in a terraced park overlooking the Rio Douro in Porto. Thereºs a nice wooden benched, covered in a layer of dirt brought in by the wind through the ages, and a green moss tyope of growth, in the comfortable shade of the big trees surround the grassy ledges. We've had a little snack and now we're talking about intelligent life on other planets. Apparently, Aden says that an earth-like planet has been found in another solar system, far, far away, and it has a 100-day cycle around it's red sun. It's enterntaining to think about all of the possibilities for other life in the Universe. My tiny glimpse on reality shows that, on Planet Earth, the birds are chirping, flowers are in bloom, and the sun is shining.
We don't know where we will go next. That's on a few different levels: after the park, after Porto, after Portugal and back into the stream of professional life. In the meantime, we're enjoying the slow pace of the river of time's flow. Last night we saw a couple jazz bands at the famous "Casa da Musica" - "House of Music". It's a big place with lots of event halls. One of the bands was from Portugal and the other was from France. It was easy to get lost in the rythms, the musical patterns, how the instruments all blended together to support one another or stand out. One of the drummers put on a really frowny face at times which communicated the intensity he felt about the music, it was quite unsettling, somehow. I took some good photos and film footage, working my way around the room for different perspectives and trying out different settings on my camera for the right "look". After the show, we happened to strike up some casual conversation with the artists. Dallen and I bought their album and got them signed by the band. I'm looking forward to listening to their music when I'm back in Mozambique.
Written at the hostel - May 18th, 2014 @ 12:28
Now, it's a brand new day! I got about 9 hours of sleep last night, which was slightly unintentional. I would have liked to find a good church service, but alas... tiredness. It's a poor excuse. Dallen, I'm afraid, is at the opposite spectrum. He was out at bars and clubs until the sun came up. I hear that it was a good time. I did what was right for me, though, so no regrets. Today I feel good! I love spending time in the morning to get into my pocket New Testament and a companion book called Desiring God by John Piper. It's all about finding joy in God. And this morning I read that the way to give glory to God is to ask for help through prayer, acknowledging that He is the great Giver. So I've been receiving my mana from heaven this morning. Good stuff, I tell you!
Today is sure to be another beautiful day. I'm hoping that Dallen and I will be able to spend some time with some Polish girls who are staying at our hostel. They are going back to Warsaw tomorrow. I have no idea what we're going to get into, but I'm really up for anything!
Oh yeah, we've decided NOT to go into Madrid after all. We're going to stay here in Porto for another two nights and then make our way by train down to the Algarve, still in Portugal. We just don't want to be in a rush to find "greener pastures", when truth be told! It is so good here. We'll save some money and spend more time getting to know Portugal.
Sending love your way.
-Silas
We are sitting in a terraced park overlooking the Rio Douro in Porto. Thereºs a nice wooden benched, covered in a layer of dirt brought in by the wind through the ages, and a green moss tyope of growth, in the comfortable shade of the big trees surround the grassy ledges. We've had a little snack and now we're talking about intelligent life on other planets. Apparently, Aden says that an earth-like planet has been found in another solar system, far, far away, and it has a 100-day cycle around it's red sun. It's enterntaining to think about all of the possibilities for other life in the Universe. My tiny glimpse on reality shows that, on Planet Earth, the birds are chirping, flowers are in bloom, and the sun is shining.
We don't know where we will go next. That's on a few different levels: after the park, after Porto, after Portugal and back into the stream of professional life. In the meantime, we're enjoying the slow pace of the river of time's flow. Last night we saw a couple jazz bands at the famous "Casa da Musica" - "House of Music". It's a big place with lots of event halls. One of the bands was from Portugal and the other was from France. It was easy to get lost in the rythms, the musical patterns, how the instruments all blended together to support one another or stand out. One of the drummers put on a really frowny face at times which communicated the intensity he felt about the music, it was quite unsettling, somehow. I took some good photos and film footage, working my way around the room for different perspectives and trying out different settings on my camera for the right "look". After the show, we happened to strike up some casual conversation with the artists. Dallen and I bought their album and got them signed by the band. I'm looking forward to listening to their music when I'm back in Mozambique.
Written at the hostel - May 18th, 2014 @ 12:28
Now, it's a brand new day! I got about 9 hours of sleep last night, which was slightly unintentional. I would have liked to find a good church service, but alas... tiredness. It's a poor excuse. Dallen, I'm afraid, is at the opposite spectrum. He was out at bars and clubs until the sun came up. I hear that it was a good time. I did what was right for me, though, so no regrets. Today I feel good! I love spending time in the morning to get into my pocket New Testament and a companion book called Desiring God by John Piper. It's all about finding joy in God. And this morning I read that the way to give glory to God is to ask for help through prayer, acknowledging that He is the great Giver. So I've been receiving my mana from heaven this morning. Good stuff, I tell you!
Today is sure to be another beautiful day. I'm hoping that Dallen and I will be able to spend some time with some Polish girls who are staying at our hostel. They are going back to Warsaw tomorrow. I have no idea what we're going to get into, but I'm really up for anything!
Oh yeah, we've decided NOT to go into Madrid after all. We're going to stay here in Porto for another two nights and then make our way by train down to the Algarve, still in Portugal. We just don't want to be in a rush to find "greener pastures", when truth be told! It is so good here. We'll save some money and spend more time getting to know Portugal.
Sending love your way.
-Silas
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