Monday Morning

We went to church yesterday with the staff here. We spoke to the youth there and to the church. It's a very small church.

We had the afternoon and evening off yesterday. It was our first real chance to take a break. We spoke in 30 classes this week to over 700 students at 3 different schools! We hosted 3 parties Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights 7:30pm-12:00am! Long days and long nights. Over 250 kids came to the parties where we were able to have many spiritual conversations with kids. They are open to talk but don't want to make decisions for Christ.

Heidi went out with a group of Portuguese students yesterday. They wanted to take her out for her birthday today! She shared the gospel with them over coffee. They love Heidi.

The boys are doing well. They have enjoyed staying up past midnight the last three nights at parties, dancing and playing games! Isaiah has been a magnet for students. They love to touch his hair and cheeks and give him kisses! The kids have been a huge blessing here! Thanks for all your prayers before the trip. We really can sense the Lord sustaining them and us.

This week will bs spent having appointments with students and sharing the gospel on those appointments. Pray students can meet with us and we have good soil that we share with.

We are on our way downtown right now for lunch and for a scavenger hunt with students. We have been texting many of them this morning. The girls have tired thumbs!

Four more days here in country!

Shawn

30 classroom presentations & an American Pizza Party

This morning we completed our 30th classroom presentation! God has been so faithful in giving us favor to share about our lives in America & some about our faith while in the classroom. Bekah, Cassidy & Megan are doing a wonderful job sharing their "lifestyle talks" and even experienced having a translator. They are interacting with the Portuguese students & doing a great job sharing about their faith in God. Our son Jacob has been our "Simon Says" game leader & we've all had opportunities to share our photo books and interact in small groups with the Portuguese students. The administrators & teachers at the schools have been so generous & kind. In between classes we are showered with snacks & drinks (quite tasty!) from the "bar" at school. Just walking around campus we draw a crowd, mostly because of Isaiah's blond hair(and the beautiful American high school girls, of course). We opted not to use the potential babysitter after we saw what a great gatherer little Isaiah is. We literally walk on campus & have circles form around us and students want to practice their English and take photos with the kids. It's fun to hear them say "hello" & "goodbye" with a Portuguese accent. After each classroom presentation we invite the students to a party to eat, play games, dance, hear more about American life and learn about Connection(Student Venture here in Portugal). Last night was our first party, an American Pizza Party. About 80 people showed up & it was a blast! Jacob & Levi were the stars of the dance floor. Shawn shared a talk using various props about how we try to fill our lived with different things, but we always end up empty without a relationship with God. The American high school students & staff talked and played games with the Portuguese students late into the night. We didn't get to be until 12:30am(our kiddos too!) as the culture here enjoys late night meals and parties. It was fun!! Smoking is more acceptable here & legal at 16, so quite a large number of students at the party were smoking. Heidi was able to share the Gospel with three girls while they smoked and used a combination of Spanish, English & Portuguese. She has plans to go out with one of them tomorrow, go to the beach with them next week as well as have dinner in one of their homes. We're excited about these opportunities! Megan, Bekah & Cassidy are looking forward to getting to know the students more & spending more time with them. Jacob & Levi really like Portuguese food, especially their "hamburger", ham & beef with an egg on top, eaten with a fork. We have another party tonight across town and a "hot dog" party tomorrow night. Please pray that many students would come and have hearts ready to hear about Jesus' love and forgiveness. Tomorrow during the day we are going to a local park where we've invited to students to join us for American football, frisbee & volleyball. Jacob, Levi & Isaiah have been invited to a child's birthday party at the same park. Fun!! This project is going really well & we are trusting God for great things!!

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Wednesday April 6th

Just wanted to give a quick update from today. 

We had the morning off until 10:45 when we hoped on the bus to Garcia high school to speak in two classrooms.  The students did great again!  We invited many more students to the party tomorrow night and Saturday night.

We then drove over and hour to Fafe to speak to three middle school classes.  They were great! The students didn't speak english well so we had our host staff interpret for us.  That was a new experience for them.  The middle school kids at the school treated us like celebrities between classes and all crowded around the American students.  It was a neat experience.  The teachers and administrators were so helpful and kind.  We have felt so loved by all the people here in Portugal.  The teachers took us into their staff lounge and bought us all water, coffee, juice... really whatever we wanted.  It was great.

We drove home and enjoyed McDonalds for dinner!  The girls wanted something familiar for dinner.

Tomorrow is a big day for us.  Speaking in 6 classes and then hosting our first of 5 parties.  Please pray that the parties will go well, many Portuguese students will come and we will build good relationship with the Portuguese students.

Thanks for your prayers.

Shawn

I Spy God...

We have been having an incredible time so far in Porto, Portugal!  The people have been so nice to us and we have meet some amazing people.  The staff here has been great. 

I wanted to give you a quick update about how we have seen God work in and through us along the way.  Every day all of us on the project share our high of each day, low of each day and where we “spy” God at work.  It has been a great way to keep our focus on God through out the day watching for Him to show up.

When we (Faulkners) began our flight from San Diego to Denver we met a flight attendant who was a little short with the boys and not as nice as we would have hoped.  As we began talking with her we found out she was from Portugal!  Once we told her we were going there she softened up and began telling us about her country and was very sweet with the boys. 

From Denver we flew to Chicago.  When there we were boarding our plane and the man taking our tickets had a pin on his collar that said “Jesus”.  So I (Shawn) told him I liked his pin and that we were on our way on a mission project to Portugal.  Now we were some of the first to board with children so there were many people behind us waiting to get on the plane.  He stopped me and put his hand on my shoulders and prayed out loud for our family and the project while all the other people waited, and listened! 

We met up with the students and staff a day later and then flew off to Frankfurt and then Porto.  The check-in, flight, customs, luggage and all went flawlessly!  The boys did wonderfully on the flight!  Thank you for all your prayers!  They were felt!  They played games, slept, ate and watched one movie.  We were hoping for TV’s on the backs of each seat but it wasn’t the case but the boys did great even without them.  How did our parents manage without electronics? 

Our first three days here have been very busy but very fun!  The first day we checked into our rooms and then walked along the river where it meets the ocean.  It is beautiful here!  We had lunch as a team with the staff couple here.  It was a great experience in authentic Portuguese cuisine!  Not all enjoyed it.  We walked some more, came back to the hostel, had a meeting, some dinner and then off to bed.  Many were tired but fought through it to make the jet lag not as bad. 

The second morning and first full day we spend at Garcia high school speaking in 6 classes.  We split into two groups and spoke at the same times in three different class periods.  Each class was 1.5 hours long so we played games, the girls spoke from up front about their lives in America and we did small group discussions.  It was a great day.

Today, Day 3, was much of the same only many more classes!  We spoke in 9 classes today! 15 classes in 2 days!  The students have done amazingly and the staff have as well.  We have met MANY students and learned a lot about life in Portugal.  We have had great conversations about God as well.  Many are open to talking but we hope to get to know them more at the parties we are throwing Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

It has been great to spy God working through the students especially in the small groups as they share about their faith in America.  They have taken great steps of faith.  I have also been able to spy God in my children.  Jacob has been leading “Simon Say’s” in every classroom with the students.  They really enjoy him.  They also flock to Isaiah!  They love a little blond baby walking around campus.

Tomorrow we have most of the morning off and then go to speak in two schools to 5 classes.  It will be a full afternoon but again very rewarding and full of great conversations and hopefully great relationships. 

Prayer Requests:

Pray for Energy for the team.  We have been very busy.

Pray for great relationships with students and that they would want to come to the parties.

Pray for continued team unity.  We have been getting along great so far.

Pray for the Faulkner boys.  They have been great in the classrooms and attracting LOTS of students.   

Pray they have energy each day to make it through.  So far so good but they are tired.

Thanks for your prayers.  We hope to update every few days. We have LOTS more pictures on other cameras.  

Shawn

At the Airport in Chicago

Here we are as we check in for our flight to Porto, Portugal! The team is in good spirits and ready for the long flight.

Please pray:

- For a safe flight to Germany and then Portugal.
- for everyone to change over to the new time zone well.
- for energy as we will have a busy first week speaking in three different schools to 18 English classes.

I will attempt to update this blog daily but will depend on the Internet availability in Porto.

Shawn

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