PORTUGAL 2006

October 21st 2006 was the date set for the youth and its leaders to fulfill the visionary mission God gave to Paul Stenhouse, the youth leader. This vision was that the youth would go to Portugal and serve the people there. I was honoured to be asked to go along and like everyone who went was touched, blessed and changed by Gods love and power that was shown on this trip. There was a party of 14 teenagers, aged between 13 and 17, and 7 adults/leaders who accompanied them.

We stayed in a beautiful catholic retreat, which was right by the sea, with stunning views. Most days ladies from the church there came and cooked our meals for us, apart from the day Bishop Afonzo cooked us a beautiful english breakfast! We did manage to get to the beach for a few hours relaxation, but most of the time was spent working!
I have to say that the youth very much suprised me with their hard work and attitude, we were very blessed in their behaviour. whatever they were asked to do they did, whatever they were given to eat they ate, without grumbling, and did it with appreciation!
The church in Setubal is nothing like the churches you find in England, or other rich countries. It was a very basic building, with rising damp, and mudslides in the back of the building. We cleaned and painted this building.

The Oasis Centre, is where many poorer people go to buy furniture, clothes, shoes etc second hand. It is also where people go for a meal and to hear the word of God, and some church services are held here. We also painted some of this building and cleaned all of it and all the furniture to sell. There was also a meal put on here whilst we stayed and the youngsters served this meal, to over 30 people, all from the church, and they also cleaned up and talked to the Portuguese, as best they could without knowing the language! though they coped tremendously well.

The Belevista estate is one of the poorest estates in Portugal. This was the most challenging of jobs! We went and cleared the streets of this estate, which were pretty bad! The people came out to talk to us, and a lot of the women started to help clean up as well. I dont believe the children had ever seen so much rubbish on the streets like there was here. I do believe they enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing the people happy and the satisfaction of seeing the streets clean! News has travelled that there were people cleaning the streets here, and people thought we were from the ukraine, i believe because the Ukrainians don't mind doing this sort of work for little pay. When people found out we were English they couldn't believe it! They would never have believed that the 'rich' English would lower themselves to pick up after anybody, never mind the poor Portuguese! They believed that all English were rich and had maids, so much that one Portuguese lady showed one of our English ladies how to use a broom! which was graciously accepted!

365 days a year ladies from the church in Setubal drive into the middle of the town square and give out soup and bread from the back of their car. For some people this is the only meal they have each day. Our young people went out with them to help serve out the food and bread. They also cleaned up the litter from the town square.

I believe this trip has had a tremendous impact on everybody involved. The power of Gods love was shown and received in many ways on this trip. The teenagers who went were touched and blessed enormously. I believe they have a great empathy now for others less fortunate than themselves, and they look at life differently. 1 youth was cross at the fact someone at school had dropped litter, they asked them to pick it up and use a bin. before Portugal it would have been them dropping the litter. They take active roles in the church now, for example, they serve refreshments, help lead the prayers and bible readings. They no longer stand at the back of the church not really knowing where their niche is. They now know and want to help, and enjoy helping. Others who didn't go have seen the difference in the youth and are getting involved with church roles too. I also know they are helping out more at home too! maybe not always as graciously as in Portugal, but its a start!

The church in Portugal has, I believe, practically doubled on a daily basis for teaching and fellowship and food, and the perception of the English has somewhat changed since our visit.

We would like to thank all the people who sponsored us, and gave us gifts of money, without which this trip would not have been possible. We would also like to thank our church family for their continued support and sponsorship and prayer, without which this trip would not have been possible.

We would also like to tell you of our next visit to Portugal, this coming October. The visionary mission this time is to evangalise and spread the word of God through 3 main groups. Singing, dancing and drama. the youth again are very dedicated and meet every week to practise and learn. Also again we will be serving the people over there. We are very much looking forward to this next trip, and would appreciate your continued support and prayers, without which it will not be possible! and of course your sponsorship!

Thank you to everyone involved, however small a part you played it was a big help!

Christ Church youth leaders.

Reports from the workers.......

I went over to Portugal last september with Phil. We checked out the places where we were working and staying in. We came back and informed the group of the challenges before them. We were going to be working in 3 main places. These were The Oasis Centre, The Belevista Estate and the middle of the town. The oasis Center is the place where they recieve guests and have some church meetings. They also sell second hand goods quite cheaply to people. We helped out a lot here by painting one of the rooms, and cleaning the whole place. Belevista is the worst estate in Setubal. We had the job of cleaning it which took a long time. We also had the job of feeding the homeless soup in the middle of the town.

The place we stayed in was a retreat. It was next to the sea, had 3 floors of 10-12 rooms. The retreat is used by everyone from teenagers to old people.

By Edwin Griffiths age 16.

The whole Portugal trip was an amazing experience and had a huge impact on me and all that went. Litter picking around the Belevista Estate was very humbling and really made me think how lucky we all are. It was amazing to see a church and community who completely relied on God. Since coming back we have all appreciated how lucky we are and what we have compared to some places. We have all done our best to help around the church, taking on roles. For example helping to serve refreshments on a sunday, working together to do a cleaning duty, helping lead the prayer and helping with the equipment.

By Jonathan Harvey age 14.

Since visiting Portugal my way of thinking has changed, i feel a lot more optimistic about life and worry less. The trip allowed me to travel to a new country and the experience of travelling in a large group added to the excitement. It was lovely to share many of my friends first flights and excitement and anticipation that goes with it. The trip allowed to visit young people of a similar background yet living in a completely different culture. Thier culture is different in that they are a lot more friendly and commited. However they are aware of the dangers facing them and thier landscape is a lot more baron than ours. Through giving out food to the homeless, i feel i gained an understanding that i could make a difference and that the portugese, for example on the Belevista estate, are so appreciative of any love shown to them. I never realised before visiting Portugal, the tremendous bad perception foreigners have of English young people. ost people in Portugal thought we were rich, shown by the rubbing of fingers as we walked past. As a person, i feel that i have become more relaxed about lifes worries as a result of the mission. I also feel i have a lot more empathy towards those less fortunate and i now feel with a more mature head i have gained a greater understanding on the world around me.

By Corrie Arrowsmith age 17

I had the privilege of going to Portugal, one that has changed my life. Portugal changed my opinion of the Portuguese and i even managed to forgive them after the world cup! I think the best experience for me was the litter picking in the Belevista estate. After overcoming the fear of being snatched and being horrified by the mass of litter they caused, i was overwhelmed by being welcomed with open arms, especially by the cleaners. And even being mistaken as Ukrainians. I was also suprised that news of our cleaning had spread over 3 miles. I felt ashamed walking through the streets in my expensive clothes and shoes, in comparison to those wearing worn hand me down clothes. Traveling to Portugal and the events was an adventure in itself. As we traveled through Lisbon and the beautiful scenery over the largest bridge in Europe, i began to appreciate other cultures and was humbled by their beautiful country. On arrival everybody was suprised by the Portuguese church who greeted us, they treated us like royalty throughout our stay, and gave us all and above our needs. If they were ever to come to England i hope we could treat them with the same respect they gave us.By Ben Arrowsmith age 15

PLEASE NOTE: ALL INFORMATION AND PHOTOGRAPHS PUBLISHED WITH PARENTAL CONSENT.

Christian Centre Cross and Restoration can be contacted by e-mail at: cccr@cix.pt

Social Centre Good Samaritan can be contacted by e-mail at: csbs1@hotmail.com

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