Monsanto

This week’s edition of Time Out Lisboa featured Lisbon’s wonderful green space -Monsanto. “Fifty Things you have to see or do in Monsanto Forest Park before you die" was the title of the feature. Generally, Lisbon is a pretty green city. There are all sorts of little parks and gardens tucked away down quiet side streets. But Monsanto is a vast expanse of natural woodland to literally get lost in. It covers 900 hectares, that almost 10 square kilometres. It has a motorway running through it, the A5 out to Cascais, but you can just about ignore the noise of the traffic and enjoy the birdsong.

Growing up in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, “Monsanto” meant for me a chemical plant belching out polluting smoke by the River Bann, but here it’s a green lung for an ancient capital. And it’s not far from the centre either. 5-10 minutes by car out of the city centre will bring you into quiet leafy glades. In fact, according to Time Out, you can follow a “green corridor” from the central Marques Pombal square all the way out to the Park through cycle routes in only 3 km. Must try that some time.

Anyway, with Colin home, only for one week, we decided we’d go and see how many of the fifty things we might achieve. Some we discounted immediately, such the climbing wall or adopting a dog (the Municipal Kennels are situated in the park)! But we did manage to do a few things and saw some spectacular vistas of the river and the bridge, and Lisbon’s own aqueduct, which used to carry water into the city, and is a remarkable feat of 18th Century engineering and architecture. It was a fine evening, with the sun going down in the west, kids playing in the skate park, young lovers sitting on the grass, great lolloping dogs bounding around among the trees. These are moments that family memories are made of.

www.timeout.sapo.pt

Sometimes it Takes a Celebrity

It’s kind of sad when one’s awareness of the humanitarian issues in this world of ours has to be prompted by the sight of a celebrity in handcuffs. You would think, as a Christian, and involved in Mission work, you ought to already know this stuff, and be ahead of the game a bit more. But when George Clooney was filmed being arrested, along with his dad, no less, on the steps of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, it made me think, well, what’s put him off his coffee?

But what he did, through that act of civil disobedience, was to bring to MY notice, at least, (and hopefully to a few million others) what’s going on in Sudan. Since South Sudan gained its independence from the north, it has kind of dropped off the radar a bit, but there’s still a massive policy of injustice being meted by a brutal regime against the displaced people of Darfur.

In my further browsing about the Sudanese, I came across quite by chance, an amazing documentary about the so-called “lost boys” of Sudan. I think I was intrigued b the title of the movie “God Grew Tired of us” which is sort of extracted from something one of the central characters John Bul says in the middle of the film.

“In my imagination.I though that God felt tired of people on earth here, felt tired of the bad deeds, the bad thing that we are doing.... I thought God got tired of us and he want to finish us. When I think of it back then..."

They were a group of 27,000 thousand displaced boys and young men, who fled Sudan in the 1990’s and walked for hundreds of miles, first into neighbouring Ethiopia and then, when that country became unstable, all the way back through Sudan to the Kenyan border, to find refuge. Eventually some were brought to the USA, and this was their story. What made the documentary so important for me, was, on the one hand the incredible dignity, poise and faith of these young guys who had suffered so much, and on the other, the bemused and sometimes humorous ways in which they observed North American culture, and to be honest in certain respects, found it spiritually poor and wanting, compared to their rich Sudanese way of life.

You can find the whole documentary, even though its a few years old, available to watch on youtube, by following the link below. It’s in various segments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-JrOXwGWzM

Or you can see George Clooney's appeal for the Sudan here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p89OuPODBMM

And, if you want to listen to a bit of cool African music, here’s the opening track of the film “God grew Tired of Us” , a song called "Guramayle" sung by an amazing Ethiopian singer I just discovered called Gigi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlOygCw764A

Priv-i-lege /ˈprɪvəlɪdʒ/

Yesterday was Mother’s Day in the UK (though not here in Portugal - that happens in May) and the word that springs to mind is “privilege”. The privilege of being parents to three wonderful young people - of walking with them through life - being part of their journey - seeing them develop, in skills and gifting, in faith, and in love and compassion. A wonderful word to use. Yes, it's very special.

Saturday was also special. A regular prayer day for our Mission group here on Portugal, and, again the word “privilege” springs to mind. What a privilege to be involved with such an amazing group of people. Some weary, struggling financially and with tough situations, some upbeat, rejoicing in what God has been doing, but all filled with a deep love for God and a compassion for people around them. We were deep in the Alentejo countryside, at the Anema’s farm in Lavre - rolling hills, gnarled cork trees, dry grassland, because of the shortage of rain.

Sunday, we’re with our community at the Escola Vasco da Gama. “A Ponte” - the community of the Bridge. And again the word that comes to mind is “privilege”. Worshiping God together in Portuguese. "All of my life..in every season..You are still God. I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship..." What a privilege to be here in Lisbon, and watch a community grow - in the Spirit - in faith, in love and in hope. And to be aware that God is in the midst of it all. All that is happening. Amazing.

The weekend also saw St Patrick's Day pass us by. Out under the bright Alentejo sunshine. Privilege, to be Irish? Yes, of course. Soft rain on green fields, white foam on black rocks. To belong to two cultures, and feel privileged to be part of both. And the rich heritage of St Patrick's wisdom all down the centuries. Here's a little gem from his Confession

"The sun which we see rising for us each day at his command, that sun will never reign nor will its splendour continue forever..... We, however, believe in and adore the true sun, that is, Christ, who will never perish. Nor will they perish who do his will but they will abide forever just as Christ will abide forever He lives with God the Father almighty and with the Holy Spirit before the ages began, and now, and for all the ages of ages. Amen."

Birds

I enjoy birds.

I always have, though at times, with more intensity than others.

What it is about those little fluttering scraps of feathers that excites and inspires the imagination?

Their aeronautical acrobatics.
The delicately hued combination of feathers
The elaborate dances and dips and dives
Their pure lightness of being.
The language of their birdsong, with its alarming clucks, animated chatters, and soaring arias.

And the fact that each one is an individual, contributing in its own small way to the richness of God’s vast biodiversity. When I was boy I was given a book “Birds as Individuals” by Len Hutton, written way back in 1952, which opened my eye as a young teenager to the fact that it's not just about birds as species, but that each one is a separate individual, in particular, in the eyes of God, in the eyes of whom..

"not even a sparrow falls to the ground without its Heavenly Father knowing."

So there I was, Sunday morning, out walking by the river.
Early morning.
Sunrise.
The silence.
Before the runners, the walkers, the cyclists

And all at once, a reed warbler.
Least, that’s what think it is.
Dancing along the wire
Flitting between bush and fencing post
Just you and me, in a secret conversation.
Yes, I’ll leave your babies alone.
No, I won’t go near your nest
Just let me enjoy your beauty

In the early morning
Amen

Now How did He do That?

This little 11 year old girl on Youtube interviews Irish rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll, and one of the questions she asks him is “If you met Jesus on a bus what would you ask him?” I love it. And his answer was just as smart and off the cuff. “I’d ask him how he did that water into wine trick.”

Now that’s interesting. It’s not the most obvious or the most dramatic of Jesus miracles. Yet, it’s the one that catches the imagination. (O’Driscoll must have gone to Sunday school somewhere along the way to hear that story). And to me the fascination of the miracle is not the question “how he did it” but the “why he bothered”. How is it Jesus decides that the first time he would demonstrate his supernatural powers as the Almighty Son of God is to help out a friend at a wedding party. To add a bit more gladness to a happy event.

It’s not as if it was a matter of life and death. The worst that could have happened was that the friend would have ended up a bit embarrassed that the wine had run out, and the guests gone off in a huff. But bringing joy and gladness is very central to what Jesus is all about. Yes it’s about saving us from Hell, and Him paying the price for our sins and setting us on the right path to walk with God through life, but its also about adding that extra sparkle into life, putting the “joie” in the joie-de-vivre, the “spumante” into the Asti, and generally giving us the ability to truly “enjoy” life. He said as much when he declared later on that “I have come that you may have life, and that you may have life abundant”

We were at this wonderful wedding in an amazingly beautiful location earlier this month, and the preacher Paulo Oliveira, preached from this very story about the wedding feast, and as the day turned into night and we chatted and conversed with Davide and Arlete’s wonderful family and friends, it was as though Jesus was still there turning the bland water of an ordinary everyday Portuguese wedding ceremony into something rich and special and that tasted wonderful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFTRWa8LgIs&feature=player_embedded

More About Brittany

Discovering Brittany in August was the most pleasurable rewarding thing we have done in a long, long time. Partly it was the amazing richness and variety of culture history and natural scenery; partly it was the companionship of being together and doing different stuff, (plus enjoying some amazing hospitality); and partly it was...well, being in a corner of France that is not really France...or at least does not consider itself to be French.

You were kind of on the edge of Europe, and yet you felt at the heart of Europe, among ancient dolmens, and with the marks of the Romans, and Napoleon and Hitler imprinted in the landscape. And you’re always within reach of the amazing Atlantic coastline with its wonderful light and shade and every colour of an artist’s palette. No wonder Gauguin and Monet and Turner and others flocked here for inspiration

You were kind of on the edge of Europe, and yet you felt at the heart of Europe, among ancient dolmens, and with the marks of the Romans, and Napoleon and Hitler imprinted in the landscape. And you’re always within reach of the amazing Atlantic coastline with its wonderful light and shade and every colour of an artist’s palette. No wonder Gauguin and Monet and Turner and others flocked here for inspiration

Highlights of that coastline for were the amazing constructions in pink granite, shaped by the wind and the waves that lay along the northern coast, and the white expanse of the coast at Mont St Michel, where sky meets sea and salt marsh in one impressionistic monochrome sweep, and in the middle of this the medieval spires of the cathedral thrusting heavenward.

The climax of the holiday for us was last evening strolling in Lorient among the celtic flavours of Britanny, Galicia, Wales, Ireland and a host of other places and to end up at a concert of the legendary Chieftains which was amazing. Not so much that this band of brothers had been together for fifty year, but the eclectic bunch of talented young musicians from around the globe that they brought on stage with them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwNyU5ZRKMU

The Kindness of Strangers

Hospitality is one of those unsung gifts that the Bible mentions but that doesn’t get a lot of air time when people are talking about what’s important in walking the spiritual life. We experienced this gift last month with Mike and Valerie Smith, our hosts at Manoir du Poul deep in the countryside of Central Brittany. They run the manor as a bed and breakfast business, but it’s a gîte with a difference. Leaves visitors somewhat bemused as they experience a warmth and a welcome way beyond the polite professionalism of most of the hospitality industry. It’s there from the moment you arrive, and the personal interest is genuine in their conversation over meal times.

And it’s backed up by prayer, as they shared with us how they often pray for their guests, Valerie when she’s changing the beds or ironing the sheets, and Mike when he’s mowing the grass or weeding the garden.That takes some grace, and its where the gift comes in.

We experienced during that week in August, the kindness of strangers who end up not being strangers, but, even after only a few hours together, like friends we have known a long time. And because of the spiritual connection, the idea of hospitality takes on a yet deeper significance as it becomes the mutual sharing of the physical (food and shelter), and the spiritual (prayer and encouragement), as we feel that we as well have been able to minister into their lives, and they into ours.