the Bender Beat

Happy July! Just wow! Our time in Portugal is already wrapping up, and soon we'll be heading back to America!

This season in Portugal has been so unusual for us. We haven't been students for a while, then we jumped into classes and studying for these six months. Neither of us have ever seriously studied a foreign language before, and we had never eaten snails until this year. And, like everyone else in the world, we never expected to be quarantined in our home for months (or to have to learn to spell quarantine). But it's clear that there's something special about this time that has been so unusual. In this time that has been set apart to a very specific purpose, in a different place and a different culture and with different people, there has been space in our lives for the Lord to be present with us in a different way. Maybe sometimes we need a change in our environment to see transformation take place in us. 

From Exodus through Joshua, God leads the nation of Israel through a LOT of scenery changes. He takes them out of slavery in Egypt and leads them toward the land He wants to give to them. Then, because their hearts aren't ready to receive what He has for them, they have to spend 40 years wandering in the desert before they can move into the land that God promised them generations before. Now, I know that God knows everything before it happens, that nothing comes as a surprise to Him, but I really believe that His Plan A was to bring the Israelites right from Egypt into their inheritance. I think that was the intention of His heart. And yet, when Israel shows how not ready they are to walk in the fullness of being God's people, He takes care of them anyway. In 40 years of walking, the Bible says, the Israelites shoes never wore out and their feet never swelled. There was flat bread on the ground every morning for them for 40 years, and God brought water out of a rock for them. His presence stayed right there in the middle of the people as a cloud by day and fire by night. He showed them when to move, where to camp, and how long to stay. The time in the wilderness doesn't sound like the best time, but it's actually a time when we see God revealed and interacting with His people unlike any other time in the Bible or history since then.
 
In more ways than one, you might not be experiencing what you think is God's Plan A for your life right now. Maybe you were supposed to be in a different place, or working a different job, or just not trapped in your house the majority of the time. There's no getting around it, this is a peculiar time. It might not be God's first choice plan,  but that doesn't mean He won't use it for amazing, unusual, really good things. It doesn't mean we won't see Him in new and powerful ways. In fact, I think we should be expecting to see Him like we've never seen Him before.
 
Israel got to see God do amazing things because they were chosen by Him to be His people. They were set apart, literally set aside to be different from all the nations around them. And so are we. We are set apart, holy, made to be unlike anyone else on the earth, but exactly like Jesus. We're the ones who get to see God do amazing things! To see Him fight for us! And when Israel was on the move, all the nations close by got to see God too. They didn't know who He was, but they knew He was unlike anything they served. Since Jesus destroyed every dividing wall between us and God, anyone who sees God in your life has the chance to know exactly who He is. What an amazing time we live in. What an amazing God we love.

Before Portugal locked down a little stricter again, we got to spend a weekend in the city of Porto with our friends! It was a really fun time to hang out together and experience a beautiful historic city. Porto is known for a lot of things, but our favorite was a dish called Francesinha. It's essentially a multiple meat sandwich hidden in melted cheese, topped with a fried egg and covered in secret sauce. Served with french fries and 100% worth making the trip for.

Next stop, America! We are wrapping up language classes in the next three weeks, and heading back to the states at the end of this month! We will be continuing to study Portuguese on our own, continuing to support raise for our vehicle, and waiting for the necessary documents we need to start our visa process for Angola. 

As you pray for us, please pray that we would receive our invitation letters from Angola quickly! We can't apply for our Angolan visas until we have them. Pray that we continue to progress with language acquisition while in the states, and that the remainder of our vehicle funds come in. We are at 70% of our funding goal! Thank you so much to all of you who support us so faithfully.

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the Benders