Saturday, June 28, 2003 To our family and friends: Yes, another month has slipped away from us. It sounds so repetitive, but it really is amazing how fast this time here in Portugal has gone by. It really seems like we were just saying our goodbyes. Not much has changed since our last newsletter, but our tongues are shaping those strange sounds a little better every day. We're now able to read better than we speak and speak better than we can hear. But it's all improving with time. As we have lived here for just about 1/2 of our total time here, it is feeling more like normal. But in many ways we do not feel like this is really home. Ann's parents sent us some magazines and looking through "Southern Living", seeing all the families in their big yards with the grills and sweet tea made us long for "home", we don't see a lot of grass around here, let alone sweet tea! We miss all of you, too, it is not just the yards! This month we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary as most of you probably know. It has gone by so fast! We went to the newly opened Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and enjoyed a good rib-eye and free refills (the only place in Portugal that gives free refills). And it was nice to feel American again for a night. Language school has been kind of like hiking up a steep mountain lately. We are cramming in lots of grammar, and are wanting to reach the top so badly, and it is like we can see it, but our brains just need to stop and soak it all in. We have a lot in our heads that is not on our tongues. But we can feel the power of your prayers so much, and ask that you continue to hold us up to God with our language study. We've also been refreshed this month by the amount of visitors that have come through. By the end of July we will have had a total of ten visitors, mostly relatives of team members, that are either coming or going to Africa and made it a point to "stop by" and encourage us. And the time that we had in fellowship and prayer with them has been especially uplifting. Included in the list of visitors is also Sam and Nancy Shewmaker (our team mentors) who are coming on the 28th of July to spend about three days with us. This should be a special blessing for our team. Also something that makes this month different and incredibly special is the fact that one of our teammates, Rachel Howell, is having a baby girl. Her due date was on the 24th of July and now she is just eagerly awaiting the delivery. Her mom arrived safely today and will be here the next two weeks to help out around their house. Please be praying for a safe delivery and for these next few months of trying to balance language learning and new parenthood. Some specific things to pray for this month are: 1. Our language study 2. People that we practice language with to also be ministered to 3. A safe delivery for Rachel and Alan's baby 4. Our marriage 5. The Makua people We appreciate all the e-mails of encouragement that we receive every month and also value your prayers for us during this extended time of transition and language study. May God bless you. -Rusty and Ann