Prayer Letter — October / November 2025
We have arrived to Portugal! To say we are excited to be here is an understatement. We have enjoyed learning where everything is and trying to figure out everything we need. We have now been here for three weeks. God has been so good to us since arriving. We have had a warm welcome from the church here and being able to jump right into the ministry and minister with those that are here has been a blessing. I've had many opportunities to connect with the church. Working through some hard life circumstances for some, also being able to rejoice in blessings with others. Please continue to pray for them as we integrate into the church.
We have been able to set up a home little by little. This is where the culture shock comes in more and more. No more Amazon same day delivery and Walmart runs. We are learning slow and steady is the way of Portugal. You have to go to about 5 different stores for the things you might need. Deliveries also come at their own times as well. It's been fun trying to guess when we might get the things we have ordered for the house. God has been good allowing us to find the things we might need to make it feel like home and adjust more and more.
I have been able to get out and about to meet and talk with people that can understand me until I can learn and understand Portuguese. It's been fun trying to talk to people and communicate with the language barrier. I was talking with a man in his 20's and I was telling him why we were there and told him I'm a missionary. He could not understand how I was married and a Pastor. He said "you're a pastor and married, so you're not a real Pastor then". The priests here can't marry so he thought I was a fake because I am married and he even went around telling others about me because of how weird it seems to him haha. It has given me good opportunities to be able and talk about the difference between what they are being taught and what we know to be right from the Word of God.
It's funny the small things that you miss. We have learned that milk in Portugal is not the same as in the States. It comes unrefrigerated in cartons and has a more sweet taste to it. I've been sad not being able to drink a glass of milk I enjoy. I say this because it's the little blessings that make us jump for joy. Kiska had some friends come over and while they were walking through the store we have walked through dozens of times, they found real fresh cold milk. I bought 1 liter of milk and we drank the whole bottle in the same day and enjoyed every drink. It's been a blessing to know we can get milk that tastes familiar to us!
- Carters to Portugal