Happy thanksgiving and greetings to all. I know that I have not blogged in a while, but I really don't have much to say now. I am wintering... that is it. I love this little piece of land I hardly ever leave. It is like a fallen garden of Eden. There is piece, quiet, provision, and time for me to seek out the Lord. Still, I want more of this time... guess it will be granted tomorrow:).

I did get out recently to go to a Portuguese punk show with Barbara. It was pretty cool to see the local scene and it's kids. Barbara has a lot of hopes to reach out with love toward these kids and the scene. Still, we are putting most of our focus at this time on our own spiritual walk, and the daily needs of the land. (If I may speak for Barbara, that is).

I wrote a friend recently, and out of that I thought I would post the following:

How are you?

I have been slaving away here in Portugal. No, not really, but we have been on the task of picking olives for the last two weeks. We finished today. We got a lot of olives. However, Barbara estimated that with how much we got it should come out to a whopping 25 liters of olive oil. Which at 5 euro per liter comes out to about 125 euros cash for out harvest. We still have to sort the olives and pick out the bad ones. So, what do you think? Care to buy a liter of olive oil at the fare trade price? I don't know what that should be, but I am thinking I am half way done and have put in 80 dollar days for the last two weeks. It could take another two weeks to sort them, we'll see. (actually we spent a week and should be done tomorrow, Thanksgiving)

Anyway, enough about the olives. I have been spending the rest of my time poring over the pages of Knowing God by JI Packer. I think it is a lot better read the second time than the first. It is a great season of working out the stuff in my heart and seeking God's face in the quiet before the unknown summer ahead. I still look forward to a summer of bumming it through Europe. By that time I hope to have a 1 year visa secured, and so I hope to take advantage of it by really getting into the street scene. Before I do that though, I am taking advantage of the slow days here to listen and find the pulse of the Lord. I need more grace than I ever dreamed toward this end. As you pray for me, pray that all the time I spend standing in one spot watering cabbage before dinner may be used to the good end of listening for the the voice of the Lord. Also entreat him to supply my recent feelings of insecurity with a swift kick out of my psyche. Also, old sins are rearing their ugly head (though I've been 6 months free this week!), and I need the discipline to grow knowing how I should buffett my body.

As for Europe in general, now that my immediate visa needs are taken care of, I have till the end of January to get my next application into processing status. I need to apply for a 1 year residency if I am going to stay. In order to do this I need to email an American office of the Portuguese embassy. The first trick is getting in touch with that office, and it has been difficult. Pray that what ever frustrations are in this process, they will have their way in improving my character. Pray that all may be accomplished without me having to return to the states to finalize as this will be an expensive inconvenience.

Here for the Holiday season,
I will leave generous hearts with two things.
It is difficult to get almost anything in this part of Portugal. There are stores in town, but not many of the kind I would shop in. My parents are sending me a care package, and that is well anticipated with warmness of heart. For those who would though, I have a wish list registry on Amazon which I need to update, but later it will mostly be in tact as is now. Just don't buy the first item on the list. You can access the wishlist from the Amazon home page by searching 'leathersandal', and send the packages to:

Barbara Leite
Attn:Jared Dunham
A/C Presidente Junta Freguesia
Avenido 1*- Maio,74
6230-600 Povoa D'Atalaia

I am on an American keyboard, but where you see 1*-,
that should really look more like this
' o'
1-
so that you have a '1' and then a little circle like if you were writing one degree faranheit, and then under the circle there would be a hyphen or dash. Ha ha that is a lot of wierdness, isn't it. Also it is just fun to know that the post man does not come out to us. The mayor calls us when we have mail, and we go by his shop to pick it up. So um, don't send any drugs. :)

Second>
Also, I am still cushioned for money okay through the rest of winter. When I get back on the road however, I may have to find food in unsundry ways. I probably should not say that. God has been so faithful in providing everything, and he will continue even beyond my dying day. Still, I want to leave open the opportunity for those who want to participate in what I am doing.
After resting up this winter, I still intend to bum around Europe to get in touch with kids where they are at. I hope to be hitching through the mediterranean in the spring, then up through Switzerland to Germany as summer begins. I am looking forward to breaking and refreshing at Freakstock, spending some time in Berlin making some connections with a budding YWAM street ministry. There is Slotfest in Poland, which is a well known arts festival, and there will be rainbow gatherings to attend. From Poland I expect to check out Romania and get a good taste for Eastern Europe in the process. I can also see myself spending a lot of time all around Germany. I have an invitation to build a recumbent bicycle at a friends house in the south, and want to get back to Karlsruhe to regroup with friends I made on my last visit. These are just a brief of some of the things I am looking forward to next summer. Really it is a packed schedule that I have no intention on keeping so much as I have intention to meet and figure out what all the kids are up to. (more on that in a future blog). Finally, there is getting back to Amsterdam if I can manage it, and returning home to Portugal in time for the Olive Harvest. It should be a much better year for the olives next year.

All this traveling may just seem like 30 year old Huck Finn foolishness. Some of that is true, but I believe the Lord has something very meaningful in it which I am still postulating an address of in a coming blog (stay tuned, but don't expect it to be the next one). I see what is to come through the glass darkly, so even though I intend to do most of this with my thumb out, and my bed in the bush, I will still need finances to keep me going. I wanted to foot the bill like the street kids do it. But that requires panhandling and getting a monthly check from the government like in the states. I don't see such means applying for me, though this very blog seems like it is turning into a high tech transcontinental pan handle. So nothing further on that, I just wanted to let you know how this is all working itself in my head.

I'll make my exit from this post in this fashion:
If you are wondering how to enable this seeker of the Kingdom making his way through the dark places hoping to shine the light of the gospel, you can make out a check to: Life House Ministries, right my name in the designation line, and mail it to>
Life House Ministries
6209 E. 110th Street
Kansas City, MO 64134

May you have a blessed thanksgiving.