As we prepare to move to Portugal at the end of September, we believe the Lord has been speaking very clearly to us about how He wants us to approach this new season.

In John 4, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. This encounter is powerful because Jews and Samaritans generally avoided one another. Yet Jesus intentionally crossed cultural, social, and religious boundaries to meet her where she was.

When hearing Leif Hetland talking about this story, what has stood out to us is that Jesus began by asking her for a drink of water.

The Creator of the world chose to ask something from her.

Rather than arriving as the one with all the answers, He started with humility. He entered her world, engaged with her culture, and began a conversation at a place they could both relate to. The well was common ground. It was familiar to her, and it became the place where Jesus revealed Himself as the Living Water.

We feel the Lord has been speaking to us about carrying that same posture as we move to Portugal.

Our first calling is not to arrive with our own ideas or assumptions. We believe God is inviting us to become learners. To listen before we speak. To understand before we teach. To embrace the language, the culture, the history, and the people that He loves so deeply.

Whether we are connecting with Gypsy communities, those from Catholic backgrounds, local families, young people, or people who have never encountered Jesus personally, we want to approach them with humility and honour. We want to learn what is important to them, understand their stories, and recognise where God is already at work among them.

We believe the Lord is teaching us that relationship comes before influence.

Just as Jesus found common ground at the well, we want to find places of connection with the people of Portugal. We want to celebrate what is beautiful in the culture, value the people, learn the language, and build genuine friendships.

Then, from a place of trust and relationship, we pray that people would encounter Jesus for themselves.

Our desire is not to bring a foreign culture or impose our own way of doing things. Our desire is to bring the Father's love into the places where He sends us and to reveal Jesus in ways that people can understand and receive.

As we move at the end of September, we believe God is calling us first to be students of the culture and servants of the people. To sit at the well, so to speak—to listen, learn, and love well. And as we do, we trust that the Lord will open doors for many to discover the true Living Water and experience a genuine relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.