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Heading West into Portugal
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 Jůlio's eyes lit up as he browsed through the computer-based New Testament Survey course. “This is exactly what I need,” said the Portuguese
Web designer and Christian layman. Business and family demands make it impossible for Jůlio to commute an hour and a half to the Bible
institute in Lisbon, and he immediately recognized the value of being able to study God's Word on his own computer as his schedule allowed.
In the initial years of ministry, eDOT has focused on
eastern Europe as church leaders there have eagerly sought our partnership. We have prayed, however, that God would open doors in
western Europe as well, where the need is equally great but the culture and ministry
are significantly different. Leaders in several
western European countries have recently extended a “Macedonian call” to eDOT, “Come over and help us!” Since our goal is to help build the church in Europe, we are committed to working with those who are already on location—evangelizing, discipling, and training. Tom,
an educator with Greater Europe
Mission in Portugal, and Glenn, a missionary with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist
Convention, are two such individuals. They
have laid the groundwork for the establishment of distance learning in Portugal and are eager to work with us in learning how to adapt courses culturally and linguistically and how to facilitate courses.
Via our network of ministry partners, we
are able to help them find others who share their vision for reaching this new generation for Christ—through computer resources.
An exciting aspect about the possibilities before us in Portugal, as well as
in France and Spain, is that since these countries formerly had colonies on other continents, their languages are used by millions of people. For instance, though Portugal only has about 10 million people, over 190 million people worldwide speak Portuguese according to
Operation World. Portuguese-speaking Brazil is listed in the top 15 countries in the world for Internet use. We're at the threshold of whole new territories. We've been praying for open doors, and God is answering our prayers!
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