Three Decades in Portugal Jonathan and Joanna Pharazyn-Gutierrez are full-time global workers with Multiply in Lisbon, Portugal. They recently sat down with their newly retired coworkers, Otto and Marjorie Ekk, who have been serving in Portugal since 1988. In the photo above, Otto is holding Jonathan and Joanna’s firstborn child, Valin.
Jonathan: How did you originally discern God’s call to go to Portugal? Otto: We had already worked for three years in Brazil and then finished our seminary training when we applied with MB Mission to go into cross-cultural ministries. After a lengthy interview, the leadership asked us whether we would consider going to Portugal to be involved in pioneer church planting. We were shocked. Marjorie: We had never thought about pioneer church planting, and we had never thought about Portugal. I didn’t even know where it was on the map. But the leadership said to us, “You pray about it for the next month and see what God will tell you.” Otto: That was a very powerful thing. We were young at the time, and immature. We thought we knew what we wanted. But we heard the voice of God through the leadership. Their confidence in us was humbling. Marjorie: Otto felt called within a week. It took me longer, but I know exactly where I was standing when God gave me the peace that both of us were called. Our calling was a combination of the invitation of MB Mission leadership, and also having people around us at home to pray about it with us, and then God confirming it to both of us separately that, yes, we were called to this. 10 | witness
Joanna: What a beautiful picture of discernment in community. What about when you arrived in Portugal, what were your greatest challenges with cross-cultural ministry? Marjorie: I would say the language. I had three young children when we arrived, so I was tired after a full day of language training. And, of course, there are so many things within a culture that you’re never taught in school. You only learn and experience these things by trial and error. But the thing that helped me most was finding places that we could go to get fresh air, like just sitting at the edge of the ocean. Those places became very special. The children would play in the sand and watch ships come into the harbor, and we would just sit there and relax. Those are things that really fed the soul. You need to find those places and activities that help you to recharge. Otto: I would agree with Marjorie. You only learn the real nuances of the culture as you goof up. You learn to pick yourself up, and dust yourself off. That’s the only way to become an incarnation of the Gospel and to understand how to live out your faith in a very practical way.
