1 Year

Last week we passed 1 year of living in Spain. What a year it's been.

It's been a little surreal, b/c in spite of how cold it's been here, as if on schedule the trees have started blooming this week, just as they did a year ago. It has been so cold for so long that it has been so nice this week to be outside enjoying the sunshine.

I was watching Katie at the park across the street from our house the other day - she was throwing grass pieces into the air and they were raining down on her head as she ran through. It just struck me as a picture of total joy - and as a snapshot of how far we've come in 1 short year. A year ago we were at that same park but in a totally different scenario: alone, b/c we were on an American schedule instead of a Spanish one, b/c Katie wasn't in school yet like all the other kids her age, b/c we didn't know anyone in Madrid; feeling so tentative about life and the foreign environment we found ourselves in; having more days of tears & anger than of joy. This year we were surrounded by kids and their moms or nannies b/c we were there after school; feeling comfortable with the mix of cultures and languages we always find around us; more content to be "alone" as foreigners in a foreign land. But we are no longer truly alone: this year we have dear friends who live on the street behind us to deeply miss when they leave in 3 short weeks for their next adventure. And many others dotted throughout the city.

God's grace is amazing. In good times and bad, in hard times and easy, He gives us grace to handle each day that comes. We have seen His grace in abundance this last year. Although at times we still long for home, at times we still beat our heads against the wall in frustration at navigating a foreign culture, we have settled in well to life in Spain and really feel at home here. It's hard to describe, this crazy life we have found ourselves in. But God is so good and His plan is good. I'm glad we came along for the ride :-)

A Trip to Porto

The weekend of 6th February, we went to Porto, Portugal with some other families in our church. We've been working through a series on mission on Sunday mornings, so the church organized several trips to visit churches around the Iberian peninsula to encourage the leaders of those churches and see how they do things. We went with our pastor & his wife, Richard & Riekje, & their kids, as well as with friends Rob & Chris, and Hilary. Jason's dad, Rich, arrived from the US for a visit on the day we left, so he also jumped at the chance to visit a new place. We went to visit a church called Riverside Porto that meets in the home of Bill & Tina. (Here is Katie & Ethan, 6)

We started off on Friday afternoon facing weather reports of snow and who knows what as we crossed the mountains to get into Portugal. But fortunately, we only saw a little bit of snow that did not impede our journey! We did purchase chains ahead of time just in case :-), but were very glad we did not have to use them. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Bill & Tina's house of pork loin and roasted potatoes.

Saturday was the 1st sunny day they had had in Porto in weeks and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It could not have been more beautiful! This has been an especially cold winter here in Madrid, so we were so happy to soak up the sun & warmth there. We started out the day at the beach, enjoying our 1st glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean from the other side! It was rather strangely moving to look across that water to imagine home on the other side :-) The kids played in the sand collecting sea shells (this is Katie & Ethan again) and admiring the fishing gear and boats that were all over the beach. (in the boat is Ethan, Caleb, 8, Jordan, 3, & Katie) Then we enjoyed a coffee in the sun followed by an outdoor lunch (did I mention how glad we were that it was warm? :-) ) One thing I've really missed this winter is eating outside with friends, so it was great to have a small taste of what is coming soon as the weather warms up. At lunch I enjoyed a typical Portuguese dish that is a fried sandwich full of different kinds of meats, then covered with sauce. Yum.


After lunch we headed off to the old part of Porto and the port wine lodges :-). The city of Porto gave its name to port, as well as to the country of Portugal and the language Portuguese. We toured a port lodge and learned how port is made and enjoyed a port tasting as well. The city is really pretty, next to the river Duoro that is filled with the boats they used to transport the port down the river. The river is also spanned by several really pretty bridges.

Saturday happened to be Bill's 60th birthday, so we were able to take him & Tina out to dinner to celebrate. We enjoyed getting to know them more as well as to hear about their ministry and some of the challenges they face in Porto. Their church is also an international, English-speaking church like Mountain View. It has been really growing and is stretching the bounds of their meeting space in their home. They are seeking God's wisdom as they look to the future of the church. They meet on Sunday nights and always share a meal together after church, so it provides some unique needs in a meeting area. Bill is also looking to work less time at his current job so that he can devote more time to the church. We enjoyed more typical Portuguese dishes like duck w/ rice, cod w/ cream (that they typically serve for their wedding meals - called bacaloa con nata), and another kind of yummy cod with bread crumbs.

A funny thing that happened at dinner - we kept forgetting and speaking Spanish to people - specially saying Gracias instead of Obregado. I told the waiter (in Spanish) that I was sorry but we live in Madrid so we are used to Spanish. He very wryly said (in Spanish) "Well, that's very interesting but you are in Portugal" :-) At least he was having fun with it :-)

Sunday we spent with our host family at their home. We stayed with a delightful family, Gilberto & Paula. We really enjoyed getting to know them and being in a real Portuguese home. It really made the experience richer and we were so grateful for their hospitality to total strangers. Katie enjoyed playing with their daughter, Martinya, who is just a little younger than Katie. (they are there together at left) They cooked us a wonderful meal Sunday and we spent the day getting to know them. They told us a lot about the history of Portugal - for such a small country, Portugal used to be one of the world powers along with Britain, France, and Spain when they were carving up the world for their colonies. Bartholomeu Dias & Vasco da Gama are just 2 of the famous Portuguese explorers.

Sunday night we had a time of prayer for Bill & Tina and then helped with their worship service. Several of the members of our group helped in their service. Jason even got to share some from the front :-). Richard preached on how finishing well is the most important part of a mission, and though we are not yet finishing :-), he had Jason share on how God led us to Spain and how we have seized the opportunities we have seen here. Katie was trying to get in on leading worship - maybe in a few more years :-)

OK - my post is acting like it's about to vanish on me, so I'd better publish it, done or not...

My 35th Birthday

OK - true confessions, although I am going to fix the date to read sometime last February, I am actually writing this blog post on 28 December 2009 :-) This is just a "missing" post that I never wrote... and I am now compiling our blog into books to take home with us and want the blog to be "complete".... so here you go :-)

For my 35th birthday, my mom had planned a big surprise - she bought me 35 presents to open in the days leading up to my birthday!! I was really blown away - and I felt spoiled like a kid again! It was super fun to see what was inside all the colorful packages - the gifts ranged from yummy American food to new clothes to People magazines :-) to matching PJs for Katie & I. My dad said that the next time she has a big idea like that we should definitely not be living overseas where they have to tote it all to me in 4 suitcases! :-)

Katie loved helping Mimi make my birthday cake - she was so proud of herself :-)



Then for my actual birthday, Jason completely decked out my recliner with balloons and streamers. I was one spoiled girl, that's for sure!! And yes, 35 has been as good of a year as its beginning :-)

So there you go - lacking details, perhaps, but full of fun pictures :-)

Back to Sevilla

I've been trying to write this post w/o mentioning the lapse of time... but I just can't do it when this trip was taken 1-4 January!! So I would like to say I'm finally getting caught up... but I'm actually getting further behind. We took a trip to Porto this past weekend and will be vacationing all next week. But we do want to be thorough in spite of the delay! :-)

When my parents were here, we had the chance to go back to visit Sevilla. It was as wonderful as the 1st time! (except for an unfortunate throwing-up- in-the-middle-of-the-night incident that we won't mention :-) ) Such a beautiful city. Especially fun were the orange trees that were full of oranges all over the city. The descriptions of things we saw before may be a bit brief here, so if you need a refresher look here or here or here for the commentary on our last visit. (yes, we REALLY like Sevilla - it merited 4 blog posts! :-) )

Mom, Dad & Jason enjoyed the Cathedral the 1st morning (sorry, no pics) then we went back to the Alcazar the 2nd day. I enjoyed the Alcazar just as much as the 1st time! We marveled at the patterns, and enjoyed the beautiful grounds full of orange trees & palm trees. We got to run in the maze w/ Poppi and meet a garden cat who was very excited to sit in the sun and be petted by Katie.


After walking to the Plaza de Espana, we decided to take a horse drawn carriage back to the Cathedral - it was so fun! We got rained on a bit :-), but it was great. Lots of pretty things we hadn't seen before. (no good pics of those b/c of the rain :-) )











The coolest thing of our time in Sevilla (that I still cannot really believe happened!): We went back to the flamenco show at the same place we had visited last time. We thought about going to a new place, but since we've seen flamenco we didn't like we thought we'd better stick with a known thing. When we got there, a man came up to us and asked if we would want Katie to go up on stage at the end. (of course she had her flamenco dress on again.) Well, we said "sure!" b/c I was thinking he meant after the show was over (like we'd done last time w/o permission). But NO - he came to get her and put her up on stage during the last number! It was incredible! The beautiful flamenco dancers were still up there dancing and Katie was up there too!! :-) She did so good - I could tell she was a little nervous, but she smiled and clapped like she was an old pro. After a few minutes, she ran off the stage - I guess it got too overwhelming. We were so proud of her! :-)





After we left Sevilla, we stopped for a night in Cordoba on the way back to Madrid. It is a smaller town to the north of Sevilla, but still in the Andulsian area known for the Moorish influence. In the 11th century, it was one of the greatest cities in the world, with 900,000 people living there! There we saw the Mezquita - with a Catholic church built INSIDE a mosque! It was pretty crazy. (see the Moorish arches around the altar? we were a bit confused as to why the Catholics would do that exactly) The patterns here were also beautiful - and even more Moorish if possible. This mosque dates from the 8th century! (wow!)



We also saw the Alcazar (palace). It was not so impressive itself, but the grounds were beautiful. The pictures really don't do it justice! It was cool to be here b/c this is where Columbus traveled to talk to Queen Isabella about financing his little trip across the ocean. It was a beautiful day, even warm - which is something we don't get too much of in January here in Spain! (and especially nice after it rained on us much of the time in Sevilla)

We had such a nice visit with my parents, with lots of sightseeing & lots of celebrating (given my slowness here, I don't think I'm going to get around to a post on my 35th bday - which the other celebration we enjoyed with them :-) ). We are so thankful they came to see us & to help celebrate Christmas with us!