A Week on the Battlefield…

    
      While hoping to start accomplishing much last week, it pretty much flopped, fizzled and crashed!  Last Monday, Jared had to be taken to the medical clinic.  He was having severe pains in his lower back to the point of not being able to sleep and his urine was discolored. (This condition started as we were traveling here and continued to get worse through the retreat weekend.)  After much prayer and gathering all the necessary documents (who knew that we would need all of our insurance stuff in the first week here), Mike took Jared to the private clinic to see a doctor that attends our church, Parque Victoria.  At the clinic, he ended up seeing two doctors, had a urine test, had a blood test, had an ultrasound, and had blood drawn.  The doctor determined that he had blood in his urine and sand in his kidneys.  We had to wait 48 hours for the blood test which came back negative for anything that they were testing.   The doctor prescribed Jared a pain killer and sent him home to rest and get lots of fluid. It also came with a hefty cost to us of $420! [I sent out an email regarding prayers for this situation to all who are on our email contact list.]  We were suppose to have gone to the local public school to meet the staff and see what we could do to enroll the girls for the start of school in the fall.  However, Jared’s health and the staff person we were needing to see being absent that day made those plans void. 
    So, we rescheduled with Mike to go to the school again on Tuesday, but again a scheduling conflict prevented us from being able to go. But, thanks to pain killers and prayer, Jared was feeling much better by Tuesday. 

Therefore, we set up Wednesday morning for Mike to come and pick us up, take us to the school, introduce us to the secretary and principal, and be our translator so we could start the process of enrolling the girls into school.
   Last Wednesday was a productive day. We were able to go the school here in La Cala (about a 10 minute walk max) where we had hopes of enrolling the girls.  The public schools here do not operate on attendance by location but rather by available openings.  The enrollment for next fall had already occurred earlier this spring and enrollment into the schools is closed until early September (in the weeks before school starts on the 12th).  We knew all of this information upon visiting the school, but Mike was hoping his relationship with both the secretary (her daughter takes Mike’s English classes at the Community Center) and the director/principal (Mike’s youngest son, Jimmy, attends this same school) would enable us to get the girls penciled in on a “waiting list” to give us some preference for the September registration.  God had even better provision in store for us! 
    While visiting the school, we were able to meet and talk extensively with the secretary and the principal.  We were given all the necessary forms to enroll both girls immediately.  The principal met with us concerning Jara’s grade placement.  Based upon her date of birth, in Spain, she is to be placed into the 7th grade.  Jara, however, just finished the 5th grade in the States.  He made some phone calls while we visited both the primary school (1st-6th) and the secondary school (7th-10th).  Upon returning to see him after looking around, he informed us that he had made arrangements for Jara to have an evaluation test done on Friday by someone from the government’s public school office in Malaga.  This evaluation would let us know where her best placement would be and would be necessary especially to make the concession for her to be in the 6th grade.  So, we waited until Friday and prayed in the mean time for some guidance and discernment concerning Jara’s best placement for the fall.
   While visiting the school last Wednesday, Jara was more quiet than usual and complained of being tired an not feeling very well.  So, after the school visit, we took the girls to the apartment, then Jared, Mike and myself drove to the main street in La Cala to the paint store for Jared and I to pick out and pick up some paint color to paint our apartment.  [While we now have paint, none of it is as of yet made it on the walls….]  While waiting for the paint to be mixed and prepared we were able to have some coffee at a nearby café and were able to talk concerning the Fitness Center at Parque Victoria, the ministry and vision.  It was great to have the quick sit down to gain perspective and insight.  God also confirmed vision He has given us for our rolls in doing His work through the Fitness Center and encouraged us in this calling. 

After being home for a short while from the paint trip, Mike again came to pick us up to take us to his condos to swim in his community pool.

As we went to bed Wednesday night, Jara was complaining of not feeling well still and after feeling her head she was obviously running a temp. After getting the girls to bed, I was feeling extremely tired and went to bed soon after only to awaken throughout the night with chills as I had started running a temp as well. [I again sent out an email for prayer during this episode of attack to those on our email contact list.]
     Thursday was spent for Jara and I in bed feeling absolutely miserable and for Jared and Laila feeling extremely worn down and tired.  By Friday, Jara was vomiting and the rest of us couldn’t stay out of the bathroom and running a temp off and on, having no appetite and terrible headaches and body aches. Needless to say, we canceled Jara’s evaluation at the school that morning and it was rescheduled to this Tuesday.  We were informed that many in the church were ill with the same bug, and our new church family was quick to bring us proper hydration (a gatorade like product, Aquarius) and recommend local remedies (chicken broth and rice).  By Saturday, Jara and I were feeling almost normal and had our first indication of an appetite, but Jared began getting the chills and having the full brunt of the bug that Jara and I had experienced in the day prior. 

     On Sunday, Jara and I attended church alone since Jared was sleeping in (still not 100%) and Laila was sleeping in after a sleepless night.  Jara enjoyed her first Sunday in her Sunday school class after worship.  I found her group sitting outside after service still digging into God’s Word!

I was so happy to be feeling well enough to attend church. Since it was my new friend’s, Pia, last Sunday here. (She, and her husband in a few weeks, will be going to spend a year in Chicago- a requirement of their mission organization- before returning back to Spain.) I was blessed to get to be a part of praying for their family as they leave.  Jared formed an instant bond with their son, Efi, as he was here visiting during the retreat and for the last week while being on break from the university he attends in Chicago.  We will greatly miss this amazing family and look forward to their return in a year!

After church and a little bit of lunch, the girls were restless as Jared and I tried to get some rest.  We decided that the short walk to the beach would be well worth their entertainment and our ability to get some down time.  It was a great decision!  I think that the sun and fresh air did us all a lot of good.  It also made the girls extremely tired which caused them to go to bed early on Sunday night which we were hoping to occur since they had a busy week beginning this week.

   Monday began our summer schedule with a perfectly healthy family! Praise God! (Thank you for those of you who were in prayer.)  Our first full week in Spain was most definitely spent on the battlefield.  We were attacked by the Enemy in our health, in our finances, and in our inability to complete moving forward in our work here. However, greater is my God than He who is in this world!  God continues to prove to be our Healer, our Provider, and our Stronghold.  We are victorious because we have faith in the One who has victory.  These attacks were but the first of the attacks on the battlefield.  I’m know as we continue to put ourselves on His frontlines that many more are to come our way.  But if God is for us, who can be against us! Amen!

Fellowship, Observation & Communication

      Now that life here is starting to settle into a normal pace. We are making some plans for getting our lives here started.
   Cena (dinner)!  The cook at work at 11pm (23:00)!
  Jared y Laila are enjoying seista!
      We have started fellowshipping with some new friends during meal time.  People have their larger meal during the day (lunch, “comida”).  So, this is the time they often have guests over.  If they get together of an evening/night with friends it would be out at a café/bar for tapas (appetizer/lighter type meal) with drinks (beer, wine, coffee, Fanta).  We are really excited to get to start forming friendships with these brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are also excited because most of our plans now are with Spanish speaking couples that speak very little English.  Could make for some entertaining conversation and time together!
     We are trying to get over to visit the public school (“escuela”) here in La Cala (the city we live in, a suburb of sorts of Malaga).  We have made plans for that last few days but with Jared’s health and being at the mercy of others to escort us we have yet to make it there.  We were suppose to go this morning, but the secretary that our friend, Mike, knows was out today.  So, we are going to attempt to make it to the escuela to get a tour tomorrow morning and to see about getting the girls “penciled” in for this fall.  The escuelas are different here and they only accept a certain number of students.  Enrollment this spring for next fall is closed.  We will have to wait until September before escuela starts towards the mid to end of that month before we can officially enroll them and prayerfully they will have an opening for them.  Both the girls are excited about attending the public esuela despite the fact that they speak NO English there, which is why, Mike, needs to go with us to translate for us with the administration.  We will be enrolling them in grades 1 and 6.  The teachers here don’t pass the students regardless if language is a problem or not. So, it will be a good possibility that they may have to repeat these grades again. 
     We are doing some prep for escuela this fall.  I have purchased some summer practice books at the local store for math for both of the girls.  (They do math a little differently here. The problems are set up differently.)  We are also able to have the girls attend a bi-lingual camp being offered here at the church for the entire summer (next week until end of August!).  This camp is put on by our friend, Mike, who is a Brit that has been living in Espana for a very long time and married to a Spaniard, Anna.  This camp will allow the girls to be around other children their ages and also be learning the basics of communication through activities, sports, crafts, etc.  Anna will also be giving us some private Spanish lessons at home (for the girls and for us).  We are so blessed by her offering this service to us!  We will also continue on in using the Rosetta Stone program that we started in the States.  Once school starts this fall, Jared and I are both planning on enrolling and attending some intensive language courses offered locally.  Being better able to communicate will be key to doing extensive ministry work, therefore, us taking a big portion of each day to devote to furthering our language capabilities is not only necessary but strongly encouraged and wanted by the leadership here.
     While the girls are at camp Monday thru Friday from 9am-2pm, Jared and I will have the opportunity to explore our surroundings (familiarizing ourselves with our new town, the people and places) and begin our work in the ministry here.
               

                         

     Our roll in ministry at the moment is to fellowship, observe, and communicate.  FELLOWSHIP:     We are to spend as much time with people in the church body as possible.    We are hopeful that Jared can get into a permanent rotation with the praise team.  Jared is also going to have a key role in helping Pablo since one of the leaders of the church will be heading to the States for one year leaving in August. (Eugenio and Pia, both, have significant roles here in the ministry that will need to be filled, leading Bible studies, teaching, and counseling.)  Jared and l are both attending a men’s and women’s weekly Bible study to further our relationships with the people of the church.
                                    
                We are also to spend as much time in the fitness center and café as possible. 
  
            We want our faces to be familiar to those in the church and those coming and going from the community center. We will be taking as many fitness classes as possible, working out in the gym at varying hours each day to have presence there, and we spend time in the café just hanging out (whether on the internet or just reading a book). We are also planning on enrolling the girls in a couple classes offered through the center to get our family mingling with other families.  We are also able to focus on some great intimate time of communion with God in our own studies of His Word.
  Lora enjoying the Son and the sun!
OBSERVE:     As we are taking part in all the activity here at the church and in the community center, we are to be observant to the happenings through the eyes of ministry and business. We are to be looking for areas of improvement and areas functioning well. We will be writing down these observations.  We are also to be thinking and prayerfully seeking new and creative ideas for the ministries here at the church.
COMMUNICATE:     We will be having meetings with the leaders of the church and community center.  The observations will then be brought to leadership and prayerfully sought solutions will be implemented.  Also, communicate consists of our family increasing our ability to communicate through language, learning Spanish. 
    
     Right now, we have been instructed to focus on adjusting to life here in Spain and to be as involved as we can in the lives of those in the church and in the community center and to increase our understanding and use of the language.  We are establishing ourselves into this community and ministry. It will take a few months for things to really start moving, but we are enjoying this time as a family and the freedom of fellowship, learning and exploration that this time is allowing.
  

A Spanish Retreat

     Well, our first weekend in Spain was not spent at home.  Upon our arrival last Wednesday around 6pm Spain time, we were told to rest on Thursday and then we would be picked up at 3pm on Friday to attend a Family Church Camping Trip.  We asked if we needed camping equipment (tent, sleeping bags, etc.), but we were told that a cabin had been arranged for us.  We were uncertain of what to expect, what the weekend would be, or even where we were going to be in Spain.  We only knew we were going camping!
                           
    Our ride arrived at 3:30pm (typical Spanish fashion- a little late), Guijermo (J calls him, Willy) doesn’t speak any English and even the people here can’t understand his Spanish!           
 
It was a beautiful car ride into the countryside up in the mountains outside of Malaga, Espana.
   
                                     
    We were surprised by our camping accommodations. It was fabulous and very traditional in architecture.  Overall, it reminded us of the places we go on retreats with our Horizon Church family.  (However, sharing a dorm room style room with my husband and two daughters was just not quite as fun as sharing a similar room with my Horizon Roomies!)
                              
        
                   
                                              

      We arrived before anyone else.  We hung out by the retreat center’s pool.  As people arrived, they congregated there and all were quick to come and introduce themselves and meet us.  Some members of the church speak English and Spanish which made for easy conversation.
               
                           
      We started the check in process around 6pm. At check in, Rosa (our Pastor’s wife) introduced me to everyone who came and she told them that I speak only a little Spanish but to talk to me in Spanish anyway because I need to learn! I absolutely loved it! It was great being surrounded by the language and forcing myself to pick up on words and phrases that I knew and to learn new things, as Rosa was being a great teacher. (She speaks English enough to communicate with me, keep me up in conversation that I don’t understand, and help me find the words I don’t know…usually!) I really got to meet and know quite a few of the women there and feel so connected to them already.
  Lora & Mikayla (American working in Spain with media ministry outreaching to Spain & Morrocco, Africa)
  Lora & our adopted Spanish grandmas; Rosa (on the left; Rosa, pastor’s wife’s mother) & Aroura (on the right; Spelling?…oldest member of church- 84)  They are beautiful women with beautiful hearts…always giving hugs, smiles, an encouragement.
     Jared was able to fit right in as well.  He was able to spend some time with the few guys he had met at the community center (like Daniel, who works the opening shift in the Fitness Center) and some other men in the congregation (Jesus, the youth pastor; Jose Antonio, who helped plan part of the retreat; Ruben, a Spaniard with Athletes In Action mission organization; Jesus, on the worship team; and some other leaders of the church).  Also, a visiting pastor from Minnesota, Louis, was here as the guest speaker for the retreat.  (We were so blessed by his God inspired teaching and his encouragement to us personally.) 
  Jared and Daniel (works in Fitness Center)   Jared and Hermes (hangs out at center)
Jared, Louis (visiting pastor) & Pablo (pastor of Parque Victoria)
      In fact at Louis’ prompting on the first night, Jared was put in the praise team on the drums. No one on the praise team speaks English.  Praise God that most songs are familiar and that Jared has such a gifting that goes beyond language barriers (and can play regardless of knowing the song or not)!  It was such a joy to see him in his comfort zone, worshipping our Lord and Savoir, and serving our new church family in Spain.  Louis and a few others expressed how blessed they were by his gift and being a part of the worship.
    
     The girls enjoyed their time at the retreat as well.  They met some children their ages.  No real bonds formed yet.  Both girls, however, went easily and excitedly with the children to activities during the adult teaching times.  It helped that a few of the older kids have really reached out to them, can speak to them in English and are encouraging the girls to speak Spanish and make new friends. 
  Jara & Eliel (a youth group member who will be atending university in London this Fall, but for now will be helping in the girls bi-lingual camp they will be attending starting next week and will be Jara’s Sunday classroom leader)
  Jara participating in the pool games. (She’s facing the camera on the right between the taller guy and younger boy.)
They were even brought into a game on evening.  The leadership of the church was put before the crowd and asked questions about the members of the church…to see how well they knew their flock.  Well, if they did not get the answer correct, the person the question was about got to put a plate full of whipped cream in the leaders face.  Someone asked if this leader, Miguel Angel (the worship leader), what were our girls names and their ages.  He got it WRONG!
 
     The retreat gave us our first tastes of some traditional Spanish meals, eating customs, and culture.  Meal time was loud and crazy!  All the food at every meal (except breakfast) was served “family style”  with 6-8 people sitting at a table taking food from dishes and putting them onto their individual plates.  We found it funny to have bread with olive oil and coffee or juice for breakfast. (There were other pastry items as well with jams or butter and some cereals.  But most ate bread with olive oil.)
                          
     The retreat gave us a lot of interaction with our new church family and our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We had lots of free time at the pool and in between planned events that allowed for us to share in laughter and fun.  Jared even got thrown into the pool by some of his new friends and was a hit with the younger kids as he was splashing and throwing them in the water.  We were also able to witness 12 new believers be baptized on Sunday morning!!  While that doesn’t seem like many to us in the States.  Here, in Spain, it would like over 100 being baptized in one day!  We were also blessed to take part in a special meal during the weekend.  Everyone dressed in all white (which was absolutely beautiful when we were all together).  It was a meal of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.  We, Christ’s Bride, were dressed in white.  It was wonderful to be a part of this weekend!  We were so blessed that someone had thought enough to pay for and invite our family to attend.
 
                           

   We feel like just living here is such a gift from the Lord to us.  The people, the places, and the scenery are just breathtaking and a reminder of God's majesty.  I want to constantly walk around with my camera (and I do because I want you to all see how and what we see), but I have to keep reminding myself that this is now home.  It feels like home but it is also so very surreal.  We are extremely humbled to be used by God and to be qualified by Him to be sent to such an amazing place and a beautiful people to share His love, grace and mercy available to all who receive His indescribable gift!  Thank you for helping us follow the Lord’s call on our lives and for being a part of this adventure.  We pray that you are feeling close to the action via these blogs and updates.  Gracias, mi amigos!

The First 48 Hours

      Pia made plans with us to come pick us up and escort us to the shopping center and grocery store the day after our arrival. So,after everyone left us after greeting our arrival to the apartment, we spent the remainder of the evening moving beds, desks, shelves and armoires around to meet our needs. We then began unpacking our suitcases and started making a list of the items we needed to purchase at our shopping trip the next morning.

      Now, let me pause here to explain how the days in Spain are organized. First, morning is defined as anytime after you wake up (most businesses do not open until 9 or 10am) until 3pm! People leave their workplaces around 2 to pick up kids or meet them at home from school (when school is in session) and return to their homes for a big lunch around 3-5pm. (Most businesses and shops are closed from 2-5pm (except for the large mall across the street from us.) Afternoon is defined from the times of 3-9pm. These are hours that people are eating, resting and returning to work. Night is defined from the times of 9pm-2am. Most don’t eat dinner until 9, 10 or even 11pm and its not uncommon for families to be out and about until 1-2am. We were even told that some meetings at the church aren’t even held until 11pm-12am! NO wonder there is a siesta…VERY long days! We’ve been adjusting well to the schedule here. If you know us well enough you know that we are night owls back home and enjoy a slow get about in the morning…we fit right in here in Spain! In fact we have all adjusted to the time change without any difficulties (no sleepless nights, no problems falling asleep or awaking in the morning, no hunger pains at meal times in the States (only when it’s time to eat by the clocks here.) God has been so good in this provision for our family.

      Pia arrived at our place (“in the morning”) around 1:30pm. Our first shopping trip was not as eventful as I would have thought. Pia was along with us which helped us learn the ways of the Spaniards at the grocery. We did try to video tape the entire shopping experience; however, the guard was not having us do such a thing and we had to put the camera away?!? We did video tape our walk from our apartment to the shopping mall where the grocery store (like a Target or Wal-Mart) is located as well as a food court, many shops, and an attached movie theater (just like a mall in the States). (The video of our walk will be posted later and you will receive notification once it is done.)

      This short walk to get most all of our needs is wonderful considering we don’t have a car and don’t really plan on it unless is becomes a necessity. I also understand now why our friend, Dave Hoeft, laughed at me when I said we wanted to have care packages mailed to us with toiletries to help supply our needs without us making the trip to the store! So, we ARE NOT going to have a Stayton Shelf and that page has been removed from our blog sight. But, you can check out its replacement page coming soon…. ENCOURAGEMENT AND LOVE. This page on our blog will have the address to the church here in Spain where cards, letters, and care packages can be mailed to us. It will also include some of our favorite things that we cannot find here in Spain as well as important dates for our family (birthdays, Spanish holidays, etc.)

      In the first 48 hours, I think that we walked back and forth from the mall four or five times. Our trip with Pia was very short just giving us a tour a few basics as we learned our way around the store and purchased larger, heavy items since Pia had her car.. So, we returned to pick up some items that we did not get the first time. We made several other trips. We would get some items, get home start doing things and realize we needed something else! Then we packed for the camping trip and needed some things for that (like bug spray, sunscreen, etc.) As we were discussing things to purchase, one item kept coming up for the girls and from the girls themselves. Seeing where we live and how things are situated, we felt it was a much better purchase now then waiting until later. So, thank you to those of you who gave us a little extra before we left, you were able to put HUGE smiles on the girls faces and make Spain feel even more like home. 
  

                                
      It was a busy 48 hours with the last part spent traveling to the retreat center to camp about an hour away from our apartment in Spain. What an amazing experience this weekend was to our family! Well, more about that in the next blog… Hasta luego!