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.