A Spanish Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone!! I love this time of year. I've been soaking it all in. The lights, the energy, the freshness in the air, the trees. Thinking about our tiny baby Savior born with angels singing over him and shepherds giving honor, I get a thrill in my bones. We sang O Come All Ye Faithful and Silent Night yesterday in church, in Spanish. That was great!! O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord...Venid adoremos al Cristo Jesus. Then we enjoyed a fellowship time of hot chocolate and cookies. Hot chocolate is a very common drink to share at Christmas here in Spain.

I woke up late this morning, took my time getting ready, took the scissors to my hair then went out to the Monday morning market. A street length market full of vendors selling everything from underwear to potatoes. The sun is shining bright in a sky so crisp and blue I thought I was in New Mexico! It's a remarkable 13 degrees C (55F). The warmth feels good after several days of drizzling rain and clouds.

The Prestons have invited the team (those who are in town for holidays) over to their house for Christmas dinner. Karen and I are going tonight and are planning on watching movies and playing games. We'll get up tomorrow and oooh and aaah over our gifts and then start cooking. Coralie is planning roast chicken and vegetables with a lemon curd cheesecake for dessert.

Christmas thoughts: God never fails in giving us what we need. I haven't felt homesick this season like I expected and I believe it's due to the fact that God has surrounded me here with people that take care of each other and have welcomed me as part of their family for the time I will be here. Also, the overwhelming outpouring of gifts and encouragement from people in the States has warmed my heart. Also, I've been readjusting my attitude a bit. In a situation where everything is hard and I'm challenged every day in just daily living (the language, community living, multiple responsibilities warring with my desire to withdraw) God is faithful in reminding me that part of that "suffering" we endure for his name's sake is what helps us see him more clearly. Jesus left the comfort and glory of heaven to come live in this dreadful place called Earth. Praise God he did.

Be filled with His peace and joy this season! Enjoy these photos from around Madrid and Alcala.

Secret Magic Gift Elephant Exchange

At our weekly Madrid team open house last night, we had a good old fashioned White Elephant gift exchange. We had tons of fun, laughed until we ached, ate good food, came away with fun gifts (although Margaret stole what I really wanted to keep, a package of holiday cards from Ikea!!!) My gift I added to the pile was a UNM Lobos wrist watch dad had sent in a package. Esther wasn't too pleased with it, but Coralie wanted one also so she could start running and have a stop watch. =) I'm spreading the Lobo spirit. Go Lobos!

It took many many attempts to set timers on cameras and get a photo with everyone in place! That's why we're laughing.

Birthday Blessings

My birthday was this past Saturday, the 15th. Everyone here was so super sweet and kind and made me feel very special and loved. It was a good few days! Thursday I went and worked in the WEC office with Steve and Coralie finishing up a bulletin board (fun fun fun!) and then we went shopping at a small local mall. Coralie was sweet enough to let me choose something for myself at a jewelry boutique. On Friday I had a couple girls (Maria and Beatriz) over for a movie night and I ordered real authentic Spanish take out pizza (Telepizza...not bad. The locals like Pizza Hut better). We watched the movie with Drew Barrymore "Never Been Kissed", except we watched in Apanish "Nunca Me Han Besado". =) Then on Saturday I met Esther and Margaret at the bus stop and we went to another mall and had a nice lunch at an American style restaurant called Vips (The hamburger was pretty good...) then I accompanied them to their kid's club ministry that they ran at a local church Saturday evening. 5 hours of complete chaos. I was exhausted. There was another lady at the club that had her birthday also, so they shared her birthday cake with me and we got to blow the candles out together. That was nice! Then Margaret made a really wonderful birthday cake Monday night...so I shared that one with Eun Suk and we blew out the candles together because her birthday is on Thursday!! Pay it forward, right? =)

In general I've never been a huge birthday person, I usually just let it pass with a nice dinner with the family y ya esta, but this year in a new environment with a new set of people it was quite different to be showered with so much attention. I got so many wonderful gifts that I never would have imagined or expected! It was nice. Thank you everyone!! I got a really great package from the parents on Friday that had some drawings the family had made at Thanksgiving! I hung them up in my room. I also got a surprise package from my friend Melissa in Boston! I like surprises!

Showing off some of my presents and the pictures on the wall:


Me and Margaret at lunch at Vips:


Making clementine Christmas tree ornaments with the little pequenitas!



Year #27 is pretty good so far.

Fellowship Days

Sorry for not posting in a long time! I've been busy and now there's tons of stuff to share!

December 7th and 8th WEC Spain had their annual Fellowship Days. It was two days where the whole Spain team gathered together to update each other on how they are doing, pray for each other, discuss some urgent business, eat, laugh, and make repairs around the WEC office.

Our job as short-termers to help prepare was to do all the shopping to get paper plates and cups and such, coffee, snacks, and snack lunch stuff for the kids. It was a good job that Esther and I did well, but we both were feeling very sick the few days before Fellowship Days so you should have seen us sniffling and dragging our tired selves through the aisles at the store wondering how many packs of coffee to get and what to pack for the kids' lunches. It was quite comical. Three stores and two shopping carts full, we walked back home and collapsed onto the couches. We also ran the children's program the second day for 4 hours (the same kids we had at Prayer Day in Burgos in September).

I got to see more of how a country-wide team of missionaries works together and supports each other and makes decisions. It was very enlightening. Afterward, Coralie called it a miracle that there could be 20 people with different views and backgrounds and thoughts come to a consensus on an urgent matter and have 100% support in agreement.

Also, while talking with the team that works in the northern Basque region, we decided to make plans for me to visit them and help out doing research for an upcoming event they are planning. They are new to their region, are just getting started learning the people and the language, and they want to host a weekend of Prayer for the people in the area. The research will involve assessing the needs of the population and the challenges that they will face in their church planting. I think the tentative plan will be for me to go mid January (after I get back from Germany and before my parents come to visit the 25th). Yay!

Here's some photos!

Lisa, Gloria (ministry in Almeria to Muslim children), Linette (beginning a ministry in the basque region), and Coralie at lunch at a Chinese restaurant.


Doing an activity in Juan Carlos park in the center of Madrid. This is a huge jungle gym web thingy that we were challenged to climb. No problema!


Playing blind folded follow-the-leader in the park with the kids. We're mean, I know.


Gladys (english teacher/associate WEC missionary in Alcala) y Maripei (ministry in Talavera) sorting out the WEC library:


Eun Suk (new worker studying Spanish in Alcala) sorting out the linen closet:

Immaculada Concepcion

Today is also a public holiday in Spain. Spaniards take their holidays and their vacations and their parties very seriously. The cities and the people know how to stop work and take to the streets to celebrate. I definitely think this is a fascinating part of their culture.

My Spanish professor Antonio said that Spain no longer has an official government religion as it once had the Roman Catholic church, therefore it's a bit of hypocrisy to still publicly celebrate religious celebrations in the form of government holidays.

Today they celebrate the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary. I always thought that this holiday celebrated the immaculate conception of Jesus within Mary, but no. The Roman Catholic church believes that Mary herself was also immaculately conceived and was also born without original sin. "In 1854, Pius IX made the infallible statement Ineffabilis Deus: "The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin."

Either way, just like on December 6th Constitution Day, the general population really has no clue why the day is a holiday, only that they get the day off work.

Also, not believing in the deity of the virgin Mary, this particular holiday is troublesome and heart-breaking to me. While visiting one of the many large ornate and beautifully architectured cathedrals around Madrid, the worst thing I've seen so far was a crown on the head of Mary. Jesus alone is the King of Kings and deserves such honor. He alone was without sin and He alone was born of the Holy Spirit, and He alone died to set men free. None other deserves the glory due Him. En punto.

Constitution Day

Today is a National Holiday in Spain, Constitution Day. I've now been awake for nearly 30 minutes and I haven't heard one sound on the street. There aren't the normal people out for their morning paseo, nobody running to get to work or class on time. It's quiet! However, I did hear the faint ringing of the church bells summoning people to 10am mass.

On December 6th, 1978, 67% of the Spanish people turned out to vote on the referendum approving the newly drafted Constitution. The result was 88% in favor! They were ready to make a turn into the future and leave the years of the Franco era behind them. After Francisco Franco's death in 1975, the leaders of the government made swift changes to ensure the future of Spain would be one of prosperity and liberty and democracy.

The Preamble to the Constitution was written by Enrique Tierno Galvan and reads like this:

The Spanish Nation, wishing to establish justice, liberty and security, and to promote the welfare of all who make part of it, in use of her sovereignty, proclaims its will to:

Guarantee democratic life within the Constitution and the laws according to a just economic and social order.
Consolidate a State ensuring the rule of law as an expression of the will of the people.
Protect all Spaniards and all the peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights, their cultures and traditions, languages and institutions.
Promote the progress of culture and the economy to ensure a dignified quality of life for all
Establish an advanced democratic society, and
Collaborate in the strengthening of peaceful and efficient cooperation among all the peoples of the Earth.

Consequently, the Cortes approve and the Spanish people ratify the following Constitution.

This turning point was an exciting time in Spain. The bitterness from the dictatorship of Franco still lasts today, though, so they have more healing to endure.