Inquiring Minds Want To Know

We are still in Italy and will probably need a vacation to recover from this one - but we have seen more sights, walked more miles, and eaten more gelato and pizza than I imagined possible.  We are thoroughly enjoying our time both as a family and getting to know our new friends.  We cannot wait to show them Spain. 

We do not speak Italian, but I am amazed at the amount we can understand based on our Spanish. Of course, we probably understand just enough to get us in trouble.  We have also run into many Spanish speaking people and have been able to keep practicing our language.

It has been a while since I have written about how our financial support works and we have been asked about how this vacation was funded, so thought I would take a moment out and do a Partnership Refresher.

The financial partnerships we receive each month or year go straight to SEND (this makes them tax deductible and gives us greater accountability and stretches the dollar).  The partnerships are used to fund a variety of things, including our monthly salary - but NOT vacations.  Just like the rest of the working world, we have to budget and save and plan for our personal monthly expenses (food, clothing, utilities, gas, medical, taxes, ......) and big expenditures, such as a vacation to Italy. 

We began to plan for this trip about a year ago - although at that point we thought we were saving for a trip to France.  We cashed in credit card rewards (which we pay off each month), said no to a lot of other frills, and were faithful to set aside money each month. 

Next major savings item - Hannah's plane ticket home for Christmas (that is another personal expense, our partners do not pay for this either).

We are incredibly blessed by our financial partners and could not continue to be here without them!

Going on a Jet Plane!

We have lived in Spain for nearly 3 years and we have only left Spain a couple of times - we crossed the French border twice for a couple of hours and the Portugal border once for an hour and once for a weekend at a beach hotel.  We haven't really visited either of those countries, much less the rest of Europe.



But God has given us a tremendous gift through some our of financial and prayer partners.  One partner connected us with their daughter and son-in-law who lives near Naples, Italy.  After a ton of facebook messages we have planned a vacation exchange.  We are headed to Italy tomorrow and sometime in the fall or spring they will come here to experience Spain.  When you no longer have to pay for a hotel, can have breakfast in the house, and don't need a rental car the trip becomes quite affordable.  Airfares within Europe are reasonable and there are lots of discounts at museums for European Union residents, so we are off to Italy for 10 days.  This is definitely a gift from God!

We will be based in Naples for the majority of the trip, but will take a train to Rome for 2 nights.  We hope to see Pompeii and Vesuvius, the Amalfi Coast, either Ischia or Capri, and who knows what else we can get into. 

Our hope and prayer is that we make some lifetime memories, spend some quality and quantity time together, and have some time alone with God.  Watch for photos!  I know we are going to have a great time!

Lessons learned from the Heat

Yes - three days in a row a new blog post!  Enjoy it while it lasts - vacation is coming and the posts will be less but the photos better than ever.

Although this weekend we had a great reprieve from the heat, it is just plain hot here in Spain.  95 to 105 is typical.  Sure, no humidity, but 100 is hot with or without humidity.  Sure we have a pool, but red headed, fair skinned girls like me can't stay out in the 100 degree heat, even in a pool, without looking like a lobster.  Sure, we have an air conditioner in the living room - but unfortunately due to the cost of electricity we would have to elect to be cool  and hungry instead of hot and fed.

But, on the other hand, houses in Spain are built with the 100 degree heat in mind.  The walls are concrete or stone or something and they hold in the heat, but also the cool.  The windows have persianas (metal blinds on the outside of the windows) that block the sun and the heat.  We have siesta.  It is light until really late at night so you can get outdoors when it finally begins to cool down.  And when all else fails, the malls and movie theaters are air conditioned!

We are perfecting cave living.  Watch the temperatures.  In the mornings, when the temperature outside is warmer than the temperatures inside (about 11 AM) close the windows, doors, persianas, curtains, ...   Keep that cool air in.  Run the fans in the rooms where you are.  In the evenings, when the temperature outside is finally warmer than the temperatures inside (about 11 PM) open the windows, doors, persianas, curtains, .... Run the fans all over the house to get that cool air inside.  It is dark and like a cave all day - but it is a lot cooler (house stays in low 80's when 100 outside).

We have learned how to have meals without using the oven.  I have learned to overcook so that I can "reuse" the same meat for other dishes to cut down on the time the stove is on.  We can completely close off the kitchen to keep the heat in there.

We have learned how to let me have hurricane force winds blowing on me at night and for Scott to only feel a gentle breeze.  We can sit on the floor in the basement and accomplish a lot of work since it is much cooler.  We can get up early in the morning because we know siesta is coming.

I have also learned that my attitude makes all the difference!  If I complain, it feels hotter.  If I count the hours until it starts to cool off my attitude deteriorates quickly.  If I post on Facebook how miserable I am, I feel twice as miserable, twice as grumpy, and twice as short with my family.

Encouragement goes a long way as well.  To hear from a Facebook friend, prayer partner, or family member that when they were hot they thought of us and prayed for a breeze to pass our way makes the air feel cooler.  To have someone with air condition say that they can not imagine what it would be like to not have air and are proud of us for sticking it out makes September not seem to far away (the heat will break around mid-September). 

This "attitude examination" has made me wonder about other areas in my life as well.   Wonder how often my attitude is more of the problem than the circumstance?  Wonder how often I could have spoke words of encouragement into someone who was doing their best to maintain a good attitude? 

Am I glad it is hot here?  Uh, no!  I want to live somewhere it is 75 degrees year round.  However, in

comparison to others in the world who are suffering great than me, I am glad this is the suffering I must endure.  And for today, as the thermometer climbs it way back up near 100, I will enjoy cave life until I take Alex to drum lessons (uh, what was I thinking when I bought him a set of drums?) and then I will find some air condition to enjoy.  Wonder how long I can stand in the freezer section of the grocery store?

Wednesdays

We decided at the beginning of the summer that we needed to be intentional in family time.  With a nearly 16 year old boy in the house who would sleep the summer away (and when he was awake plug into some electronic) we knew this would mean getting out of the house as well.  So beginning in June we have done something together as a family almost every Wednesday.  What fun it has been!

We also knew that because God has blessed us with an incredible opportunity for a family vacation (we leave Friday) these Wednesdays had to be low cost.  I have packed picnics almost every week this summer!

We have hiked to waterfalls (where there was no water) in Pellegrina, walked the parks in Aranjuez, toured the area known for Arquitectura Negra, strolled a mall and ate hamburgers out (it was a rainy Wednesday), picnicked by the River Perales and floated down the current, and on the week Alex got to choose we slept late, made pizza in the outdoor oven, and played Settles of Catan.  This Wednesday we are joining friends on a trip to the Rio Tajo.  Even one week, while Scott and Alex were out of town I got to spend my Wednesday with a friend from the states exploring Cuenca.  Next week we will pass our Wednesday in Rome.

What great memories we have made this summer!  Here is a glimpse at the summer so far - I'll add a few more pictures when the summer is officially over.

The Tension

Life has been crazy busy and once again blogging fell below the "must do" line.  The end of the school year brought exams and extra papers to grade, Alex had extra projects and exams, Scott was cramming to finish the language exam, and then as soon as all that was over it was time to end the ministry year.  Spanish schools don't let out until the end of June so the ministry year ends at the end of June as well.  This brought the end of English club and VBS and of course in true Spanish fashion, many despedidas (goodbye celebrations).  The day after VBS ended Scott and Alex left to go north to work with some teammates and a friend from the states arrived for some girl time.  Can't believe that July is now almost over!

Things are different in Spain in regards to summer ministries.  I am so accustomed to things picking up pace in the summer at the churches in the states.  There are camps, and cook outs, and VBS, and play days, and the list goes on and on.  But here, summer brings things to a slow pace.  The temperatures rise incredibly (100+ is not uncommon) and the majority of homes and churches have no or limited air condition.  This means get your errands/work done first thing in the morning and then chill for the rest of the day.

For us, this has meant time to have some one-on-one time with new friends, time to reconnect as a family, and do some planning for fall activities and ministries.  It also means a time for a family vacation.  And this is where the tension begins to be felt and why I have been slow in blogging lately.

We are incredibly blessed to be serving in Spain.  We know we are only here because of generous donors who sacrificially give each month.  We feel that burden of being faithful to each penny that is given and each prayer that is breathed.  We feel the importance of being wise stewards of every moment and every penny.  And we regularly question ourselves to know if we are. 

And yet we also know that if are not careful we can burnout, we can fall apart as a family, or we get physically sick.  We know that we need time together where we are not working and can laugh and cry and talk about things that are not work.  But are we letting down our supporters when we take time out to do this?  How much time is acceptable?  How do we meet the expectations of 125 families who sacrificially give each month and maintain life as needed here in Spain?  Do we share or do we not share our daily life?  Should we talk about only ministry and hide our downtime?    Do we only share successes and not our failures or struggles?

I sure wish there was a magic answer!