Is this football or rugby?

Quite possibly the longest football play I have ever seen. Had me laughing quite a bit.

Donde está mi mente?

I have finished one week of language school. (Notice the significant decrease in posts in the last five days.) I also started school 2 weeks late. So, I find myself asking myself (reflexive what?) the question posted above. Only I ask it in english, as I do not yet think in spanish.

Where is my mind? I have taken in so much information my mind is on complete overload. I think even my english is worse than it was 5 days ago. Some of the most consistent thoughts I've had this week as I study would probably go something like this: "I recognize that... I should know what it means. I can't remember. Where's my dictionary? Oh yeah." I am continually looking up simple things over and over. I guess brutal repetition is the best way to learn. I know I am learning, but it feels like I am taking in so much information that none of it is sticking. If I knew the spanish phrase for in one ear, and out the other, it would most definitely be appropriate.

The good news is this: I expected it, and am not discouraged. I get frustrated with it at times, but not discouraged. This is the road to learning it. I hold onto the long-term goal of becoming more conversational by the end of the semester, and even more so by the end of the year.

Curious Discoveries

Our education here is continual, and I feel like I see and hear new things every day. Here are just a handful of sights and experiences that might give you some insight to our daily doings.

Four-wheelers: You may know them as ATVs - Call them what you want. I am not very surprised to find them in Spain. I am getting used to seeing a few of them driving on the roads. I saw this once in the first couple of weeks, and assumed it was unique. Since then, I have had several sightings of guys driving their four-wheelers in and out of traffic. They wear helmets, and outfits that appear like that of a motorcycle rider. I guess the only difference is that their 'bike' has a few extra wheels.

Headlights: Our car has headlights that turn off when the car is turned off. Therefore, since we park in an underground garage, our headlights are on quite a lot - resulting commonly in us driving with our headlights on during daylight hours. This evidently is somewhat of a cultural anomaly, as we have now had quite a few locals tell us that our lights are on (even while driving). I think for the most part, they are telling us out of neighborly care, and really feel like they are doing us a favor. So for that, I am grateful. I am just amused that this action, being pretty common where I come from, is abnormal enough for a number of strangers to feel compelled to inform us of our error.

Regisration: It took me 3 days to register for my language course. Three!!
Day 1: I went to the school, purchased the application forms (that's 3.50 euros for the application, thank you), and was instructed to return the next day with the completed forms, and proof that I had paid for the course via a local bank. Complete forms, and go to a local bank and successfully pay for the course.
Day 2: Return to register. Informed that there is a new process, and I now need to get permission from the Ministry of Education to learn Spanish (since I am a foreigner). Also discover that the class I wanted to take was two hours earlier than I expected (my error).
Day 3: Drive around Coruña searching for the right office to get permission to learn Spanish. Find office, get a short letter with an official stamp from a nice lady. If you are following along at home, you can rest easy, because I am now cleared to learn Spanish. Return to the school to register, and discover the class I had been trying to register for all along was closed. So instead of completing Spanish one over one semester of 2-hour a-day classes, I will now complete it over the course of the entire year with 1-hour a day evening class.
Conclusion: So, it never looks like I expect it to look, and it never goes as planned. Nothing here seems to be as easy as I think it will be. The good news is I finally get some classroom time in my quest to learn Spanish. I start Monday. The other good news is that God has proven time and again to provide what we need in his perfect timing - regardless of what we thought might be coming. We can trust with confidence that, once again, his place for me is not exactly the same place I thought it might be. Hasta lunes!

The Courageous Solo Backpacker

This is our friend Jung. Faith and I both knew him at Wheaton College (class 97, yeah!!). I have some fond memories playing floor hockey with him. At any rate, he has earned the (dubious?) distinction of being the first backpacker to stay with us here in La Coruña. He is on a 6 week trip through Europe with a trip to China tacked on at the end.

At any rate, he is doing this backpacking thing alone. I have much respect for those that choose the adventure of traveling alone. We were blessed to hang out with Jung for about 36 hours. It was nice to catch up, and nice to hear about his travels. I am convinced as ever that something much more elemental than tourism occurs when people travel the world in this manner. Sure, hostels and hotels are booked, tours are taken, and meals are eaten. There is undeniably a sense of holiday for such trips. But that is just the surface for many backpackers. For many there is a sense of experience that goes much deeper than checking off landmarks. There is a sense of searching and finding. There is a curiosity to see where, and how others live. There is some thrill in watching other cultures live out their daily routines. There is often a desire to experience something larger and different from yourself. I am glad Jung has the opportunity to experience it.

I am also convinced that God likes it when we seek, and is invested in helping us find. The New Testament speaks of living as strangers and aliens where we are. When we leave comfort and familiarity behind, we can be surprised by what we find as an outsider in a new place. Jung, we wish you all God-Speed, blessing, and adventure for the rest of your journey.

News Briefs

Open-Air Worship

The status of our church, Vida Nueva, is still unresolved. We met outside again this past Sunday, and are awaiting a response from the city government this week. So far no news.

The Sling

As seen in these pictures, Ryan realized on Monday night that his arm was feeling better. He's been good as new since, and the sling has only been used as a cartoonish headband. Sorry - we didn't get any pictures of that.

Hospitality of Strangers

“Hospitality is as close as we will ever get to the face of God,”
declared a rabbi. Hospitality is at the heart of the Gospel. God
was not willing that we, who were estranged from Him by sin,
should remain strangers. The Father sent forth His Son to extend
an invitation to His home, welcoming those who would receive His
invitation into a holy comm-unity called the Church. His desire
was that we be one in community with Him even as Christ was,
that the world would be convinced of Christ and His mission.
Hospitality is to reach to strangers. In a very real and growing
sense, we are all strangers here. We must grasp the God-breathed
need for Christ-infused hospitality to reach the virtual strangers
around us, beginning with those virtual strangers right in our midst
in the household of faith. Hospitality is glorious, but not glamorous.
It is not an artificial marketing tool but the Master’s authentic
method for birthing and maintaining relational community."

This thought was forwarded to me in an e-mail. I would love to tell you who wrote it, but it was unattributed. I felt the thoughts expressed were worth repeating and spreading.

The italics added are mine. Because christians have found so much in Christ, I think it is easy for us to come across as insiders. Christianity here in Spain, but also around the world, often has an image problem among not-yet-believers. Often, this image problem is genuinely earned. This article highlights some statistics published by the Barna Group highlighting how young adults in the US view christianity. It is important for us to reclaim our position as strangers and aliens among our neighbers, co-workers, and friends.

I also wanted to highlight the comment about hospitality being glorious, but not glamorous. In my experience it is always rewarding to welcome others into your home and life. But it often involves serving, sacrifice, and the messiness that real interaction with others often includes. One thing I felt we heard too much as we prepared to move to Spain were well meant encouragements that often made it sound like we had chosen some sort of higher way of life. It just isn't that way - there is nothing glamorous about our move, or our vision. I feel as obedient in following Christ to Spain as I did into my corporate cubical in suburban Chicago. Not glamorous, but in both places, there can be glorious moments when God is at work.

May we all feel a bit like a stranger, and experience a little of the joy of hospitality.

Unplanned Experiences: The Sling

We continue to learn about how to live here in Spain, and continue on our pretty constant parade of 'firsts.' We made our first visit to the emergency room here in La Coruña Thursday evening. We were visiting another home, and Ryan fell in the simplest of ways. He was already sitting on the wood floor, and he spun around to do something, lost his balance, and fell over. It took us 5-10 minutes to discover that his arm was REALLY hurting, and he would not allow us to touch it.

Once again, God really provided for our needs. We happened to be with a number of bi-lingual missionaries at the time, and one of them, Leah, was so great to give up her evening and help us take care of Ryan. We had been planning on applying for the public health care system on this coming week, so obviously had not registered yet. The local clinic took a look at Ryan anyway, and suggested an x-ray was necessary. This meant a trip to the local children's hospital emergency room, where they also helped us. .

Overall, Ryan was an excellent 2 year old patient. Especially one who missed dinner and bedtime to check out the emergency room. He obviously did not enjoy having his sore arm poked and prodded. He spent most of the time in the hospital in my arms, whimpering or crying. He gave several dirty looks to the Doctors who poked and prodded him. Despite his misgivings, the Doctors were very nice to him, and tried very hard to figure out if anything was wrong. The x-ray showed no broken bones, which is good. But evidently with children this small it is very difficult to tell if there is any ligament damage. He refused to use the injured arm for the entire visit. They said it's most likely a sprain, and put him in a sling. They suggested he take ibuprofen, and if he wasn't using his arm in 5 days to visit the pediatrician.

Here is a picture of him taken on Friday.

For our first experience into socialized medicine, it wasn't that bad. We've heard that waiting for a long time is the norm. (The socialized system is known for it's slowness. Our friend Leah, who was helping us, hurt her knee almost a month ago, and will not get it x-rayed until December!!) But in our case, it didn't seem we waited any more at the public hospital here than I ever have at a US hospital. We now get to urgently complete our registration for the health care system on Monday in order for this visit to be covered.

At any rate, he perked up almost immediately after we walked out of the hospital doors. Thankfully, Friday was a holiday, so we've had a three day weekend. It's been two days, and he is still in his sling, and still not using the arm. He's terrified to take it off, even though we have made him take it off once each day since. Outside of the very noticeable sling, you'd have trouble recognizing he's operating with one arm. He climbs around, makes trouble with his brother, plays and eats normally. I've included three more photos below to prove he did just fine as we did some sightseeing in Coruña today, and at the park. You can feel a little bad for him, but not too bad. After all, he gets even more attention now than he was before when we go out.

Throwing rocks.

Looking tough at the Torre de Hercules (Tower of Hercules - the oldest working Roman lighthouse in the world).

Enjoying some time at the park.

Brazilian soccer player sings James Blunt

I found this on a soccer blog. Luciano Emilio is a Brazilian playing for DC United. He is tearing it up this year, leading the league in goals. He is also a large personality, and quite funny. One of his teammates posted this video in his blog. You can follow this link to read more about the set-up.

Kids

Kids

Going through this life change with the kids is most interesting. It is obviously more challenging to make this kind of move with kids than without. But it has been a lot of fun to see them enjoy the changes. They have been very natural ice-breakers with Spaniards - they LOVE little children here. I created an album of photos of the kids we've taken since our arrival. Click on the photo to be linked to the album. Enjoy.

Ruins

There is this enormous mansion in ruins just about a block away from our Piso. Along with the boats, this mansion is the other part of living there that has captured my visual imagination.

Wish I could have seen it in it's heyday.