Here is a video about Alcalá de Henares, the town where we will be living (hopefully soon!). The titles are in Spanish, but the pictures are beautiful and give you an idea of the town! Also, if you didn't know, this is the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote de la Mancha. Also, the university in the video (where we will attend language classes) was founded in 1496! Enjoy!
November 10, 2010
November 8, 2010
The Times Between
Today marks the 3 month mark since the Spanish Consulate has had all of our paperwork. We're still waiting for our visas. I wish there was other news to report about the status of those certain government documents, but, alas, God has other plans. So, we're trying to live in the space between here and there. We struggle in what to invest our time. We try to prepare ourselves both mentally and spiritually for Spain. While we're here, we've been trying to gain some semblance of closure in our ministry here. And yet we wait. How much more can we dig deep into people's lives without being unfair to them. How can you ask people to be vulnerable and open up to you about things they have never dealt with in their lives, while knowing that at any moment you may have to leave? Will you pray with us that we may have wisdom in knowing how much to delve in and how much to stay back?
This past weekend we were able to attend a Missions Conference put on by the PCA mission board. While we're not with that particular mission, it was still so wonderful to attend the conference not only for the fantastic content, but also because we were able to attend with 8 other people from our home church! We learned so much this weekend, and we're still processing it all. Some of our favorite sessions were about post-Christian Europe and ministering to the upcoming generation and Third Culture Kids (like children of missionaries, for example). I would try to sum up all that we learned, but I'm not even sure I can do that yet! But God certainly used this past weekend to teach us a whole lot about Him, about missions, and about ourselves. And for that, we thank Him.
Pray with us also for our contact with the Consulate. We have put in a call to the consulate to see if there is anything they can do to find out what's taking so long with our visas. They asked us to give them 3 months for the resolution of our visas. Like we mentioned earlier, today marks 3 months. Would you pray that we would be firm enough to really see if they can do anything without putting ourselves at odds with the Consulate for future visas? Thank you all so much for your support!
October 4, 2010
Esperar, περιμένετε, الانتظار, 等待, kusubiri
There are a lot of ways to say it, but they all mean the same thing: wait.
I know we've been using that word a bunch lately, but it truly is one of the only ways to describe the last few weeks. We had hoped to get our visas by the last week in September in order to make it to the start of the language classes we hoped to attend. Well, they didn't come in time for us to go, so we're looking into other options for language study. We know that God must have another plan for us to learn Spanish and schedule our year in Spain. I feel like God has prepared us for this time because we knew all along that it was uncertain when we might get our visas, so we have been adapting the flexible mentality all along. For that, I am grateful. I honestly don't know how we've done it apart from God's grace.
So right now we're, that's right, waiting. Now that the language study deadline has passed, there is not so much of a rush to get to Spain. Once we get our visas, we don't have to hop the next plane. We can wait a few days or a week or so before we leave. So, right now, we're living our lives one week at a time. Would you please pray with us that our visas would come in soon?
And you can be PRAISING GOD with us--He has provided for all our financial support! We are at 100% of our one-time expenses and at 100% of our monthly pledges. We thank all of you who have given, whether one-time, or are giving monthly throughout the year. God has used you greatly in our lives, and truly you are a part of ministry in Spain. Thank you! And praise God for his faithfulness.
Thank you for joining us on this journey!
September 30, 2010
Familia
Here is a wonderful article on Spain. TEAM puts out a semi-annual magazine called TEAM Horizons (a free subscription if you would like to receive it). I love it because it has wonderful pictures, and highlights what God is doing throughout the world. You'll have to go to page 28 to read the article, or you can scroll down to the bottom of the page to download the article in PDF format. This article is from 2008, but it's words and pictures still capture my heart. Enjoy!
September 23, 2010
Great Video
Yes, I know that the World Cup has passed, and most of us have moved on with our lives. But Spain winning still makes my heart flutter just a little. :) We came across this video, and it makes me smile. It shows two Spanish commentators right at the moment where Andrés Iniesta makes the winning goal. If only we were all as passionate. It's on a Spanish site, so I can't post the actual video, but if you click the link, it will be well worth your time. Enjoy!
September 10, 2010
Update
We are still waiting here for our visas to come in. They should come in anywhere between now and November (we're hoping for now :) ), and we're doing everything we can to be ready to leave whenever they come. We're kind of in limbo, finishing up our time here in the US and simply waiting. It's a strange time, yet God has been so faithful to us during it. We have seen Him work in so many ways, and we are able to spend some last times with friends and family for the year. Waiting is the name of the game, however. God has truly tested our patience, and hopefully it has grown. I will say that we look forward to being able to share with you the day we receive our visas! What a wonderful day that will be!
Another great item of news is that we are at 100% of our one-time expenses and at 95% of our pledged monthly support! What that breaks down into is about $2,000 cash or $175/month left to raise! God has blessed us so much with providing for our needs for the year, and we give Him the credit for it. It certainly wasn't us--I know that sounds cheesy, but it is so true.
Please pray with us that our visas would come in soon. We hope to arrive in Spain by October 4th. We hope to attend Spanish language and culture classes at a University in the town in which we'll be staying. If we don't make it by that date, we will either have to wait until January to take the next semester of classes or find another form of classes. Obviously God knows the best timing, and we trust that He knows exactly where our visas are and when they will come in. Please pray both for the expediency of our visas and for trust in the sovereign timing of our Lord. Thanks so much for being a part of this with us!
Here's a picture of the University we hope to attend--Universidad de Alcalá
August 27, 2010
A Time
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven". Ecclesiastes 3:1
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21
The past couple of weeks have been characteristic of these verses of Scripture. At the beginning of the month, Micah's uncle, Bob Henderson, passed away after fighting for a while with kidney problems. Micah's mother Donna has a sister named Betty June. Betty June was Bob's wife of almost 61 years.
Last Thursday, August 19th, Micah's Grandmother, "Granny", Mary Alice Yaun, passed away peacefully early in the morning. She was buried on her 91st birthday. Granny was Micah's father's mother.
We can rest in both of these deaths because we know that they both are rejoicing with Jesus even now as I write these words. But while they are rejoicing, we are still here on earth. The reality of life and death has been impressed upon us in the last few weeks. Time is so short. Life is but a breath. Yet we still wait. We wait for our visa to come in, and we wait for our ultimate home. Waiting. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Let these words encourage your heart.
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
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