Before I can tell of a re-cap of the last few days, it must be prefaced with the details of what the typical Spanish day looks like thus far in a mid-sized city. (this is probably an immature observation since I have not been here very long at all)
*Note: I am staying in Baeza, this is a smaller place than Ubeda, which is 5KM away. The church is in Ubeda. The church is trying to reach people in both places since they are so close together.
*Another note: Since we are in Andalucía, there is a dialect of Spanish here that is different than in other places. Many of the words have a "thuh" sound in them as in the beginning of "thick". Instead of saying gracias, they say grathias. But it is still spelt the same. This sound is put on most words that have a "ci" in them like Andalucia, or even some that don't, like dos. This makes it very hard to understand people sometimes especially when I don't know the language really well anyway. And they speak soo fast.
El Espanol Día:
8-9AM: Wake up around this time. It is nice to sleep this late. We eat desayuno (breakfast) at 1oam. And today we went out and had churros for breakfast. They are these fried sticks of sweet bread that you dip in thick chocolate. Mmmm mmm delicious!
11AM: People go to work around this time, maybe a litle earlier. Businesses and shops start opening around this time, maybe a little later.
12PM: Time to eat again. This time it is called almuerzo. A small snack like pastry and coffee to get you to the big meal, which is...
3PM: Comida, this is a big meal. You eat this with friends or family and spend a long time enjoying the food and company.
(If you haven't noticed so far, their day works around their eating/everyday pleasures. This is a culture where this saying is incredibly true, "Spaniards work to live, they do not live to work."
3PM-6PM, it is Siesta: Nothing is really open and people nap, visit friends, or are at home with family. Some things are open, like big supermarket stores, but not much else.
9PM-10PM: Cena, dinner! Mmmm! More time with friends and family. Getting the picture?
10PM-12PM: Hangout, go to a concert, a movie, etc. Most people do not go to bed before midnight.
*Yet another note: They do celebrate Christmas. And I have heard a lot of American (English) Christmas songs. Today in the supermercado (grocery store) they were playing "Jingle Bell Rock". They celebrate "Día de Reyes" or Day of the Kings (the 3 wisemen) moreso than Christmas. This is where they exchange gifts and celebrate the gifts that the 3 kings brought to baby Jesus. So, there are a lot of Christmas decorations still up and people running around buying gifts.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Aquí en España
I made it! I am here and safe and well and tired and excited! Today has been a wonderful day.
That's about all I can say for now. I am going to bed early!
That's about all I can say for now. I am going to bed early!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
What it is
Packing is underway! I leave for the airport at 11am tomorrow.
I am thrilled about these two weeks! If you think about it, I would love your prayers for this trip. Some prayer requests for this trip would be...
1. travel (6 planes, solo travel, communication barriers, baggage claims, terminal changes, unfamiliarity with the area(s), etc.)
2. that I would be a blessing to my hosts, John and Jan Lohrenz.
3. that I would be faithful. that I would walk with God and glean all that I can from this experience that He has provided.
4. that much would be accomplsihed (setting up language school, a place to live, meet other misisonaries, visit the church, have fun!)
Thank you for reading this, thanks even more for interceding on my part before the Lord God Almighty.
I will try to post some updates while I am there. I hope you had a Merry Christmas!
I am thrilled about these two weeks! If you think about it, I would love your prayers for this trip. Some prayer requests for this trip would be...
1. travel (6 planes, solo travel, communication barriers, baggage claims, terminal changes, unfamiliarity with the area(s), etc.)
2. that I would be a blessing to my hosts, John and Jan Lohrenz.
3. that I would be faithful. that I would walk with God and glean all that I can from this experience that He has provided.
4. that much would be accomplsihed (setting up language school, a place to live, meet other misisonaries, visit the church, have fun!)
Thank you for reading this, thanks even more for interceding on my part before the Lord God Almighty.
I will try to post some updates while I am there. I hope you had a Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
countdown!
I am leaving on a 2 week trip to Spain in less than a week and a half! I AM SO EXCITED!
I will be leaving D/FW on December 27th and fly to Madrid overnight, I will land in Madrid on December 28th and board a connecting flight to Malaga. I will arrive in Malaga mid-day on the 28th. John and Jan will pick me up and we'll be off on our adventure! I will do this all over again when I leave on January 11th to come back to the States.
Some things I hope to accomplish while being there...
* solidify where I will live while I am there for my stint. there are a couple of options, some people in the church might be willing to have me stay with them.
* test my Spanish to determine language school and my language acquisition.
* live as Spaniards live! just experience the Spanish day (slower pace of life, siesta, staying up late, food, etc.)
* meet other missionaries in the area, gain a larger perspective of missions and ministry in Spain.
*go to a cafe, and have chocolate con churros (pronounced choc-o-latte).
* visit the church in Baeza, this is the church plant that I will be working with.
Map of Baeza: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Baeza,+Spain&ie=UTF8&ll=38.335193,-3.468933&spn=0.504131,1.713867&z=9&om=1
(they are about 5 kilometers apart)
Map of Ubeda: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Ubeda,+Spain&ie=UTF8&ll=38.350273,-3.414001&spn=0.504026,1.713867&z=9&iwloc=addr&om=1
I will be leaving D/FW on December 27th and fly to Madrid overnight, I will land in Madrid on December 28th and board a connecting flight to Malaga. I will arrive in Malaga mid-day on the 28th. John and Jan will pick me up and we'll be off on our adventure! I will do this all over again when I leave on January 11th to come back to the States.
Some things I hope to accomplish while being there...
* solidify where I will live while I am there for my stint. there are a couple of options, some people in the church might be willing to have me stay with them.
* test my Spanish to determine language school and my language acquisition.
* live as Spaniards live! just experience the Spanish day (slower pace of life, siesta, staying up late, food, etc.)
* meet other missionaries in the area, gain a larger perspective of missions and ministry in Spain.
*go to a cafe, and have chocolate con churros (pronounced choc-o-latte).
* visit the church in Baeza, this is the church plant that I will be working with.
Map of Baeza: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Baeza,+Spain&ie=UTF8&ll=38.335193,-3.468933&spn=0.504131,1.713867&z=9&om=1
(they are about 5 kilometers apart)
Map of Ubeda: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Ubeda,+Spain&ie=UTF8&ll=38.350273,-3.414001&spn=0.504026,1.713867&z=9&iwloc=addr&om=1
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Breakfast, family, and everything Spain!
My team leaders are great, and so normal! I don't know what I was expecting, but they are down to earth and not super-spiritual. Just regular people!
I arrived a little early for breakfast so I stayed in my car and prayed for a few minutes. I was really excited to meet them in person and didn't know for sure how it would go. As I previously posted, we have been talking for months through e-mail and Vonage.
Something about John and Jan that I noticed was that they really complement one another. They finish one anothers sentences and serve each other constantly.
They cooked me breakfast and it was de-lisch! Also, throughout our visit I met: 2 of their 3 sons, John's mother, John's sister, and Noah (the family dog).
They asked me about myself and through this convo we were able to talk more about ministry opportunities for me in Spain. For example, what are my strengths/weaknesses, likes/dislikes, etc.
From there I asked them their story and how they came to be missionaries. The gist of it is that they met at Northwest Bible Church in Dallas several years ago, got married, and decided to go to Guatemala as missionaries with CAM International (circa 1985). They have been in Guatemala with CAM for the last 22 years and in early 2007 decided to move to Spain. They have been in Baeza (Bah-eh-suh), working with the church there, since mid 2007.
From there, I started asking tons of questions. Some of the questions, and answers, were...
1. Will I ever be left alone for long amounts of time? Like by myself without leadership or supervision. Overall, no. They will be returning to the states for Christmas in 2008, but other than that, nada.
2. What is the church like in Baeza? Small, but growing. The doctrine of the church would basically be equivalent to a bible church here.
3. What books/resources can I bring? I will probably only take a few of my books and then, only the really important ones to me. Such as: my bible dictionary, bible atlas, and a good concordance. Maybe a few puritan books, i.e. Spurgeon.
4. What is the Spanish day like? Businesses begin to open around 10-11am, most people work till 2-3pm, and then they go home for lunch (big meal of the day) and siesta (nap/down time). People go back to work around 5-6pm, and then you go home and have a (small) dinner around 10pm. Then it is time to go out! Younger populations usually come home between 4-8am. I am anticipating that this concept of time will be hard to transition into when I arrive and out of, when I return to the United States.
5. What would it look like for me to build relationships with younger people (i.e. pagans)? Time, time, time! I will need to spend time with people and develop a relationship to gain access into people's lives to tell them about the Gospel (by this I mean, the truth that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead). People are interested in authenticity and seeing someone live out their faith and not just talk about it. In spending time with people this will probably mean that I stay out late too and hang out with sinners. Surprise!
Near the end of our visit, we talked a lot about the girls in the church in Baeza and what they were like. They showed me pictures and told me about the different personalities of the girls. It was neat to see what they look like and put a face with the names I have heard. It is exciting to think I will be doing this thing called life with them in a few months!
This is a long post, and it only begins to describe my time with the Lohrenzs'!
I arrived a little early for breakfast so I stayed in my car and prayed for a few minutes. I was really excited to meet them in person and didn't know for sure how it would go. As I previously posted, we have been talking for months through e-mail and Vonage.
Something about John and Jan that I noticed was that they really complement one another. They finish one anothers sentences and serve each other constantly.
They cooked me breakfast and it was de-lisch! Also, throughout our visit I met: 2 of their 3 sons, John's mother, John's sister, and Noah (the family dog).
They asked me about myself and through this convo we were able to talk more about ministry opportunities for me in Spain. For example, what are my strengths/weaknesses, likes/dislikes, etc.
From there I asked them their story and how they came to be missionaries. The gist of it is that they met at Northwest Bible Church in Dallas several years ago, got married, and decided to go to Guatemala as missionaries with CAM International (circa 1985). They have been in Guatemala with CAM for the last 22 years and in early 2007 decided to move to Spain. They have been in Baeza (Bah-eh-suh), working with the church there, since mid 2007.
From there, I started asking tons of questions. Some of the questions, and answers, were...
1. Will I ever be left alone for long amounts of time? Like by myself without leadership or supervision. Overall, no. They will be returning to the states for Christmas in 2008, but other than that, nada.
2. What is the church like in Baeza? Small, but growing. The doctrine of the church would basically be equivalent to a bible church here.
3. What books/resources can I bring? I will probably only take a few of my books and then, only the really important ones to me. Such as: my bible dictionary, bible atlas, and a good concordance. Maybe a few puritan books, i.e. Spurgeon.
4. What is the Spanish day like? Businesses begin to open around 10-11am, most people work till 2-3pm, and then they go home for lunch (big meal of the day) and siesta (nap/down time). People go back to work around 5-6pm, and then you go home and have a (small) dinner around 10pm. Then it is time to go out! Younger populations usually come home between 4-8am. I am anticipating that this concept of time will be hard to transition into when I arrive and out of, when I return to the United States.
5. What would it look like for me to build relationships with younger people (i.e. pagans)? Time, time, time! I will need to spend time with people and develop a relationship to gain access into people's lives to tell them about the Gospel (by this I mean, the truth that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead). People are interested in authenticity and seeing someone live out their faith and not just talk about it. In spending time with people this will probably mean that I stay out late too and hang out with sinners. Surprise!
Near the end of our visit, we talked a lot about the girls in the church in Baeza and what they were like. They showed me pictures and told me about the different personalities of the girls. It was neat to see what they look like and put a face with the names I have heard. It is exciting to think I will be doing this thing called life with them in a few months!
This is a long post, and it only begins to describe my time with the Lohrenzs'!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
They're here!!!!!
So John and Jan Lohrenz will be in the United States of America in Dallas, Texas, for the next three weeks! They have family in the Dallas area and have come for a short trip. John told me they landed late Thursday night around midnight (which means 7AM Spain time).
They invited me over for breakfast tomorrow (Wednesday, the 5th) and I am thrilled to meet them in person! We have been dialoguing through e-mail and the phone for the last several months, but now they are here!!! AND, they are in Texas AND in pretty close proximity to me! God's sovereignty is sweet!
Something neat is that we will get to meet each other here and spend some time together in our own culture before being in a foreign one together. Such a blessing!
John and Jan will be leaving on the 20th of December to go back to Spain for Christmas. I will see them again on the 27th of December when they pick me up at the airport in Malaga, Spain, when I visit them for my "scouting trip".
They invited me over for breakfast tomorrow (Wednesday, the 5th) and I am thrilled to meet them in person! We have been dialoguing through e-mail and the phone for the last several months, but now they are here!!! AND, they are in Texas AND in pretty close proximity to me! God's sovereignty is sweet!
Something neat is that we will get to meet each other here and spend some time together in our own culture before being in a foreign one together. Such a blessing!
John and Jan will be leaving on the 20th of December to go back to Spain for Christmas. I will see them again on the 27th of December when they pick me up at the airport in Malaga, Spain, when I visit them for my "scouting trip".
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