Visa...paper not plastic

(this is a picture of the Spanish embassy in Houston)

Until recently, I was not planning on applying for a visa to live in Spain for a year. CAM, my team, and I, thought it was unnecessary to apply for a visa since visitors are allowed in the country up to 90 days.  The plan was to travel to Africa (which isn't far) every 90 days and stay at least overnight (you have to leave the EU) and then re-enter Spain and be set for another 90 days. 

However, John and Jan recently let me know that Spain has adopted new laws that stipulate for every 90 days you are in the country (as a visitor) you must spend 90 days out of the country. Some people call this the 90/90 law. This affects short-term people like me, but not people who are long-term  (John and Jan) since they have religious worker visas. 

So...I am beginning the application process for a visa! The Spanish embassy in Houston is pretty tricky, or so I have repeatedly heard, and it can be difficult to obtain a visa. Honestly though, I'm not really worried about it. It will work out exactly as the Lord desires it. I don't want to communicate that I am lackadaisical about it but I am remembering that if I am supposed to be in Spain then it will be God who provides. It isn't my job to determine the results, it is my responsibility to be faithful. Plus, this makes the process more interesting! More on process vs. product later! (thanks Brady & Amber!)

Comida de España (Spanish food)

Many people have asked: What is the food like in Spain? and/or What kinds of things will you eat? Interestingly enough, there is a lot of seafood, pork/ham, pastas/breads, soups, and sandwiches. 

A sidenote: Something that I remember from being in Spain 2 years ago was the "Menu del día" (Menu of the Day). So if you went to a café for lunch or dinner, you would likely order the menu of the day for €4-6. (By the way, this is the symbol for euros: €) What you get when your order the Menu del día is, a drink, bread, soup, a meat, and a dessert (usually fruit or yogurt). When I was there over the Christmas break, I noticed that due to inflation, the Menu del día price now starts around €8-9. Interesting...keep in mind that for every $1.00 it equals (around) €1.40.  Depending on the DOW or other US stocks/markets, the dollar becomes stronger or weaker to the euro. (I know, way too much information, sorry!) 

Anyway, back to Spanish cuisine. I was reading something that John & Jan had posted, and they said that a friend of theirs summarized Spanish food in four major things: olive oil, bread, ham, and tomatoes. I would agree that Spanish people really like these things, but it is not nearly limited to these four things. Also, since Spain is surrounded by water, there is a lot of seafood to taste! Tuna fish is really popular. It is not so much like "American" tuna fish salad, they usually eat it plain out of the can. Here is a picture of the olives on the tree before they go to be cleaned, weighed, pitted, and smashed for delicious olive oil.

Ham is also served a lot. People put it on bread or eat it with tapas (popular bite-size Spanish snacks). This (below) became a familiar site at grocery stores... These legs were €69! That is over $100! Of course you could eat on it for a long time, but it was new to see whole pig legs in the store. 

Also, I'm not sure why, but Spaniards think it is really odd to eat eggs for breakfast. 

Enjoying school

I am thoroughly enjoying my classes this semester. This sounds funny, but whenever I drive up to campus, walk in a classroom, sing in chapel, or just sit and watch people on campus, I am really encouraged. 

This semester I am taking: 

• Introduction to World Missions: Currently, in this class we are studying the foundation for missions in the Old Testament, then we'll move on to the foundation for missions in the New Testament. This is my favorite class! 

• Dynamics of Missionary Development: Right now we are studying trends and issues in the world that are relevant to missionaries, i.e. globalization.

• Intercultural Communication: The best way to summarize this class (so far), is to say that we are learning about how to communicate clearly/effectively in a culture other than our own. This is very interesting to me, but it is also pretty abstract sometimes.  I don't do a very good job of communicating in my own culture sometimes--just ask my roommates or parents! I am encouraged though, it's a learning process. 

• Trinitarianism: This is my one online class, but it doesn't seem like an online class. I watch recorded class sessions and have the same class notes that a regular class would have. Up until now, we have been learning about the characteristics of God, i.e. the holiness, love, mercy, grace, judgment, and wrath, of God. There are many more that we have talked about, but these are some. We also looked back in church history to learn about the doctrine of the Trinity. 

Something that you don't pay for, but comes free with these classes, is a good dose of humility ; )

God's Answer to Prayer

Part of raising support is meeting with people and sharing with them about what God is doing in Spain, and God's leading for me to go.  The other part, is prayer (Mark 11:24). 

Many people have shared with me that they are at their maximum support of missionaries and are unable to support me in addition to what they are already doing. This is a great thing to hear that people are supporting missions and aligning themselves with Christ in His march to publish His name to the world! 

So I started praying and asking the Lord to send strangers into my life that would want to know me and would like to be a part of this stint in Spain. I felt like I was asking God to do something impossible, but remembering that, "...with God, all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26), I began to pray. With this prayer in mind, I would like to tell you what He did. 

Recently, I walked into a store called Pace Creek Enterprises in Yellowpine, Texas. I wasn't necessarily shopping, just waiting for my mom to finish up a meeting. One of the ladies in the store, Claudine, recognized me. We began talking and she was asking what I was up to since I graduated in August. I told her that I was in seminary, and that I was hoping to move to Spain for a year to be a missionary. Upon hearing this, she said that she would like to introduce me to someone...

Mary Ann Mc Daniel, is the owner and manager of Pace Creek Ent. She is also an RN and frequently goes on short-term mission trips to Africa to serve with medical mission teams. She is also, an example of God's provision in my life.  

We started talking and she told me about her brave daughter who also spent a year abroad doing missions in Southeast Asia. She told me one of the most amazing stories I have ever heard about her first experience as a missionary on the West Coast of Africa. She also told me (after knowing me less than 30 minutes) that she would like to financially support me on this trip. 

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6

Blessed Assurance

This is a sweet song to me. I like looking at the words and seeing the promises of God found in scripture. 

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. 

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.