Lottos & Beggars

I was in Madrid for a few days last week and everywhere you went, you would see long lines for people buying lotto tickets. I don't have a picture of this, but a friend of mine told me she saw one exceptionally long line (50+) of people buying lotto tickets (paying for a chance) and then a person sitting on the ground, close to the lotto stand, begging for a few coins. An interesting paradox, thought I would share this article...

Lotto Fever Grips Spain as Thousands Share in Holiday Jackpot

Jubilation was mixed with disbelief in parts of Spain on Monday as news spread that just under 2,000 tickets would share the top prize in El Gordo, one of the most lucrative lottery jackpots in the world.

Each first-place ticket — with the winning number of 32365 — was worth € 300,000 or $510,000 Cdn. The 1,950 tickets with the top prize number were sold in seven of Spain's 52 provinces. El Gordo’s jackpot hit € 2.32 Euros or $3.95 billion (Canadian dollars), with thousands of other tickets sharing runner-up prizes. As the lottery announcement began in the morning, people throughout the country logged online and tuned in to radio and television to see if their number had been selected. Instead of being spoken, the winning numbers were announced live on television by a Madrid choir singing in Gregorian Chant.

"I'm still shaking," said Ricardo Jimenez, who learned he was holding 15 third-place winning tickets. Jimenez’s bar in Soria, Spain — about 180 km northwest of the capital Madrid — sold all 1,950 of the third-place tickets worth an estimated € 97 million or $165 million. I'll keep on working. I'll share this with my three children," Jiminez said. Television images showed him being showered with sparking wine by celebrating clients. El Gordo, which means the Fat One, has become a Christmas tradition in the country since its creation in 1912. 

Four out of five Spanish residents purchased tickets in the lottery and a total of 13,000 cash prizes were drawn, all of them tax-free, the BBC reported. Tickets were also sold online in 140 countries around the world.

To read the original article, click here. 

Noche de Paz

We are still celebrating the holidays and since we have two more big ones to go (New Year's & Day of the Kings/Día de Los Reyes) I can still share this great holiday song and not be too late. 

See if you can guess the English song that this translates to! Listening to some of my favorite Christmas songs, in Spanish, has been wonderful. What a privilege to hear and see a church, my brothers and sisters in the family of God, singing songs of praise in their own language. It's hard to describe, but I've felt incredibly blessed and privileged that I get to see and participate in a different (foreign) kind of worship. I hope you enjoy the lyrics as much as I have. 

Noche de Paz

¡Noche de paz, noche de amor!

Todo duerme en derre edor,

Entre los astros que es parcen su luz,

Bella anunciando al niñito Jesús,

Brilla la estrella de paz.

 

¡Noche de paz, noche de amor¡

Oye humilde el fiel pastor,

Coros celestes que anuncian salud,

Gracias y glorias en gran plentitud,

Por nuestro buen redentor,

Por nuestro buen redentor.

 

¡Noche de paz, noche de amor!

Ved que bello resplandor,

Luce en el rostro del niño Jesús,

En el pesebre, del mundo la luz,

Astro de eterno fulgor,

Astro de eterno fulgor. 

¡Arista en Diciembre!

"For a child will will be born to us, a son will be given to us...and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6



Pictures Top to Bottom: Lazaró Pascual (pastor); Cesia, Me, Crystal, & Glenda eating Thanksgiving lunch; It snows in Southern Spain, this is outside our piso!

Seasons Greetings from Úbeda! How are you celebrating Christmas this year? I would love to know! This last month, some of my activities have included: youth meetings, day trips with girls from the church, finishing my residency paperwork, listening to Christmas music, finding a language school, setting up English classes, finding ways to stay warm, and adjusting to a new way of life!

Ministry...over the last two weeks, Crystal and I have been brainstorming and having some great discussions about ways to encourage and go deeper with the girls (youth). We have spent much time with several girls and are excited about getting to know them better. Starting in January, Crystal and I hope to have them over to our piso (at least) one evening a week and plan on continuing to spend time with them one-on-one. We're hoping to develop a small group where we can serve them by providing opportunities to process what they're learning, encourage them, talk about accountability, fellowship, and prayer. In other words, "How to love God and love others...in Úbeda!"

Celebrating...the Spaniards celebrate Christmas but they have an additional holiday. Americans celebrate Christmas on the 25th, and New Year's on the 1st. Spain celebrates these days, but in addition, January 6th is the Day of the Kings (Día de los Reyes). This is the day when presents are exchanged and families get together. For Spaniards, this holiday marks the visit of the magi/wise men/three kings to the newborn Jesus. How amazing that the love of God was incarnated in sending His own Son to us!

This week, I'm looking forward to seeing my Aunt Carol! She's coming to visit me for Christmas and I'm excited to see someone from home. The youth have been really busy preparing a Christmas play and are looking forward to the end of the semester. Crystal and I have been helping plan a day trip with the youth and next Monday, we are going to Cazorla, a nearby city with an amazing national park (Sierra de Cazorla).

Victory in the small things...

• For the first time, (this past Sunday) I was able to follow and understand the entire sermon at church. You have no idea how encouraging this is!
• Last week, before I ate lunch with some girls, they asked me to say the blessing and I was able to pray--in Spanish!
  
• I picked up my residency card in Jáen Tuesday morning--the whole process has gone very smoothly.
  

Things to praise & pray for:

• Please be praying that I would walk closely with the Lord so that He would be my supreme love and that ministry and everyday life would flow out of living the abundant life.
• There are many new people in my life. Antonio & Ana (landlords), Roberto (neighbor), and Rosa (Spanish teacher) are just a few. Please pray that I would be an ambassador for Christ in these new relationships and that the Lord would use me in communicating His love to them through actions and words.
  
• I was pretty sick for the last two weeks, praise the Lord for a full recovery!
  

Merry Christmas! Thank you for your love and support!

Arista

Wouldn't you like to know...

Wouldn't you like to know...this is a (brief?) list of interesting tid-bits from living in Spanish culture. The list may include, but is not limited to: food, people, expressions, daily living, language blunders, etc.

• Someone asked me if I had a "novio" (serious boyfriend/fiancé) and I didn't understand the question so I smiled and nodded.
• A sentence I heard on the news today, "A youth of 34 years was in a skiing accident in Almería."
  
• Tapas! When I hear this word, the word "delicious" comes to mind...Tapas are small portions of food that (usually) come free when you order a drink in a restaurant. If you order another drink, more free tapas (and they generally up the ante).
  
• When Crystal and I went to an internet café for the first time, the employee took one look at our matching MacBook's and said "Americans huh?"
• Today for lunch we had Paella, a favorite food of Spaniards! This paella included an assortment of squid, oysters, chicken, rabbit, and rice.
  
• Electricity is 3X the cost during the day; however, it decreases at night.
  
• For only €6.00 I bought a Carta de Joven (youth card). A card that gets me discounts on transportation and hostels.
  
• A new concept for grocery shopping: only buy what you can pull/carry home.
• We have had three (maybe four?) holidays in the past month. By holiday, I mean nobody works and almost everything is closed.
  
• Unless they studied/lived in the states, most Spaniards (that speak English) speak with a British accent!
  
• Within my first couple of weeks here, the youth taught me an important phrase, "El noche es joven!" Also known as "The night is young!" It is very normal for people (of all ages) to go to bed early in the morning.
• A load of laundry usually takes 2-3 days to fully dry. Two words: plan ahead!
  

This is a picture of (a version of) paella! I'll see if I can post a list from time to time. There's a lot more to share!

Pics from SEND English Camp

Last month, I (briefly) left the spotted hills of Andalucía to travel to Sacedón, Guadalajara (1 1/2 hours east of Madrid) to the Peña de Horeb retreat center. I volunteered to help with an English camp for anyone that would like to better learn and/or practice their English! I had an amazing weekend full of conversations, good food, and new friends!

*Sidenote: Almost all Spaniards learn English with a British accent! This made conversations all the more interesting for the native (American) English speakers : )

Here are some pictures of my weekend...

The "Casa Grande" where we stayed:

Playing the card game "Mafia", if you think about it, very interesting vocabulary in used in this game...I'm in the light blue shirt, four people to the right of the guy in the striped shirt.


All the townspeople go to sleep...


I had great conversation about the activities, interests, and the world-views of Spanish youth, with a 16 year old, Daniel (pictured left).

Conversing in English...we had eight conversation sessions throughout the weekend where a native English speaker was paired up with one or two Spanish speakers. We could talk about anything we wanted--as long as it was in English : )

Making new friends...


It was an amazing weekend! Senders, thank you for being a part of it!

This is me...

¡Hola! This is me...


this is me & Crystal...


this is what it looks like...


where we live...


in Andalucía!