Barcelona

• Tearing up old patio
• Laying a new patio
• Sanding fences
• Painting fences
• Trimming Palm trees
• Weeding
• Planting Grass
• and General maintenance work

Hey everybody!
This post comes from the nimble fingers of Molly. :) The last couple of days haven't been too extraordinary, but hey. This IS Spain we're talking about, after all.
Anyway.
Yesterday (Friday) we were assigned to rest up and ward off this annoying sickness that seems to be going around. We tried to do a little bit of shopping, but we started too late and most of the shops ended up closing for the "siesta time" in the afternoon (2-5 PM). So we relaxed around the church until about 5:00, which is when Lazaro swung by to take us to the community nursing home, where we gave another mini-presentation about ourselves, our states, and our country (with Anna translating). We sang a couple of English songs as well. Afterward we went around and shook hands and tried to communicate with them as much as our limited Spanish would allow. They were pretty excited to see us--they kept saying "que guapas, que bonitas" (how pretty). I think they were blinder than they let on. :) But it was neat to bring a little bit of sunshine into their lives, even when I had no clue what they were talking about. Also, Anna had a little chance to share some of the gospel with them during the Q & A time when one man asked about churches in the US, which was exciting.
Later, we went to dinner and had tapas, which is kind of like sharing a bunch of combination platters or appetizers in the US. Along with calamari and baby octopus, we treated ourselves to a heaping platter of snails. They were actually pretty good--tasted kind of like chicken noodle soup, once you got past the look and texture of them. It's rough being a biology major and eating all these things that I once dissected in Zoology. I've decided I never want to eat anything that I can taxonomically classify again, although given our track record, it probably won't be the case.

Today (Saturday), after team devos, we traveled in the Green Machine to the nearby town of Baeza. Although this would apparently be a nice place to plant a church, there is not a single known Christian in the entire village. So we prayer-walked through the streets, just praying that God would really make Himself known there and soften the people's hearts, giving them a hunger to know more, and a dissatisfaction with the Catholicism that is so prevalent there. As we walked past dozens of people, it was so strange to realize that none of them professed to know Christ. In the states, there are so many people that claim to be Christians, but here, there are 7500 towns where not a single person identifies with Christ. Spain is such a lost country, and we've been praying for God to burden hearts for this nation.

It's been interesting to stay with Guadalupe (a woman in the church that has hospitably offered up her home to Nicole and me) since she speaks no English and we speak very little Spanish. Yet it has been neat to share the common bond in Christ and be able to carry on some conversation with her as far as what God is doing in both of our lives. It's also just been evidence of how Christianity/God's love/the applicability of the gospel is demonstrated through actions, not just idle words. Guadalupe doesn't need to explain to us how God's love is evidenced. She just displays her generosity and her compassion by what she does. And it's neat to see how my Spanish is improving as I spend more time immersed in Spanish conversation.

It's also been amazing to see how God uses the talents of various people to perform different tasks to the best of their ability. For example, if I tried to perform every task that needs to happen on this trip, it would be a flop. But God has given me specific areas that I'm skilled in, and he's given other abilities to others. If we try to usurp others' positions, we're preventing them from using their skills well. It's neat to see a mini-version of the body of Christ work together here in Spain.

OK, I'm going to shut up now. We're about to lead a youth group in an hour--kind of an evangelistic outreach--so that should be interesting. But I recently decided Spanish high schoolers are amazing, so I'm looking forward to it. :)

Pray for health for all of us. Aaron has been doing a lot better, but he's still not back to normal. Of course, what is normal for Aaron? :) And the rest of us are doing okay, but we could be doing better. Pray also for Lazaro and Loida (the missionaries here in Ubeda) as they travel to the States on furlough to learn English next year. It will be a rough transition for them. Pray that we would not be overwhelmed by the language barrier, but that God's strength would shine through our weaknesses. And pray for Baeza, the town we prayer-walked in today.

As a team, I think our primary request is for health/strength as well as growing/bonding as a group. Pray that God would teach us what He needs to, whatever it takes, and that we would bless those around us.

Have a stellar day, all! Thanks for your prayers and support!

This is our team in Ubeda. Notice the olive groves behind us. They stretch as far as the eye can see!

Days 4 & 5

Madrid, Úbeda, & Places In Between

     For the record, Molly and I (Nicole) did finally join in with the group. We arrived in Úbeda today, but I want to first tell you about our experience in Madrid:

     So immediately after we stepped off the plane, we got into taxis and drove to the church. Teressa didn´t come with us though...because some guy in orlando decided he loved her luggage bag and took it with him. At the church, we took part in communion and worship. We left church a bit early since we were all tired and hungry and we made our way to a cafeteria in the mall. Aaron is quite proud of the fact that he had octupus for the first time...and he forgot his side dish (by the way, Teressa was back with us at this point). We dropped off our bags at the hostal and then walked around the city with Steve (the other missionary). For supper we had tapas (similar to appetizers...a traditional spanish dinner food): fried anchovies, tortillas, bocadillos de calamari, olives, patatas ali oli, fried baby squid, and bread. That was pretty much the end of day one. We were all still recovering from jet lag...so we dont remember much more than that.

     Day two: We went to breakfast and then Steve made a presentation about the culture and religious background of Spain at the church. The presentation was really interesting and we were really shocked to see that Spain is considered the third most lost country in the world in regards to Christianity. Religious freedom has only been present in Spain for 25 years. There are 7500 cities without a single known Christian. For lunch, Steve dropped us off at the grocery store with a huge list of groceries and we basically had to find our way around the store on our own. Groceries in hand, we walked back to the church and ate bocadillos (sandwiches), white asparagus, chips, strawberries, flan, salad, cheese, cookies, and some sort of enchilada/keish/tuna...stuff (we dont really know...but it was good). Following lunch, we canvased the neighborhood with flyers which advertised a Christian television show that the church has helped to establish. We also passed out tracts on the sidewalks (which is illegal so we had to be discrete). Then, we were on our own for dinner. We found a small restaurant and ordered some interesting entrees. I (nicole) got a sandwich with smoked salmon, oregano, tomato, cheese, and olive oil on it. Anna got meatballs in a cider sauce. We also had Croquettes (like a fried ball filled with ham and cheeseish sauce). El fin.

    Today, we spent the majority of the day driving to Úbeda. We are at the church now with the Pascual missionaries. Aaron, Teressa, Katlyn, Rachel, Dawn, and Anna will be staying here at the church. Tim is going to a host family, as are me and Molly. Tomorrow, we will be making presentations about the United States in English classes at the local school. Thanks for your prayers everyone. More updates to come. Adios.

-nicole (on behalf of MIS Spain 2007 :) )