Spanish Night Life...

Left to Right: Ralph, Victor, Lorena
Lorena & I...

Well, last night, I was given the opportunity to "experience" Spanish night life. As I mentioned earlier in my blog, I was invited by a German to go out with a group on Saturday night. Finally between 8 & 9pm, while I was enjoying a chat over chocolate (a very thick cocoa drink) with Irene, I received the call telling me where the group was meeting and when...We were meeting in a small bar down the road from where I live @ 11:30pm. Hmmmm. Trying to gather a bit more information, I asked what the plans for the evening were. The only thing I could seem to get was we're meeting at 11:30pm for some drinks, then something something something, and finally a disco which would start about 4am.. I became ecstatic about the disco part seeing as I LOVE to dance... okay, joking...I told them I really wasn't interested in going to a disco and especially not at 4 in the morning. I told them I'd meet them at their little bar, but didn't commit myself for anything beyond that.

I spent some time trying to figure out why the Lord allowed me to get into such a situation. The person who'd invited me to this night life adventure was a German friend of my boss. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, because I wanted neither to be culturally insensitive & fearful, nor compromise my conscience and personal values and standards. Well, after much prayer, I made the decision that I would go no where that the Lord wasn't going with me and so off we set on this adventure together, me and my Lord. I was reminded that Jesus when He was on the earth, ate with the prostitutes & tax collectors and reached out to them, though He didn't join them in their sin.

So, in typical Spanish fashion, the group I was to meet were 20 minutes late.. I sat alone in a bar watching soccer on a large flat screen tv.. grin... what a picture I must have made. Anyway, our group consisted of 1 German guy, 1 Peruvian guy, 1 local Gallego girl, and me (1 American). Quite a diverse group. The first round of drinks was coffee and a coke for me. This was imediately followed by an acoholic beverage. I managed to convince them finally that I found the taste of alcohol rather repulsive and we moved on into the evening. After about an hour and a half we moved to a new bar. I guess "bar hopping" is part of night life in Spain. We chatted some more, them with their "spiked" cokes and me with my Earl Grey tea. Grin....yes I ordered tea. By now, in the second smokey bar for the evening my throat was very irritated and I was coughing a dry cough regularly...so, thought the tea might help... This second bar boasted a DJ playing 70's music in French, English, and Spanish interchangeably. With much conversation, I tried to find out where I could play ping pong here, how to say various phrases, practiced my Spanish on them, and tried to process their Spanish conversation as I continued to grow more and more sleepy. Finally, it was time to change bars again. So, we moved out and that's when I made my get away..not really. They were very considerate seeming to note that I wasn't used to staying out late and that I had been sick (especially since I was coughing and popping cough drops regularly through the evening)...So, they walked me the short distance home and we said our goodbyes.

Though the evening was good, it is not something I really want to repeat. What a learning experience. I find that Spanish or American "night life" alike are really not my style. I went back to my room at 2:15am and unable to sleep due to so much caffiene, I sat up reading until 5:45am, then slept til noon. Being something of a morning person, I felt that most of my day was lost.

Grin, at least I learned that I was "pretty" through the adventure...grin...Maybe the Peruvian had had a bit to much to drink...haha. On a serious note, please pray for these people!

Anyway, this is not one of those experiences I really relish sharing, but it is the reality of where I am. As I've watched the Spaniards over the last few weeks, I have begun to conclude that they live in a "enjoy the moment" mentality. Many of them are not religious at all and therefore have no other reason to live each day than to work, shop for more stuff, and play. I can't really describe it, but it gives me such a strange sad feeling when walking through the streets lined with nice shops and people buying. It is very sad.

Well, I hope that you are all blessed this Christmas season....remembering why we celebrate Christmas. I am honored to have purpose in my life, to live each day for the Lord and to have have hope of an eternity with Christ. God bless you all..

Christmas Break!

Merry Christmas to you all!! WoW, hard to believe that Christmas is already upon us. It has come up so quickly it seems. I spent about an hour yesterday evening with one of my friends while she shopped for some Christmas gifts for various people. Rather interesting how Christmas is viewed. I have heard many say that it is so silly, because they have to buy gifts. Christmas is really pointless to them because they have no reason to celebrate it...it is just another holiday to them with no meaning because so many of them do not know Jesus... Very sad! Hopefully during this time I will have some opportunity to share what Christmas is to me...

PTL!!! I have had a couple opportunities to mention God and bring Him into the conversation lately and I'm rather excited about that. It seems that through this adventure to Spain the Lord has put a lot of new people in my life, including people who worked in Spain before me with this family, and other connections through those people.... It is rather interesting all the people that the Lord is putting into my life...and I want to be available to be used by the Lord. PTL!!!

So, a funny story! I was walking back from my Spanish lesson a few days ago and saw a sign on the side of a building which read, "clinica dentura"...translated - "dentist clinic or office"... Just below the sign an older man was standing, maybe waiting for a bus or something...He opened his mouth talking and I saw all of about 2 teeth.. My face was plastered with a grin as I walked on making a mental note not to visit that dentist office. It isn't to say that particular man has ever even visited any dentist let alone that particular one, but I found the whole scene rather ironic and funny. Thought you all might enjoy it as well.

So, out for another evening on the town with my friend, Isabel. This time we visited a different cafe that had jazz music playing, and over a cup of herbal tea and a shared chocolate-filled pastry, she gave me a lesson in Spanish. So, I can read Spanish fairly well and am learning to understand more and more of it...if I could just learn to form sentences and remember the words that I need when I need them...grin I suppose that is a big wish. Anyway, I keep on truckin on..

Well, headed out of town for the holidays. I will be going with the family to visit their relatives in a neighboring city and may do some additional traveling with them or on my own. Please keep us in your prayers as we are traveling. Also, for me as I experience Christmas in a whole new way! Thanks a lot!! I don't know how often I will have access to internet over the next couple weeks, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.. I'll catch you all up again as I am able.. Thanks for the prayers...

Christmas Party

So, I would like to apologize for the extreme detail in the last post. Feel free to skip it entirely.

I did mention going to a Christmas party at my employer's work. So, being invited and rather interested to meet knew people, off I went. I found the right road with a bit of help from a patient old man who enjoyed trying to talk to me with my broken Spanish.. *G* At the party, I was introduced to mostly German people who are teaching or studying here in Santiago's University. Interesting people. One man has a business connected to Delhi, India to which he travels often.. Another girl was an exchange student to the States for a year of highschool. I was also introduced to a lovely young Greek gal named Sofia (see picture). She came in at the very end and couldn't stay long, but in that short time we hit it off and hope to get together once she returns from her holidays in Greece. tasting the many cookies and desserts brought (choco rumballs, choco-covered gingerbread, butter cookies, macaroons, etc...), and actually getting a chance to converse in English. I managed to get roped into going out on Saturday with a couple Germans and someone from Peru (haven't met yet) and maybe a few others who are not going home for the holidays... should be interesting. I gathered from the conversation that they are more the drinking and possibly partying type, which I am not, so I would ask for your prayers for wisdom and whatever else I may need on this adventure...
Still fighting whatever this sinus junk is that I've been struggling with for a week now, but hoping that it is getting better now. Please continue to keep my health in your prayers. It would seem that there are many sick here these days. It sure doesn't make for a very enjoyable time.

As for future plans, it looks as though I will be heading to Lugo, the hometown of Irene (mom) for at least part of the holiday break. Here, the schools are closed for about two weeks, reopening Jan 7th. My family will be going to Lugo for the entire break, but I will be given some time off as well and will hopefully travel a bit. Most likely I will head to Noia to fellowship with the believers there and meet a girl who's visiting the Towners (American missionaries in Noia) from Paris for the holidays (she's a relative of theirs about my age).

It looks as though this Christmas and New Years will be quite a new experience for me. I will most likely be the only person present at Christmas who believes in Jesus Christ as my Savior. Please keep me in your prayers that I will be a shining light for Christ. I'm not sure exactly what to expect, but will take it one day at a time. I hope that you all have a very blessed Christ-mas, spending time with your family, enjoying some days off of work and school, and for those of you in college, take my advice and get some rest... GRIN!!

God bless you all with His joy, peace, and love!! Continue to run the race that is ahead of us and stay strong to the end.. Love you all.....

Weekend Adventures: Noia

A simply gorgeous view with the sun playing off the scenery and creating such beauty!

View from the Bus Station looking to the left while facing the bay...not that direction Jonna...go right!
Driving along the fjord returning to church on Sunday! Kinda liked this little fishing boat sitting in the water!

Wow, I feel as though I have much to catch up on...I've finally got a few moments to sit down and update you a with my latest adventures. So, as I mentioned before leaving for the weekend, I was going to go meet an American family in a small town called Noia and also meet the local church there. I was leaving Saturday afternoon after making sure the kids were taken care of.

Saturday morning, Irene (mom) left for Portugal. She had something down there that she had to do. Because she was going to be gone all day and late into the night, the maid was there to help get the kids up and have a lunch prepared for us for later in the afternoon. I teach English to the girls on Saturdays as well, so I set about teaching after b-fast in order to get them all three done before we had to leave for the younger girls' skating lesson. With some difficulty and a prayer for grace and focus (since my mind was already trying to conquer the trip to Noia), I started English lessons and got two girls done happily before it was time to leave. Because Momma was gone with the car, we were going to have to take the bus. Ana, the maid, was going to go on the bus part way with us in order to make sure I knew whic bus to get on, and then she'd get off and go on home. So, the Lord has a way of slowly breaking me into new things.. I already knew I was going to have to take a bus later that afternoon and because it was a new adventure I was slightly nervous.. So, the Lord just gave me a little taste of the bus system to show me that I could do it... Bless His very big and loving heart! So getting to skating class, I sat and tried not to freeze while they in their tights, sweaters, and skates practiced skating. It is quite interesting to me to just watch. They are learning to do what looks like ice skating moves using roller skates (not even in-line roller blades). There are some that do very well and others who are not quite getting it yet. After about an hour of skating, the girls go change back into their normal clothing and while they are changing I watch the next class roll in and begin warming up for their lesson. These are the older, more experienced skaters who are learning more difficult skating routines. Like I said, quite interesting and something I'd never heard of in the USA. Anyway, leaving there we ran to the bus stand because we could see our bus sitting there. If that bus left without us, we'd be waiting another 20 minutes at least! Riding home, I was thanking the Lord for having the bus waiting for us.

Back home, I set about putting lunch on and eating a bite. Their Daddy came in right around 2pm, so that I was able to leave and get on my way by 2:15pm. I now have a 35-45 minute walk to the main bus station where the bus departs to other cities. So equipped with a few possibly necessary phrases and my overnight bag, I set out at a very brisk pace. Without a backpack I would have considered my pace fast, but with I was plumb sweaty by the time I reached the bus station in only 30 minutes...grin...I was told the bus left every hour on the hour and I wanted to get on that 3pm bus. I bought a ticket with relative ease and then moved to wait for the bus...While waiting I began to realize that something was most definitely wrong! Where in the world was the normal bus station noise and all the people, and the dirtiness and drunks and beggars, etc..? This was most possibly the cleanest, quietest bus station I've ever been in. Thailand isn't bad, but it is still busier and louder than this one was... Had to grin at the thought and realization that this was nothing whatsoever like India...no comparison. The bus actually wasn't scheduled to leave until 3:20pm so I had plenty of time to wait (35 minutes to be exact) and pretend to read a Spanish newspaper sitting on a bench. Okay so maybe I read a little, but comprehend is another matter. The bus arrived about 5-10 minutes before its scheduled departure, and didn't stay long in the station. Wouldn't want to be late or you would most definitely miss the bus.. Once again, nothing like India. So, barely settled in and I began to relax to the point of sleep. Not long after leaving the city of Santiago I was drifting into a light sleep...remembering enough to hope that I didn't sleep through my stop along the way.. Grin.. The scenery that I did see through my half-open eyes was quite lovely, though nothing amazingly spectacular like the mountains of India. There are a lot of evergreen type trees and shrubbery along the road, frost in the shadows, green meadows, random nice looking houses nestled down in the middle of green fields, and a fairly twisty little road. Quite a smooth ride, hence the relaxed, stupored state that I rode in. smile... Reaching Noia, I was wide awake once again and reading over the directions I was given to get to the church where they would all be setting up for an outreach party. The directions said face the bay and turn right to the first apartment building. Now there's a view, the lovely waters, fog settling on the hills and waters, and sunshine! Walking to the church, I knew when I had arrived by the large green sign reading "Ivangelica Iglesia" & a man who was rivaling 7 foot standing out in front. Grin... walking up to him I introduced myself and was in turn taken inside to meet Martha, his wife whom I'd been communicating with by email. A very lovely, open hearted couple. I had barely set my bag down before I was put to work ironing a shirt for their son and dressing him...grin...through me off a bit, but he didn't seem the least bit concerned so no probs.

Then I was ushered into a room full of girls little and big and told that if I wanted I could dress up in a more traditional Gallego outfit to match the theme of the evening (picture above). "Gallego" is the local people, their language, traditions, and culture. They are the people of Galicia which is the region in which I am living, kind of comparable to an American State. So, into a black skirt and green vest over my white sweater and a redish shawl, I was decked out for the evening. Though I spent most of the evening freezing..grin... We were served traditional foods including a large "pita" filled with seafoods such as octopus, etc.. (that's about the only thing I recognized with it's tenicals with suction cups)...also served some type of wonderful "corn" bread that was a grayish-brown color and delicious. There were some other meats on my plate that included more larger pieces of octopus cut into bite size chunks. Quite delicious really! "tastes like chicken"...grin... Dessert was soon in following for everyone but me! Somehow, I managed to inform the kids serving that I didn't want dessert...oops...I had thought they were going to bring me more food and didn't want any more of that...So I sat and laughed at myself. Then later, I made my way into where the kids who had served were finally getting their fill and I grabbed myself a couple pieces of the various desserts...I ended up with something with apples in it that was very nice.. Grin...communication sure is an important thing...Haha...
Let me back track a bit here...Before dinner had been served, we were graced with a 15-2o minute message from a lady in their church who is also the local judge (I think that's what they described her as), Gallego dancing by a group of girls, according playing by Martha, and a Gallego poem by one of the boys. After cleanup, we loaded into the Towner van (Jim & Martha Towner are the missionaries that I met and stayed with) and headed to their home about 10 minutes away. Arriving to find a large, though simple, gated home with a wood stove, and walls lined with books, I was quite at home. I sat by the stove for most of the evening after my official tour of the house (by their lovely daughter, Ruthie - in pic above), and enjoyed a nice visit with whoever came through the front room. It had been in my heart to share with them about CofO knowing they had a daughter (Ruthie) who was going to be considering college in the near future. They were very interested to hear about it and I hope that they will be able to enjoy the blessings of CofO as well. I know that if Faith hadn't told me about it, I'd have had no idea...so I was hoping to be used of the Lord to pass on the invaluable info of such an amazing college. Anyway, well to bed I went some time between 11 & 12 tired and with a sore throat (irritated by the wood stove I suppose). At about 2:15, we were all awake with howling dogs, one being their own, which was soon put to a stop.

So really couldn't resist putting this one in here..
I was entertaining a little girl sitting next to me in the van.. "
Risk looking silly to make someone laugh."

Just to throw in a little note: I finally found a shopping buddy. There are sales in Spain after January 6th, which is the celebration of the Magi (3 kings) who brought gifts to Jesus in Bethlehem. Then starting the 7th of Jan, things go on sale and just get better (so I'm told) through the end of Feb. I'm hoping this is true, because I'd love to be able to afford a few of these stylish clothes over here to bring home in addition to the necessary chocolates, hazelnuts, etc that Mom just has to try...grin.. blame it all on Mom...(you'll just love that since you're reading this too). Anyway, I've been praying for someone to go shopping with because I'm not a huge shopper and definitely don't like trying to find clothes on my own. I can shop alone for gifts or just everyday things, but for clothes I like a second opinion and a friend along. Anyway...that's enough of that.. this was supposed to just be a little side note...Grin..oops!



Smile...slept great but woke with a scratchy throat, so with some coffee followed by tea, I was off for another day. Yeah! I got to go to church and have Christian fellowship. Though the songs were in Spanish, most were familiar to me being Christmas hymns, and the words were displayed on an overhead. Thankfully, Spanish uses English letters so that I can read and sing along whether I know the song or not. I was blessed! The message was good as well. Martha sat next to me and translated most of it. I followed some of it as well. It was on the story of Martha and Mary where Mary sat with Jesus while Martha served and complained that Marry wasn't helping.. Won't try to go into detail on the sermon, because I don't think I really can.. grin...

Church was followed by leftovers from the night before and a few new dishes added. Not many stayed to eat with us, but we had some fellowship with a few and it was enjoyable & very filling. There was a large pot of shellfish sitting in the middle of the table, noodles with stuff (grin, don't know what all was in it but it was good), wonderful salads (two kinds), and then the leftovers (no ned repeating what that was). After lunch, I helped Martha pull the rest of the cooked shellfish from their shells to be used later in something else. They are quite easy to get out, only a somewhat monotonous job (I rather enjoyed it). It was kind of weird looking at little shellfish with what looked like one soft claw and a black eye in there somewhere and then the mushy body....grin, so yeah I'm trying to gross you all out just a bit, but they did taste good...not much flavor really!

Well, now it was time that I returned back to Santiago! I was blessed, full, tired, and a little sick with my sore throat. I began to inquire as to the bus departure times.. an older lady left and walked to the bus station (without my knowledge because I was going to) and checked the time for me...bless her heart. All unnecessarily though as one of the other trusted believers in the church was soon headed to Santiago and offered to take me not just to Santiago, but to my home. What a blessing. Saved me 3 Euros and I had quite an enjoyable conversation in Spanglish while listening to Steve Green in Spanish. Didn't realize that he spoke Spanish...guess I'm a bit behind...Reaching home, I went to bed with a sore throat...slept a bit, but was then blessed with a bit of coversation with my family over Skype...PTL for internet & Skype.!!

Later that evening, Irene (mom) had a German collegue over to help her prepare cookies for this week's Christmas party at Irene's work. They made various kinds of German cookies, butter cookies, macarroons, and rum balls... delicious...and I was invited to join in. Though I didn't feel the greatest, I made myself some hot lemon, honey, ginger tea and joined them. Irene was excited and wanted to include me in this... It was quite enjoyable aside from physical feelings and very tastey. The rum balls were deffinitely my favorite. remind me much of the Rochier Chocolate Truffles fromthe store. Yummy! Well, today I was invited to come to this party at Irene's work on Wednesday. I think I might just go, especially since Irene made a point of inviting me and then showing me on the map how to find it. She seems to want to include me, so I'll let my self enjoy this one...she says there will be many different things served and I'd be welcome to come try them. Should be an interesting time and a chance to meet more people. I enjoyed meeting and visiting with her German friend from Hamburg while she was here helping us cook.

So, today I was blessed.. The girls are doing so well. I'm still learning how to handle different situations, but learning how to get them to obey (sometimes at least). They are saying please and thank you more often now, which blesses me. The culture seems so much ruder here than I am accustomed to. For example, at the table our children are taught to "please pass the butter" or "don't reach across the table, just ask someone to pass it to you" or "put your elbows down"...We as children may think that is so annoying and a waste of time, but wait until you have kids standing up and reaching across your plate to get something clear across the table, or you have an elbow in your face nearly the entire meal...grin.. Thankfully their English lessons went well today without a fight. Praise the Lord!!! I actually have the two youngest started in on learning some vocabulary spelling for a "test" on Saturday with the promise of a small treat if they get all ten words spelled correctly. They needed something to motivate them to practice and improve their spelling, not just have me telling them how to spell something or me telling them it is spelled incorrectly. Hoping that this works and they are motivated to learn. Now I'm trying to figure out how to help the eldest with the use of prepositions. Any advice on this? I am trying to remember how I was taught the use of prepositions. Instead of saying "Johnny's parents didn't approve of him staying out so late." she says, "Johnny's parents didn't approve about him staying out soo late." It may have to do with the structure and translation of her own language, but I'm not sure how to help her change this without discouraging her. She does so well most of the time and feels that the sentences are a waste of time. I tried to show her a circumstance in which she might use a certain phrase or format...it didn't seem to help. They all love doing word games and memory games one computer, so I often use the computer as a teaching tool after spending a little time with a notebook and pen. It's incentive for them to sit, listen, and learn. Anyway...please continue to pray about this as I learn along with them.

So, this evening I had them make Christmas cards for their Mom to give hide and give to her closer to Christmas. They seemed to enjoy the craft as did I. I had pulled my Bible out while they were working on their cards with plans to write out a scripture on a piece of paper to decorate my wall as well as memorize...immediately Irene' (the middle daughter) asked me what it was. I told her it was my Bible, to which I recieved a blank look and the same question, "yeah, but what is that?" So I opened it and she wanted to know if it was like a dictionary or something. Sadly, as soon as I explained to her that it was God's word, she blew it off with a wave of her hand and left the room to "do homework". She is the most difficult and also the one in the family who has told me outright that she doesn't believe in God, and why should she since she's never met Him? This is a HUGE matter of prayer! Continuing on, she eventually rejoined us and we all made cards or something for Irene (mom), then I put some oatmeal muffins that I'd mixed up into the oven and began trying to come up with something to go with them for dinner. Seeing that muffins, fruit, yogurt, and applecider might not be enough for growing girls, I whipped up some scrambled eggs with bacon and cheese to go along with it..

So, very pleased with how this day has gone. Especially now that I've finally gotten this blog almost updated. I don't like to get behind because I'm afraid I might forget something. Of course, some of you might enjoy this being a little shorter, but shorter and less detailed just never was really my style, so feel free to skim and skip as needed...grin.. Hope that you are all enjoying the pictures... I'll add some with this one.. the bay in Noia was gorgeous...You'll love it. God bless you all and Merry Christmas in advance as you all begin to get busy with the holidays, kids home from school, family visiting, traveling to see other family, etc...hope that everyone stays safe in their travels. Ciao! Feliz Navidad!

Day..Uh...almost Two Weeks!!

So much to say and yet I'm not sure that I will remember it all.. But here goes, I'll do my best!

First, I'd like to ask for your prayers for this weekend. I am taking a bus to the town of Noia (you might find it if you google it), a small coastal town on the northwest coast. I believe I have mentioned this before. I am so looking forward to some Christian fellowship and thankful that the Lord has provided this opportunity. It will also be fabulous to spend some time with some fellow Americans!! WooHoo!! Two weeks with only Spaniards has been a challenge, but good.. I'm thankful for internet and emails that allow me to express myself openly with someone without the cultural differences, language barriers, and religious differences...

WoW...hard to beleive that 2 weeks has nearly gone by already! This has already been such a fulfilling experience.. PTL!!! I am so thankful to the Lord for sending me here. So, to begin with, the Lord is still teaching me much. I hope that I do not forget these lessons as they are invaluable! Today, I had my fourth Spanish lesson. It went well, but was a challenge. I think the challenge had more to do with me than the acutal lesson. We were going over my homework. I had written sentences as requested according to the requested subject... I was to reformat sentences to reflect life in the USA, while the sentences were about Argentina. No problemo! With help from Google translate, I was able to understand the sentences and make some of my own in what I thought was mostly correct Spanish... Smile... Well, we were going over these sentences and in the one of the very first ones, I had written "los americanos". We in the US call ourselves "Americans" and don't think a thing about it.. That is just who or what we are. Not so here! I was informed that there were many countries in the two continents called America (North & South America) and that I needed to be more specific. This was all said very kindly, but for some strange reason I wanted to argue. Being an American, I wanted to defend myself, my country, and fellow countrymen.. Silly, I know! She wasn't arguing with me, only stating facts as she saw them. In my head I was thinking that people from Brazil call themselves "Brazilians", people from Venezuela call themselves "Venezuelans", and so on... I tried to mention this, but with my broken Spanish and her broken English it wasn't going so well. Then the Lord checked me...my attitude was wrong and I was speaking from hurt pride at being told I was wrong and couldn't call myself an American. I had to ask the Lord to help me because my flesh really wanted to argue... I think back on it and know that it is such a silly thing, and yet even as I write this I still get riled up a bit! It has been something on my heart and mind today. Praying that the Lord would change my attitude! It's hard to have someone from another country simply tell you the way you have done things for so long is "wrong"... Anyway, moving on, the Lord is really teaching me about being humble. I'm excited, though the lesson is hard, that the Lord is taking the time to work on me and I want to learn! PTL!!! Please keep me in your prayers that I will continue to have an open, teachable heart as the Lord works on me.. Praise the Lord!

So, as I was writing a friend today, I realized something rather interesting. As much as I would love to have my friends &/or family here with me to share the experiences, the Lord took me here on my own for a reason. I am alone in a foreign country, living with strange people, surrounded by a foreign language and culture, and experiencing so many new things. Being along in all this simply pushes me toward the Lord, seeking Him, relying upon Him -His strength, grace, wisdom, and joy-, and also removes some distractions from my life. Because I am alone here, I am also often physically alone which gives me much time to think and pray and listen to the Lord. As I'm walking to Spanish class, trying to find the bus stand, walking the city to make myself more familiar with it, in the kitchen making something for dinner while the girls are playing or studying, or simply in my room before the girls get home from school, I have time to pray and dwell on the Lord. The Word says to seek God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength...well, now I'd say that scripture is more active in my life. Sometimes it is hard for me to understand why I had to go to another country to do this, but I'm enjoying it.. Though challenging, being here is a blessing from the Lord.. He is encouraging me and constantly with me.

Today, I was supposed to be meeting a friend for a little while.. We were going to hangout, get some coffee or something in a cafe and chat. As I was getting ready my heart was rather heavy.. I began praying and started seeing how lost these people here really are. Similar to the States, people without Christ find something else to live for. Maybe it is because I live in the center of the newer side of town, but a lot of these people here in Santiago seem to live for working to make money to buy new clothes & spend late nights out with their friends (the young and old alike). Somehow I wasn't able to put this into words before now, though I've seen it before. Materialism. Anyway, walking around town, I have been thinking more about that and praying.. I see men who seem rather drunk and maybe homeless and want to see their lives changed to live for Christ. The Lord has put a desire in my heart to be a light for Him here. I have been asking Him how to be more vocal about my faith to follow actions and lifestyle. I have fallen into the comfort zone of not speaking so much about what I believe just living it. I think partly this is due to living in India where we had to be careful when speaking of Christianity. I'm learning and asking the Lord to teach me.. Please pray for me to be a light here.. I have already had the opportunity today twice, interestingly enough since that was what I was praying about today!! Smile...the Lord has a way of letting us put what we're learning into practice rather quickly at times I guess. Smile...

Well, onto the exciting experiences I am having... Today on my way home from Spanish class I ventured into the Fruits and Veggies Market that is an indoor/outdoor market. I had been told about it, but never venture up to the top of a rock walk where it then spreads out over quite a bit of space. It is hardly visible at all from the road.. you can only see the tops of a few overhangings that cover the stands. So anyway....quite a colorful experience. I did manage to find some ginger there that I purchased for making Indian food for the family I live with. I enjoyed walking through the different areas, watching people, seeing the fish and seafood stands, the many different kinds of meats hanging of in coolers, all the wonderful cheeses (some that look like large white choco hershey kisses*G*) and breads... I'll throw a picture of it in here for you all to enjoy...

Later today I met up with my friend Isabel, that I referred to earlier in this epistle of mine (Grin). Isabel and I walked around in the old side of town enjoying the sites. She had a few things to purchase and then we went to the very large cathedral and she gave me a tour inside.. It is so sad what people believe... It is Roman Catholic. Interestingly enough, as she shared with me different aspects of the Cathedral, she would use the phrase "in theory" and then tell me the rest of the history or belief. She asked me if I was religious and this is one of the chances I got today to share that I was a Protestant Christian (she asked specifically if I was Protestant or Catholic). Though I didn't get to go into detail, I was at least able to be open with her about it. I don't know why it is such a challenge for me to do that.. I have a few ideas, one of which is the India influence and the other of which is fear of man.. Such a horrible thing that with the Lord's help I will hopefully have victory over someday! Anyway, as we continued our walk outside taking pictures, seeing life go by, and visiting, we headed to a cafe that she liked. Sitting down inside I had no menu and no idea what to order... I told her I wanted something hot with a little chocolate in it... she ordered for me.. I was served a "small chocolate".. It was a small glass (like a juice glass) filled with very strong looking chocolate. I took a sip thinking it was very strong hot chocolate like we know it, only to get a glob of chocolate in my mouth. I had to spoon the rest of the "hot chocolate" into my mouth. It was rich, creamy, hot, and delicious.. Sure am glad it was only a small glass though or it would have been more than I could finish (or at least should finish)...grin.. Boy was that some hot chocolate..

Back at home in time to meet an empty house... huh?? I was supposed to be here in time to watch the kids so Irene could go out, or so I thought. I had raced home as fast as my legs would carrying, covering a distance that typically took me 15 minutes walking at a decently fast pace in only 10 minutes... About 30-45 minutes later the oldest daughter, Celia, walked in having no clue where the rest of the family was.. The rest of them arrived home at 11:30pm...huh?? Oh well... Celia and I enjoyed a nice dinner of pizza and a great salad (just love the veggies here).

It has been a good day and a great week... Looking forward to a great weekend and will tell you all about it when I get back. Would greatly appreciate your prayer as I once again stretch my comfort zone to include something a bit new to me (traveling by bus alone in a new and strange country while knowing little of their language). Thankfully I am equipped with a small map of the city, I know where the main bus station is, and I have been given a few necessary sentences to know to be able to communicate what I need to get on the right bus... Still a bit nervous, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me..

Want to say thank you for all the wonderful emails.. I just love hearing from you all, what's going on your life, and how you are.. Hearing about your life, though it may seem mundane or unexciting to you, is a blessing to me.. Let's swap blessings! Grin.. Have a blessed weekend!!

Life of a Servant

So, an amazingly humbling reality hit me this morning; I am nothing more than a servant. Not only in the sense of hopefully having a servant's heart (which might be something I need to work on) or wanting to serve Christ, but also the physical position of a servant in a household. At times I am treated as little more than a servant (mostly by the children who are probably testing me to see how much they can get away with, as well as just playing), while at other times I am treated as an honored guest in this home. Though being a servant here may not be complete reality, it is exactly the lesson I need to learn. I realized that most of my life, though not all, I have thought a bit much of myself (sometimes this may simply be confidence in who Christ has made me and therefore maybe not all bad, but at times a bit excessive). I've had cooks, maids, & household servants as was common to India culture; but have I ever truely learned how to serve? How to humble myself to that position both in a physical and mental (heart, mind, & soul) sense. My life here in Spain is a very humbling, challenging experience for which I am very thankful. PTL!!!

Though I can hardly compare myself to Joseph of the Bible, that is what came to mind this morning as I was praying about this. Joseph had to be humbled, sold as a slave, then later even put into the dungeon before he was ready to take the position that the Lord had for him to serve in. I feel as though I'm being humbled, learning how to put pride away from me and be the servant, in attitude more than anything. It is not below me to do things, but it sure is a ow to the pride to feel as though someone is looking down upon and treating you with less than the respect you feel you deserve as an adult and a fellow human.

When I become an officer in the Coast Guard, with this background and training from the Lord, I hope that I will be able to be a better leader. Learning to serve those under my command as their leader. One can't teach others to lead, if one doesn't know how to follow/serve himself. Lead by example! Servant leadership is a term that I have heard often in my life...hopefully now I can learn the true meaning a servant. So many times, I myself have read the stories in the Bible and unti the Lord has revealed them to me, I have overlooked some of the deapth in them. We read about Joseph being a servant in the house of Potipher or in the prisons, but do we think about all that entailed? I know that I tend to notice more of the par tof Joseph being given a position of respect in the home. Anyway, just a bit of food for thought there..

I think that in part at least, what I'm learning about being a servant is more about my attitude & how I view others, than in the physical sense of servanthood, though there is much to be learned there as well. I guess for me it starts with the attitude. It occurred to me that when the girls treated me like thier personal servant, I rebelled very quickly at the thought and followed that with actions. I didn't like being treated in such a fashion. As far as they are concerned, they have had numerous Au Pairs in their short life spans and must get to know how each new person works and what she will allow. They are most likely testing to see how much they can get away with, or they are pretending.

I think I have much to learn. PTL!!! I am thankful to the Lord that He deems me important enough to teach me such lessons. I am honored, though it is also difficult. It is hard to look at one's life and think you're doing good only to have the Lord point out an area of your life that needs improving. Smile... On the other hand, it is also very encouraging!

This was rather encouraging to me this morning and has been something for me to think about. I am thankful for much time to think, pray, & spend with the Lord. It helps that I have a schedule that requires me to get up of a morning, though not terribly early. It helps me make the decision to get up and then my day is started! PTL!!!!

Well, that is one of those most exciting parts of my day today! Other than struggling a bit with a head cold, I am well. Please keep this matter in prayer as it could slow me down a bit. I'm not sure with the girls' schedule that I have time to slow down too much...especially not with 3 of them. I am slowly learning more about each girl on an individual basis... It is quite interesting...

So, a bit more about Spain. Driving, what a crazy experience! The roads are for the cars, but there are MANY crosswalks and the people have the right of way on most of these. Some crosswalks have lights and the crowd either waits for the green light to cross or crosses at their own risk (even then the cars will stop, though they may honk at you). My second experience in driving here wasn't quite so great. I didn't do horribly at first, then with a head cold and so many people I became rather nervous and started doing horribly... We'll leave it at that and not go into to much detail...but ahhhh...pray for me!! Grin...

It has been lovely the last two days!! PTL!! So nice to have sunshine again, though that has also brought with it very cold weather.. Guess there are no clouds to hold in the warmth.. smile... I had my third Spanish lesson today that went fabulously! Something I was asked to repeat today made me laugh.. It sounded so funny to my ears. Seeing that she had no idea what I would be laughing at and wouldn't easily understand, I quickly stopped laughing and tried to become serious again. *Grin* I am glad that I'm taking classes.. I have a bit of homework which motivates me to sit and study a bit each week on my own. I am also around people who are speaking Spanish to me all day. Slowly, but surely, I am understanding more and more each day, and now I'm starting to be able to hear it enough to spit it back out in rather broken sentences. I'm sure that I sound like an adult with a baby's grammar abilities.. grin... Oh well! Let them laugh at me, as long as I'm trying and we're all having fun. My motto for a long time has been, "Risk looking silly to make someone laugh." Found that on a wrapper or something somewhere..

So, this evening was spent making baked apples with a strussel in the center. I was given a recipe in German and told that we could make this later this evening with the girls while Mom was away at work (the work schedule is 9am-2pm then again from 4 or 5 - 8 or 9pm). Thankfully I have had some German in both highschool and college and all of the girls are fairly fluent in German (Thanks to their Mom!) Most of the ingredients I was able to understand, the rest I asked their Mom before she left. We cored the apples and filled them with the filling of walnuts, ground almonds, honey, butter, raisins, vanilla, and ground lemon. Then baked the apples, and there was some vanilla sauce that was supposed to go over the top, but because we didn't have that and had no recipe for it, I simply made a brown sugar/butter sauce and poured in lightly over the top of each. Finally, we topped the whole thing off with walnut halves on the top of each apple... yummy...looking forward to eating that! Since the oven was already on, I decided to make biscuits to go with dinner (soup & scrambled eggs, ham, and cheese). Biscuits were never one of my strong cooking points at home, but I ventured to make them anyway and they were quite enjoyed! PTL!!! The name "biscuit" was a bit confusing to them, because they automatically think cookie (biscuit is the British English term for cookie). It was rather funny to me to explain it! They enjoyed our simply, light dinner! That is a blessing since there is normally at least a bit of complaining at every meal. There has never been much when I've cooked inthe evenings and Momma has not been home to eat with us... hmmm...

Well, the bed time story has been read, all tucked into bed, my tea drank (hot water, lemon, & honey), and I'm ready to crawl into bed myself. God bless you all... Ciao!

Find the Bus Station...

So, today was the adventure of finding the bus station. I want to know where it is so that come Saturday I will be able to easily find my way there and onto the right bus to visit the town of Noia and a small church there. It took me over an hour to find the front door, though I found the back of it fairly easily! Smile.. Someone had told me the bus station was only about a kilometer from the train station. The Train station is quite near to where I am living and is no trouble to find... Smile.. I figured I'd just walk to the train station and then follow the road a ways to the bus station. Should have just followed the map, because I ended up taking the long way to the bus station which is already a good 30-40 minute walk from my house. Grin... Oh well, it was quite an adventure and I wanted the exercise. Guess I can't complain about not getting to go running in a while, when I walk miles & hours around a city trying to find things. Smile..

I'm can definitely say that I'm getting braver and more confident in where I am, and how to go where I want to go. PTL!!! That is a blessing. I'm becoming less and less concerned with getting lost. There are still things that I haven't gotten the confidence to do yet...silly really, but there are some things that I just would rather have someone to do with me. Given time, I'll get there.. Grin...

So, I'm going to throw some pictures in here of the view that I saw today. Quite lovely really.. It was great to have the sun shining for the first day since Saturday at least! PTL!!! Better scoot as I have some English classes for the girls to prep a bit. God bless.... Ciao

Day 8

Today was a blessed day. The girls did very well. The Lord gave me some new ideas to make learning English exciting, which included using learning games from the internet, reading poems and tongue twisters, reading about the true meaning of Christmas, playing matching games online, and finally a little device I recently discovered on my computer: Speech Recognition (using the voice to operate the computer). I used the speech recognition program with the eldest, who was thoroughly captivated for a good 45 minutes. It was a great learning tool because in order to operate it, one must articulate their words very well. She had to practice pronoucing her words VERY clearly. Occasionally I had to give the command so that we could move on, and since I'm also still learning how to use it, our time wasn't without its difficulties in trying to figure it out, but it was fun! Now, I think I'm going to have to shut my computer down if I am out of the house, or I'll have someone trying to voice activate it! Grin... Oh well, it was a great learning tool.

While the olders girls were doing their homework and studying for tests, Helena and I took a walk! It was a nice evening, so we walked around window shopping (since we are right smack dab in the middle of the city), and stopped at the park as well. We had quite a time. Helena is quite the gymnast/monkey! Reminds me of when I was in gradeschool before moving overseas...Good times! I am slowly learning how to get the girls to do what I want, rather than simply allow them to make the decisions as though they are the adult. Maybe I'm just getting more comfortable and therefore braver. Who knows, but I really appreciate all the prayers on this matter...

So, reaching home I realized that I would have to come up with something healthy to eat for dinner since there were no leftovers needing eaten and we'd already had sandwiches the night before... So, racking my brain for something that was both easily accomplished and available, as well as healthy, I wondered around the kitchen for probably a good 30 minutes.. Grin...yes, my Mom always told me I needed to learn how to come up with meals. Now I realize that it is simply not that easy to come up with new things to eat each day so that you aren't having the same meal three times a week. Grin. I looked through my recipes, flipped through my brain for something that I had all the ingredients for, and searched the cabinets & refridgerator for any ideas. I finally decided on french toast (relatively healthy since there isn't any syrup and I didn't figure their Mom would really want them eating it if I made it -so I didn't make any), then began to add a small salad of tomatoes, cuccumber, avocado, & red peppers. Then a bowl with fruit, and finally some yogurt. By the time we sat down to eat, there was plenty and they had eaten relatively healthy. PTL for His help once again!

Well, going to try to get some sleep tonight. My feather comforter is rather warm and I have been waking up sweating nearly every night that I have been here.. Oh poor me huh? grin... a feather comforter and I'm fussing about being hot! PTL for such a comfortable bed and blanket. I'll remedy being hot somehow.. God's blessing to you all...

Walking Companion...

Here is finally a picture of Irene (Mom) and the youngest girl (Helena) when we went to meet Helena's friends! She is a very loving mother!

This little guy (the pigeon) was one of my more appreciated walking companions today!

These two are obviously me..but this was when I was in the park! Before I met up with the strange man who liked my smile.

Day : One Full Week

Sunday!! This is the mark of one week successfully completed! WoW!!! So, a bit about my day! It was quite eventful really; walks, finding the church, kissing, green food coloring, prawns, and more.... yeah, yeah, I know...just read on and there'll be more detail.

So, I slept very late (especially late for me) because for some reason I did not sleep well or quickly last night. Anyway, enough of that. I decided this morning that I would get up and go out for the day leisurely walking around the city, find where the church here in town is located so that I will have no trouble finding it next Sunday, enjoying the sites, etc... I was hoping it would be a bit dryer today so I could sit outside and read my book or do my Spanish homework, but as it was not, I simply walked around taking pictures and taking everything in. I started out looking for the church. After about an hour, I found it! Looking at the map, I discovered that it was not so very far from where I lived, maybe a 15 minute walk. PTL!!! So from there, I decided to find my way back to the "Alameda", which is a large beautiful park here in Santiago. I had walked through a very small portion of it my first night in town with Irene', but hadn't seen much. So, I walked through and took lots of pictures. Some of which you are looking at along with this note. The park has a lot of green shrubs, a few fountains, a nice view from one side, and a small cathedral/church in the center (which interestingly enough I didn't make it up to). While walking through this lovely park, a gentleman (or maybe not such a gentleman) walked up noticing that I was taking pictures (which fact probably pegged me as a foreigner). He began to talk to me and then introduced himself, which I guess in his mind gave him the right to kiss both of my cheeks... Laugh! Okay, so no big deal, it is customary here... This man, I think his name was Raul or something, started walking with me. From what I gathered, he was working in the tourism business, though his English was not so great! Finally, I asked him where the bus stop was and he began to point me in the right direction. I was thrilled because it seemed as though he was leaving me now...only to have him pull me forward for yet another kiss on both of my cheeks to say goodbye...maybe this is also customary, but it was too much in my opinion and I was very grateful to part ways with him...YUCK! Yes, now you may all laugh! No, I did not get his picture for you! Moving on, I pretended to head in the direction of the bus station until he was out of sight and then headed back into the park to take pictures of the view that I had seen while walking with this man, but not able to stop and actually look at. As I was walking around a bit more, this same man came walking down the path. I quickly made my exit on a side path, with him calling out "Ciao" to my back...I ignored him hoping he would not follow. He watched me for a bit, but did not follow thankfully. If he had, I'm sure I would have run!! Haha!

Well, now that I have made my way away from the park with its strangers, I headed towards the Cathedral and the "Old City". Santiago is divided between the newer, modern part of the city and the old city... The old city is made up of towering older, British or European style buildings, with ornate design in the architecture, as well as older housing. It has narrow, cobblestone roads that split into more roads, and then randomly open up into plazas (just an open area)... I made my way through the old city, amazingly not thinking too much about getting lost. I have begun to get my sense of direction here! PTL!!! The streets are lined with many different kinds of shops, bakeries, cafes, bars, and restaurants. I would say that this is where the majority of the night life goes on. As I walked, I passed small hat shops, chocolatiers (fancier chocolate shops), jewelry shops, as well as the typical tourist gadgets shops (shops that carry momentos of the area for the tourists to buy). I made my way into one chocolate shop browsing the various chocolates in all shapes and sizes, the croissants with chocolate filling, the sandwiches (which are much smaller and fancier than a sandwich in the US), and the very well decorated cakes. Boy was I tempted to get something! I decided to wait this time. I'm not really sure what I'm waiting on, but I wait nonetheless...grin...I figure some time I'll be out with some friends and they'll want to get something to eat and then I'll start trying the different chocolates and pastries....ahhhhhh

So, on my way I went...it's drizzling outside, but not affecting my mood whatsoever... I've been out for about 2 hours now and it is nearly 4:30pm...I guess I'll head back and see what is going on in the Doval household. There, they had saved me some lunch (bless their hearts)...I wasn't planning on eating lunch, but because they made a point of telling me it was saved for me, I went ahead and ate up....smile... Along with a nice hot cup of coffee. The coffee is good here...PTL!!!

An answer to our prayers. I have been looking for a church here to fellowship with, and a few of you have given me some people to contact. Well, over the last few days I have been in contact with a few different people who were able to give me directions to a church here in Santiago as well as one that is just outside the city about 21 miles (reachable by bus)... Well, though I found the church here in Santiago today, I have also been in contact with the pastor and his wife of the church in a place called Noia. They have invited me to come there and join them if I'd like (they are American). Their church, similar to my own church in Springfield, has lunch together on Sundays...YEAH!!! Today, the pastor's wife contacted me telling me of the various activities that will be taking place this next week and that I am welcome to come. On Saturday of this next week, they are having what she called an outreach party, serving Galego (Galicia is the region that I am in) foods, with music, traditional dress, etc... I am hoping to be able to attend that and the Sunday service! It is nice to be in touch with other believers in this area. I am looking forward to meeting the church family. What a blessing from the Lord!

That's pretty much my day in its entirety other than the walk to the campus so Helena could meet with some friends for a bit to play & dinner....oh wait...dinner, that's another atory, though short.

The two oldest girls decided it would be funny to pour various colors of food coloring into the pasta that was on the stove ready for dinner... By the time dinner came around, Momma was none too happy to see that the pasta was no longer egg noodle-yellow, but rather red, blue, green, and bright yellow. We did not have pasta for dinner...No, out came the sandwich meats, cheeses, leftover pita, and a special cheese/quince sauce dessert. Smile...not that I minded too much. The sandwich meats and cheese are fantastic here, and eaten with a bit of bread from Irene's brother's bakery....yummmmy! I was perfectly satisfied!

Well, my adventures continue....just because my life seems so exciting right now does not mean that I do not want to hear about yours...please tell me what's going on with you. I hear Missouri & Oklahoma are getting yucky, icy weather...any snow there yet? It doesn't snow here (I already miss the beauty of snow, but oh well), only lovely rain, mist, and cool weather (normally not even cold enough to have to wear gloves). Until later. Ciao :)

Day 6

Besides being a rather uneventful day, I have learned yet more things today! grin... something of an ironic or oximoronic statement huh? To rephrase my statement, today was a stay at home day mostly, with no major new happenings.

Beginning with a good, hot shower, the day got off to a very good start! The girls slept late, until 9:30ish, so while they were still waking, I prepared a fruit salad to eat with b-fast. Then, enjoyed an after b-fast chat with Irene over my 2nd cup of coffee. She really enjoys sitting and talking with me over coffee. Or so it would seem since it has become a daily habit. She sat and told me about her family and life, education in Spain (discussing mostly entrance exams to college in this particular subject), how things were when she was still young, and more. It was interesting to hear her stories. Many times when I sitting with her, listening to her stories, as she struggles with her English (though she does quite well), I feel as though the Lord is teaching me something. Whether patience, learning to communicate outside my comfort zone (though I thought I'd learned that already), or something more, I do not know, but He gives me such a peace and grace to just listen. PTL!!! I am truely blessed! Between English, German, Spanish, and my throwing in bits and pieces of Hindi, we all communicate quite well in this house for which I am very thankful!

The day proceeded on with English lessons. Because today was Saturday, the lesson was merely playing Hangman on a chalk board with the older girls & memory with the youngest. The first game require that they spell words correctly and use good grammar. The second with the younger daughter, requires that she make a sentence for each match she finds and that she knows the name of the picture! They seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. Normally the girls have skating lessons on Saturdays, but today their lesson was canceled for one reason of another, so they were home most of the day.

The father who does not live here, comes to visit on Saturdays, so he arrived before lunch and spent some time with the girls. While they were all occupied, I swept the house and began lunch preparations. Irene left me with instructions to make a "pita". This consisted of a form of filo dough rolled out and layed in the bottom of a baking dish. On top of that, I put a filling that is made up of leek, spinach, & other optional veggies fried in olive oil. Over the filling I was told to sprinkle feta cheese (yum). And finally, another later of filo dough on top. Roll the sides to make keep the filling inside while baking and into the oven. After I had completed this task, I decided to make an apple pie (since the oven was already on and hot)...so, because we have a lot of apples right now, I set out peeling & slicing apples. I had everything ready for apple pie, when I was joined by the rest of the family, who were very excited and all began to help me... Smile... I pretty much had to back out just a bit and show them how to finish it! The oldest daughter, Celia, seems to really like cooking or at least baking (kind of like me I guess). I suppose that is another way to encourage relationship with her. PTL!!!

Lunch followed and was delicious...If you get a chance, try making the "pita". It's delicious! We ate it along with some soup that Irene's Mother had prepared and sent with the girls' father from the village. I had also made some Wassal with Irene' the night before, which they really loved. I am slowly learning the things they enjoy and how to prepare things their way! Hopefully, when I leave her I will also know how to cook Spanish style (though lunch was a Greek dish).

Well, yet another lesson learned, the pie turned out a bit crispy on top due to the oven. I have now learned how to use the oven here. Smile... Irene's oven gives direct heat from a coil in the top of the oven, and only indirect heat to the bottom of the oven. Now I know to put the heat all on the bottom and move the rack down a notch or two. grin... Cooking in another country is ALWAYS an learning experience/adventure! Praise the Lord, the pie still turned out well (though crispy) and was enjoyed greatly by all. We sat down to an afternoon snakc of pie at 5:30 together! Should have taken a picture of my crispy pie..grin...but thankfully I didn't! bigger grin!

Well, as the evening progressed, I decided I needed a walk! I wanted to get out a bit and gt some exercise! So, offering to stop at the store and pick up some milk, as well as take someone with me, I thought I would soon be on my way... What followed was not so exciting! Grin... To keep it short and sweet, but a matter of prayer, the two older children (Celia & Irene') do not get along very well. They both wanted to go walking with me, but one didn't want to go with the other! I ended up with Irene', who somehow made it my fault and decided to be angry with me as well. Though I got a walk, it was a challenge to my patience and more. grin... Please continue to keep these children in your prayers. That I can be a light to them, showing them Christ's love. There have already been a few times that I would like to spank a child. Smile... In just this experience alone, I realize that reasoning with children as though they were adults is SO NOT GOOD FOR THEM. When this is done, they have a tendency to lack respect for their elders, they want to be in control, and think of themselves as much older than they are. This is some of what I have come face to face with. It is a huge challenge since I am so used to children who are taught according to Biblical standards (even if they are not from a Christian family normally). Needless to say, the walk was long and I was mentally exhausted upon reaching home. God's ever-present hand and help still amazes me in all this! After resting a few moments and praying, I was able to have a great rest of the evening, playing games with Irene', visiting with my family over Skype (online telephone/chat service), and enjoying a nice simple dinner (at 10:30pm).

I appreciate you all who keep in touch with me.. It is a taste of home to recieve a note or email from you all! It is nice to speak in English, and hear it in return though it is only through an electronic means. I don't have to be so careful as to how I say things so that you will understand. God's blessing to you all...

Day 6

This day has proceeded quite well. After my rather short and interrupted nap, I enjoyed a lunch of fresh tomato soup (fresh tomatoes that have been cooked for a long time with spices) with some fabulous bread, followed with baked fish (two whole fish - head to tail). All was delicious. Then, after a cup of coffee, we were off to drop the girls at various lessons. Yes, they have more lessons on Friday afternoons that include swimming, tennis, and ballet. After leaving the girls at their lessons, Irene and I went to a place where she could feel comfortable showing me how to drive her car. Thankfully, I have had some practice driving a manual car (thanks to Mom, sister, and cousin - who taught me) and it was not a problem. I drove back to pick up the girls, and then went on home! I am very thankful that the steering wheel in Spanish cars is on the same side as in America. PTL!!! Grin!! Driving in Santiago is quite similar to driving in the USA, with only a few exceptions. They have road rules, speed limits, signs, & stop lights that people follow. The roads are lined, but whether they stay in their lane or not is another issue, though not a big deal (still not as bad as NYC near the La Guardia airport during rush hour - Grin). After a bit more practice and learning how to find my way around the city by car, I'll be a regular taxi-au pair (feel like a soccer Mom taking her kids around to MANY different activities *G*).

So, I have talked much of my meeting with a girl named Isabel today, so I will do my best to fill you in a bit more now with the details. I was met at 8PM (I guess she was fashionably late - 1 hour), and we went out onto the town. In Spain, night life is very busy and goes till late into the next morning. Anyway, Isabel had some shopping she needed to do for a wedding tomorrow and then we were off to meet a friend of hers who just happens to be an American from Ohio. While waiting for him to show up, we walked around the "old city" of Santiago, around the Cathedral (which is a huge tourist attraction here), through narrow streets lined with shops, bars, & restaurants, and then waited some more.. The American never showed up. He had forgotten he was supposed to meet her. In the meantime, I was thoroughly enjoying being out, seeing the city with someone who knows where they are going. There are many chocolate shops and coffee bars. Also, a lot of the shops have torte de Santiago & other delicacies that are special to this area. If you go in as a foreigner, they will give you samples of all their goods. So, tonight I tried the torte de Santiago (which tasted much like a butter cake of sorts with powdered sugar on top - very delicious), followed by almonds in white chocolate and dark chocolate. Mouth wateringly delicious! I was told that I needed to come back tomorrow to sample the cheeses and other things they have! Smile... As we were leaving, Isabel told me that most of the shops lining this area had these cakes and things to sample. She said I could go into any store and sample it because I was foreign to the area! Smile... I can just picture it now, Headlines: "Girl gains weight from sampling local foods!" Grin... Though I may not get samples from too many stores, I have every intention of purchasing some of the chocolates or torte to bring home with me... or at least to eat at my own leisure! Grin...

Well, back at home, I enjoyed a simple dinner of potato stuff egg omelets, green olives, and cooked mushrooms. Mmmm... Irene is out for the evening now, the girls are all tucked into bed, and I'm "on duty"! Smile... Please continue to pray for me to have wisdom with the girls. How do you console a crying child, or discipline another child when you don't know what they're saying to you because their so upset or angry they are struggling to speak in English? I want wisdom in how to show kindness without bowing to their every whim or manipulation! This is good for me to learn, but seems more difficult in these circumstances. Maybe this is what all mothers face daily. If so, then I am in good training for being a patient Momma someday! Smile.. Finally, pray for the salvation of this family.. I want to be a light to them. God bless you all.. Ciao

Day 5

My second Spanish lesson went very well. I had actually succeeded in doing most of the homework she had given me correctly. Thank the Lord (& Mom) for knowing English grammar because it sure makes learning another language a bit more feasible & simple! I have finally succeeded in being able to get to my language class with little to no help from my handy map. PTL!!! What I haven't succeeded in is blending in with a crowd. As I walked back from my Spanish lesson, I was thinking about blending into the crowd. It is quite a change for me to be living in a country where I actually don't stand out a mile simply by the color of my skin. So, as I walked, I inadvertently watched people's eyes to see if they looked at me like I was a foreigner or just another person using the same sidewalk. Most paid me little or no attention, but evidentally I still don't completely blend into the crowd even when I'm not saying a word. Smile... This made me smile to think about and smiling only draws more attention. Grin... I then realized that I don't blend in anywhere very well, which thought brought a grin to my face. So, anyway, that was my interesting mental conversation with myself this morning. Grin

I am starting to feel more relaxed here already. Now that I at least know my way to where I have Spanish lessons, I feel much more confident out on the streets. Now, I wish I could show some of you guys around....if only you were here to see!

This morning was misty and cold, though not as cold as I hear MO & OK are right now. Santiago reminds me quite a bit of Shimla, India in the rainy season. Wet, cool, misty, the clouds engulfing the tops of buildings, then the sun suddenly shining through at another place. It is beautiful! The streets are cobblestone on the smaller back streets, but paved elsewhere. Some buildings have that old, crumbling look, while others stand tall & new. Some places have moss, plants, or flowers growing from the sides of buildings, and others simply have a flower box under the windows. The quaint & natural combined with the new, modern look.

Today is my day "off". I am free until 9:00 this evening, at which time I am supposed to be at home for the kids (though they will soon after be in bed). This allows Irene, their Momma, to get out a bit I suppose. Anyway, for my day "off", I am hoping to get out a see a bit more of the city. Right now, after late nights, early mornings, and lots of learning, I'm seriously considering a nap. Then maybe explore this city a bit. This evening, I am meeting with a girl named Isabel. I think I've mentioned her already, so I'll tell you more once I meet her.

An answer to prayer maybe.. I have been searching for a church here in Santiago. A couple friends of mine have given me some contacts they have for pastors in Spain. I have emailed a couple and recently received a reply saying there is a Spanish church here in Santiago and another church about 21mi outside of Santiago (I believe the 2nd is pastored by an American). The first would be walking distance most likely, but the second can be reached by bus. For this week I will simply wait and see what this family does on Sundays, as I'm still learning their schedule. Hopefully, then I will be able to attend a service somewhere soon. Please continue to keep this in your prayers. For me, it is one thing to find the church and entirely another to go alone! That may sound strange to some who are reading this because they only know me as an outgoing, social girl. I like to do things with people and seem to get more outgoing when I have someone I know with me. I will be fine, but it is once again taking a step outside of what I am comfortable with and used to.

Well, my bed calls... Smile... God's blessings on you all. I really appreciate all the communication from you all. Until later... Haste Luega!

Day 4

Life is interesting! Yesterday ended on quite a lovely note...the two youngest girls went to stay with a friend for the evening, and with Momma out unti late, it was just the oldest daughter and myself. I felt like the Lord had just opened a door for me to get to know her. I've been praying & thinking about how to do that. Well, after she had finished up her final language class (English, German, & French) for the day (the other girls had their classes before her), I asked her if she would join me on a stroll through the town, window shopping. I was finally able to connect with her doing something she quite enjoyed! We walked along arm in arm enjoying the sights & sounds of the night life here, which is quite a big deal for Spaniards! We peered through the windows enjoying the goods for sell inside. We drooled over the pastries in the bakery windows and hurried on down the street (can you get fat just looking at baked goods of chocolate, fruits, and more? *G*). I enjoyed getting an opportunity to see what is available here at what cost. Things are more expensive here than in the USA for the most part. I have found a few stores that are a bit cheaper. The clothing styles are great for the most part. I could really enjoy some of their styles here.. Smile.. There are some very expensive, fancy stores with perfumes, clothing, home decorations, and more just as in the USA... There are also small supermarkets, small & large bookstores (yeah), smaller grocery stores that provide only certain types of groceries (like a fish store where you can purchase & have fish freshly gutted and cut to take home and cook). The streets are narrow, with sidewalks on either side normally. Many people walk wherever they need to go, which I rather like. If it were like the US here, I would be limited as to where I could roam (having no car). Anyway, back to my evening. Celia (the oldest daughter) and I returned to the flat (apartment-type homes) to prepare pancakes for our dinner. Of course, we had to include various ingredients in our pancakes such as shaved chocolate & walnuts. They turned out quite well and were pleasing to the palate. Smile...

Speaking of cars, I will be driving a manual toyota corolla that looks more like a small SUV than anything we would call a corolla.. This week has been spent just showing me the ropes (so to speak) and helping me learn where things are and what the schedule is, but soon it will be my responsibility to take the girls to their voice classes, skating classes, etc... that are not held in the home. Speaking of classes, these girls are kept quite busy with learning outside of their regular school. They have German, French, English, & music classes at home. Then they have skating & voice classes elsewhere in town. There is a possibility that they will soon start a dance class as well. I can't imagine having done all that at 8, 11, & 13...I was took busy playing outside with the neighbor kids or traveling around the world I guess.. Smile.. At least they are learning and not idle all the time so that they have time to be bored! Smile...

Today was a good day. The girls had no school due to the holiday of Dec. 6th having something to do with St. Nicholas! This morning the girls awoke to bags of candy, fruit, & nuts which they proceeded to snack on throughout the day! Because they had no school, I was able to sleep in for the first time since I've been here. I needed it. I think the late nights and the change in time may have finally caught up with me a bit yesterday & this morning. It was great to get about 8 hours of sleep finally! I spent my morning (after I finally got up) working on Spanish homework (or pretending to), catching up on emails and trying to get a slideshow on this blog page.. so far unsuccessfully..grrr! Smile.. In the afternoon, I played games with the girls teaching them new words in English, teaching them how to make paper snowflakes (which are now hanging on their Christmas tree), and painting seashells for an Advent calendar their Momma wants them to make. In the evening I took the youngest to play with some friends in a nearby college campus park area! Overall, it has been a good day.

The best part of my day came after 9:00 this evening. The middle daughter has been in a bad mood most of today and was very difficult to work with this afternoon and evening. It was by God's grace (literally) that I was able to hold my frustration in and continue to show her love, kindness, and patience. I simply wanted to tell her how it was going to be! Thankfully, the Lord really helped me! Now I think I have a small glimpse of what mothers face regularly. The only difference is this is not my child and she does not have Christian upbringing or influence. Anyway, sometime after dinner, I was in the kitchen heating some water for a bit of tea to keep me warm while I sit and write in this blog, when Irene' (the middle daughter) came walking in. After a making simple conversation in a normal tone of voice and starting a sentence a couple of times, she was finally able to say what she'd come in to say and that was an apology for her attitude earlier in the day! WoW!!! What a blessing, worth all the grace that was necessary to keep my mouth kind earlier! PTL!!! The Lord is good!

My Spanish homework is still not finished and calling for me to put a bit more effort into doing it well tonight, so I will close for now with "Hasta Manyana"!