Skiing in Spain!!

I was invited to join Ana, our housecleaner, to show her new house resident, Claudia, who's from Austria, around part of Santiago on Friday. Since Fridays are my day off I took her up on this opportunity to meet Claudia and hang out a bit with them. We showed Claudia a bit of the city and where to find things... We went to one shopping complex that has a McDonald's and Ana decided she was going to have an ice cream and proceeded to buy me one also... So, I got to enjoy a taste of home, in the form of a McD's ice cream cone of all things!! Smile.. It actually tasted quite good. I've only really had ice cream one other time since being here and it was only okay, nothing outstanding (not like the ice cream you get in Italy!)...anyway, we shopped inside the shopping center a bit. The sales are still going on in almost all the shops, so you can find some pretty good deals. Claudia, unaccustomed to the cold houses, purchased a jacket...she said that in Austria they have their homes heated all day long...here they only have the heaters turned on for a few hours a day (depending on the decision of the tennants of the building you're living it -- it's based on a vote I believe). Anyway, I had a good time. Claudia speaks only a little Spanish, but she's fluent in English and German, so we can communicate quite well.

To back up a bit...I was walking with just Ana from my house to hers after she got off work...we were having a good time visiting when she asked me about living in India...I told her a bit about it and she asked me if I had a boyfriend there...Of course, I answered honestly that I don't have one there or anywhere else for that matter. She was rather confused because of a picture of my previous flight instructor and her husband on my bulletin board.. Somehow she had mistook my friend for me and thought my friend's husband was some boyfriend of mine.. HAHA!! Good laugh over that one...the next question though threw me off being funny, sad, and awkward all at the same time... She asked me if I preferred boys or girls...!! I caught on rather quickly to her meaning and made sure she knew with all certainty that I was not a lesbian and definitely preferred guys...Haha!! How awkward! Anyway, not being able to explain to her my reasons for waiting for my husband due to my limited Spanish, I simply told her I had too many other things to do right now before I had time for a boyfriend.. Not completely true, since waiting on God is the real reason, but how do you explain that in limited Spanish and then try to answer the questions to follow without causing total confusion!? Haha...Wish I could have shared with her a bit more, but even if I'd known more Spanish, it's likely it still would have been confusing and strange to her (as it is to some in the US as well)...Here in Spain it seems that everyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend somewhere in the world even if they don't see them often. I am totally confused by this because it is common for them not to marry until they are nearly 30 or older...so with no intentions of marriage for a long time, they date. I am saddened by the number of people living together unmarried...and don't understand it. I would say it is even more common here than in the US (or at least the part I grew up in)...I could be wrong.. Anyway, this is just to show you a bit of the way of thinking here...After I had explained that I was not a lesbian, she simply replied that it happens these days and so it was possible...That is SAD!
On to less of a sad, awkward, yet funny subject..While I was out with these ladies, I got a phone call inviting me to go skiing the following day with some of the young people from the Noia church. So, after making arrangements and getting permission to take off Saturday morning from work...I was rather excited and anticipating the second ski trip of my life! Smile...yep, this was only the second time I've ever skiied. It was a good time. We drove 2 1/2 hours up and I was still looking for sufficient snow for skiing by the time we reached the ski resort! Laugh! With relatively little cold or wet weather, I guess there has been relatively little snow this year up north. None-the-less, there did end up being more beyond the main building than I had expected, and even more once we got to the top of the slopes. The also had snow-makers by the slopes. So, after a picnic lunch, we headed up the mountain on the lift to begin skiing. Some of those with our group had never seen snow and others had never skiied before, so we were given a 30-45 minute lesson on skiing, starting, stopping, using the lift, turning, etc...good refresher for me since it's been 6 years since the first and last time I have skiied...smile.. For the next couple of hours, we skiied!! We all began on the bunny slopes. I ended up falling once trying to help the youngest of our group get off the lift...she struggled with that and staying up most of the day...so we were helping her quite a bit in the beginning!! I finally ventured over to the other slopes and started down with some of the boys in our group. They were probably a bit surprised I was over there, but oh well...Down we went!! I got about halfway down and got to going faster than I was able to control well...so I initiated a fall in order to stop and regain better control, as opposed to a hard and possibly painful fall later.. Good times though even with snow up my sleeves.. I finally made it to the bottom of this slope where the snow was melting so things were a bit muddy and messy...I ended up in the mud, but it was fun and I was unharmed! The finger held up through the day, though with a little pain and bleeding...but it was worth it! Smile. Once we made our way down to the car, I was full of adrenaline, so I was wide awake for most of the ride home...grin!! Ruthie Towner had to sit and listen to me as I entertained her...then we managed to sneek a few pictures of the other sleeping occupants of the van! grin...fun times! So, now I'm sore, but happy! PTL for such an opportunity & experience!
Sunday, I was off to church in the morning. I'm rather enjoying the church here in Santiago. The ladies meet an hour before the service starts to study the Bible together. One of the ladies is a teacher and does an excellent job of encouraging the ladies to memorize Bible verses weekly as well as memorize the books of the Bible so that they are able to locate them more easily when they need them... Seems to me that she's doing an excellent job of equipping the ladies to be ready with the Word... PTL!!! It's encouraging to me as well. I stumble through the books of the OT in Spanish (after listening to them say them multiple times), say the memory verses in English (not sure I'm ready to attempt them in Spanish yet). I'm thankful for this motivation to memorize scripture. This has been something I've been attempting to do on my own, but lacking motivation for. I feel the need to use this time to put to memory scripture for future use when I'm in the Coast Guard and possibly have little time to sit and read my Bible (especially toward the beginning when in training)...at least I can meditate on it while I'm doing other things if I have it memorized! So, PTL!!! You can pray that my memory will not fail me now!! haha
After the ladies' Bible study, we had a good time of worship followed by a service that I understood not at all.. Oh well, at least I had my Bible and could follow the verses and read my Bible for myself and meditate on it! Smile.. I did learn while I was sitting there and was encouraged...the long sermon went by rather quickly. I rather enjoyed the fellowship of just being with other believers..it was so encouraging!! PTL!!! I did discover that one of the girls in the church has some mornings free (which is about the only time that I'm really free), so she and I are going to get together some morning soon and have a chat...probably in some bar over a coffee or chocolate. I'm looking forward to this.

A matter of prayer...I've discovered recently that the church is my refuge and a place for me to get away from work...that's not a bad thing expect that I fail to invite the people I work with to join me...because then I would feel responsible to make sure they were comfortable and then they would also be in my place of refuge making it no longer a place of escape for me. This is not good, because inviting them to see more of this side of my life is important. I also realize that some of this problem also rests in the fear of man and being concerned with what they will think of me if they don't like the church (if they were to actually visit it with me)...So, please pray for me as I seek the Lord for wisdom and a change of heart on this one! It's important I believe. On a brighter note, my Greek friend, Sofia wants to join me one weekend to church. I'm hoping she will come to the youth meeting (a.k.a: young adults meeting) with me...I think she will find it very interesting since she is quite curious about a church where you can wear pants if you want to and that is not very traditional. Smile... I am thankful that the young people and the people of the church are really very friendly and welcoming...Please keep Sofia's joining me a matter of prayer as well..Thanks for all your prayers...

Sunday evening, I joined Irene with the two younger girls on their regular Sunday evening walk..I've never joined them before because I was either doing something else or was appreciative of the quiet home for a few hours while they were out. But this Sunday, I was in the mood to get out and stretch my legs a bit...so I join them. They were excited that I was going along this time.. So, off we went... I had a good time visiting with Irene as we walked along.. They took me to a central area of the old part of town...I didn't realize that on Sunday evenings this is where a number of families gather to let their kids play while the adults socialize. This culture is a very social culture and people are often meeting somewhere or congregating in places for the adults to visit while the kids play. It is rather interesting and enjoyable really.. So, the place where we went is a flat open area where in the summers concerts are held. I'm hoping that there will be a concert there before I leave in June, because it would be lovely to hear and witness. Good times though!! Played ball a bit with the girls, but mostly watched them play with some other girlfriends...I was trying to figure out some of their games that I wasn't at all familiar with.. Smile...

So, the near future has a Carnival or festival on the horizon...Starting Friday for the children, and I'm not sure when for the adults.. The children will be wearing costumes to school on Friday. Celia is going as a purple fairy, Irene is going as a Japanese, and Helena is going as a little red demon.. They've been preparing their costumes and trying them on since the weekend.. They are pretty excited. I took the two youngest girls shopping this evening for random things to add the final details to their costum. Helena bought a blackish-reddish-pinkish wig & Irene bought an Oriental paper umbrella and a red rose to put in her hair. Fun times... I've been told that I can look through some of the costumes and pick one out to wear as well...we shall see what I end up as the day of Carnival! I have yet to be shown the costumes... Grin...I'll be sure to get pictures though! Because of the carnival the girls have a few days off of school the first par tof next week, so I guess we will be going to visit the family in Lugo again...That should be fun! I actually really liked the city of Lugo and rather look forward to a change of scenery.

I beleive that catches you up to the most recent happenings in the life of Jonna in the land of Spain in the province of Galicia! So...watch for the next post, which will most likely have to do with the carnival events unless something major exciting happens between now and then! :)

Life going easy...

Well, the infamous stitches (7 to be more exact now) will be removed tomorrow. Yippeee! I'm so ready to have these things out of my finger and have this finger back to full working order. Smile...I'm sure it will still be a bit longer, but oh well!! Thanks for all the prayers. I'm hoping and expecting a good word from the Dr. tomorrow.

An interesting fact that I've slowly been realizing lately...some of you know that it is the custom here to greet a friend with a kiss to each cheek upon first meeting and upon leaving at the end...I'm slowly getting used to this and am able to participate in this part of the culture in a more relaxed fashion....though with guys and people I don't know well it is still rather uncomfortable to me..Grin. Anyway, so I have discovered recently that the Spaniards have figured out how to include this part of their culture in their written conversations as well (such as texts, emails, letters, etc.). It took me a bit (though I'm not sure why) to figure out why everyone was ending their messages to me with "besos", "bss", or "kisses"... ("besos" is Spanish for "kisses), but they are incorporating the two kisses of greeting & fairwell in their written missives.. Thought this was interesting and I'd share my little discovery.. grin! Another little bit to add to this...Greeks begin their greeting kisses on the left cheek, while Spaniards begin on the right...this made for an awkward and very funny confusion when saying goodbye to a Greek friend of mine the other day...haha...I'll leave the rest to your imaginations!

Well, the family here continues to do well...thankfully all are back to full health again. Thanks for the prayers. I'm continuing to ask the Lord to give me new ideas for teaching the girls English in a way that is interesting and would appreciate your prayers and any ideas you may have on this subject.. Smile.

Also a matter of prayer: my younger girls have been rather irritable lately. I'm not sure the cause of their attitudes, but have been praying much for them and for my reaction. As I've become more comfortable with living here, I've also felt like relaxing in the way I react to the girls' attitudes, words, anger, etc... It is my prayer that I will continue to be patient and loving no matter what they say or do. It is very frustrating at times when I am treated with little to no respect, as though my being the adult doesn't matter. I continue to remind myself that these girls don't have Christ in their lives and weren't raised with mind set as I was. I want to be an example for these girls... They really are precious! I love the moments when we're snuggled on the bed for me to read to the youngest before bed, or when one of them is enjoying the bubble bath I managed to create for them without bubblebath soap, or when I hear the girls all laughing together playing something...there are also the times when they are so excited and attentive in their English class, or they're giggling over a game of "I Spy" while drinking a chocolate in some cafe...there are so many other wonderful moments... The Lord is teaching me much through my time with these girls, for example holding my tongue (grin). It has been encouraging to know that I must be having some impact on them through small comments they make or sentences they use about me when we're playing hangman together. Thank you for all your prayers for this family...continue to join with me in prayer for their salvation!

For those of you in Missouri and probably most of the surrounding area...stay warm! I hear that it's amazingly freezing cold there right now...my source is the radio station 88.3 out of Springfield (gotta love internet and all the possibilities it provides). Enjoy the upcoming sunny Saturday! God bless you all...

Daniel 11:32

Just wanted to share an encouraging scripture with you all...

Daniel 11:32 (the last part) ....the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

I was very encouraged and excited when I read this today! The Lord has been reminding me not to get caught up in the doing of good works, serving Him, ministry, and especially not to be caught up in the things of this world; but rather be caught up in seeking Him, getting to know Him....all the rest (minus the world part) comes after this and comes naturally when we are following Him closely.

Be encouraged and be blessed today!!

Bandage off & Greek Friends

So, after a very painful night with little sleep, I finally removed the bandage from my finger today to make sure that my finger wasn't green and rotting away...grin...though it looks rather ugly, a bit swollen, and purple...it seems to be healing well. PTL!!! Continue to pray for complete healing, full recovery of feeling in the finger (it's still numb towards the end of my finger), and quick healing! Thanks!! Oh and hope the picture doesn't cause any sick stomaches or gross you out too much...smile :)

Besides my finger, I am still having other wonderful experiences and meeting wonderful people. One of the best parts of my day today was meeting Sofia (my Greek friend) for coffee and a chat. She is such a bubbly person and we had a great time chatting... We talked about just anything and everything.. I mentioned wanting to go to Madrid sometime over a weekend just to see it...she said she wanted to as well and then decided that we'd just have to do it together. So, big chance I'll go to Madrid in the future with Sofia...my bubbly Greek friend...Grin.. Sounds fabulous to me since I'd rather travel with someone than alone.. Anyway, I was excited because I got an opportunity to share with her about the church here in town and the youth meetings. She was very curious. She comes from Orthodox and finds it boring and too traditionally stiff...hmmm...I think she will enjoy the worship and fellowship with the young people. She really wants to go with me! She's going to London for this weekend, but soon.. So, keep her in your prayers as well...hoping the Lord will be a light through me to her. Anyway, hoping to learn a bit of Greek from her while we're hanging out. Already learned that the Greeks start the greeting cheek kissing on the opposite cheek that the Spaniards start...funny lil thing! We began to kiss cheeks to say goodbye and ended up laughing because we got all mixed up between Spanish & Greek starting points of the traditional kissing of the cheeks.. Haha.. You'd have laughed too! Rather comical really...

Well, I am blessed and just wanted to share the highlights of my day with you all. Hope you enjoyed reading about it.. Have a blessed day in the Lord!!

Stitches & Bandages....

Wallah! My FINGER!!! OUCH!!!

Well, this has been an interesting day for me. I woke this morning with plans to clean my wounded finger and rebandage it after a shower...All was going as planned until I got to the unbandaging part...I'd had mental images of this part being a lot easier and less paniful..hmmm...where'd I go wrong? Grin...

So, tediously removing the bandage, I managed to finally slip it off the last bit while gritting my teeth. Now with the bandage off and looking at my wound, I began to clean it and it began to bleed again a bit. As I cleaned it and took a closer look, I decided that I wasn't so sure about how well I was able to properly care for this cut and decided maybe a doctor should take a look...so finding Irene, I showed her. When she first saw it, I was a bit concerned that she might have a weak stomach, but she was fine. So, off we headed to the small hospital down the road a ways. I've never been to the ER for myself...so I guess today made it my first time...grin....The doctors were very nice, though the cleaning process was a bit painful (grit the teeth, squeeze the sleeve of my jacket). They soon decided that stitches would be necessary and went about numbing my finger with shots in four places. PTL!!!! I couldn't feel a thing then!! So, a few minutes, an attempted joke *G*, and about 8 stitches later (I quit watching and counting after a while so I'm really not sure how many went in...just approximately), I was feeling great!! PTL for health insurance as a benefit of my job here...the service was free!! That was a blessing from the Lord!

Now, doing good...Not sure if I'd rather have the numb finger and a half again or the pain and use of my other half a finger...smile...Probably better that I can feel things than having it numb an hitting it against something to make things worse. Anyway...the pain is bareable praise the Lord, and I'm thankful to have things taken care of properly.

So, besides my finger, I'm feeling ever so much better. Thank you all for your prayers!!

Battle in the kitchen ends in dead & wounded: read on for details

One of the girls and I were finishing up the dinner dishes tonight, when she sat some glasses on the counter. Some of these afore mentioned glasses were bent on committing suicide so I grabbed at them, one in particular, to try to keep them from falling and somehow (haven't really figured out how yet)the one broke in my hand and sliced a thick, inch-long flap of skin from my righthand pointer finger. Yucky!! Anyway, not wanting to scare the girls, have anyone feeling bad, or create too much of a fuss, I grabbed a papertowel and quickly wrapped my finger..Then went for a bandaide..that's when I realized that maybe my largest bandaide wasn't really going to be enough. So I headed to the bathroom where thankfully they had some gauze and tape and antisceptic cream (at least I'm pretty sure that's what it said *G*)...Now, I couldn't do the bandaging myself, so I called Celia in..She's a pretty calm person normally, so without showing her the wound initially, I had her help me prep the bandage, then quickly wrap my finger tightly.. PTL that she didn't have a weak stomach because the papertowel was fairly bloody...Anyway...that's my adventure/battle story today. Maybe I'll get pictures when I redress the finger..grin... Guess I thought it noteworthy enough to share...

Okay, so let me backtrack a bit into the earlier part of the evening...we made pancakes for dinner some with hazelnuts, some with walnuts, some plain...and ate all with jam, butter, or whipped sweet cream...They were good and the girls enjoyed them.. I'm glad they enjoy such things since they are simple to make and easy to teach the girls how to do! PTL!!! Working on that teaching thing!! Woohoo!

So, feeling a bit better today, other than earlier this evening before dinner when I had such a sinus headache that I had to go to bed for a while. Finally relaxed and slept and now I'm feeling much better again. Hope to be back on my feet 100% again soon. Sure don't like feeling sick! Thanks for all the prayers! I think the girls are getting a bit stir-crazy being in the house all the time with sick people and not feeling the greatest themselves...It will be great when we can get them out a bit more...smile...

Well, since I've been in bed all week there hasn't been anything terribly exciting happening here. Hoping to go visit the youth group here in Santiago this weekend, but that will depend on how I feel come Saturday evening...Hoping and praying I'm better by then! So, with a bright weekend ahead...I'll update you on that after it happens...Chao

P.S. Thought the color red appropriate this time.. Grin...

Church in Santiago!

Me and the girls out for Chocolate:
We played "I Spy" in the restaurant! What Fun!!

So, I realize that this blog is due an update, so here goes. My only excuse is that I have been layed up in bed since Sunday sick with who knows what along with half of the household that I live with. It has been a quieter bunch around here with half the house sleeping the days away. The rest has been nice, but boy am I ready to be up and functioning like normal again. Smile...

So, PTL today after 2 & 1/2 days, I'm back on my feet, and feeling a lot better than I was. Still have a cough and some sinus stuff going on now, but the body aches, headaches, and fever are gone I believe. Anyway....enough of that droll, sad stuff... Glad to be through with all that!

So, this past weekend, I had a friend (Ruthie from Noia) visit for a bit of a shopping spree...since she didn't arrive until 5pm, we only got a few hours of shopping in, but we did manage to walk our legs (or at least mine) to the point of very sore. I walked to the bus station to meet her, which I've managed to get down to a 30 minute walk, then from there we found our way to a large shopping complex in which we found nothing of interest, so we took off walking toward home (which is in all reality a long walk), but I think we might have just taken the long way also...thanks to my exploring nature and sense of "as the crow flies" direction...Grin... No really, we just took whatever road looked good to us until we got to where I recognized where I was again...exploring new ways through the city, while going in the generally "right" direction --south. Grin... Needless to say, shopping or not, we had a great time. We did manage to get some shopping done as I mentioned earlier, and I felt were rather productive with our time.!

Sunday morning, we rolled out of bed to make it to the 11am church service here in Santiago. This is the first time that I had been to the Santiago church, and I was more than thankful to have a friend along who 1) knew Spanish 2) knew some of the people & 3) knew English. Woohoo! I scored! So, through heavily blowing rain, we walked the 10 minutes to church with my sparse umbrella that just barely did the job to arrive only partially wet. Grin... I soon discovered that the first 45minutes was spent in a ladies Bible study together (which was enjoyable) and then we made our way to a larger room for the service. It was such a blessing to worship the Lord with a body of believers here in Santiago. We had a lovely time of worship, singing songs I knew, only they sang in Spanish...I just love that they put the words on an overhead projector so that I can follow along and sing in Spanish as well. After worship was a long sermon that I failed to follow that well, partly because I was too exhausted from the day before and felt a bit sick already. Anyway...

At the church I was introduced to a young lady who speaks some English, surprisingly with an excellent accent, though she can't always remember the words. I was also introduced to another young lady who got my cell number so that I could join their youth group in activities. I hope that I will be able to go some as they seem to have a lovely bunch of young people close to my age. I have discovered that "youth" here includes a much larger range of ages. Maybe to include almost anyone single. It was nice to begin meeting Christian young people here in town that I hope I can spend more time with, especially on weekends to avoid having to go out bar hopping again...grin...

After church, Ruthie & I had been invited to join a lady for lunch at her place. Bless her heart! She also invited one of the other young ladies who spoke some English, so I was able to visit with her a bit more, me practicing my Spanish and her practicing English. We had to hurry lunch a bit so that Ruthie could get on the 4pm bus home to be home before it got to late and dark. It was a lovely Sunday, though I felt yucky through most of it! I look forward to returning again to the church in Santiago.

Well, that pretty much gets you up to date on the happenings here. No majorly new adventures since I've barely seen more than the inside of my room for 2 1/2 days...blue, gotta love the color blue (my comforter).. I have been very thankful for the pictures of friends and family back home floating across my computer screen as I lay in bed between sleeping. I am thinking about you all and praying for you. I appreciate all your prayers. Even as I've been sick for a few days, the Lord has continued to teach me and it has ben a blessing. The word for today was from

2 Timothy 2:24-26 - "And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."

There is quite a bit in that, but the Lord pointed out to me my need to be able to teach! Having never considered myself much of a teacher, I was asking the Lord to teach me how this morning. I don't know if you ever feel a bit scared to ask the Lord to teach you something because it might mean more trials and pain, but I do occasionally.. Laugh! The Lord is so gracious though when He teaches and I am honored to be taught by Him.. So, setting fear aside of personal trials or pain, I know I can trust Him to grace me to learn what He will teach me.

So, that's my lil sermon I guess. I hope that it was encouraging in some way. I just felt like sharing it today for some reason. I feel that there is more in those few verses concerning the people I am living with. I continue to pray for their salvation. Also, please keep them in your prayer with me.

One more thing and I will close for now. The Lord has opened other doors to share Him with people that I haven't even met face to face but who are seeking Him and telling me about it through emails. Please pray for me to have wisdom and the words to say to share Jesus Christ with them! Thanks again...

Back to Lugo & then Home!

Back in Lugo, I spent Friday afternoon looking into shops on my own, checking my email in a WI-FI cafe and just enjoying myself for a few hours. Here, shops close between 2 and 4:30 or 5pm for the lunch break, more commonly known to us as the siesta time. Smile... So for an hour I sat and replied to some emails awaiting the re-opening of stores for the evening. There are a few stores here in Lugo that I had noticed and was interested in taking a closer look into. I have discovered that Lugo has good stuff for cheaper prices. Not sure why Santiago seems so much more expensive, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the cheaper prices. I looked in many shops, contemplated buying many things, saw many things I wanted to get for others...it is hard to find something “Spanish” to buy for friends in the US because there are so many things here that one can get at home. Oh well.. I did manage to find a couple small things, and had a good time!

Back at the houseI found the family gone for evening. I was free for the rest of the evening and rather enjoyed myself. I walked a bit more about the town, but soon returned home to enjoy my book and a little alone time! PTL!!! Noia was lovely, I love the family I work with, but occasionally I don't want to be with anyone..just alone!
Saturday was an exciting day! Here, they celebrate a holiday that most Americans have never heard of called “Reyes Maggos” (referring to the 3 wisemen or 3 kings that brought gifts to Jesus). It is mostly a holiday for the children. In preparation for this holiday, the children write a letter requesting whatever they want. I am not sure if there is a limit to what they can request or how it all works. I have been trying to learn details as things have proceeded, but am still rather in the dark as to what this holiday is all about. Anyway... Then the letter is “sent” to the Reyes Maggos and the gifts will be delivered to the homes on January 6th. Sounds much like Santa Claus to me. This evening was the beginning of the celebration of this holiday...The city gathered in the streets to watch a parade bearing men dressed as the three kings. It was quite interesting to stand and watch all of this...The parade wasn't long but it was good and the children enjoyed it getting much candy from the various floats. Then the city thronged to the final destination of the parade & where the three kings were delivered. Here the city mayor gave a speech and the three kings greeted the city people. Then, a LONG line formed for the children to receive bags of candy from the “three kings”. Quite an adventure really.. While we waited for the line to get shorter, the girls played in a nearby playground meeting up with a few friends there.

I rather enjoyed watching all the activities this Saturday night. It is sadly interesting to watch these people who do not know Christ as their Savior. Their lives are so different from how I was raised. I have noticed so much selfishness. At first I thought it was just the children, but realized in many ways it is also the adults. There is so much to learn here. I am challenged each day to live an example for these girls. It really won't matter what I say to them if I don't act and live what I say. More importantly, I am challenged to be humble. It is so easy to argue when someone is trying to argue with you, especially when it is a child and you know that you are right based on having more experience and knowledge than they. I catch myself complaining or whining to God about things and realize that is exactly what I don't want the girls to do with me. Though they may not be able to see or hear my complaints or whining, it doesn't change the fact that I am just as bad as they are when I am complaining to God. Though difficult, I love this challenge. I pray that I will learn the lessons the Lord is teaching me! Simply trying to change the way these girls have been raised is impossible, but I hope and pray that my actions will have some influence in their lives... PTL!!!

Sunday morning, the girls woke up to many gifts including the gifts requested in their letter and more. They were pretty excited... I did discover that not just the children received gifts though. Each adult had a few gifts from each other as well. They blessed me with a few gifts as well...I received a small platter that Irene's sister had decorated with a sunflower (one of my favorite flowers), some house slippers, and a couple pairs of socks. Bless their hearts! I had some gifts for the girls and their Mom, but had left them in Santiago not wanting to try to carry them with us and have them seen...so I gave them upon our return to Santiago. Anyway...the rest of Sunday the girls spent playing with their new toys including a PS2. While they were otherwise occupied, I enjoyed a book in my room and then began working on creating a video from my many pictures...You can see my first attempt at a video below! Hope that it loads well for you all and you enjoy the pictures.
I'm Falling!!! Okay, not really!!
Back in Santiago, it is great to be home!! We are slowly getting back to a normal schedule.. I've been catching up with some friends, making new friends, and getting back into a good schedule. The girls have been getting back to school, though the eldest was sick for a few days. Just a note: continue to pray for this family. I had the opportunity to offer to pray for the oldest because she wasn't feeling well and stayed home from school two days. She looked at me like I was strange and asked what that was. I tried to explain in a simple way and then simply told her I'd be praying for her.. I also got to mention to her that I had prayed the day before when she had been looking for her lost retainer...right after I'd been praying (to myself) she had found them and was really excited.. PTL!!! Anyway, hopefully a seed was planted there.. Not sure if I put that all into words well, but hopefully what I just wrote was understandable enough..

Well, as of January 7th, the stores here have been having huge sales. Most stores have a sign in their window reading "Rebajas 50%" meaning Sale 50%! I have looked a bit, bought like one thing, and have made plans to go shopping with a friend. My friend Ruthie from Noia is going to join me for an afternoon of shopping and fun. I'm looking forward to having someone with me to shop as I find shopping alone a bit boring sometimes...smile. Anyway, praising the Lord for someone to share my shopping adventure with. Hoping to find some good deals...I have already been hunting for good places to go once she gets here. So anyway, enough of that!!
My Shopping Buddy
Hope that you all are well...I'd love to hear from you whenever you get a moment... God bless you all! One more thing, I really appreciate all your prayers. The Lord has been such an encouragement to me. He often makes His presence known to me at random times... He is so faithful! He is teaching me so much and I'm loving it! Thanks!

Noia for New Years!

So I am off on another adventure to Noia, this time to enjoying a few days over the New Year holidays with American friends and believers. I caught a bus from Lugo to Santiago with no problems, then arrived in Santiago to discover that I had to wait 1½ hours for the next bus to Noia...I purchased my bus ticket and went to a cafeteria/restaurant to enjoy a cup of coffee and write some on my laptop while I waited. I have been keeping this journal of my adventures in a word doc on my laptop to make updating my blog easier later... Anwyay, back to my story...I enjoy the clean bus stations and their amenities here in Spain. I sat down, ordered a coffee (which came in a very tiny cup), and then to my pleasure discovered wireless Internet available in the bus station. WOW!! Not something you'd find in India, so I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to put an hour of waiting to good use. PTL!!!

So finally getting on the bus, I was soon dozing most of the way to Noia...which seems to be a norm for me on that leg of my journey (I slept last time I rode down there)... Finally, arriving in Noia, I walked to the church which is minutes from the bus station. The ladies of the church were meeting this Saturday night for a ladies' banquet, which I was invited to. Martha and girls had not yet arrived, so I joined some of the other ladies in preparing salad. Thankfully my Spanish is improving and I was able to converse just a bit. This was at 7:15pm. Upon the arrival of the Towner clan, I was introduced to their cousin Katherine who is visiting from Paris. From that time on, we American girls helped when needed, but we talked more! It was great to get to simply talk in fluent English for a change, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. By 10pm, we were starving and still waiting on dinner for some reason. Finally, it was time to eat! We sat down to trays piled with large shrimp as the first course. Then came salad, amazingly tender roast beef with potatoes, octopus (suction cups and all), and plenty of bread. It was fabulous. I have discovered that octopus isn't my favorite, or at least not in the way I've had it prepared here, but it is also not horrible. Smile...I can eat it and enjoy myself, but I don't prefer it! The shrimp was delicious, as was the roast beef. Yummy!! Dinner was soon followed by desserts of various kinds. Mostly traditional candies, but also some “brownies” made by Martha (lacking some chocolate and sugar). Grin! After dinner, we had a contest for who had worn the best, most creative scarf. I had my scarf from Italy with me thankfully, so I was able to join in the fun. This voting on the best scarf took forever because they decided to have each woman give a 1-10 vote on each scarf, then added up the tally at the end. Finally, tired and ready to go home, we girls began to clean up as fast as we could. We finally left for home about 1:30am, hurrying to the van to avoid drunk teens just outside the church.
Back at the Towner home, we girls finally made it to sleep by about 3am. Guess we weren't quite so tired, or we were enjoying conversing too much. It was great to share stories, share about where we've been, and just be with American girls. Ruthie Towner doesn't have many friends her age here as the girls seem rather cliquish and won't include her. Katherine is living in Paris for a year, having been there since September, and enjoys having some American fellowship. Me, well, I enjoyed the fellowship greatly after having been with Spaniards non-stop for two weeks. I love being here in Spain, but enjoy a little break every once in a while. So, needless to say, this began the start of a wonderful break in Noia with the Towners.
Sunday was a wonderful day including going to church, having Christian fellowship, walking by the bay in the sun on a long boardwalk, and . By lunch time, we girls were nearly falling asleep at the table, so immediately after lunch we began to look for a place to nap. The adults had plans to watch “The Nativity” there at the church meaning we wouldn't be leaving for home anytime soon. So, we found a mattress in the back room of the church, along with a few pillows & blankets from the van. We all four curled up on this makeshift bed and fell asleep for the whole movie. Woohoo!! After cleaning up the church, we headed home to enjoy our evening. The evening included much conversation, a chat with my family at home on the phone (the Towners have a phone that is for calling to the US like a local call), more conversation, discovery of wireless internet at the Towner home, and finally a movie with the girls before falling to sleep. Once again, it was 2:30am before we slept!

Monday, New Year's Eve, we slept in late to make up for the late night. Once we got around and had some lunch, we headed out in the van for an excursion to a beautiful lookout point overlooking a large portion of the coastal towns on the northwest coast of Spain. What a view! I loved the view, the warm sun, and getting to run around and then down the mountain and enjoy the out-of-doors. We also explored an old Celtic ruin on the beach. After enjoying a beautiful sunset, we soon set out for home...
Bringing in the New Year with 12 grapes each in the last 12 seconds of 2007, we were enjoying one of the Spanish New Year's traditions. Quite interesting really...you pop 12 grapes into your mouth one at a time for the countdown. I ended up stuffing them into my mouth by the end muntil my cheeks resembled a chipmunk and then bit down to get a gush or juice. I was able to tell Irene, Helena, and Celia that I had participated in their tradition of the grapes. This is one thing they had told me about and really wanted me to do with them. They were a bit disappointed that I was going to miss this event, but soon got over it thankfully. Anyway, we also shared our thanksgiving of the past year and our prayers and goals for the new year. It is crazy to think that it is already 2008. I remember thinking that I'd never live to 2010 and now it is only 2 years away. Who knows what the Lord has prepared for us! I'm looking forward to a wonderful year of growing in the Lord, being challenged, joining the US Coast Guard, and hopefully more! PTL!!!
Tuesday, New Year's Day, arrived cold, wet, and stormy, but no less beautiful. We set out early, 1:30pm, to visit a castle about an hour north of us and enjoy the coast on our way. Well, I laugh at what Spaniards (& evidentially Americans who have lived in Spain for so long) call early!! Haha!! Anyway, moving on....we enjoyed a stormy view of the Atlantic Ocean. The northwest coast that we followed to our ultimate destination is known as the “Coast of Death” due to the number of deaths in this area. The waters were rough, the clouds dark and ominous, and the wind heavy. It was gorgeous!! The lighthouse turned its light on for a short time while we were at the beach. We enjoyed eating a picnic lunch in the van; it was too windy and cold outside the van to sit and eat! We enjoyed climbing all over the rocks that jutted out into the ocean. I enjoyed trying to get good pictures of the seagulls in flight. I wanted one of them all taking flight while I ran into their midst, but they seemed to noticed my red jacket rather quickly, so I had to satisfy myself with good zoom, and hiding behind rocks! Smile... I had fun taking lots of pictures of the stormy waters, the big waves, the seagulls, myself, and my friends. I'm learning more and more about my camera and have discovered numerous different settings for B&W, Sequia, blue tints, green highlights, red tints, etc...it's a lot of fun!

We got to the castle around 4:30pm only to find that it was closed. The internet had said it was open on holidays, but evidentially it was wrong!! Oh well...Since viewing the castle was no longer an option, we decided to explore new places that not even the Towners had visited before...off we drove on yet another adventure with our map! We found lovely places, saw great views, found a monastery with beautiful walkways and a park-like area, went through cute and artistic little towns and villages, and just had a great time! Finally, we began to navigate our way toward the dairy where Martha was to pick up some fresh cows milk. With me as navigator and Martha as driver, we made our way quite well through the country-side to a town called A Picota, where we got milk. I enjoyed taking pictures of the cows for Dad! Smile... Finally we headed home..me quite tired from a day of romping around on the beaches, rocks, and running to and fro everywhere we went. On the way home, we three oldest girls made plans to celebrate the new year by jumping into the freezing cold Atlantic Ocean. So, reaching home, we quickly unloaded the van and changed into swimwear for our little adventure. Crazy??

January 1, 2008, Ruthie Towner, Jonna Clouse, & Katherine Richtie, with towels in tow, ran thru the freezing cold rain to the nearest beach (about 5 minutes), divested ourselves of our outer clothing (we still had swimsuits on), hurriedly took pictures (we're freezing in the cold rain and wind at this point), then ran screaming into the frigid waters off the Coast of Death on the northwest coast of Spain!! We were in less than a minute before we were running back out! The rain began to pelt us harder!! We “dried” off, struggled back into our clothes (now mostly soggy & sandy), and began to run home. At this point in the adventure, I was feeling quite warm strangely enough. About halfway home Martha met us in the van having taken pity on us...Smile... Once back home, we all climbed into the shower, swimsuits and all, to rinse off and warm up... I haven't taken a shower with someone in YEARS!! Grin...Cleaned up, hot, and hungry, we raided the kitchen. The rest of the evening was filled with conversation, looking at our pictures from the day, and more... I got to talk with my cousin on the phone for a bit! What a blessing since I had missed him when I'd called home early that weekend. Finally, Katherine, Ruthie, and myself sat down to enjoy “Pride & Prejudice” along with hot tea, fresh bread, and oranges! What a wonderful end to a fabulous break! Praise the Lord!!!

Wednesday saw me getting ready to head back to Lugo. Martha gave me a ride to Santiago so I could catch the 12:45pm bus, but because of a late departure and too much traffic, I still missed the bus. No problem, I went grocery shopping with Martha while waiting for the next bus. Back at the bus station preparing to purchase a bus ticket for 4pm, I discovered an earlier bus. PTL that I was at the station too early! I slept most of the way to Lugo and arrived back in Lugo safely! Walking to the house, about 20 minutes from the bus station with my suitcase and backpack was no problem. Arriving home, the family was happy to see me. I prayed the girls would not be mad at me for staying away one extra day (Irene had given me permission so I could go see the castle). I was greatly pleased that they welcomed me back with open arms and in good moods...they were headed to get their haircut.

Christmas Adventure: Part 2

December 27th, 2007
Belen, the girls' godmother and 2nd cousin made plans to take the girls to an indoor amusement park with ice skating. Irene and I had been out doing some other things, but I was to meet them there and go ice skating with them. When we got there, Irene purchased my ticket to get in and then we discovered that Belen and the girls had not yet arrived. I waited for them there while Irene went on to do whatever else she had to get done. Once inside, we went to find out the times for ice skating (you pay additional fees for ice skating by the half hour) and then while we waited for ice skating, we went and drove bumper cars. Much fun!! From there we ran back to the ice skating and skated in rather uncomfortable ice-skating shoes for an hour. It was a lots of fun! There had been so many people on the ice before us that the surface was rather rough making smooth skating difficult, but after a bit of practicing I started to get the hang of it again. I did manage to get over confident once and fell on my knee (it's fine now...Heather-I didn't suffer as long from this fall as from the one at the skating rink in Branson..grin)...oh well, after not ice-skating in nearly 3 years, one fall is permissible, right? The girls loved skating and it helped wear them out!! Woohoo...grin... Now, I believe that I know how parents feel when their children are worn out and want to go to bed upon reaching home... After skating, we rode numerous rides, all in-door rides so not huge, but enjoyable. By the 3rd or 4th ride that went in circles, I was tired and beginning to get a bit sick to my stomach..besides being hungry. Grin...good thing that was the last circular ride or I very well might have lost the bit of popcorn I did have in my stomach...

Finally, worn out, we left about 8:30pm having been there at least 3 hours...with frost covering the windows, leaving quickly wasn't possible, but we didn't have to wait too long and we were soon on our way home. Eating a bit of dinner, the girls settled into the tv room for a bit of TV before bed! I was ready to go to bed...then Irene came home, pulled the cookie dough that we had made two days before out of the refrigerator, and began cutting it to cook....aaaahhh... I was asked to help, so I set about putting cookies on the cookie sheets, brushing them with egg whites, and preparing them for the oven. Soon, I began to regain some energy and was enjoying myself overall.

By 10:30pm though, I was ready to head to my room for some quiet, alone time. Belen joined us in the cookie making process and I made my exit...I made it as far as the kitchen of the home I am staying in (Irene's sister's home downstairs) where I sat for the next 2 hours conversing about anything and everything in as much Spanish as I could muster from the depths of my brain and then some...Irene's sister and brother-in-law speak no English so we were left with my little bit of Spanish, pictures, hand signals, and laughing (mostly me laughing). We talked of politics, religion, milking goats, my parent's work, Mom making soaps and jams, me being a pilot, and more...quite a grand time really!! I was amazed at my being able to stay awake and visit, but I loved it. Irene's brother-in-law, Luis, is such an interesting, soft-spoken man. He owns and operates the flower shop beneath their home, which is a place I enjoy visiting, especially to talk with him. Luis and his wife, Ana Belen, will talk to me in Spanish whether I understand or not...they don't simply give up trying to talk to me because I don't fully understand them and struggle to reply in their language. They were very patient with me, and Ana who's a teacher, set out to help me understand some of the alphabet. She gave me some excellent pointers to help me remember how to spell things in Spanish. I am thankful that spelling in Spanish is not very difficult, much easier than English! Belen, the cousin, joined us after a while and we continued our conversation. She speaks a bit of English, actually quite well though she prefers Spanish, so that helped move the conversation on a bit. I really had a great time and went to bed about 12:30am feeling very satisfied with my day.

Luis & I in the Flower Shop
Well, I guess my late night conversation in the kitchen was good because it seemed to open doors for relationship with the family I was staying with. What a blessing. The next morning, I was headed upstairs to get someb-fast before beginning the girls' English lessons, but was stopped mid-stride by Ana. She had some b-fast prepared for me in her kitchen.. They all quickly caught on to my love of coffee and made me coffee each morning and afternoon. Smile...I'm not spoiled...just blessed!

So, speaking of English lessons..the girls are doing well. I am beginning to learn a bit more of who the girls are. Irene loves to write and will gladly sit and write a story for me. It is my way of learning more about her and things here in Spain. Helena enjoys exercising, so I have her do a bit of English and then a bit of exercise..it seems to work... I've been reading with Celia but still could use some ideas to work on her grammar.. She knows quite a bit, so I'm trying to figure out how to challenge her and still make it interesting.

So after English, the girls continued their studies after a bit of playing and I prepared to go out for a while, check my email, and get some alone time and a walk. I went upstairs to see what arrangements Irene might have for me and clear my plans with her.....uhoh! Irene had plans for me that included practicing driving.. Oh yucko! So, once again I began to pray for help!! This driving thing had become a big deal and I wasn't enjoying it at all.. I was told that I would go and practice with Jose' Luis, Irene's husband, for a bit (maybe 45 minutes) and then I could go out... Okay, I will submit! So, out we headed for what turned out to be a wonderful 2 hours of driving about the country-side, learning lots of Spanish words related to driving and other things, and practicing my manual driving. It was very relaxing for me amazingly. Jose' is a very good teacher. He knows almost no English, so it was all in Spanish, but he is very patient and Irene had already taught me many of the words such as brake, clutch, gears, gas,etc...in Spanish. So, under the tutelage of Jose' I quickly began to understand how to take off in a manual car on an incline without using a handbrake. In fact, the handbrake was more of a hassle than a help at one point. So we practiced this for a while and then we simply drove around the country-side, giving me plenty of time to become more comfortable with driving around curves and in general. I loved it! It was nice to drive again. I'm pretty sure that I want to hug and kiss my car when I get home though!!! Oh, my wonderful little Mazda RX-7 convertible...sure glad I haven't sold it yet! Anyway, returning home, we ate some lunch and then I was told that Sonia, the intercambio I had met with before, had called and wanted to meet with me again. We thought she might meet me at 4:30pm, but since we couldn't get a hold of her in time, she made arrangements to meet at 6pm... So, with a bit of time, I headed out to check my email (finally found a cafe' with wireless internet)!! Woohoo... So, the cafe' that I found with wireless internet just happens to be some winery or some such place...I noticed the name today for the first time, though this is the second time I have been to this place...grin...ooops.. They have good teas and chocolate though! Haha!

I met Sonia at 6pm and we took a walk on the old Roman wall that surrounds the old part of the city. It was lovely at night with the sun setting. You can see the picture of the sunsetting in the previous post! I enjoyed getting a bit of exercise. Then we headed to a cafe for some chocolate and more conversation. I had my laptop with me still from checking my email so I showed her some pictures from home. Good times. And with my trip to Noia tomorrow...woohoo. I can hardly wait!

As Promised: My Christmas Adventures

View from the Lugo Home Balcony

Well, my adventure began 12-24-07 when we departed Santiago in what I'm becoming to know as typical Spanish time...1½ to 2 hours later than planned. We finally left the house at about 2:30pm with plans to eat lunch upon arrival in Lugo & the home of Irene's mother 2 hours away.

Reaching Lugo, we sat down to a meal of typical Gallego (Galician) soup that has potatoes and some kind of green leaves in a milky soup. In addition, we ate fresh bread, followed by a seafood fried rice. Never in our lives would we think to put shellfish, crablegs, shimp or any other seafood into our fried rice without taking it all out of the shells first, but this fried rice was shell and all. Smile...After a plentiful meal, I was shown to a room and told that I could take a nap. Very grateful for a few moments to think and rest my very tired eyes, I laid down to stay there for 1½ hours in wonderful rest. PTL for a nap or I don't think I'd have made it quite so well through the evening celebrations which I would finally leave around 1:00am.

Christmas Eve is the night of a traditional family gathering for dinner. With at least 12-14 expected to be in attendance, the long table was set up and the special plates, cups, and silverware brought out. After helping set the table, I prepared a dessert tray consisting of various nuts, dried fruits (much like raisins only different *G*), chocolate bars broken into pieces, and other nutty candies. From there, with nothing else that I could help with, I went to dress up for the occasion. I was given a room in Irene's sister's flat below for which I was very thankful. It became a nice place to go to gather my thoughts, be quiet, rest, etc..
The Dessert Tray
Returning to the Grandmother's flat, I began to help set things on the table for dinner...and finally between 10 and 11pm we gathered around the table to being eating a sumptuous meal. Typically, meals here begin with a soup. This one was no different, beginning with fish soup (which I doctored with some chili powder). Then out came a whole fried chicken, stuffed with cooked mushrooms, onions, chopped up liver (which I happened to get a bite of, yuck), etc... followed by a tray of beef with fried whole potatoes (delicious), salad with vinegar/oil dressing, and another plate of mushrooms. This was all eaten with plenty of white or red wine and soda. I am very thankful that this family is not one to drink heavily. Everyone enjoyed a glass or so of wine, but no one was excessively drunk. PTL!!! I'm sure it could have been much worse. I enjoyed a bit of red wine mixed with a plain, sweet soda water...which made the wine sweet and enjoyable as opposed to bitter and strong. Anyway...after eating as much as we wanted, the children were eager to have the desserts set upon the table to be consumed. So, needless to say, dessert was soon served along with a huge bowl of fruit salad (kiwi, mango, apple, banana, pomegranite, oranges, etc...). At a few minutes to 12:00am, Jose' Luis (the girls' Father) poured everyone a glass of some new bottle of wine that was brought in and we had a toast to Christmas...needless to say, I did not like the taste of this second wine and pretty much only sipped it for the toast. Not my cup of tea really...Smile!! What a lovely traditional Christmas Eve dinner with a gathering of family. I really enjoyed myself. The children loved all the excitement, and it was great to see this Spanish family together enjoying conversation and fellowship. This fits better with what I imagined Spain to be like. Finally, drooping in my chair and with the kids no longer there to entertain me, Irene noticed that I was exhausted and got someone to let me into the flat below so that I could pass out for the night...Smile...
Christmas Eve Dinner with the Family
Pass out I did!! I slept from 1:30ish until 9:15 the next morning when my alarm went off and then finally dragged myself from my bed at 10:00am...grin...sure was nice to get a bit of sleep. I am definitely not accustomed to so many late nights. It seems that since I have left college I am no longer able to continue in the late nights and early mornings schedule that I had there. Now, I seem to require more sleep...Am I getting old?? Grin.. Thankfully, Spanish culture is more a sleep-in culture...grin...

Into this new day, Christmas Day, I finally made my way upstairs by 12:00pm after some breakfast, to see what I needed to be doing. I found the girls still in their pajamas and the family taking things easy. PTL for I had been a bit worried that I was extremely late! Not in Spain I guess... So, evidently the youngest of the girls, Helena, woke up bright and early this morning eager for her presents from “Papa Noel”. Sounds rather similar to many children in the US eager to receive and open their presents on Christmas morning. When I arrived, I was handed a present as well, which was a notebook for my studies of the Spanish language. Grin... Irene is very study-oriented. Grin...I'm challenged to study at all here after having just finished college less than a year ago...grin...not much excuse I suppose.

Me with Mercedes
After some coffee and a chat. I learned that the grandmother, her sister Mercedes (also known as Madrina-godmother), Irene, and the girls were headed to a Christmas Mass at a small, local cathedral and that I would be welcome to come along. Curious, I went along. I really love Madrina, who is Irene's Mother's sister & Irene's godmother (confusing, I know!). She is the sweetest little old lady, and I have grown rather fond of her in my short time here in Lugo. She attends mass daily and today was no different, only this was a special one. So, off we went to attend mass. It was interesting to say the least. I enjoyed the time to sit & stand alternately and just pray. I found that I had to be careful not to be proud that I knew Jesus and to not consider myself better than these lost souls. Once again, the Lord challenged me and made me look at myself and the areas in my life that need to change. It was a blessing to sit and reflect on the Lord, all the while hoping that I could be a light in some way to these people. There is such a need for the revelation of Christ as Savior in the hearts of these people!

Once mass was finished, we headed back through the drizzle. I waited for Madrina as she wanted to talk to a friend for a moment, and we didn't want to leave her out alone...I was quickly surprised to find that she is a VERY STRONG, FAST walker...grin...she's just lovely! She practically dragged me home instead of me helping her. GRIN. Back at the house, Irene made preparations to go out for the evening with some friends and I and the girls soon sat down to a dinner of fried eggs, fresh bread, & homemade cheese. More than plenty for this still-full girl. Yet another day gone by with more learned, lots of new experiences, and plenty to exhaust me. Smile... Merry Christmas...
The Roman Wall at Night
Today, December 26th, I was up and ready to head out the door with the family at 10:30am. Irene and her girls, along with myself and Madrina, headed to the dentist office where the children had their annual dental check-up. While they were there at the dentist's office, Madrina was given the task of showing me around a bit and eventually taking me to where I would meet with a girl to practice Spanish and her practice English. So, walking about the city with Madrina was definitely a treat. She speaks NO English, but has no problem speaking in Spanish telling me about places and things and showing me all over the older part of town. It was a lovely walk and very much a stress relief for me. I could walk with Madrina for a long time and be just fine. It is no problem for me that I can only understand some of what she says. I am so thankful that she continues to talk to me in Spanish and just goes about her life happily. She brings a smile to my face. She is rather an independent sort and very intelligent and competent. I am thankful for her presence in this home as she is a blessing to me and I hope that I can be the same for her. So, back to our walk. Madrina took me to see the Plaza de Espana (Plaza of Spain), the Cathedral of Lugo (there must be a cathedral in every city I'm beginning to think) which was very large and ornate, and then we walked up to the very large old Roman wall that surrounds the old part of Lugo... The Roman wall is about 10-12 feet wide, making a nice place to take a walk around the city with no cars to get in the way. Hopefully, I will be able to walk this once while I'm here, or go running! What a treat to see such a lovely and unique part of Roman history.
The Cathedral's Inner Courtyard Architecture
Finally, at 12:00PM, I was introduced to a girl named Sonia. She is what they call and “intercambio” here. In other words, someone that I can practice my Spanish with and she her English. Very useful setup for both of us. Sonia turned out to be a lovely person. This meeting with her was arranged for me and I was merely told once I reached here that I would meet a girl to practice Spanish, etc... interesting! It is a bit challenging for me to have my days planned for me without my knowledge. It is done with good intention, but sometimes a bit frustrating to me because I don't know what is next, where I am supposed to be, or when I can take some time for myself. There is less of a schedule here than when we're in Santiago, so I'll just have to deal with it. smile... None the less, Sonia and I had a lovely time together. It was nice to get out and walk about the city a bit, then sit in a coffee shop for an hour or so and get to know one another in both English and Spanish. The people here are very good at setting time limits. For example, I was informed (in a questioning manner) that we could speak one hour of English and then one hour of Spanish! No, problem. I'm sure her English is better than my Spanish, but it gave me a chance to practice and her also. PTL!!! After enjoying a chocolate (yummy), enduring a couple of her cigarettes, and learning much about her and her family, we left to find me a small notebook that I can carry in my purse and write new Spanish words in that I hear, so I can refer back to it and learn more. I find that I learn more by writing it down.


The Country Home Entrance
Back at the house, lunch is finished, everything is cleaned up, I had a bit of coffee with Irene, and now I'm exhausted from so much learning, children who anger easily, and am in my room to rest a bit! PTL!!! God's grace is sufficient for me! Irene found me asleep and wondered if I was okay. How do you explain exhaustion from all the new surroundings, learning, changes, etc. after you've slept 10 hours in the night and then taken a nap.. Hmmm..Lord help me! Well, I got up gave Celia an English lesson and then we ran to join the other girls to meet their father on a trip to the Molina: their Grandmother's country home with a water-operated mill. Their Grandmother owns this old mill by a small river about 10km outside of Lugo. Not more than a 15-20 minute drive. So, we piled into their Father's Nissan truck (Jose' Luis) and were off to the mill. I was rather interested to see this place that I have heard much about. Reaching the mill, we had to drive off-road a bit to get down to the house. With surprise, I found a lovely country home. The door to the entrance was a beautiful wooden, two-tier door (opening something like an old barn door – separated across the middle) which opened into a lovely room with walls of what appeared to be granite and floors of wood. This room alone was like candy to my imagination. I was greeted by a black and white cat that the girls called Angelica. This room with a fireplace, led to a lovely white country kitchen. A big old-fashioned wooden stove/oven sat in the middle of the room with a large marble counter surrounding it on 3 sides allowing people to sit around the stove and keep warm while eating. From the kitchen, a marble staircase led upward into a bathroom and 3 or 4 bedrooms. Each room and the hall had old-fashioned windows, the kind with two wooden shutters and I don't think any glass panes. Back downstairs, Helen grabbed my hand and led me outside and around to the back of the house where there were cement paths leading across the river. The water is controlled for operating the mill, though the mill is no longer used. Though dark, I could tell that this large stone home and the surrounding grounds would be very lovely and much fun to spend some time visiting in the summer. Piling back into the car after a bit of a snack, we also added Grandma to our numbers (she had spent the day at her country home which she loves so much and would rather be at than in the city) and headed home.

Reaching home, the girls went to take showers, so I suggested making cookies to Irene. She had been wanting to make the dough for some German cookies that she loves! With renewed energy, I figured now was as good a time as any and offered to help her if she'd like to make it now. So, she and I set out to make cookie dough with 1kg of butter, 1kg 600g of flour, 7 eggs (4 just yokes, 3 whole), a teaspoon of salt, a packet of baking powder (about 2 tablespoons), and 1/2kg of sugar. We made plenty of dough because not only will we cook some for the family, but Irene hopes to share some of the dough with the families of her friends so they can also make cookies with their families. Though this is a German tradition, not Spanish, Irene finds it a wonderful tradition. Of course, I agree as making candies, cookies, and other desserts every Christmas with my Mom has been a pleasure and something I have looked forward to each year.

Well, arrangements have been made for me to meet with Sonia again tomorrow at 12pm. I am pleased with this as it is nice to get out of the house and visit with someone else closer to my age. It is a bit of work though trying to speak in Spanish and also make sure that I speak slowly and clearly in English, searching for words to explain what I'm trying to say. I am finding constantly learning and constantly watching my words a big challenge. There are times I want to be able to speak and be understood without effort. But, it is also a good challenge, because the Bible talks about being careful with our words and this makes me have to really think about what I'm saying before I say it. Smile...

I also find it a challenge to have children who question what I say for accuracy and want an explanation for things that are very difficult to explain. I don't know how to simply tell them to “never mind” or “I'd rather not share”, because I will only be pressed further to share or risk having a child angry with me. I feel as though I tread upon eggshells with Irene (the middle daughter). Celia and Helena are much easier. I feel such compassion for Irene though, because it seems she has sooo much anger that overflows quickly from inside her. No child should have such anger built up inside. It is interesting getting to know her and see more of who she is...for example, she is a very just girl. Things must be fair in her eyes. Though, lacking in wisdom and experience, she is smart. I continue to pray for patience, wisdom, grace, and the words to say! I do not want to retaliate in anger and am thankful that has not happened yet. Though yesterday I came very near to tears, not in manipulation but sincere tears! I was shaken by the time the show was over. (Note: things have been improving and the Lord is faithful to give me renewed energy, wisdom, and grace..PTL!!! I don't want to make it appear as though life is always difficult..smile)

So, now I am to practice driving Jose' Luis' Nissan. This is to give me experience with a different manual car as the Toyota corolla has a more sensitive gear system. At this point, I am ready to quit driving in Spain all together. I don't see the need for me to drive if Irene has to be home anyway if I am driving the car. She can't be at work, because she'd need the car. Lord give me grace for this also and please help me to learn. It is difficult driving here with so many people crossing the roads, cars parked in the middle of the roads, traffic darting into and out of your lane, and then the cross traffic that often has the right of way... So, not knowing that I already know how to drive, Jose' Luis talked on and on about how the car works, when to use the signal lights, what is left, right, and straight in Spanish, etc... I find that at times I feel they think I am stupid. I know this is not entirely the case, they are simply unsure of what I know and do not and so they tell me in detail and sometimes multiple times what I already know. First Irene, now Jose' Luis. Grin....it seems as though I could use a bit of a break from learning! (Note: after this day with Jose' Luis, driving took on a new perspective for me...so much better...he's an excellent teacher).

I'm going to end this post here, so things don't get too long... Read the next post for how things change once again and the Lord continues to teach and bless me. Things were a bit rough the first few days in Lugo, but the Lord renewed my energy and things improved after that. I had time to enjoy with the girls playing, going shopping, etc... so read on.. Thanks for your patience and hope that the next few posts don't overwhelm you in size...

Catch up...

So, don´t have much time to update this, but wanted to let you all know that I am doing fabulous! Life is such an adventure here. Sometimes I think people forget that I have never experienced some of their holidays and forget to tell me what to expect for the holiday. They celebrate "Christmas" from December 24 night until Jan 6th... Then January 7th is the start of all the major sales in the shops all over! So needless to say, the family I live with has been on one huge holiday for two weeks now. Today is the last day and then I believe that we will be headed home back to Santiago. We have been spending the two week vacation from school and work to celebrate the holidays with Irene´s family in Lugo. I spent about 4 days in Noia with friends over New Year´s. That was a blast and I have many stories to tell and things to catch you all up on.. Once I get back to Santiago I will update this much outdated blog and you all will have much reading and catching up to do. Grin... For now I am behind, but I promise to update it soon. Hopefully within the week!

I really appreciate all your prayers over this holiday season. It has been filled with much learning, many good times, and more challenges. PTL!!! I have close to 200 pictures now from the last two weeks...of course those won´t all be going on my blog, but I´ll try to pick the best and show you all..

Look forward to updating you on all that I´ve been blessed to experience. The Lord is still teaching me much through all my experiences.. It is wonderful though also very humbling. He is using things I took for granted in my upbringing to show me areas in my life and relationship with Him that need to be worked on. PTL!!! How exciting!

Until later when I can write more.. God bless you all! Happy New Year!! Can hardly believe that it is already 2008. I remember when I could hardly fathom the year 2010 and now it is just on the horizon for us...