London in eight hours - or less!

Step One: Arrive at Heathrow with an eight-hour layover and wisely decide not to drive yourself crazy by spending all eight of those hours in the airport.

Step Two: Go through customs and pay through the nose to ride the underground (mind the gap) to Covent Garden.

Step Three: Walk around a bit. (Pictured here is genuine Church of England, Tony! St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, a house of worship for the past 375 years. Smelled of incense inside & the whole deal. Could’ve celebrated the Eucharist at 1:00pm if we hadn’t had a plane to catch.)

Step Four: British Museum. Free, and chock full of good stuff that the Brits plundered from all sorts of civilizations over the years. Best relic - the Rosetta Stone, which Meggan deciphered in approximately twelve minutes, leaving plenty of time for shenanigans like getting scared by a scarab beetle. (Hey, it’s not like you can really appreciate it all the way it deserves to be when you’ve been up since 3:30am local time, but we did our best.)

Step Five: Grab a tasty lunch, then back on the tube to the airport.

Step Six: Back through security with plenty of time to spare, compose a lovely blog post, then find the lack of free WiFi disturbing. Wait to publish the post until later.

We’re back in Denver - woohoo!! It really does feel great to be home, seeing good friends, sleeping in our own bed (for two nights, at least). We’ve also had a good time lately naming our “bests” and “favorites” from these two months (“best meal,” “favorite tourist site,” etc.).

Another snippet of God’s leading from our summer: We’re thinking about working with high school youth in the greater Madrid area. It feels right to have our focus narrowing like that. At the moment, we think this would be primarily my ministry involvement, while Meggan would be in a supportive role, perhaps mentoring young women and (*gasp*) raising a kid.

Caution - shameless tourist...

Tying a Bow On the Trip

Sara and Ana, two campers. Sara became Ana’s big sister over the course of a week, largely because Sara cared for Ana more than her actual big sister does. Sara knows Jesus, and it shows.

This is us with our friends Mariano and María after a fun day at a theme park. (Spanish lesson - “Esa montaña rusa me mareó.” = “That rollercoaster made me queasy.”)

Liliana and Meggan are happy after a little Spanish coffee and chocolate-filled croissant.

The Roman aqueduct in Segovia is still strong, beautiful, and awe-inspiring after more than 2,000 years.

The cathedral in Segovia. (That's for you, Chone-chone!)

Nicole Gudeman “pets a horse” at the castle in Segovia.

Meggan with Angel, Sheryl, Navi, Nicole, and Ed Gudeman.

We leave Spain in 20 hours! (On a 7am flight... followed by an eight-hour layover in London...) We think we’ll go into town in London to see Covent Gardens and/or the British Museum. We’ll get to Denver Wednesday evening local time, have two days of unpacking, repacking, and seeing friends, and then hit the road for the Midwest on Saturday.

So, what has God been teaching us during our time here? Where do we sense he is leading us next? It has been a rich time, and we couldn’t do it all justice in blog format. We will continue to share more about our answers to these two questions in the coming weeks, but for now, I’ll just say one thing:

God is faithful; he is in control; and he knows what he’s doing.

¡Cachorro!

A PUPPY!!!! (Not for us, but hey, we can still celebrate!)

Sunday the Gudemans invited us to join them as they went to a local dog rescue area. Against their expectations to wait a few more days, they came home with a dog that very day. It was a privilege to be a part of the family moment... not to mention fun for us as dog-lovers (rumor has it Meggan asks me if we can get a dog a few times a day). Navi, the newest Gudeman, was found by the shelter on Christmas Day (Navidad in Spanish; hence, the name). They're actually the second family to take her home from the shelter, but the vice which brought her back the first time is not a problem for the Gudemans (she digs holes; nowhere to dig in an apartment). She's a lovely pup - we didn't hear her bark once, and she already knows that the kitchen is off-limits. We'll check with them soon to see how the first night went.

Not Much News, but Clowns and Jellyfish

Monday night was the big performance of Wet Side Story. It was a long day keeping the children from 8:30am until 6:30pm (when they started getting ready), but it all worked out in the end.

Tuesday, we took the children to an Aquarium. Though Aquarium is a bit of a strong word. There is a really nice Aquarium attached to the zoo here, but it was a little too expensive. So, instead, someone found a pet store that sells fish and gerbils and has two levels of exhibits in the basement. There were several very large snakes, including a yellow and white snake which I'd never seen before, little Australian squirrels that look sort of like tiny raccoons, a very sad looking armadillo, prairie dogs, a giant dinosaur-looking turtle, spiders, and several fish. Not bad for 2€ a kid. Then, we went to McDonalds and bought the kids ice cream cones. I'm not going to lie. It was pretty delicious. But, I've always been a sucker for soft-serve, or as the beautiful people of Vermont call it, Creamy.

We'd like to live in Vermont one day.

Ben and I have enjoyed several nice walks lately. It is really common for people to walk at night because the sun sets so late here. One night, Ben and I totally disagreed on how to get home. He was definitely right.

Yesterday, we walked about 3 miles to pick up tickets to Swan Lake in Madrid. Ben surprised me and is taking me to celebrate our 50th Month-iversary. What a guy!

Last night, we went to a park and a plaza, all dressed up to try and attract children to come to the camp next week. Currently we only have four children this session. So, it would be great if more kids came...but not too many as we have limited space and disciplinary skills. It was really fun though. Our friend, Dario, is a professional clown. So, he was the main part of the "show."

That's about it. Like the title says, not much news. We are enjoying ourselves, but we're anxious to go home, see friends and family, meet our new niece. When I think about living here, I know that I'll be able to do it. There will be some things that I'll love; others that I'll hate. For example, the peaches here continue to be amazing, but I really don't like croquetas (small, deep-fried nuggets of mashed meat and milk). I realize that's a really stupid example. Let me think of a better one. The people here are so loving, the city is filled with beautiful, green parks, the architecture (though we haven't seen a ton) is rich, and the coffee is delicious (back to food again, Meggan!). Not to mention that the Gudeman family is a huge draw for me to return here. I really enjoy talking with and hanging out with their kids, Mark, Angela, and Nicole. On the other hand, other things I don't like so much. Fashion is so important here - everyone is always dressed up. I'll miss the casual feel of the US. And obviously family will always be what I miss the most.

That said, I am grateful to God for the opportunity to return here if it is his will. This may be a country of hard soil for the gospel, but it is a wonderful place in many ways. So...join us!

Until next time,
-meggan

Day in the Life: Friday, July 11

We woke up around 6:45am, in time to see the sunrise. Liliana (our flat-mate and co-worker at the camp), Meggan, and I left our flat just after 7:30. We took the Metro (underground) and arrived at ARS School of Music and the Arts by 8:45.


The urban camp has eight kids enrolled for two-plus weeks, Monday through Friday, 9am-2pm. The kids have time in music, dance, painting, English, crafts, and theatre. Our primary role this day was to finish the costumes (or, as Meggan prefers to call them, “wearable crafts”) for the camp production of “Wet Side Story,” a bilingual musical about dolphins and jellyfish becoming friends and cleaning up the ocean together after an oil spill. Here’s Meggan working on a fish costume:


It’s good to get the kids outside for a while, so half of the adults went with them to the park for their mid-morning snack. Also in the park, they had their time with Nestor the painter (a very talented Bolivian with a gallery in Toledo) decorating traditional fans with finger-paint.


The late morning (translation: 12:30-2:00pm) was spent in rehearsal for the play. The last of the parents didn’t come for the kids until, say, 3pm, after which we ate lunch together as a team (this is a normal lunch time in Spain – lunch is the big meal, dinner is a little smaller, and both are shifted about 3 hours later than we’re used to in the U.S.). Our team is multicultural/multinational; Meggan and I are two of three white Americans, and two of the adjunct music teachers are Spaniards, but no two other people come from the same cultural background (on a team of 13). Here our flat-mate Liliana (who is Mexican) shows off a salad made by the professional chef on our team, Anthony (a Greek guy raised in England):


After lunch and a brief team meeting, Meggan and I got haircuts. We went to a nearby salon, where a good friend of the camp directors gave us great cuts with European style. For me that meant she didn’t trim my neckline as much as I would normally like (mullets are cool here for some reason), but her general hair advice was great – grow it out & get highlights (coming soon in a few months). As for Meggan, she got the best haircut she’s ever had. Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll through the largest of Madrid’s many spacious natural areas, where we enjoyed a delicious Spanish melon.



Then we took the Metro to Lavapiés, a picturesque neighborhood with a population more international than our team (and the stores and restaurants to show for it). We walked around a bit, then sat on a park bench reading good books and people-watching.


At 8:30 we met our friend Enric, the director of the Pequeños Gigantes camp from the week before. He took us to his apartment, most of which is the buhardilla (attic) of his building, low-slanted roofs and all. We sincerely enjoyed one another’s company for about three hours over a delicious three-course meal.


We took the Metro home and got to bed a little after 12:30. All in all, a full and fulfilling day. (We slept very well; thanks for asking.)

All Good Gifts

Before we left for Aguas Vivas, Meggan and I took some time to pray, reflect, and collect ourselves after the news that we received on Friday night (see previous entry). In that time, the Lord told Meggan that the week would be a gift to us. And it was. Aguas Vivas is a camp facility situated about an hour north of Madrid. It is absolutely beautiful, as you can see.

We joined the director, Enrique, and the team of counselors: Eugenio, Luna, Marta, Dámaris, Mariano, María, Juan-An. The team was so wonderful; we felt immediately welcomed into the family.

We arrived at the site on Saturday night to decorate. We weren't really sure what could take all night and the next morning, but that's because we'd never seen a camp so lovingly decorated. The theme was the story of Joseph; thus the decoration theme was Egypt. We cut out and painted nearly life-size mummies, Egyptian people, hung posters and Egyptian characters, prepared games, and finally went out to dinner as a team in the late-night Spanish style.

The 24 children arrived Sunday afternoon, and the fun began! In total, there ended up being 27 children as three more arrived. The days were filled with daily tournament games outside, trips to the local pool, crafts, workshops, and night activities. Several times Meggan was very nostaligic, remembering her very precious summer working at Arrowhead Bible Camp when she was 19.

In terms of the language, Meggan went through the normal feelings of frustration and joy as she learned and learned more. By the end of the week, she was more comfortable than ever, both in the quickness with which words would come to mind when speaking & in the ability to understand the accent. As for me, the week was a time of IMMENSE growth in the language; there's nothing like immersion, and this was our one week interacting heavily with people who spoke almost no English. In addition to comfort in speaking and listening, I picked up some important vocabulary for using in conversation with Spanish boys - words like culo (butt), pedo (fart), eructo (burp), and mocos (snot).

We continue to learn flexibility here. Meggan had prepared a dance to teach the children in her workshop; however, she shared the workshop with another counselor, and the workshop only met 2 days. Thus, they only had time to learn the other counselor's dance. She still enjoyed herself very much.

We are now back in Madrid, staying in the sixth and last apartment of our time here. It is a lovely apartment (huge in fact) that is owned by a local church. It is close to the metro and a grocery store - so we're very well settled.

Speaking of flexibility again, we have been assigned to head up the crafts for the next three weeks, though Meggan had planned to teach or assist in teaching the dance classes. We are slowly learning what it means to be open to serve in all ways. We will also meet with various other missionaries in the weeks to come, including the Gudemans who have recently returned to Spain. We also have a few "dates" with the counselors from Aguas Vivas.

Thank you for all your prayers and emails. Meggan sat in the Music School this afternoon, very teary-eyed, feeling very loved by all your emails of encouragement. We are learning what it means to trust. It is a place of contentment, even when we don't understand. Love to you all.