Our Lives, From Sunday to Sunday

(post written by Charlie)

Extreme infirmity struck our home with vengeance this week, and although I spent more time at home than normal, I find myself writing this update much later than originally anticipated. Becky's sickness took hold in her stomach on Saturday night, and felt sympathy pains with our dear brother Spencer whose recent chemotherapy has rendered him rather nauseous as well. On Monday evening, I was stricken with a life-threatening head cold that nearly incapacitated me entirely, and the fact that I have the strength to type right now is a blessing, to be sure. Perhaps it was simply by providence that I didn't update until now because I now have photos that will bind all of our day to day activities together.

NOTE: Only keep reading if you really care about our day to day events, as this entry is extremely long and could take you the rest of your life.

Sunday #1:

Sundays are not all the same for us, which is why I will write about them separately.  The first and third Sundays of the month are "church" Sundays, or Sundays where our little collection folks who love Jesus, or who might want to know more about Jesus gather under the banner of la "Communidad Cristiana de Tres Cantos" and commonly referred to as CCTC. The term church in Spain is inseparable from the Catholic church, so to be referred to as a church would be quite misleading, as we are not in the Spanish sense, a church. Although the entire service, from the music to the Sermon is in Spanish, many of our congregants speak English which is makes conversation natural and enjoyable. Timothy Wendel, our mentor, pastors the church and is our regular preacher. As our Spanish continues to improve, so does our ability to enter into the services and participate with our minds and hearts. Including Canadian, American, Dutch, and Argentinean Christian workers, we average about 30 people in attendance.  Without the aforementioned groups, about 10-15. There are twice that many who rotate in and out, but regular attendance is not a priority for many.

Monday:

Our day-off...sort of. Although nothing is scheduled for Mondays, it is often not without work of some kind—Becky still has classes and I have lots of computer work that I do for various events and classes we're involved in. We also use this day to fulfill cultural requirements that Becky has for onSite History and Culture. Last Monday we spent the day in Toledo, which is probably the most important city in Spain's history, and used the day to get to know some Campus Crusade teammates of ours, Fanny and Mariano Pineda from Argentina.  I haven't even begun to sift through the photos from Toledo yet, but uploading them might make some of our readers extremely jealous, and I would not want to bring that side of them out.

Tuesday:

Our day begins with our Tres Cantos team's weekly meeting. We gather to pray, to plan events, like the past week's Thanksgiving Extravaganza, and to gauge the needs and hopes of our members as we look to be salt and light in a city with very little of either. There are six of us who gather: Tim and Melanie Wendel, Fanny and Mariano Pineda, and the Buhlers. We often stay for lunch and hang out with the four rambunctious Wendel kids, Timothy (11), Nathanael (9), Elijah (7) and Olivia (5). Tuesday afternoons (and Thursdays), Tim and I reach out into the community by coaching the school basketball team where his kids attend and its a great way of meeting kids and parents, some of whom are connected to the church in various ways.  At this time, Becky tutors one of her two English students for an hour and half. In the evening, Becky and I meet back up and make our way down to Chamartín Evangelical Church in Madrid where we teach a conversational English class for people in the community with emphasis on world events, life stories, and spiritual matters. It's a non-threatening way to bring those wary of any Christian involvement into a church and begin dialogue. All but one of our students are retired and this is one of our favourite times of the week. We feel as though we learn as much from them, as they do from us, and feel blessed to have this weekly encounter. Although Tuesday is a long day, 12-13 hours, it's a rich one as well.

Wednesday:

A slightly lighter day begins with Spanish lessons in the morning at home with our tutor Iñigo (like Iñigo Montoya from Princess Bride fame). Our Spanish has improved dramatically in a short time and I give most of the credit to Iñigo. He is funny, engaging, and I think comes more for the coffee than to teach us, but we learn nonetheless. Wednesday afternoon is spent working on projects that change continually. We work for one boss, but two separate entities. The first, as you know is CCTC, our church, and the second is "Global Ventures". An NGO with no Christian affiliation, Global Ventures is our link to the community. The big "event" for Global Ventures is a non-Christian summer camp that provides two weeks of intensive English for Elementary students. The effectiveness of this starts with the volunteers, all believing Americans, Canadians, or Brits who stay in the homes of the families whose kids go to camp. They are able to live their faith, answer questions very honestly, and have lead to these families entering into our churches, kids' groups and youth groups. I have already done a large amount of design work (most of which was re-design work) and Wednesdays are a great day for me to get a lot done. To say that they needed help in the over all "fit and finish" of the info and marketing they were sending out is a slight understatement, and I have enjoyed bringing them into the 21st century. On Wednesday evenings, Becky attends a weekly women's study and has already wowed them twice with her cooking—apparently all of Tres Cantos thinks she's the most spectacular cook they've ever seen. Last week she made a Carrot Soup with nutmeg and honey and topped it with a healthy dollop Crème Fraîche. I can understand why they think she's so amazing.

Thursday:

Thursday mornings are generally useful for catching up on sleep (Spaniards go to bed SO LATE!). In the early afternoon, I tutor Augustin in English (he has no idea how awesome his name is) and we spend half of our time playing English, and the other half hanging out and playing ping pong. Timothy Wendel (Jr.) often comes along and we have a really great time hanging out, studying, going to McDonalds, and playing games. He recently had his First Communion at one of the local Catholic churches, which means that his family no longer needs to attend because "he's in". He comes to our Friday night boys' group and I feel is soaking a lot up this year. Thursdays are another basketball coaching day as well.

Friday:

Iñigo joins us again on Friday morning and Becky tutors an advanced English student in the afternoon. I benefited this week as the lesson was in reading an English cookbook and Becky brought Naiara home to bake cookies. Friday nights begin with Godly Play (a Sunday School curriculum that works better on Fridays because we have people to help). Becky helps here and really loves this time with the kids. After this, four junior high girls gather at the Wendels' for "youth group" and 8-10 junior high boys at our CCTC location meet for our "youth group". The girls at a different social level than the boys, and keeping them separate is good for everyone involved. Many of the boys who come met us through basketball or English camp, and we are seeing fruit from years of hard labour. Friday nights are the result of others spending years and years and years breaking down walls of Spanish families through servanthood, friendship, and love, and it's a privilege to enter the scene when we are.

Saturday:

Saturday often begins with Churros, and ends with Chorizo. Our mornings are often ours to do with what we please, and in the afternoon, I play on a community basketball team with Tim Wendel (Sr.). It's a great way to get to know some guys our own age and to continually be involved in the community which we have been called to serve. If we don't have a Global Ventures event, Becky and I often spend the evening eating cured chorizo, popcorn, and hard, aged sheep's cheese called manchego, and watching a movie or the previous week's episode of The Office. Often this is followed by a few episodes of the West Wing, an addiction which we attempted to break before coming to Spain, but which we were totally unable to do. If we do have a Global Ventures event, which we did last night, the whole day is often devoted to preparation and execution of this event. Last night, we participated in the annual American 

Thanksgiving Night held at the Casa de la Cultura and it was a blast. Please check out the photos for more info. For me, the highlight of the event was watching parents and kids interact in the activities together—Spanish parents are often quite distant from the kids and to provide an opportunity for parents and kids to spend time together felt great. Even though it was an "English" event, Thanksgiving is kind of our bread and butter event, in that the holiday provides us the opportunity to talk about gratitude to God for the blessings he provides. It will be exciting to see how some of the seeds planted last night might have longer lasting effects.

Sunday #2:

And finally, Sunday, again. The 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month are for a Couples Study called Amor y Respeto, or Love and Respect. Many of you may have done this study in your own churches. The couples that come, many of whom are not believers, receive very Christian perspectives on how to love one another and their families better, in a country with a higher divorce rate than almost anywhere else in the world. Becky and I don't attend this group, but instead provide child care, which helps some couples come who wouldn't normally be able to. Tonight, we might be watching Wall-E, so that would be fun.

Well, if you made it this far in one go around, kudos to you. Thanks for being a part of our lives, and for caring what we do. This of course is only a brief outline and many weeks include twice as many elements, but these things don't change.

New Friends, Castles, and Big Paintings

(post written by Charlie)

Realizing that I have not written an update in some time, and considering the breadth of topics I wish to share with those who call our blog, "friend", I have decided to write two entries, relatively back to back so that I might break up both your reading and my writing, with the hope that both will become more enjoyable.  Today, I will discuss some of the exciting experiences we've had in the past few weeks, and later in the week I will describe some of the work Becky and I do in further detail, and provide a glimpse into our fun and often crazy schedule.  I have also been asked to spend more time discussing the food we eat, and feel as though this topic is important enough to span all territories of discussion, and I will not be limited to speaking about our diet in this, nor any other specific entry, but will endeavour to make it a common bond between everything update that I write.

Pastoral Care Retreat:

A few weeks ago, our Alliance team in Spain gathered together for a Pastoral Care Retreat in Becky's and my hometown of Tres Cantos, Madrid.  This is the fifth year that former pastors Bob and Joan Galasso from Florida have made the trip out of their own pocket to visit Spain and encourage the workers here.  While the month long visit is incredibly important, Bob and Joan are equally vital to praying for and encouraging us through out the year, through regular responses to updates or remembering to send a birthday card to each of us.  A highlight for us was being given the opportunity to meet the rest of the Alliance workers in Spain and spend the weekend with them.  For us, this was especially encouraging as we were asked to host Craig and Katie Lewis, a young couple in the their first year of overseas ministry working in Granada. One of the struggles we've had in Spain has been not having peers—our ministries are either with seniors (65+) or with kids (13-). Very few people our age live in Tres Cantos. To be able to simply be with people at a similar stage of life as us, experiencing the same new things, and who speak English as a first language, was a much larger blessing than we could have anticipated! We showed off Madrid, we chatted until all hours of the night, and we teased each other mercilessly (this is perhaps something I have missed most of all about being in a second language situation).

The theme of the weekend was Servant Leadership, and while I felt like the speakers had some good things to say, the most poignant expression of this was found in the person of my wife, Becky. Just before the weekend began, Becky was told that she would be looking after one of the couple's 1 year-old daughter, Emily. At first, this was quite the blow to her. She was really excited about the retreat. Very quickly, however, Becky saw how great of a need she could fill, and how desperately important it would be to Emily's mother Joanna, to be ministered to, instead of Becky. The picture painted by Becky's willingness to show up early and make coffee, set up snacks, miss all of the sessions to care for Emily, pick up kids from school at lunch, take them back and remain not only positive, but a beacon of life and joy to those of us experiencing the "retreat" was remarkable. I was truly touched to here truth, and then to see it acted out by Becky.

Manzanares el Real:

Another highlight of our Pastoral Care Retreat, was the fun day we spent together on the Saturday. We drove about 25 minutes north of where we live to a beautiful little town named Manzanares el Real, or Royal Apple Orchards in English. The main attraction is a restored 12th century castle that was rebuilt in the 16th century. For Becky, it was her first visit to a medieval castle, and for me, it was my first in Spain. Unlike many tourist attractions in Madrid, cameras are definitely allowed, and I was able to take some great shots of the castle and town, but also provide a glimpse of our team here in Spain, and some of the people who we spend the most time with. Although the workers in Spain have diasporated* back to their original homes, we have made lasting friends and are already excited to visit many of them throughout Spain, and get to know them even better.

El Museo del Prado:

Although Becky and I have been relatively busy for the past few weeks, from time to time we steal away from our little home and spend an afternoon exploring Madrid. Last Wednesday, we spent 3 hours at Spain's most famous museum, the Prado. Very quickly, I began to understand why this museum, more than any others is referred to as the "Painter's Museum".  To say the three hours spent inside were blissful is an epic understatement. I was very literally ecstatic. The magnitude of many of the individual works and also the breadth of collections represented is at the very least, unbelievable. At least 10 times, after turning a corner, I would lean over to Becky and whisper the words, "I can't believe that painting is here!" Fra Angelico's "Annunciation" is there. Raphael's "Cardinal" is there. Rubens' "Three Graces" is there. El Greco's "Adoration of the Shepherds", "Baptism of Christ", "The Crucifixion", "The Resurrection", and "Pentecost" are all there! And while these are all spectacular even in photo form (and I encourage you to google them), to see them in person was quite overwhelming. Unfortunately, the Prado does have a no photography policy, and so to help myself not be removed, I did not even bring it. Although, the next time we visit, I will make sure to bring my camera if only to capture the beautiful grounds and streets surrounding the museum itself.

Speaking of the streets surrounding the museum, after nearly wearing ourselves out with art overload, Becky and I took to the streets and wandered up side ally to find a little café where we shared some very typical tostadas: crusty spanish bread flame toasted and then topped with various toppings. The first, a closed sandwich with seared beef and black pepper was excellent, but the coup de grace was the second sandwish—an open-faced tostada smothered in a rich garlic sauce and then topped with prawns, pan-fried in butter, olive oil, garlic and brandy. Amazingly, the meal cost us only 12€!!  I love España!

*Some of you may be thinking that "to diasporate" is not a verb, and according to some dictionaries, you are correct. It is, however, currently being considered by the Oxford Dictionary, and this is good enough for me.

Cappuccinos and Competitions

(post written by Becky)

One of the inevitable yet still hard parts about being on onSite is the fact that you have to miss out on some really cool stuff. This past weekend our brother (in-law, but we often drop the last part) Spencer competed in the Canadian National Barista Championship, held in Montreal, Quebec. To get to this he had previously competed in the Western finals where he came in third and [side note - would have come in first had he not gone over time]. Motivated, he endeavored to work his butt off and off he went to compete against the other top three winners in each division. The top 12 competed on this past Tuesday and the 6 with the best scores would move on to the finals on Wednesday. Due to the wonders of the internet and live web casting we were able to watch the finalists being announced, LIVE! And to our joy Spencer was one of them!! This led to much rejoicing in our Spanish living room and a very late night as we were calling back home to congratulate him. I think we eventually went to bed around 2:30. We couldn't watch it live the next evening but we were so proud of Spencer when he came in 2nd!! This is pretty incredible since he was his first time ever. So Spence, we love you and are so proud of you! 

For those of you looking for the best coffee on the West coast, Spencer works for JJ Bean...

A special shout out also goes to Charlie's former boss and good friend, Phil Robertson (representing Phil & Sebastian Coffee Company in Calgary) who came in 5th!

Bullfights and Palaces

(Post written by Charlie)

I don't regret many things. Regret takes up valuable time that could be spent playing Solitaire, or reading dictionaries, or building lego. So I begin my blog this evening by confessing a regret that I have. My last blog entry was entitled, "Bullfights and Birthdays".  This is now something I have come to regret. Bullfights were not mentioned in my last entry—they simply made the title because I like alliteration (Bullfights, Birthdays) and because they are quintessentially Spanish. My regret is this.  I have now seen a bullfight.  A real, live, the bulls are dead at the end of it, bullfight. I do not regret seeing the bullfight. I regret I wasted using bullfights in a title of a blog entry on Alliteration (some language lovers out there are probably thinking, alliteration is never a waste; I agree but I'm trying to make a point).

Alas, sadly, I present to you, "Bullfights and Palaces," with a little shame, and a lot of regret. And there isn't even any alliteration.

My story begins with the advent and coming of Dave and Beth Pettigrew, family friends from Vancouver who were finishing a French and Spanish adventure in our hometown of Madrid, España. We met them at their hotel, Hotel Europa (seen photographed in previous blog entry), at the heart of the city and after some customary hugs and cheek kissing (Canadian tradition followed by Spanish tradition), we were asked, "So, do you guys want to see a bullfight tonight?". There are a few things you need to know about bullfighting: a) the season is incredibly short and b) it's very rare that a tourist (Dave and Beth) would be in town at the right time to see one. How could we say no?  Obviously, no was out of the question.

Our first order of business was pastry—we were not about to search down a ticket vender on a semi-full stomach. After pastry, we set out to find the vendor Dave and Beth had seen the night before, although as many of you probably know, a foreign city seen at night can look remarkably different during the day. We rambled through a few plazas and eventually stumbled (literally) across the street of the vendor and purchased our tickets. We had the entire day to kill before the big event so we set out towards the Palacia Real (Royal Palace) where the Bourbon Dynasty still holds court, despite actually living in a mansion 15 minutes away. We toured 24 of the 2000 rooms in the palace—I'm assuming we saw the more important ones—and came to realize that we probably would have built the palace bigger. Why be able to house 3000 guests when you could house 5000? Silly Bourbons.

The palace was followed by churches; churches were followed by bocadillos de calamare (calamari sandwiches); and the bocadillos were followed by a walk through Madrid's streets to Plaza de Santa Ana for some after lunch cafés con leche (cappuccinos) and churros con chocolate (which I believe I've mentioned). After our little snack we meandered through the Parque del Buen Retiro (quite literarlly the Park of Pleasant Retreat) and up the street to the Ventas bullfighting arena which was built in 1929 but designed to look like a medieval arena with Muslim influenced architecture. Stepping out into the seating area is awe inspiring.  The building is not spectacular in and of itself, but being there transports you from 2008 AD to 8 AD. It is as close to stepping into the Gladiator arena as can be produced today.  Thousands of well-dressed, excitable Spaniards (and a handful of scared Canadians) have come to see blood—and they will get what they paid for. Through a series of events or acts, the bull is released, angered, tortured, battled, and eventually killed. It's grotesque. Somehow, it's also beautiful.  The matadors disgust you, and also allure you to cheer them on. Courage often isn't displayed in head to toe pink, but watching a man stand perfectly still as a 1000 pound horned animal lunges within inches of his body is spectacular in any colour.  I cannot say I condone bullfighting. Decisions to attend or reject most certainly need to be made by personal conviction. I can say I will never regret attending the bullfights—

I have seen the core of Spain and have survived its cruelty and admired its majesty.

This most certainly will be an important statement for Becky and I in the coming year. For Spain, as we are realizing quickly, is a cruel land full of majesty. Interestingly, Spain does not see itself as the matador, but instead as the bull. Wild and free, and constantly fighting a losing battle—they are the bull that is slain, with no need or desire for any other to take its place, be it lion or lamb.

I will never regret seeing the bullfights.  Nor will I forget it.

Bullfights and Birthdays

(post written by Charlie)

Often times, when someone is fortunate enough to live, work, or serve in a beautiful and exciting part of the world, they are careful to word their experiences delicately so not to cause their friends, family, supporters, and in my case, co-onSiters, any jealously or malicious thoughts.  I have been called quite a few things throughout my 24 years, and delicate is certainly not one of them.  Becky and I are currently viewing the world through rose-coloured glasses which I'm sure will affect the way I portray what we have experienced in Spain so far.  Many of you know that the hobby that I am most passionate about is photography.  I have been so blown away by how spectacular Madrid is that I haven't wanted to capture it yet.  I feel as though I have to get to know her.  Learn how she inhales and exhales, how she wakes and how she sleeps—I'm still not even sure if she does sleeps.  If she does, it is certainly after Becky and I go to bed, which has been overwhelmingly late since arriving.  No doubt, I will get my camera out sooner of later, but until then, my budding shutterbug of a wife has taken some great shots which I get to share via our blog.

Arrival and Settling

We are certainly still in the "settling in" stage of our year-long journey, but we have experienced so much in just over a week that we feel as though we've been here too long to be settling in.  We arrived to find our mentor, Tim Wendel, a Chicagonian who has been in Spain for eight years, wearing a Hertz Car Rental jacket.  It took us a while to ask him if he was Tim (mainly because of the jacket) and I'm still convinced he was wearing it to throw us off, because we haven't seen him in it since.  We were lead on a whirl-wind tour of Tres Cantos, the suburb of Madrid which will be our home for the next 10 months, in which we met government workers and Jehovah Witnesses, bartenders and basketball players.  Tim may have been keeping us awake, or he may have really wanted us to meet these people, but one thing was very clear: our year in Madrid was going to be all about relationships.  We had lunch—the largest meal of the day—with the Wendel's and discovered that Tim's wife Melanie is an excellent cook and that their four kids had more spunk than should be legal in a one-floor 3 bedroom apartment.  We have felt unbelievably welcome in their home since then and have already grown to think of our mentors and their kids (Timothy, Nathaniel, Elijah, and Olivia) as friends.

In the past week, aside from learning about the work being done in Tres Cantos and being introduced to people, we have begun to learn how our oven works, how to turn on the washing machine, where to buy essentials and groceries, and how to get around on public transit.

Madrid

The beauty of public transit is two-fold: it's cheap, and it leads to Madrid.  For less than 1,00€, and in less than 30 minutes, Becky and I can arrive in the heart of one of the most exciting cities I've ever seen. We are fortunate to be arriving after tourist season and I feel as though the city is once again discovering its pulse at the same time that we are. It's electric.  There are hundreds, nay, thousands of people wandering shopping districts, eating on patios, and enjoying their beautiful city.  Men in the "third age", which refers fondly to our elders, sit in the most public plazas enjoying one another's company around a fountain or reminiscing over a glass of wine at a local café. People of all ages stand in line at a local convent to buy cookies from cloister nuns who cannot be seen by anyone (see video for how this works).  Locals stand around a local meat shop choosing what kind of cured pork to try (the price and the quality improves based on the amount of acorns in the pig's diet).

Perhaps my largest joy so far has been my birthday which was on Thursday of last week. Becky took me to a local Chocolateria half a block from our house which serves Churros (semi-sweet fried dough) which you dip in pudding like hot chocolate.  If this idea doesn't sound appealing to anyone who is reading this, I'm sorry.  I talk about churros now every day.  Despite the fact that we are walking between five and fifteen kilometres a day, I still may gain weight this year.  They haunt my dreams.  It is not a good scene.

After breakfast, we had a short meeting with some members of English camp team here in Tres Cantos (I will discuss this in further posts) and then Becky and I spent the evening wandering old Madrid's churches and palaces as the sun set.  After dark, we went to the Opera district to enjoy a Spanish pizza and assorted tapas, from shrimp and octopus salad to acorn fed "jamon serrano" on crusty Spanish bread.  We boarded the train back home around 10:30 and wandered back up our little Spanish street at about 11:05.

Traveling to España

(post written by Charlie on Monday, September 21, 2008)

¡Hola Amigos!

Well, we've made it! At least, I'm assuming we made it. I'm writing this on our regional trip between Düsseldorf and Madrid on Lufthansa. It's a cute little plane, a little smaller than most Westjet planes, and we're having a hard time believing that it's France we're flying over right now, and not Saskatchewan or Manitoba. I'm sure if we were flying at 5000 ft instead of 30,000 ft. we would see quickly the difference between the canola of the True North, Strong and Free and the vineyards of the French countryside. Alas, we're at 30,000 feet and all we can see are small towns at a distance and prairie landscape.

Early childhood memories caused me to doubt the quality of Lufthansa as an airline. I have very specific memories of sitting in the four passenger section of a 777 and having two rather unattractive German flight attendants yelling in German at one another from opposite ends of the section, and somehow feeling like I was the one being picked on. They were probably just telling each other that they were out of the beef option of the dinner that night, but to me it all sounded like I was in trouble. I tried to put my doubts aside as we boarded the airplane, which did not take long. Even in coach, we were treated like kings and queens! Although we were very impressed by the airline, we hadn't seen anything yet. We still had to see Germany!

When we arrived in Düsseldorf at 6:05, we had 25 minutes to get through customs and to our gate. Our flight was leaving at 6:45 but boarding was 20 minutes earlier than that. To compound matters, at 6:05, we were sitting four rows from the back of the Boeing 777 that we had flown from Toronto to Düsseldorf. As we left the plane, passed through security, cleared customs, and arrived at our gate in approximately 8 minutes, I uttered the words, , "Efficiency, thy name is Germany." I was floored! Between Lufthansa's speed and Düsseldorf's ability to supercharge their staff with lightning, we had time to leisurely use the washroom, for me to put my contacts in, and to enjoy looking at the handsome and beautiful Europeans sitting around us who made us look like schleps (is that Yiddish word or German—either way I think it fits). There was an extremely stylish young woman epitomizing European fashion, Spanish and German businessmen in designer suits and glasses, and me, wearing a Joe shirt bought at Real Canadian Superstore for what I thought was a pricy $5.99.

And now, here we sit, thirty-five minutes away from our home for the next 10 ½ months, enjoying coffee so strong and dark it makes Starbucks seem like a diner in Main Centre, Saskatchewan and flying over the French coast, enjoying the view of the Atlantic from the other side of the globe.

¡Adios!

Ontario is My New Home

(post written by Charlie)

Hello family, friends, and crazy blog addicts searching through the random blogosphere—

It is very important for me to point your attention first to the parentheses at the top of this entry so that you can be sure to understand that Becky is not responsible for anything I say in this, or any other, blog entry.  Having an audience that might even be as large as five people, I cannot whole-heartedly commit to the truth and nothing but because, for me, embellishment is often more enjoyable.  When talking in such hyperbolic states, I will endeavour to make it clear enough when I am indeed exaggerating.

The Goods:

Becky and I are still in Burlington, Ontario.  While I hold a small amount of affection for Burlington in my heart, being that it is the birthplace of my sweetheart, I can say without any reservation that it is most certainly not Madrid. 

Wednesday—the day our flights were booked for—was a discouraging and disheartening day.

We are itching.  I've been feeling the itch for weeks.  We've had our time to rest and recuperate; now, we rest and recuperate some more.  It could be God teaching us to be patient—the things of God are always worth waiting for.  I don't know how good of an intern I'll be if I'm Simeon's age but I understand the need for patience.  It could be bureaucratic nonsense.  Western Europe isn't exactly the hardest working place on the planet, particularly in the warm summer months, when the ocean is just close enough to drive, and just far enough away to forget about the office.  It could just be, the way it is.

So we have found contentment in one another and have chosen to take it one day at a time.  The ladies working at the Spanish Consulate in Toronto are on a first name basis with Becky and have been very kind to us.  We continue to call, and will continue to call, until we board a plane.

The Periphery:

Our two weeks in Ontario have been fun.  We've done some things we normally wouldn't do and have had quality time with friends and family.

Our first week, we got to go to a Toronto Blue Jays game. Although I don't really care for baseball, or any team from Toronto, I cheered with all of my might against their opponents, the Yankees.  I hate the Yankees.  I hate them because a good portion of my extended family loves them to the point that simply by reading the words on my blog, "I hate the Yankees," they'll be fired up.  It might even fire them up more than when I said, in jest, that "Hilary would make a good president." No, nothing fires them up that much.  We had a fantastic time with our friends, The Synchyshyns, who were visiting from Edmonton, trying on hats, visiting Toronto hot spots, and watching the Yankees get annihilated.  Yes,  I said annihilated.

Another very fun day was spent sailing with Becky's mom, Susan, step-dad, Andy, and twin brother, Jeremy.  We embarked from Hamilton Bay—certainly not the most beautiful bay in Canada, or Ontario, or even the GTA—and passed Stelco, made it through the bridge, and began sailing in the most torrential and devastating winds Ontario has seen in decades.  I mean, there were times where we sailing at speeds of 1, maybe even 2 knots. Waves were crashing down around us and the rain made it nearly impossible to see.  After our mast was struck by lightning, I felt the worst must certainly be over.  As it turns out, there are sharks in Lake Ontario and now Becky's twin brother is missing three fingers on his left hand, and his entire right leg.  Becky missed most of the adventure since she was a little seasick and decided to stay in the cabin as the weather turned.  In hindsight, she made the wise decision that Jeremy will now wish he had made for the rest of life.  To see the entire encounter lived out on film, view the above gallery "Sailing"—be warned that it is not for the faint of heart.

And finally, we went hiking...in Burlington...it's hard for me to believe too! But there is actually quite a nice forest and an escarpment to hike in and enjoy. The uphill portion of the hike ended quite soon after it began but the views and scenery were really stunning, and coming from a Vancouverite, that statement means a lot more than someone from here, or Saskatchewan or something.  I avoided major injuries and death, which should make my family happy as I have difficulty walking on sand and ice without shattering my foot or destroying the shape of my nose.

Well folks, thanks for reading.  Most of you probably never made it down this far, and I can't exactly blame you.  I'll try to update more than once every month so I don't have to unleash on you the thoughts and events of my life in such a voluminous way.

Visas and Boxes and Stampede, Oh My!

(post written by Becky)

First of all, Happy Canada Day everyone! 

Not only does today mark our country's 141st birthday but exactly 2 months from today, Charlie and I will be sitting on a British Airways plane en route to Madrid, Spain! This is if everything goes smoothly with our visa application. 

Yes, our visas. The application has safely made its way to the Spanish Consulate in Toronto and I have been in contact with the nice people who work there. They have had a few questions for us which is actually encouraging because it means that they are in the process of reviewing our applications and they are not sitting at the bottom of some pile on somebody's desk.

And then boxes. If the 1st of July marks the 2 month departure date, then exactly 2 weeks today we will be on our way, in a Discount moving truck all the way from Calgary to Vancouver. Hence the boxes that have taken over our apartment. Its quite bittersweet to be packing up the place we have called home for the past 3 years. On one hand, we are so absolutely thrilled to be starting this next stage of our journey, but on the other hand, we have had some wonderful times here in Calgary and have been so blessed through our family, our friends, our church and our school. 

And then there's this little thing that Calgarians like to refer to as Stampede or "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" (their words not mine). For those of you who have never been to the Prairies before, Stampede is 10 days at the beginning of July when Calgary goes absolutely nuts. I have never seen 

anything like it, or so many cowboy hats in one place. It's quite fun but I'm not entirely looking forward to the long hours at the restaurant! We both finish work on the last Saturday of Stampede where we will then take in the action on Sunday, pack up on Monday and move out on Tuesday. Oh My! 

Before I sign off, a HUGE thank you to those who have been supporting us through prayers, and financially. We have been overwhelmed by blessing upon blessing and know that this wouldn't be possible without you all. Please continue to be praying for our visas and that they would get passed through the right hands. And for the transition of moving out of Calgary and saying good bye to those we love. And then for safety as we cross the Rockies with all of our stuff! Thank you! We appreciate those prayers and you so much. 

The onSite 08/09 Team!

(post written by Becky)

Well...here we are! The 17 onSite students who are leaving for placements all over the world. What an amazing group of people! Tonight we had the amazing opportunity to be commissioned and anointed by over 100 students in our student body. It was a very special time and truly made me appreciate the wonderful community we have here at Ambrose. If you are interested about reading about some of the other places that these fabulous people are going check out the "some interesting reads" section. It's the best way to travel the world for free! 

Almost done

(post written by Becky)

As I write this there are 2 weeks of classes left in the semester and another week of exams after that. And then, my friends, school will be over. Ah, blessed thought. For any of you out there who are thinking about taking 5 classes, working 20 hours a week, being involved in school and church committees among other things, DON'T DO IT! This has not been the most enjoyable semester and I would not recommend this to anyone.

Right now Charlie and I are in the process of applying for our visas. We would very much appreciate your prayers as this is a long and tedious process but we remain optimistic. We're still hoping for an August 31st departure date and will keep you updated.

As for our plans for the summer, it's looking that we're going to be working full time until Stampede is over. Charlie will be continuing his job as a barista as Phil & Sebastian's coffee company, located at the farmer's market and I will be serving at Milestones Restaurant. After that, we'll be packing up our stuff and leaving for BC where we will spend a few weeks with Charlie's family and then off to Ontario to spend a couple weeks with mine. We're really looking forward to re-connecting and spending time with loved ones before heading off on our Spanish adventure!

First Post

(post written by Becky)

Hello.