Buhlers in Madrid

I is for...

2009-06-09T14:07:00.001-07:00

... El Corte Ingles

If you're looking for high-end department store shopping then this is the place you'll want to go! It's got everything you could ever possibly want from a store, with a nice little price tag to go along with it. This particular El Corte Ingles is located in the heart of Madrid, in the Puerta del Sol district where thousands descend every day. Charlie took this picture on December 23rd when we went downtown to take in all of the Christmas lights. The snowflakes on the side of the building were particularly impressive. And don't think that they only sell clothes and shoes! Nope. Head here for their gourmet food shop, book stores and really anything you're little heart could desire!

H is for...

2009-06-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

...Hatchbacks!

Oh dear, where does the time seem to go? Apparently the month of May has come and gone and nary a single alphabet blog. My apologies! Well, there's only one thing left to do if I want to get through the remaining letters before our 2 months left here are up...on with the show!

Should a person ever choose to rent or own a car here in

Spain, your options would be limited—

Have you caught on yet? That's right - you would be driving a trusty hatchback. Other than the motos (motorized scooters) hatchback cars are the way to go. Red, blue, green, 4 door, 2 door - they come in all shapes and sizes! The smaller the better though since the spaces between cars to parallel park in are teensy weensy.

You should also be prepared for it to be standard as well, making driving in Spain even more of an adventure. Even yours truly has been learning the ins and outs of driving a stick shift—thanks in part to a very patient and loving husband.

G is for...

2009-04-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

...Gato!

What is a gato you might ask? Well, gato is the Spanish word for cat and there are plenty for the picking here in Tres Cantos. If I could put it simply, forget about choosing one from the humane society, there are more than enough in the wild. It is not very common for a cat to be a household pet, rather this dignified position is left to the dogs. Instead, cats are left to um...shall we say...be like rabbits and keep the kitty population large. Being a cat lover at heart, no matter how many times I see 1, or 5 or 18, I always emit the same

sentence "ooooh, Charlie, look! A kitty!" He's not swayed by my pleas to take the especially cute ones home. And so instead, I have had to resort to simply taking pictures.

This is a few steps away from our locale but every public space usually has 2-3 lurking around.

El Buen Parque Retiro is another popular place to find them. If you're the market for a cat...give me call. I can find you one for a good price.

F is for...

2009-03-27T04:50:00.000-07:00

...Franco & Flip flops

One cannot venture a visit to Spain without the imposing figure of Francisco Franco making its way into the conversation. Let me give you the shortened version of a very long and complex history about one of Spain's most notorious figures.

Where to begin? The leader of the Nationalist forces, General Franco, headed the authoritarian regime that came to power in the aftermath of the Civil War. Until his death in November 1975, Franco ruled Spain as

"Caudillo by the grace of God". In addition to being generalissimo of the armed forces, he was both chief of state and head of government,

the ultimate source of legitimate authority. He retained the power to appoint and dismiss ministers and other decision makers. Even after he grew old, began to lose his health, and became less actively involved in policy making, Franco still had the final word on every political decision (http://countriestudies.us/spain/22.htm).

An interesting thing that we learned upon arrival was that every baby that was born under Franco's regime could only have a name that was already on a pre-approved list. As well, the impact that Franco had on the Spanish artists of the era is fascinating. As you may or may not know, Pablo Picasso is Spanish and painted the famous work entitled the Guernica. Which is his depiction of the time when Franco hired Hitler's army to air bomb the northern Basque town of Guernica on April 26th, 1937 causing widespread death and destruction during the Spanish Civil War.

After painting this anti-war piece from Paris, Picasso vowed never to return to his home country while Franco was still in power. And as it happened, Picasso died a mere 2 years before Franco did, thus never setting foot on Spanish soil again. The painting now hangs in the Reina-Sofia, the modern art museum here in Madrid and is quite a sight to behold. A definite must see for any visitor to Spain.

Lastly, in 1969 Franco appointed Prince Juan Carlos de Borbón as his successor, fully expecting him to step in and pick up where Franco left off. This was not the case. Once Franco had finally passed on, instead of assuming the role of dictator, Prince Juan Carlos used his newfound authority to declare Spain a democracy. Which it continues to be to this day.

On a lighter note, the topic of flip flops. Yes, flip flops. Thousands of people wear them in the summer months as a way of keeping their feet cool in the sweltering heat. Despite that same heat found in Spain, nary a flip flop is to be found. At least not in public. In the recent weeks of warmer weather that we've been having, I have on occasion, worn my trusty pair of Old Navy $4 flip flops for brief ventures to the grocery store and have gotten strange looks every time! Nevertheless, I will continue to wear them as they definitely get the job done!

Churches, Palaces and Castles (aka Lisbon)

2009-03-20T04:34:00.000-07:00

(post written by Charlie)

It seems that my ability to keep people up to date on the photos of our lives is not as good as Becky's ability to tell people about the events of our lives. While most of you probably know that in February, we were fortunate enough to meet up with our fellow European onSiter, Eleah Reimer, for some midpoint debriefing and exploring, you probably haven't seen many photos. In an attempt to remedy that, here are the three brief but wonderful days that we spent in Lisbon, Portugal for our Extended Learning Experience (E.L.E.)

We decided on Lisbon for a few reasons. First and foremost, Eleah has been living in Stockholm, with something like 4 minutes of sun per month (a very slight exaggeration) and we had read that Portugal is one of the sunniest countries in Europe in the winter. In this, it did not disappoint. We had beautiful 18° weather everyday. We also wanted a cultural experience—we had thought about a beach island in the Mediterranean, but as this was a "Learning Experience," we wanted to learn. And again, we were not disappointed. We went into church after church after church and palace after castle after monastery. I was in heaven. I'm not sure Eleah knew what she was in for when she embarked on a "vacation" with me, but I was deeply stimulated and refreshed by what we saw.

I also should offer a brief apology to those who are hoping to see food pictures here. Normally, I'm a strong supporter of taking pictures of the food on our trips, but I was so hungry from the 10's and 20's of kilometres we were hiking each day, that I generally chowed down immediately and would have been taking pictures of empty plates by the time my camera came out. Please understand, the food was excellent. The seafood particularly (as well as the beef, which is not a very common thing in Spain) was excellent.

Day One: Downtown Lisbon

We decided that attacking the core of the city should be priority one for our first day. We were staying in an apartment about 20 minutes outside of the city centre, accessible by an easy and inexpensive train system and were happy to have a retreat to go to every night. The core of the city is very European. Restaurants and pastry shops, bars and designer shopping. Much of the centre of town is pedestrian only and all of the sidewalks (and many of the roads) are done entirely in mosaic tile. It's incredible! We shopped, drank coffee, visited churches, had pastries, sat in the sun, and then walked the seawall in search of a restaurant for dinner. As we walked the seawall, we realized that Lisbon was very quickly becoming a modern city as well. If you took much of what is cool about Vancouver or San Francisco, and merged it with a European city, you'd have Lisbon. Our first day was a success, and it was topped off by a view of the ocean, delicious shrimp and cod appetizers, and beef smothered in roasted peppercorn sauce for dinner. At this point, I was ready to move to Lisbon.

Day Two: Sintra

Because we only had three days in Lisbon, we wanted to make sure we took one day trip. We had been told by a friend who recently travelled to Lisbon that Sintra, a town up the coast about 45 minutes away had some great sites to see. We looked it up and found the main attractions were a 1100 year old Moorish castle built by Moroccan Muslims and a vibrant 17th century palace. The long and winding road that led us there was a little longer than the train would have been, but we did get to see the farthest western point in continental Europe, and we felt very close to Canada at that moment. The castle felt like Cair Paravel at the beginning of Prince Caspian when the Pevensie children don't yet recognize it's their old castle. It was a good little hike and had marvelous views of Sintra and the coast beyond. The palace was eccentric and fun, and the tour was worth the cost of admission (this cannot be said of every castle/palace in Europe). For dinner we took a local's advice and ate at their family's favourite restaurant in a little back alley. It was a dive, the food wasn't great, and the service was even worse. Worth the laughs it provided? Absolutely.

Day Three: Monastery & Lisbon

Our final day in Lisbon gave us the chance to return to the city and do a few of the recommended tourist things. Our first stop was on the way into the city: the Monastery of Saint Jeronimo. While the cloisters (which cost a small amount) were beautiful and interesting, the cathedral (which is free) is what is really spectacular. We were fortunate to have much of the cathedral to ourselves and I could have sat in there for hours. While photos don't do a building like this justice, be sure to check them out. We then made our way to Lisbon, enjoyed more pastries, which I should mention are much better than Spanish pastries, and relaxed yet again in the sun and warmth. Late afternoon, we made the hike up to Saint George's castle, at the highest point in Lisbon, where we watched the locals playing cards and took in the beautiful views of the entire city and the coast beyond. It was a great way to cap off our time there.

The next morning, we arose early to catch our flight, but I was able to catch the sunrise from our bedroom patio and a few pictures of the apartment we rented as well. All of this to say, if you ever have a few free days, and can find flights for 40€ per person and an apartment for 30€ per person, go spend those days in Lisbon. I guarantee you won't regret it.

E is for...

2009-03-18T07:00:00.001-07:00

... English Camp!

That's right folks. The thing that I will be thinking about and most likely dreaming about for the next 4 1/2 months. English Camp as well as being the final thing we'll be involved in here in Spain, is really the culmination of everything we've worked towards my whole internship. Let me tell you about it.

This will be the 6th year of this 2 week intensive English camp that we put on for 100 kids in Tres Cantos. Because parents are desperate for their kids to learn English, spots fill up very quickly. Charlie was involved right from the beginning of our time here as he was responsible for revamping everything that needed a designers touch. And he did a GREAT job! And now it's my turn to be heavily involved. The success of EC is found in the 30-35 monitors who come to Spain and volunteer 2 weeks of their summer to help teach cute Spanish kids. My job is to co-ordinate all of these monitors. I send out applications, receive applications, answer questions, track down flight itineraries, and organize it all. If this is something you might be interested in...drop me an email! I'd be happy to hook you up with an application!

As previously mentioned, this is an intensive English Camp. Through games, crafts, songs and sports we really try to make English come alive for these kids! However, this is NOT a Vacation Bible School. Our real testimony comes through the monitors who spend the 2 weeks living with a native Spanish family and letting their lives speak for themselves. I'm looking forward to experiencing what EC is all about!

D is for...

2009-03-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

... Dog poop and Digame!

Watch your step! Were you ever to make your way over to the fair land of Spain, you would always have to be keeping one eye on the ground while you were walking. Why you might ask? Well, even though it is mandatory for dog owners to pick up after their precious pets have done their "business" this is not always the case. Sidewalks, grassy areas, parking lots...it's all fair game. Too often we have been walking around only to be followed by that most distinctive odour only to go "Oohhh, no. Shoot." And furiously wipe our shoes off. So a word to the wise - beware the poop! (I will not be attaching a picture as I feel that might gross out some of our readers).

And you might be wondering what digame stands for. Digame is the way that the Spanish answer their phones. In Canada, when we pick up the phone, normally we say "Hello?" However, here it's much more abrupt. Usually if you were to call someone they would answer, "¿Sí? Digame." in quite a brusque manner. Literally translating, "Yes? Speak to me." Often it's only "Diga." (speak). And then once the person on the other end knows who they're talking then it's all about the "¡Hola! Que tal?" in quite an animated tone. It took a little bit to get used to but now we're quite accustomed to it. It makes hanging up on a telemarketer quite a bit easier when you're already sounding a bit rude when answering the phone!

Pictures

2009-02-22T05:44:00.000-08:00

(post written by Charlie)

Since writing out a relatively detailed description of our lives here in Tres Cantos, I have had a difficult time thinking of blog topics to discuss. People from home often ask us, "So, what's new?". And the funny thing is, the answer is really nothing. And this isn't to say we don't have things going on. We're really busy most of the time. But our life has settled into a wonderful season of unchanging patterns and rituals. I think this is one of the pleasures of living in Europe for a year, instead of a whirlwind backpacking trip (which certainly would have its advantages as well). Living here allows us to begin to breathe with the culture, instead of seeing from a tinted glass. We see its highs and lows, and we become desensitized to some things while becoming acutely aware of others that a tourist just couldn't see. I'm enjoying this stage of normalcy, and finding pleasure in simple things like walking to basketball practice, making friends with the unemployed Nigerian men who attempt to sell newspapers outside our local grocery store, and laughing most mornings with our neighbour Juan who thinks that wearing a t-shirt when its only 17°C outside is madness. He speaks enough English to laugh and say "Crazy Canadians" at the same time.

Unfortunately for our friends and family, who the readers of this blog are most likely a part of, by me not updating our blog, I have neglected the important task of uploading pictures. So, today, I have three collections to show, and two specifically give a good glimpse into our ministry here.

CCTC Christmas Pageant 2008

One of the yearly joys of many church congregations is the Christmas play by the children. This year, the kids who attend our various "Godly Play" groups, boys groups, and girls groups made up our spectacular cast of Isaiah, Mary, Joseph, Shepherds and Wisemen. Prepare yourselves for Spanish cuteness and the least organized play of all time (we had one "rehearsal" the week before that lasted 38 minutes).

Christmas Caroling

As an act of love and kindness to bless Seniors, and to help former English camp students practice English, every year we sing Christmas carols in a local Senior's Home. We were scheduled to sing at 11:00am, which was delayed, thankfully, because our rehearsal began at 10:30am the same morning. This included being accompanied by FOUR violinists who received the music they were playing a few minutes before the rehearsal. When I look back on the experience, I don't know if practicing for hours and hours would have helped our group much. I guess they knew what they were doing. Welcome, once again, to Spain.

New Year's in Belgium

It may come as a surprise to some that one of the highlights of our time in Spain has been spent in Belgium, but it is certainly true. My cousin Myrna, her husband Shawn, and their son Hudson played hosts and tour guides of Leuven, Belgium, a wonderful little university town where Erasmus once taught—no biggie. While the sites were spectacular (Bruges was a highlight), the joy was really in our time spent with loved ones, being encouraged, strengthened, and loved up like crazy. It certainly doesn't hurt that Myrna is a wonderful cook, and kept us well fed with delicious meals, wonderful Christmas treats, and spectacular bread, pastries, waffles (Oh my goodness!), and cheeses! One of the best parts of living in Europe when other family members do as well, is the insanely cheap flights that can take you anywhere in about two hours or less. It's like living in Calgary and having family that lives in Edmonton.

Hopefully you enjoyed this little jaunt with us through or Christmas season (even though it was almost 2 months ago). If I get the chance, I'll be uploading our pictures from our recent Extended Learning Experience with fellow onSiter Eleah from Sweden when we met up in Lisbon, Portugal. Did I mention I love flights that cost nothing?

Edit: I thought I would upload this video that our mentor Tim recorded during the Caroling. Pictures can say a lot, but in this case, a video (particularly the audio) communicates what pictures simply can't.

C is for...

2009-02-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

…Café con leche and chorizo

Move aside Starbucks. Step out of the way Second Cup. There’s no room for you here in Spain (unless a tourist is looking for you and in that case, they’re not really here to experience the culture!). Café con leche literally meaning coffee with milk is definitely the drink of choice here. And don’t think that you’re given the choice to add skim, 2% or cream to your coffee. Instead you’re given the option of caliente (hot) or templada (room temperature). In fact, many households are equipped with their very own milk warmer! Costing a mere 1.20€, it’s really the best deal in town. The Spaniards love their coffee break time and we’ve certainly embraced the pastime.

Another thing that we have embraced is their love for all things chorizo. Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt. It is generally classed as either picante (spicy) or dulce (mild), depending upon the type of smoked paprika used. There are hundreds of regional varieties of Spanish chorizo, both smoked and unsmoked, which may contain garlic, herbs and other ingredients. Chorizo comes in short, long, hard and soft varieties. Some of which are suited to being eaten as an appetizer or tapas, whereas others are better suited to cooking. Leaner varieties are typically better suited to tapas, eaten at room temperature, whereas fattier versions are generally used for cooking. A general rule of thumb is that long, thin chorizos are sweeter and short chorizos are spicy, although this is not always the case. After one grocery trip, we had 5 different kinds of chorizo in our fridge! I know I’m definitely going to miss it when we return back to Canada.

B is for...

2009-02-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

... Bears & Bidets!

Well, you might be wondering what these two things could possibly have in common. Allow me to tell you. Should you ever make your way over to Tres Cantos, Calle Siena 65 to be exact, and you needed to use the facilities, both of these things would be waiting your arrival!

When Charlie and I first arrived in Spain, we were pleasantly greeted by this, uh, cheery bathroom. What the picture fails to show is the teddy bear wastebasket along with the matching toothbrush holder and bathmat. Now, I must make mention that the previous tenants have two young children and so I view it through their eyes. I cannot promise that other bathrooms would offer such cuddly decoration.

What I can promise however, is that every self respecting bathroom in Spain will have a bidet (pronounced buh-day). Houses can often be sold for a higher price with the knowledge that there is a 5-piece bathroom (tub, shower, toilet, sink + bidet) rather than a simple 4 piece. Charlie thinks that it will be a great foot washer come the summer time. I'll have to let you know how that goes.

A is for...

2009-01-30T05:31:00.000-08:00

...A is for Alcampo!

As promised, I'm beginning the "ABC's of living in Spain" where I will be writing about the things that either are so completely Spanish that I feel you all should know about them, or things that strike me as funny, etc. etc. The whole point of this series is to give you a little bit more of a glimpse into our life here in España. So without further ado...

Literally meaning, "to the field", Alcampo is the grocery store where we like to do most of our shopping. It's situated in the next town over in Colmenar Viejo, about a 6 minute drive away. This is definitely a modern grocery store, which sells everything from produce to washing machines. We like their store brand and often find it to be the cheapest around. Produce is also quite cheap which we particularly enjoy. One thing that you won't find in your average Canadian grocery stores are the aisles devoted to jamon legs (See below)

A couple of shots of the inside

So, there you have it! If you happen to visit us, chances are you'll probably be making a trip here!

A year in reflection...

2009-01-09T03:23:00.000-08:00

(post written by Becky)

Happy New Year friends! It was some shame that I realized our last blog entry went all the way back to November 23rd. I'm sorry! We have been bad bloggers and will endeavor to do better in 2009. Whenever I'm out and about there are things that will come up and I say to myself "Oh, I should blog about that when I get back home" and then it always leaves my mind. One of the things that keeps me going back to other people's blogs are the regularity in which they update and so I am inspired to be more consistent at letting you know what's going on in our lives. One of the idea that I had was to do a series entitled "The ABC's of living in Spain" in which I will write about things that you might not normally expect a

nd might enlighten you about what living here looks like. Be on the look out!

It's crazy to think that 2009 is well underway. 2008 went by really quickly and will not be a year that I forget easily. Reflecting back on it, so many things happened that were great and not so great. I had the opportunity to lead a team to Quito, Ecuador for 10 days, learned

what strength looks like through family members fighting cancer and kicking its butt, moved out of the first home that Charlie and I had as a married couple and had the privilege of watching dear friends and family members get married.

[ I have tried to upload photos for a while and have been thwarted each time. They will have to wait]

And let us not forget moving to Spain in September! It was a year of challenges and joys and one that I will take away many valuably lessons learned.

We had a wonderful holiday in Leuven, Belgium with Charlie's cousins and just loved every minute of exploring this wonderful country while spending time with family. We had a blast hanging out with their 2 1/2 year old son and simply taking some time off. We came back to Spain refreshed and ready to face the new year. Until then, I think Charlie wants to post some pictures of our time in Belgium so I will leave you with his post.

Our Lives, From Sunday to Sunday

2008-11-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

(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

2008-11-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

(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

2008-10-24T12:34:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-10-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-09-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-09-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-09-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

(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!

2008-07-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

(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!

2008-04-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-04-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-02-28T22:16:00.001-08:00

(post written by Becky)

Hello.