Today we want to touch on a few subjects that people have asked us about...we hope you enjoy hearing snippets of our life in Spain (and enjoy the picture of our snowy, Asturian mountains above).
Church Life
We have now been attending a small church in the town of Lugones for about 9 months. Each sunday averages between about 25-45 people. There are two kids (8-9 years old) who usually attend sunday school, three youth who regularly attend church (15, 19, 19 years old), four younger adults (our SEND co-worker Jaime, us and a spanish man who is 30 years old) and the rest of the people in the church are 40+.
Right now the focus of the church is to raise up Spanish leaders. This has been a challenge as some have showed a great amount of interest to be trained as leaders but many of those people have lost interest or have fallen away in their faith despite being mentored and encouraged. We are praying that God will work in the hearts of people in the church and instil a desire to serve in the church.
Language
Learning spanish has been a great challenge for Adam and I. Some people have the natural gift of learning languages quickly and sadly we do not have that gift! We have been studying diligently in classes and with tutors since we arrived in Spain and little by little we are making progress. Spaniards take pride in their language and it distracts and bothers them if you cannot speak properly so it is very important that we learn how to speak well.
During our time of language learning we are not just learning spanish...we are learning culture. That is why SEND encouraged us to learn spanish in Spain. There are serious cultural mistakes that can be made that could hinder our work greatly. Here is a quick example: We just heard a story of an American family that was invited to a Spaniard's house for lunch. They went, ate lunch, visited for a little while and then said they needed to go (they stayed for about 2 1/2 hours). The spanish family was greatly offended because when they invited them over for lunch they really meant for the entire afternoon. They assumed that the American family was not enjoying their company and so they left early. Through our time here Adam and I are learning these things which are crucial for connecting with the people here. We were invited to a couple's house a few days ago for lunch and we were culturally prepared to stay for the whole afternoon because we have learned that about the culture. We ate lunch with them and stayed for 6 hours...everybody was happy!
If you ever have any questions about our ministry or daily life please do not hesitate to ask.
