Friday, March 30, 2007
We Love Our Church
Matt and I have the blessing of attending a Christian church in Vigo that is warm, friendly, and biblical. I think it’s quite similar to the church I grew up attending and it’s also comparable to Grace Baptist in Vermillion… I mean to say, it’s probably most like a Baptist church. The main service begins at 7 pm Sunday evenings; we usually leave our apartment around 6:45 and arrive at the church about five after, which is just perfect because nothing begins on time in Spain and we are still early until a quarter after! As we walk in, we kiss hello and ask Que tal? (To mean, hey! How are you doing?). Then we smile when we can’t hear because of the conversation noise mixed in with music or can’t think of the Spanish words quick enough. Thankfully, everyone understands our difficulties and we feel warmly welcomed before sitting in our pew three rows from the back. The first hour of the service is for singing. The music is beautiful and is accompanied by piano, trap set, violins, guitars, and African drum. We are able to sing along with most of the music because the words are projected on a large screen and are accompanied by pretty PowerPoint designs. The first songs are vibrant and fast and sometimes we can’t follow word for word because the sounds and stresses seem to trip over each other and we can’t make our tongues follow so quickly! Then the melodic worship singing begins and usually after every song someone from the congregation or one of the singers up front prays. After an hour or so has passed, we are invited to sit and a man prays before passing around the offering plate. Then the pastor begins his sermon by naming the lesson’s passage and inviting us to stand while he reads it out loud. Matt and I use English Bibles and sometimes must think hard to match the name of the books from Spanish to English (San Marco is Mark, for example) but we enjoy reading in English while hearing the Spanish. Sometimes the pastor, Juan Marco, uses a PowerPoint presentation, which helps us tremendously because then we can both hear and see the words. He preaches for almost an hour while the children have their own class in a room off to the back (we can always hear their little voices and classroom noise). At the end, he prays and announcements are given before the closing song. At this point, the conversation is just beginning, and we are a little nervous. Little groups form and Matt and I are finally comfortable enough to join in on the kisses and chatter. Soon snacks are served and we have the choice of purchasing pop and finger food to raise money for the church in Ourense. I just love the friendliness; Matt talks with the men while I chat with the women about their families and school. Just last Sunday I was at church by myself because Matt was at home with a bad cold. I was talking with a man who asked where Matt was and I was describing Matt’s symptoms to him. Within a minute, Fernando pulled out a doctor’s prescription pad and wrote out a note for Matt. I didn’t even know he is a doctor! Then my friend Puri walked with me to the late-night pharmacy (only a few are open on Sundays) and helped me talk with the man behind the counter. Thanks to their kindhearted help, Matt enjoyed a speedy recovery! I had another happy moment on Sunday when a lady didn’t believe I am American and asked Juan Jose if it’s true, to which he replied, Si! Ella es Americana propia! Meaning, Yes, she’s American born. The thing is, I was wearing leggings and a Spanish style dress and ballerina flats, just like the Spanish girls do, and I hadn’t spoken much Spanish to the woman. I was so pleased! I look so American and have never been mistaken for una Española until then! Anyways, the church is so wonderful because of the people and the steady biblical teaching and we are so blessed through it. Perhaps we’ll take some photos or video…talk to Matt about that!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Tickets Back
Hey guys! I just wanted to write quickly and let all of you know that we have our tickets back, finally. We're flying from Madrid on May 27 at 10:40am and get to Omaha at 9:15pm. We can't wait to see you all!
Matt hits a tree. (No joke)
We’ve been busy adventurers lately! What a change of events! Last Thursday Matt and I went with a few other students to a fútbol game (soccer) in Vigo. We got on a bus crowded with townspeople and.JPG)
quite a few other international students and rode to the stadium on the edge of town. We paid for nice seats and ended up sitting right on ground level, perhaps even a bit below the field, and so we had a great view among 20,000 other spectators! Vigo played a German team and we cheered both teams on for the game’s duration. It ended up a victory for our friends the Germans, 1-0. It was fun to watch the Europeans play their sport; we were chilly and yet cozy in the stadium; but unfortunately, games aren’t equivalent to popcorn and hotdogs…I missed that. Overall, it was a fun evening and an .JPG)
experience we wanted to have before returning to the States. Then, over the weekend, our weather vastly improved! Saturday morning we woke up to actual sunshine and warm temperatures, so much so we went to the beach that very afternoon. I was comfortable in a long sleeve T-shirt and Matt was in short sleeves and jeans, but there were children running around without clothes and even grown-ups stripping various layers. Matt and I soaked up the sunshine in the sand, went barefoot in the water, which is still freezing, and finally climbed some rocks jutting out into the ocean to sit and watch the waves. We were there on that rock for quite some time when Matt remarked, “Looks like we should be heading 
back to the shore. See those waves? I think the tide is coming in.” I was too comfortable to move, however, and only said, “Oh really?” without making an effort to do more. Accordingly, it wasn’t even ten seconds later when a giant wave walloped over the rock and soaked me head to toe and splashed Matt too, but I was at an angle to protect him from the wave’s main front. Oh brr! That water was miserably cold and salty! Not long afterwards we got on the next bus back to the city and Matt was smiling with his advice, “You should always listen to your husband!” The next day we woke up and met friends at Plaza España to go for a daylong hike. Our Spanish friends from the university drove us international students with two of their Spanish friends to a forested area north of Vigo. We were a fun group: four Spanish people, Matt and me, two guys from the Czech Republic and Italy respectively, and two girls and a guy from Poland. The day was just beautiful with sunshine, perfect temperatures for hiking, and a light breeze. 
The hike was not difficult so we fully enjoyed the fantastic views, each other’s company, and a picnic lunch sitting on rocks overlooking a waterfall. We continued with a 2 km hike later in the afternoon and stopped for ice cream before heading home. The day was perfect, delightfully perfect. Then on Monday, we met up with Matt’s friend Eloy. Eloy is a man Dad’s age whom Matt met swimming at the pool at the university. They’ve built up a friendship and Eloy invited us to come for a country drive. He picked us up at the university in an old work truck, old but powerful, and just like any man’s work truck from the States. 
I climbed in the back and rattled around with the steady jerks and bouncing while the men sat up front and discussed the 4-wheel drive and whatnot until Eloy commanded, “You drive!” Poor Matt attempted to talk his way out of it, since the truck is stick shirt and the steering wheel commands muscle to move an inch and he hasn’t driven since coming to Spain, but nonetheless, the Spanish are forceful people and Eloy was already jumping out of the drivers seat as Matt protested. We were on a rocky, curvy, not maintained mountain road. Matt did wonderfully and quickly picked up the stick shift idea
and was driving with a smooth rhythm over the rocks of the road. Eloy wanted him to pick up speed, so Matt increased to third gear and we commenced rattling through the forest at a frightening pace until we came to a pivotal curve in the road. At this point, Eloy told him the road to the right led to a pretty place, but we were going to follow the road’s curve to the left. Unfortunately, he was pointing to the right and due to the noise of wind and driving, Matt couldn’t fully hear and thought Eloy wanted to make that right turn. So Matt jerked the wheel as Eloy shouted No! NO! Then Matt jerked the wheel back to the left but the truck didn’t respond quickly enough so that we were in the middle of the junction heading straight for a…tree. At this point, we weren’t moving quickly, so when we hit that tree, the crash was indeed minimal. I sat in the back laughing until tears streamed down my face. At the next stop, Eloy continued his driving and we tore through the forest and mountainous area, places you wouldn’t expect a horse would make it through but there we were forcing our way through with a truck. It was exhilarating, fun, and we did it again on Tuesday! Can you believe all this? I promise it’s true and Matt and I can barely tell the story out loud due to the excessive giggles!
.JPG)
quite a few other international students and rode to the stadium on the edge of town. We paid for nice seats and ended up sitting right on ground level, perhaps even a bit below the field, and so we had a great view among 20,000 other spectators! Vigo played a German team and we cheered both teams on for the game’s duration. It ended up a victory for our friends the Germans, 1-0. It was fun to watch the Europeans play their sport; we were chilly and yet cozy in the stadium; but unfortunately, games aren’t equivalent to popcorn and hotdogs…I missed that. Overall, it was a fun evening and an .JPG)
experience we wanted to have before returning to the States. Then, over the weekend, our weather vastly improved! Saturday morning we woke up to actual sunshine and warm temperatures, so much so we went to the beach that very afternoon. I was comfortable in a long sleeve T-shirt and Matt was in short sleeves and jeans, but there were children running around without clothes and even grown-ups stripping various layers. Matt and I soaked up the sunshine in the sand, went barefoot in the water, which is still freezing, and finally climbed some rocks jutting out into the ocean to sit and watch the waves. We were there on that rock for quite some time when Matt remarked, “Looks like we should be heading 
back to the shore. See those waves? I think the tide is coming in.” I was too comfortable to move, however, and only said, “Oh really?” without making an effort to do more. Accordingly, it wasn’t even ten seconds later when a giant wave walloped over the rock and soaked me head to toe and splashed Matt too, but I was at an angle to protect him from the wave’s main front. Oh brr! That water was miserably cold and salty! Not long afterwards we got on the next bus back to the city and Matt was smiling with his advice, “You should always listen to your husband!” The next day we woke up and met friends at Plaza España to go for a daylong hike. Our Spanish friends from the university drove us international students with two of their Spanish friends to a forested area north of Vigo. We were a fun group: four Spanish people, Matt and me, two guys from the Czech Republic and Italy respectively, and two girls and a guy from Poland. The day was just beautiful with sunshine, perfect temperatures for hiking, and a light breeze. 
The hike was not difficult so we fully enjoyed the fantastic views, each other’s company, and a picnic lunch sitting on rocks overlooking a waterfall. We continued with a 2 km hike later in the afternoon and stopped for ice cream before heading home. The day was perfect, delightfully perfect. Then on Monday, we met up with Matt’s friend Eloy. Eloy is a man Dad’s age whom Matt met swimming at the pool at the university. They’ve built up a friendship and Eloy invited us to come for a country drive. He picked us up at the university in an old work truck, old but powerful, and just like any man’s work truck from the States. 
I climbed in the back and rattled around with the steady jerks and bouncing while the men sat up front and discussed the 4-wheel drive and whatnot until Eloy commanded, “You drive!” Poor Matt attempted to talk his way out of it, since the truck is stick shirt and the steering wheel commands muscle to move an inch and he hasn’t driven since coming to Spain, but nonetheless, the Spanish are forceful people and Eloy was already jumping out of the drivers seat as Matt protested. We were on a rocky, curvy, not maintained mountain road. Matt did wonderfully and quickly picked up the stick shift idea
and was driving with a smooth rhythm over the rocks of the road. Eloy wanted him to pick up speed, so Matt increased to third gear and we commenced rattling through the forest at a frightening pace until we came to a pivotal curve in the road. At this point, Eloy told him the road to the right led to a pretty place, but we were going to follow the road’s curve to the left. Unfortunately, he was pointing to the right and due to the noise of wind and driving, Matt couldn’t fully hear and thought Eloy wanted to make that right turn. So Matt jerked the wheel as Eloy shouted No! NO! Then Matt jerked the wheel back to the left but the truck didn’t respond quickly enough so that we were in the middle of the junction heading straight for a…tree. At this point, we weren’t moving quickly, so when we hit that tree, the crash was indeed minimal. I sat in the back laughing until tears streamed down my face. At the next stop, Eloy continued his driving and we tore through the forest and mountainous area, places you wouldn’t expect a horse would make it through but there we were forcing our way through with a truck. It was exhilarating, fun, and we did it again on Tuesday! Can you believe all this? I promise it’s true and Matt and I can barely tell the story out loud due to the excessive giggles!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
