Meeting, greeting and exploring

Arriving in Madrid

So the plane ride went surprisingly smooth. The girls did great and we were helped out by the various flight attendants, which was comforting considering we had to bring so much CRAP on the plane. Somebody please explain to me the mathematical formula that dictates each child increasing the luggage exponentially.

When we arrived in Madrid, we had no means to communicate (no cell phones, no internet, no Espanol). Our host, Hector Ramirez got delayed by a traffic accident, which helped us feel right at home like we were back in L.A. We wish we had taken a picture of us fitting in his car. You see, everything in Madrid is much smaller than in America. The cars are all small. The elevators accommodate three people. The grocery stores are like newsstands. The main exception is the size of their public parks, but you get the point. So we managed to fit two large suitcases, two large duffel bags, a jogging stroller, a backpack, large briefcase, Melinda’s large purse, Ainsley’s backpack, a pilot suitcase, two more duffel bags, Tilly’s car seat and ourselves into a Ford Fiesta.

Immediately, when we arrived, we felt welcomed open-armed. This was something we expected, but it was still overwhelming, mostly because Hector and Lilli, his wife, have been under an extreme amount of stress with programming at the Arts School. They were coordinating their final recital for the semester and the theatre would only give them enough tickets to accommodate half of the families. Then they found out that their freezer was no longer keeping things cold. Then Hector got sick and hurt his back. This all happened the day we arrived, and yet they still showed so much concern for us getting settled and being comfortable.

The weather here is unseasonably warm. The day we arrived was the hottest day of the year and a good 10 degrees warmer than usual. Good thing we are from L.A. Praise God we have air conditioning in our bedroom. Granted, it took us two sweaty nights to figure that out. We are sleeping upstairs in a flat that is on the top floor, numero nueve, and has a wonderful terrace that is very relaxing, once the sun goes down.

All of this has continued to remind us that life can be simple. Bigger is not better, more is not meaningful and family is truly what is most important. Please pray for Hector and Lilli so that they are blessed immeasurably for all of their hard work here with the students and their families. It is a truly amazing ministry and one that we will continue to write about.

Stop in Philly

We are currently watching the girls make a mess of the Concourse A food court in the Philadelphia international Airport. Other people seem to think it is cute, but dad is a little stressed and still searching for a happy place.

We are just a few hours from boarding our flight for Madrid and thus beginning the adventure that we started preparing for almost a whole year ago. After so many prayers and words of encouragement, it is coming to fruition. While there are still many uncertainties about what awaits our time in Madrid, what we do know is that God goes before us and has been leading us.

For those of you that don't know where we have been the last two weeks, we left Pasadena June 4th on a cross-country road trip that had stops at the Grand Canyon, Northwest Arkansas, Atlanta and Jacksonville Florida for Melinda's mom's wedding. Did I mention we drove...with the girls...from one coast to the other?

We look forward to updating everyone as soon as we are settled in Madrid at la casa de Ramirez (Hector and Lilly Ramirez are graciously opening their home to us for the entire time we are in Madrid working with the camp that they run). So, thank you for your continued prayers and thank you to all who have made this trip possible with your financial support. We will also update our amount raised in a later post as we are still receiving some final numbers from different supporters.

Blessings,

Christopher, Melinda, Ains and Tilly (the Manii)

p.s. Donde esta el bano?