Caceres!

Wow, wow, wow. Where to start? I meant to update before this, my apologies.

When we arrived in Europe, we went straight to orientation in London. There all 18 of us spent four days with some wonderful IMB staff who prepared us spiritually, emotionally, and even physically! for our upcoming adventures. (I'm sure we must have been exhausting to them, so thank you to them for all their hard work.) We all bonded very quickly, which we discovered was so easy when you have the Lord in common in your lives! And its wonderful to know that we are all supporting each other and praying for one another even while we're in different countries in Europe. (There are people in Wales, London, Paris, Malta, Portugal, and us here in Spain.)

As of today, my teammate David Schild and I have been in Caceres, Spain for exactly one week. We are settled in a "residencia," which is... hard to explain. Sort of like a dorm, sort of like a hotel. Perhaps most like a boarding house. Our housemother, Cristina, cooks for us and does our laundry (!) and they change our sheets, etc. When all the students arrive, there will only be about 12 people living in the building together. But we all have our own private rooms, no roommates. It's a very homey setting, and I like it a lot.

David and I have had time to explore the city a little bit and get acquainted with some of the main streets and supermarkets and local ice cream stores :) so we are feeling at home. We got to play some basketball with a variety of people on Tuesday night, and it was so much fun and felt so good. I love that sports are the same in every language. I feel like that is a wonderful ministry.

Today we attended church at the church plant with our ISC team members and our supervisors Chris and Cathie Smith, their kids, and a number of nationals. I was excited to meet a girl, Luisi, who is about my age, who recently began attending the church, and she would like to hang out soon!

Tomorrow we start language class for four weeks, and I am very excited to improve my Spanish!

Please be praying for: Chris and Cathie, David, and the rest of our team; other people living in the residencia, that we can begin building strong relationships; our language class, that the learning will come quickly and smoothly, and will stick; Luisi, specifically, as she learns more about her Savior; and the other Hands-On adventurers in other European countries. Also, that the Lord would provide very specific opportunities, and that our words and actions would be not ours, but His alone.

Love to all.

Is it time for Spain yet?

YES! It's time for Spain! I leave tomorrow... well, today! My flight leaves Tulsa at 10:30 a.m., layover in Chicago, then leave there at 5:30. I'm pretty much a plane sleeper, so when I wake up, I'll be in London!

All Europe Hands-On team members will spend four days in London for orientation, and then David Schild(fellow Caceres team member) and I will be flying from London to Madrid, arriving next Sunday. I can't wait!

Thank you, again, everyone, for your prayers, donations, and support. Everyone today at church was so encouraging. God is so good.

Please keep everyone in your prayers as we travel, and Terry (orientation director) during this week which is probably craziness for him. Also, pray that God will prepare our hearts that we may easily share His word and open our hearts to one another so our Caceres team can work hard together!

Love and hugs!