¡Feliz Cumpleaños Andrea!

Today was Andrea's birthday. Although she had to work she still had a special day. We also met with our Spanish tutor for the first time. We will meet every martes and jueves (Tuesday and Thursday). Corrie has not been feeling well today and currently has a fever. Please pray for Corrie!

Going bananas without you!

Missing you. Come monkey around with us!

What does one do with a big ugly fish?

So, now that Show and Tell is over, what can one do but attempt to eat the thing, right? Never having skinned, scaled, or gutted anything in my life, I called Corrie and Ransom over for their first homeschooling lesson in anatomy and went at it. Oh, the carnage! Anticipating my lovely fillets with butter and lemon, I quickly came to the realization that I had no idea what I was doing, and basically ended up with a bowl of fish pulp. (Where is Barry Kent at a time like this?) Oh yes; we are still going to eat it - tonight! Maybe I can mount the remnants on our wall:

Show and Tell

Just last night Andrea was telling me that she has been teaching her kids about living things, mammals, fish, etc. She has been trying to adjust to teaching kids who are so young, and forgets about their lack of life experience. Like when she says to them, "You know how if you touch a fish it's kind of slimy?" and they all stare back at her with blank expressions.
So, since I just happened to be at the Fruteria y Pescaderia, I bought a big ugly fish for Show and Tell. The kids loved it. (See how convenient it is to have fish available when in a fruit shop?)

Fish and Fruit!

There are two small grocery stores near us in our town - the BIP and the SuperCamarma (which is anything but super). They are the size of your average liquor store in the States and have very basic stuff. We usually go there to get our fruit, passing a "Fruteria y Pescaderia," mainly because we usually need other things, but partly because the American mind thinks "hmmm...a store that only serves fruit and fish - do I really want to go in there?" The occasional fish odors as you walk by don't help the matter. So in order to enhance my cultural experience, and take in more of the town, I decided that today's outing will be to the Fruteria y Pescaderia. Yes, they do in fact keep the fruit separate from the fish. A mother (the fish handler) and her daughter (the fruit lady) seem to run the shop and it wasn't bad. A bit pricier than the other shops, but I was able to find some things that I hadn't yet been able to (zucchini, fresh parsley, and broccoli) and the quality of the fruit is much better than the other stores. In my limited Spanish (you have to study and plan what you are going to say before you leave the house) I found out: the names of some new vegetables, that I will not be able to find fresh basil anywhere nearby, and where in Spain a particular fish came from. They gave the kids some lollipops for free (Spaniards love children), and were patient with my language mishaps (I think I called the cucumbers peppers and the bananas apples). Hopefully, the smiles and profuse thank-you's for the fruit and the Spanish lessons, will one day open the door for conversations about their faith. Pray for the fish lady and her fruit daughter!

So did I buy any fish? Yes, I did...

Nevermind...

It appears we left our addresses at Brian's parents' house in the states. Oops. They are shipping them to us. Just a quick update - Ransom has been feverish the past couple of days but appears to be getting better. He is sleeping unusually late this morning, though - so please continue to pray!

We need your address!

So, when we first arrived in Spain, we were missing one of the boxes that we checked at the airport. When we filed a claim, they quickly found it - it had broken open with all of the delicate handling by airline personnel. We did a quick check and it appeared nothing was missing. When we got to our new home we actually found that we received a few additions: a pair of pink gingham boxers and a jar of used medicated ointment - ick! Last week I went to address some postcards and realized that we were, in fact, missing something - our address book. By now, I'm sure it is lining the floor of an Iberian Airlines dumpster. So, if you would like to increase your chances of getting mail from Spain, please email us with your address and phone number, so we can reconstruct our list. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks!

Corrie Story #1

Last night, Corrie says to Andrea out of nowhere: "There are just four things that I remember:

1. Mom comes home from Bunco at 9 O'clock.
2. Chelsea has to go East to get to our house. (she lives in Anaheim)
3. The code for Grammie's alarm is ****** (in Spanish)
4. The channel for "Sprout" is 295." (they enjoyed the cable at their grandparents!)

The girl is random, but if we could sell her memory in a bottle, we would make millions.

Adventures in Ransom #1

There is a pile of dirt that keeps collecting just inside our front door. The ants bring it up from who-knows-where as they excavate somewhere beneath the house. As we leave the house on Sunday for church, Ransom sees it and asks, "Daddy, how do you say 'Ant Poop' in Spanish?" You never know what is in that boy's mind!

This photo was taken on the subway at Ransom's request: "Take a picture of me doing this."

Madrid!

On Saturday, we went with a few families into the city to see the sights. It was helpful because we got an idea of where all the landmarks are, how to ride the subway, and where to buy really good ice cream. This first picture is the largest bullring in Spain. As you can see the weather was perfect.







Next we have some ancient Egyptian temple-thing, donated by Egypt, shipped over in pieces and reconstructed here. That's all we know. We will try to find out more about it before you all come to visit so that we can make it sound exciting.






The inside of Madrid's cathedral, which stands just opposite the palace. Third largest in Europe? Can't quite remember.







The kids liked the street performers best:















Anyway, Madrid is beautiful and we can't wait to show you around the city when you come to visit. You are saving up right?

The Bullfight

On Friday evening we decided to go to the bullfight. We were pretty sure they didn't hurt the bulls in this one and it sounded like it was more for kids, and it was. There were midgets (or whatever the politically correct term is):

Disney knockoffs:

Catholics making fun of their own religion:

Clowns:

And a few actual stunts:

It was a bit cheezy and we left early, but the kids had fun and we at least got to experince the semblance of a bullfight!

The Running of the Bulls

If you are like us, you thought that the running of the bulls is only in Pamplona. Wrong! Most towns have a running of the bulls, and Camarma is no exception. Last week was Fiesta week where there is music and dancing late into the night, parades and activities for kids, bullfights, and fireworks. On Friday, we watched our first running of the bulls. All of the men in running condition line the streets and wait for the bulls to come. They act macho until the first sign of an approaching bull, then they all jump up on the barriers with looks of fear on their faces. It's great. They use cows to entice the bull down the street, so at first it was hard to tell which was which.

This is a cow.















This is a bull:















This is brave Brian waiting for the bulls:

The bulls ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday. By the time Sunday rolled around Brian had enough gumption to run after the bulls (from very far) so that he could say he ran with the bulls in Spain! Apparently there are times when the bull will not cooperate. This one broke through the barrier and was running through the town. They finally had to play tug-of-war to get him into the ring.

Anyway, it was an interesting glimpse into Spanish culture and we had fun (though I don't think the bulls enjoyed themselves too much)!

Why are we here?

For those of you who may not know what's going on with us, here's the scoop. I have been looking to make a career change for some time, and have desired to go to Spain for even longer, so when the Lord opened the door for the career change we looked for a place where our family could serve in the transition. The Lord greatly blessed the desire. Through much prayer, we have found ourselves taking one step at a time that has led us to Camarma de Esteruelas, a little town outside of Madrid, Spain. Here, Andrea is using her teaching credential to minister to first and second graders at Evangelical Christian Academy (ECA), a school for the kids of missionaries in the Madrid area, and I am enjoying the rites and privileges of fatherhood as I teach and raise Corrie and Ransom during the day. I am also praying that God will open up a special ministry for me here, since my time and abilities are limited given the circumstances here. We were able to move into a house that was being vacated for a year by a missionary family who is in the US on furlough. It works out great for both families and allowed us to settle quickly into a furnished place. Our fellow Americans (and some British) here who work at the school have walked us through everything from how the bus system works to taking us grocery shopping, to helping us set up a Spanish bank account! The community at the school is great. The Lord has been so faithful to us in the move and we have already been so blessed in this experience, barely begun though it is. Pray that we will be a light to those around us despite our language struggles and weaknesses. After all, "He has chosen the foolish things of the world [and beleive me, we sound pretty foolish in Spanish!] to confound the wise; and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, he has chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nought those things that are: that no one may boast before Him." 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. Pray with us, that God will use our weaknesses to reaveal His glory.

Picture of the Jacksons

Photograph by Karissa Hammar. Check out her website at hammarphotography.com