March 19, 2004 When it rains, it pours. That seems to sum up the past week and a half! Way more has been happening around here than I have time to write down, but I will fill you in on as much as I can. Thankfully, after a forced two month sabbatical from our internet service (a frustrating ordeal that does not deserve more than one line of mention), we are ecstatic to say that our main line of communication is back and running again. If you need to contact us through e-mail please disregard all other old addresses for us that you may have and use matt.swain@iteams.org or lori.swain@iteams.org Café News If you have ever been in the process of buying or selling a house, then you might understand a little of bit of the roller coaster that we have experienced in the last weeks. Several weeks ago, I sent out an e-mail regarding a café location that our team really liked. The rent was a little high and so we began negotiations with the realtor and owner. Last week the realtor called our team leader with an amazing offer and we accepted it. They made plans to meet later to sign the paperwork. Five minutes later the realtor called back to say he had some bad news. The owner had been talking to a family member who was interested in taking over the business, and the owner wanted to wait one week before he did anything. On the verge of having the place, we now had to wait a week. The realtor was equally annoyed, because after weeks of negotiating back and forth between the owner and us, he would be cut out of the deal entirely if the owner went with the family member (apparently real-estate laws here are drastically different from how things work in the states). So, after a week of waiting and wondering, the realtor called us back Wednesday to let us know that the owner chose to go with the family member. Our team was bummed after having been so close yet again. However, we are continuing the search and quest for the place to make Café Terra Nova a reality here in Spain. Thank you so much for your prayers and we will continue to keep you up to date as developments unfold. “I am Running Home” Two weeks ago we tried our first art discussion over Rembrandt’s painting of “The Return of the Prodigal Son”. We used Henri Nouwen’s book of the same title to help guide us in our discussions. One of the guys who came last week for the first time went out later with our teammate Matthew Hanlon and talked with him about the painting some more. He told Matthew that that he feels a lot like the Prodigal son. He said that he feels dirty like the prodigal in the painting and wants to become clean. Then he said, “I am not yet kneeling in front of the Father, but I am definitely running home.” Please be praying for him as he begins this journey and pray for us to be sensitive to the Spirit. Family Life Isa is already one month old. It is crazy how quickly they grow and change. We love seeing her personality bloom as she smiles, coos, and cries to tell us what she is thinking. Abigail loves Isa incredibly and normally wants to go see “babeesa” first thing in the morning. Abigail turned two years old last week and Lori’s birthday was on Sunday. So, last weekend at the Swain house we were chanting, “Party, Party, Party” and eating lots of birthday cake. Weekend Visitors This past weekend we were blessed to have some fellow I.T. workers from France come down and join us for a weekend. The President of International Teams also stopped by on the last leg of a two week around the world journey. It was so awesome to hear stories of how God is working to change lives in various cultures from Sidney, to Vietnam and Austria. It was also a great reminder to me of how big our God is. I often get so caught up in what is going on where I live that I miss out on the greater picture of what God is doing around the world.