September Highlights

Web Updates Since last I wrote, I have made more updates on the web page than I can tell you about here. I invite you to explore and find some of the new items. We have added more photos and I have added quite a few new links that I have found interesting. To visit our web click on SWAINLIFE.ORG

Visitors Our summer was absolutely packed and we were blessed to have several visitors during that time. Lori’s Mother came to stay with us during the month of August and we had a so much fun together exploring the city and seeing different parts of Galicia. Janice was excited to meet Isabel for the first time. When she was getting ready to leave Abigail said that she wanted to go with Abuela (Spanish for Grandma) on the airplane to America. I think that Abigail’s highlight was seeing “Ollie the Octopus” (I’m not sure who named him that, but it stuck) at the Aquarium. Also in August Tim and Liz Barnes and their two children Zach and Heather came to visit us. They came with two friends Ana and Christy who are school teachers in the Chicago area. Everyone helped us out in the café and Liz did several jewelry making workshops. Those of you who went to the Art Sale at First Pres last year probably saw some of the things that she donated towards the café. If you would like to see more of her work click here.

Café Volunteers We have been absolutely blessed to have volunteers come and help us from the time that we opened the café in April. We just want to say a special thank you to Nathan and Steve who were here with us for part of July and August. After hiking the Camino from France to Santiago, they spent a month slaving away in the kitchen making all kinds of culinary delights for throngs of hungry and weary tourists. Not to be outdone, Justyna took a fifty-eight hour bus trip from Poland to come and help us for the month of August. We just want thank each of those who sacrificed time, energy and resources to help us with the ministry here.

TEAMLIFE We are proud to announce that our teammates Troy and Jen Hellmann just gave birth to their third child this week. His name is Elijah Thomas Hellmann, born 9:14am September 14, 2004. The whole family is doing well and we ask for prayers for their whole family as they will be traveling back to Spain in about three weeks!

Swain Home Isa is sitting up and crawling and wants to test every thing that she finds by putting it in her mouth and chewing on it. Some might just call it babble but she has been saying “Da da da da” quite frequently now (which always ensures a big hug and kiss from Dad). Abigail has started preschool this week during the mornings and she absolutely loves it. She has been waking up WAY too early because she is so excited to get their and then is sad when it is time to leave school at the end of the morning. She can’t wait to see her friend Madeline each morning and “Teacher Isabel”. We are so excited for her to be immersed in Spanish language and culture all morning. Before long we will be asking her the right way to say things in Spanish. To see photos of the first day click here.

New School Year A few students have come back to SdC in September to take exams and quite a few came to the café to study, relax and hang out with friends. We are so happy that the café has an atmosphere that is attractive to students. This fall we are preparing several activities in the café that we are looking forward to. We are going to begin an art club, a hiking club, and a book club to start with. Please pray for us and the friends that we make! Pray that God gives us wisdom and that we follow where he leads us!

A Sad Goodbye

Our Good Friends the Hanlons A New Adventure In July our long term team mates Matt Hanlon and his wife Anita returned to the States with their four children. It was a tearful day for our entire team. Matt and Anita were part of our team even before we were certain about which city in Spain we were going to move to. I remember our first trip to the Iberian Peninsula together, driving from one city to the next praying about where God would have us go. The excitement and sense of adventure as we embarked on that journey together is still very real to me. Matt and Anita are not only great friends but have been an integral part of this team during the past years as they daily lived Christ and were an example to us. One story about them stands out to me. When they were enrolling their girls in school, they met with the director and talked with her about the school. Several months later she was talking to Matthew and she said, “When I first met you I knew you followed Jesus. I could tell from your countenance.” That same spirit followed them and shone through them in each of their relationships as they lived a life of ministry. They spent the majority of their time in Spain investing in the lives of the people that they met. It is my hope that our team continues to follow their example during our time here. Our prayers are with them as they begin a new adventure in Virginia. .