Around the world in 80 seconds...

Here are some interesting blogs that I have been following from around the world.

Woody from Costa Rica

Stepchild from somewhere in western Europe.

Chris in Russia

Simon in Minneapolis

Betty in Santiago, Spain

The Living room in Australia

Some things are too cool for words...

The Big 29

that's right. I just turned 29 this past week. It´s kind of crazy, because I don´t feel that old..or sometimes I feel older. Lori made me my favorite birthday cake- chocolate mint. There are not cake mixes here, so she made it from scratch and it was wonderful.

Lori had some contractions (not just brackston-hicks, but the real deal) on my birthday! I thought for sure it was time for the baby to come (I packed my backpack for the hospital), but it turned out they were just practice. It could be anyday now. Her due date is August 6.

I have posted some new photos here, here and here.

Random Facts

• Lori and I have spent more married years in Spain than in the States.
• The cafe has gone through well over 10,000 napkins since it opened just over two years ago.
• Both of our daughters (soon to be all three daughters) were born in Santiago.
• Santiago has around 100,000 inhabitants, 40,000 university students, between 1-3 million tourist annually and over 1,100 bars and cafes.
• Most lunch breaks happen from 2-5pm and then everyone goes back to work/school until about 8pm.
• In the summer in Santiago the sun does not set in the evening until close to 11pm.
• If you are a tourist in Spain you can rent a car on your passport without any knowledge of Spanish.
• If you live in Spain more than 6 months and want to drive your own car you have to go through Spanish drivers ed (both written and driving).
• Quite often one hears fireworks in Spain in the middle of the day. Everyday (literally) is a Saint day and Saint day celebrations include fireworks.
• Spain is a Constitutional Monarchy which means it has a king and a parliament.

Geneva Alum Blogs

Every once in a while when I am cruising the blogosphere I come across some blogs I want to share. These are all blogs of Geneva people that I have found. Mark Helsel went to Geneva and then was a Youth Intern at First Presbyterian Church when I was in highschool. I have been following Keith Martel´s blog for quite some time and just last weekend I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon Ben Kendrew´s Blog as well as Kent Chevalier´s. If you know of any other Geneva bloggers, drop their address in the comment section below this post.

Photo Albums

I just uploaded som new pics to our Family Album and our Sights in Santiago page.

Short Film

Abi and Caleb took part in their first short film yesterday. A friend of ours is directing a short film for a local competition and needed some children to stand in for a short part. Our friend explained their parts to them in Spanish and then Abi and Caleb acted out their parts. It was fun to watch the process. I am looking forward to seeing the final cut.

Love and Obedience

I am currently reading The Jesus Creed, By Scott McKnight. I was struck by the following excerpt as someone who is not only Christian by as a "spiritual leader". It is easy to get caught up following the law (even the law of love) but miss the point (actually loving). The following excerpt is from Pages 52-53.

"GETTING CAUGHT BY JESUS

Jesus tells parables that catch his readers in the web of a moral dilemma so they can learn. A good example of this is the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

An "expert in the Torah" asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus says, "What does the Torah say?" The expert answers, probably because he has heard the Jesus Creed from others: "Love your God... and love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus says, "A+!"

Riding a little wave of Jesus´approval, he gets a little chesty like a first-year theology student: "Well then, who is my neighbor?" What the scribe is really asking is not just "who is my neighbor?" but "who is pure and who is not?" He´s asking about the classification system. The "who is pure" question is also a "who is better loved?" question. Knowing that the question masks a larger concern, Jesus tells storyto catch this expert in the web of a moral dilemma so we can all learn.

On a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho a man is attacked by a gang of robbers, leaving him nearly dead. A priest and a temple assistant (a Levite) come upon him seperately, but fearing impurity from contact with a corpse, the skirt to the other side of the road. They are following the Torah, mind you. One of Moses´books spells it out: Dead bodies spread impurity. In another of his books, priests are told not to contract corpse impurity unless from the body of a "close relative." If close enough to a corpse to cast one´s shadow over the corpse, the person casting the shadow becomes impure. So, they suffle to the other side of the road. This is not heartlessness so much as it is obedience. Therein lies the learning.

There is not a Jew who hears Jesus´parable who thinks the priest (or the Levite) is doing anything but what the Torah regulates. The irony of this little plot is that in "obeying" the Torah the priest and Levite are disobeying what is at the bottom of the Torah: loving others. Ironically, it is a stereotyped character that does what is right: a Samaritan. Samaritan in this parable stands for social hostility and religious heresy. The priest and the Levite get caught while the Samaritan gets the teacher´s thumbs up.

If we are to love God and love others, Jesus is asking his audience, what happens when love-of-God-as-obeying-Torah (the Shema of Judaism) comes into conflict love-of-God-as-following-Jesus (the Shema of Jesus)? That´s a tough one, for all of us. But for Jesus the answer is clear: Loving God properly always means we will tend to those in need.

A plot within a plot. Jesus catches anyone who attends to the Torah (like avoiding impurity) but fails to attend the person in need."

Cultural Event

Last night we had our third cultural event at the cafe. It was a fun event with the group Truesdell from California doing a folk/rock acustic set. We also have a new art exhibit from a local artist and it turns out that she lives in our neighborhood. That rocks! It is cool how many people we have been meeting through the art exhibits.

Cool Pix

Chris Warren is an IT guy on his way to Russia. He stopped in Spain for a few weeks to hang out with our team and give us a hand. He has captured some great photos around the city, of us repainting the cafe (a special thanks to Lauren and Shayna for donating the paint), and of the night of Saint John tradition where people jump over fires to get rid of evil spirits (mostly people just jump for fun these days). You can see his photos here and read his thoughts here.

Should More Christians Live in the City?

This article in Christianity Today talks about A New Kind of Urban Christian. The premise is "As the city goes, so goes the culture."

Here is an Excerpt from the article:

"More Christians should live long-term in cities. Historians point out that by A.D. 300, the urban populations of the Roman Empire were largely Christian, while the countryside was pagan. (Indeed, the word pagan originally meant someone from the countryside—its use as a synonym for a non-Christian dates from this era.) The same was true during the first millennium A.D. in Europe—the cities were Christian, but the broad population across the countryside was pagan. The lesson from both eras is that when cities are Christian, even if the majority of the population is pagan, society is headed on a Christian trajectory. Why? As the city goes, so goes the culture. Cultural trends tend to be generated in the city and flow outward to the rest of society."

To read more, go here!

Emergent Self-Critique

"It’s always wise to listen and learn from criticism, but it’s even more important to proactively examine ourselves. As Paul said, if we judged ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged (1 Cor. 11:31), and Jesus told us to examine our own eyes for lumber before worrying about the splinters in others’ eyes. So, in that spirit, here’s an exercise in self-examination for the growing global generative friendship that is associated with the name “emergent” in the U.S. and in many places around the world. It’s based on my own observations, and includes proposals for how we respond to the issues I try to describe. "

I just read Brian McLaren´s critique of the Emergent movement (which you can read here). He seems very honest and brings up some very relevant issues. If you have been following the Emergent conversation, it is worth the read.

Mid Week Fun

Rome- I have been watching a Discovery Channel 8 part special on the rise and fall of Rome. It is very interesting and there are many things that we Americans should pay attention to as our society has many parallels to Rome.

Well, speaking of Rome, Lori is in Rome right now with her Mom, her Mom's best friend Gail and Gail's daughter Adrienne. Our good friend Father Sal who is a retired Catholic priest here in SdC just happened to have a trip scheduled there for the Same time. Today he is acting as their tour guide and showing them the Vatican. Tomorrow they are going to check out Florence.

Home- Abi, Isa and I are hanging out a lot this week. We reduced my hours at the cafe this week to enable me to be a stay at home dad. Yesterday afternoon I took the girls to my favorite plant store outside of town and then they helped me plant some new flowers on our back patio. It was such a hot day that by the end I ended up watering them with the hose as well as the flowers. They squealed with delight. Today I am planning on taking them to a park and then to "Old MacDaonald's" (as Isa calls it) for some ice cream.

Gnome- If Lori was here she would groan and probably make me change this post because it really has nothing to do with gnomes I just wanted to keep rhyming (hey, I've been hanging out with a two and four year old this week so cut me some slack). Anyways, I have posted some new photos here, here and here.

Roam- Hah, different kind of Rome. OK, enough. No more. I gotta stop. Anyway I wanted to encourage you to roam the net to see some of my favorite blogs this week.

• I wanted to Highlight Todd´s Blog in Paris. He has been writing some great articles about immigrants (a touchy topic, I know, but definitely a topic worth thinking about.

• I also wanted to highlight Missions Misunderstood. This missionary works for the IMB, but his posts are often relevant for anyone taking part in short or long term missions.

• Of Course, you can always check out my team mate Jacob´s blog to see more of what is happening here in SdC and some of the things that we talk about.

• Rainy Spain is another cool blog by an American who lives in SdC

• Also, if you have never visited the Tall Skinny Kiwi site you should. This guy blogs more in a day than anyone else I know. He definitely has his finger on the pulse of the blogosphere.

Cafe Event No-2

Last Thursday we were able to hold our second cultural event in the cafe. We had an inauguration for an art exhibition of a local amateur artist who is also one of our regular clients. A Texan friend who lives and works with a church in A Coruña came down and created an awesome atmosphere for us by playing the hammer dulcimer. These events have been awesome ways for us to connect with and serve people in our community. We are looking forward to trying a broad range of similar events in the coming year.

School Trip

Abigail and Lori spent Friday with students, parents and teachers from Abigail's school as they went to the country on a field trip. It was a hot day, but they had lots of fun. I am hoping to post photos of it here.

Family and Friends

Lori and I have been blessed to have Lori´s Mom, her best friend Gail, and Gail´s daughte Adrian visiting us here in SdC. Next week the women are taking a trip to Rome together and I will be doing the single father thing with Abigail and Isa (feel free to pray for me). It has been fun showing them our favorite part of the city and Spanish culture.

Summer Intern

We want to welcome Bri Kari. She is here interning with us this summer form Orlando, Florida. She has already been a great help to our team and we pray that God blesses her and those who she meets during her time here over the next two months.

Worth the Read

I just read a great PCA article about the Emergent Church called More than a Fad: Understanding the Emerging Church. It is a very well-balanced article, challenging both the emergent and the non-emergent.

We´re Back

Lori and I had a really rich time at IT´s International Leadership Forum in the Netherlands. It was a very beautiful experience to here IT ministry leaders from all around the world share how God was working. We heard stories from Iraq, China, Vietnam, Russia, Kenya,Ukraine, Bosnia, andBolivia to name a few. One of the coolest things to me is the fact that IT is a truly international organization. It does not just value Christian leaders that come from the western world and going to the eastern world. It does not even see itself as an organization that send people from rich countries to poor ones.

IT is truly living out it´s desire to be an organization "From all nations, to all nations". I like to think of it as "WikiMissions" or the "Bit Torrent Church". Paul described it like this to the Corinthians, "So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight."

Also, just wanted to let you know that I have updated photos on both the Friends and Family Albums. Feel free to check them out! Shalom, Matt

Out of Town

Lori and I will be traveling to Holland tomorrow for IT´s International Leadership Forum. This is an annual time of connection and training for It Leaders from all around the world. Please pray for our travel and for our girls who will be staying with our friends and team mates the Baileys. Also, we may be slow in answering e-mails but will try to get to them as soon as we can. Blessings, Matt and Lori

New Art Exhibit

Last night we had an inauguration for a new art exhibit (The Chemical Orange) in the cafe. I met Luis a few weeks back at the cafe and he told me about his work with government art programs for youth. From before we opened the cafe we wanted it to be a place of art, music, and community. Last night was a blast as Luis talked about this exhibit and his friend mixed music live with two turn tables.

Bono talk

I know it is old news but I find this a really powerful talk. If you have not yet stopped to listen to Bono's address at the national prayer breakfast, you can hear it on the podcast on the one blog. It is a podcast in the top right hand corner of the blog (Note- the One Campaign does some announcements and Switchfoot plays a song, but you can skip ahead right to Bono talking if you want to).

Google Mars

Since I was a kid I have been amazed by anything dealing with Space. Google just launched a new page where you can look a some NASA pics of Mars. It´s pretty sweet!

Holy Week

This week Spain has been celebrating Semana Santa. In Santiago catholic churches do processionals throughout the city and focus on different events that happened throughout Holy Week, but especially focus on the crucifixion. Yesterday we saw one of these processions with the girls on our way home from the park. The first time you see one of these processions it can be kind of freaky. If you don´t understand what is happening you really wonder why masked people are walking through town carrying heavy altars and crosses (in Spain it has nothing to do with racist organizations). A lot of the people who take part in the procession do so as a form of penance. I think that they cover their faces out of a mix of guilt and humility. Humility that they can´t say or think, "look at what a great person I am, I am carrying such a heavy cross for my penance".

Many of the ones that I have seen in past years have been very dark, focusing mostly on Jesus' death. I was pleasantly surprized by the one we saw yesterday. It was definitely solemn with the simple drum cadence and the eary trumpet blasts, but throughout the procession it had reminders that Christ did not remain dead on the cross. They also had children carrying various objects to symbolize different parts of the passion (bread, a cup, pieces of silver, a longe stick with a sponge, dice, a white robe, etc..). If you were paying attention it told the whole story.

One of the coolest things about it was that the girls kept asking us questions about all of the things that they saw. It was a great teachable moment, a different way for them to learn about the story of Easter. It all culminated with Abigail´s question "Dad, why did Jesus have to die?". I did not want to give her an easy or trite answer while we were distracted by drums and trumpets, so when we got home we pulled out her Big Picture Story Bible. We read about Jesus and the cross. It showed his disciples asking questions after his death including "Why did Jesus have to die?". This led into us having a great discussion about what happened to Jesus and why.

Welcome back

Lori has been on a sort of blog fast for the past several months, but has returned to the blogosphere. I welcome you to visit her blog here.

Religion and Spirituality

In the preceding post I put up some stats from a recent Spanish newspaper article. "The Other Bailey" has been working in Spain for ten years and left some great comments on Jacob's blog under this post. Here is a quote from him.

"These surveys are all about religion, but not about spirituality. My experience has been that Spaniards are very interested in spirituality (something they have not found in the Catholic church) and are not turning en masse to atheism and agnosticism."

Religious Stats in Spain

Jacob just posted on his blog about an article in one of Spain´s leading newspapers, El Pais. It is packed with youth statistics and their views on religion. Here are a few quick stats.

Young people in Galicia between 15-24 who claim to be:

-Practicing Catholic 8%

-Non-practicing Catholic 40%

-indifferent and Agnostic 24%

-Atheist 20%

-Other Religion 1%

Level of importance in life: 1 is no importance 4 is a lot of importance

Health 3.89

Family 3.79

Friends 3.58

Studies 3.25

Politics 1.92

Religion 1.76

Image that Spanish young people have of themselves

Consumeristic 59.8%

Rebels 54.1%

Only think in the present 38.3%

Worker 20.3%

Generous 13.4%

Mature 11.4%

Technology Donations

At the cafe we currently have two desktop computer stations available for our customers and we would love to have some laptops for people to check out and use to connect to our WiFi as well. If you have an old laptop that you don't use anymore that is good for connecting to the internet, please consider donating it to the Café to help us enrich our customers' experience at Terra Nova.

We are also interested in having a video projector for the café to be used for showing in-house films, movies, comercials, etc... If you know of any organizations or churches that are looking to donate an older VP, please let them know that we are interested.

"It is both a modern and spiritual place"

That is how the article about the cafe starts off in the local Gallego newspaper Galicia Hoxe. If you understand Spanish you may be able to understand enough in the article to get the gist of what it is about (It is written in Gallego, the local language). It is a pretty fun piece that appears in the equivalent of the life section.

Our concepts of the Church That was the title of the discussion that I led at GBU (Spanish Inter-Varsity) last night. We talked about how church buildings are viewed and used in the contemporary church setting compared to what the Bible says about church buildings. It was a lively conversation with some really good thought processing happening among the students.

News in Spain

Basque terrorist group declares cease-fire.

Spain intercepts immigrants.

Undercurrent of racism surfaces at Spanish Soccer games.

So you're looking for a new job???

"Well, the first thing that you need to do is go down to your local church and get a letter of recommendation from your priest stating that you are a good citizen. Oh, what's that? You haven't been attending mass or giving any tithes? Yeah, I understand that you don't have work and money has been tight, but if you want this letter that is what you are going to have to do. So, why don't you come back in a few weeks after you can demonstrate to the priest that you have good attendance and that you are paying your tithes. Then, we'll see what we can do about getting you that job."

From the 1930s to the 1970s that was the reality in Spain. The church was in essence married to the state (or married to the power of the state), but had to sacrifice a lot of it's soul in exchange for the power it received. This was a time of extreme poverty in Spain, when the church could have been an element of health, life and change to the Spanish people, but instead partnered with a dictator who decided who should be oppressed and who should rise to power.

Fast forward some 30 plus years and what is the cultural climate in Spain? First, most Spanish people say something along the lines of "yes, I am catholic, but I am not practicing". The evangelical church was persecuted and forced underground and treated as a cult under the dictator Franco. Eventhough Spain has had religious freedom for over 20 years the evangelical church is still having difficulty coming out of hiding and in a "roman catholic" culture the evangelical church has trouble shaking the cult label. Not to mention that spending so many years institutionally separated from the mainstream culture it is often hard for evangelicals and non-evangelicals to relate.

Among a lot of youth and students they see the hypocrisy of the culture that calls itself Catholic and does not live it. They also look back and see the way that the institution of religion has abused this culture and other cultures in it's own history and want nothing to do with any religious institution. They look around the world today and see Muslim, Jewish and Christian nations fighting to promote their own ideas and ways of life and don't want to have anything to do with any of it.

For all the advances in technology people often act very much the same today as they have in the past. I am reminded so much of the climate that Jesus entered in Israel in the first century. There were those like Herod Agrippa, who even though he was a Jew was married to and lusted after the power of the state. There were those in the Pharisees who claimed to follow the commands of a loving God and be his light in this world, but instead lived a life contrary to that God and whom Jesus called "play actors" (or Hypocrites). There were also zealots who thought that the advance of the Jewish state must be done with the sword. These people were waiting for a revolution where you would either see things their way or die.

So which of these groups did Jesus belong to? None. Which group do I belong to? This is the question I keep asking myself daily? Jesus confounded the people of his day by calling them to a life that was very different from any of these and setting up a kingdom that was very different from all of humanity's preconceived notions. So, I ask myself, "Am I living as a citizen of the new "way" or new kingdom that Jesus set up or am I still participating in the manmade institutions that are the old way?" How about you?

A digital video look at SdC

Our teammate Jacob is an awesome videographer and is excellent at telling a story through this medium. Check out this video he got of the Botefumeiro (really, really big incense burner) at the cathedral. Also, check out the Terra Nova Red video. It may take a few minutes to download, but it is worth the wait.

Blogs I Like

My admiration for blogs grows each day. Blogs give us instant access to the world around us and is basically a place of international conversation. It is like a large electronic cafe where people hang out. The beauty for someone who lives far away from friends and family is that it gives you a place to post the major happenings in your life or work. There are blogs where ametuers write online novels, some of them get published and some don´t, but they are accessible and honest.

Just this week I encountered some International Teams blogs from workers all around the world (You can find them in the right column under "Blogs I Like") I love being able to see how God is working in people across cultures and races around the world. One blog that really stuck out to me was the Refugee Highway blog. Check it out and if you feel like it take a trip around the world visiting some other IT folks like Woody, Simon, Jacob, Tim, Todd, Matthew, and Tomanddonna.

Local News

An article about the cafe appeared in a local newspaper today. You can go here to see it.

Road Trippin

This weekend our family and the Baileys are leaving town for a vision casting and planning retreat. We have a lot of questions that we have been forming over the past several months to help us discuss both our short and long term vision for Santiago. We ask you to pray for us, our discussions and our sensitivity to the spirit during this time. Also, we have all been fighting sickness this week so we would ask that you pray for all of our health (kids included). We would also ask for prayer for the cafe and all of the managerial responsibilities that the Baileys, Lori and myself have taken over. Please pray that God grants us wisdom and favor with those around us as we deal with the myriad of details that need to be taken care of each week to help the cafe operate smoothly.

Hugs and Tears

Today the house is quiet and the mood is sober as the girls sleep and I am left alone with my thoughts. We just had a week full of a lot of last things. We had a last meal, a last coffee, a last birthday party, etc.. with Scott, Shelley, Troy and Jen. We all knew that it was coming,but it seems like nothing can prepare you for the tearful tearing apart as a community is split up. I have mentioned before that the Striblings and Hellmanns were our friends, coworkers, pastors, counselors and family as we lived life together the past five years together in Spain. We have been there for one another as five of their six children were born during their time here. We have spent countless birthday parties together, and were there for each other during Passover meals, forth of July celebrations (just another day for Spaniards), Thanksgivings, Christmases and New Years parties. We have had countless conversations on everything from the mundane and ridiculous to the profound and very sensitive.

I was waiting for a friend the other day at my favorite place to get a Bocadillo (hot sandwich on homemade bread) in town. The waiter came up and asked me how I was doing and how the cafe was doing. I told him it was a pretty sad time as we were watching or very dear friends leave town. He said very matter of factly, "Well, that´s just part of life". He is right , but that does not make it easy.

I wonder how many people in life really get to know someone else as deeply as we have had the opportunity to know our teammates past and present. It definitely has not been something that I have experienced before. I praise God for it and say bring it on! Yeah, it is painful to love other people because it opens us up and makes us vulnerable, but it somehow makes us stronger.

As we gave final hugs to one another and blessed each others children it was impossible to hold back the tears and that horrible frog in the throat feeling that makes it impossible to talk. We said our farewells amidst promises to see each other soon in some unknown place and time in the future. Let it be so!

Shalom

Recently when I was at a conference in France our team was hanging out with Mark Soderquist over a coffee in a small french cafe. He was telling us about something he had learned recently about the Hebrew word Shalom. It is a word that we often just translate to mean peace, but we really miss a lot of the significance if we just say peace. It is used both to say hello and to say goodbye. It is to bless someone and to also remind your self to be part of making things the way they should be.

"The Hebrew word shalom has a wider meaning than the English equivalent peace, for it signifies welfare of every kind: security, contentment, sound health, prosperity, friendship, peace of mind and heart, as opposed to the dissatisfaction and unrest caused by evil." Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts by Philip Birnbaum page 601 (previously published as A Book of Jewish Concepts)

Book recommendation

I just read a book that you must read, especially if you are in a ministry vocation. Here is a quote that starts the book off. "Society...was regarded (by the Desert Fathers) as a shipwreck from which each single individual man had to swim for his life...These were men who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tenets and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply disaster." Thomas Merton This book, The Way of the Heart, explores the Dessert Fathers and their motivation for fleeing society to pray in the Egyptian dessert. It not only gives practical and useful advice for escaping the shipwreck of society but rescuing those who are drowning around us in the shipwreck as well. Definitely a guidepost for those of us who desire to live our life as ministry.

The One Campaign

What in the world would ever bring democrats, republicans, movie stars, televangelists, Christians and atheists together to agree on something and speak with one voice? Believe it or not, poverty and Aids in Africa. I would never have believed it if I did not see it myself. You may have noticed a link that I keep on my blog to the ONE campaign. This past summer when I was in the states I saw an interview with Brad Pitt where he was talking about the ONE campaign and what it is doing to help the poor and suffering in Africa. I was really impressed to see a millionaire movie star walking around in a third world country allowing himself to be humbled by the lives of people living in poverty and dying from things that are preventable.

I also read a book about the lead singer of U2 called Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas where among other things he talks about both the one campaign and DATA org (Death, Aids, Trade, Africa). There is no single, simple cause to all of the problems facing Africa nor is there a single, simple solution. However, I believe that the ONE campaign is working diligently on behalf of the poor and dying in Africa and would invite you to find out more about them,what they are doing and how you can get involved.

Kind of Random

This has been a crazy period of adjustment for Lori and I (and Jacob and Tania) as we have taken over a major portion of the cafe responsibilities and all that it entails to keep it running. Even with all of the craziness involved in keeping the cafe operating, I do occasionally get some time to read. I am reading a book right now that I am absolutely loving. It is called The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21 Century Church and if you have not read it then I highly recommend it. It talks about both mission and the church and is very useful for those of us who are not satisfied with everything the way it has been done in the past, but are also skeptical of every new fad or Church in a Box that comes around the corner.

Some times those who work in cross-cultural ministry setting have a difficult time communicating what is happening in their ministry while trying to remain sensitive to the people to whom they minister. I have found this to be the case as there is way more happening in my life and around me than I feel liberty to talk about online or in letters. My basic rule as that I consider that whatever I write or blog may be seen by anyone, and so I try not to write something about someone unless I am totally OK with them reading what I write. Here is how someone working in Australia describes "What Mission Looks Like at LivingRoom ". I really resonated with this article!

Jacob has been writing and doing a great job talking about what has been happening around here in SdC. Check out this , this, and this.

I have been trying to keep up with posting our photos online, but have fallen dreadfully behind (sorry to all the grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles). I will try to keep up with posting photos of the most important people here ( Abi and Isa in case there is any doubt). In the meantime you are free to peruse the following albums whenever you would like. The Family Album, The Friends Album, or take a look at our city in the Sights in Santiago Album. I do hope to add some new photos soon.

Season of Change

Six years ago this week Lori and I embarked on a journey through northwestern Spain with two other couples, Matthew and Anita Hanlon and Scott and Shelly Stribling. The six of us had quite an adventure driving from one city to the next and praying together in each place about whether this was the city God was calling us to. When we first stepped foot in Santiago de Compostela we had no idea how familiar we would become with this ancient city.

We had no idea that this would be the place where God would stretch and challenge us more than any other place we have been in our lives previously. We had no idea how much God wanted to mold and grow our thoughts of him and our understanding of him from outside our culture of birth. We had no idea that this would be the place where our daughters would be born knowing it as their home. We had no idea how God would use us as a bridge to bring groups of summer teamers and interns here to live their Christian lives in a culture that has rejected most of its religious heritage in exchange for the idols of self and secular humanism. We had no idea of the degree that God would weave us into the fabric of this society through friends, opening a café, and through our daily lives of work and school.

When I think back on that trip and the little that we knew about what our time in Spain would really be like, I praise and thank God for his faithfulness and the ways that he has worked in us, through us, and sometimes in spite of us. Today as I step back and look out over the past five years that Lori and I have lived in Spain I am also trying to peer into our future as well.

When I look into the immediate future I feel a mix of sadness and joy. The sadness being that our dear friends Troy and Jen Hellmann and Scott and Shelley Stribling have felt called to returned to the States in March. At that time Lori and I will be officially taking over as the team leaders for Spain. After the years that we have spent together with the Striblings and Hellmanns as friends, pastors, coworkers, and family it will not be easy for us to let them go (I'm quite tempted to steal their plane tickets so that they cannot leave). They have taught us so much about who we are and who God is by the myriad of ways that they have cared for and challenged us over the years. Troy and Scott will be starting a business together in Texas and we know that God will bless their new work and ministry there!

This past summer our team was joined by Jacob and Tania Bailey. Lori and I feel an amazing unity of vision for the future that could only have been orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. As we look ahead we are excited about the new season of ministry that God is bringing us into. The last two years a lot of our time as a team has been spent learning the ins and outs of running a business in a foreign country (which is no small task). As we look ahead we are excited about all of the plans and visions for ministry that we have, but we also realize that

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

So we enter into this future with plans, hopes, dreams, desires and the realization that we must submit each of these areas to God for he ultimately knows better than we do. We ask you for your prayers as our team transitions into this new season.

-Please pray that God would abundantly bless Scott, Shelly, Troy, and Jen in their move back to the states and in their future business endeavors.

-Please pray that God will bless Lori and I with wisdom beyond our years as we move into the team leader position.

-Please pray for Team Spain and our plans, visions and dreams for the fututre and that we will be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Friends and Family

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much... " -Jesus the Christ

Being away from family is definitely the hardest thing about living on another continent. I remember shortly after Lori and I moved to Spain I came across this verse and was intrigued by it. God seems to understand on a deep level the difficulty in leaving those who are closest to us for his sake and so he gave us a promise to bless us with family, fields, etc when we have left it all behind for his sake. He does not say that he will replace family (I don´t think that would be possible or desirable), but he promises to give us even more family. During those first days in Spain I wondered how that was possible and how that would play out in our lives.

One way that we have seen this verse come to pass in our lives here in SdC is through our friendship with Father Sal. He is a retired Priest that our team met several years ago. He was born in thePhilippines but spent a significant amount of time working in San Francisco. When we celebrate holidays he celebrates with us. He loves our children and our children love him. He is like a surrogate father, grandfather and friend. Occasionally we have a meal together and it is like having a meal with the family when we are hanging out with him. Yesterday he invited took us to a local Philippine restaurant where we tried some typical Philippine dishes. We praise God for his blessings and the ways that he works that are beyond what we could think or imagine!

International Cuisine Day Yesterday was a day of foods around the world. In the evening Lori, I, Jacob and Tania met at our house with a Cuban-Gallego couple who are parents of one of Abiga's friends at school. We had a mix of traditional American, Gallego, and Cuban dishes. It was a blast hanging out and trying new foods. We look forward to our future with our new friends!

Around the World

Friends from Lancaster! Lori and I returned to Spain from our time in the States a week ago Friday and hit the ground running here in Spain. We were pleased to have Zack Altoff come last week to begin an internship here with us. We have known Zach for years as we both have the same home church in Lancaster, Ohio. Zach is living in Spanish student housing and will be giving us a hand in the cafe over the next couple of months. He also brought music recording equipment and some graphic design skills- that should be fun! Our good high-school friend Krista Rea also came last week. She too is from our home church of First Presbyterian, she is here for a visit and we praise God that we have this time to catch up with her.

Friend from Europe! This weekend (almost before recovering from jet-lag from my previous trip) I went with Troy, Scott, Jacob and Tania to Paris, France. We went to a conference that was hosted by IT workers in France for European Church leaders. The guest Speaker was Brian McLaren. While we were there not only were we challenged by Brian´s message to church leaders to work together. This is especially needed in Europe where so many Christian churches are deeply divided and fragmented across denominational borders. Some of the things he talked about reminded me of some of the positive experiences that I had in Lancaster, Ohio when all the youth Pastors would meet together and pray. I pray for and would love to see the Christian leaders here in SdC come together to bless and sharpen one another.

Todd Burkes is a an IT worker in France and he gave us a deep glimpse into the people and history of France. We got to see first hand the suburbs that surround Paris and were able to see France's racism play out before our eyes. Thankfully, Mark Soderquist who lives and works in inner city Chicago was there to keep us from becoming too self-righteous and to remind us that the United States has the same problems of of injustice and oppression of the poor in its inner cities that France has in its suburbs. I also got to meet Paul Voltmer who works in a counseling minstry in Strausburg and see old friends like Matt Glock who works in Grenoble, France and Al Feria who works in Paris.

I really had a great time with all of these guys. It is always so powerful to sit over a meal or a coffee and tell and hear stories about how God is working around the world. I really appreciated my time with these guys and the way that they challenged me to be a better disciple of Christ. I am sure that I will be processing our conversations together a lot over the next days, weeks and months to come.

What is up with the Swains?

Well, we came home for Christmas and New Years and have had a good time with friends and family in Lancaster, Ohio. We have been very busy trying to see as many people as possible during our time here and so we have not had as much time to write about what is going on. This week we took a short trip up to Chicago to touch base with friends and coworkers at International Teams headquarters and talk to some potential future teammates. As always it was very good to catch up with people and being at IT always reminds me of the bigger picture of what God is doing around the world. Lori and I will be talking about Spain briefly this weekend at our home church First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster. We are heading back to Spain on Thursday and definitely appreciate your prayers for the twenty some hour trip that we will be taking with the girls.

Freedom- from religion? Or - to believe?

I just came across this article which explains some of the differences between Europe and the USA and how we view religion. I thought that they really captured a the significant differences and did a good job of explaining how our different histories have led us to where we are today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

To see some Thanksgiving pics go here. We also have some other albums here, here and here.

A Walk in the Park

Today was a beautiful day in Santiago. It was cool and crisp. Lori was working at the cafe this afternoon so the girls and I went to a nearby park to collect some leaves and enjoy the fresh air. This park used to be a monastery. They don't make granite playhouses like they used to 300 years ago. :)

Why are we here?

Tonight I am speaking a GBU. It is a Bible Study for university students in Spain. I am going to talk a little bit about International Teams and the kind of work they do all around the world. Then we are going to do a Lectio Divina on Isaiah 61. I love this passage! It is what Jesus read outloud in the synagogue at the at the beginning of his ministry. It made some people so mad that they tried to kill him. My challenge for the students and myself is how can I take part in fulfilling Isaiah 61 where I am? Also, if God is challenging me to some specific ministry or place what am I doing about it? I often wonder what the world would look like if Christians all around the world lived out their life daily with a sense of their life being about ministry. When we pray "Thy Kingdom come" do we really mean it and seek it today? Do we really see our selves as anointed by the Spirit of the Sovereign? Do we see our selves as healers and rennovators of the ancient ruins in peoples lives around us? Do we see ourselves displaying the splendor of the Lord? What would that look like, the "splendor of the Lord"? Will we hear our calling as priests and ministers of God no matter our vocation or station in Life?

November News 2005

Recent Visitors- We just spent a few days with visitors from IT. Barthe Companjen and Rick Knox stopped by on a journey throughout Spain as they look at future ministry opportunities for IT. Tim Barnes posted a few entries about his time here with us that you can read at his blog On The Global Edge. Todd In France- Todd works with International Teams in France. Lori and I have been reading his blogs lately to get an insider's view of why there is unrest and what is happening. We have found this really insightful and learned things that we would not learn just watching the news. Cafe News- It has been fun starting to meet some of the new students who frequent the cafe with new school year. In our very limited space we added a Laptop Zone last week. This allows us to free up some of our table space and provide electricity for our laptop users. We put it in the front window so our laptop users have a great view while they are doing their work. We also just put in a new art exposition by local artist Estrela Rua. Video Project- Gary Brunson is a freelance video producer from Texas. He has come for a few weeks to donate his skills to helping the team capture the atmosphere of SdC and the Cafe. This will be a great way for us to show what is happening here to prospective team mates and interns. Future Teammates- We are praying for future teammates, especially those who have a background in Spanish and Managerial skills. If you fit that description and have been feeling a nudge towards cross-cultural ministry send me an e-mail at matt.swain@iteams.org. Family News- We have some new photos posted on our family album page and If you have not had a chance to see what Lori has been writing about lately you can visit her page here. There is also a link to it in the right column. --->

Interesting Article

Here is an article describing the refugee situation in Spain. This is a little about International Teams and and basic facts about refugees. The following quote on the IT sight made me wonder how we think about and treat refugees. "Refugees in the Bible include Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, and Jesus."