Wait, I'm On an Island!
Be forewarned: I am becoming more and more convinced that I am not able to write short updates. Enjoy the ride. 😉
Blackout
I had a bit of a reality check (scare) a while ago. That Monday started as a normal day. Well, not really. Priscila treated Mamá Emma and me to pedicures for Mother's day (Emma) and birthday (me). Anyway, at some point when we were in the car, Priscila's mom calls from Portugal to ask if our lights are on. I busted up laughing. I remember when I was a kid in Chile calling my neighbors to see if they had electricity when ours was off. But the same call from another country instead of next door tickled my funny bone. The situation turned out to be no laughing matter as we found out most of mainland Spain, Portugal, and parts of France had a massive blackout. Oh well, I thought, it shouldn't affect us as we're pretty far away. I changed my tune when I picked up our carryout lunch order and the transaction took a really long time to approve. The internet slowed to a stop by 7 pm and my cell phone was no longer getting any signal. The cell phone towers were down and there was no internet signal for our wifi. I felt so cut-off from the rest of the world. My mind went to dark places of cyber attacks and not being able to contact my family and friends in the rest of the world. If technology fails, my only way to get to them would be a very long trip by boat because I'm on a island in the middle of the ocean.
The next day when power (and my sanity) was mostly restored, we heard from friends on mainland Spain. Everyone was fine, praise the Lord! The most exciting story was from one of our church kids who is studying at a university in Madrid. He had to be evacuated from a subway station, but fortunately, he wasn't on a train stuck in a dark tunnel.
On Wednesdays, I meet with Elena. We are making our way through Mark Moore's "How to Escape a Dragon" devotional reading on the book of Revelation. I had never realized that the book of Revelation could be applied to daily life. That Wednesday, we'd been reading about and relating to the escalating tribulation, and comforted to know that those who are "sealed" in Christ have a certain protection. As Christians, we have nothing to fear because we are on the winning side. Anything Satan can throw at us is temporary and pales in the light of spending eternity with Jesus in a place without fear or pain or tears.
That put Blackout Monday in perspective for me. The communication blackout seemed like a tangible representation of the oppressive spiritual condition of the island. And it gave me a new sense of urgency to make sure others know they can have that same hope. We pray that God would lead us to those people who are seeking and open to truth and hope only found in Jesus.
Kathleen
In my last update, I shared that Kathleen got baptized. She started her Christian life with a radiant smile and joined the women's Bible study on Philipians. We have been watching a video in English with Spanish subtitles. Kathleen's native language is German. She learned English at her school in Germany. And she has picked up some Spanish since her doctor told her to move to the milder climate of Tenerife. When she was young, she suffered a series of strokes that left her brain muddled and her body a bit mangled. When I talk to her in English I need to speak slowly and sometimes repeat myself until what I'm saying makes sense in her mind.
In church service, we tried a Google translate app that transcribed the Spanish preaching into German, but it couldn't keep up with Alex's quick speaking or understand the Latin American slang. So, I downloaded a German version of the Bible to my phone and sent her the verses as they came up in the sermon. And she got so excited to read God's word in her native language. Our prayer group has been praying for God to give her mental clarity to understand God's word and for a Christian native German speaker to come alongside her. Bjarne, a Christian from Holland who translated for her at her baptism, offered to take her to an English language church where they provide simultaneous German translation during the service. Praise the Lord! She now gets to have fellowship with other German speakers. One of the German ladies that goes to that church also lives in El Medano and gives Kathleen a ride on Sundays. What a blessing to be part of such a big family of believers!
We still see Kathleen around El Médano. In fact, I bumped into her just yesterday. She was working on a crossword puzzle with a friend at a little café. There is a beautiful transformation at work in her. She asked me if I would still send her the Bible verses in German so she can read them. In reply to one of the verses, she wrote me this: "Dear Erin, I did not think before that believing in Jesus and praying can make so many wonders." 💗
Team Retreat
You might remember that Steve, Priscila and I had scheduled a planning retreat for December last year. It was indefinitely postponed when Steve decided to have a stroke the day before we had booked for our 3-day stay at a nearby place with a pool. We were able to get a refund by presenting the hospital bill as proof that we were truly unable to make the reservation. And, we were finally able to retreat together the first week of March, which coincided with the more intense days of the carnival season here.
My experience with "carnival" was during my time in Ecuador. There, it is celebrated the Monday (Lundi Gras or Fat Monday, also Merry Monday) and Tuesday (Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday) before sobering for Ash Wednesday and Lent. I don't know if it's all of Spain, or just the Canary Islands, that simply chucks out the Lenten season and keeps partying through Easter. As the plane was landing when I arrived back from furlough on February 5, the flight crew welcomed us to the "Famous Canarian Carnivals" and hoped we would have FUN. In the spirit of FUN, I had my picture taken with the Canarian Carnival Camel (see photo above) greeting arrivals at the Tenerife airport.
According to what I saw on news reports, FUN includes drinking a LOT, street parties, closed streets, less parking, a LOT of people, loud music, a riot or two, ostentatious and minimal costumes, recreational drugs, food and more drinks, and then, looking wrecked during daylight hours. So, when Steve suggested we retreat to the more remote island of Fuerteventura for those days, I was onboard before he even told us about the great off-season deal he had found at a hotel with all the meals included.
We took a propeller plane from Tenerife to Gran Canaria, where we treated ourselves to a coffee before hopping on another propeller plane to Fuerteventura. It was so much fun to travel with the Dyes and Mama Emma. I actually can't remember the last time I travelled by plane with people I knew.
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| I'd like to point out that Steve and Priscila wear husband and wife shirts when travelling in case they get separated... Actually, they wear those shirts at home, too. |
The first flight was 30 minutes, long enough to serve us a cup of water and a chocolate bar. The second flight was 45 minutes in which they did the cup of water and chocolate bar routine and then came back through to offer a refill on the water. My favorite thing though was that they load the plane from front to back and unload from back to front both through the back of the plane while loading the baggage. That just makes sense, right? It goes really quickly!
The weather in Fuerteventura was my kind of weather: sunny mornings, sporatic rainy afternoons and cool evenings, 'course it was spring. So, Mama Emma and the kids hung out at the pool while Steve, Priscila and I met in the mornings and we'd go on an outing after lunch until the rain or sunset sent us home. The food was good, but a bit bland, to be honest. Most of the guests on the island at the time were British seniors (not high schoolers on spring break), so the food selections catered to that demographic. (Beans on toast, anyone?) That said, the buffet had plenty of yummy food and none of us went hungry. Natalee liked the option of having pancakes for breakfast every morning. Hehe...
We had such a great time relaxing, planning, and hanging out together in a new place.
Fuerteventura is only 2/3 the size of Tenerife, but because their shapes are so different, the coastline of both is about 212 miles. However, the landscape of Fuerteventura swept me away. Tenerife is very rocky with steep hills and mountains leading up to the center volcano, El Teide, which is the tallest point in all of Spain at 12,200 feet.
Fuerteventura is windswept flatlands in the south with rugged mountains in the north. And, due to the weather, everything was dappled with sun and interspersed clouds. Also, the population is much smaller, there are less cities and a lot more undeveloped areas. As we were driving to the airport, I did a search for nearby churches. The hits were sparse, less than a handful for the whole island. I mentioned that to the car in general and Steve said, "Well, eventually, we hope to have churches planted on all the islands." My mouth spoke before my brain fully registered the thought: "When it's time, I want to come here."
Saturday Studies
Many people in the church have vocalized interest in participating in Bible studies or, as in the case of mothers of youth, having something for the youth. A couple of wives approached Priscila about a Bible study oriented (orientated, if you're British) to wives. The struggle was finding a common time when people were available. I don't know anyone here who works a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job. The work schedules seem to rotate and split and do all sorts of tiring acrobatics.
So, we determined that early evenings on Saturdays were the most commonly available time. Priscila leads a wives' Bible study the first Saturday of the month. We now have a youth study (not a weekly youth group) where we look at evidences for the truth of the Bible. Priscila and I alternate the youth lessons on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. And the couples at church continue to meet on a monthly basis every third Saturday. I help out with babysitting if needed when the couples meet because they won't let me in to their secret married club.
The youth have been a lot of fun because those who come really get engaged with the topic and we've gotten into some really great discussions. Their school education has only presented at best an indifferent humanistic and at worst an angry, resentful atheistic view of the world. So, where does God and the Bible fit in with all that? We talk about faith and how it needs a good foundation. It's amazing to build that foundation together.
Besides Sundays, we continue our Friday evening prayer meetings. Please pray that God would continue to guide and grow these evenings into what he wants.
Silly Things
Sometimes, Mama Emma and I match colors when we go to church. And we have to commemorate with a photo. I hope I can pull off 81 with as much grace and joy as she does.
Below is the catholic church building in San Isidro, the city where we live. The one in El Médano is so similar it's not worth snapping a separate picture. Granted, I have not entered to see if the insides match the bleary exterior, but I really miss the beautiful, majestic, and graceful catholic churches in South America. Well, at least they got the cross right.
This is the beach of El Médano, the former fishing village now hippie beach town where the Comunidad Cristiana de Tenerife Church gathers. I mean, we don't gather at the beach, unless there's a baptism, but those we hold at the more remote beach on the north side of town.
On our trip to Fuerteventura, we verified that they do have elevators at the shopping malls and, as in Tenerife, they are slow enough to convince yourself as you're stuck in the metal box, that the stairs would have been quicker.
Have you ever had Cuban coffee? Are you sure that Cuban coffee was actually made by a Cuban? I enjoyed this innocent looking cup of life-changing goodness at the home of Liena, a Cuban sister from church. The white layer on the bottom is sweetened condensed milk. The dark stuff is pure espresso extruded through finely ground dark roasted Cuban coffee beans. The top layer of foam shows the force and resulting richness of the espresso process. I did not know I could wax poetic about a cup of coffee, but it was by far the best, and strongest, cup of joe I have ever had.
Spain does not celebrate Father's Day in June. Father's Day is celebrated March 19th, regardless of the day of the week on which it falls. Why?? Because that is the day of St. Joseph, chosen by God himself to raise his own son Jesus. What more endorsement do you need? At church we celebrated the fathers on the Sunday before and had their sons and daughters come up and pray with them.
And with this, I'll close.
One Sunday, Steve and Mark happened to dress the same. Can you tell who is who? I'll give you a hint: Mark is wearing black shoes.
Until next time,
Peace.
Erin
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