On Saturday we ran our first race here in Spain. It was a race to bring attention to those who have Parkinsons.
Observations:
There has been a strike for the past week. Anytime there is a strike it is meant to communicate a message, but this one stinks. Literally.
Garbage removal in Ponferrada is done by a government entity. As I understand it, there are cutbacks to the workforce due to the crisis here, and they are firing more garbage and cleaning personnel. In order to fight against the cuts in these areas, instead of others, the sanitation workers have decided not to collect the trash. So it sits there in the sun and rain, day and night. It stinks.
A few years ago Ponferrada was named as one of the cleanest cities in Spain. Not today.
Inside I have this driving desire to start up my own trash removal business. Well…I guess I wouldn’t say a “driving desire,” but more of a “hey-this-would-be-a-great-idea-for-someone-else-to-do” idea.
But that isn’t how things work in Spain. I am not here to offer a better system of garbage disposal or political change. There are deeper desires which move sanitation workers and politicians, and those deeper desires need a Healer. We all do.
I suppose until that happens there will be stinky streets every now and then.
Another birthday, and I am still waiting on those grey hairs and extra pounds that I have been eagerly anticipating for many years.
Oh well…maybe next year.
Tanzen: “A boy at daycare is mean.”
Crystal: “Why do you say that?”
Tanzen: “Because he calls me a plant.”
Crystal: “I think you are misunderstanding his Spanish.”
Tanzen: “Oh.”
Book: Livermore, David A. Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence. Updated. Baker Books, 2012.
(For a full review, click on title above)
Point: Short term missions needs to be evaluated, not because we should abandon the idea, but because we have drifted from the central purpose. That purpose is to properly love God and love others.
Favorite Quote: “How does our lack of cultural intelligence diminish our attempts to love God and love others? That’s the heart of the matter” (Livermore, Seeing, kindle 2560).
Stars: 4 out of 5
It would be worth another read and I would recommend it to someone who:
Other books along this theme would be:
Lanier, Sarah. Foreign to Familiar; A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold- Climate Cultures. McDougal, 2000.
Lingenfelter, Judith E., and Sherwood G. Lingenfelter. Teaching Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Learning and Teaching. Baker Academic, 2003.
Livermore, David A. Expand Your Borders: Discover Ten Cultural Clusters. Cultural Intelligence Center, 2013.
We have been taking an afternoon a week to visit the nearby villages, and this past week we visited Toral de Merayo. It has about 550 inhabitants and is situated in a small valley across the river from Ponferrada. We ran to the village (about 6 km away), walked around a little, and tested out the playground equipment.
To my knowledge, there are three ways to get to this village. You can walk across the edge of El Pajariel (the small mountain that borders Ponferrada on its southern edge); take the road on the east side of Ponferrada (which was washed out for a while during our rainy season), or take the the highway out and around, looping back in through gravel paths.
Toral, like many other villages, feeds Ponferrada – in multiple ways. These villages are home to many gardens, orchards and vineyards, so their produce ends up at the market in Ponferrada. The inhabitants are also often times employed in Ponferrada.
“Fish go in the sea. Not in mouths.”
Tanzen’s response to having to eat leftover fish for supper.
May I enter him as my refuge,
build on him as my foundation,
walk in him as my way,
follow him as my guide,
conform to him as my example,
receive his instructions as my prophet,
rely on his intercession as my high priest,
obey him as my king.
Valley of Vision, 78
Some of you naysayers have said that we have no talent whatsoever with woodworking…and we proved you right trying to make this kitchen stand for Crystal. However, you cannot say that we lack ingenuity.
Sav (“I’m afraid of sharp power tools), Jon (aka – Bob the Builder)*, and I (“stop whining, Jon, and put a bandaid on it”) spent some time using up the scraps from Jon’s garage. In actuality, these are the scraps of the scraps, since Jon had scavenged them from old pallets and junk heaps. He had used up all the “nice” stuff before we got ahold of it. Selfish. I know.
Through much blood, sweat, and tears (mostly blood), we have a finished product with a top shelf to hold our coffee maker, a middle shelf to hold our microwave, and a bottom slanted shelf to hold our vegetables (one could say that all the shelves are slanted, but this one was actually meant to be. No. Really. I mean it.).
In trying to take over IKEA’s clientele base, I have decided to name our company, IK-E, pronounced “ICK-EE.” We will show those Scandinavians a thing or two.
Grandpa Jack would be so proud.
*If you are wondering why Jon does not appear in any of the photos, it is because we didn’t trust him with any tools except the camera.