downtown and back again

dear Joshua,

I took the kids downtown to buy you a birthday gift this afternoon. I know you said no birthday gifts this year . . .but I think you're really going to like it! please don't check the credit card statement within the next 24 hours, ok? you like surprises, I like you to be surprised. . . so don't look!

also, a nice thing happened as it began to rain and we ran to catch the bus back home - - we bumped into our downstairs neighbor! She asked us to wait just ten minutes for her as she did one last errand, so that we could ride back together . . . and we had the nicest bus ride home with her; we talked a bit about last summer when our church tried to find ways to love the city of Pamplona during the festivals (you remember, of course, that she was the one who actually offered some really good suggestions when we did that, right?)
let's invite her for a coffee some time this month; I think I would really enjoy that!

how has England treated you this week? not to much rain, I hope! and not too many stuffy, hot tubes - - because I am remembering that I sent you off with only two dress shirts and a couple of t-shirts (you are a good traveler, my love)

good night!
Naomi

stickers on my window, and goodness! my house is a mess!

We had a rich few days together as a church this past weekend. We spend some concentrated time reflecting on some of our strengths and weaknesses as individuals and as a church community. on Friday night, after a rousing game of neon bowling, we came back home and spent half of an hour writing out important events in the little history of our church on post-it notes. we then arranged them as a time line on our window wall - - putting the highlights up high, and the struggles down low (perhaps you have done this before? it was very fun and enlightening!)
Joshua had to leave for a trip to London before he was able to record this fantastic documentation, so we left up the 107 little yellow squares for him to record it all when he returns later on this week.
While Joshua is away, I am trying my best to prepare for our move.
My friend Trini (remember Pablo? we love Pablo. Trini is Pablo's mom) came by yesterday to pick up some stuff I had set aside for her.

Trini's husband heads up Pamplona's catholic charity group, which means her house is furnished with bits and pieces of furniture that her good husband has brought home from the donation shop over the course of their marriage.

So when Trini came by yesterday, she took away my tables and chairs (and benches and fans and my lavender plant and my extremely hearty mystery plant). I warned her that my table has wine glass rings and globs of glitter glue in random places, but she insisted a hundred times that she wanted it anyways and that she would actually pay me for it. (yeah! into the camera fund that goes!)

while Trini was here, she asked my stickered window; she said that she had looked up at my apartment from the street level, and could see lots of little black dots and wondered what I had done to my windows.
I explained it to her, and she laughed at us . . . .
but I think she liked it . . . .

weekend in review: part three

Sunday night:
The church had come and gone. there were carrot cake crumbs from the Lord's table still on the floor; Brett had stayed for dinner and the dishes were still in the sink, the floor a sticky mess.
It was late, and I was tired.
but I didn't go to bed. Instead, I stayed up a little bit later
and just cleaned.

weekend in review: part one

Friday night:
Our friend Brett - - architect extraordinaire - -possibly knows more about architect Richard Neutra's life and work than any other living being on the face of this large planet. seriously.

So, this weekend it was Brett who was put together a public talk to share at our local community center (do you remember? Joshua has done this a couple of times , and so has Rachel) He explained some of Neutra's thoughts on spirituality and the modern man, and presented some of the religious architecture (church building) that was fruit of Neutra's perceptions.

And then after Brett's presentation, there was some round table discussion including two other architects and Rachel who is not an architect, but is a Christian who lives and loves church.
It was all fantastically fascinating and relevant; I wish you had all been there . . .Several of us went out afterward to the place across the street for a drink and a bite to eat. It was there, also, that our kids ran around yelling and chasing each other with wooden swords beneath the warm, humored gazes of all the other Spainish men and women out for something to drink and a bite to eat at 11:00 pm. (oh! Spanish night time culture, how I love you and your tolerance for wild children sometimes!)
At my end of the table we talked about travel plans and how sin, left unchecked can lead to greater sin.
I never did ask Joshua what they talked about at his end of the table.
it's now on my to-do list.
We got home late, and I was tired, so I ignored my crazy, messy house and dragged myself to bed promising myself I would clean it all on Saturday morning.
(sometimes it's just better that way)

morning errands

Brett was over last night for pizza and a movie; while he was here, we finished wrapping up the (imperfect) Christmas packs and sent a couple home with him to pass out to his local coffee shop and fish shop.
We spent this morning out in our neighborhood going to our hangouts:
to the paper shop (where we were sent on our way with three chocolate kings),
to the pharmacy (where the pharmacist pulled out three suckers for the kids to put in their pockets to save for later),
to the coffee shop across the park - - one of Joshua's study points,
and to the government building to the ladies that always process our paperwork,
and then finally to our own coffee shop, where we got kisses and more kisses from Adrianna
Selma always gets kisses from Adrianna; but she's the only one;
all it took was a packet of homemade sugar love.
nice.

giving thanks on November twenty-two

Words of thanks from Josu this week

"thank you, God for this food
that we have eaten for three days!
that is so crazy!"

we had a very nice Thanksgiving celebration on Sunday. Sitting all around my table there were:
friends,
family,
church family,
friends of friends

(just the way Thanksgiving should be)

Brett shared about some of the history of Thanksgiving,
Joshua asked some provocative questions about the concept of being thankful (he never disappoints!)
and we all shared about what we are thankful for (which is, in my understanding of Thanksgiving dinner, a given. All families, all over the united states of America do that, right?)

also, I think it should be known that I believe that pumpkin pie has never looked quite so good as it did with four candles poking out of the top!

who am I? (and do I talk like it?)

Jaime, Miriam, Brett and I signed up for a 2 hour Senegalese cooking class this week (Joshua signed up to watch our kids).
Being a christian community in our local community, right?

Jaime and Miriam weren't able to come, but Brett and I went - - and then Rachel got home from her class and took over kid duty so that Joshua could join us.
We met Carlos and his wife Mar; and found out that they are neighbors of our friends Enrique and Marisol, and we met Sonia - - the head of immigrant awareness in our little city. we chatted a bit with them - - asking about who they are and what they do, and what other international food they have tried, where they have traveled. And we talked about who we are and what we do - - about what it is like being an American living in Spain, and about that horrible, horrible time that I forgot to buy bread when some Spanish friends came over for lunch, and of course- - about our passion for Christ and for his church

Brett came over to our place afterwards and we all spent a good while reflecting on our conversations as Christians within an unbelieving world; reflecting on what it means to be authentic Christ-lovers, speaking true to our identity; always,
all
the
time.

I think we need to be purposeful about it
and creative
and bold

It's hard work for me
because I think I have spent a good part of my Christ-loving life training myself to talk true to my identity only when I'm with other people that are also Christ-lovers
(it's so comfortable that way)

It's hard work
but I'm retraining myself
(I think this may take a while)
but I'm convinced.
it
must
be
done.

friendship fusion

Brett had a birthday recently.
(you know Brett, right? - - part of our Christian community - - doctoral student in a local Spanish university?)
Brett runs in a cool, university crowd - - these architecture students spend their birthdays weaving through the labyrinth of Pamplona's old town streets - - picking out their favorite pinchos at every bar along the way, a different friend taking turns paying for the selection of food and drinks . . .

we run in a different sort of crowd.
we run in the "make a birthday cake and invite some friends over to play some silly games and then relight the candle three times so that we can sing happy birthday in English, Spanish, and Euskera (it keeps the kids happy and refines their language skills, you know?)" sort of crowd

Brett invited us along to his birthday celebration anyways (partying differences be darned!), because we're his church family, and he believes that neither he, nor we, (nor you for that matter) should compartmentalize our friendships and gatherings into "Christian" and "other".
we agree with Brett - - and he's our family; and so, with this kind, purposeful invitation, out we went, at 9pm with our three sweet ones in tow - - toys and snacks packed in the stroller,

and ate good food
and met and re-met some of Brett's friends (some who now, in fact qualify as our friends)
and had some good conversations - - some trivial, some significant
and were glad that Brett had invited us
and glad that we had said yes
We made it home by 2 am - - very early by Spanish standards.
(we're kind of new at this)

We were a small group this Sunday - - well, we're always kind of a small group; yesterday we were smaller than normal; Jaime and Miriam were out of town on a business trip this weekend, so they were missing
Brett showed up at five o'clock with the lettuce we needed for the salad - -well, it was escarole not lettuce, but it did the job just fine. Rachel and I finished up prepping the food plates in the kitchen as Joshua and Brett transferred the plates from the kitchen into the dining/living room.
The melon went out
and the jamon
and the the leftover roasted red peppers that Brett had brought over the day before when he came over made Joshua and the kids some pork loin and red pepper bocadillos while Rachel and I were downtown having the time of our lives at the (recently discovered by us) Pamplona antique/junk fair.
and the wine went out, of course, and the baguette - - which, as Malachai likes to remind us, is uncut because "Paul says that eating from one bread makes us one body!"
We loaded up our plates and sat around the coffee table with our bibles and our food and discussed our need as the church to speak God's truth into each others lives. we talked about how it seems that, for some reason, all Christians tend to have areas in their lives that are not gospel shaped. Perhaps because we have never really thought about how the gospel could shape that corner of our words or relationships or attitudes, or maybe because we willingly choose to overlook it.
so I'm thinking this week about what those untouched (or even just mildly touched) corners might be in my life, and I'm encouraged as I remember that I'm not in this alone; my church family is there to help me too.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16

out on the streets (together)

Brett is part of our Christian community.
Brett and Francesca study architecture together.
yesterday,Francesca called Brett to see if he wanted to have lunch after the morning conference given by some Portuguese architect.
Brett called us to see if we wanted to join them both for lunch.
Joshua watched the kids so that I could join Rachel
joining Brett
joining Francesca.
So we had lunch together,
and talked about all things relevant to life - - including:

• methods and mechanisms for making the best coffee (of course we talked about that - - Francesca is Italian)

• racism in Spain, and in Italy, and in the US, and in our own lives.

• chandeliers.

• what it means to care for the physical world without having that care overwhelm our care for people.

• the hideous wallpaper in Francesca's apartment and wallpaper's apparent comeback.

(see? important stuff)
and then, after the post lunch coffee, Brett and Francesca showed us the architecture building on campus,
and we ran into Isabel who comes to our place for movie nights . . . and Raul who we met at Brett's raging housewarming party.

it's good to be together.

32 (almost)

Yesterday we threw a birthday party for Joshua, and our house was filled with all sorts of people from all different parts of our lives. Jaime and Miriam were here, and Brett and Rachel - - all from our Christian community. and there were Brett's roommates, and Isabel and Lucas who often come for pizza and movie night, and Juan Carlos who we know from our local coffee shop, and Andrea and Franchesca - - Brett's fine Italian friends who we met for the first time last Thanksgiving. Even Jose the priest accepted a last minute invitation.
it was one of those lovely events that lasts longer than expected - - the four-o-clock coffee and dessert turned to a six-o-clock snack turned into a nine-o-clock dinner. . . and it was about 11pm by the time the door closed behind our last guest.
and this morning at about 11, I felt very, very sleepy so I laid down for a nap. and slept.
I woke up just enough to hear Joshua bringing the boys home from school
and to wonder what they would eat for lunch. I had fed all the food to yesterday's guests.
I didn't wonder too long, though. I fell back asleep
and woke up again to Rachel taking Selma and Josu out to pick up Malachai from his afternoon school hours.
it was 4:30
and then Joshua came home
with groceries.
my family takes good care of me