Lavender Fields

During July, the lavender fields of Provence are in full bloom. You can find lavender everywhere....lavender soap, lavender sachets, lavender oil, lavender honey, lavender cookies...etc. It is beautiful and a wonderful smell! I have bought some lavendar oil and sachets that are stored in my suitcase and everytime I open it, it smells so wonderful! In case you are wondering, the 2 front people in the picture are Paula and Rebekah, 2 of the summer staff here.

Marseilles

The beautiful 'Vieux Port' of Marseilles. It is my favorite area with many cafes all along the water. The best thing is to sip a cafe and eat a crepe with nutella and banana topping!! Enjoy the taste and view before heading to the 'smellier' parts of the city :-)

Quirky Things

One of the hardest adjustments of living in Spain is some of the quirky things. I am hesitant to say they are annoyances, because some are just oddities. I have salt crystals growing under my bed. They grow in the humidity and come up through the grout in the ceramic tiled floors. The salt in the foundation (from 'dirty' sand) also makes the paint peel in certain places. The humidity also causes black mold to grow so using bleach is a MUST! I also have these little 'armadillo' bugs (that's what they look like to me) that roll up in a ball when you kick them out the back door. Speaking of bugs, there are the little flies that like the shade, so they come into the house and just fly around in circles in the middle of the living room. And at night, the bugs like to swarm around your ear so that you cannot sleep. One thing I am thankful for....this coming summer I will not be staying in the same apartment with all of the cicadas (they swarm southern France in the summer) just outside my window! Hopefully I will get more sleep :-)

Elisabet

This is Gracia and her daughter Elisabet. I rent from them and they live above me. I also help out with their ministry, the 'Lighthouse', one day per week.

Elisabet has been in the hospital for a month now. She has been released at times but has had to go back because of different seizures. They have now started her on some medication which should help but they are still monitoring her. Please pray that she would be completely healed and would be able to come home soon.

Prayer Vigil

On Sunday night at 9PM, there were many area churches that came together for a time of prayer and silence in front of the City Hall in Algeciras. The prayer was on behalf of the country, the churches, and the families of the 3 men martyred in Turkey in April. It was great to see the areas churches coming together not only in Algeciras but all across regions in Spain for our brothers and sisters in Turkey.

Some information on this can be found at CompassDirect.org http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=short&idelement=4836&backpage=summaries
Pray for the believers there. Pray as well for leaders in all these lands so that the Word of God can go forth unhindered.

Los Pastores

Los Pastores is a neighborhood in Algeciras that my 'home church' goes to visit every week. We have been trying to build relationships with the people there in hopes of planting a new church. During Semana Santa when the kids had off from school, we went to play a game of 'Rondus' (like baseball). Since I am not very sporty...I ended up playing with the smaller kids. We had great fun trying to play kickball and drawing with chalk on the sidewalk. Two of the girls giggled and giggled everytime I would speak....for my Spanish is funny to their ears! Even though my Rosetta Stone Spanish CD teaches me verbs like 'catch' and 'throw'...I had not used them until that day!

The people in Los Pastores don't have alot of hope. It is known as one of the worst neighborhoods in Algeciras because of the drugs, alcohol and fightings that go on there. As we talk to people, they share their hurts and problems. I feel helpless at times when I hear their emotional needs but I know a God who is far greater and who says that we can cast all of our cares on Him! Please join with me in praying that the people in Los Pastores will find hope in Jesus Christ!

Barbary Apes of Gibraltar

My blog would not be complete without mentioning the Barbary Apes of Gibraltar. The apes are a tail-less breed of monkey whose natural habitat is in the mountains of Morocco and Algeria. They were most probably first brought here by the British in the early eighteenth century. They live at the top of the 'Rock'. If you ever visit Gibraltar, watch out because they do like Oreo cookies!!!