The Mayer Family

A lot has happened in the last week. Unfortunately, we had trouble logging in to our blog to update, but the problem is now fixed, so here is a VERY long entry of our first week. I had been writing almost daily updates even though we couldn´t post them.

March 10, 2007
The kindness of old men in Granada
Today is our second full day in Granada. We made it through the 18 hours of travel time safely on Wednesday and Thursday, with all of our luggage except Kevin’s guitar, which was stuffed with our underwear! So we are waiting for it to hopefully arrive soon! At the Granada airport as we waited for our luggage to come through on the luggage belt, the first thing we spotted was Evan’s red remote control car, out of the bag, coming down the belt all by itself! It made it, and it still works fine. We haven’t noticed anything else missing (yet).

The first day was more discouraging than we imagined, since we were experiencing jet lag and were feeling overwhelmed with everything being new. We both had a few good cries that day! One of my (Wendy) discouraging “moments” was after walking down the street close to our pension (hotel). An older lady approached me with a clump of herbs saying “amore, amore”. She was very friendly and since my Spanish is very limited, I had no clue what she was saying. She proceeded to (I guess) read my palms before I knew what was happening, and then demanded money. By the time it was over, she left with 15 of my euros, and I walked away feeling very discouraged. I guess I got gypped by a gypsy, so we’ll chalk it up as a learning experience!

We are staying at the Pension Landazuri, which is kind of like a bed & breakfast. We are on the 4th floor (57 steps) so we are getting exercise! The daughter of the owner here has 2 children, Miguel (5 years old) and Elisa (2 years old). Evan & Ellie have already enjoyed playing with them since they are exactly the same ages! This morning the grandma (Matilda) and the 4 children were playing the Spanish version (I guess) of “ring around the rosy”! Matilda (the owner) has been very friendly and helpful. It is obvious that God has led us to this place, and we are grateful for his leading.

This morning Kevin was searching everywhere for a folder that he had made up before we left that organized all the information we had on the different language schools we are considering. It included maps, and all the information he had researched. It was NO WHERE to be found! We finally figured that we had left it in an airport or somewhere. Kevin prayed that it would show up somehow. This morning I happened to be standing near the entrance of our pension, and our taxi driver who brought us from the airport walked in with the folder!!!!! We were overjoyed to see him and so thankful for his kindness! Kevin had left it in the taxi, and the driver was kind enough to return it!

Now, for the “the kindness of old men in Granada”. Today we have experienced just that. Soon after we left the pension, Kevin randomly asked an old man on the street for help looking at a map. He was incredibly friendly and ended up leading us around the city for about 2 hours. He helped us find one of the language schools we are interested in, and wants to help us more. He has a friend who owns some apartments for rent. We are meeting him on Monday at 6 pm! He also communicated that he talks directly to God, that he believes in Jesus, but that he has questions about all the bad things happening in the world, like wars and bombs. He mentioned the Jehovah’s Witness and how they thought the world was ending soon. He seemed a little confused. We are thanking God for the way he is leading us already to the people in whom he is working.

Soon after we left him, another old man approached us with obvious admiration of Evan & Ellie. He “took off their noses” playfully, and demanded kisses from them, and then planted big kisses on their cheeks. He also gave them each a piece of bread (like a roll). About a minute later another old man walked up smiling at the kids and gave all of us several big red juicy strawberries. Evan & Ellie were delighted. And we felt welcomed and loved by the kindness of strangers.

Since today is Saturday, there isn’t much more that we can accomplish in looking for an apartment or visiting a language school, so we will probably do some more walking around, and getting acquainted with the city. While yesterday we felt discouraged, today we feel encouraged and definitely more optimistic. We thank God for answering our prayers in obvious ways, and we thank you for praying!
-Wendy

The front of the place we are staying ¨Pension Landazuri¨

Our room

The 57 steps we climb several times a day

The porch at our Pension just down the hall from our room

View of the Alhambra from the porch

View of Granada from the porch

The street in front of the Pension

Evan & Ellie in our room

Strawberries & Bread from kind old men

March 11, 2007
A Day of Walking
Today is Sunday. We had family church today, and sang some songs with the kids, then talked about the story of David & Goliath. We all had a few “giants” to name and pray about. After a light breakfast in the café part of our pensión (hotel) consisting of coffee con leche for Kevin & I (yum) with toast & jam for me and ham & cheese sandwich for Kevin & the kids (and hot chocolate for Evan), we started our walking.

We walked to a park near the Alhambra (palace) that was a lot of uphill walking and gave an awesome view of the city. To me, it made the city look bigger than I imagined. The city is very spread out. The section we are in is older, so it makes it feel less like a big city and a little more like a town. Evan & Ellie loved chasing some ducks near a pond, and some peacocks roaming loose in a garden. Ellie kept asking to take a “bap” (bath) in a murky green pond.

Later this afternoon we walked the other direction (uphill again) to the Albaicin, which is an old section of town where a lot of the streets are pedestrian only (no cars allowed). We went to the top and were able to get another great view of the city and of the Alhambra. We saw a lot of interesting characters there, including an old lady that Kevin recognized from the Rick Steve’s Spain show.

We had a great surprise today when Kevin’s guitar was delivered from the airport! We were also very ready to see our underwear that we had stuffed into the guitar!

We have been enjoying the interaction we are having with the family who runs this pensión. They are very willing to answer our questions and have been friendly and kind to us.
-Wendy

Ellie by murky green pond

Walking in the park close to the Alhambra

View of the Alhambra from the Albiecin

A typical shop on the street

March 12, 2007
Searching and Seeking
Today was a full day of searching for an apartment and seeking out different language schools. A rental agent showed us one apartment, which was once again, a bit small and pricey. She tried to show us another apartment, but true to Spanish style, the people that were supposed to meet us there didn’t show up. We also met up with our new friend Jose again, who we met 2 days again, and he led us around to different rental agents, helping us to ask what apartments were available. He also has some friends with rentals, and we are meeting him again tomorrow to look at an apartment his friend has to rent. Jose has been an answer to prayer for us. He is a retired guy with lots of time to kill, and lots of friends in the area. He used to be in real estate, and he also owned a restaurant for 30 years. Kevin and he are connecting really well. He is very patient with our limited Spanish and talks slowly and patiently. He does know some English, but tries to make us talk in Spanish to him so that we learn.

We also visited a couple of language schools today that seem to have great potential. We are realizing the energy it takes to haul Evan & Ellie around with us everywhere, so in the next day or two, Kevin will probably visit a couple other schools alone.

Evan and Ellie have been pretty patient with all the walking around and meeting with people. Evan has been occupying himself on our long walks by making games out of everything. He is always trying to step on certain things along the sidewalk, and today he sang and sang. He was singing the mousy song that Grandma Mayer taught him over and over and over and over (I lost count). I think I even know the words by now! Of course he is constantly asking for ice cream. He discovered a yogurt fruit ice cream that he loves, and now he thinks he needs it everyday, or several times a day if we would let him.

Ellie has adapted very well to the changes. She has her own little mattress on the floor that she has been sleeping on. She usually ends up in our bed though sometime towards morning. Our room gets pretty cold at night so we let her snuggle in. They only turn on the heat for an hour or two each night. She is attempting Spanish words to the delight of people who talk to her.
-Wendy

March 14, 2007
Meeting with friends!
We had a special treat today! We had a visit from Ed & Kathy Miller and Tim & Rhoda Swartzentruber and Lenny & Christina Miller. Lenny & Christina are leading the Spain Reach team in Malaga about one hour south of us. Their parents came to visit them, and they all came to visit us today and to see Granada and the Alhambra. We had a nice time with them and enjoyed talking English and being completely understood.

Kevin also met with our friend Jose again tonight. He thought there may be another apartment for us to look out. It didn’t work out to see the apartment, but Kevin had a great talk with him. It is obvious to us that God has been working in Jose’s heart. He said he has had questions for a while and was seeking answers. As Kevin and Jose were talking, it was like a light clicked on for Jose and he understood why God sent us here to Spain… for him… to help him find some answers to his questions. They had a really good talk about heaven and it seemed like more lights were clicking on for Jose as they talked about how there is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to get to heaven… it is only through the sacrifice that Jesus made. We are so excited and are rejoicing at the way God is at work in Jose. It is so amazing to us that all of this is happening, but yet we shouldn’t be surprised, we and you have been praying for God to be at work among the people of Spain, and for God to lead us to the people in whom he is working. We thank God for being so incredible!

While this exciting relationship with Jose has been happening, an apartment has not happened yet. We have another one to look at tomorrow, and are confident that God already knows the place we will live. We are asking for wisdom and guidance that we will find it too. While our pension room is working, it does not have a kitchen, and we are ready to find a place where we can unpack. It is also getting expensive to stay here.

Tonight as I was typing this I heard Evan sniffling in bed. I asked him what was wrong, and he said he missed everyone in Ohio. He mentioned his friends from school Kendra and Maddy and Grandma and Grandpa. I think the visit today from friends reminded him of home.
-Wendy

Lenny, Christina, Ed, Kathy, Rhoda, Tim & Evan

Evan & Ellie were soooo thirsty for chocolate milk, so we tried to order some at a restaurant, and they brought out a hot, thick, pudding-like, chocolate that was so delicious. Every time Ellie had a bite she just giggled and giggled. She loved it!

March 15, 2007
It’s been a week!
It´s hard to believe we’ve been here a week, but a lot has happened in a week! We are feeling a little discouraged today about finding an apartment. We looked at another apartment today that could be a possibility. Kevin thought it may be the one, but I didn’t feel quite right about it. We are praying that God will give us both peace and that we would both know for sure when we find the place God is leading us to live.

Evan & Ellie had fun today feeding and chasing the pigeons. It’s amazing how quickly you can be surrounded when you bring out some crumbs or seeds.

Today was laundry day. It was long overdue since we haven’t done laundry since we arrived. When we found out the price to do laundry, we did what we could by hand in the bathtub. We hauled the rest to the Laundromat for a grand total of 30 Euros ($40-45) for 2 loads (one was a really big load in an extra large washer). Evan and I (Wendy) tried to find a grocery store while Kevin & Ellie waited on the laundry. Unfortunately, we had trouble finding it, and by the time we found the store, bought what we needed, and returned to the Laundromat, Kevin & Ellie had finished and headed back. Evan & I got a little lost since I hadn’t paid a lot of attention on the way to the Laundromat, and our bags of groceries were getting VERY heavy, so much that I actually considered just leaving the heaviest bags on the street. We finally prayed that we would find a taxi, or that God would help us find a store that had large bags on wheels (we’ve seen people using these for their groceries and have thought about buying one). Soon after that, we found a store, and after using many hand motions to describe to the clerk what I wanted, we got the perfect bag. We headed out and found a main street, and like I always do, used landmarks to find our way home. It was a little adventure, and God was with us each step.
-Wendy

The extra large washer provided some free entertainment