Moving

We are almost a year (wow!) into our serving here in Spain. Days it feels like the time has flown so quickly, and other days it felt like time was just standing still.

Our move to Spain has been one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. It has truly drawn me out of any comfort zone I ever had. From learning a new language and not being able to communicate to being extremely far away from family and friends, overall it's been a year of many adjustments.

Lately though I'm starting to feel the process of "settling", and I started to reflect on our journey. Since I was 18, I have moved 9 times. Every year at college I lived in a different dorm or apartment. My poor dad dreaded the day it was "move Emily to another location". But he did it with love every time :)

After college, I moved back home for two months before Adam and I got married. I remember moving from Chapel Hill to Lexington was very hard for me. I loved college, the town I lived in, and the friends we had made. At that moment, I was extremely sad that God's plan was taking Adam and I away from there.

After getting married, Adam and I moved to Salisbury for 3 and a half years. We adjusted to not having couples of our own age at first but God brought people in our path (The Stroupes, The Dancys were closer now!, and the Harringtons). I changed jobs to join the auditing team at Food Lion and learned what it meant to truly love your job and your co-workers. We got back involved in our home church and jumped into the youth group there (the one where Adam incessantly irritated me as a girl and later I fell for his tactics realizing that they were love messages in disguise). Life at that point was better than I originally thought when first moving from Chapel Hill.

Then our hearts were moved to serve elsewhere. We left all we had last July and I cried the hardest I ever had as I left my family standing at the airport gate. It's a moment that will always be ingrained in my memory. At that instance, I realized I was back at the day leaving Chapel Hill. I didn't want to leave my job, my co-workers, my hometown...how were things going to be better.

And now almost a year later, I feel a whole different set of emotions. The last two days I have proudly watched the musical theatre class at ECA that I helped choreograph perform two outstanding shows of Pirates of Penzance. The love and admiration I have for those kids right now is one I never imagined I would have when getting on that plane a year ago. My accounting class I teach is wrapping up our semester in 2 weeks. My kids (I'm going to brag now) have the basic accounting tools under their belts. When they tell me they love doing financial statements and T accounts, my heart swells. One parent told me that their child loves my class. He was very disappointed when his grade dropped from a 100 to a 98 when their group project didn't balance and I gave them a 90. Let me tell you - this kid knows every answer that I ask in class. Always does the reading and when he doesn't get a 100 on my test I know something is wrong. Proud - I'm just proud of them.

I realized last night - during our cast party - as I was playing games like Signs (which I'm terrible at), Zoo, and watching the kids interact, I feel like I did in Chapel Hill and Salisbury. I am so much more invested than I ever thought. I have been having dreams lately where we leave to come home to North Carolina, and in them, I feel the same dreaded moving feelings I've felt in the past.

We still have a year here, so I'm going to relish in the fact I have one more year to be here. One more year to see Spain. One more year to see these kids grow and change. One more year until I move again.

Hello, My name is Emily, and I am a.....

I chose my post title because I have been thinking recently about the roles I am currently playing in life. I know when we hear that phrase we automatically think about someone in rehab but I think it is a great phrase that represents who we are and how we view ourselves. If I were to fill in that statement, I would say...


Hello, My name is Emily, and I am a...

....a wife, follower of Christ, aunt, daughter, granddaughter, friend, lover of money (i.e. accountant and shopping - a dangerous combo), teacher.....

Many of these were easy answers and ones that have been a part of me for awhile. However, the last one (teacher) I would have never imagined I would add to my roles. You see I liked school - elementary, high school, college...but I preferred the role of student to teacher. I don't feel I possess the skills to confidently teach students. And yet, alas, I come to Spain and God puts me in a position to stand up in front of a classroom expected to teach something. Fortunately I get to teach things that I like and that He has gifted me with, and that's how I am realizing that being a teacher is truly a passion. Now my husband will not tell you that every day he gets great joy from teaching about genetics, soil, diseases, chemical equations, etc. (he does get extreme joy from teaching about birds). But he is very gifted in teaching students. I, on the other hand, not so much. But, this role of teacher I currently have, I do have a joy for. I don't see myself becoming a professional teacher. I have no desire to get more schooling and I prefer dealing with financial statements, policies and procedures, and conducting audits. However, my accounting class has definitely brought me joy this semester. I get happy butterflies teaching T-accounts, debit/credits, balance sheets, etc. I silently cheer for all my students to make 100s on all their tests and love accounting as much as I do. There is one student who is considering business and I truly get a thrill as she grasps these concepts well and looks forward to taking more business classes in college next year. If I would have known that I was coming to Spain to teach an accounting class, I would have told you no way - I'm not qualified to be a teacher. I don't have a teaching degree. Have never taught in a classroom and my only experience speaking in a group is during meetings at work. But somehow God has placed me out of my comfort zone to let me have joy doing something I thought I would be miserable in.

I'm so glad God is smarter than me.

So where are you? Is God opening a door for you to do something that is "out of your element"? I will tell you that here in Spain I am definitely out of my element. I have to communicate in a different language with my neighbors every day praying that I don't sound like a uneducated 5 year old, but I see God work every day here, and it's pretty awesome to see his workings.

Noche Buena, Feliz Navidad, and Noche Viejo

Well, Adam and I have almost made it through this year's holiday season. There were hard times, but overall, the Lord has provided dear friends here to visit with and enjoy their company. We were able to Skype with our families on Christmas Day, see my niece open her Christmas presents, and received both the packages our families sent in the mail to us! We realized this was the first Christmas where we were not involved in our family traditions. Usually, the Saturday (or two) before Christmas, the Yarbrough side (Adam's mom's side) has heavy appetizers, spends time together, and lastly, the main tradition, sing "Twelve Days of Christmas" with each person singing a different day. No one wants to get Partridge in a Pear Tree. My family has mixed up the traditions lately with spouses coming into the mixture, but lately, we've stayed with my family on Christmas Eve, opened presents together Christmas morning, enjoyed a big brunch, and just chilled the rest of the day. My mom's tradition is always to stay up super late (i.e. 3-4am) wrapping presents; however, we still seem to get things in garbage bags occasionally despite her staying up late :)

So with all those familiar things far away this year, we looked to doing things to be different. Both Adam and I commented that we tried to think of it as a "normal" day. While we were not trying to forget the meaning of this day and why we celebrate on Christmas, it was a way to cope without family. So...our agenda this year consisted of a candlelight Christmas Eve with the pastor's, of our church in Alcala, family (the Brown's) and his 3 daughters. We had tapas (a lot of seafood items - I munched on veggies and Hidden Valley Ranch dip - non-existent here in Spain and in both of the parent boxes!), sang Christmas carols, and just chatted. Adam and I opened our gifts (practical yet good) together on Christmas morning then baked homemade Oreos (Mamaw P's secret recipe) and delivered them to our neighbors. We were able to chat briefly with two of the families we delivered to - Blas & Asun and Eva, Adrian, & Lady. Blas and Asun have a "lively" chihuahua named Toolie (not sure if the spelling is right but that is the way it is pronounced). More seriously, Blas has been in and out of the hospital with hip surgery, an infection, and a dislocation of the same hip. He was in bed that afternoon when we delivered but I was so glad to be able to visit with them, even if I only understood half of what was said and we talked about general things. We ended Christmas day back at the Brown's enjoying a Christmas ham, potatoes, and pumpkin pie, and had our church service in the evening where played Maria and Jose (Mary and Joseph). Adam and I had about 10 minutes to memorize parts in Spanish in which we were going around to various people in the congregation and asking for a place to stay ("teneis un sitio para nosotros?"). We had a great Christmas Day of different, but good things.

While we celebrated in a quasi-American, quasi-Spanish way this Christmas, Spaniards celebrate slightly different than in the US. "El noche buena" (Christmas Eve) is the biggest day for family celebrations for Spaniards (not 12/25). Families usually go to the town of their parent's house, attend a midnight mass, and fix a big meal after mass and usually stay up visiting until early in the morning (i.e. 4-7am). Christmas Day is then spent sleeping in and recuperating from Noche Buena. Even Christmas Day, very few gifts are opened, maybe one or two, while the big gift giving day is El Dia de los Reyes (January 6th), yet to come. The next upcoming "festivo" is "Noche Viejo" (literally translated - Old Night) or New Year's Eve. Here a big race is organized in Madrid (the San Silvestre, which we will be taking part in) and later at midnight Spaniards pop 12 grapes in their mouth, one for every ding of the clock at midnight. This sounds like an easy task but many have mentioned it is quite difficult to do. Grocery stores even sell cans with 12 grapes in them especially for the occasion.

It has been interesting learning other culture's traditions especially their holiday traditions. While I missed my family greatly this year, I am thankful to have been here and experienced a Spanish "navidad". It is memory I will never forget.

Finals and Christmas

Today marked the last full week of class before Christmas break. Being in Spain @ ECA is my first real "school environment" I have actually been in since college. I have always envied Adam and his two weeks of break while I drove to work every day to bring home the bacon :) So, now I have the privilege to experience the academic breaks so longed by all the business world.

This week wraps up my semester long class of Practical Math. We studied salaries, taxes, loans, budgets, credit cards, insurance, investments, resumes, and wrapping it up with interviewing skills. My five students have been patient with my "first year teaching" woes and probably laugh at me constantly behind my back (even though I try to face them most of the time). It's ok though...I'm preparing "revenge"...jk. But no really, I have to make the final exam, and I do feel a little evil. I guess this is how all my teachers felt when writing the final exam. Mwah hah hah...100 multiple choice...take that!

There is something rewarding about writing exams though. Even though many individuals will argue that they are not the best way to measure intelligence, I do feel they do a good job of evaluating my teaching ability and the student's comprehension. I really get sad when a student misses a question that we've gone over many times, and it reminds me of those days when I hated walking into a room and taking a test. One of my greatest college memories happened during my Accounting 101 final. Now you must know some background about this class...it was taught by my favorite professor of all time - CJ Skender. It was a class of 400 at 8 am every M, W, F. And to top it all off, our exams started at 7:00am so we could have 2 full hours to take our exams. It was nerving and crazy, so imagine how a 100 multiple choice final exam made you feel at 7:00am. It was my last exam before going home to Christmas break, my stomach was a wreck...I was so nervous. I really wanted to do well on this exam. I entered the 400 seat auditorium promptly at 6:50am to review a few more things before taking it. Upon opening the doors, the Carpenter's, "Merry Christmas Darling" blasting, and I start laughing. My mom sings this song loudly every time it's on the radio at Christmas time. She's even called and left a voice message of the song. Upon hearing that, my nervousness went away and I silently thanked CJ with all my heart for making me feel less nervous. I ended up with an A- on the exam - thanks to the Carpenters and a great professor.

While I'm no where near the teacher CJ was, maybe next Tuesday will be a good day to pull out some Christmas music before the exam...

Thank You Spanish Constitution Day!

Today and tomorrow we have off school due to Spain's Constitution Day. This day began in the late 1970s after Spain's dictator, Franco, died and more freedom entered into the Spanish culture. Franco was a very oppressive leader and held tightly to the Catholic church, even requiring individuals to join the church to own property, vote, etc. After his death, many Spaniards ran quickly away from religion due to its association with "oppression". Today, you can see the effects of this in Spain, as modesty, morals, and outlooks on life are deeply centered in "do what makes you happy"/ self-satisfaction. While people are seeking to satisfy their desires and what makes them happy, they are still searching to replace a void that can only be filled spiritually by the God that created them.

Adam and I are seeing this so much here in Spain. Individuals do not feel as if they "need" God as they are good people. It's easy to get caught up in this mindset, especially in developed countries. We see so much of what our hands produce that we lose sight of the God behind it all. But we can not forget the hand behind all the blessings. Without God, none of these things would be possible.

Lately, I have been involved with conversations with our neighbor who is Jehovah Witness. He has asked me point blank what I believe. My stomach drops every time he asks me, not because I don't want to give an answer but because all of this conversation is in Spanish. You take for granted the ability to share you faith in your native language. You have phrases and concepts that are known and easy to communicate. This is completely different in another language. So each time, I silently pray for the Lord's words (in Spanish) :)

I am learning that to be prepared you must study. So that's what I must do - not to debate but to clearly provide an answer and share the Gospel in whatever way the Lord provides.

Thanksgiving with a Portugal Twist

Adam and I spent last week (Monday - Friday) at the ABWE Western European conference(well, really, the Iberian Peninsula plus 1 MK from Italy) in Alaferia, Portugal. It was a long 8 hour drive from Madrid to our hotel. I'm just not good with car rides longer than 4 hours. Upon arriving, we checked in to the hotel, which was very nice. Our mission got a fantastic rate and the apartments were recently built and only 2 years old, so the rooms were nice, clean, and modern.

We arrived late Monday, hit up the Portuguese grocery store, Continente, grabbed some Pizza Hut pizza (Stuffed Crust!!!), played some Five Crowns, and then hit the sack. Each morning, beginning Tuesday, we would gather as a group (there was about 50 of us) and worship and then receive a bible study from Pastor Green, a friend of a Portugal missionary, Evandro. Mr. Green brought wonderful messages each day we were there. After our meetings in the mornings, we had the afternoon and evenings free. Adam and I would either go to the beach to read, swim in the indoor pool, or just relax. On Wednesday, we went to an open air market (a ferria for Spaniards) and I got a scarf for 5 euros. We also purchased a fried doughnut for a euro dipped in cinnamon and sugar - mmmmmm. Fattening but mmmmmm. On Thursday, after our meeting, we went to a Portguese restaurant and had an American/Portugues thanksgiving meal. We had a carrot/potatoe soup (Portuguese dish), bread, turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes (unfortunately they were instant. sadness.), and carrots (more sadness - I would have preferred cranberry sauce. My sister and I are the only loves of jellied cranberry sauce in our family. But man we can eat a full can when it's served.). We were hoping for a chocolate dessert of some kind but we had fruit cocktail. Europeans love their fruit for dessert. They have sweets here but not near the intensity of American desserts. But it was a great meal and I got turkey!

Adam and I also got to do some runs of the beach. Well...run to the beach, jog on the short shoreline, and jog back to the room. Beach runs in Portugal are primarily rocky. Beaches are below steep cliffs and not so many shells line the beaches like the East Coast. But still very beautiful. Regardless of what type of beach you are on, an ocean sunrise or sunset is magnificant.

I was glad we are "away" for Thanksgiving. It was a good distraction for spending our first Thanksgiving away from our families. Still, it was very hard. I realized that all my life I have always been around my family for every holiday, and my family loves holidays. We celebrate every birthday (from uncle to cousin to niece/nephew) and Mom always has a present of some sort on the major holidays. So, for me to be away from family on a major holiday, presents an emptiness I'm not used to.

But despite my distance from my family, I was very thankful for all the blessings the Lord has given me this year. First, I was very thankful for our little family - Adam, me, and Carson. Until we have kids, maybe, one day, Carson is my little baby. And even though he pees on our new rug every day and we want to beat him, I still love him. I know kid love will be different but doggy love right now is good.  Second, I'm thankful for this opportunity to serve the Lord in Spain. I have to keep that as my focus. Third, Í'm thankful for all the blessings we have (house, food, clothing, etc.). We are so blessed. Last, but not least, so thankful for all those that pray and support us while we are here in Spain. You are the fuel behind us being here and enable us to minister every day. Thank you So very much!

Chick-fil-a

When living in a different country, you do grow a certain appreciation for "American" things. One in particular is the food. Restaurants like Panera Bread, Jason's Deli, and especially Chick-fil-a are non-existent, so in the midst of your cravings, you search for comparable alternatives. And in steps Pinterest... The wonderful Miss Carlson at ECA introduced me to this unbelievable website. You pin different things to online "bulletin boards" from Pinterest members. And thanks to Pinterest I was able to locate a recipe of how to recreate Chick-fil-a nuggets. And man, they were good :) We had friends over and made the nuggets and homemade fries. It was a great evening!

I'm really liking Pinterest. I found another recipe to make Caramel Apple Cheesecake bars and tried them out on Thursday. They were really good too - but what you can you do wrong when you are mixing sugar, butter, and cream cheese :)

And here's the recipe for the chicken nuggets:

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/4 c. Flour
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Oil (peanut is recommended but you can use canola)

Mix milk and egg and whisk together. Chop chicken into bite size pieces. Put in milk/egg mixture. Put in refrigerator and marinate for 2-4 hours. Prepare dry mixture of flour, powdered sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Coat each chicken piece with the mixture completely. Place 6-8 nugget at a time into 2 inches of oil on medium-high heat and cook until golden brown on each side.

Enjoy!