HENDRICKS' FAMILY

Outreach Campaign Starting July 21

2010-07-18T23:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Praying Friends,

The evangelistic campaign that we have anticipated for some time is upon us! Tomorrow (Monday, July 19th) Esther Rodriguez and her group of youth travel from Barcelona to Guadalajara. Please pray for their safe travel (traveling in very old vans that move slowly on the highway) and unity for their group.

Tuesday their group will meet up with our church and together we will build the stage that will house the kids' programs for the following 10 days.

Wednesday (July 21) is the first of 10 days of the kids' program. Esther's group will be announcing the kids' program each morning throughout Guadalajara. In the afternoon all of us together will be putting up the backdrops for that night's program, setting up chairs, putting up fences around the program area, etc.. The program itself consists of songs, games, Bible story and verse, and clown acts. Each night follows more or less the same routine, except with a new story, of course. It is directed at elementary school children, but parents, grandparents, older siblings, cousins, etc. listen in as well. Esther and her team put on a great program that the kids LOVE.

Our job as a church is to help with the set up and take down each day, and more than anything, BE at the program, get to know the kids (the ones that come repeatedly) and be available to talk with the parents, grandparents, etc. who have questions and are interested in spiritual things. Several nights after the kids' program ends, we will also show a family-friendly movie in the park (eg, Billy Graham movies). Pray for God to bring people to the program who have hearts prepared to hear His word and respond. Pray that other seeds that will be planted will be watered and take root.

Pray for protection for all of us from the enemy. We know he does not want this campaign to happen!

Please pray for Johan, a member from our church who had his leg seriously injured this past Monday when a large piece of glass fell on him. The doctors did a skin graft and repaired a torn tendon. It appears that the skin graft is not "taking". Tomorrow the doctors will look at the leg again to determine if additional surgery is necessary. Please pray for divine healing of Johan's leg, without the necessity of further surgery.

One last request: Last week we found out that Esther's group of 16-20 is not bringing a cook with them as was originally expected. God has graciously provided teammates of ours, Deb Davis and family, who will be cooking for several of the days. Please pray for us as we minister to the team by providing meals for the remaining days. Pray especially for us to be able to maintain our focus on what is truly important and not to get lost in the details.

Thank you for praying. We look forward to sharing with you what God is going to do through the campaign!

Update May 3rd

2010-05-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Praying Friends,

We want to ask for your prayers for several upcoming events:

1) Tomorrow (Tuesday, May 4th), Julie has an appointment with the surgeon. While she has made great progress since the last appointment in early March, she continues to have problems with the pins. In March, he had told her that it would be ideal to wait until 8 months after surgery to remove the pins, so that the fracture is completely healed. It has been not quite 5 months, but the remaining problems that Julie has (pain, swelling, and remaining limited movement) appear to be related to the pins, not to the fracture. Please pray for wisdom for the doctor as he reviews the x-rays and examines Julie's knee to know if the pins could come out sooner. And please pray for patience for Julie as well! For those of you who have prayed specifically that Julie would be able to drive our stick-shift car, thank you! She keeps doing exercises specifically to strengthen those muscles, and practices driving short distances. It is now possible for her to drive several kilometers at a time, which is a great improvement!

2)Ethan's health has improved greatly, and he is feeling back to normal. He takes allergy medicine daily, and "Rilast", which is an inhaler with a steroid component, twice/day. Allergy tests revealed that he is allergic to the pollen of two plants here, and apparently it is likely that he could develop allergies to more plants as time goes on. Barring any further crises, he is to follow up with both the pulmonologist and the allergist in the fall. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers!!!

3) This coming Saturday, May 8th, Troy will hold another monthly intensive day in English. Pray for good relationships to form/grow as they have this extended time together.

4) Please continue to pray for Maritza, the lady from the Dominican Republic that cleans house for us at times. Due to health problems of her own, and responsibilities with the family she lives with, she has been unable to attend church for several weeks. She also has been unable to get together with Julie regularly, for the same reasons. When she was able to come clean last week, Julie was able to talk with her a bit. She makes comments like, "Nothing is more valuable than having peace in your heart", and "God is changing me!" She is reading the Bible on her own and working through a Bible study for new believers that Julie had given her, and even though one difficult circumstance after another arises for her, she is very encouraged in her faith. Please pray that Julie and Maritza would be able to find a consistent time to meet to study God's word together, and that she and her daughter, Luz, would be able to attend worship services on Sundays. Pray also for her protection from the evil one.

5) Praise! Sophia Wang, the gal with SEND International that has been here this school year to teach at ECA and help with the Guadalajara church, has decided to stay for another school year! Please pray that God would raise up the financial support that she will need to "discover" this summer in order to return next fall. Also, please continue to pray for provision of more staff for ECA for next year, and wisdom for the administration as they seek to determine how to fill the huge gaps that still remain. (You can see specific needs at www.ecaspain.com.)

6) Our teammates, Gerrie and Casiana Castillo, are due to return from their home service in the Philippines very soon. Pray for their remaining support need to be met so that they can return as planned.

7)We have mentioned previously that our church is sponsoring a large-scale evangelistic campaign this coming summer. (Those of you who have prayed for us for some time will remember that this is what we helped with in Azuqueca in the summer of 2008.) A team of Spanish youth, led by Ester Rodriguez, will come to put on special programs for children. The church will be responsible for housing the team, helping with meals and snacks, and helping with the thousand and one jobs that need to be carried out for such a program to get off the ground and run smoothly. The dates of the campaign are July 19-August 1st. Please begin praying now for this campaign. Here are some specific requests:

a. Ester (team leader) is coming to Guadalajara this Friday, May 7th, to meet with Troy and the town hall, asking permission to use the park near the church for the campaign. Please pray for favor with Paco, the man who is in charge of granting the permit. Without this permit from the town hall, there is no campaign, so this is a critical meeting.

b. Pray that the people of our church here will jump on board with enthusiasm about the campaign, and will be willing to help shoulder some of the responsibilities.

c. Pray for the children, parents and grandparents who will attend the programs to have receptive hearts as they hear about spiritual things.

d. Pray for our testimony as a church and as a team putting on this event, that we would shine for Jesus in this community even while setting up chairs, cleaning up garbage, etc..

e. Pray for unity

f. Pray for the Spanish youth who will be helping with the campaign: that it would be life-changing for them as they use their gifts and abilities to reach out to others

Amish Culture Day Dinner

2010-04-12T04:02:00.000-07:00

Menu for the Meal

Roast Beef

Baked Potato

Fresh Green Beans with bacon

Buttered corn

Fresh broccoli and califlower salad

Homemade yeast rolls

with homemade jams (blackberry, plum, and apple butter)

Apple crisp

with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Shoofly pie

Julie made molasses cookies for the morning break, and Joann Wood made

peanut butter cookies.

Julie and Ethan preparing the items

for the meal for the Amish workshop
Mario (green) deciding which homemade jam to try first

Dani (orange) green beans? No, thanks!

Loading the plates family style.

In Spain the hostess normally serves everyone and

hands them their plate.Carmen (very right of photo in scarf) was elected

by the "casting of lots" to be the spiritual

leader of the group for the day.

Here we are creating a family circle by holding hands

and giving thanks for the meal.

(Truly new culture experiences for

many of them.)

Hannnah - Amish Quilt Square Workshop

2010-04-12T03:52:00.000-07:00

Amish Quilt Square Craft

The class quilt

Hannah using Power Point to explain
the geometric aspects of quilting

Hannah pointing out the different designs

and meanings of the quilt squares

Hannah showing Grandma Steenrod´s

quilt square pillow cover

The group working on their quilt square

craft project.

Hannah lead the craft workshop on Amish quilt squares and their designs. She explained the geometrically aspect of quilting, by dividing the square into three by three blocks. Then taking the three by three blocks and using squares or triangles (squares cut in half) to create a design. Hannah did a fabulous job and the group loved having her present a part of the overall workshop.

Amish Culture April 10, 2010 METAS Guadalajara

2010-04-12T03:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 10th, METAS Guadalajara hosted the second "Intensive English Saturday" with the Amish cultures of Ohio, Indiana, and PA as the theme. There were eight Spaniards who participated in the all day English workshop. We learned about the Amish culture through a video, vocabulary worksheets, sampling homemade foods made from Amish or Penns. Dutch recipes. We also saw a video on the Amish lifestyle and watched the movie "Harvest of Fire" starring Patty Duke. The participants made an Amish quilt square using posterboard and then the framed the square to create a picture.

There were eight participants

and four presentors for the workshop
The group is holding their Amish quilt square
that Hannah taught them how to make.

Laura - "see no faces"

Display of Amish cultural items

Display of Amish quilts and patterns.

Ethan playing his trumpet for a special on Sunday, Feb 14

2010-02-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Feb 14th, we had a special Sunday of praise and worship at the Centro Evangelico "Cristo Vive Hoy" and invited the congregation to share special music, songs, poems, or drama acts with the church family. Ethan, even though he had been sick all week, played a short part of "Amazing Grace" on his trumpet. Thought you might enjoy hearing him, we all did!!

Hannah's Presentation for Chapel Feb. 12

2010-02-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

I tried to add this video of Hannah doing her presentation at chapel on Feb. 12, and it wouldn't load earlier, so I am going to try it again. I think she did a great job and wanted to share it with you. Hope you enjoy seeing Hannah step out of her comfort zone and trust God with the words to say for this short encouragement to her friends and classmates at ECA.

Celebrating the Chinese New Year with Miss Wang

2010-02-16T06:35:00.000-08:00

We had the honor of celebrating the Chinese New Year with Miss Wang on Saturday, Feb. 13. Most of the celebrating was in the form of good eating, and oh was it good! Thanks to Steve and Angelica Diaz, Miss Wang, and Hannah we ate some incredible Chinese dishes.

9th & 10th grade leads Friday Chapel

2010-02-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

Setting up for the Friday chapel service.
Hannah ready to launch the Power Point

The praise team for the chapel

Hannah watching the run through of the Power Point

The 9th and 10th graders praying before the chapel service

The 9th and 10th grade classes of ECA lead Friday, February 12, chapel. Each grade has the opportunity to lead chapel at least once during the school year, but because the two classes are smaller then the others they combined their efforts for this chapel service. Hannah helped with the Power Point and gave a brief message about "What is love towards others?"in keeping with the Valentine's Day weekend theme.

The Young People of the church prepared a FANTASIC lunch for the Poe Workshop

2010-02-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

First "Intensive English Saturday" for METAS Guadalajara - Edgar Allan Poe

2010-02-07T10:15:00.001-08:00

The workshop participants enjoying the meal

prepared by the young people of the church.

Lidia, Paloma, and Carmen sneaking a "bit of chocolate".

Discussing "The Fall of the House of Usher"

"The Bells" by Poe

Break time!!

Once a month Metas Guadalajara is going to be sponsoring an intense English Saturday. Each Saturday will center around a theme. This month in February our theme was "Edgar Allan Poe - America's Great Mystery Written". It is a full day workshop all in English, and many of the participants are from our contacts through English classes during the week, Reading Club, English camp or through the Guadalajara townhall. Next month in March our theme will be "The Amish Culture of the Midwest". We would love to invite any of you who might be interesting in seeing the minstry here in Guadalajara to consider planning a short mission's trip over one of these "Intense English Saturdays".

Ethan's song for his trumpet recital

2010-02-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

The Evangelical Christian Academy had their wintermusic instrumental recital this past week. Ethan has been working hard on the trumpet. He and Julie played "American Patrol" for his recital piece.

February 3rd - Ethan's 13th Birtday

2010-02-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

It's really hard to believe that we now have two teenagers in the house. Ethan is so excited to be able to say he is a "teenager" without having to add "in .... months". Now he proudly announces, "I am a teenager". We are trying to convince him that with this title comes much, much more responsiblity. We'll see how long it takes for that to register with him.

Ethan turns 13 (officially a teenager) on February 3 rd

Ethan cutting his birthday cake to share with the family

Morning of his birthday getting.

Gifts from his birthday party. Daegung (his Korean classmate) is

watching Ethan open his gifts

Classmates and friends that came to help Ethan

celebrate his 13th birtday.

Update on Julie's progress

2010-01-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Praying Friends,

This week I had a check-up with the surgeon, after two weeks of physical therapy. To my GREAT RELIEF he was very pleased with the progress that I have made, and said (in English) “Right on schedule!”.

Rodrigo, my physical therapist, had been wondering if I should be progressing faster, and had told me that if the doctor felt I needed to progress faster we would have to do it “a la fuerza”, meaning by forcing the knee to bend more (meaning a great deal more pain). I faithfully do my exercises at home and feel like I am doing all I can do on my part already, so I was relieved by the doctor’s evaluation.

A new x-ray still clearly shows the fracture, even five weeks after surgery. Apparently this is normal for this type of break. The doctor said it should heal over the next month. I am to continue with physical therapy three times a week for the next six weeks, and then see the surgeon again on March 1st.

I no longer need to use the sports brace anymore, but I am to continue to use one crutch until I can bend my knee more easily. I get around the house OK - just slowly and awkwardly. I can carry small amounts/weight of things up or down the stairs now. Still definitely not a full load of wet laundry! I am comfortable on my feet for longer periods of time, so can now cook and help with cleaning. The biggest challenge is not being able to drive, as it puts so much of a load on Troy (carpooling kids to school, taxiing me to my PT appointments, grocery shopping, etc.).
Please pray for extra grace and strength for him, as it looks like it will be quite some time before I will be able to drive.

Please praise God with me for the good progress that has been made to date, and please continue to pray for continued healing and mobility. We also are thankful for Rodrigo, who continues to be a great physical therapist and friend, and would ask that you continue to pray for him as well.

Update for January 11, 2010

2010-01-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

January 11, 2010

Dear Praying Friends,

Happy New Year!

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf recently. We not only experienced God’s provision on our trip to the US in December, but also in our return last week. We had safe flights with bulkhead seats, which gave me just enough room to have my leg stretched out in front of me against the wall, supported by a suitcase and pillows. I had also improved a great deal in the two weeks which made the flight more comfortable.

I saw the surgeon on January 4th, and he recommended starting physical therapy right away, to get my knee working. I have had three appointments so far with Rodrigo, Troy’s physical therapist friend. He is very good at what he does, and constantly watches me to see if he is causing too much pain. He also gives me exercises to do from home. It’s far from comfortable, but I notice a little improvement every day. When I am at home, I no longer wear the sports brace that they put on me following surgery, and I use only one crutch. I can walk forward with no problem now, and I can go up and down stairs, slowly and carefully. My knee can now bend, with a great deal of effort, to about 50 degrees. Rodrigo is hoping to have it to 90 degrees by next Monday, the 18th, when I see the surgeon again. Please continue to pray for healing of my knee. I especially have a LONG way to go before I will be able to drive our stick shift car (clutching with the leg that was injured). Until I am able to drive, Troy has to drive the kids’ carpool to school each morning, do all of the grocery shopping and other errands, and transport me to my appointments. He also is doing the lion’s share of the housework. He is not complaining, but it is a lot for him.

Since the Spanish Christmas season goes through Three Kings’ Day (January 6th), Troy did not have his normal English classes last week. They get underway again tomorrow (Jan. 12th). Hannah and Ethan returned to school last Thursday, but were surprised this morning with a snow day. There was around two inches of snow here in Guadalajara this am, but apparently more towards Madrid. (Yes, this is unusual for this part of Spain!).

Praises
· For God’s provision for our safe journey to Florida and back
· That physical therapy is going well on Julie’s knee.
Prayer Requests
· For continued healing of Julie’s knee
· For the start-up of Troy’s English classes this week, and for the many relationships and opportunities that the classes represent.
· For strength and grace for Troy as he balances many responsibilities.
· For our friends and contacts who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior….that we might faithfully be “salt” and “light” to them.
· For Troy’s mom.
· For our SEND teammates who are on home service. Please pray specifically for God to supply their financial needs in order for them to be able to return to Spain in the coming months.
· For continued growth and direction of the Guadalajara Church.

Christmas with Mom/Grandma in Florida 2009

2010-01-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

It was a real blessing to be able to spend two weeks of the holiday season with Troy's mom in Bradenton, Florida. Even with all of the obstacles to over come with Julie breaking her knee the Saturday before we flew out and an operation the Monday before, we were able to make the trip and spend some quality time with mom/Grandma Rod. It was so good for us to meet all of her "Florida friends" who are taking such good care of her. It helps us to know that she is in a place where she is happy and surround by people who love her too.

Airport waiting

All the help to get us to and from the airport
Uncle Lewie in the hat, Grandma, Julie in the wheelchair
Sharon (mom's friend) and Hannah

All in red!!

Eating outside

Christmas Day dinner 2009

Christmas dinner at the rec hall

in Lincoln Arms retirement park

All smiles!!

Hannah, Grandma Rod, and Ethan

Ethan telling Grandma Rod

a Grandpa Rod story

Christmas in Florida

2009-12-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

In front of Grandma Rod's trailer in Lincoln Arms Park

The Gulf of Mexico behind us.

Hannah and Grandma Rod at the white sand beach.

Ethan, Grandma Rod, and Hannah
with their Christmas stockings

Aunt Debbie got us all personalized sand dollar

ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree.

Merry CHRISTmas to all. We send our warmest greetings from rainy Florida to wish all of you a wonderful and joyous CHRISTmas celebration. We never, never want to take Christ out of CHRISTmas so let's not abbreviate the message by writing "xmas" because it's shorter and faster. Without Him there is no reason to celebrate.

Christmas 2009 in Bradenton, Florida. What a blessing to be spending Christmas here with Mom/Grandma Rod. We've opened all the wonderful gifts and now we are getting ready for the Lincoln Arms Park Christmas lunch. We are taking taco salad and a few goodies we brought with us from Spain.

We are in Florida

2009-12-20T05:39:00.000-08:00

We are so praising God for His abundant faithfulness to us on our journey to FL yesterday. The first part of the trip from MAD to ATL was amazing. We saw Karin Harper at the airport before we took off yesterday and she said "Hey, I am praying for not only Julie to be in business class, but all four of you to get seats". To be honest my first thought was "Let's not push God, but I'm going let Karin pray for the above and beyond". Of course keeping myself "realistic" at the same time. Just before we were loading Julie on the plane, Adolfo pulled me to the side and handed me new tickets so that all four of us could sit in first class. This allowed me to sit right beside Julie and allowed her to squeeze my arm through some of the turbulence. The second leg of the trip was a lot more challenging, and for a few minutes I didn't think they were even going to allow us to stay on the plane. I was dropping sweat from my forehead, but lifting prayers to the Father for just one more thing "Please let us finish the trip and help Julie make it this last hour and a half". And she did and we did! We are relaxing this morning and enjoying being with my mom. Thank you SOOOOO MUCH for your prayers on our behalf, and Deb Davis we can't thank you enough for going way ABOVE and BEYOND the point of being a super friend and sister in Christ. You have truly inspired us with your giving sacrificially to us even when you had your hands more than full.

May all of have a truly blessed Christmas wherever God may have you!

Update and Challenge

2009-12-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

Julie is in good spirits today and really feeling confident about the trip tomorrow. Our friend Kevin Wood is going to come and drive us in the SEND Spain 9 passanger van to the airport. That way Julie will have her own seat to keep her leg straight. Hannah woke with a terrible ear ache this morning. But when I went to get Julie's meds today and the pharm. gave me an antibotic and meds for Hannah too. PTL! Ethan can't wait to get on the plane and have his own multi-media station at his finger tips. First we have to get the packing done. Our teammates the Davis's family are flying on the exact same flight that we are from Madrid to Atlanta, and Deb Davis has been a gem in helping us get everything ironed out for the trip. We still need your continued prayers through the day tomorrow.

God continues in the center of it all, even when we aren't exactly sure where the center is at the moment. By keeping Christ in His rightful place we will never go wrong. Let's keep Christ in the center of our hearts this Christmas. In fact let's go even farther and challenge ourselves to keep Christ in the center of... every situation every day and no matter what happens we can face each day with confidence in Him.

Julie is making progress

2009-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Thank you to the many of you who have been praying for me. Here’s how events have unfolded:

Saturday, December 12th – I tripped over the dog bed in the kitchen and my left knee slammed into the tile floor. We went by ambulance to the ER in our town where they x-rayed, confirmed that the bone was broken (“rotula” – translates kneecap in English, but we understand it to be the joint under the kneecap that connects the longer bones of the leg), put my whole leg in a cast, said that I need to have surgery to correct the break, but that they wouldn’t do it there because they don’t work with private insurance (in Spain the medicine is socialized), and sent me home.

Sunday, Dec 13th –early am - I called the hospital where Ethan had tubes put in his ears years ago that we were very pleased with. The receptionist said it would be better to wait until Monday to come as I would only be seen by the doctor on-call anyway.
Late afternoon – I had our teammate whose native language is Spanish call the hospital back, and they told her that if I came to the ER yet that evening, they would call in the specialist to see me, so we headed out within minutes. The doctor confirmed the diagnosis/treatment and admitted me to the hospital and ran all the pre-op tests.

Monday, Dec 14th – they operated at 1:00 in the afternoon. The doctor was super pleased with how the surgery went. Pain level was manageable (given the large doses of meds they were giving me).

Tuesday, December 15th – we waited all day for the doctor to come in, thinking he would then dismiss me. The pain increased greatly in the afternoon/evening. The doctor came in finally about 9:00 in the evening and obviously said I needed to stay until the next day.

Wednesday, Dec 16th – Much better morning, up in a chair and tried out crutches (I have never been very coordinated….crutches are going to be a challenge, especially since I cannot bend my knee at all!) The doctor came in and released me. We arrived home about 8:00 pm, very happy to be home.

Today, Dec 17th – Pain has been manageable, and we have been praying and discussing all day whether it is wise for me to make the trip to the US on Saturday. We have talked to the airlines and even know another Spanish parent from ECA that works for Delta that is trying to work things out as smoothly as possible for us.

PRAISE: For the great medical care and quick surgery. That God is still in control and can use even a broken knee for His glory. For Troy who has been an amazing nurse, even though he would NEVER pick nursing for an occupation. For teammates who have been wonderful at stepping in and filling in gaps.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

- For the pain to continue to be manageable.
- For wisdom in the next few hours as we make a final decision on whether I make the flight or stay in Spain. (Troy and the kids will go either way as they really need to be with Troy’s mom). Even though it certainly won’t be comfortable, we are leaning toward my going.
- For the flights to be the most comfortable possible, with a way for me to have my leg propped up, and for understanding people around us.
- That our time with Troy’s mom, Sharon, would be an encouragement to her in every way: physically, emotionally and spiritually.
- For healing of my knee.
- For extra strength and grace for Troy, Hannah and Ethan, and for our teammates who may be helping out with things like driving the kids to school.

Yet Another Challenge to TRUST Him with!!

2009-12-13T03:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

The following entry is how I began my Facebook post yesterday. Not the day we had planned. We were supposed to celebrate Christmas with our teammates today, instead went to the ER. While Julie was preparing things for the party she tripped over the dog's bed in the kitchen and broke her knee. We took a trip to the ER here in Guadalajara to find out she will need an operation to repair the break. “Lean not on your own understanding but in ALL yours ways acknowledge Him”. Right now we need to continue making phone calls to see what our options are at this point. We were all scheduled to fly to Florida to spend the Christmas season with my mom on Saturday, December 19th. We are asking you to pray specifically over the next 24-48 hours for:

1. The tremendous pain Julie is enduring ever time she moves or bumps the leg with the
broken knee.
2. Clarity and understanding as we deal with the repair the break. "Lean not on your own
understanding, but in ALL your ways acknowledge Him."Spanish private health system and
also insurance and other medical issues on the Stateside as well.
3. Clarity as we make a decision on whether to have the surgery here in Spain or when we
return to the States on Saturday.
4. All of the logistical details that will need to be worked out over the next few days.
5. The best option for Julie on whether to travel or how we would manage if she stays here.
Unfortunately, are tickets are such that if we don’t fly out on Saturday then we forfeit the
tickets.
6. Grace and peace as we truly “lean not on our own understanding”, but lean on His
faithfulness and wisdom through yet another struggle.

We can’t even begin to thank you enough for uplifting us in prayer. It is the very knowledge that faithful men and women are truly praying for us during this struggle that helps us press on. We serve a MIGHTY, MIGHTY God may He be glorified and honored through ever circumstance that the enemy tries to use to discourage us.

Saturday Nov 21 - Making corn tortillas Guatamalan style

2009-11-23T11:44:00.000-08:00

We had a great time on Saturday morning with Loida Pascual teaching us how to make authentic Guatamalan corn tortillas. It takes some work, just like making homemade bread by hand (not a bread machine), but the end results are scrumptous. You can even put different kinds of cheese in them if you want. We are looking forward to using this new skill for future meals.

Nov 22 "Centro Evangelico - Cristo Vive Hoy" Celebration

2009-11-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

Alwida and her husband Augustine
Maria from Ecuador with Angelica Diaz in the pink
holding baby Daniel

Alwida, Casianna, Lilly, and Julie

Pedro giving the history of the Guadalajara Church Plant

that starts in 2005

Dani, Lazaro and Loida Pascual

with Sophia Wang (short term teacher

serving at ECA this year)

The group that came to help us celebrate.

More of the group

Sunday, November 22 was an awesome evening celebrating God’s faithfulness here in Guadalajara. There were over 80 people from throughout the Guadalajara region who came to help us celebrate what God has done, is continuing to do, and what we are trusting Him to do for the future. Our dear friend and co-laborer, Lazaro Pascual, gave the message for the evening. Gerri Castillo was the MC. And Pedro walked everyone through the brief, but very exciting history of the Guadalajara Church Plant. Troy was responsible for planning, purchasing, and organizing all of the finger foods for the evening. Well, actually Julie and Angelica Diaz did an delicious job of preparing homemade cookies for both the METAS Open House and the church celebration. Everyone on the team and in the church pitched in and helped clean, set up, and take down. It was truly a weekend to celebrate.

Nov 21 - Asociacion METAS' Open House

2009-11-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

Troy with Laura (in black, Dani's girlfriend)

Laura (green sweater, friend of Laura and Dani)

Dani

Dani and Laura attend the Wednesday afternoon advanzed English class

The group that came to celebrate the Open House

Milca and Andrea in the front of the picture attend the Tuesday English class

Sophia Wang (right side of pic)
Pablo talking to Lazaro Pascual

Julie enjoying one of Angelica's cookies

Angelica Diaz talking to

Rosa in the white dress and her husband

Pilar Dani's mom in the printed dress

Pilar and Rose attend the Tuesday afternoon English class

Friday, November 21 was the Open House to celebrate the start of Asociacion METAS Guadalajara. We invited all those who have been involved with helping METAS get started, our contacts within the community, and those who are in the first three classes being offered by METAS. I wasn't excepting a lot of people to show up, because the concept of an Open House is more North American than Spanish, but to my surprise over 25 people came to the Open House. We have lots of finger food and my good friend Dani made a wonderful video of the process and transformation that the METAS building has undergone over the past six months. I hope to post this video sometime soon. We are just amazed and in awe of what God continues to do through His work here in Guadalajara.

Hanging the Big Screen

2009-11-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Enrique is actually reading the instructions on "how to".

First hole going in!

Installing the wall mount

You ready for this big guy?

Up, Up and away.

A few clicks and there she is.

Enrique, Dani’s dad and one of my Tuesday evening students in the beginner’s conversation class for adults, came this week to supervise the installation of the 50” big screen television in the yellow room. This is part of the memorial gift that was given in memory of my father, Rodney G. Hendricks. The television will be hooked to a DVD player, a VHS player, a computer, and a wireless webcam that is in large meeting room. We will be able to broadcast any of the meetings that take place in the large room to the television in the yellow room as an overflow room. We will also be able to use it for a variety of classroom instruction, and Steve Diaz is already contemplating so youth group activities with the BIG screen. We were able to get an incredible buy on this television, because it was an exposition model and because no one is buying large television right now. So we enjoyed an amazing 50% off.

Hannah Helps Teach the Primary Sunday School Class

2009-11-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Hannah loves kids and is already having an impact on young lives by helping to teach the primary level of the Sunday school class in the Guadalajara Church Plant. At first it was just Jacob and Joshua Diaz, but the class has added a few more over the past month. In the photo Hannah is holding Jacob and they all are standing in front of the work “orar” which means to pray in Spanish. They cut out the letters and then decorated them to spell the word that means to pray. A great reminder for us all.

Wednesday's Advanced Conversation English Class

2009-11-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday we started an advanced conversation class from 8:00-9:30 in the afternoon. I know you are saying that’s evening in the United States, and you’re right. Here in Spain evening doesn’t begin until after the evening meal, and since most Spaniards don’t eat their evening meal until at least 10 or so, it’s still afternoon here. Anyway, there has been such a high demand for advanced learners to have the opportunity to speak English that we have started an advanced conversation class. The first night there were nine participates that came, and three others called just before to say that they really wanted to come but were unable to this week, but would definitely come next week.

Thursday's Beginning Class for Youth

2009-11-05T13:16:00.001-08:00

Erica (17), Marcella (8), Jason (18), Andrea, Tiberio, Steve

On Thursday nights I teach a beginning English class for youth. The age range is from 16-20 and there are three young people from the same family who have been coming for the past four weeks. They are a new family from Columbia that has been attending the Guadalajara Church plant. In Columbia they don’t teach English in the public schools, but here in Spain it is mandatory that all students take English. Often immigrant students who come from countries where English isn’t taught are at a big disadvantage. Andrea one of the young ladies from the Guadalajara Church came to the English class too, to work on improving her English level. Tonight we played BINGO with numbers from 1-75 and it was the first time they had ever played BINGO and they all really enjoyed it. Tiberio, Andrea's boyfriend, has also been coming to the class, but more to observe, because his English is impressive. Steve Diaz has also been coming to observe and to build a relationship with Erica and Jason to encourage them to take part in some of the youth activities within the church.

Beginning Conversation Class for Adults

2009-11-05T12:56:00.001-08:00

Dani with the dark hair and beard, his father Enrique taking a drink,

and Julie
Rosa and Isabel twin sisters with their backs to the photo
Augustin and Alwida on the right side of the picture.

Pilar, Dani's mom is in the center of the photo

and she is taking notes.

Laura, Dani, Enrique

Pilar, Augustine, Rosa and Isabel (twins)

The Beginning Conversation Class for adults has been meeting for six weeks now, and there is a core group of eight that have been coming faithfully. It is a lot of fun to work with this class because they can laugh and have fun while trying to learn the English language. The idea for this class came from Dani, because his mother’s school where she teaches in Azuqueca de Henares is moving to a bilingual school, and Dani’s mother really wanted a chance to practice speaking English. Dani’s father also thought it might be a good idea to learn a little English since the family is planning on taking a vacation to the United States next summer. As Dani and his girlfriend Laura were talking about the class, she also mentioned it to her aunt, who also thought an opportunity to improve or to begin learning English was a great idea. She told her twin sister about the class and they both decide it was a grand opportunity. Then we mentioned that we were starting a beginner’s conversation class in church, and Awilda decided after trying many, many times in vain to communicate with my mother-in-law in English when she was visiting, that maybe it was time she started learning a little English. Her husband Augustine decide that if Awilda could learn English then so could he, besides it would really help him advance in his job. Thus you have the making of the first beginner’s conversation class for adults in the new Asociacion Metas building.

English Conversation Class is Going Well

2009-10-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Beginning the class with a review

of the "th" sound.

Awilda and her husband Augustine came

for the first time (They are in the center of the photo)

Julie, Enrique, Pilar, Rosa and Isabel (twins)

Augustine and Awilda

Laura, Dani, and Enrique studying
new vocabulary words.

The whole class working hard.

The English conversation class on Tuesday evening continues to be a blast. Julie came tonight to help and worked with Dani's father, Enrique, and she is still laughing about the fun time they had. Alwida and Augustine (Augustine donate a lot o...f the furniture for the local) came for the first time tonight too, so there were 8 Spaniards and 3 Americans.

Mary Lane and Julie Lending a Helping Hand in the IRR

2009-10-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

Books, books, books, and more books!! It is exciting to watch the shelves in the International Reading Room (IRR) begin to fill up with books. Most of the books at this point are in English, but we have over 850 books representing 7 different languages. Julie’s mom, Mary Lane, and Julie worked diligently all through the morning to get as many books cataloged into the library computer system as they possibly could. There are still several boxes yet to unload and catalog, so my hope is that we will soon be over one thousand. Then we can advertise on the Asociacion METAS blog that we have over a thousand books from many different languages; that should get people’s attention. Now our prayer is that people begin to use the International Reading Room.

Julie and Mary Lane getting set-up and ready

to GO! They both found this job

reallying exciting.

Steve Diaz listening to Julie's explanation of

how it all works.

As happy as Marian the Librarian
in Music Man!!

Saturday Oct. 17 - Lots of Activities for Everyone

2009-10-17T12:43:00.001-07:00

Saturday, Oct. 17 th was a day full of activity from "morning til night". Julie started by taking Hannah to ECA for the PSAT test that started at 9 am. Ethan and I went to the local to pick up the Frisbees, and it was full of people. One group was in the large room practicing for Sunday morning worship. Another group was in the yellow room making Christmas crafts preparing for the upcoming holiday season. Ethan and I greeted everyone then headed to the park to meet Steve Diaz and the boys to toss around the Frisbee. Sophia Wang joined us, then Tibero, Andrea, Tibero's older sister, and a young man named Javier. It was neat for us to see Javier join us because he has come to both of the outreaches we have had in the park. He learned very quickly how to throw and catch the Frisbee. After a few hours in the park we all headed home for lunch. Then Julie and Mary Lane headed out the door to visit Valetine and Horario in Azuqueca de Henares. Valetine and Horario were our first neighbors when we moved to Spain, and have become dear, dear friends of our and of Mary Lane's. Everytime we talk to Valetine she ask about Mary Lane. It is 10:30 in the evening now and the young people from the church are still playing with the Wii in the living room. So the day isn't over yet!!

Mary Lane with Valetine and Horario

They were our first neighbors in Spain
The group who came for the music practice
praying for Sunday's worship service

Doing Christmas crafts

Lilly with the Christmas placemate the

ladies were making

This is part of the newest family who have

started attending the church.

Erika on the right is the young lady who came

to English class on last Thursday. Her brother in the

middle this was his first time coming to any activity in

the church.

Friday Oct 16 - Guadalajara Regional Team Meeting

2009-10-17T12:25:00.001-07:00

The Guadalajara Regional team which is made up of all of the SEND missionaries serving in the Guadalajara Region of Spain meet once a month to celebrate what God is doing in each of our ministries and to encourage each other to continue fighting the good fight. We meant at the new Asociacion METAS/Centro Evangelico building this month and enjoyed a chilli lunch with fresh bread and homemade apple butter. Julie's mom, Mary Lane, was able to join us this month and to see and hear what God is doing in the Guadalajara region of Spain.

Troy, Mary Lane with baby Daniel Diaz, Julie

Jacob Diaz enjoying the chilli Troy made for the team

Angelica and Steve Diaz teammates in Guadalajara

Kevin and Joann Wood teammates in Siguenza

Gerri Castillo leading us in a few songs.

Casiana Castillo was sick and unable to join us.

Wednesday Oct 13 - Apple Butter Day!!

2009-10-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Mary Lane doing all the mending

that has been piling up

Daniel Diaz came to visit while mom

went shopping

Mary Lane peeling the apples for apple butter

Apple butter day in Spain.

Que rico!!!

Tuesday Oct 13 - Julie and Mary Lane take Hannah's Spanish History class on a field trip

2009-10-17T11:53:00.003-07:00

Mary Lane, Julie and the kids in the

Spanish History class.

Hannah's class

The Roman ruins of Alcala de Henares

In front of the Roman ruins in Alcala de Henares

Monday Oct 12 - Columbus Day and Trip to Siguenza

2009-10-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

Julie and Joann Wood

Lizzy and Hannah planning the "kids program" for English camp
Grandma looking on.

Lizzy and Hannah doing their thing

The view from the Wood's aparmtent in Siguenza

This is the castle in Siguenza at sunset.

Truly Awesome Sunday October 11 in Guadalajara

2009-10-12T02:05:00.000-07:00

Baptism of Andrea

Julie, Andrea, and Casiana Castillo
as we prayed for Andrea's courage to
continue to grow in her walk with the Lord.

Scrumptious picnic
with over 40 people

Pablo preparing communion after the baptism

so that Andrea could participate

for the first time.

Ulimate Frisbee

with Hannah in the center, Melica in front of her,

and Monica behind her, Dani is in the green shirt

this was the first time for all three of them.

We had an absolutely fabulous day, October 11th 2009, at the Centro Evangelico in Guadalajara, Spain. We started the morning with worship service at 11:00 until 12:00. Then after the worship service we went to a river and natural park about ten minutes north of Guadalajara. This is the same place that we had our first church picnic. Here we held the first baptism service of a young lady who has been attending the church plant for over two years now. This was exciting not only to hold our first baptism service of a new member, but also for many other young people in the church to observe this next step of being obedient to God’s word in their lives. The day itself could not have been more perfect: beautiful, bright, warm sunshine in the middle of God’s awesome creation. After the baptism we shared communion together as a church family, had a scrumptious picnic, and then even had time for few rounds of “Ultimate Frisbee”. Several new people participated in the Frisbee for the first time, and we are hoping they will come an join us on Saturday morning for Frisbee at the park.

Cervante's Festival in Alcala de Henares

2009-10-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Don Quixote riding through the streets of Alcala

The gang watching our last name being written in Arabic

The Arab Scribe writting HENDRICKS

Julie and Mary Lane buying roasted chestnuts,

and Ethan just had to have an ear of the

roasted corn.

Meeting up with the Diaz family at the

center of the Plaza de Cervantes

Every year Alcala de Henares holds "Cervante's Fest" to celebrate their most famous character, Miguel Cervantes. Alcala was the boyhood home of Cervantes while his father worked at a local hospital. Miguel Cervantes is best known for his famous novel, Don Quixote de la Mancha. Alcala is converted into a Medieval town, well really a Medieval selling market, where you can sample all kinds of Medieval re-creations from foods, spices, scents, weapons, customs, and more. It was the first festival here in Spain that we as a family attended, and it has become a family tradition. This year we got to enjoy it with Julie's mom, Sophia Wang, and Ms. Ruth Rhinier, who both teach at ECA. Ethan bought yet another sword, the very first sword he ever bought in Spain was at the Cervante's Fest. Hannah bought a new pair of wooden ear rings. Julie found a homemade candle that smells like chocolate. Troy had our last name spelled in Arabic and framed so we can hang it on the wall. Since, Alcala is an Arabic name and was ruled by Arabs for several hundred years there is an entire part of the festival that demonstrates the Arabic influence. It was another great day at the Cervantes' Fest and we are already looking forward to doing it next year.

Saturday Frisbee in the Park

2009-10-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

We had another sunny Saturday morning to toss the Frisbee around in the park near the METAS building. It was exciting to have Jose from the church join us for the first time. He has never really thrown a Frisbee before, but got the hang of it quickly. That's the great thing about Frisbee it's an easy sport/exercise to catch onto verily quickly. Julie's mom, Mary Lane, also joined us for the Frisbee activity and she too actually enjoyed it as well. The neat thing is that I think we are starting to draw a little interest as people have seen us in the park now for four Saturdays. There is a group of teenage girls today that kept getting closer and closer. Julie invited them to come join us, but they didn't want to today. But hopefully little by little people will start to join us and we can break the ice.

Excellent day for Frisbee in the Park.

Jose his first time around with a Frisbee

Mary Lane getting into the action too!

Hey look guys, I have the hang of it!

Hannah and Sophia Wang

bring it on, bring it on!

ETHAN BEING ETHAN!!!

2009-10-10T01:07:00.000-07:00

The Middle School classes at ECA spent yesterday outside studying an "Outdoor Ed" curriculmn of most of their subjects. As you can tell by the photo Ethan got a little to into the science part of collecting bugs from the river. Ethan's teacher took the picture as soon as she could stop laughing. She's hoping there are no "ill" effects from his one of two tumbles into the river. We know as parents it's just Ethan being Ethan. Thank God there were no emergency room visits this time!!

First English Conversation Class for Asociacion METAS Guadalajara

2009-10-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

The first English conversation class took place this afternoon, Oct. 6th in Guadalajara. There were eight adults who came to practice their English and hopefully improve their ability to understand and to be understood when they speak. It was so rewarding for me to finally be doing what I thought I was going to do here in Spain from the very beginning. We were actually recruited with the idea of developing an English as a Second Language program, now after seven years it is finally coming to be. I really enjoyed working with this group of adults and I hope that it will be the beginning of a very long and successfuly time together. We are planning on this being an eight week course October through November and meeting once or twice in December to talk about how we celebrate Christmas in the United States and to share Christmas stories and treasures. Then we will re-evaluate the direction of the course and decide where to go for January.

Friday Sept 25th Outreach at the Park - The Clowns

2009-09-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

And you thought we couldn't act!!
Hannah in the center of it all! Doing a great job!!

Give the horsey a kiss!!

This just might attract some attention.

Call me Mr. Cool!!

He's really not my brother people!

Friday Sept. 25th Outreach in the Park

2009-09-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Steve Diaz sharing the story of God's love

using the wordless book.
Hannah, Maxi, Casianna, and Pablo leading the songs
Gerri playing the guitar

Maxi holding the scarf for one of the games

Some of the parents and grandparents enjoying

watching the kids play and sing

The kids preparing to listen to the story of the "wordless book"

We had another wonderful time at our second outreach in the park near the new building where Asociacion METAS and Centro Evangelico meet. We opened the outreach with some of the same songs that we sang at the first outreach two weeks ago. Hoping this will help the kids become more and more familiar with the songs. Then, Steve Diaz shared the story of God’s love by using the “wordless book of colors”. Each of the colors represents a spiritual truth. The Gold represents Heaven, and God’s desire for us to live with Him there for eternity. The black represents the problem. It represents the sin that is in each one of our hearts, and it is what separates us from God. The red represents the blood of Christ that He shed on Calvary, so that we might have our sins forgiven. When we ask Jesus Christ into our lives as Lord and Savior, He washes our hearts as white as snow (the white). When we invite Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior to forgive us of our sins then He gives us the ability to grow more and more in Him (the green represents growth). We can grow in our new faith by talking to God, reading His word, and fellowshipping with other believers. After the story we gave each of the kids a bracelet with the same colored beads as the story, and with it we gave them a little handout that explained the significance of each the colors. After this we played a few more games with the kids and then called it an evening.

Friday Sept. 25 - A Family of Clowns!!!

2009-09-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Hendrick's family preparing for the afternoon outreach at the park. We get ready at home, and then we head to the local where we meet and pray before we head out. Hannah loves getting in the car and driving to the local, a family of clowns ALWAYS turns more then a few heads. We are enjoying seeing God use our clowniness for His glory.

More Dad, you need more! No, no the other side.
I'm getting it Hannah, I'm getting it!!

Who says a family can't have fun!!

We're having a blast just

clowning around.

Don't make me look like a girl Hananh!
Keep quiet and don't mess up my work Ethan!

Some people will do anything for the gospel!!

Why not!! Gerri is just thanking God

he gets to play the guitar.

Friday Sept. 25 - Middle School Breakfast

2009-09-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

Are you sure they're big enough mom?
Ethan abandoned his pancake station in favor of EATING!!

Looking good, looking good!

David Young one of the middle school teachers

with his table of hungry students.

Ethan's table praying before the breakfast.

Lynn Calderwood, one of the outstanding middle school teachers, organized a middle school breakfast on Friday, September 25th. While the ECA high school students were having their usual class meetings the middle school students were feasting on pancakes, bacon, orange juice, and other breakfast culinary delights. Ethan and Julie both pitched in to help with the pancakes. Well, Julie said Ethan did until it was time to eat and then he mysteriously disappeared. Some of the middle school staff and even a few other school staff were able to enjoy this super morning kickoff.

Ethan's got the touch - Just like Dad!!!

2009-09-21T00:34:00.001-07:00

It's fun watching baby Daniel Diaz grow and grow. He is in that stage where he is changing almost everyday. Ethan wanted to prove that he has "Daddy's touch" too. He and Hannah do a great job helping out with the kids during any activities that we have at the local.

Marriage Encounter Class

2009-09-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

Once a month Gerri and Casiana Castillo are leading a “Marriage Encounter” class for couples within the Guadalajara church. There are six couple from the Centro Evangelico "Cristo Vive Hoy" attending the classes. The goal is to strengthen marriages within the church, and then use what we are learning to reach out to those in the community who are looking to strengthen their marriages. This is what the “M” in METAS stands for as well. We hope to develop an entire program based around the Christian principals of “what is a healthy marriage” as an outreach to Spanish couples.

Sept. 18 Guadalajara Regional Team Meeting

2009-09-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

The SEND Spain Guadalajara Regional Team meant on Friday, Sept. 18, to enjoy a time of fellowship together. The team meets once a month to pray together, share about ministry, and to encourage one another. It gives our teammates, Kevin and Joann Wood, who are working in Siguenza without other missionary teammates, a chance to connect and share with other missionaries at least once a month. This Friday we also enjoyed a meal together at a Chinese restaurant in the mall. It was a buffet style Chinese restaurant, one of the few in Spain that we know of so far. After the meal several on the team felt it was important to "test" the massage chairs in the mall for a little more time of reflecting and resting.

Ethan and Julie helping with the Outreach on Sept 11

2009-09-15T04:31:00.001-07:00

Ethan took this great picture of Awilda, Casiana, and Hannah
Julie had one of the cameras capturing the outreach.
All of the great pictures are either her´s or Ethan´s.
Ethan took this one of mom taking pictures.

Julie jumping in wherever she is needed.

Ethan helping encourage the kids to sit down and listen

to the storyboard.

Ethan also helped with making sure

the clowns and others had balloons.

Troy´s Clowning Around Again!

2009-09-15T04:17:00.000-07:00

Anyone recognize that face?
Don´t ask just, "a clown´s gotta do what a clown´s gotta do!!"

Ok, so maybe a big belly does come in handy, once in awhile.

No you´re the clown!

This is the 201 ballons, oh my!

Hannah in Parque de Alamin Sept 11th -Yep her 15th birthday

2009-09-15T04:05:00.001-07:00

Hannah mingling with the kids before the singing.
Hannah and Daddy helping with the motions to the songs

Hannah laughing it up with the songs

Hannah with Jacob and our little neighbor Beatrice

Handing out the balloons.

Outreach in the Parque de Alamin Sept 11th

2009-09-15T03:19:00.000-07:00

The Centro Evangélico "Cristo Vive Hoy" and Asociación METAS Guadalajara had the second organized outreach in the neighborhood park where the new building is located. Praise God for His faithfulness in allowing the town hall to grant us permission to use the park. It was so exciting to see a crowd of children, parents, and grandparents gather to sing songs, listen to the storyboard, gasp in awe as Steve Diaz did his gospel magic rope, and all ages enjoyed the crazy clowns. Guadalajara is in its two weeks of “Festias”, so there are activities going on throughout the city during the day and night. We weren´t sure what to except on Friday night, but God overwhelmed us with the turn out. Gerri Castillo opened the outreach with songs and music from his guitar. Maxi, Casianna, Hannah, Awilda, and Troy help to guide the kids through the songs and the motions that go along with the songs. Pablo did the storyboard and explained the difference between the world´s idea of the perfect gift, and the Bibles presentation of what the real perfect gift to mankind is in Jesus Christ. Our next outreach is planned for September 25 in the same park. At this time we would also like to invite the kids, teenagers, and older adults to specific activities sponsored by Asociación Metas. We are planning on beginning English conversation classes the first of October, along with a day of “Frisbee in the Park” on September 26th. This Frisbee activity will hopeful lead to developing an Ultimate Frisbee outreach in the park every Saturday morning for the neighborhood kids.

Maxi, Hannah, and Alwida doing motions to the songs
Troy surrounded by a group of teens who also wanted balloons
and to practice their English.

This is Angelica Diaz with little Daniel and Jacob.

Beside her is our neigherbor and her daughter, who

saw Hannah and Troy leave the house dressed like

clowns, so they decided to come to the park

and check it out.

The crowd of kids getting ready to sing some of the songs.

Listening to Steve´s magic rope gospel story.

Bowling in Spain at the old American military base

2009-09-15T03:05:00.001-07:00

The bowling alley at the old American military base

in Torrejon de Ardoz.
Sergio, Enrique, Pilar, Dani, and Laura
This was the families first time at the bowling alley.

Hannah, Laura, Pilar, and Sergio watching for their turn.

The gang looking at the scores and Ethan
trying to figure out how many he needs to

beat or at least tie his sister.

UP, UP, and AWAY!

Not bad for a first time.

Sept. 12 Celebrating Dani´s Success

2009-09-15T02:40:00.001-07:00

Dani and Laura

"The Dynamic Duo"

They have been a huge blessing in helping with the

International Reading Room and getting the

new Asociacion METAS Guadalajara blog set up.

www.asociacionmetasguadalajara.blogspot.com

Ethan and Julie enjoying the incredible weather.

There was an awesome assortment of meat
for everyone´s grilling taste.

Enrique, Dani´s dad, was the master

of the grill. Sergio, Dani´s younger brother in the blue

is enjoying the final product.

Julie, Ethan, Laura, Pilar (Dani´s mom) and Dani´s back

We were able to celebrate Dani´s success in passing his teacher´s English exam, and getting his first teaching job in a school in Camarma (this is also the town where ECA is located). Dani´s father, Enrique, is in a special unit in the Spanish military and he works at the old American military base in Torrejon de Ardoz, just outside of Alcala de Henares. He was able to reserve the spot where were grilled and get us special access to the base facilities. It was a true first-hand cultural experience getting to see inside the old American base that is now operated by the Spanish military. We were given a personal guided tour by Dani´s dad. Enrique is a Major in the Special Response Emerency Fire Unit (I know that´s not an exact translation from Spanish to English, but you get the idea). Enrique is the communication´s officer that organizes his unit when they respond to major fires in the center of Spain. The old American base is a little city in and of itself. Now international military personnel maintian and utilize the base for the Euporean Union, thought the base still contains some of the orginal American flare to it, like the bowling alley (see next blog entry).

Sept. 11th Celebrating Hannah´s 15th Birthday

2009-09-15T02:28:00.000-07:00

A Birthday Hug from lil brother
Hananh really liked the ring that Ethan picked out
because it matches her necklace

Can you see the excitment!

Thanks everyone for the cards and gifts!

They were all a big hit.

Yes, that´s the CD I was hoping for!!

Happy 15th Birthday Hannah!

International Reading Room

2009-09-08T23:41:00.000-07:00

Steve Diaz and Ethan assembling the bookshelves

for the International Reading Room
The shelves assembled and waiting to be filled.
We hope to fill these shelves with the
largest collection of books from
different languages in the
Guadalajara area.

Dani and Laura downloading the book tracking system

Cataloguing and entering the books.

It’s exciting to see the International Reading Room begin to come together. The idea of the International Reading Room is to provide a place where those who are learning different languages can have access to books in that language to practice and improve in the language. So far we have over two hundred books in English, Spanish, German, and French. We are hoping to add to this collection until it grows to the largest international collection of reading material in the area.

Dani and his girlfriend Laura have graciously volunteered to help with the cataloguing of the books in the International Reading Room. Dani downloaded a program on the METAS computer that will allow us to track all of the books and those who are borrowing the book. It also allows us to create a databank of those using the reading room, so we can mail them information on other events that we might be hosting.

A note of celebration to share with you is that Dani not only passed his English teacher’s exam, but received his first teaching position. He will be teaching third year students at a school in Camarma, this is also the town where ECA is located. We are going to celebrate Dani’s accomplishments with him and his family this Saturday at the old US military base in Torrejon de Aroz (this is now an international military base). Dani’s father is in the Spanish military and can get us special permission to be on the base, and access to all of the facilities.

Dani’s mother is also a teacher in Azuqueca de Henares and her school is moving to a bilingual school (Spanish and English), as many other schools in Spain are doing. She and several of her colleagues are interested in practicing their English so that they can be more effective teachers in the classroom. In October through METAS Guadalajara we are going to begin a course in English conversation to provide an opportunity for those who would like to improve their English comprehension and conversation level.

Dani has also agreed to help me do a METAS Guadalajara blog, so that people can have easy access to our information, and there will be a place where we can post upcoming events. This is especially important in reaching the younger generation, because the first place they will go is the internet to find out more information. Hopefully we can have the blog up and running withing the next month or so. For those of you who want to practice or improve your Spanish, it will be a great resource.

What do you do with fresh BLACKBERRIES?

2009-09-05T07:28:00.001-07:00

You make blackberry jam of course!!

P.S. We saved enough blackberries to make a big blackberry pie for Sunday after church. And yes we invited Miss Wang to have lunch with us, so she too can enjoy the fruits of her labors. We might have to get some vanilla ice cream to sit on top of the blackberry pie, just for decoration.

Blackberry (Las Moras) Season in Spain

2009-09-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

Pick one, eat two!!

I can do the math, how about you!
Dad, just because I love you!

Even Miss Sophia Wang helped pick.

(the newest teacher with SEND Inter. to

join the ECA teaching staff)

Yep, they're loaded.

Julie is on the other side of the camera taking the pictures,

but she helped pick too.

On Thursday we drove out to Pena to see the kids at camp. Troy was super anxious to see the kids after missing them for three weeks, and the kids were super anxious to see Dad. It also gave us an opportunity to take Miss Sophia Wang out to meet the headmaster and some of the teaching staff she will be working with this year. Sophia arrived in Spain on Tuesday, and will begin integrating into the teaching staff this coming Monday. She will be teaching mostly middle school science classes. She has been teaching for six years in PA, and has been to Spain four different times. Two of them short-term mission trips to Siguenza to help with one of SEND Spain's newest church plants. She will be living in Guadalajara with Gerri and Casiana Castillo, and also helping as much as she can with the Guadalajara Church Plant. Before we came back to Guadalajara, we took the opportunity to pick fresh blackberries that are all over the area where the camp is located. Yummy, yummy for our tummies!

Junior High/High School Camp

2009-09-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

The Evangelical Christian Academy's 2009-2010 student body.

This was the annual kick off the school year camp

at Pena de Horeb.

Senior class are all in green t-shirts in the back row.

Hannah's sophmore class being "a little" creative.

Yep, that's right 3 girls and 2 boys
in the sophmore class
at ECA.

Yeah, and you go it by the boy's faces.
4 girls and 2 boys in the 7th grade class
at ECA
No touching allowed!!

The 7th grade class of ECA
is going to
soar in 2009-2010!

ECA has started classes for 2009-2010

2009-09-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

Kisses to all our family and friends

in the States!!!!

First day of school outfits

Mom has been taking "first day of school outfit" pictures since the very first day of kindergarten, and it doesn't look like she plans on stopping anytime soon. ECA is up and running again with the first day of classes staring on August 27th. The first week was a short week and the second week even shorter because of junior high and high school camp (see following blog entry). But it has been awesome to reconnect with friends we haven't seen over the summer, and some friends we haven't seen for over a year.

Back in Spain

2009-09-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I am back on Spanish soil after having been gone for three weeks. I was able to fly home and be with my mom and family during her surgery. Unfortunately the surgery didn’t yield the positive results that we were all praying for, but the surgeon was able to remove the cancerous gallbladder and is hoping this will help mom begin feeling a little bit better. After a longer then anticipated stay in the hospital, to get everything working again, mom is home working to regain her strength. She has the goal of being able to go to Florida at the end of this month. My sister will fly down to Bradenton with mom and get her settled in and connected to doctors and a hospital down there. She is so looking forward to being able to spend the fall and winter in Florida. She thinks that the Ohio fall and winter months have “gotten just too cold”. In fact she has already turned the heat on in the trailer a few mornings to “warm things up a bit”. We will continue to pray that mom’s body can regain the strength she needs to enjoy her time in Florida, and that she is able to rest in God’s loving and caring arms through this whole ordeal. Thank you for your prayers on mom’s behalf, and please continue to lift her before the throne and He who sits upon the throne of glory.

A Day of Celebration - Our first worship service in the new building

2009-08-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Gerri Castillo opening the worship service

The right side of the congregation from the front view

Trying to get both sides of the congregation at the same time.

Looking from the back of the new sanctuary.

Left side of the congregation

Left side from the front view

Pedro led the first worship service

We had anticipated maybe 30-35 people for our first worship service in the new building, but God had bigger and better in store for us. There were 42 people who gathered in the Centro Evangelico to sing, pray, and learn from God’s word this morning. Again it is hard to imagine the exciting this generated unless you have worked in an area like Spain to plant an Evangelical church. Many, many congregations that have been working for 20 years or more are lucky to see 35-40 people attend a Sunday morning worship service. In fact, there were 8 new people who have never been to one of our worship services before this morning. We can comfortably fit 55 chairs in the large meeting room in the new building, and we have been average around 25 people at our worship services prior to today. It’s exciting and scary at the same time to think that the space is filling up already, but we know that some of this is just “first day curiosity”. Nevertheless, we were thrilled to be almost full for our first worship service.

Saturday, August 8th - A Day of Preparation

2009-08-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

It was an exhilarating day to see the Guadalajara Church Plant (now called Centro Evangelico "Cristo Vivo Hoy"/ Christ Lives Today) family gather to work on all of the jobs that needed to be done in order to hold our first worship service in the new building for the following day. It really was a day of preparation, as we began to pull all of the little details together to prepare the building for our first meeting. It was so satisfying to see the Christian family God has woven together here in Guadalajara use their talents, ideas, and muscle to add the finishing touches to Local Number 3 in Calle Alamin 38 (this is the address for the new building). The pictures below will help tell the story.

Troy, Pablo, and Angel putting the projector mount on the wall.

Julie cleaning in the kitchen.

Ethan helping Henry put together one of the desk

donated by Augustine's company.

Hannah preparing the new refrigerator.

Pablo and Troy hanging the new "3"
(which was purchased and handpainted in Toledo, Spain)
to help identify the new building.

Newest Member of the SEND Spain Field

2009-08-03T00:15:00.001-07:00

Daniel Jonathan Diaz

July 31, 2009

The Diaz family the day Daniel was born.

Tiny little thing.

Mom, Julie, Hannah, and brother Jacob

Proud mom, and Julie

God's Amazing Provision for the METAS' Local

2009-07-30T04:22:00.000-07:00

We have been in awe of seeing God provide for our needs here in Guadalajara. We have a basement full of office furniture that is ready to move into the new building this Saturday. Augustine, whose wife Alwida attends the GCP, works for a company that remodels office space for businesses. Many times when a company buys a new building they want all of the current office furniture and stuff removed so that it can be completely refurbished with new. The material being removed is often in excellent condition and sometimes it is even brand new. Over the past two months, Augustine has been setting aside all of the new (never been opened) office furniture for the new METAS building. It’s like Christmas in July for the METAS Guadalajara project. We haven’t even opened all of the boxes to see the goodies that are inside. We do know there are several large tables, several office chairs, two new filing cabinets, a bulletin board, 40 reams of computer paper, and much, much more. All of these things are being given as a donation to the METAS Guadalajara project. Augustine isn’t attending the church, yet, but he has been to several of the meals that we have had after the worship service. We are hoping that he will come on August 9th to our next church lunch and see the new building and all of the office furniture in its proper place. And little by little start opening up more to coming to our Sunday worship services, and ultimately opening his heart to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.

Augustine is in the black shirt clear to the right of the photo.

Johann is loading the van on the left.

Henry the summer intern from Grace College is in the center

A company employ leaning against the railing in the green outfit.

The SEND Spain field and METAS Guadalajara van full of office furniture

The first pallet of office furniture
Johann and Tibero loading the first piece.
Johann is from Ecuador and Tibero is from Romania
both attend the GCP.

Johann, Henry, and Tibero

Our garage is full of the donated office furniture

and the new chairs we have order

ready to move to the new building.

Update on the METAS' Building

2009-07-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to update you on the progress of the new METAS' Guadalajara/Guadalajara Church Plant (GCP) building. When we left for the States in June the process of remodeling the new building had just gotten underway. We are so excited to be able to report that we are a week away from being able to use the building for METAS and the GCP. On August 9 the church is planning to hold services in the new building, host a lunch after the worship service, and have an evangelism training session for the afternoon. We have chairs and tables order and are ready to move them into the building this coming Saturday. (See other updates that I will post for this amazing story of God’s provision) and see the pictures below to view the amazing progress in the new building.

The big meeting room in May of 2009

May of 2009

Big meeting room in June of 2009

Same angle as above in July of 2009

There is a sandstone border all around the

main meeting room to protect the wall

from scuff marks by the chairs.

This is a closer look at the sandstone tile

that wraps the main meeting room. We

believe this large meeting room will

hold 60-70 people comfortably.

Update for July 2009

2009-07-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

We have been back in Spain for just over a week now.... long enough to get over jet lag, for Hannah to have been sick with cough/fever for five of those days (better now), to unpack, and to begin to pick up the strings that we dropped when we left for the US so quickly in June.

Update on Troy’s mom:

Sharon continues to feel about the same. She is staying on her own in her home. She says that she is not in pain per say, but the stint that is draining the bile from the liver into the intestine is uncomfortable all the time. She is still waiting for a concrete surgery date, which now looks likely to be toward the end of August. From what we understand, her case is complicated as they have to schedule a time not only when the operating room and the main surgeon are available, but also when another specialist can be present as the operation is so delicate.

We continue to covet your prayers regarding her health, for her and the family’s peace of mind as they await the surgery, for wisdom and skill for the doctors, and ultimately for the outcome to be exactly what God has planned. Please also continue to pray for the family as they continue to grieve the loss of Troy’s father.

Update on the new building:

The remodeling on the building that METAS and the Guadalajara church plant will use is going really well. The foreman thinks that they will be completely finished this coming Friday (July 31). Tentatively we are planning for the first worship service to be held there on August 9th, which would give us two weeks from now to get furniture ordered, and a week after the remodeling is finished to get everything moved into place. As we wrote awhile back, Augustin, the husband of Awilda who attends our church, still has the pallets of office furniture to donate. Because much of Spain, including the construction company Augustin works for, slows way down or closes during the month of August, we have arranged to pick up the furniture this Wednesday and move it to our basement. It will make two moves, but also means we have the furniture available now, and won’t have to wait until September. Pray for the prompt completion of the remodeling, and for our witness to Augustin, who is not a believer. Pray for wisdom on what furniture to purchase, and what to wait on.

Update on ECA:

Scot Musser, the ECA headmaster, returned from home service two weeks ago, so the administrative team is now busy working on the master schedule for the fall. Pat Roseman, the new lady who will be working full-time in the ECA office, arrived last Friday, and will begin working at ECA next week. While Julie may be busy initially helping Pat “learn the ropes” and working on student and teacher’s schedules for the fall (first day of school is August 27th), she is planning on helping less at ECA this year, and more in Guadalajara with the church plant and METAS.

Troy has offered to teach at ECA again this year, but only on a three-day-a-week basis, teaching no more than two classes as there is much to do to get METAS activities up and running. As always, there is a great need for qualified teachers, and he, like Julie, desires to continue to be actively involved in our children’s education. Troy will also be serving as SEND’s representative on the ECA school board.

Spiritual Warfare?

One of our teammates received a call this week that his mother suffered a stroke and is hospitalized. Giles and his family are in the middle of an intense two-week training for youth workers that they are leading. Do you get the feeling that Satan doesn’t like what is happening here? I know our teammates would appreciate your prayers for Giles’ mom, Freda, as well.

We and our team definitely feel the spiritual battle, and we covet your prayers that Satan would be defeated, and that God’s love and forgiveness would be freely proclaimed and embraced in our individual lives, as a team, through our church and METAS in Guadalajara, and in the country of Spain. Pray that we would clearly hear and follow God’s leading, both in ministry here and in ministry to family; that we would not allow ourselves to take on responsibilities that are not God-directed, and that we would be able to have the priorities that God has, who values love and relationship above all else.

We are unspeakably grateful for your ministering to us personally these past few weeks through your prayers, and we ask you to continue. It is our privilege to intercede for you as well and we invite you to email us with specific requests if you desire.

Psalm 127:1-2
1Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. 2It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

In Memory of Rodney Gerald Hendricks

2009-07-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

I haven’t posted anything on our family blog in awhile, because we had to make an unfortunate return trip to the United States. On June 10th my father, Rodney Gerald Hendricks, passed away at the age of 62. It was totally unexpected and we were all shaken by the sudden loss. We had planned on staying in the States for two weeks, but due to another unfortunate turn in my mother’s health we ended up staying a little over a month. The following post is dedicated to My Dad, Grandpa Rod, loving father, husband, and grandfather. We will all miss him dearly, but will someday be reunited with him on those celestial streets of gold.

Rodney and Sharon Hendricks

July of 2007

Married July 4, 1964

The grandkids looking for pumpkins

in Grandpa's garden

Dad had the opportunity to visit us
here in Spain in 2006

Mom and Dad on their visit

to Spain in 2006

A face only Dad/Grandpa Rod

could make!

No Regrets

by Hannah Grace Hendricks

dedicated to Rodney Gerald Hendricks

a loving Grandpa.

June 2009

You had hung on for so long
that I guess

we expected you to keep on hangin’ on,
but you didn’t,
and you left us so suddenly.
Our world has been shaken.

But, I know you’re in heaven Grandpa Rod
tellin’ your “whopper” stories
to all the Saints of old.

And I suppose God
has even made a leak in heaven’s plumbing
just for you

to tinker with.
And a majestic garden
just for you to plant and putter in

with your thumbs of love.

But Grandpa,
Most importantly, I know
you’re safe and whole,
no pain, no sorrow…
No regrets

We love you so much Grandpa Rod

thank you for all you have given us

and the tremendous legacy you leave behind.

Hendricks' Family Clowning for Jesus

2009-06-08T00:49:00.001-07:00

Do you recognize any of these clowns? Troy, Hannah, and Ethan have been working on their clowning around to be able to attract kids to hear the Bible stories that are being presented at our outreaches. (Julie decided there needs to be someone behind the camera to capture these historic events) They have been learning how to make balloon animals to give the children who come to the events. Saturday was their first public appearance and it was spectacular! The kids came from everywhere. Troy and Hannah worked non-stop to try and give each of the kids a balloon animal to take home with them. Troy made the animals and many in the church handed the animals out with a gospel tract. It was a fun and very rewarding day to see God using the talents of His people to touch the hearts of those who passed through the park.

Guadalajara Church Plant Outreach Workshop

2009-06-08T00:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 6, the Guadalajara Church Plant held its first evangelism outreach workshop. The church invited Ken Barret from the Alcala Brethren church to present his workshop on using a storyboard to share the gospel message. The workshop was held from 10-12 in our basement, a light snack, and then we went to a park near where we purchased the new building to apply the concepts of the workshop. It was a rainy, overcast day, but the bad weather held off until after the performance. Along with Ken doing his storyboard a group of college students from Alcala performed several mime skits to help attract a crowd. A lot of those attending the church plant came out to participate in the outreach. It really neat to watch as those in the church allow God to use them and stretch them for His glory.

The Mime Troupe from Alcala

Giving God the Glory!

Ken's worshop message

Zach preparing his storyboard.

Ethan learning to do storyboard letters

by painting his name.

ECA Awards Assembly

2009-06-08T00:16:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 5, was ECA last day of school for the 2008-2009 academic year. It was a half day of school for the students, and the day ended with an awards assembly. Hannah and Ethan both received awards from their teachers. It is hard for us as parents to believe we now have a daughter going into her sophomore year of high school, and a son going into the seventh grade. It is exciting to watch them grow and blossom, but very scary to think that they will soon be walking another journey. Many of our friends at school are preparing for their first child to leave the home to study, and we know this time will come all too quickly for us. So we are going to do everything we can to celebrate this time together as a family.

Guadalajara Church Plant Picnic

2009-06-02T03:52:00.001-07:00

We were blessed to have 28 people attend our first Guadalajara Church Plant picnic and worship celebration. We selected a spot that is about 10 minutes outside of Guadalajara and is alongside of the Rio de Henares for the first picnic. Gerri and Casianna Castillo lead the music for worship. Pablo preached the message for the morning. Then after the worship service we enjoyed a picnic lunch together as a church family. It was a gorgeous day with God’s handy work surrounding us and reminding us of His splendor. As Pablo was preaching God’s word a woman began to draw nearer and nearer to the group to listen. Lilly went over and invited the woman to join us for the ending of the service, and then introduced her to us at the end. It was neat to see how God allowed His word to draw others closer to Him in new and unexpected ways.

Hannah looking over the picnic choices

Augustin to her right (Augustin is the husband of Awilda

and his company is donating office furniture to METAS)

This is the women who was listening while Pablo

was preaching the word of God.

Azuqueca Basketball End of Season "Paella"

2009-06-02T03:40:00.000-07:00

A giant Spanish Paella for 200 people

Jesus Rua (far left) president of the Azuqueca Basketball Club

Pepe, head coach for the Division One Men's team

Hannah, picking through the people to avoid the seafood pieces

Jesus, Pepe, and Troy

Dishing up the Paella

The Azuqueca Basketball Club sponsored an end of the season Spanish Paella picnic for all of the players, coaches, families, and fans of the club. Over a hundred and sixty people came out to celebrate the 2008-2009 basketball season. Paella is a very typical Spanish dish that has chicken, pork, beef, clams, shrimp, squid, crab, and rice blended together and seasoned with saffron spice. It is often a favorite meal for families who gather together on Sundays, but it is also eaten at most Spanish fiesta or celebrations.

Hannah "end of the year" 9th grade class PARTY!

2009-06-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

One of the most difficult things about being an MK is dealing with the constant change of friends. Hannah’s ninth grade class this year went from six students at the beginning of the year to four students to finish the year. One of her classmates went on home service with her family, and another one of her classmates went back to the States with his family for good. The four remaining classmates realized that this was actually the last time that the four of them would be together as classmates. Atila is returning to the Spanish public school next year. Olivia and her family will be on home service for a year. Mitch and Hannah will be returning and DJ and Emily, who are on home service, should also be returning. This gives you just a little insight into the life of an MK as they adjust to constantly having to say “good-bye” or “hello” to friends who are coming and going. It also gives you something to specifically pray for as you think of any MK’s you might now.

Henry, Grace College Summer Intern

2009-06-02T03:16:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce you to Henry Crans, our summer intern from Grace College. Henry is doing his intercultural internship here in Spain by helping METAS Guadalajara and the Guadalajara Church Plant establish a system that will help us track and understand our finances better. Henry has been here for almost a month now, and he will be staying another two months. He is helping us set up a system to establish and track our church budget, as well helping to develop a system to help METAS track our financial progress. It is awesome to watch how God is providing just the right people to meet essential needs as we continue to work to launch His work here in Guadalajara.

Remodeling on the METAS/CHURCH building as begun!

2009-05-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

The remodeling has begun on the new METAS/Church plant building in Guadalajara. On Thursday, May 21, the company that is doing the remodeling of the building began their work. It is so exciting to see thing beginning to happen at the new sight. The goal is to be able to be in the building by the first of July. Keep watching for updates as I “blog” the process of the building. We are now in the process of developing a plan to raise the rest of the money that we will need to pay for the building in full by June of 2010. More to come!!

A few of the building from the other side of the street.

It is the sand colored part below the apartments.

This will become the large meeting room.

One of the three classroom spaces.

The door and wall will be removed to expand this room

to become the large meeting room.

Removing the ceiling to build the soundproof box.

ECA's Rastrillo (huge yard sale and carnival)

2009-05-25T00:06:00.000-07:00

It was the perfect day for ECA annual rastrillo. The rastrillo is as close to an American garage sale/yard sale that you can find in Spain. It is the one time during the year where Americans like Julie get there annual garage sale rush. Anyone who wants to can setup a table and sell the things that are just taking up space in a closet or a storage unit. The annual event draws people from all over the surrounding area. Spaniards come to not only enjoy the great deals (the can buy books in English for the whole year), but to eat the great American desserts that are available at the rastrillo. It is sponsored by the junior class to help raise money for their senior trip. Other clubs and classes also participate. Hannah set at the table for the National Honor Society.

ECA Track and Field Day

2009-05-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

Ethan won ribbons for several events.

Hannah, "Are we really doing this?"

Ethan and "the crew" of 6th grade

Hannah and the girls!!

ECA held its annual track and field day, where the entire school participates. Hannah isn’t as excited about this day as Ethan is, but she still did a great job enjoying the time outside with her friends and she gave it all she had. Ethan loves the day, because he is outside and he can run and have a great time with his friends until they are all literally exhausted.

WE FOUND IT - GIANT HAMBURGER MANIA!!!!!

2009-05-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

No trick photography here.

It's that BIG.

The look on Angelica's face is real.

And it even comes with fries!!

For six years we have been looking for the perfect hamburger in Spain, and we finally found what we claim to be the most amazing hamburger in all of Spain, and to think that this monster hamburger is only a few minutes’ walk from our home. In fact the restaurant that serves the monster burger is between our house and the new building that we just signed the contract for in the previous blog entire. As all eight of us (the Hendricks’ family and the Diaz’s family) savored this wonderful cuisine we debated whether any of our “big eating” friends in the States could eat this massive mound of beef, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and sauce. We decided that even our friends with the largest appetites would find this a real challenge. If you don’t believe me on this one, the challenge is on, and I invite any of you to come to Guadalajara and bite into the challenge!! John, we are so sorry we didn't discover this until after your visit, but it is worth the return trip!!!

Watching God Move in Guadalajara

2009-05-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 10th was an awesome day to watch the hands of God move here in Guadalajara, Spain. The first hour of the morning worship service was encouraging and refreshing as we shared what God has been doing in our individual lives as well as within the process of moving into our third phase of growth as a church plant. Troy was able to share about God’s provisions and guidance in the negotiation process for the building that will house both METAS Guadalajara and the Guadalajara Church Plant. There was visible excitement among the members as Troy announced, “We now have the keys, and by the grace of God the remodeling will begin soon.” We are anticipating being able to move into the new building by the third week of June.

Troy delivered the morning message on Mathew 5:4, “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”. Troy challenged the congregation to understand what it means to mourn spiritually first for our own sins (Paul in Romans 7) and then for the sins of others who have no Redeemer to pay for the penalty of these sins. The challenge is, “are we mourning for our Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria (Acts 1:8) as the Apostle Paul and Jesus model for us. Do our hearts break for those around us who don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?”

One of the most exciting things for Troy was that the young man that he is helping perfect his English, Dani (see April 3, 2009 blog entire "Dani Day"), actually came to the second hour of the worship service to hear Troy preach. Dani helped Troy by looking over his Power Point and the texted within the Power Point to make sure that there were not only no grammatical errors, but also to make sure the examples and phrase were translated well into Castilian Spanish.

After the morning worship service, Troy took a group from the church to the new building, so they could see for themselves what the inside looks like. Again there was visible excitement, even tears, as everyone walked through the 130 m2 building. The potential for ministry began to unfold before everyone’s eyes. Without a doubt everyone could see clearly God’s hands at work in blessing His work here in Guadalajara.

Some of the church group stayed behind to help Julie prepare everything for us to be able to eat together as a church family. Once a month we have a meal together as a church family to enjoy a longer time of fellowship. God wasn’t done with surprising us for the day either. One of the ladies who has been attending church for the past month, Alwida, is from the Dominican Republic and is married to a Spaniard, Augustin, who is not a believer. Alwida has been asking us to pray that somehow she could get her husband and her 10 year old daughter to come to church. After Alwida went home from seeing the new building totally fully of excitement, she told her husband about the building and the meal the church was having. She asked if he would be interested in going to the meal, and he said “Sure, why not”.

The story doesn’t end with Augustin, Aliwda’s husband, coming to meal and enjoying the time with us. After the meal, Alwida called me over to their table and said her husband wanted to talk to me about the new building. Augustin went on to explain that he works for a company that remodels office builds. Most of the time when they go into remodel the office, the owners want everything removed, and sometimes even throw everything away. Augustin said his boss has a warehouse full of perfectly good office furniture, and Augustin thought maybe we might be interested in some of it for the new METAS and Church Plant building. Needless to say, Troy couldn’t find all of the words in Spanish to express his excitement. Augustin said that his boss likes to work with non-profit organization and give them whatever furniture they can use. This would be a tremendous blessing if it all works out. Pray with us that we would continue to see God’s hands moving through supplying these needs in a way that only He can.

Uncle John Came for the Weekend

2009-05-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

Uncle John and Ethan enjoying chocolate and "porras"

They are like a long fried donut.

We were thrilled to have our first family member visit us since we have been back in Spain. John is married to Julie’s younger sister Gail, and had to travel to England for business, but had a weekend between his two weeks in England. The first term on the field our first visitors came after we had been on the field for just six months, but this second term it has taken almost a full year for our first visit from a family member. So we were very excited when we got the news that Uncle John could spend the weekend with us during his business trip. We are waiting for other family members and friends to begin scheduling their next trip to visit us.

Negotiating for METAS Guadalajara/Guadalajara Church Plant site

2009-05-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Possible meeting site for METAS Guadalajara

and the Guadalajara Church Plant

The original building that we began negotiations for in Guadalajara has not worked out, so we have been negotiating with the property owners of the above building. This building would house both METAS Guadalajara and the Guadalajara Church Plant. It is 130 square meters and has three very nice size classrooms, plus the space for creating a large meeting room. We will remove several walls to make the large meeting area for the GCP, and we will also need to add another bathroom. We meet this Tuesday to look at possible plans to remodel this building to meet the needs of both groups. The technician in the Guadalajara town hall also said in order to have a church group meet in this building, we will have to soundproof the larger space that we would use as the sanctuary of the church. The architect said that the remodeling, including the soundproofing should take four to six weeks to complete. We are excited that plans are moving ahead for this building and the possibilities that this building will give to both METAS Guadalajara and the Guadalajara Church Plant.

Helping Hands!

2009-04-30T02:48:00.000-07:00

The girls preparing to SHOP!

Car full of groceries for a family in need

Delivering the food

For mission's week last week at ECA, Hannah helped coordinate the efforts to raise money to help a needy family in the community. The students raised over a hundred euro to pay food for a family in Alcala de Henares. Hannah really enjoyed seeing the students at ECA step up to the challenge and be super generous. The group had a great time shopping for the family, getting them the essentials, but also a few treats that they normal can’t afford. It was a tremendous growing experience for Hannah, and it is so neat to see her desiring to do the things that honor and please God.

Sunday April 26 in the Guadalajara Church Plant

2009-04-26T05:43:00.001-07:00

At the worship service today in the Guadalajara Church Plant we had the privilege of listening to the word of God through our fellow teammate, Lazaro Pascual. Since Lazaro was here in the Madrid area for the SEND Spain Men’s Retreat we invited him to preach this Sunday morning. There were 24 of us in attendance to share the Lord’s Day. Troy presided during the first hour of the worship service and shared what God has been laying on his heart over the past week in his devotional times. What a blessing to see God moving in the hearts of His people as we worship Him together.

Troy has continued to negotiate with several property owners in trying to acquire a place for METAS Guadalajara and the Guadalajara Church Plant. Last week the property owners of the building accepted the offer that Troy presented them PTL!! This is really a “God thing”, and is a confirmation for us to move forwarded with the negotiations. We will try to meet this coming Wednesday and talk through the details and the fine print in the contract. If all goes well by the grace of God, we may be looking at moving into a new space in 4-6 weeks.

There were 24 in attendance today.

Troy presiding during the first hour.

Lazaro Pascual delivering God's Word

Preparing to begin the worship service

Milka, a college student studying at the University of Guadalajara

Dani Pascual, Lazaro's son, he is studying medicine in Madrid

Hannah listening to the group

April 22-24 SEND Spain Men's Retreat

2009-04-26T04:54:00.000-07:00

Men of the SEND Spain field

Lazaro Pascual and Steve Diaz in the front

Jim Ladd, Giles Davis, Gerri Castillo and Craig Nordgren in the middle row

Troy Hendricks, Kevin Wood, Gerald Haupt in the back row

Talvera de la Reina is known for making ceramics

especially the blue and yellow ceramic tile

you see in the picture.

This is the "Plaza del Pan" or Bread Plaza in English.

In times of need the city would set up the

municipal bread store in the square

and hand out bread to its citizens.

You can see the majestic snowcapped mountians in the background.

This past week the men on the Spain field were able to take a few days away from ministry and enjoy a retreat together in Navalcan, a pueblo 30 some kilometers outside of Talavera de la Reina. We watched the movie "Fireproof" and used the first three study guides for our discussions. It was a great time of being able to build stronger bonds as men, and to challenge each other in our walks with the Lord, encourage each other in our responsiblities as husbands and fathers, and remind us of where our strength comes from in our ministries. It was a relaxing and refreshing retreat.

Ethan Learning from Dad

2009-04-26T04:45:00.000-07:00

Ethan helping Dad plant a tomato

Looking at the container gardens of tomatos and lettuce.

Ethan has been taking an interest in gardening and is fascinated with the growth of the plants. He has been working alongside of Troy digging, planting, and watering the little backyard garden. Who knows through this whole adventure he might even try to start liking vegetables. He is determined to eat the first radish that is harvested.

April 13 and Another Year Older

2009-04-14T00:37:00.001-07:00

On April 13 someone turned another year older. Thanks for all the cards and the emails to help Troy celebrate easing over the forty mark yet another year. Hannah honored Dad with a collection of poems she has been composing over the past several months. To tell you the truth her poem “Princess” brought tears to Daddy’s eyes as he read it (you can read the poem below). Hannah and Ethan honored Daddy’s day by donating chickens and honeybees through Heifer International. A project they raised money for and cared through all on their own. Julie made Troy work a little hard for his birthday gift by sending him on a treasure hunt with clues posted throughout the house. At the end of the treasure hunt was Troy’s favorite big jar of Jiff Crunchy Peanut Butter and some Mountain Dew (definitely a rare treat here in Spain), so well worth the extra effort.

Princess

Remember when you used to tell me

about Mr. Whitaker and Samson?

Each night,

A new story would unfold under the moon.

Golden ringlets bouncing with expectation and delight,

I couldn't be still:

I couldn't be quiet.

And then I'd fall asleep with happy dreams.

Cause I was your princess

And you were my king.

And remember Dad,

When you would be the teacher

And we'd play the baby game

With all my Tiffany's?

I was your Princess

and you were my king.

Someday, Dad,

Someone's gonna come and sweep me off my feet

But he'll only be prince charming,

Cause I'll always be your princess

And you'll always be my king.

To Dad

From Hannah, your Princess

Easter Sunday in the Guadalajara Church Plant

2009-04-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

April birthdays!!

Enjoying a meal after the Easter Service

Julie and Jacob reading Bible stories

A couple from Barcelona who spend four months of the year in Guadalajara

Church family

The Guadalajara church plant celebrated Easter Sunday together and we enjoyed a meal and time of fellowship after the Easter Celebration. We were blessed with four new visitors to the church: another couple from Honduras, a young lady from the Dominican Republic, and the husband of a woman who attended the previous Sunday. There were 24 people at our Easter morning service. We also celebrated the April birthdays after the meal. It is exciting to watch God move in Guadalajara and to be a part of His work here. Thank you for walking the journey with us!!!

A Day at the Guadalajara Zoo

2009-04-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

Proud peacock!!

Looking at the monkeys

Look mom it's real

Imitating the monkeys

Dani and his family.

Dad and Mom on the right, Dani, cousin, uncle and aunt

April 10th was a great day to walk through the tiny, but very quaint rehabilitation zoo in Guadalajara. The zoo was originally set up to take care of injured birds from the Castilla La Mancha province, but it has expanded over the years to take in more animals. There are the typical Spanish farm animals: sheep, pony, pigs, and all kinds of chickens, turkeys, and pheasant. Along with the more exotic animals: wolves, bears, monkeys, deer, mountain sheep and goats, emu, peacocks, and even the Iberian lynx. We took a picnic lunch along, and just spent a leisurely afternoon walking the trails that lead to each one of the animal’s habitat. Dani de Sevilla’s family was able to meet us at the zoo just before we left. They drove the six hours from Sevilla to spend the Easter weekend with Dani, and to get to know the Diaz family and us. Dani spent the Easter week with the Diaz family, since we had three little visitors from our teammates stay with us for a few days during this week.

Picnic at Valverde del Arroyo

2009-04-07T01:11:00.001-07:00

I should learn to do my post backwards so they make a little more sense in the order you see them on the blog, but I never remember that until after I have posted the blogs. Read two blog post down if you want to know more about where we are in these pictures.

Hello everyone from Troy and Julie!!

This bridge is an example of the stones used in this area.

Picnic time after the long hike to the waterfall.

Yummy, Yummy!!!

The picnic tables are made from the black slate too!!

Valverde del Arroyo

2009-04-07T00:56:00.001-07:00

Hannah modeling the wildflower she picked.

King and Queen of the mountian!

Hannah, Julie, and Angelica before the hike.

The village well.

Most of the homes don't have running water in them.

The water comes down from the waterfall.

Troy and Jacob ready for the trek to the waterfall.

Notice the date on the door, 1834

Spring Break trip to Valverde

2009-04-07T00:37:00.000-07:00

Ethan has a piece of ice in his mouth, he is not in pain although

pictures are very painful for this 12 year old.

Hannah and Ethan in front of the main waterfall.

Hananh and mom in front of one of the beautiful village buildings

The boys ready for the BIG hike.

Jacob, Josh, and Ethan

The whole crew midway through the hike.

You can see the watefall in the background in the upper left.

This is Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Spain and also ECA's Spring Break. The kids have the whole week off from school, so we wanted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and the days off of school. The Diaz family hadn't seen Valverde a beautifully little town about an hour north of Guadalajara that has one of the best examples of black architecture (‘arquitectura negra” in Spanish) in the region. Monday we made the drive to Valverde and hiked the forty minutes back to the waterfall. This is the most water we have ever seen coming down the waterfall, so it was well with the hike. The black architecture gets its name from the dark stones that are used to build the homes and the black slate roofs that cover each of the homes in this area.

Sunday April 5 - Baby Shower for Mabel

2009-04-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

Mabel opening gifts during the Baby Shower

Julie, Angelica, and Jacob

Mabel's sister, nephew, Lilli and Pedro

Gerrado, Mabel's aunt, Casianna, Irma, Angel, and Hannah

Julie and Angelica helped Mabel plan a baby shower for Sunday afternoon. Mabel has been attending the Guadalajara Church Plant for more than a year. She is from the Dominican Republic, but has been living in Spain for a number of years. It is also a tradition in the DR to have a baby shower, but this was the first time many from the GCP have attended a baby shower (in Spain baby showers are not a traditional part of the culture). Mabel invited her family, friends, the family she is living with, and the GCP for the shower. It's neat to see the different traditions and cultural customs celebrated within the church family.

Hannah Challenges ECA Students for Mission's Week

2009-04-03T03:10:00.000-07:00

Hannah as part of a student awarness team challenged the students of ECA to a mission's challenge for Mission's Week Emphasis. The students will raise money to create "Care Packages" for needing families in the community. Listen to Hannah's challenge in the above video. We as parents are so proud of this fine young lady!!

Dani Day!!!

2009-04-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

Dani de Azuqueca, Troy, Dani de Sevilla

Enjoy the Barbeque

Last Saturday was "Dani Day" for the Hendricks' family. If you don't read the rest of the blog post you will never know what that means. It simply means we had three Dani's visit us last Saturday, so we had to give them special names when we wanted to ask them something or address a specific Dani.

We had Dani Ramirez Rubio from Azqueca. Dani is studying to be an English teacher, so he and Troy meet every week to practice English and Troy helps him with his essays that he is writing to prepare for the English teacher exam.

"Dani de Sevilla" is studying at the military training academy that is here in Guadalajara. Dani is from Sevilla and he and his parents attend an evangelical church in Sevilla. They have TEAM missionaries that are working in their church who are friends of TEAM missionaries connected to ECA and live near Azuqueca. Dani de Sevilla also has a big English exam that he has to take for the military academy and if he passes it, he has a better chance of moving on and advancing his career options.

Then for Saturday night we had "Dani de Guatamala" (Dani Pascual) spend the night with us and attended the Sunday morning worship service. Dani from Guatamala and his family are missionaries with SEND Spain and working in the south of Spain. The Pascual family joined SEND International the same time we did and we have had a wonderful time walking the journey here in Spain together.

METAS Guadalajara Building Option

2009-03-26T01:28:00.000-07:00

The METAS Guadalajara project continues to move ahead with each new step. We will begin in earnest the negotiating process as we meet as a team this evening to prepare for a meeting with the property owners next Wednesday. The above building is one of the very strong possiblities to house the METAS Guadalajara project. It is 140 square meters divided into five very nice useable rooms. All of the walls within the building are actually moveable and can be rearranged to create different possiblites. It has two excellent bathroom facilities, one of which has a shower already build into it. Two large attic storage spaces. The building is well done and we could move into it right away and begin offering community outreach activities. It is located in one of the most traveled and visible areas of Guadalajara. It provides ample parking for any event that we might have and is easily accessible from all points of the city. There is a large park right beside this business complex as well. The movie theatres above the building are no longer in use, but everyone in the area knows where "the old movie theatre" is located. We feel as a METAS Guadalajara team and as Guadalajara Church Planting team that this is an excellent opportunity and will serve both programs well.

Troy's Yummy Hobby!!!

2009-03-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

One thing Troy enjoy's doing is making homemade jams. We are in the peak of strawberry season here in Spain; we can get five pounds of strawberries for 3 euros right now. For several years Troy has wanted to make jams, but for a multitude of reasons hasn't been able to make any. Several people over the past month have been able to bring Troy some "Sure-Jell" from the States (this is something we can't get here in Spain). So, today Troy took a few hours to catch his breath and enjoy one of his favorite hobbies. The family is enjoying the fruits of his labor!!! And if all goes well with more batches, some people will be pleasantly surprised throughout the year.

ECA is having Spirit Week

2009-03-25T11:40:00.001-07:00

The kids are having a fun week at ECA because this week is Spirit Week and they get to dress in all kinds of crazy outfits. Monday was pajama day. Tuesday was miss-match day (see above photos notice especially the footwear!!!). Today each class picked a popular or famous movie and the whole class picked characters from the movie to dress like. Hannah's class picked the movie "The Incredibles" and Ethan's class chose "Night at the Museum".

Developing a Strategic Relationship for the Kingdom

2009-03-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

It was a great week of developing a business strategy to help launch METAS Guadalajara. The team that was put together by Bill Gorden, director of The Institute for Enterprise Development (IED), headed the team who spent several days helping us develop a detailed five year business plan. Bill has over thirty years of experience in teaching business students at Grace College in Indiana. Rex and Loren were both students of Bill's when he first began teaching business class at Grace. Through this networking with former students the IED hopes to provide real-life opportunities for students to use their God given talent to expand the Kingdom. It will be exciting to see how God uses this relationship for His glory here in Guadalajara, Spain.

The Team

Rex Durham (SEND European regional director)

Bill Gorden (Director of The Institute for Enterprise Development)

Loren Neuenschwander (Exective with Delta Airlines)

Craig Nordgren, SEND Spain area director

having coffee with Bill and Loren.

We were able to spend a day in Siguenza where are teammates
Kevin and Joann Wood are planting a church
to discuss their experience with community outreach.

Saturday morning we treated the team to
churros and chocolate.
A must when you visit Spain

Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a break from

meetings to enjoy a barbeque

Ethan with his ECA Sciene Fair Project

2009-03-17T11:01:00.001-07:00

Paper Airplanes - "toy or science?"

Ethan received a second place on his science project

Every three years ECA has all of the students participate in a science fair. The science fair rotates with a history project and speech meet. Ethan did "Does changing the property of a paper airplane change the way it flies?" He received a second place for his overall project thanks to some advice and information from his Uncle Lonny and Uncle Todd. Hannah did "The Stroop Effect" for her science project, and tested over thirty people with recognizing and reading colors in their own color and then written in another color. Hannah received a first place rating for her project. Both of them learned a lot about their subjects and did a fantastic job!