by Paul Tripp

Many ways to say, "Merry Christmas"

Traditional clothes from northern Spain...

Dear friends & family,

First we want to say Happy New Year! We hope you have enjoyed this Christmas season and have been able to consider the blessing it is that Christ comes to us not only at Christmas, but every single day.

So much has happened since our last update; Just to give you an idea of recent happenings: IBSTE has become accredited as an official Spanish university (Huge praise!), we went to the Canary Islands for a youth retreat, we made visits to Bilbao (northern Spain) and to Nice (southern France), the Generalitat de Catalunya approved a new law restricting religious freedom, we have welcomed five new students and Spain has elected a new prime minister. Just thinking about all of it makes our jaw drop!

Artisan candies

Mmm...café con leche!

Street sign in Bilbao

The Apostle Paul wrote to his son (in Christ) Timothy, the following words: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Ti. 4:7) Paul comes to the end of his life and is able to say with joy that he has completed the mission that God has commended him with. His pride is not in his achievements but in the doing and following of the will of his beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of this he is able to encourage Timothy, so that he does the same, so that he would fight the good fight of faith that he has before him. This fight is for the Gospel. To live, to grow, to give fruit and then part from this world into the loving hands of his God.

These same words encourage us. We are just beginning to understand and value what this looks like in marriage and ministry. Living together, fellowship, communication, to serve, to love, and to live out the Gospel with unity in Christ. The words of the Apostle Paul comfort and strengthen us. His message is just as significant today as it was 2,000 years ago. It’s worth it to fight the good fight of marriage, family, and friendship. I (Krista) have learned that a seminary is just as tough as serving in any other job. It’s worth it to work together for honesty, purity, grace and forgiveness. In reality, it’s an honor to fight this battle and  we feel very fortunate to be able to do it together. Our objective is clear, reach the goal, “finish the course” and be received into the presence of our Lord. In the meantime, we’d love to share what fighting the good fight has looked like for us over the past month or so. Our story in España continues…

Pastoral Internship
From the last letter that we sent my (Edu) ministry activities have multiplied! I continue to have the opportunity to teach in our church and other churches that have invited us. Krista and I went to my home church in the Canary Islands to lead a youth retreat. We were there the last weekend in October and I was asked to teach on the topic of our identity in Christ. In November, we were invited to preach at a church in Terrassa (what Ft. Worth is to Dallas) this time teaching from the book of Proverbs about laziness and diligence. I have also been teaching in our church, Vilassar, and am currently preparing a four week sermon series on the book of Ruth for February. We recently received an invitation to teach in Málaga (southern Spain) in January with a church that is without a pastor. Right after we return from Málaga, I will accompany our pastor to a conference in Madrid. This leads me to my next point. Our pastor and I have a weekly discipleship and meeting time.  We have just finished reading a book together called, “The Prodigal God” by Tim Keller. Beginning this month, we will be studying this book in the small groups of the church. This weekly time together is serving as great blessing and encouragement for both of us.

Small Group
Krista and I are also leading a small group, it is mainly young adults in their 20’s-30’s. Our heart for the small group is that in community we share practical and dynamic ways to live and communicate the Gospel to others. We meet every two weeks on Friday nights. Group starts at about 9:30 with dinner and ends around midnight after our time of discussion or activity. Lately, our church has been teaching a series on the book of Proverbs. One of the most recent sermons was on the topic of “compassion” in Proverbs. Three weeks ago, six members of our group made “picnics” and went out to the parks and bridges of a major city to serve the homeless a special dinner and hot chocolate. We spoke with many individuals and I got to know a man who lost everything in a matter of years, his job, his family, and in other terms, he had lost all hope. We will start our small group up this next week and will hopefully be able to go out again and serve those who are in need.

Community
Living in community is often difficult, it stretches you, you are asked to lay down your rights, and to consider others better than yourself. A seminary is made up of many people from various churches. In the church there are differences which unfortunately lead us to conflict, poor communication, bad decisions, hardened hearts, etc. But in the family of believers there is also the opportunity to live and practice the Gospel in our actions, our speech, our thoughts, our attitude. It’s not the problem per se that is most important, it is our response. I (Krista) can say that I am learning a lot and being challenged to grow in many ways. There are many exciting moments when you see the Lord working in the lives of His people, myself included. He draws them closer to Him and exchanges their pride for humility, their self-dependence for Godly reliance. We have been able to take advantage of some vacation days and visit friends before Christmas in Bilbao and later in Nice for New Year’s. Both of the trips were very much enjoyed, connecting with good friends and encouraging one another.

Petitions & Praises:

• Praise the Lord for meeting our needs every month, we continually see His provision for us above and beyond what we deserve. Please pray for our future. We are unsure of what our next steps will be but are confident He will show us the way. We are considering some changes but really need wisdom to choose the best option.
• Praise God for our great church home, Vilassar, and for the “family” we feel that we have there. Please pray for our ministry in the local church. Planning intentional time for our small group, sermon preparation, etc.
• Seminary, it has been nice to have a break and we are ready to start up this new semester. Please pray for both of us as we live and serve here at the seminary.
• Marriage, it’s better than what we ever dreamed or expected. That doesn’t mean it isn’t challenging, it is, but it’s worth it. Please pray for unity between us and that we would continue to enjoy the “newness” of marriage.

Edu leading the way...

In the beginning we spoke of fighting the good fight, and finishing the course. However, the Apostle Paul said something more, “I have kept the faith.” This is the crown of righteousness laid up for us (1 Tim. 4:8) that the Lord has given us to fight the good fight that we have before us, arriving at the end with many others to see Him face to face. We want to thank you for your prayers and offerings. These gifts help us to seek the Lord, humbling ourselves before His presence and recognizing that by ourselves we can’t make it. We depend on His grace and mercy. Faith in itself can sometimes falter or feel weak, but you and your commitment to us continues to pick us up and give us hope. Thank you for collaborating in our fight for keeping the faith. Thank you for being a blessing to us.

Your Servants in Christ,
    Edu & Krista García

El primer recuerdo que tengo de ella es su sonrisa. Es tan hermosa, lo pude comprobar desde que el Señor quiso que visitara el seminario donde yo estudio, y creo, que desde ese instante sentí amor por ella, aunque ciertamente, me dije a mí mismo “no puede ser”.

Sin embargo, Dios siempre nos sorprende; y un día, estando en Canarias al final de mi tercer año de seminario, recibí un correo de “Ibste” donde al final aparecía su nombre. Fue increíble, aunque esto no cambiaba la realidad “no puede ser”. Luego me fue a recoger al aeropuerto, para iniciar el curso y me seguía diciendo “no puede ser”. Más tarde, durante el primer trimestre, pasamos mucho tiempo riendo, molestándonos y aunque me estaba enamorando de ella me seguía diciendo “no puede ser” Recuerdo el ir caminando por la arena o corriendo y pensar en ella, pero una y otra vez, todo parecía indicar “que no podía ser”. Así se marchó a Estados Unidos por navidades. Lo mejor viene ahora. En navidades nos escribimos algunos E-mail, y ella fue notando que estaba interesado por ella, y ella me contestó “que le gustaría conocer más” y yo seguía creyendo “que no podía ser”. Regresamos de las vacaciones de navidad y fue ella quién me fue a recoger al aeropuerto. Yo me moría por decirle lo que sentía, pero seguía pensando “no puede ser”. Pero un maravilloso día en el que salimos a caminar…

Fuimos a una pequeña playa de Castelldefels y allí, mirando al cielo estrellado y escuchando el ruido de las olas rompiendo en la orilla, rompí el silencio, la miré a los ojos y le dije ¿sabes qué? Me gustas y me gustaría salir contigo… y ella me respondió ¿por qué?… a partir de ese momento comenzamos una nueva etapa en nuestras vidas. Pronto anunciamos nuestro noviazgo, y poco tiempo después nuestro compromiso. Todo está siendo una gran aventura, una hermosa aventura, donde Dios nos guió hacía el matrimonio. Ese es nuestro deseo, formar una familia. Es increíble, Dios transformó un “no puede ser” en “para Dios no hay nada imposible”. Lo cierto, es que ambos damos gracias al cielo, por su bondad para con nosotros y dos palabras están en nuestro vocabulario. Gracia y esperanza; esto es un recuerdo inamovible de lo que Dios hizo, hace y hará.

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The first memory that I have of her, is her smile. It’s so beautiful, it was something I noticed about her the first time we met. I think the Lord planned things so that we would meet when she came to visit the seminary where I studied. I believe from that instant, I loved her, even though I told myself, “It’s not possible”. None the less – God always surprises us – one day, while I was at home in Gran Canaria and at the end of my third year of studying in seminary, I received an e-mail from IBSTE, and at the end of the message, her name was signed. I could hardly believe it! While I was away on Summer break, she had come to work at the seminary. However, this still didn’t change the reality of, “It’s not possible.” After beginning the next semester, I still kept telling myself, “It’s not possible.” When we saw one another around the school we spent a lot of time laughing together, playing, and I began to think I was falling in love with her, I kept telling myself, “It’s not possible.” I remember when I went walking on the beach or running, I would think about her, but time and again, everything seemed to indicate that it “Just couldn’t be possible.” She left in December to spend Christmas with her family. But here’s the best part… During Christmas break, I wrote her e-mails, and she started to realize that I was interested in her and one day she answered an e-mail saying, “I would like to get to know you better.” I still continued to believe that it wasn’t possible. We returned from Christmas break and she came to pick me up at the airport. I was dying to tell her how I felt, but I still thought, “It’s not possible”. A few weeks later, I asked her to go for a walk…

We went to a small beach in Castelldefels and there, looking up at the star studded sky and listening to the sound of the waves breaking on the sand, I broke the silence. I looked into her eyes and said, “You know what,  I like you, and I would like to have a relationship with you…” and she said, “Why?”. After this moment, we began a new stage in our lives. We soon announced our relationship, and a short time after, our engagement. Everything has been a great adventure, a beautiful adventure, where God led us to marriage. This is our desire, to form a family. It is incredible, God transformed an, “It’s not possible” to a “For God, all things are possible”. We both thank God for His kindness to us and these two words continue to season our conversations: grace and hope. This is an unforgetable reminder  of what God has done, is doing, and will do in the future.

Sinterklaas

When I (Krista) was growing up, I had a collection of Santa figures. I have hardly ever collected anything, but I liked my Santa’s. Each year my mom would buy me one or two new Santa’s from a department store. The Santa’s were special because they were from different countries. For example, the Santa for the US was (and still is) called “Santa Claus” and in the box there was a little booklet that described the Christmas tradition of Santa Claus in the American culture. I don’t remember exactly how many I collected or even where they are now (if I had to guess, I’d say in my parent’s attic in Texas). But I do remember that what I loved most was learning the story of the Christmas tradition in other countries.

We have some good friends who are from Holland and they recently shared their Christmas traditions with us. We went over to their apartment to watch their three little girls so the parents could go out. When we arrived the girls were putting their little boots next to the door and putting a carrot in each boot.

The family explained to us that the 5th of December is when Christmas is typically celebrated in Holland in addition to the 25th. Tradition says that Sinterklaas sails all the way from Spain to the Netherlands. He arrives on a big boat in a different dutch port each year. He wears red bishop robes and when he comes ashore all the church-bells ring. During the night, he visits the home of each child and may leave presents for them. The children leave carrots or hay in their boots for his horse and maybe candy or a cookie for him in the kitchen.

Hadassah is the youngest of the three little girls and might have had to borrow a carrot from one of her sisters…

I (Krista) love this time of year. I like the cold feeling of being outside then coming into a warm place. I also love the homemade goodness that soups and stews serve up on cold days. As most people these days, we are on a budget, so that means you’ve gotta get creative to not sacrifice quality for cost. Most of these recipes have several winning points for me, which can be summed up briefly.

• Quantity – It makes plenty to be able to feed others and yourself. It’s great to be able to invite others over without much prep because you know there will be enough. If you have leftovers they can be sealed and frozen for another day, saves time and money.
• Quality – Nutritious, most of these recipes contain lots of fresh vegetables and not many preservatives, there is no can of mushroom, no cream of chicken, etc. (Note – I am not against these things, but 1) There’s no availability and 2) I’m old fashioned.) The most processed it gets is the chicken broth. I like eating and knowing exactly what I am eating, not looking at labels on things and not only not knowing what it is but not even being able to pronounce the word. After all, are we cooking here or learning a foreign language?

I thought I would share some of my favorite, and so easy, winter recipes for soups and stews…

Ribollita by Ina Garten

I make mental note after mental note to soak the beans overnight, but I always seem to forget. I bought the pancetta and made it with the first time around, but ever since, I opt for saving a few precious monies and don’t include it. Instead of using 4 cups of cabbage and another 4 cups of kale (I can’t get that here anyway) I opt for 8 cups of superfood spinach. It’s super healthy and gives great flavor.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup by Ina Garten

This recipe is as easy as chopping the butternut squash, apples, and onion, seasoning them with salt, pepper, olive oil, and then roasting in the oven. I roast until there are a just a few charred pieces and then mix it all together in my stockpot with the chicken broth. A little curry, salt and pepper to taste, and a few clicks of the immersion blender and that’s it. I think it’s hearty and delicious without the nuts and scallions but feel free to jazz it up!

Ratatouille Soup by FN Mag

Another delicious, simple, and budget friendly soup. The whole meal, with parmesano reggiano cheese, cost me about 1,40€/per person. It’s vegetables, herbs, olive oil, and voilá!  I use a red bell pepper rather than a yellow one (cheaper) and instead of a baguette, I made croutons from ciabatta bread. Also, instead of canned tomatoes, I chopped up some fresh (about 5 small tomatoes), put them in a skillet on a medium flame for about 5-7 minutes and added a little salt and pepper. When they were juicy and delicious, I poured them into the stockpot.

Bacon & Egg Soup  by FN Mag (Trust me, it’s delicious.)

I’ll admit, as I was halfway through, I thought about pouring it down the drain and making this instead. I’m so glad I didn’t. I added a little olive oil to the bacon pieces and 86ed the parsley. Next time I think I will throw in a little spinach. I did use the cheese rind but I didn’t pour in any extra cheese, just grated a little to put on top with the croutons when serving. I had my doubts, but the second I tasted the delicious flavors of the broken egg with the bacon, broth, cheese, and croutons, I was in heaven. Very tasty!

Cranberry Bean Pasta by FN Mag

This is a hearty delicious type of Minestrone Soup. Once again I used fresh tomatoes instead of the canned (soak them in boiling water for a few minutes to make them easier to peel). I also exchanged the kale for spinach, always looking to throw in an extra superfood where I can.

(Reuters) – Incoming Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will hammer home his commitment to austerity in Spain and is expected to back closer euro zone fiscal unity when he meets centre-right European counterparts this week in Marseille.

The meeting will mark Rajoy’s first major public appearance since winning election and is particularly important because he will not attend a summit in Brussels later this week, as he will not be sworn in until around December 20. Outgoing Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will attend the Brussels gathering.

Rajoy, who won a solid parliamentary majority in Spain’s November 20 election, is due to meet one-on-one with France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany’s Angela Merkel and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at the Wednesday-Thursday event.

He will also address the European People’s Party meeting, which ends just before the summit of 27 European Union leaders in Brussels that could be decisive in producing a definitive solution to the euro zone debt crisis.

With investor doubts focused on Spain and Italy and forcing up their borrowing costs, Rajoy must impress on fellow conservative leaders that he can control the public deficit even though economic output and tax income are declining.

“We have to transmit the clear message that we are the Prussians of southern Europe, that we will meet all our commitments,” said political consultant Narciso Michavila, president of GAD3 in Madrid.

Rajoy has a unique opportunity to impose harsh measures, even though unemployment is painfully high, because Spaniards are convinced of the need, Michavila said.

“Spaniards are conscious that we lived beyond our means. The crisis has made us, for the first time in history, aware that the welfare state comes from our pockets, not from the Three Kings.”

LINGERING UNCERTAINTY

Spain, the euro zone’s fourth largest economy, has avoided the need for external aid due to a slew of spending cuts and reforms by the Socialist government, but risk premiums remain volatile as leaders bicker over a cross-border solution.

While euro zone leaders hammer out an agreement which many hope will mean a significant step toward closer fiscal union by Friday, Spain, under a prolonged attack by nervous debt markets, is struggling to keep afloat.

Optimism that an accord is imminent has brought Spain’s bond yields back down from last month’s spike that approached the 7 percent threshold seen as unsustainable. But at a December 1 auction bonds due in April 2015 were sold with a yield of 5.187 percent, a 14-year high, showing that uncertainty lingers.

Unemployment is more than double the EU average at over 21 percent, the public deficit is one of the highest in the euro zone, expected to top 6 percent of gross domestic product this year, and the economy is on the cusp of a recession.

In some ways Spain has anticipated the drive toward a euro zone fiscal union: last year the Socialists and the PP passed constitutional debt limits in a rare joint Parliamentary vote.

And Rajoy has said one of the first things he will do is to make those even stricter, giving the central government more power to intervene in regions’ finances should they go astray.

“We must be more German than the Germans in terms of austerity, discipline and correcting economic imbalances. More French than Sarkozy in economic governance and more Europeanist than (Jacques) Delors in finding new ways to stimulate growth,” said Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, a Spanish People’s Party member of the European Parliament.

Rajoy will reaffirm his commitment to the monetary union, Margallo told Reuters.

“Spain must be within the euro zone core and whatever level of discipline they ask, we will be the first to comply.”

Rajoy is likely to drop calls made previously by Spanish leaders for more help from the European Central Bank. The bank says it will not be lender of last resort for fear that would discourage necessary economic reforms.

Instead, Rajoy will focus on strengthening the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the funding of credit lines available from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a source close to the party said.

“He understands that speaking to Germany about quantitative easing by the ECB is like asking them to light a fire in the first floor of their own homes. Better to concentrate on the funds already under consideration,” the source said.

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O’Leary; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Peter Graff)

• …there is a very dangerous volcano moving closer to the island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands. It is known to be a smaller island with a more relaxed atmosphere, but there are still about 12,000 people that live there.
• In Spain, the education system teaches that there are 5 continents (Oceania, Asia, Europa, América, Africa) instead of 7 (Oceania, Australia, N. América, S. América, Asia, Africa, Antártida).
• The Basque terrorist group ETA recently announced that they are making a ceasefire. “A new political time is emerging in the Basque country. We have an historical opportunity to find a just and democratic solution for the centuries old political conflict. Dialogue and agreement should outline the new cycle, over violence and repression.” To read a full article from The Guardian, click here.
• It is “roasting chestnut” season here in España, when walking outside in the cool crisp air, one smells the delightful aroma of chestnuts toasting on an open fire. However, we toast them over the stove and then eat them warm and delicious!
• I feel that while I am not an accomplished cook, I know a thing or two. But never have I (Krista) attempted a Spanish paella, until today.
  

  Paella de Marisco

• Yesterday in the grocery store (which is always a cultural adventure for me) I saw something new. For about 4,50€ you can buy ready-to make, I mean, ready-to-eat, crêpes. Go figure! I thought, but how can they stay fresh and not spoil? I quickly reasoned that they must have a very short shelf-life and must be sold/eaten quickly. Wrong! Yesterday was November 4th, and the expiration date was November 29th! Edu came over and asked me what I was looking at, and I said, “Look, these are crêpes and it says they don’t expire until the 29th. How can they stay fresh that long? They must contain a lot of preservativos…” In my thinking, (English) preservatives = (Castellano) preservativos, no? NO! I’ll leave it to you to go look up the meaning of “preservativos” in a Spanish dictionary.

Autor: John MacArthur

Enlace de YouTube

Este libro llegó a mí (Edu), por así decirlo, por casualidad. Los jóvenes de mi iglesia me ofrecieron dar unas charlas sobre la identidad del creyente. Compromiso, responsabilidades, y beneficios etc. Un día estaba mirando los libros que estaban expuestos en la librería de la iglesia a la cual asisto junto a mi esposa. Descubrí para mi asombro que de forma un tanto peculiar Dios me dirigía hacía un tema que para mí era completamente desconocido.

Sin embargo, al empezar a ojearlo me di cuenta que no solamente era un tema desconocido para mí, sino que lo era para la mayoría de las personas, especialmente, las de habla hispana.

Todo el libro gira alrededor de una palabra que ha permanecida extraviado u oculta, casi desde los primeros siglos del cristianismo. Es una palabra que especialmente para nuestra sociedad actual tiene una connotación negativa, despectiva, denigrante, humillante y todos los adjetivos que podamos unir con los anteriores.

Esa palabra  es <<Esclavo>>, en griego <<doulos>>  aparece nada más y nada menos que 124 veces en el original griego. Sin embargo, la palabra castellana que habitualmente se ha usado en las diferentes versiones al castellano es <<siervo>>.

El autor nos quiere ayudar a entender que descubrir la identidad por la cual, se identificaron los primeros creyentes y por la cual, muchos de ellos murieron, es la clave para vivir una vida cristiana significativa. Una vida cristiana de calidad. Una vida cristiana auténtica. Por esta razón, hace un análisis preciso y claro del contexto de la esclavitud, tanto del Antiguo Testamento como durante el primer siglo, para luego, hacer la correspondencia de lo que los escritores del Nuevo Testamento plasmaron en sus escritos.

El resultado es un libro que muestra la esencia vital del cristianismo bíblico. Una comprensión clara de quién somos, y quién es el Dios que nos ha salvado. Una nueva perspectiva de lo que significa ser cristiano, de lo que significa la obediencia, de lo que significa haber sido comprados por Dios y por tanto ser ahora sus esclavos.

Por tanto, recomiendo la lectura y meditación de este libro. Por mi parte, he sido persuadido que el mayor elogio que las Escrituras me puede expresar es ser llamado  <<esclavo de Dios y de nuestro Señor Jesucristo>>.

“The current state of affairs here worries us,” prayed my much respected compañero and colleague during our staff meeting on a Tuesday afternoon. Every Tuesday afternoon at about 3:00PM, I sit at a table surrounded by seven other men who are much older and wiser than myself. I have asked myself from day one, “What am I doing here?” And the truth is, I’m still asking that question. Who are these men? These are the people whom I serve with, eat with, encourage, and meet together to pray with.