Hasta aquí todo bien

So far Sooooo good!

*warning, as I type this I am enjoying a very nice glass (or 2) of Vino Rioja...that's Spanish for really good red wine, and after you read this you'll know why.


Where to begin? The last four days have been a whirlwind, to say the least. Lets just start with the travel story, shall we...

So we arrived at the Birmingham airport early on May 24 to meet Amy, Emily, Hall, and Melody and catch a plane with them to Charlotte. However, the first words I hear as I am helping Ryan unload our GAzillion bags are "our flight is delayed by 40 minutes, we are probably not going to make our connection in Charlotte."

This is not what I wanted to hear, especially since at the same time I was realizing that Virginia (our 7 month old) had exploded in her diaper, I mean COME ON! We Just got here!

So anyway, diaper got changed, bags got unloaded and the lady at the counter said to just head on to Charlotte. So we did.

cute Moore girl luggage...we travel in style.

 Now, I knew that we would get stuck in Charlotte and I was OK with that because technically it would put us at least a little bit closer to Madrid. So, of course, landing in Charlotte we booked it to our connecting gate only to discover that our plane had left without us...the nerve. On to customer service.

*Its probably important to note that we were supposed to connect from Charlotte to D.C., at which point we would be meeting Johnny, David, and Scott and all flying to Madrid together

Ryan at customer service with Virginia passed out in back:)

Our airline put us up in Charlotte for Friday night, with planes to depart the next afternoon and I have to say that it wasn't that bad. We all made the best of a frustrating situation. We spent some time at the hotel pool, got some good food together and we're hopeful for travel success the next day. 

On Saturday May 25th we made our way back to the Charlotte airport this time with Madrid truly in our sights. We, in two separate groups, boarded planes for Philadelphia and from there,together, boarded for Madrid! I remember thinking, as we got on our international flight, how thankful I was that we got a good nights sleep and we're all rested for this flight...because there would be no sleeping...

Let me put it this way, benedryl has the opposite effect on ALL my kids.

But we made it, and no one was injured in the process.

So there we were, in Madrid, well in the airport...it was a surreal feeling, helped by the fact that my parents and aunt, who are traveling in Spain for two weeks, met us at the airport...I'm not joking.  I'm sure there are psychologists who could do a whole study on the dynamics of a family that travels 3000 miles to see that their grandchildren (I know they weren't there to make sure I made it to Spain safely) made it across the Atlantic:) But I will say that seeing your mom in the foreign country that you are about to spend 8 weeks in helps take the edge off.

But however stressful the travel was, it was worth it. Madrid is beautiful. 

We were warmly welcomed at the airport, driven to our lovely apartment and given Sunday morning to rest and unpack. Then we headed(an hour late) to the Brink's home for comida (lunch) with the whole team! It was great to see everyone together. 

bad picture(but the only)of  our first team meeting

The time change has been a beast for our children, I won't lie to you. Our first night here no one went to sleep till around 2:30am, but last night was better (12:30am), and tonight (8:30pm) even more so...they are adjusting and so are we. 

We were able to take monday morning (May 27th, Ryan and I's 7th wedding anniversary) and walk around the city a bit...and by a bit, I mean like 10 miles by the end of the day! 

                              *I'm ridiculously skinny now, so you should all be jealous.

We were able to see how beautiful Madrid really is, and it gave us a glimpse of places at which we hope to spend more time.

entering Plaza de Mayor

Plaza de Mayor

thats just how we roll in Spain

market de san miguel

flowers are blooming everywhere!

the palace cathedral

The Royal Palace

 Tuesday, today...or I guess yesterday now, the work began! We met at the Brink's home for orientation and then headed to Ciudad Universitaria to tour Complutense ( the Univerisity our students will attend and minister to)

Robert DeWitt, the MTW team leader, introducing our students to campus...that 's Mae in the back, picking flowers...classic.

Pharmacy building on campus.

 Our team had to immediately start learning how to talk to people...about Jesus. It was amazing to see their excitement and enthusiasm. I can not say enough about how impressed I am by them. They are ready and willing to make fools of themselves for the sake of the Gospel, and it is inspiring. I cannot wait to share more about their experiences...

I am sure that this is enough for now though. Thank you for all of your prayers and support, we are so very thankful!!

muchos gracias,
Ada