In Loving Memory

Dorothy Roseman

1913 - 2006

My mother-in-law passed away yesterday. She was 93 years old. She was a widow when I met her and never remarried. She was an amazing woman. She grew up on a farm in Iowa and lost her mother at a young age. Being one of the oldest of 11 children, she had the responsibility of helping to care for the house and the younger children. After she finished school, she taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Iowa before her marriage to Dean Roseman. After a brief time of living in Texas, where Alan was born, they moved to California with their two sons in the early 1940s and their two daughters were born in Los Angeles. Her husband died at age 55 and it was during his illness that she learned to drive and went to work in the insurance industry.

She was a wonderful cook and made everything from scratch. In the early years of my marriage, I don't think I remember her ever sitting down except perhaps to eat. Her energy seemed limitless. After she retired, she cared for my two kids so I could work one day a week at the church. Jennifer was 3 and David was a year a half. She would take them for walks and she always found interesting things to show them and they would usually stop for a snack somewhere along the way. Jen still has very fond memories of those days.

She enjoyed remarkably good health and remained very alert until shortly before Alan's death. After that, she seemed to deteriorate rather quickly. She had moved to Arizona about 12 years before, but her son Robert would go get her to bring her to California for family events and holidays. The last time I saw her was Christmas of 2002. The decision was made to move her to Missouri in the spring of 2003 to be closer to her youngest daughter. Jen flew to Missouri last summer to see her and it was very difficult for her to see the change in her grandmother. She was very content but didn't recognize anyone most of the time. It's good to know she is at home in the arms of Jesus and experiencing the glories of heaven.

Pray for her children as they make arrangements this week. It's a difficult time for them as you would expect. And it's hard for me to be so far away and unable to offer any comfort. Pray too for her remaining siblings and her grandchildren as they grieve this loss.

Poppies!

Now that May has arrived, these red poppies are everywhere. They grow wild, but apparently need moisture because last year I don't think they showed up because it was so dry. These are on the hillside outside my office window. I'll try to get a better photo to post when I have time to drive around looking for a good shot. It's hard to pull over on the highway, but maybe I can find a good shot along one of the smaller roads near here. Like I said, they're everywhere!

Soul Keeping by Howard Baker

I first discovered this book at the Prayer Retreat House in Idaho Springs several years ago. I read a few pages and was intrigued with the ideas he presented so I bought myself a copy. I finally made the time to read all the way through it and found much to underline and put into practice in my own life.

I'll share with you a few of my favorite thoughts.

"God is always leading us somewhere. Do we understand this? Most often, we are focused on our own goals and plans, and before we know it, we feel as if we are on our own. We look up and realize that we have no idea where God is in our lives. We sense a separation from God, even though a firm knowledge of Scripture tells us He is 'very near'."

In his chapter on Praying the Psalms, he says "Praying and singing the psalms together would have been the practice of Jesus and His disciples as they observed the Jewish tradition of morning and evening prayer. Paul encouraged the Christians to use the psalms in their community worship (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16)...Today, we feel restless if worship does not move us as individuals. Worship is meant to be centered upon God. And it is also an act that binds me to a community, rather than dividing me from others who do not desire the form or emotional pitch of worship that I prefer. [Ouch, that struck a nerve.]...If I take the path of psalm-praying, my vision of prayer changes. I am likely to move out of the narrowness of my individualism, and move into participation with the community of faith which is beyond my own personal desires and purposes."

And in the chapter on Gospel Meditation, "Today, the gap between what Christians say they believe and what they actually experience has widened precipitously. The quest for the reality of God has lured the church into politics, marketing, entertainment, emotionalism, sensationalism, and any number of other 'isms.' We have looked for Jesus in all the wrong places. Elijah did not find God in the whirlwind, or the earthquake, or the fire, but in the "still, small voice." Neither will we find Christ in the noisy or the spectacular until we can first see Him in the quiet and the ordinary--in the reality of our own lives."

There is much more I wish I could share from this book, but this post is already too long and if I write any more, you won't read it. So, get a copy of the book and read it for yourself. I think you'll be challenged and encouraged.

Visiting friends in Zaragoza

I drove to Zaragoza this past weekend to visit with some friends from the States (Dave & Kathy Mahler) that were here in Spain for a few days. They brought me a lot of goodies from home (books, DVDs, music CDs, candy, Creative Memories supplies). It was like Christmas!



We took the bus downtown to see the cathedral on Monday. I'll include a few photos here for you to see. The photo to the right is a view of the cathedral from a bridge across the river.










This is one of the domes inside the cathedral. It's one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen in Spain, although there are scores that I haven't seen.










These lions are atop the bridge that spans the river. (The one I took the photo of the cathedral from.)









Here we all are (from left to right, Kathy and Dave Mahler, Jon and Meta Nelson and myself). The Nelsons' daughter Alena was taking the picture.

May Update

Residence Card

I have begun the process of gathering the necessary paperwork to renew my residence card. Kathy and I are hoping to go to the office in Segovia next week to turn everything in. Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that I have been in Spain for a year. Other times it seems like forever, except for the fact that I still can’t speak as well as I’d like, but that’s mostly my own fault. It’s been a good year and God has been faithful. This next year will be very different with Jon and Kathy gone, and my brief visit to the States as well, but I’m looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me and I hope that He will be able to use my life as a testimony to His love and grace.

Language Study

This week marks the end of my “full-time, formal” language study. I am in conversation with my professors at school about some part-time classes (1 or 2 days a week) in June and possibly beyond, depending on available time and finances. I’m really looking forward to a break and at the same time I don’t want to leave. They have become like family. They are a wonderful group of people who have cared for me while they were teaching me. At the same time, I know that I need to deepen my relationships with the women at church. In an effort to do that, and practice my Spanish, I am hoping to be able to meet with someone every day for an hour or two. The two ladies I was meeting with last fall are eager to get together again so I just need to find 2 or 3 more ladies to fill out the week.

This month’s quote:

“I often hear people praying for more faith, but when I listen carefully to them and get to the essence of their prayer, I realize it is not more faith they are wanting at all. What they are wanting is their faith to be changed to sight. Faith does not say, ‘I see this is good for me; therefore God must have sent it.’ Instead, faith declares, ‘God sent it; therefore it must be good for me.’ Faith, when walking through the dark with God, only asks Him to hold his hand more tightly.”

--Phillips Brooks, Streams in the Desert

Praises:

1. My cough is entirely gone and I’m feeling more rested. Thank you for your prayers.
2. Our new teammates, the McGees, will be arriving in Spain next week. We are excited to have them on the field. They will be working in Madrid.
3. Katie (our short-termer) will be heading back to the States at the end of the month. She has had some good discussions about spiritual things with her Spanish family. Continue to pray for them.

Prayer Requests:

1. The wife of one of my professors (José Miguel) is in the hospital with some kind of heart problem. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and healing for Deborah and most of all for their salvation. They have a 2-year old daughter.
2. Pray for the renewal process for my residence card, that everything will be approved before June 1.
3. Pray that God will allow me to develop some good friendships with ladies at church while they are helping me with my Spanish. Also, for wisdom as I plan for some continued part-time study at my language school.