Waffle-y Good News

New Year, New Country, New Baby, New Name?

Dear Friends,

We hope that each of you and your families have experienced a blessed Christmas season and are excited about the prospect of a new year.  We certainly are!  Our Christmas here in Belgium was restful and relaxing, a bit of calm before the storm of joy and excitement of our new baby, and a good chance to recuperate a bit from our recent move.  These last few weeks of pregnancy have been a joy, albeit a tiring one for Carrie!  We are eager to meet our child in person for the first time, hopefully before too long!

The last few weeks have been a time of introduction to the people and ministry of the church here in Belgium, as well as the people and customs and culture of the country.  It’s been interesting, and we look forward to our official “inburgering” classes soon.  (That’s enculturation classes for living in Belgium, not eating a burger, as it might sound.)

Some recent highlights have been the church’s celebrations for Christmas.  We had a special service the Sunday before Christmas with the international church, followed by a Christmas party for all, with great food and fellowship.

We also had a celebration with the Latino group at a member’s new house: they had only moved in the week before.  A week later we led our first Bible study for that group, which went very well, and what followed, as the week before, was a wonderful party with terrific food and togetherness.  We are realizing this is a great group to lead: they are very organized, friendly and invitational.  We came here to bring spiritual leadership in their native language, Spanish.  Please pray that we are able to do this well, as this group represents potentially a big step forward in God’s kingdom: the first evangelical Christian church in the province of West Flanders.

It occurs to us that, seeing as we will be ministering in Belgium for the foreseeable future, it would behoove us to find a new name for our blog.  Much as we liked “the Reign in Spain,” we will have to leave it behind.  We have a few ideas for a new name, but we would like to hear yours, too!  Please respond with a comment on our blog or by sending us an email at mikencaty@hotmail.com.

Also, please pray for the ministry team's cars here.  All four of them are currently experiencing problems.  Last week our scheduled preacher, Jackie, was unable to make it to the service because his van wouldn't start.  Dick and Sheila, Lawrence and ourselves have also had our share of car trouble, which the recent cold hasn't helped one bit.

We pray you have a blessed New Year, and we thank you for your support and prayers throughout this year past, and, we pray, this year to come!  We pray God’s best for all of you!

In Christ,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Carmen's Corner

Carmen’s Corner: A Rabbit’s-Eye View of a Journey across Western Europe

                Mom and Dad and Uncle Marvin had spent a lot of time packing up the van when, suddenly on Friday morning, it was time to pack ME.  Dad put my cage in the back of the car, right behind his seat so I could stay close to him and Mom.  Fortunately, it was a nice, warm day, because it took a while to get the rest of the car packed and the apartment cleaned up.  Mom and Dad handed over the keys to Doña Laura and we were on our way.  Belgium, here we come!

                Although the previous week and a half or so had been cold and blustery, we enjoyed great weather as we made our way northeast across Spain.  I’d seen southwest and southeast Spain before, but this was my first trip northeast.  We passed through five autonomous communities (sort of like states in the US) and nine provinces (sort of like counties, but bigger and less numerous), many of them new to my parents.  A couple of hours after dark, we passed over the Pyrenees at a low spot—there wasn’t even snow!  It was a big relief to not have worry about the road conditions.  (Not that I was worried: I leave that sort of thing to God and my people!)

                An hour up the road or so, we planned to stop for the night at the house of friends of Uncle Marvin.  We had a bit of a tough time finding it: they kept closing roads that would take us there.  Eventually we went up over a hill on some back roads and soon found it.  It was a nice spot: a converted farmhouse with a big yard where they could grow grapes.  It looked like a picture out of a French textbook.  (Not that I read French textbooks, although I hear they’re delicious.)  I got my dinner while my people got theirs: Steve and SueAnn were nice enough to wait till we arrived at nearly 11 p.m. to have their dinner.  We settled in for the night.

                The next morning, after taking some time for rest and fellowship, we got on the road again.  My favorite part early on was a beautiful view of the Pyrenees from the north in the background with a huge flock of birds in the foreground.  Soon we got on the highway system, where we seemed to stop to pay tolls as much as we drove on the roads.  But central France was pretty, although it might be prettier when it’s not December.  That night we stayed at a small hotel along the route, about an hour south of Paris.

                Sunday morning I got to see the Eiffel Tower as we drove past Paris.  I’d have seen it a lot longer if it hadn’t been Sunday morning, because traffic would have been horrendous.  But that’s okay: I mean, it’s a pretty tower and all, but since it’s metal, I can’t chew on it.  Shortly afterward we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow and about ten minutes of drizzling rain.  For three days on the road in winter, ten minutes of rain wasn’t bad at all!

                Soon we crossed the border into Belgium, and shortly after that, we were pulling up in front of our new home—at least for the next six weeks or so.  We were greeted by one of Mom’s friends, who had the house full of baby stuff.  There were also lots of people from the church to help unload the van.  It didn’t take long before we were resting and settling into our new place.

                Now I’m sitting in front of Mom’s pretty coral aquarium.  It looks like they all made it safely.  It’s a cold, rainy day—the kind that makes me glad to have a fur coat.  (It’s all natural, too!)  I’m practicing my new favorite word in Dutch (“wortel,” which means carrot) and staring at Mommy’s great big belly and wondering how much longer till I get to play with my baby brother.

                We had a great trip, and God was so good in taking care of us.  Thanks for all your prayers for us!

Love,

Carmen

Rejoice with Us!

  Dear Friends,

  We just wanted to take a moment to share some exciting news with you-- our Belgian visas came through this morning and we were able to pick them up within hours despite the torrential downpours in Madrid today!  We praise God that the entire visa process took less than 3 weeks, which must be some kind of record, especially for us as we are accustomed to waiting 5-7 months for European visas to be approved.  Just further confirmation that God's hand is guiding us and making our path straight as we begin our transition into ministry in Belgium and parenthood.  We are so excited for the days and weeks ahead!

   Please pray specifically that all of our belongings will fit into the moving van, and for our safety and the safety of Marvin Klein who is currently en route from France with his van to help us move.  Thanks again for your prayers and support!

    Blessings,

   Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Preparing for the Move Ahead...

   This is the last weekend we will spend in Spain for a while, as we are packing and preparing for our move on Friday Dec. 10.  Throughout this entire process, God has blessed us with peace, health, energy and optimism towards our future ministry in Belgium.  He has even taken care of the logistics of it all—we really couldn’t have it much easier!  The family that is moving into our apartment days after we move out (releasing us from our contract that was supposed to run through the end of Feb.) has also purchased most of the furniture we planned to leave behind.  They are also taking over the utility contracts so that we aren’t penalized there, either!  The only missing pieces are our Belgian visas, which we were supposed to have had by now, but computer system failure has slowed down the process.  The Embassy has told us not to worry and to proceed with the move, so that’s what we are doing!

   Fellow FM missionary Marvin Klein has graciously offered his very large van and services to move our belongings to Belgium as we caravan with him in our car.  Having his van and help will save us nearly $2,000, for which we are extremely grateful!  (Obviously, this move was not planned; therefore, it was not in our 2010 budget!) He will leave France on Tue. and arrive in Madrid on Wed.  Then we will pack up the van on Thur. and begin the three day journey on Fri., arriving at our new destination on Sunday afternoon.   We ask for your prayers as Marvin drives down from France and then as we all drive to Belgium (which means crossing the Pyrenees in winter!)

Please also keep the following in your prayers this week:

• For all of the packing and loose ends we need to tie up here in Spain this week (and with Mon.-Wed. being holidays, this might be a bit of a challenge).  
• That we might be able to have our visas in hand before leaving Spain
• For a smooth move and the safety of those who are helping with the move
• For our baby who will be arriving soon and for Carrie’s health and comfort during the long car ride.
• For our other precious cargo: our bunny and some corals we’ll be taking with us.
• Most importantly: that God would go before us and prepare the soil to receive the seed of the Gospel, which is the motive for our move!

   Thank you so much for making this transition with us to a new and exciting field!  It is much easier to go knowing that we are not alone!

Blessings,

Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley