Another reason why your prayers matter to us.

Because we are US citizens and we've registered with the US embassy here in Spain, we receive notices via email from time to time. Here is a portion of the latest one we received.

On February 8, the Spanish Supreme Court banned two Basque political parties, D3M and Askatasuna, from participating in the upcoming regional elections in March.
On the morning of February 9, a bomb, believed to be the work of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorist organization, exploded at the Campo de las Naciones in Madrid. There are also media reports of violence in the Basque region the night of 6 February when commuter trains and buses were set on fire.

ETA remains active in Spain, and further attacks are a possibility in the period leading up to the March 1 regional elections. ETA generally provides advance warning of its attacks and has historically avoided targeting foreigners, instead directing its attacks against the police, military, local politicians, and Spanish government targets, as well as attempting to disrupt transportation and daily life; however, foreigners have been killed or injured collaterally in ETA attacks despite advance warning. Two examples of this are the Barajas Airport bombing in December 2006, in which two Ecuadorian nationals were killed, and the bombing at the University of Navarre in October 2008, in which 17 students were injured, including one American student. In addition, bombs have been used as part of criminal extortion of businesses, particularly in the Basque region.

The risk of “being in the wrong place at the wrong time” in event of an ETA action is a concern for foreign visitors and tourists. U.S. citizens living or traveling to Spain should remain vigilant, exercise caution, monitor local developments, and avoid demonstrations and other potentially violent situations.

While this may not have even been reported back home, it kind of hits close to home for us. We live about 30 kilometers from where this took place, and we often go to Madrid for doctor's appointments, government appointments and the like. Thank you for your prayers. We know that they make a difference. We know that the Lord hears you and everything is in His hands. Your prayers literally make a difference in our lives and in the lives of other missionaries all over the world.

Missonary Adventures (Part 3)

Back to our story...

My first post ended like this.

"Since this appointment is what keeps us legally in Spain, as we were driving away from the police station I called our legal representative Silvia so that she can make another appointment for us.

As it turns out, God had some cool things planed (doesn't he always)..."

I explained the situation to Silvia she asked us, "Where are you now?
"About 2 kilometers from the police station on our way home." I replied.
"I'm at the police station now, come back and we can at least get the kids done." She said.

So we turned around and saw Silvia at the corner near the police station and we dropped off the kids. Unable to find a place to park after about 20 minuets I double park and we call Silvia to check on her and the kids.

"Tony, come back and bring Anna to the door. I talked to the people inside and she can sit inside in the heat and wait." Silvia informed us. So Anna, feeling a bit better told me to drive her to the station.

I drop off Anna at the station and Silvia and the kids were waiting for her by the door. Again I go off to find a parking place. I prayed, "Lord, I could really use a parking spot close to the police station. And the Lord provided it. It was a space about two inches wider than the car between a truck and a van. Since the mirrors on our STL car fold in, I was able to get in the parking spot, but it was difficult for me to get out of the car.

Twenty min. or so later Anna called and said, "Come get us." "What's the matter baby are you feeling sick again?", I asked. "No" she replied, "We're done!" "Done? How can you be done? There are over 300 people in line before you?", I asked. "Come get us and I'll tell you in the car."

So I squeezed the car out of it's tiny spot and in five min. I had Anna, the kids, and Silvia in the car and on our way out of Madrid. As I drove Anna filled me in on the rest of the details.

Apparently Silvia knows everyone at the police station and she just took their papers and walked to the front of the line. She took care of all the paper work and even finger printed Bekah when she was scared of the police (they had rubber gloves on and she thought they might try to do a blood draw).

The Lord is so wonderful. Had we missed the appointment it would have been 2-3 months before we could have gotten another one, and as missionaries it's important we get that National ID card with our residence number. God had everything in control. He had Silvia at the right place at the right time, and she was able to take care of everything. Isn't God cool?