Final Wrap Up From Spain

Wow! Yesterday was a very long day. We spent the whole day cleaning every nook and cranny in our house and packing our final bags. Today is our last full day here in Santiago in which we intend to rest, say good-bye to friends and make a final pass through our favorite spots in the city. Tomorrow, we grab a flight to Dublin and then one to London where we will be spending the night. Sunday morning we wake up early and have our long flight from London to Chicago. We would ask you to pray for us this weekend if you get a chance. Pray that we will all be in good health and that our kids (and their parents) will hold up well on our two day journey.

Final Preparations

I am sitting in our sparsely furnished house as I am waiting for the movers to come and take away the pile of boxes in our front room. We are pretty much living in our kitchen now where we have a kitchen table, one cushioned chair and a laptop that serves as our main line of communication to the outside world as well as our home entertainment system. I remember sitting in this same chair six and a half years ago in our new apartment as I was first writing about my experiences in this new culture. Now I look back three children later and cannot believe how quickly the time has passed nor how much I have learned about myself and God during our time here.
This past week other than packing we have been saying goodbye to friends. My good friend Marcel came down from the Netherlands to see us before we return to the states. We had fun catching up and enjoying the local festivities for St. John's day. Bonfires are built throughout the city and people jump over the fire (Yes there is a man jumping over the fire in the photo above). Traditionally this was done to get rid of evil spirits, but today I think it is done just to prove that one is tough. Quite interesting to watch if you are ever in Galicia for Dia de San Juan.Last night we had our going away party at a local cafe. Jacob and I realized as we looked around our circle of friends that we knew most of them thanks to Terra Nova. It was a bitter-sweet time as we said goodbyes, but we definitely feel blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends.Jacob and Tania are heading out today for Asturias where Tania's grandparents live. They will be spending a week there and then return to the west coast USA where they are planning on settling in Salem, Oregon. Please pray for them as they travel. Pray for health for their entire family and that as they move back into the states that it will be a relatively smooth transition.

Photos, photos, photos. I have been unable to blog all that has been happening in recent weeks, but have continue to add new photos and some video. You can visit my albums in the side columns.

Swains Moving

Once again the city is filling up with Pilgrims and the slick wet winter plazas have dried and are now filled with sunshine and café tables as the rains give way to summer. This year, the first in a long time, we are not putting out out tables at Terra Nova.

Answered Prayer- With only one day left to spare in February (whew) we signed over the cafe to its new owners. This was a HUGE blessing. From the sale of the cafe we have been able to cover both the debt that we had to IT as well as pay back team members the personal finances that each of us had put into the cafe. This was an answer to many prayers and we praise the Lord for his faithfulness.

Time of Listening- As we mentioned in our last newsletter, Lori and I have been spending time praying about whether we should stay in Spain or move on to something else. We spent some time meeting with and talking to friends in ministry all around Spain. We prayed about ministries in Sevilla, Barcelona, La Coruña, Madrid, and of course staying here in Santiago. While we saw many worthwhile opportunities here, we both feel that it is time for us to return to the USA. This has been a long and difficult decision, but the more that we have thought and prayed about it the more that we believe it is the right thing for our family at this time. Right now is a crazy and bittersweet time for us as we are anticipating the things God has for us back in the US, but we are also grieving what we are leaving here. We tell our friends here that a part of our heart will always be in Santiago in the friendships and the life we have lived here.

Return Date- Lori and I have purchased tickets to return to the Chicago area on July 8th. We will be spending some time at International Teams in Elgin for a time of debriefing that they offer for returning missionaries. We hope to spend some time in Ohio with friends and family, but have not finalized all of our travel plans yet. We will do so as soon as we can.

Finances- As always, we want to say thank you for supporting us in this ministry financially. Since transitioning from one country to another is one of the most costly parts of overseas ministry, International Teams allows for returning missionaries to have three months severance pay to relocate and resettle. We would ask those who have committed to supporting this ministry to maintain their current level of support through September.

International Teams- We have loved working with International Teams and cannot express what a joy it has been working with this organization and seeing how God is working in and through people all around the world. We have learned so much about the world refugee crisis, inner-city needs, and so many other ways in which to be a witness of the Gospel in a cross-cultural context. We praise God for ministry organizations like IT and pray for God's continued blessings on their work!

Looking Back- As we think back over the six and a half years that we have spent in Spain, we can't help but praise God for the ways that he has worked in our lives. We are so thankful for all of the wonderful people that have been part of this ministry. THANK YOU to those of you who have supported us financially and through prayer, to those of you who have worked along side us both on our team and in short term experiences and GRACIAS especially to our Spanish friends who allowed us to share our lives and our faith with them. Each of these people have encouraged us and given us a deeper understanding of Christ and his love for us.

As more of our relocation plans finalize, we will be sure to get the word out. It's been a while since our last visit stateside and we are really looking forward to re-connecting with our friends and family there. For those of you in the Lancaster area, when we come to Ohio, we will be planning a time where we can get together at First Presbyterian to personally thank you and share the story of God's work in Santiago and Terra Nova. If you have any questions feel free to drop us an e-mail.

We love you all and appreciate your prayers,

Matt & Lori

Welcome Diego!

We are so happy to welcome Diego Martin Bailey, the newest member of Team Spain! The Bailey´s have posted some amazing photos on their site.

My Hero

I want to say a special THANK YOU to Chris Warren. When he heard about some of the difficulties that our team was encountering over the past couple months he decided to come and lend us a hand in either closing or selling the cafe. Chris's love for coffee and for people spilled into every aspect of his life during his time here. I am honestly not sure if we would have been able to keep things running and maintain our sanity until the end of February without his help.

Chris came on his own bill even after the funds for his 6 month mission stint had come to an end. He came with zero Spanish and was serving coffees by himself in the cafe after being here only a week and a half. If you have ever tried serving specialty coffees or living in a place where you don't speak the language you realize the bravery that it would take to do both at the same time.

Within no time Chris connected with students living in SdC who are from Spain and all across Europe. One of the nicknames he picked up was Terra Nova Boy. Today he has been making his rounds through the city and saying his goodbyes to all of the people he has met in the two months that he has been here. As he heads out tomorrow we pray God's blessing on his trip back home and and all that he does in the future. We'll miss you Brother!

Closing Well!

Last Friday night we held our final party at Terra Nova (Photos here). It was a wonderful time for us to connect with so many of the people that we have gotten to know during our three years of operating the cafe. In the middle of the party while we were surrounded by our Spanish and international friends Jacob looked over at me and said, "This is what is known as finishing well!". That one phrase not only summed up the evening, but our last four months of finishing in the cafe. I am so thankful for friends like Jacob and Tania Bailey and Chris Warren, because I know that it is because of these amazing hard workers that things went as smoothly as they did.

Final Sale
On Tuesday morning we met in front of a Spanish notary with the new owners and signed all of the papers for the official sale of the cafe. On Tuesday night the new owners came in to help us close and we turned over the keys to them.

What’s Next?
This is the question that I have heard the most in recent weeks. First, now that we have turned over the café, we are going to take some time here in Spain to rest and pray. We will praying for discernment about what we should do next. Where do we go from here? Should we stay or go? Right now, everything is on the table for us, but being able to think about these things without the burden of the cafe will enable us to step back and be a little more objective. Besides praying about our future, we are going to spend our time continuing to connect with our Spanish friends and visiting and connecting with other ministry leaders around Spain to see what other ministries are up to and different ways that they are connecting with the culture.

We would invite you to join us in prayer during this time that God will grant us wisdom and discernment about our next steps.

The Rain in Spain falls mainly on the Swains...

...because we live in Santiago, that is.

Today is a typical Santiago dC day in winter. It is raining. I am talking about the kind of rain that breaks umbrellas, and has most people walking around with their pants wet from the knees down because the water is falling sideways kind of rain. SdC is a walking culture (there just is not space for cars) so on days like today you either grab your umbrella and brave the weather or stay indoors drinking tea and coffee. Those who do brave the outside will eventually go somewhere warm and dry to grab a tea or coffee as well.

On days like today, cafes become a warm refuge of conversation and friends where the brave souls who have gone outdoors go to get warm and forget the weather for a few miniutes. Today that's where I am. I'm working the morning shift at the cafe. At 3 Lori is going to come and relieve me and I will take Abi to school for the afternoon. Our dear friends and teammates, the Baileys, return from their visit to States this weekend. That should be a good reunion and we are looking forward to their return.

Well, I hope you have a good day. I am going to return to sipping my hot coffee!

Recent Happenings in SdC

Chris Warren just finished a six month stint in Russia and has come to Spain to give us a hand over the next month or so. (Photo: Russian Candy Bar with "Father Frost"that Chris Brought from Russia. )We have been following his time in Russia and in Athens on some of his blogs.

Chris has been teaching me all kinds of wonderful things about the world of blogging. He showed me some cool things like Google's RSS reader which is very user friendly (especially if you already have a gmail account). He also showed me the Google analytics site. It is a site tracker that gives you many beautiful charts and pretty pictures that show who is visiting your pages and where they come from etc. It looks awesome and I plan on leaving sitemeter behind as I have been wooed by google's simplicity, high quality, and breadth of info.

If you are a blogger Tall Skinny Kiwi recently did an excellent post to give some helpful pointers on how to be a better blogger as well as some general blogging wisdom. I also read this collection of ideas on how to be a better writer. I hope that some of them sink in, because I know that I have much to learn in the area of writing.

Photos, Photos, Photos! Yes I have added some new photos from the holidays which you can see here.

Last Days of Terra Nova

Props to Jacob for this clip.

Merry Christmas!

This week the Girls School did the annual Christmas play (Photos Here). Abi was a dancer, Isa was an angel, Eden was baby Jesus and I was one of the kings. Somehow, Lori managed to get away without being in the play. Hmmmm! Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Tonight we will be having a Christmas Eve dinner with some friends in SdC and then tomorrow Lori is planning a special meal for our family. The Girls are excited about everything Christmas and are literally bouncing off of the walls. We pray God's blessings on you in this Christmas season and that we may reflect the light of our Lord.!

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Christmas lights and Bailey Flights

Santiago is always changing with the seasons and the different people that are coming and going. This year the city hung some new Christmas lights so today I thought that I would get some shots around the city. While I was out I stopped by the cafe to hang out with Jacob. While I was there I got some cool shots of the cafe and tried to capture a little of the atmosphere inside.


Jacob and Tania planned their Christmas trip to the states months ago and tomorrow morning they will begin the 27 hour treck at 5am local time. Please pray for their travels if you are reading this on the 12th. Also pray that their time at home with family will be rich and restful as well as a good time to connect with friends. I have more photos that I would like to load to show you what I saw today. If you want to see them I will be posting them in my Sights in SdC blog.