October 6th… plan November 1,2,3 (?) having loaded up the van drive north into France, take a slight detour, then south, south, south to further south than the north of Africa, cross some water and enter the land of Sicily. Our plans are moving and we think we will probably be there for around 6 months.
Although most of the readers of this blog will be aware of our plans I thought I will simply try and give over a few posts some background and any insight that come this way as we plan.
The wonderful aspect about life is it is very personal and from a faith perspective there are as many paths as there individuals as far as following Christ. So these posts are simply personal perspectives.
Where to start? We are in Oliva, an hour south of Valencia and came here as a result of two dreams Gayle had. At the time we were living in Cadiz, south-west Spain and had no sight on this area at all. In one dream Gayle was showing someone where we lived saying, we no longer live in San Isidro (our address in Cadiz) and then she opened her computer and typed in ‘Azahar’ – not knowing that it was a Spanish word (orange blossom). In the morning she typed out what she remembered and lo and behold it was a genuine Spanish word.
Here are two images from google maps – we live right in between these two signs – one is 800 metres in one direction and the second 800 metres in the other direction.
So to Oliva we came in March, 2014. Being somewhat nomadic it is quite a surprise we are still based here in 2025. 2017 we also managed to obtain an apartment in Madrid, having prayed for some time that ‘you have given us the lower springs, now also give us the upper springs’. We much later discovered that here at sea level (‘lower’) that the water table is high as a result of underground springs flowing from the centre of Spain to the sea; Madrid seems to be from old Arabic meaning ‘place of many springs’ and is the highest capital city in Europe. I don’t write the above to point anywhere other than God is remarkable and that is the way we have been led / others will have a different story.
We have had many wonderful days in Madrid – what a city. There we have joined protests on the street, but particularly focused on praying for the government and for the judiciary. When looking for an apartment there we were always short of finance and into that mix a German prophet (Michael Schiffmann) said to us that ‘the place you are looking for is bigger than you think’. Well, if short by x amount we thought we will look for something bigger. If we are short we are short! Nothing connected.
We then spent sometime praying over the area we felt where we should land (we had been visiting Madrid for some 9 years by this stage) and one day we were there with Roger and Sue Mitchell. Roger announced that we are just about to come to a marker, a sanctuary (might be good or bad). We rounded a corner and there was San Lorenzo church – we walked in and the first thing on the wall was his date of matyrdom: 10th August 258 at the instruction of the Emperor. My DOB! We like San Lorenzo, and had painted on our last van ‘furgo de San Lorenzo’ – other than I put ‘el furgo’ when it should have been la furgo (furgo short for furgoneta, feminine; the abbreviation threw me!).
[San Lorenzo did not appease the emperor, and his preaching rather annoyed him Eventually the emperor summoned him and gave him a date on which he was to bring the riches of the church with him. He duly did this bringing the disenfranchised, the blind, beggars, widows et al. He announced that this was where the riches of God was manifest. Surprisingly this did not connect with the emperor who ordered him to be burnt at the stake!.]
Then one day we walked into, shall we say, a little challenged apartment in Madrid that no-one seemed to want to buy, and as we walked in we both saw something… we can get the entire government and judiciary in here. The problem was not the size of apartment; the problem was our thinking -‘ bigger than you think‘.
I go back to Madrid next week with one last act before leaving for Sicily. I want to walk the circumference of the city to make sure the government and judiciary do not escape!!! (Like I can really do that… ah well at least I can sow in that direction.) Madrid has been our place for Spain… some while back Gayle asked me about any desire I might have to accompany her on a far eastern trip – the question was helpful for it made me realise my focus is Europe; the old ‘lady’ will and must receive new life. So after walking and then making our way to Sicily? No idea.
Currently clueless of Oliva, soon to be clueless in Sicily.
I will follow up with a little more of this journey of ours with the hope that it will do more than inform but encourage anyone who reads with respect to their unique adventure in life.
Clueless adventures can be the best!