What we began to learn upon arriving here in Madrid , was a little different direction from what we had been taught (or, at least what I thought we were taught) in the MTC. Now, we are in the third phase of the learning, and this time it seems 'official', thankfully!! Really, what has been happening is that all the process was in the 'refining stage' of development, and now, we really know what direction we need to head.
This 'initiative' (as they call it) is supposed to be Priesthood-driven, and now we are going to try again to get the ball rolling in that direction. We man ("women?!) the Centro four days of the week in order to coach people on how to prepare a sharp resume, and how to be smart in their job search, etc. But, the people don't take good advantage of the Centro. So. . . . we need to get the church leaders on-board, and then the folks will come.
With that in mind, in August, we will put on another push. Our main emphasis will be to train the leaders, and to keep them informed on how their own people are doing--doing the job that we have been doing the past two months. We hope to staff the center with volunteers that have been called by their leaders. We will then train the volunteers to keep the Centro up and running, leaving us more time to go our throughout all of Spain and get the other leaders trained. Big Job!!! We start with the three Stakes here in Madrid, then branch out to the other districts and Stakes in all of Spain.
To make room for all the people that we think will come, there has been (these past two weeks) a renovation project going on, to enlarge the space available to us to teach and train. We have gained some of the space formerly occupied by the Distribution Center (right next door to us). In fact, tomorrow we won't be able to use our own space because they are going to breach the wall between us, and create a new opening for our expanded space. The new 'doorway' will go right here: behind the water cooler:
The pictures that follow show some of the work already done.
To the right of the picture is the remodeled entrance to the Distribution Center, and to the left, down that hall, is the new space created for our office.
This shows the size of the two new classrooms we will have available, plus a small office and a small area to meet around a table. Now we won't have to split time with the FHC but will be able to be open any time we need to be. Big improvement!! Big expectations!!! Big job to do!!! I hope we can keep up with it.
With added training responsibilities comes the need to be more 'mobile', says Paco. To that end, we have been issued a car to drive!! Not sure if that is a blessing or not, when considering the traffic here in Madrid. We picked up the car at the mission office this past Tuesday afternoon, and had quite the adventure just getting back to our apartment!! After a couple of wrong exits taken, we finally arrived at a point that I recognized from some of our long walks. We were able to make it safely, although a bit 'jittery'. We took the car out the next night to drive south to Aranjuez, to visit one of the groups that meets there. This time we (I) did better.
The car is an Opel--Meriva. Yeh, I hadn't heard of it either. It is diesel, tiny, and will be all right, when I begin to get comfortable in this traffic. Remember the round-a-bouts?
Think: Fruitland orange, with a little 'burn' on it. Diesel is 1.24 Euros per liter. A liter is less than a quart, but not by much. YES, it is expensive!!! Hopefully, the mileage is awesome.
With a temple right in our back yard, it is not difficult to get there whenever we feel the need. But,, these past two weeks is has been closed for one of the semi-annual cleanings. That has also had a small bearing on how many people have been coming into our Centro, because they try to do business at all the Church offices when they come into town. Anyway, it (Temple) is now up and running, and we are enjoying the blessings. When people come onto the grounds they get to experience a little bit of Heaven, with the Temple, the gardens, and the greenery and such--a nice oasis in the middle of all the chaos of the world. We especially love to spend time admiring the flowers and plants. So. . . the other day we (Sister Bake) took goodies to reward all the gardeners who keep the place looking so nice. They get overlooked a lot, we think.
It is really a pretty place to spend some quiet time, and we use it a lot. Plus, our church meetings are held on the grounds, and, our office is right there also. We are spoiled, indeed.
A lot of the Church members here are from other countries--people who have left their homes in Central or South America--looking for a better life. A lot of them have found it here. We met a man just this week, who came into the office looking for work, who was from Peru. He had just arrived, was going to spend some time in the temple, but was wondering if we could help him get work.
Where he had come from, it was too dangerous to stay--drugs, gangs, 6 different friends of his children being shot and killed. All sorts of chaos going on. He had left his two children in Brazil with relatives, while he had traveled alone, seeking a better way. Your heart just goes out to them!!
Like I started to say, at least in our ward, most of the members are not from Spain originally. You walk into the chapel, and notice a lot of darker-skinned, darker-headed people. The Spaniards are more European--fair-skinned. When you bring a Spaniard to church, they come in and see that they are in the minority, and they decide that this church is not for them. They are not prejudiced, it just seems different for them to not see so many of their own countrymen in attendance. But thank Heaven for those who have come, and who have given great strength to the Church. These people are very strong and active and have been a great boost to the growth of the Church here in Spain.
When you get outside of Madrid, out into the interior of the country, that dynamic changes a lot. You will see more of the native Spaniard among the membership. That is, in part, because Madrid is where most of the work is, so. . . they come here to look first.
There is so much to do to help people, all over the world, to become more self-reliant, and to stop depending on other people, organizations, and governments for their well-being. Being governed by principles of faith, hard work, and obedience will get more people to self-reliance than any other way.
That is our job, and at times, it is overwhelming. When I get thinking that I don't really matter here, I am reminded of the story of the young boy walking along the beach and throwing back into the water the starfish he was finding along the way. An older gentleman asked him what he was doing, and the boy explained. The gentleman said that there was no way that the boy would be able to make a difference, whereupon the boy picked up another starfish and said, "I made a difference to this one!"
If we can only help a few, we will have made a difference.
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