Jesse & Sophie Bentley

…and with it we feel the coldness of winter just around the corner. That´s right, in just a little under a week, we have gone from sunny skies and 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) temperatures to a sad 8 degrees C (46.5 F). And with this change in temperature we´re experiencing a cold wind, leaves falling off trees, and even some rain… It surprises me every year how quickly the weather changes here, and how in the space of about two weeks we´ll go from summer weather straight to the depth of winter. But even though the cold weather can get us down, we do have many reasons to celebrate! We are having a great year so far, seeing many old faces from last year and many more new faces come through the “blue door” at En Vivo. It energizes us to see these Spanish students, as well as many students from so many other countries, come in to En Vivo and immediately feel accepted and loved. Salamanca is known for its outstanding university, and as a result not only do we encounter some of the brightest Spanish students, but we also encounter hundreds of students from all over Europe, Latin America, and even North Africa who are here to study at this prestigious university… and the incredible thing is that while these students are far away from their homes, we get to be a home for them. A place where they can relax, come in out of the cold, and get fed both physically and spiritually.

The Kiddies:

The kids are doing well. Liam and Juliette are both at the same school now, so they get to see each other during the “recreo” (recess) every day. Juliette is taking good care of her little brother as he adjusts to the “big” school, and we feel especially blessed as Juliette´s old teacher is now Liam´s new teacher. Juliette is thriving in school as well, learning to read and write in Spanish, as well as some addition and subtraction. I maybe a little biased, but I think she´s one of the smartest 5-3/4 year olds I know! Alina is also in daycare in the mornings so that Jesse and I can go to work together for a few hours together. She´s doing very well, although is very hesitant to take her first steps. We know that when she´s ready, though, she´ll be running all over the place after her brother and sister!

Upcoming Events:

We have some exciting things coming up  at En Vivo this month. Next week we´re doing a special event called “Esclavitud XXI“, which is a focus on the problem of slavery that is still taking place all over the world. It is estimated that 25million people are in a state of slavery today, ranging from child slavery workers to sex slaves forced into prostitution. To find out more about this global problem, please visit the web site, “Stop the Traffik.”

On November 20-22 we will also have our fall retreat, so please pray for many students to come be a part of that special weekend and to be impacted by and for the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. For a more detailed view of what is going on this month, check out our calendar of events.