Weekend in Andalucia

A few weekends ago, Gus and David went down for their second of four classes hosted and attended by a group of churches in Andalucia. Our family has visited one of these churches already a few times and I have gotten to know a few of the ladies down there. So me and the boys were invited stay with an elder's wife, while Gus went to the location of the classes, about 30 minutes away. 

Me and the boys had a lot of fun staying with Marimar and her 3 boys. They have a dog, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed looking at through their kitchen window. 

Marimar's youngest son is a few years older than Cael but he still has a bunch of Star Wars toys, which was very exciting for my boys. They played all weekend long with those battleships and action figures.

On Saturday, it rained most of the day. We took our umbrellas out and walked around the city a bit. This is always a very fun activity for the boys, as long as they each have their own umbrella. Regardless if that umbrella is bigger than they are.

 Then on Saturday afternoon, a few ladies came over and I taught them how to make cucpakes. They had never tasted them before and really enjoyed both the process and the tasting of them! One lady even used the recipe for her daughter's birthday the following weekend.

We also had gingerbread lattes and they LOVED them!

Sunday morning, we went out for another walk around the city. Thankfully it had stopped raining and the boys really enjoyed some time to get out and run around. The city of La Carolina is very quaint and lovely so I really had a great time walking around and taking pictures. And the boys loved running to their hearts content.

 Sunday night, Gus returned and preached for their service. Afterwards we went back to the house we were staying at and they threw me a surprise birthday party with presents and a cake! It was very unexpected for me and very, very sweet of them!!

On Monday, before leaving to return home, we went to the pastor's house, Manolo, for migas. They have a very large property that we have stayed at before, and we had some fun exploring.

Migas are a food from Andalucia. Migas is the word for crumbs, in Spanish, and that is essentially what this dish is. First, Pepi, Manolo's wife, started with a few bags of bread crumbs. She soaked them in water.

Then this pan, on the outside grill, was prepared.

Once olive oil was heated, garlic cloves were cooked until tender in the oil, to give it flavoring, then removed.

Then the migas were poured into the pan and cooked until fried and crispy.

Then you eat them with toppings...grapes (Think salty and sweet), chorizo, roasted bell peppers are some of what we ate with our migas. They were very good! 

 Here is Gus with Domi and Manolo, the leaders from this church in Andalucia. We are very thankful for these men and the special relationship we have with them.

 We had a really great weekend and I was so thankful for Domi and his wife, Marimar, for hosting me and the boys. As always, we can't wait to return!!