Thank you to those who faithfully followed our blog and prayed for us. It is a privalege and honor to serve the Lord each day. 

HOME! We made it! The Lord provided a safe flight from Madrid to Chicago (9 hours!) and then He made it possible for us to catch the first flight out of Chicago - 4:05 and we arrived in Cleveland to the greating of Dad & Mom Varner at 6:30 p.m.

Praise the Lord for a wonderful trip and all that He showed and taught us. We want to thank each of you for praying for us. We know that there were several churches and many, many others that prayed for us. We give God all the glory for allowing us to have this experience.

I want to remind each of you to come hear the testimonies of our team as they share this Sunday, August 10th at 10:30 a.m. It is going to be a wonderful time of giving praise to the Lord for all that He is and all that He has done during this trip.

Thank you so much for all that you have done.
In Christ's Love,

Pastor Aaron and Lisa (8:15 p.m.)

Madrid Airport update...11:20 a.m. (5:20)

WE GOT TWO SEATS! We are heading home today!! Praise the Lord for His provisions! We'll arrive in Chicago at 4:20 p.m. and then fly to Cleveland.

Love you all. Thank you again for your prayers!

Pastor Aaron and Lisa  

Madrid Airport update...10:45 a.m (4:45)

We were told that there were still 30 open seats and that our chances were very good to get on the flight. We have to go back to the desk at 11:05 to try and get our tickets. We've given it all to the Lord. He's Soverign!

Ciao for now...PA and Lisa 

Airport update Thursday at 8:57 am (2:58 a.m. WHBC time)

We have cleared customs, security and are now at the gates. We checked in with the information desk and are first on the list for stand-by's. Let's pray that the flight is not over-booked and that 2 people wanted to stay longer!

Ciao for now!

Pastor Aaron and Lisa  

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Well...maybe I should not have written we were coming home just yet! On Tuesday night we boarded our over-night train from Lisbon to Madrid. We were excited to be heading home but very sad to say goodbye to our friends.

The train was a cool experience, but it was not very cool all night as we broke down (stopped) several times throughout the night. The delays put us behind by 3 hours. We rushed to the airport in an attempt to catch our flight at noon, but with no sucess. We then search every way to the USA, but with no sucess. Needless to say, it was a very long day.

We now have stand-by tickets for Thursday, today's flight from Madrid to Chicago. We are hoping to get to the airport early and be the first in line for stand-by.

Lisa and I both slept well last night as we had a good night at the Best Western Hotel Villa de Barajas. Please pray with us that we would be able to come home today.

We will try to keep you updated on our status. We hope you have a fantastic day, and great job softball team for winning your first playoff game with only 9 guys!

Study your Bible today!

In Christ's Love,

Pastor Aaron and Lisa

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

America...we're coming home! This is not to say that we have not enjoyed nor charished our time in Europe, but "THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!" 

We have been encouraged these past two days to be able to have some great conversations with Brent and Tammy and to see the work of the ministry and how we can pray in a great way. On Monday we were able to meet Doug and Sharon Fry, who just handed over their church to a national pastor last Sunday! 20 years they have been faithful...and Brent and Tammy will be teaming with them as they will start a new church plant starting after some more language school in the fall. Brent and Tammy are doing very well with their language. I have been so encouraged by both the Postema's and the Lowe's and their diligence in sticking with the language even when it seems impossible. 

Doug gave us a tour around the National Palace in Mafra. It was wonderful along with lunch at the Fry house. Subs never tasted so good!

We then went to the beach at Ericeira on a very windy and cooler day. It didn't bother me as I loved  playing in the surf-like waves. (only my 3rd time ever at a beach!)  We are so thankful for the fun and relaxing time we had at the very non-crowded beach.

Lisa and I then enjoyed a night out with Brent and Tammy for dinner and to find few more clothes to get us home...I think my wife is really liking this buying clothes with free money!

Today we went to the park and palace of Pena in Sintra. It was the king and queen of Portugal summer home on the top of the mountain. It was beautiful.  I think all of Portugal was there visiting with us!!!

We are getting ready to head out for our over-night train from Lisbon to Madrid. It should be another great adventure to close our trip. It was the cheapest way that I found to get from Lisbon to Madrid in time to catch our flight from Madrid to Chicago. 

We will fly out of Madrid around noon and get into Cleveland later into the evening.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Words cannot accurately express what we have been able to take in. It has been a wonderful and enriching time for Lisa and I.

We love you!

Pastor Aaron and Lisa 

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

A taste of home! It was so nice to see so many of you on Sunday during our Skype call. It was also wonderful to hear all of you sing! We miss West Hill and are excited to share our stories and this wonderful opportunity that God has given to us. Make sure you make it August 10th as the whole group will be sharing about the Great Adventure!

Lisa and I enjoyed going to church with Brent and Tammy and the kids. The people were very kind and gracious to us. We got a taste of how difficult it is to sit in church without knowing the language and understanding everything that was said and sung.

Over-here in Europe many take the month of August for vacation...that's right...the whole month...and they get paid! Maybe we should consider this in Akron!! Lisa and I may need a vacation from all of our travels, just to try and recover .

Our stay with the Lowes has been very lovely. Sunday afternoon we traveled to Belem for world famous pastries, saw the Vasco de Gama statue, a very old cathedral which had the tomb of Vasco de Gama, and the statue of explorers along the river in Lisbon.

Tammy's mother is also here, as she came to help in the kitchen with the teen camp. She is an encouragement and help.

We've slept well and are excited for more adventures!

Love you all.

Pastor Aaron and Lisa

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

Wow...can you believe that it is August already!!?? Soon it will be time to start school!

I am reminded of the passage in James (4:14) where we are reminded of how quickly our lives come and go. "...You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."  Throughout these past 2 weeks I have been reminded again how we have one life to live. God gave His best, why should I not give my best to Him. How our world needs to hear and see the love of Christ in our lives.

Lisa and I are ejoying a 9 hour lay-over in Madrid. We were hoping to pick up our luggage here, since this is where we filed our lost-luggage claim back on Monday, but when we asked we were told that it was in Barcelona. We've been told that our luggage has traveled to some crazy places in the past week...Naples, Madrid, Torrino, Chicago, Bucharest, and now Barcelona. We asked them to just ship it home at this point...hopefully we will see it before Christmas!! Our biggest disappointment is that we are not able to give our gifts to our missionary families. We are doing well through all of the luggage mess though. God has shown Himself good to us in so many wonderful ways. It has been a wonderful time of growth as we continue to depend on Him for the small (and big) areas on this trip.

It sounds like the Italy team all made it home well. Please pray for them and their families as they adjust back to the time and demands on their family and at work. We are excited to share on August 10th (10:30 am) about our time in Italy at the Old Mill Camp. 

Lisa and I very much enjoyed our stay with the Postema family. They are such wonderful servants of the Lord and it is great to have them as friends. It is a privilege to be able to serve our Awesome Lord together! Please continue to pray for them as they prepare for the upcoming 3 weeks of camp that start Monday, August 4th.

We enjoyed a date night with Andrew and Leah last night as we celebrated with them their 10 year wedding anniversary. It was a night full of shopping for clothes for church on Sunday, dinner at Champs and Starbucks coffee at the local mall! We were sad to say goodbye this morning, but are so thankful for the days the Lord gave us together.

Our upcoming schedule looks a little like this...

we board our plane from Madrid at 9:25 p.m. and arrive in Lisbon a little over an hour later. We are excited to be greated by the Lowe family and we will have the great privilege of attending church with them tomorrow.

Lisa and I will then try to Skype in tommorrow during West Hill's morning service (10:45 EST). We are excited to see some of you and to hear how things are going back at home.

Keep praying for us we continue to minister for Christ, and we are continuing to pray for you. May you have a wonderful day.

In Christ's Love,

Pastor Aaron and Lisa

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

It has been such a joy to see the work of the kingdom here in Romania. Andrew and Leah are being a tremendous light and testimony. They are currently working on putting together the final pieces of camp. They will leave on Sunday afternoon to help run 3 weeks of camp at a location that is several hours away. Please pray for them and their team as they have all the minor details to piece together. Also pray that God would use this camp to bring young people to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Thursday was a wonderful time for Aaron to play tractors with Wayne, for Lisa to have her spa treatment. We also had dinner at the house here with the rest of the team as we celebrated Andrew's birthday, since they will be at camp next week on the actual date. I went to the open market to get fruits and vegetables with Andrew, Wayne, and Rose. We also stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few items. It was much like ours in the States, but much more expensive. We are truly blessed to live in the United States of America! $4.00 gas doesn't seem so bad compared to $8 (Romania) or $11 (Italy). 

Lisa and I were also able to help around the house as Lisa did dishes, I put together a bookshelf with the help of Wayne and a small art table. One of our desires has been to be able to minister to our missionaries, not to be a burden. I have felt that it has been hard without our luggage, but God has provided. Please pray that we receive our luggage soon.

May God continue to bless you and keep you close to Him.

We love you and are praying for you.

Pastor Aaron and Lisa

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

We are wrapping up our evening here in Romania with Andrew and Leah Postema. We have had a wonderful day with them as we have enjoyed sleeping in, going to the airport to pick up one of their team members that are returning back from the United States, a lazy day exploring the city of Bucharest, enjoying a afternoon in their largest park by the water, and going to dinner with all of the Bucharest team. We are patiently awaiting the arrival of our luggage that was lost in the Naples airport. We hope that it arrives before we leave early Saturday morning.

Lisa and I have very much enjoyed our time with Andrew and Leah. It is encouraging to hear how God is stretching and growing them. We also believe that it has been an encouragement for them to have friends that they can share ideas and thoughts with. Grace (7), Rose (6) and Wayne (3) are truly a joy to be around. Tomorrow Lisa and I are scheduled to have spa treatments done by them. I have enjoyed hugging on them as we have missed our two little girls.

Our hearts are broken and saddened by the homegoing of Tyler Thyng. Please pray diligently for Dan and Amy, for the whole family, and pray that they would not only sense the Lord's hand in their lives but that they would be able SEE God do some wonderful and amazing things through their loss.

We hope and pray that you are doing well. We will continue to try to update you each day as we move forward on our trip in Romania and Portugal.

We love you. Talk to you all soon.

Pastor Aaron and Lisa