The Sardana

It has been anything but a quiet week here in Barcelona. Monday we had our meetings with the office staff and the assistants and spent much of the day going over the myriad of details for a very busy and complex transfer week. Tuesday I did exit interviews with all departing missionaries (5, including 3 native-speakers), and we then had our farewell dinner, meeting, testimonies, and Singing for the Angels.

We brought the departing missionaries back to the office and mission home as early as we could tear them away, and got a few hours sleep before getting up at 6:00 a.m. for a 7:00 a.m. run to the airport. From the airport we went directly to the train station with one of the missionaries who was returning by train to Madrid. At the station we met a second sister and her mother (who had come to pick her up) who were returning to Madrid on the same train. Once we saw them off, we visited briefly with two sisters from Bilbao who were returning home after serving a mini-mission with us for a few weeks. Then the train arrived from Madrid carrying our four new missionaries!

One of our arriving missionaries, Hna. Rejon from Mexico, needed to go immediately and begin some residency work since she was unable to complete it in Madrid. So we immediately changed plans for the day and rather than going to Montjuic, we went straight back to the office for lunch and orientation while Hna. Rejon went down to the city offices to register. Except that as she went through her bags to get out her passport, she realized she had left her passport in Madrid!

Change of plans again. After lunch and interviews and orientation, we drove back to Montjuic to give them the "Montjuic experience" - seeing the Mediterranean and the city and hearing the Columbus story. We then drove back to the office where we met up with other missionaries who took the new missionaries out for the evening. This gave us a couple of hours to prepare for Thursday.

Thursday morning we again arose early to pick up three dozen muffins at the bakery to take down to the chapel where we were holding Leadership Training. Arrived at the chapel about 9:00 to get organized for the 10:00 a.m. meeting. Had a great session which concluded at 4:00, and we had a couple of hours in the evening to set the tables and prepare for Zone Leader Council the next morning.

On Friday we were again up early (about 6:00) to prepare. The Assitants arrived at 7:30 to cook pancakes, and after breakfast at 9:00 we began the council meeting at 10:00. Kathleen had to leave part way through the meeting to take a sister to the emergency eye clinic, so she missed most of the meeting (which included lunch for 16 at the mission home). We concluded and had everyone on their way by about 4:30, cleaned up and answered emails, etc. for a little bit. When we were too delirious to do anything constructive, we realized it was Friday night in Barcelona - date night!

We don't actually get out on many dates, but this seemed like the thing to do. A little fresh air, a warm breeze off the Mediterranean, the hustle of people on the Ramblas, tapas at Bilbao, and a special summer trat: locals dancing the Sardana in front of the Cathedral.

The Sardana is a Catalan folk dance, and it is quintessentially Calatalan - restrained, deliberate, complex, and delightful. It is becoming something of lost art -note the age of the dancers - although free classes are offered every year for children (funded by El Corte Ingles). It was the perfect end to a lovely evening!