Independence.

Monday was our first official Belgium holiday. Its the day they celebrate their independence from Holland. We had been downtown on Sunday and saw the setup of the events that would follow on Monday. Thankfully, our friend Vibeke (a lady from the church we attended in Denmark) decided to stop by and see us, so we decided to see if we could catch some of the action.

Unfortunately, the weather was awful... misty rain and COLD! ( nothing new from Belgium)Well, we went anyways and were quite entertained by the parades they had going on. There were so many people in weird customs and on stilts. It was definitely a culture experience that we hadn't experienced in Denmark before. I was able to go get some very-very good red cherries. They were kind of expensive, but worth it. ;) Since the weather was gloomy and bits of rain, we found a cozy little cafe to warm up in until the fireworks would start at 11. The first place we walked into was too packed, but I was excited for the atmosphere, since we always went to cafes in Copenhagen, I wasn't sure if we would find any cool places here in Brussels. We ended up to the cafe right next store, and it ended up being perfect!

The fireworks were by far the best we have ever seen. It seemed like for 20 minutes you were treated to a never ending finale from start to finish. What was unique was the touch of music put to the show they put on. It truly was a sight to see. So, for those traveling to Brussels, come July 21st and make sure to catch the festivities in downtown! The evening was fabulous and well worth the cold we had to endure. Seriously, we could see our breath and it is the middle of summer. Something isn't right with that. :)

The Walkabout.

Hannah and I decided that our Saturday would be dedicated to apartment hunting. Once we moved our luggage to the EMC building where we are staying now, we drove with Albert who dropped us off downtown in the area where I posted about earlier. When he dropped us off we thought we were going to have to buy an umbrella because it was raining ( and since it rains like 200 days out of the year, we thought one would be in call for). We walked in a department store only to find out that the little umbrella's we would want where 25 euro or $40! There was nothing to the umbrella. So if anyone in the states would like to find Hannah a small one to put in her purse, please send one ;)

ATTN: Hannah Tarantino
45 Chaussee de Waterloo
1640 Rhode St. Genese
Belgium

That's the office here. We can always receive mail or packages there. It's the best address to send to by the way.

It wasn't long before the rain stopped and walking downtown couldn't of been more perfect. I am not sure how much we walked, but we went up and down street after street looking for apartments, and admiring the unique characteristics of all the rest. Our goal on each street was always to look for the orange signs saying Tu Huur or Louer! We actually were able to find a good number, so hopefully this week we can get a few appointments going. The majority are close to being out of our range, but we will see what happens. The thing that gets us is that each place is unique in the charges that are on top of the rent vary so much. Charges cover the cleaning of your doorway to electricty/water/heat. The majority of the time it's only the water, but you never really know, and the charges can vary from 25-150 euro! Seriously! Why the huge difference!!!

So keep that in prayer this week please.

All the walking around really gave us an appetite and in the middle of the walking we past a Oriental little shop, and all I remember was looking through the glass at the food they had and it just looked great. I know that my smell of the food was the one talking before my mind was set on what the food actually was though. I was so set on checking it out, that Hannah and I made our way back to the restaurant. It was actually a Lebanese little place. The menu was on the door before you walked in and I just looked at Hannah because I had no clue what any of it meant. It was the type of place where you walked in and just picked what you wanted to eat, so you had to have an idea or else... well it was pointless to go. So after debating wether we should eat or not, we said let's try it. The guy looked at us and asked what we wanted in French and I said I have no clue what to order. So he told us to sit down and he would bring each of us a plate! TALK ABOUT OH NO, WHAT DID I JUST DO!!! Anyways, the wait wasn't too long before this girl brought over a heaping plate full of Lebanese food! I know I was really hungry, but everything on the plate was just amazing! I couldn't of ordered anything better! We loved it. Hannah said it was the best humus she has ever had!

So for those that love Lebanese food, if you come see us we will make sure to take you there!

Prayer Support.

We have a request for those that check this site. We have found an area in town that we really want to be in but we know that the only way we will find a place is by God's hand in it. I took a picture in google to give you an idea. It's called Elsene. Both Hannah and I love the area. For those that come visit us I know you will just enjoy it as well. Please join us in prayer this next week. Financially we really will need God to move or this area won't be possible.

We did have two appointments tonight at apartments. The first one was amazing! The only problem was there was no real bedroom. The bedroom was the living room and dinig room all together! But it was nice. The second one... well, McNamee didn't even stop, it looked scary and the funny thing was the rent was so high. It was not in the best place in town, so we didn't even bother! Apartment hunting has surely been a new adventure.

Hector Chicken!!!

So last night we needed a quick bite to eat so we follow our friend Joan to get something fast to eat. We ended up eating at Hector Chicken! We are told that this is the place to eat cheap... Well, I wanted to give a picture of what European life is like when you come to fast food and extras!

First of all, look at the size of the cup! Secondly, if you want BBQ sauce, well just at $1.50 for two very small pieces so you can enjoy your meal!!! I will miss bigger drinks, but I

guess in the long run it will be better for my health! We did find out that Pizza Hut offers free refills! Too bad I don't want pizza all the time.

Also, they must think well of the USA since they put a picture of the flag next to the restroom ;)

In other news we are still out looking for an apartment. Tonight we are going to two appointments and we really enjoy this part of the town. We did see a nice one this morning, but it was right off the main street and it wasn't as clean as where we will be tonight. I do really love the places here, they have such character in them. Hopefully we will be able to show you pictures soon!!!

MCE | The Offices

The first day working over here felt great! By the time Hannah and I were able to get home, Hannah looked at me and said I gotta go to bed!!! She was exhausted (in a good way). We are working on a Directors retreat for this upcoming October where the leaders of Master Commission programs in Europe will come to Brussels for a few days. Yesterday Hannah took a good chunk working on that!

We finally decided on what offices that we would take over as well. We are going to be on the 2nd floor (3rd if you were in the US). We had the option of getting a temp office while we are waiting for the future MCE offices to be ready, but I think Hannah and I want to work where the Offices will be and watch the growth of it. We have one side of the building but the majority of it will need to be renovated with teams throughout the next year. As I walk through the halls and offices my vision of what they could look like in the future is very exciting!

If anyone is wanting to bring teams to work on this area, you should contact us. We will be looking for office furniture and if anyone wants to help us with that, they can help us out by IKEA gift cards! Contact us if you are interested. We were looking at painting the office and we found out that a gallon of paint cost 69 euro. The euro by the way is more than the dollar, so just think about that one ;)

   

By the way, I love Italy!!! ;) Yesterday we went to look at an apartment downtown and the resident who was staying there was ITALIAN and he was incredible. I just loved listening to him. Italians are so welcoming! The apartment was very very nice, but I am not sure the area it was located at is what we would want to settle on. Tonight we are going back downtown right in the area of where the EU is. The area is so incredible. Please pray that we are able to find that right apartment. As it is right now our budgeted amount is very limited right now with what we have been seeing. I know we will find the right place though!

This morning we are off to the local commune so we can register! Woohoo. Lasne!!!!

Economy 101 | Dollar vs Euro

We have only been here a matter of hours, but it hasn't taken long to realize that life over here is a little more expensive than the US. In the past few days that we have been here we have gone to the grocery store twice, out to eat downtown, as well as shopping for an apartment. All of these things have quickly opened our eyes to what the Euro is doing over here in Europe.

All this got me to thinking... How much has the exchange rate affected our budget?

As many of you know, we are supported by friends, families and churches on a commitment basis. We were told back in 2006 that to live from month to month here in Brussels, that we would need to raise $3,512 in monthly support. Right now we are about $2,900 of that goal! While that is great news, there is a BUT...

In 2006 when our budget was set, that $3,512 in the exchange rate was 2,900 euro a month. Today, July, 2009 that same $3,512 we are budgeting each month for living expenses now only covers 2,235 euro!!! To put that in dollars, we are $1,000 short a month from what we are ask to raise if that $3,512 comes in every month. This is and will continue to always be a huge need as we are living in the Euro economy and the Dollar continues to lower.

Please prayerfully consider supporting the Tarantino's on a monthly commitment. We truly need people who join together with us as we reach missions across the globe with Master's Commission and the work across Europe!

We have relationships already where some people can't support a month to month basis, but they can every few months and every bit helps as we continually are trying to compensate for the lowering dollar. Contact us for information on how you can be apart of that.

You can always check out our Missions Status page for the current information on where we are at.

first few days.

Yesterday was our first full day here in Belgium and a full day it was. All the Americans/missionaries here put on a little fourth of July celebration at the office building. There was lots of good food and they had a bounce house for the kids. We were able to meet a lot of people there and able to know them a little bit as well.

We also got to go see an apartment, unfortunately it was given to the people who looked at it right before us, but it was good to look anyways. We love the style of apartments here and its been fun to look.

Last night we went to downtown Brussels, with a few friends and got to walk around a bit. We ate a durum and these incredible crepes afterward! Belgium has the greatest desserts!

We've started to talk about some things we'll get to work on right away with Masters Commission Europe and we look forward to jumping in first thing Monday morning.



More Pictures.

Arrived.

There isn't a non-stop flight from Fort Myers to Brussels, BE... but yesterday we surely had the next best thing! We left Fort Myers at 6:25PM, flew through the night and landed in Munich, Germany at 10.00 in the morning. By the time we walked through the airport and went through a security checkpoint we realized we had 15 minutes to get to our connecting flight. The checking gate was politely waiting for us, and they even commented on having our 8 pieces of luggage! Way to go Lufthansa! We then only had a short up and down flight! That's the way I like to travel!

Abe.
We had given abe his drugs hours before we left, hoping that he would be sedated, but we learned quickly we only had a drunk cat who fought very hard against the drugs to stay awake!!! It was pretty funny. Thankfully some 45 minutes into the flight he passed out! Hannah and I played Mario Party on our DS which actually passes the time very well! Before we knew it we were hours into our flight. In the middle of the flight when everyone was sleeping Abe's drugs wore off and it took about 2 hours to get him to finally find his resting place. Overall, looking at the trip at a whole, Abe was great. This morning Abe is still so happy. Since we landed and let him out of his bag he has been so affectionate with us. It's like we have left him for two weeks and we just got back, he is so excited, it's pretty funny.

It's 9 here in the morning and in a few minutes we will be off for a 4th of July party at the offices! The weather is nice and cool as I like it! Yesterday we did have a regular Fort Myers rain shower as we drove home, but nothings new on that front! The coolness of the air after that is though! I love it.

It's good to be here. Already, I think both Hannah and I can sense the immediate change in our lives in being back to a country where so much seems to happen in our lives.

Keep up with this and updates will surely be frequent!

Love you guys! Your such a big reason we are here!