Basking with Basques

to bask= regodearse en; deleitarse en
To expose oneself to pleasant warmth: sunshine (lit.), spotlight (fig.).

To take great pleasure or satisfaction; to enjoy, relish, savour.

Basque=vasco

A member of a people of unknown origin living in the western Pyrenees in France and Spain (Euskadi).

The language of the Basque people; of no known relation to any other language (euskara).

We are still basking in the warm afterglow of a wonderful weekend.

Our house guests--the Ybarrolas, un verdadero vasco and his esposa, otherwise known in our family as Curly Steve and his wife Lorie--were here to expose our church people to an unreached people group.

Steve was one of the young men on our team when we lived in Europe. He was especially kind to our small daughter and she gave him the nickname that described his 'big hair' at that time.

He also spent some time on the ship Doulos with us when our youngest was a baby and remembers picking him up by the straps (?) and flying him around to Sammy's great delight.

The Ybarrola relatives live in a village in Northern Spain. Steve's grandfather's ancestors go back 500 years living in the same house!

Since the time our ways parted, 30+ years ago, Steve has reconnected with his ancestry, lived 15 months in the area with his young family, revisited his people regularly, and become an anthropologist expert in the Basque culture.

We thoroughly enjoyed the renewed fellowship with Steve and immediately fell in love with Lorie. And next summer we hope to be 'aunt & uncle' or 'grandparents' to some Basque young people as our church gets involved in Impact Basque.