I have failed. Updating a blog once a week should not be this difficult, but still I cannot seem to find the time. Life in Spain, although tranquilo is very full. It seems like everyday I have something new to do. But enough of that, on to the important part...
I started my service learning last week. It was frustrating at first because I didn´t end up being placed where they said I would be. Apparently there is a shortage of Spanish children who want to learn English...go figure, so instead, I was placed with a ministry called Rompera. The basic idea behind it is that people donate clothing to the mission and then women can come and get clothes and blankets for their family as they need them. After discovering the size of Rompero (not much bigger than a walk-in closet) and discovering that I might just be the lankiest person working and feeling very in the way, we set out working. It was difficult at first to get the hang of this fast-paced environment, but slowly but surely I caught myself smiling as I listened to the women working alongside me joking and talking about their families and then turning their attention to the 3 americans in the room. They genuinely cared about us.
One of the older women working there,I wish I could tell you her name, but I never caught it, I only know that she is originally from Granada and have taken to calling her Gran, really made a huge impact in such a short time. The Bible talks about doing everything with joy as unto the Father. This women fit that perfectly. By worldly standards she has no value. She is not attractive. She is short, with gray hair, brown eyes, slightly overweight, she had lipstick smeared well above her natural lip, and clothes that had definitely seen much better days. Yet to me, she was one of the most beautiful people I had ever met. Her eyes shown brilliantly in the dim lighting. She had a smile on her face and would whistle as she hurried back and forth picking out clothes for the women. She lived her life to serve! I wish that you all could have seen her face as she talked about Jesus! She was so in love with Him that it was not even funny! It did my heart well to see her example. Everything about her came alive at the metion of her dear Savior!
It was challenging to me. It made me wonder if people could truly see the love of Christ displayed in my life like this. Earthly beauty valued little in light of the beauty that surrounded this woman.I have been thinking a lot about this. How do we as christians come across to the world? Do they see the beauty of Christ in us? In every moment are we a good reflection of Him? In a country like Spain, where less than 2 percent of the people are christians, we need to be that light to them!
I´m still thinking a lot of this through, and am nowhere close to an answer. I am also trying to process thoughts from my visit to Africa...I guess this all goes to say, there is more to come! God is Good and I continue to witness His wonders everyday that I spend here. I am truly blessed!!!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
HoT fIsH...
This past week was probably one of the most interesting weeks of my life. I was accident prone, hit the language barrier head on, and was curious to learn the life of a Spaniard.
The week began with one of the best church services I have ever been in. I walked away so encouraged and just full of joy! The worship lasted an hour and a half, with a list of songs projected on the wall. Various people in the congregation would shout out a number and the entire church would begin to sing. During this time as well, people would stand and share what God has been doing in their lives. It was neat to reflect alongside these people about all the good that God has done.
From there we went on a scavenger hunt all around the city of Sevilla. We walked altogether about 15 miles that day. It took hours, but they were hours full of laughter and joy and me tripping over everything! Which in turn brings me to the fact that I sprained my ankle, but it will be okay! I have faith in that!
Wednesday also brought around some hilarious injuries when I gave myself a black chin with the belt buckle on my coat. I laughed for awhile at myself. When I told my host mom what I had done, she laughed so hard that she had to sit down...part of that also could have been the fact that i had to reinact certain parts of the story since I don´t know all of the words in Spanish! But, esta bien!
Wednesday also brought with it a late dinner after Encuentro. It consisted of a tortilla sandwhich with veggies, a banana, and water. This was followed with left over fish and peas from lunch since I mistakenly told my Senora that I would eat them then. I went to bed with quite the stomach ache!
God definitely showed me once again that He has an amazing sense of humor! All of my mishaps have kept me on my toes, but I am doing well and adjusting at a pretty good pace.
Three things I have learned from the past week are this:
1. look down when walking instead of up, this prevents sprained ankles
2. try and avoid emergency rooms in Spain at all costs
3. acting is not my strongest point
Today begins flamenco lessons at the school. I am excited to see how this goes. It might be hard at first with a bum ankle put I take comfort in the fact that Cody hasn´t broken anything and dances worse than I do!haha I am sure that there will be some great stories to come from this class!
The week began with one of the best church services I have ever been in. I walked away so encouraged and just full of joy! The worship lasted an hour and a half, with a list of songs projected on the wall. Various people in the congregation would shout out a number and the entire church would begin to sing. During this time as well, people would stand and share what God has been doing in their lives. It was neat to reflect alongside these people about all the good that God has done.
From there we went on a scavenger hunt all around the city of Sevilla. We walked altogether about 15 miles that day. It took hours, but they were hours full of laughter and joy and me tripping over everything! Which in turn brings me to the fact that I sprained my ankle, but it will be okay! I have faith in that!
Wednesday also brought around some hilarious injuries when I gave myself a black chin with the belt buckle on my coat. I laughed for awhile at myself. When I told my host mom what I had done, she laughed so hard that she had to sit down...part of that also could have been the fact that i had to reinact certain parts of the story since I don´t know all of the words in Spanish! But, esta bien!
Wednesday also brought with it a late dinner after Encuentro. It consisted of a tortilla sandwhich with veggies, a banana, and water. This was followed with left over fish and peas from lunch since I mistakenly told my Senora that I would eat them then. I went to bed with quite the stomach ache!
God definitely showed me once again that He has an amazing sense of humor! All of my mishaps have kept me on my toes, but I am doing well and adjusting at a pretty good pace.
Three things I have learned from the past week are this:
1. look down when walking instead of up, this prevents sprained ankles
2. try and avoid emergency rooms in Spain at all costs
3. acting is not my strongest point
Today begins flamenco lessons at the school. I am excited to see how this goes. It might be hard at first with a bum ankle put I take comfort in the fact that Cody hasn´t broken anything and dances worse than I do!haha I am sure that there will be some great stories to come from this class!
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