Fiestas y Mas Fiestas

    As I reflect on my time in Spain, I can't help but feel joyful and thankful to God for all that he has taught me and done for me. A couple of weeks ago, a guest speaker at the villa brought important reminders to my mind. He actually encapsulated what I love about this team in a single statement. He said, "I've noticed that you all just love parties! We had a party last night, there's a party tonight, and there are two more later this week!" I had been thinking about that a couple days before when a friend and I were talking about it. But, when the speaker said it aloud, a feeling of thankfulness to be a part of the team came suddenly. I was proud that we love parties. We love celebrations. We love coming together to share meals and celebrate each other. I think that's how it should be! Because the Lord celebrates over us. I was reminded that the Lord loves celebrations. The parties throughout the week were my going away party with the Spanish class students, the Christmas/ goodbye party with the English students, a going away party for a friend who will begin her D-school soon, a birthday party for a different friend, and my going away party at the house with friends. Wow. Lots of things going on that week! 

    I was amazed by how many gifts I received at these parties. Gifts from students and friends. Such kind people and gestures. During the party with the Spanish classes, I was given a few meaningful gifts from another volunteer teacher at the center, including a seashell from Torremolinos with my name on it. After I was given these gifts, one of the students there felt moved to give me her ring from her collection as a gift. I was so surprised and honored. At the end of our Christmas/ end-of-semester party, my students brought me a couple of presents for me to open. I opened a few things like a mug, a planner, and tiny decorative winter tree, but my favorite of all their gifts was the framed collage of some pictures we took together. It was so thoughtful for everyone to give me gifts. I feel so appreciated. 

Opening my gifts from my students

    My friends who were living at the villa with me threw a going away party for me. It was a different kind of party, but it was my kind of party. I thought it was perfect for me, especially for the time. I had spent all day packing to come back home, so I appreciated how relaxed, yet fun the party was. It felt like another day at the villa, but more focused on me. We played some games, had dinner, and ice cream together. It was such a simply sweet time that I'll always remember. My party was perfect. perfect for me. the time. the people. Me alegro. But... yeah, should've gone to bed earlier. But it's okay. I made it to the airport on time the next morning.

   I'll conclude this last post with a few updates... My friend who was in a tough situation now has her passport! She had lost her purse and when she got it back, she found her passport inside it! Yes! We are so thankful! Another thing is that I will be teaching English at the UA English Language Institute starting this next January. I'm so excited to meet the students and start something new! 

    My time in Spain was so so sweet. And the last week was fun. It made me happy that my friends there were intentionally creating some last memories together. Goodbyes were difficult... there were no tears until the plane. I sat on the plane with tears streaming down my face as I thought about the sweet friends I was leaving. I'm going to miss these people. but I'm so thankful for this time and excited for what's next. I know that God will continue to mold me and pursue me. Thank you! thank you for reading and praying. 

    And now I've been soaking up the times I've had to spend with friends and family in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Northport, and Pensacola. I've loved being with my Josiah again. I missed him a lot. He's sweet. I've also loved spending time with Luker. Yeah, my brother, Luke... I don't know why I always call him Luker... but I missed spending time with him. He's awesome. And makes me laugh a lot. 

A Saturday morning with my sweet Josiah.

Breakfast with Luke!

Well, here's the end of my adventures in Spain. I might continue to write... I don't know. What do you think? Dime. Let me know what ya think in the comments. 

Oh, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

~Kthnxbai!

Prayer Requests

    Hola! Today I am simply going to post some prayer requests. We had a heavy intercession meeting this past week. We all had a lot on our mind. Anxieties, situations, doubts and struggles. So, I'm going to share some of our burdens... I'd appreciate it if you can be praying for our team. 

• A friend on our team has been stopped in her travelling because of document issues. We are all praying for a miracle so she can get out of the situation. She doesn't have family close to her to help. 

• The D-school is dealing with a change in future travel plans. This has been hard for the staff and students, especially for a couple who had hoped and expected to be going to the country they call home. 

• I have had mixed and emotions about the end of my time here. A lot of goodbyes and reflections have been weighing on me.

Thank you for reading & praying. : ) I hope to see and be with some of you all very soon! I will be back in the United States this next Saturday! 

~Kthnxbai! 

Da gracias en todo. Giving thanks in everything.

Hola a todos!! What's something interesting you've learned this past week? Today, I leaned that the average life span of an olive tree is 800 years. Whoa. That's amazing! Comenta lo que has aprendido. I'd love to see in the comments! 

    I've always loved that there is a certain holiday and season for being thankful. I've really enjoyed making a list of things I'm thankful for. But this Thanksgiving was different. It was different for several reasons. I wasn't with my family. I was in Spain. I tried new foods (and a drink) from other countries. But being thankful hit me differently this year. I reflected on the challenge of being thankful to the Lord in all things, rather than being thankful for certain things. 

    In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us that God's will for us in Christ Jesus is to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. Whoa. That's kinda crazy. Give thanks in all circumstances?? Even the difficult ones? Even the ones that we'd rather not go through?? Yes. Even those. But why? We talked about why a few days ago at church... 

-Our faith does not depend on our circumstances. 

-Philippians 4:6-7 tells us that we can find peace when we bring our anxiety to the Lord and exchange it for thanksgiving. Trae paz y descanso. 

-We can recognize our need for the Lord when we give thanks to him in everything. 

-It humbles us.

-It makes us depend on Jesus more. 

-It helps us to fix our eyes on the One who is faithful. The One who is constant. 

"So, I'll give thanks to God when I don't have enough

Because he's more than enough"

"I'll Give Thanks" by Housefires

~Kthnxbai!

Miércoles

  Hola! I'm back! I took a week off from writing as I was getting sick... I seem to be taking breaks when sick. That's been good... to rest every now and then. So needed. Anyway, a fun question... what is the latest movie that you loved watching? I haven’t watched a movie in a while, but I’m excited to be watching one of my favorites tonight, so movies are on my mind. I think my recent favorite would be Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3. Let me know in the comments what your recent favorite is!

 There's something about Wednesdays... I used to love them. I think that might have been from high school through my undergraduate years of college. It's the middle of the week, so I thought, "Yes, I've made it halfway through the week!" And I had church at night, so I always looked forward to praising the Lord in community in the middle of the busyness of the week. But then, I hated them when I started grad school because I had a super long class that I did not look forward to during the first two semesters. In this season of my life, I've been nervous about Wednesdays because they're very long and unpredictable, with classes to teach and transportation to rely on. But God has been teaching me through the Wednesdays that I can walk confidently and joyfully when I fix my eyes on Him, no matter what day it is. 

    Two Wednesdays ago, there were two surprises in store for me. Una mala sorpresa. Y una buena. I had hoped to get a ride from some friends who were going in a different direction but could get me close to where I teach. There was communication and confusion, so I ended up waiting for the bus. When I realized that was the plan, I got really nervous because I've had many bad experiences with the bus system here. It's not very reliable. This time, it was actually partly my fault because I had not known that you have to wave the bus down if you want it to stop for you. ... okay, well noted for next time. Once I realized that my bus had passed and wouldn't be back for a while, I frantically sent in a message to the team that I need to teach my Spanish class in thirty minutes... "help! Can someone please drive me?" And someone came to the rescue soon! A friend from the team! Thank you, Lord! Then the second surprise came when I finished teaching my first class. Another volunteer teacher came into my classroom to say hello. She calls me "vecina" because we teach in classrooms that are adjacent to each other, and we can see each other through the window. She said she'd love to have coffee with me one day and asked if I had any plans for that afternoon. I said that would be a great time. She had me over at her apartment where she had snacks, tea, and coffee set up for us. I got to learn about her and her family. She has eight children! Wow! I asked her what her favorite thing about having a big family is and, without hesitation, she said, "Lo que Dios ha hecho." She loves seeing God work through her family. I was amazed at her love and passion for God, that she sees Him in everything. Even though the day started with a disappointing surprise, I was pleasantly surprised to be spending time with my friend at her place. 

    This past Wednesday was very special... yet ordinary too. I began and ended the day by looking to God and saying, "okay, this is what I have for you. Today. Let it be for your glory." It was so fun because I got to have lunch with my students from my English class. I had Georgian food for the first time. It felt like home for one of the students from the country of Georgia, which was so neat. I was so glad that she got to share her culture with us. I felt that the Lord really was leading our conversations there in the restaurant. It was as if the Holy Spirit was sitting there at the table with us. We talked about Christmas, religion, and relationships. I'm so thankful for this time that we had to be together and enjoy good food. Next, I had to figure out how to get from Torremolinos to Alhaurín de la Torre, where I live. So, get to the bus stop and wait... the bus wasn't on time... it was around 8 minutes late, but hey! It came! Hallelujah! And then I had to get off at a stop to get on a different bus that would take me home. And guess what! It came and I got on sin problema! It was about 15 minutes late... but still, it came! I was so happy. I was walking down the street to the house, singing and praising the Lord for this miracle. It seemed kinda silly, but it really did feel like a miracle, considering the past few weeks of bus mishaps. 

We loved the decorations in the restaurant. Our Georgian friend explained some of the pictures and objects on the walls.

This is khachapuri, bread filled and topped with cheese. And we also tried khinkali, which are twisted knobs of dough, filled with meat, onion, and spices. They are similar to dumplings. 

Chocolate cake para el postre!

I got a mint tea as we continued to sit and talk, and this awesome mug kept the tea very hot, but the outside safe to touch.

The beautiful sunset as I transferred buses. 

    Reflecting on all this that night, I realized that my excitement and joy from the amazing Wednesday was because I had fixed my eyes on Jesus and kept them there. It wasn't a perfect day, but I held on tight for the unexpected and unknown and prayed for him to guide me. I praised him throughout the day, and it sustained me. Things have been an up and down kind of crazy here. But I've found that the key is focusing on the One who never changes. The One who is trustworthy. And always worthy of our praise. I think of Hebrews 13:8 because it is the truth that I should keep at the forefront of my mind. It says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." I love that I can depend on Him to be constant while everything else is unpredictable. 

~Kthnxbai!

La Gracia de Dios

    Hey! I hope you are doing well! This week's question is: If you could time travel, would you rather travel to the past or to the future? Let me know in the comments! Me encantaría. I'd love to hear from you. : )

    Last Thursday, I took a train to the past, back to Toledo, where I studied Spanish and encountered God's glory and the city's rich history. This weekend, I've really enjoyed being able to slow down and walk around, soaking in the nostalgia and surprises of things that have changed. I also loved spending time with friends from many years ago. We got to "ponernos al día", telling each other about how our lives have been through the years and how we are doing now. And undercurrent throughout this trip and the week has been an ongoing conversation about the importance of our faith in God's grace for us. 

    

    A few days before I left for Toledo, I had a suddenly deep conversation on the phone with my friend, Alvaro, who is from Bargas, the city just outside Toledo. We discussed how faith is more important than works. We've both seen how tradition and works can blind people from the true motivation and intention of having faith. The routine can easily make it seem like it is simply something that is done, but not with a real reason within the heart. Many people in Spain who practice Catholicism have fallen into this routine of going through the motions for tradition's sake. It is better to seek after faith in God's grace rather than to reach for the standard of earning salvation. 

    My friend, Ana, and I got to spend some time together last night. We had met in 2019 through a bible study I joined here in Toledo. She got married this year and has a new job! Throughout our conversations, she said a couple of times that I was asking a lot of deep questions. I tend to do that... especially when I haven't seen someone in such a long time! I was curious about how she likes her new job and what she's learned about marriage lately. One of the questions that got a really interesting answer was about how she came to know Jesus for the first time. She mentioned that she came to know him through a bible study similar to the one in Toledo. I asked her what it was about Jesus that made her want to follow him and know him more. La gracia. It's the grace of God. She said that she had never known anything like it. It truly is an amazing gift. What makes it so amazing and exciting is that we don't deserve it. We never could. But Jesus meets us where we are and offers us eternal life through faith in him. A free gift? Yes, please! Sign me up! 

    Oh, but it might not actually be that easy. Hay que arrepentirte. We have to surrender our lives to Christ. Repent. Meaning to make a 180 degree turn and live in a way that honors God. I was reminded of this hard truth this morning at La Iglesia Cristiana Presbiteriana. That is the same church I went to four years ago. I was so glad to be able to go this morning. I got to say hello to many old friends and I was delighted to be in the Lord's presence, praising his holy name. The sermon was about salvation in grace alone, by faith. We aren't given salvation because of good works, but al revés. It's the opposite; We ought to do good things because of our salvation through grace alone. It is essentially putting our faith in action. Paul writes about this very thing in Ephesians 2:10, but I encourage you to read all of the verses that come before it too. Trust me, you won't regret it. En ellos hay buenas nuevas. You'll find such good news in these verses. In the end of this passage, it says, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do so." An exciting thing here is that God prepared us for this! We are not alone. We are not left to our own strength. Hallelujah!

I thought it was neat that I could (sort of) see the church from here. It's a little bit past that white and black modern looking building in the middle.  

    When I was walking through town back to the fundación to write this post, I kept saying to God, "Hallelujah!" Praise the Lord! Do you know that's what the word means in Hebrew? I actually had such a neat conversation about going back to the Hebrew meaning of words with a man who owns an organic lavender shop! It was such a cool thing. A God thing! I started to share that I follow Jesus and trust in him, and then he said, "Me too!" He said that when he talks to the Lord, he uses the name, "Yahweh," because it's going back to the roots. Back to how Jesus spoke to the Jews about the Lord. We then talked about how we are all in need of Jesus and his grace. I thought this timing was incredible because I had just finished thinking about this from the sermon an hour or two before. It's neat to see what kind of doors God will open if you allow him to... sometimes those doors can be conversations about God's great grace. 

Outside the Lavender store.

Looking up from the streets in Toledo.

Plantas! Me encantan! : )

    Hallelujah! For we don't have to strive for our own salvation anymore. Ya no tenemos que laborar para nuestra salvación. Hallelujah! For our Creator is holy and perfect. Hallelujah! For He is always good and kind to us. He is faithful. Hallelujah! Because I got to meet with my friend, Alvaro, and meet his family. It was fun to spend time with them and take part in the sobremesa with tea and coulant, also known as lava cake. Hallelujah! Because I got to spend time with Ana at a cute Arabic tea shop. Hallelujah! Because His timing is perfect, He is faithful, and His love and grace is great! הללויה

Lava cake! We learned that if you want Álvaro and to Fabián to bring the dessert so that the chocolate filling runs down the middle, you have to make sure they heat it up for at least a minute and a half. Pero, no pasa nada. It tasted great anyway. 

On a beautifully sunny walk back from the church

~Kthnxbai! (Okay, that's all for now. Thank you for reading. Bye! I'll see ya next week!) 

{Also, you might notice that I did a bit of what the TESOL field calls translanguaging... I hope I did it alright...}

Alabanza... en una diferente manera

    Hello! This week's question is one of this/ that. Pumpkin spice or apple cinnamon? It's a hard one for me... both? Is that an option? Yeah, it is. It's my question, so I'll allow it. X D 

   God spoke to me about different things about what worship really is through times of worship and the lectures for the discipleship training school. Worship is usually the time in a church service with music and singing, but God desires for us to know that it is so much more than that. At its core, worship is adoration, sacrifice, and obedience. 

    One of the sweetest things about the past few weeks has been our times of worship. I've realized that I have been more present than ever before in group worship settings. I think it's really neat the way that we spontaneously praise the Lord and pray to Him. I've been doing this a bit too, which is not normal for me. I usually stick with the expectations of singing the lyrics on the screen and I think a lot about what people might think about me. But I've been letting go more and letting the praise flow from my heart, from my knowledge and experience of the faithfulness of my good Father. It is such a precious thing to adore the One who sustains us. He is so worthy of all praise. 

God's awesomeness and power... I see it every morning and every night on the front porch of the villa. The incredible sunrises and sunsets. And I think, "wow, God. You created all of this."

    When I walked into lecture this week, I was surprised that we talked about the responsibilities of a priest. The connection wasn't very clear to me at first, but then I began to understand that worship involves sacrifice. When we worship God, there is something that we give up. My friend said at the end of the week that, "worship always involves sacrifice." This could simply be our time. Putting aside the things on our to-do list to sit and praise the Lord. Or our comfort. Maybe someone is not very comfortable talking about Jesus in conversations or singing around people. Worship is stepping out of the comfort zone to bring honor to Christ's name. 

    "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying, 'Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.'" 2 Chronicles 2:21 This was one of the passages we read as examples of people in the bible worshipping God. 

    Our last time discussing worship ended in a couple of videos and encouragements to pursue a lifestyle of missions. I was a little thrown off by the fact that many of the speaker's lectures were related to missions and following your calling to go to the ends of the earth to share the gospel, but as I think more about it, it actually fits. This seemingly unrelated topic is the result of saying "yes" to what God calls us to do. Worship is obedience. When we praise his name and sacrifice our own desires for him, the end result in obedience. But before we come to the point where we act in obedience, we first have to sit in awe of who he is... his holiness and grandeur. His power, yet gentleness. His kindness and mercy. Out of this awe of him flows obedience, knowing that He has the best plans in mind.  

    While it's important to recognize sacrifice and obedience as a part of worship just as adoration is, it is also important to know that music is not have to be the only way to take part in worshipping the Savior. We have a time here called "processing time" here at the discipleship training school. This past week's time was a creative outlet to express how the Lord has spoken to us. As we were creating and processing, we were worshipping the Lord, responding to his nature and character by meditating on his word, writing scripture, and drawing symbols that remind us of his love. It is good to know that we can worship in different ways. Because not everyone is musically gifted, or even comfortable singing and playing instruments. 

This is worship. Making pumpkin muffins to share with friends on a Sunday morning when I had originally planned to use the mix from home for myself.

This is worship. reflecting on God's goodness through painting, drawing, writing, and making a collage.

~Kthnxbai! (That's all, thank you for reading! And I'll see you again next week... to tell you about my weekend in Toledo! : D)

Found in Translation

    Hey! So, one thing I'd love for this blog is some interaction. It would make me feel more connected to home. So, I'm going to start with a fun question that you can respond to in the comment section! You could also respond to whatever I'm writing about if you'd like. Where is your favorite beach? We went to the beach on Saturday unexpectedly. I had a though that I think that was the most fun that I'd ever had at the beach without being very prepared... I was in jeans and sneakers! But I was with good company. Anyway, I think of that question because the beach on the Mediterranean shore is quite different from what I'm used to on the Atlantic and Gulf shores. So, which beach that you've been to is your favorite? 

.....

    At the beginning of this adventure in Spain, I was asked to translate for a couple of speakers who are coming to teach for the discipleship school that is happening here. I said that I would do it and thought that it sounded like a great opportunity to serve. This past week, I got to translate for a speaker for a Brazil, but also for a couple of other occasions, such as the kids' day care at a conference we helped with. I enjoyed the times I had to translate but also learned a few important things throughout these times. 

The evening view from the villa

    When I took a class on bilingualism about a year ago, I learned about just how much of a special ability translating and interpreting require. Knowing both languages fluently is often not enough to successfully interpret for a long period of time. You need to be able to know a wide vocabulary in both languages and to be quick to think and speak before the next phrase is to be said. This made me a bit nervous about translating, but I actually really enjoyed being the bridge between the communicator and the listeners. I liked searching for the right word in the moment that fits what the communicator is likely trying to say. There is also something about being able to hear the message and understand it before anyone else can, especially in the case of the speaker from Brazil. The speaker taught on intercessory prayer last week. I got to interpret a few of her stories of how God put this passion on her heart and how he used her to speak to people in her community. I felt so honored to be able to hear these amazing stories firsthand and to be of help so that the listeners could understand her teachings. 

    While it was fun to interpret, it was also a struggle at times. A staff member came to me one day last week and asked if he could "borrow me for translation". I had no idea why or what for, but I said sure, quickly asked God for wisdom and the right words, and walked with him outside. There were two guys by their van with a bunch of fire extinguishers on the ground, some of which were still in their boxes. I ended up being the mediator between the staff member and the security company that sold equipment like fire extinguishers (I honestly don't know what you would actually call that.) It went well overall, but there were a couple of times when I responded with, "... Como? Puedes repetirlo?" He spoke so fast and with an unfamiliar accent that I couldn't keep up well. The last lecture I interpreted for involved a lot of scripture. Because of that, I realized that it is hard for me to interpret multiple numbers at a time. Sometimes, she would say a reference and I'd interpret the sentence involving the scripture and ask what the reference was. Even though that was difficult to do, it was nice to have a couple of Spanish speakers in the room to help me out. 

    Through the help of other people and words of encouragement, I was reminded of how sweet the community around me is. After the first lecture that I interpreted for, many people thanked me for interpreting and said that I did a great job. That was so kind of them, and I'd even say it was helpful because I was nervous about it before. I also got to translate for my friend from the Netherlands and a new friend from Brazil. As the Brazilian and I spoke Spanish with me, my Dutch roommate walked up to say hello. I was the bridge between the two because my roommate doesn't speak Spanish, and our new friend doesn't speak English. We were all glad to meet each other and have a fun conversation. My friend from Brazil was very thankful that I could help. It was also neat that we continued to have conversations as she joined the kitchen team to wash the dishes from our coffee break. 

    This was definitely a cool theme of my past week. It was so neat that I got to learn, struggle, and enjoy interpreting for different situations. Interpreting for the kids we were teaching and taking care of for the weekend was something special. I mostly translated the story of Esther while the kids drew a scene from the story, and then again while we sat on the beach. Most of the kids were bilingual in English and Spanish, but a couple of them only spoke Spanish. Since the leader was more confident telling the bible story in her native language, I interpreted the phrases she'd say in English. I realized this was special to me as we prayed for God to move and speak to the children. I'm so glad that we were able to go and serve because they might remember a few things they learned about God's immense love for them this weekend and hold on to it for their salvation. 

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Romans 8:26

I think of this verse because we talked about this verse a lot when discussing prayer. But also, it reminds me that the Spirit helps me, even with translation.

~Kthnxbai!