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...}