There she was just a walkin' down the street...

Finally pictures have arrived! I know you all have been waiting soooo patiently. This was my first weekend to go to the beach [technically my second weekend in Spain]. I am with my host mom, Albi. The waves were pretty wicked this day. This was a fun visit because we drove 20 minutes to walk along the peer/take pictures for about 20 minutes and then hopped back in their French car. I should take a picture of that too! I got to see lots of little towns "pueblos" in the mountains. This was not a day for swimming 1) It was still 50 degrees 2) the waves were huge!!!! Surf's up ;-)


So here behind my apartment building it was snowing like crazy! For those of you who have been wanting to see what my place looks like, its just like this. The snow actually stayed on the ground in slush form, and for some reason I thought I should walk to school in my tennis shoes=bad idea. By the time classes were over, there was no snow to be found. However, seeing my host mom's face and my Lit professor's face: Priceless. They were so excited to have snow because it's so rare here and couldn't get enough of it. I was glad to have 1 snow day.



Here I am in Barcelona on my Fat Tire Bike! These are great tours that are really cheap. I was excited to have a red bike. I could have had yellow but got the color that suits me well. This day was sunny but as you can see I still needed my winter coat.





Ahh yes the Mediterranean Sea. I did take off my left shoe and sock to dip my toes into it and of coures felt it with my hands. For those of you who don't know I'm a "South paw" so I favor the left. Oh my goodness, this is just the beginning of beauty. I have several more trips planned one of which will be spent on an island. Those stories will come later. Here I discovered for lunch that I do not like blue cheese. I did have a sweet dessert though and my favorite European drink Fanta limon or Lemon Fanta as we would say in the States.

Yay! This is my lovely room. I hope you'll all notice how clean it is, and I make my bed everyday! Typically, I have the philosophy that the bed is way more comfortable when I don't make it, but I'm only here for a few months right. Notice: my favorite purse on my bed and another handmade gift which is hung on the back of my chair from someone I like to call, "MOM". I enjoy keeping my window open most days. This week has been 'colder' for them, but gorgeous for me. I keep asking myself each morning, "Am I really living in Spain and this is winter? Bring on spring!"

This weekend most of the UNI students are going hiking in the mountains on Saturday with Paula and Luna who are natives of Oviedo who we meet with each week. We'll all be staying in a hostel, and then that night we'll be dressing up 80's style for a fun filled night of dancing like it's 1999...well the 1980's you know. I can't wait to assemble my outfit and am looking forward to having some fun. Carnival/Carnaval is coming up next week on Tuesday which means class on Monday but no class Tuesday. They give us the days of like Tuesday or Wednesday, yeah I'm going to talk to them about this.

Funny thing I've noticed: When I'm waiting at cross walks people don't mind invading your personal space, especially when there is no one else waiting! I just laugh thinking, "Whew, I'm sure glad you moved an inch in front of me so you can get across the street that much quicker!" However, most people here are really laid back, and everyday is a Sunday walk for most people. I had a blast on Valentine's day hanging out with my friends from church in Gijon, which is where I'm at in the picture with my host mom. After service, they wanted to hang out at...dare I say it...Burger King. There goes my vow to not eat American food here, but don't plan on going there again since it cost about $10 for a whopper meal, and my drink was a small size! I am loving speaking Spanish more and more. My friends and I often interrupt each other saying in Spanish, "What I'm sorry I don't understand English..."It's great! ;-)

Hasta Luego...

Spanish on my mind

Hey ya'll! So as I spend more time here, I fall more in love with this culture, this language, these people, this short journey in my life, where I live "across the pond" as my dear friend has called my current location. This phrase draws me closer to all of you and reminds me of how much I love each of you and am so fourtunate to have you in my life. I am reminded each day of the "army praying for me" back home in the states thanks to K ;-)

Last week I ventured with T to the evangelical church that is only about 10 minutes from my piso/apartment. I'm realizing more and more that Spanish phrases are like the British vocabulary. Spaniards are to Brits as South Americans are to Americans as far as accents and vocabulary. Okay so we get to church, and as I'm listening to the sermon, I shed some tears. Now mind you I'm hearing this all in Spanish and God is moving me through another language. You know when you're listening to a really moving message and just feel the Holy Spirit's presence, okay now imagine that in another language. This is one of the most exilirating feelings I have ever experienced thanks to God's grace.

T and I were greeted by Seraphine who is the youth pastor who speaks English very well. However, he is being kind and will speak only in Spanish with us apart from occasion misunderstanding/mistranslations/having a deer in headlights look ;-) We also met Sally from England, Shirley from Venezuela, Luis ( the pastor), Maria del Mar (Maria of the Sea) the pastor's wife, Vicky from Ecuador, Abel from the Dominican Republic, Junior from Brazil, Niami from Oviedo, and Lydia (the pastor's daughter), along with many many more. I hope I got their countries right, but I love having some South American spanish because it is a bit more clear for me. Wednesday T and I went to Bible study which started at 830 and went til 930 but we were visiting afterwards till almost 11pm= super late dinners for us.

This weekend I knew I would be on my own for church since T and several other UNI students went to Granada. So yesterday I was busy all day with P making plans and booking flights and buses for traveling over our spring break/ semana santa which is from April 2-April 13. We will be going to London and Dublin!!!! I'll get to see where my ancestors ventured from! There is a slight chance of visiting Scotland as well, but everything is booked now. Oh yeah Platform 9 & 3/4 here we come for you Harry Potter fans.

As P and I were walking to the mall, we ran into my friend Shirley which was so cool/que guay. I forgot that we have a social night on Saturdays for chruch. I was able to hear a really moving message last night about discerning what God is speaking to me right now and was posed with the question, "What are you doing with God's direction?" Once again I was challenged and so moved to tears by the Holy Spirit. I went and took a step of faith with God holding my hand. I owe my evening to God and His provision. I had a blast and was able to communicate well with my new friends and made even more new friends last night! Iris, and George, Tony, Tisa, Seraphine's wife, etc. So we had food, fun, and watched a movie called Oh, Jeruselam, that was of course in Spanish. I'm finding that watching lots of movies in Spanish is really helping me out a lot. So apart from asking Sally, Seraphine, and his wife some questions in English, all my conversations were in Spanish!

I can't believe how God is providing for me like He provided the miracle of feeding the five thousand (Luke 10: 10-17)
17They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

I had so much fun last night and enjoyed speaking in Spanish and was encouraged by the kindness that was extended to me all evening. I enjoyed laughing and understanding more and more as I listened to different conversations. Thanks to a dear family, I learned the art of listening to multiple people talking at the same time. Now I'm learning to use this same skill but in Spanish. It is challenging for sure, and interupting is the way to talk so thanks to my upbringing (I won't say which side) I can get back into this habit. I apologize right now if I interupt you in conversation upon my return to the States. I was fortunate to have a more heartfelt conversation with Shirley last night who asked me if P is a Christian. I'm not sure if P is a Christian but know she grew up in chruch and told Shirley I want to invite P to church.

I was given a ride home with Niomi and George. I was able to converse with George once after a minor malfunction when he first spoke to me after the movie at 2:15a.m.! I was thinking,"Come on brain turn back on to Spanish!" God wanted me to understand more and converse in Spanish for a few more minutes so He allowed me the ability to talk in Spanish even at this crazy hour. He can do anything!

Jeremiah 32:17,26 (read it all!) 17"Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." 26Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah 27 "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

These are verses I am praying over this week: Psalm 119:33-37
33Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.
34Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
35Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
36Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.
37Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.

This morning when I finally went to bed my brain was working in Spanish and wouldn't turn off. This could have been due the fact I was listening to my Spanish radio on my phone. I like this perk for paying a little more for my phone. I'm actually listening to a Spanish Christian radio station right now ;-) I was really close to having a dream in Spanish last night. I think it's coming soon. Please pray about this with me. Love ya'll!

Mola mucho-sweet [for a little vocab lesson]
Oh it's getting hard to not write more of this in Spanish which a great sign.

Hasta Luego!

St. Thomas, Salsa dancing, Movies, Church

This was a shorter school week because on Wednesday we didn't have classes in honor of our patron saint, St. Thomas, who is a saint of students, according to my host mom. That day I went running with P while it was a light mizzle/drizzle. To natives, we looked funny due to the fact that we were mainly running in the streets and not parks! This city, though it's smaller than most, has some serious hills. Afterwards, we did this fun partner ab work out which left its mark on me. The next day it even hurt to laugh, but it was a good soreness. Her initial question: "So how girly are you?" My response: "Not very. Why?" What I had agreed to was this workout laying down on the wet pavement, but it was a blast. I have a huge park behind my apartment which I need to start taking advantage of so I can start running more.

That day I just curled up with a good book I'm reading which was nice. Currently, I'm working on a Bible study by Jerry Bridges called the Fruitful Life which is already revealing scriptures and truths that I need to cling to. Here are some great passages on submission which is a topic that I often need to reminded about: Colossians 3:22, 1 Peter 2:13, and Ephesians 5:21.

Here is a verse that has a get pumped up feel: Col 1:29 "I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me."

I have to share these remarks by Jerry Bridges in the first chapter. "To the qualities listed in Galations 5- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control- we can add such traits as holiness, humility, compassion, forbearance, contentment, thankfulness, considerateness, sincerity, and perseverance...This is an awesome list of character traits to pursue, and our first reaction, if we are realistic at all, is probably to say, 'I can't work on all of these.' That is indeed true, if we were left to our own devices. But these traits are the fruit of the Spirit, the result of His work within us. This means not that we bear no responsibility for the development of Christian character but rather that we fulfill our responsibility under His direction and by His enablement."

Get ready to have your socks knocked off...ready? Are you sure because you look a little nervous? Okay, so I went salsa dancing on Thursday night! Dude it was sweet and so freeing to just let go and step out to try something new. Now I'm obviously still learning the basics, but it was so much fun and a work out. Sadly the floor was super slick so that made dancing a bit difficult. Please continue to pray for my classmates who are indulging in too much drinking. I love them dearly and am praying that they will see that there is "more to life than chasing down every temporary high", this is from a contemporary Christian artist, Stacie, Orrico.
Friday night I went over to T's house to watch a movie in Spanish which is good practice for learning how to say common phrases and for listening. This weekend I have been watching Zoey 101 in Spanish which is pretty funny. Yesterday I went exploring with T to find the Evangelical church which is conviently right in between our apartments. So far we have 3 of us going to the service tonight at 630pm which would be around the time most of you will be getting out of service for the morning. I've had a pretty laid back week. So you know how it was raining all day on Wednesday...well sunny with a high of 68 on Thursday and Friday! I walked to school with my t-shirt soaking up some vitamin D. Temperatures have gone back down for us which means the 50s ;-)
I know you all are waiting patiently for pictures, and I promise they are coming, but I still need to clear some memory space on my computer. I'm actively seeking out my classmates for some assistance. I do now have a card reader to put my pictures on here though so that's great.

This week's prayer request: Loving my classmates where they are at, seeking God as my hope, strength, and assurance, reviewing Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, and getting a conversation partner this week [This would be a Spanish student from the univeristy who would meet with me each week to speak in Spanish].

Some insight and wisdom for you who are univeristy students: Take compassion on the international students at your university. Reach out to them. Invite them to stuff. Being an international student, I know the longing to be included in the culture I'm living in, wanting to know the slang, wanting to make friends who speak the language, and just wanting someone to reach out to me. Thank you for reaching out to men and women from around the world and seeing God's heart for the nations. He created the world, not just the United States. Do you see how He is brining parts of the world to you? Love them. Reach out.

Mat 7:13	"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Mat 7:14	But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

John 14:27 My peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Hasta luego...
God's Servant