{Christmas}

It's been interesting being in a different country for Christmas. Although there are some decorations around the city and our church is doing advent, it's just not the same as America. For once in my life I'm actually wanting to hear Christmas music everywhere I go. So needless to say, I've been frequenting Starbucks a lot to get that "Christmas feel" and also listening to Christmas music at my house all the time too. And I've decorated our apartment a little for Christmas- we had a few things already here, so I just kinda worked with what we had. I do miss having a real Christmas tree though and the house smelling like evergreen! I think that is my favorite part of Christmas...well besides celebrating Jesus's birth of course!

I have been reminded lately though that Christmas isn't about the decorations or music or family or food, but it's about Jesus!! And although a part of me misses all the extra stuff, a part of me is very excited just to be here on Christmas and really enjoy and delight in Jesus and his birth!! I think it will be a great time just to read the Christmas story and dwell on the miracle of Christmas! What a true miracle and gift...that the God of the Universe would humble himself by coming to earth as a child in order to save His lost and hurting creation!

So these are a few of our Christmas decorations...Christmas cards from friends and family at home, red candles, and a few homemade construction paper Christmas trees.

This is our little Christmas tree that we had at the house and all the "ornaments" were just found around our house...a little ribbon, some mini Christmas cards, and a few balls. We also had a Christmas party with the students and played Dirty Santa, which they didn't really understand the purpose is to steal presents from other people. They said it was mean to steal presents from others...haha I guess they were being more "Christian" than we were!

For Christmas, Lauren and I got to go to Paris to hang out with some other Journeymen that we know there. It was a great time just to be with fellow believers and friends, seeing a new city and enjoying each other's fellowship. For Christmas, we went to one American family's house and had a big lunch and dinner with lots of American food! At their house, there were about 10 or 15 Americans who live all over the world. We played games, built gingerbread houses, and just had a great time together! It was a really good Christmas for not being able to be at home.

This was a really beautifully decorated building in Paris! I think it's the most beautiful Christmas light arrangement I've ever seen!

Eiffel Tower of course! And well, these are all my pictures from Paris because I'm horrible at remembering to take pictures and frankly just quite lazy. Pictures can never really do things justice either, so I just recommend that all of you go to Paris yourself to experience the beauty!

{Touring Seville}

After being here for two months, I finally got to be a tourist in Sevilla this weekend. It was a big holiday weekend, and I had a friend come visit from Salamanca. She wanted to do all the touristy stuff, so it was a great excuse for me to do it all too. Sevilla is a very historic city with lots of Arabic influence due to its acquisition by the Moors. It was also a famous port city due to its navigable river the Guadalquivir and its close proximity to the Mediterranean.

This is the awesome river walk next to the Guadalquivir river. It's filled with cafes, boat docks, palm trees, and people roller-blading or walking! I always love running here because it's got such a beautiful view. This is probably one of my favorite places to be in the city!

These are the beautiful Arabic tiles that cover the rooms of the castle in Sevilla. The castle was built by the Moors when they had control of Spain, so the architecture and design is all Arabic and extremely unique.

Above is a fountain located in the gardens of the castle. These gardens are definitely a hidden treasure located in the center of the city.

This is the Torre de Oro that means Tower of Gold. It is where the Spaniards stored all their gold from their many worldwide expeditions. It is situated right next to the river so they could easily transport the gold from the ships.
This is the main cathedral in the center of the city. Its huge tower is known as La Giralda.

This is the Plaza de España where part of the first Star Wars movie was filmed. It is actually much larger than this, and so large that my camera cannot even capture the entire thing. There is a little mote that goes around the whole building and people can rent boats and paddle around in it.

{Retreat}

In November, we took a weekend spiritual retreat with some students. We left Sevilla, and went to a small town a few hours away. It was a great time of worship, Bible study, fellowship, and rest. We played games, watched movies, went hiking, got lost at night while hiking, and ate a lot! But most of all we were there to spend time together learning more about God, encouraging one another as brothers and sisters, and also sharing more with our non-believing friend. It was so cool to see how the Lord opened her heart to ask questions, participate in skits about the Bible, and even sing worship songs!! She really saw who we are as believers and heard more of the truth about Jesus and the new life He wants to give us!

All the guys on the retreat. They were always keeping us entertained!

Our whole group sitting on top of a castle! This was the most beautiful view of the entire area.

On the trail, we found some berries that we could eat, and they were pretty tasty!

All the boys making our lunches before heading off to hike...not the best idea as we ended up with a lot of crazy combinations such as ham and ketchup sandwiches! Yuck!

All of the girls! We had one Spanish girl, Lluvia, come with us on the retreat and it was a great time of learning for her! She has heard the gospel before this trip but during the retreat we had a lot of time to share with her more about God and answer some of her questions. She has recently been coming to church with us and meeting with us to read the Bible together.

{Hiking Trip}

Saturday, November 6, we went hiking with a group of university students we know from English Club, Connexxion, and other means. We went to a nearby National Park that provided a pretty good hike, but wasn't necessarily the most beautiful place I have ever hiked. It was still really fun though and did offer some great views and amazing fellowship!! We had some great discussions about the Lord and his beautiful creation and how He uses creation to reveal Himself to us. Nature is something I love so much, and every time I am outdoors, I am so filled with joy and love for God! I can't help much worshipping Him and thanking Him endlessly for all He has done and continues to do for me!

Our entire hiking group!
The only fall looking trees I've seen in Spain.

Me, Lauren, and Maggie are loving it!!

Beautiful waterfall and cave we went to!
The waterfall.
The gorgeous pond at the bottom of the waterfall.

The cave!!

{Germany}

I recently got the opportunity to go to Germany for a week. We went for a Connexxion conference in Braunschweig, Germany. Connexxion is the Christian university group that I work with. It was started in Jena, Germany, and since spread to other campuses in Germany and to Sevilla, Spain. This conference was for Christian students and student workers to come and gain more insight into student ministry ideas, evangelism, and discipleship! This week was an absolute blast and a needed time of refreshment. Although I had only been in Spain for a month before going to Germany, I really needed this time to get away and be with other believers! It was a great time of encouragement for me personally! I got the opportunity to meet so many Germany students who became Christians during their university years and hear their testimonies. It was a very encouraging time to see that the ministry in Germany had not always been full of Christians, but that God had worked and saved many and He can and will do the same here in Spain!

This trip was also just fun to experience Germany! I really loved it a lot because of the history, beautiful architecture, people, food, cold weather, and fall!!! The fall in Germany is beautiful and reminds me so much of home! I was really missing fall because in Sevilla, we don't really have one. Fall is my favorite time of year, so I was grateful to have a week to experience it in Germany. It was also so cool to see everyone riding bikes everywhere and definitely made me want to get a bike in Spain to start riding around. The food was also INCREDIBLE!!!! Seriously, everything I ate I loved and I would totally go back to Germany just for the food! It was also just nice to be around people who look like me! Here in Spain, sometimes I feel so out of place and awkward because I don't look Spanish. Sometimes I just want to go somewhere and not look foreign and not have people staring at me! So it was wonderful to be in Germany and not draw any attention to myself by the way I look...because I'm extremely white and could totally be German. I even had a lot of people start speaking to me in German because they thought I was!

Me and Lauren with our headphones on listening to the translators at the conference.
My teammates, Lauren, Hendrik, Maggie, and our beautiful piece of Connexxion artwork.Beautiful architecture in Braunschweig, Germany.
One of the best meals I've ever had! Schnitzel!!
Me and Lauren exploring Braunschweig.
German students who I met at the Connexxion conference...such great people!

Beautiful Germany fall.

{Berlin Adventures}

The adventure in Berlin actually began in Malaga, Spain, as Lauren and I sprinted through the Malaga airport to get to our gate before the plane left. We kept hearing "last call" over the intercom for our flight even though it was still 30 minutes before the flight left. We sprinted about 100 yards or more to get to our gate in time, and of course when we arrived there was still a long line to board. But this madness was just the beginning of a very interesting and fun night in Berlin.

We arrived in Berlin at 5:30pm and only had 10 hours to spend in the city because our train to Braunschweig (our ultimate destination in Germany) left at 4am. We went to the train station to put our suitcase in a locker then attempted to figure out what to do in Berlin. We were asking for help but all the Germans we asked hardly spoke English yet they still thought they could help us. We said we didn't speak any Germany but they continued to tell us everything in German. It was very humorous and frustrating, but somehow we managed to get a metro ticket and get on a metro headed to the city.

While on the metro, we were still trying to figure out where we were headed and what metro stop we needed to get off at. We talked for about 10 minutes before we asked the two men sitting beside us if either of them spoke english. Of course they were both fluent in English and had been listening to us the whole time, but not offered to help until we asked. After meeting them we just prayed that God would continue to give us people in Berlin to help us see the city. But his idea of help was much bigger than we had imagined!

While running from one metro to catch another, I passed this guy who heard me say to Lauren "I hope this metro is right." Lauren and I jumped on the metro right before the doors closed and the guy running beside me was on it too. He began talking to us (in English...PTL) and asked us what we were doing. We said we were just in Berlin for the night and trying to figure out where to go and what to do. His name is Gustavo and he was very friendly! He was from Brazil but had lived in Germany for a year and a half. He offered to show us around the whole city, so we said yes because we thought he was our answered prayer from God [below].

Gustavo showed us everything we wanted to see in Berlin!! And he told us so much history behind the city and the war. Gustavo even showed us monuments and buildings in Berlin we had no idea were there. He said that it had always been his dream to give tours to people around Berlin, but he had never met anyone to give them to until he met us. And we told him that he was an answered prayer from God. We told him that earlier in the night we prayed for God to give us someone in Berlin to help us, and that God answered our prayer by allowing us to meet him. This definitely caught his attention and opened up many opportunities to talk about God with him. Later in the night, we got the opportunity to share the gospel with him, and we had a very good discussion about how what we believe is different from what most "religious" Christians believe.

This is the Brandenburg Gate that was an entry point between East and West Berlin.

This is part of the Berlin wall that still stands today.

Gustavo took us to this really cool abandoned building that had been occupied by artists and musicians. Every floor of the building had a different art exhibit, and some floors had musicians or merchants selling jewelry. The outside was also really cool because there was a huge sculpture garden [below] and fire pits and tents and tables.

Gustavo was such a blessing to have that night, and he even came with us to get our luggage then took us to the train station we were going to leave from at 4am. Without his help, we probably would not have seen half as much of Berlin as we did. He was absolutely an answered prayer, and Lauren and I were blown out of the water at how amazingly God provided for us that night! Please continue to pray for Gustavo and his salvation!

{A Few Interesting Stories}

So naturally, being in a foreign country will lend itself to some funny and interesting stories of which I am not lacking in the least bit. So the first very interesting thing that happened to me actually occurred last summer. While flying home from Madrid, I happened to sit by this Kung Fu team from Sevilla. I began talking to these two guys sitting by me, Erasto [back] and Pedro [next to me]. We talked for about 5 hours and I told them I may be moving back to Spain this year...although at that time I thought I would be in Madrid. Sevilla was not even on my radar!! So we ended up swapping emails and talking a little during the year. In March, I found out I was moving to Sevilla, so I immediately emailed them!! Since I got here, we've been hanging out some and they have come to a lot of our Connexxion activities. Definitely NOT a coincidence that I met them last summer and now I live here. This is something only God could do, so please pray that we continue hanging out and God works in their lives!

So another funny foreigner story. In Spain, when you greet people and say goodbye to them you kiss them on both cheeks. So one night we were watching a movie at my apartment with some students and after, Danny and I [the guy next to me below], began talking. The conversation was kind of ending and he leaned in to me a little, so I assumed he was coming to kiss me to say goodbye. I leaned in and gave him two kisses then he backed away really quickly, looked very confused, and said "Why did you do that?" I told him I thought he was leaving, and he just started laughing and said, "No, I was just reaching for my bag." Everyone in the room saw and started laughing, and of course I felt so stupid for kissing him for no reason. Well, at least I'm learning the customs here!

Another night, we were in town and went to Starbucks to grab some coffee. So it's fall and in America I always get pumpkin spice lattes, so naturally I assumed Spain would have them too. I walked up to the counter and confidently asked for a pumpkin spice latte. The lady just stared at me like I had just asked if they had octopus. So I looked at my friend and asked what the word for pumpkin was in Spanish. He told me, so I proceeded to tell the lady. She began laughing at me, and acted like I was crazy for asking this! Come to find out that pumpkin spice lattes DO NOT exist in Europe and once again felt like a foreigner...oh wait, that's because I am! I'm grateful though that now I've got a treasure chest full of embarrassing stories to share the next time someone asks me about the most embarrassing moment in my life.

So Germans are known for being very blunt apparently and telling you exactly what they think. I think I would fit in well in Germany because I'm typically a very blunt person also. Anyways, one day at the conference I recently attended in Braunschweig, Germany, I was talking with this guy, Sebastian. We were talking about fast food and how Americans are known for being overweight. Then he looked at me and said, "I was really surprised when I found out you were an American because you are so skinny." Haha I guess this was a compliment?! [Sebastian and me below]

More to come I'm sure!

{A Little Time Alone}

So the second week I was living alone because my partner Lauren hasn't come yet and the two German women helping with the "Week of Welcoming" had left. I loved having time alone to explore the city some, decorate my apartment a little, and just rest and get acclimated to this new life. I have really enjoyed running by the river and through Parque Maria Luisa [below].

Monday, we had English club and about 10 students came, which was the biggest group yet! We use English club as a primary way to meet people and invite students to our other events, and already we've had some English club students come to our other events...PTL. After English club, I had an intercambio (where we speak English for a while then Spanish for a while) with Ana, a pharmacy student. She's really nice, and I hope to continue meeting with her. She also took me to the nearby student gym to help me register and we're going to go to some classes together! Then Monday night, we went to a Flamenco bar with some students and watched the gypsies singing and dancing Flamenco.

Tuesday, I went with three Spanish friends to Italica, an ancient Roman city that was located in Seville. These are the ruins of the old city, a mosaic floor that was in one of the houses and the coliseum where they had gladiator fights [below].

Wednesday, we had another English club with many new students as well. I had another intercambio with a university student I met the first week, Alejandra, who studies Arabic. She is so friendly and has already invited me to hang out with her friends some. I really love being with her, and at our intercambio last week, we had a long talk about God and what the Bible says about Him. She listened well and seemed very interested, so I'm excited for more opportunities to talk to her. Later, Wednesday night, we had some students over to my apartment to watch "Pay it Forward" and after, we discussed some themes in the movie and how it relates to our lives. It was a really good discussion, and we want to do these movie nights more often. We're hoping this will be a good, relaxed way to talk about Biblical themes with students and have some good spiritual conversations.

Thursday night was very interesting! I had to teach a dance class to about 30 Spanish old women. Apparently they really like learning country line dances, so I taught them the "Slappin' Leather" dance IN Spanish...pretty difficult!! But it provided some good laughs and good memories...and I think they actually learned a little too! Then after, I went with my two German teammates and two Spanish guys we know to this amazing restaurant!! The food in Spain isn't so fantastic, but this restaurant is really good so I definitely think I'll be eating there a lot! Then we went to the church to play ping pong a little because one of the guys has been bragging a lot about how good he is at ping pong, so I wanted to play him. He won, but it was a pretty close game [Erasto is on the right, and he's the one who wanted to play ping pong with me. Erasto and Pedro are also the two I went to Italica with and another girl].

Friday, I had another intercambio with a Spanish girl, Elena, who actually studies English. It's been helpful having intercambios for speaking purposes and also just to build relationships with students. Later that afternoon, I got to play tennis with a friend so that was really exciting because I've missed tennis a lot! My friend has a court at his house, so that was really cool to go there and play although it wasn't full size, but it was still a great treat to play! Then that night I had some friends over for dinner, and we all cooked together. I made a chicken casserole that my grandmother makes a lot. It was pretty crazy though trying to convert all the measurements! And Spain does not have sour cream, so I had to use Greek yogurt...but it worked ok. The casserole definitely didn't taste like it does in America though! Then we had a squid dish that my Spanish friend, Pedro, made. Squid is very popular here in Spain! And for dessert, my Belgium friend, Clemence, made crepes for us with nutella! These were definitely the best part of the meal!!! [The two guys above are who we had dinner with...I'll try to get a picture of me and Clemence up soon].

Saturday night was really encouraging because I went to a big Spanish church in town that was started by some missionaries about 50 years ago. It's called Seville Este church, and it has about 150 members from Spain, Latin America, Africa, and America. It's the biggest evangelical church in Seville. On Saturday nights there is a service for young people, so I went to that and worshipped with fellow Spanish believers. It blessed my heart to see that there are young Spanish believers here, and to see them worshipping our Lord gave me hope that God will continue to bring more students to Himself! I look forward to going back to this service every Saturday night! It was definitely a great way to end a really good second week!

{Week of Welcoming}

So the first week here was soo crazy and busy, but so much fun! My first day here we had a huge party at my house as a welcome back for the university students, and I got to meet a lot of students who have been involved in Connexxion (the Christian university group with whom I am working). [fiesta pictures below]

The next day, Saturday, I just went to the beach with some of my teammates, and it was really nice to just relax and get to know them better. We also saw a man getting baptized in the ocean, so that was really cool and extremely rare to see here considering there are so few Christians!

Monday, we went to the university to talk to people about English club, and there I met a lot of students, and they gave me their phone numbers so we could hang out again and practice English and Spanish together. Then Monday night we had our first English club where we just spoke English with the students. Every Monday and Wednesday we have English club at the university where we break up into groups and talk about different topics such as family, travel, work, culture, etc. [English club below]

Tuesday we went to the park to hang out with students, and I ended up meeting a lot of new people who weren't with our group. I saw this girl by herself sitting near us, so I went to talk to her and invite her to come hang out with us. She is from Belgium and studying here for the semester. We got along really well and traded phone numbers. Since then we have hung out a lot, and I believe God is going to do something really cool through this relationship! Later in the park, there was a group of medical students playing soccer, and they invited me over to play with them. It was so fun and they were all really cool, but unfortunately I didn't get any of their numbers :( [medical students below]

Wednesday night we had a Bible discussion group called "charlemos" (let's chat) where we talked about the Good Samaritan story and how it relates to our lives. We met in a local sandwich shop and one believer came along with two non-believers. It was a good discussion, and after we went to the festival of nations in a nearby park where there are all sorts of food, vendors, and shops representing different countries. [people from "charlemos"]

Thursday night, we went to a salsa bar to hang out with people and dance salsa, but unfortunately the band didn't show up until 1am and by that time we were super tired and went home to sleep. But it was cool because some new students we had never met before came and we got to build some good relationships with them, and since, they have been coming to a lot of our activities! And Friday was awesome because we had another party at my apartment, and a lot of new students we met during the week came! Hendrik, my teammate, got to share the gospel with a few students and they were really interested! And I also got to learn Sevillanas, which is a very famous dance here in Seville that all the girls do during the Flamenco festival in April. So I'm excited to wear a flamenco dress and do Sevillanas in the spring. [pictures from the back to school party below]