Barcelona
Saturday morning, the El Paso team was scheduled to leave for Barcelona for a few days before heading back to the States. Beth and I had not originally planned to visit Barcelona; however, upon invitation by Troy, the youth pastor, we found ourselves on a train headed to "everyone's" favorite city in Spain for the weekend.
Our sanctuary from the heat: a delicious tapas bar
View overlooking the city from the steps of the National Art Museum
The Olympic Stadium from '92--we were shocked to see a MASSIVE Jehovah's Witness convention going on at the stadium. As ambivalent as the Spaniards seem toward religion, it baffled us that so many would belong to this cult. Are evangelicals missing something that the cults are taking advantage of?
The fort on Montjuic, overlooking the city. Beth and I missed the bus stop that should have taken us to the cable lift up the mountain; instead, when we came to the top, we realized we had just climbed the entire way up!
Parents, do not try this at home.
One of the many mimes on the main thoroughfare of activity, Las Ramblas. Interestingly, many of them depicted Depression Era themes.
The National Art Museum
The Magic Fountain show in front of the steps to the National Art Museum that thousands gathered to watch.
Shots from the [creative genius?] [madman?] Gaudí's La Pedrera
Also Gaudí: La Sagrada Familia, the yet-to-be-completed massive Catholic church.
[Every city can only have one "cathedral," but multiple churches. We also visited the Cathedral of Barcelona, where we spent some time before God in the prayer chapel. It was an intimate time of listening to God's heart for his people in Spain, Europe, and the world. His question: Will you join Me?]
As you can see, Barcelona was a beautiful city full of sights to see and things to do. However, Beth and I couldn't help but feel a tug at our innate loyalty toward Valencia, our Spanish "home." Though smaller than Barcelona and probably less exciting, Valencia gave us a much truer Spanish cultural experience and the people actually spoke SPANISH--imagine that! (Barcelona was a VERY touristic experience; thus, most of the people spoke English, another European language, or the local dialect, Catalán.)[Every city can only have one "cathedral," but multiple churches. We also visited the Cathedral of Barcelona, where we spent some time before God in the prayer chapel. It was an intimate time of listening to God's heart for his people in Spain, Europe, and the world. His question: Will you join Me?]
The Mediterranean Countryside
After a packed weekend in Barcelona, Beth and I boarded a train back to Valencia early Monday morning, just in time for work that afternoon. Apart from our usual work at the Mission (though with an increased load because our Texan teammates were no longer with us), Beth and I also had the wonderful opportunity to visit Eunice's family in the rural town of Turís. I've always said that you never really experience the heart of a culture until you've seen the countryside. May it be duly noted that I stand by that former statement. In Turís, I watched as a proud father and grandfather showed off the fruit--literally--of his many years of labor, establishing a sprawling farm in the Spanish countryside, which is now run by his son.
Eunice's mom prepared a DELICIOUS paella lunch for us
[Disclaimer: The pictures do not even capture half the beauty of the breathtaking Spanish countryside.]
Being that it was our last week in Valencia, I expected to be saying many "goodbyes," not "hellos." Nevertheless, Anita worked her magic, and even amidst the many goodbyes, Beth and I had the opportunity to make many new friends.
On the other hand, I've always known goodbyes were difficult, but I never expected them to be as hard as they were for just having known our new friends for six weeks or less. As Beth and I contemplated the number of people we had to bid farewell, we realized that in just a short month and a half, God really did an amazing thing in allowing us to build relationships with all sorts of people--workers at the Mission (both young and old), people who came through the Mission, friends from church, random individuals we met in the parks or on the street, etc. It was an odd but wonderful feeling when Beth and I realized that we could be sitting at a sidewalk café or riding the metro and almost every time bump into someone we recognized or knew well enough to greet. And this is exactly what Spanish ministry looks like.
Beth and I with our supervisors Anita and Chris and their field director, Lauren.
Joginder, an Indian friend of the Andersons
Lydia, the dear lady who let me stay with her before the rest of the team arrived
Beth and I with the children of a Nigerian couple, Cosmos and Loveth, who the Andersons disciple and help out.
Our dear friends and fellow-workers at Mission Urbana. (Usually, there are not this many workers, but this was the last day before the vacation month of August, so everyone was a bit more eager to help.)There is so much more I could say about my time in Spain, but I hope this blog has been at least a glimpse into my experience there this past summer. Perhaps I will write a final post with some more reflections and insights. But in the meantime, THANK YOU for your support, prayers, and interest in Valencia. God worked mightily this summer in many hearts, but if I may say, especially mine. He is a powerful God who moves across the globe and in individual lives, and I know He will finish the good work He has begun in Spain. I pray, too, that through the reading of my blog you were also blessed by my experiences in some way. Thank you again.
Now before I sign out, I leave you with one final question:
DUFFIN DAGELS?!?!?!
