Crujiente = Crunchy

View from the Alhambra

I’m glad to have a regular schedule with classes. I have class from 3-7 on Monday and Wednesday, which I really like. I like to get up in the morning, get things done, and run. On Tuesday and Thursday, I have class from 9-3, which I don’t really like as much. By the time 3:00 comes around, I’m pretty sick of sitting in class and am also pretty hungry. All the teachers have chalkboards and never use technology, except for an occasional movie. Listening to 2 hours of lecture on one subject gets to be too long. In a couple of my classes, we have to keep moving classrooms. We all meet in the classroom where we were originally supposed to have class, and then we all follow the professor to a different room. Both days in my history class, we moved to 3 different classrooms. In my flamenco class this week, we watched a movie with different flamenco styles and performances. During parts of the video, they zoomed in on the singer’s mouths. I couldn’t stand it. I don’t think some of them were even using real words, and it was gross seeing their saliva and lip movement. I like flamenco a lot better when they focus on the dancers. Overall, I haven’t been given a lot of homework, which is nice. It’s good to actually be taking classes again.

Teaching has also been really great. I am so thankful that God has provided this incredible opportunity! I’m so blown away by it! Tuesday night was my first time, and I got to meet all the children. Carmen is 2. Cristobal is 5. Lucia is 7. Manuel is 10. Miguel is 12. Fernando is 13. Antonio is 14. I started off teaching Lucia, and Cristobal sat in to listen and repeat words. She already knew how to count to 11 and most of the colors. We did more numbers, days of the week, and months. Cristobal wasn’t really having it though. He preferred to draw on the table and not pay attention, which was distracting for Lucia. Manuel and Miguel said they wanted help with verb tenses and vocabulary. Miguel had a book from school, and I helped him with some exercises. It was hard to explain why the correct answer was “something” not “anything” in a sentence. I don’t know why that’s right; I just know that it is. It’s even harder to try and explain that using Spanish. Also, in the paragraph it said in print, “I learnt how to swim that summer.” Unless my Oostburg education is failing me, that isn’t correct. They are learning Britain style English so hopefully I don’t cause him to have mistakes. I felt like I was in way over my head. Then, they showed me some things from their teacher last year, who was 30. It was nice to have some examples of what they worked on. Then, Antonio and I had conversation time. It was kind of hard thinking of things to talk about. He’s a 14 year-old boy. He probably doesn’t really want to talk to me, but he’s very sweet.

Then, the 6 oldest children, Mom, Dad, and I had dinner together. We sat around their big dining room table and were allowed to speak only English. The mom and dad don’t know much Spanish, only the two oldest boys feel confident enough to speak it, and I don’t talk that much to begin with so it was kind of awkward. All the kids kept breaking into Spanish, and then Mom would tell them, “No, no, solo Ingles.” Their maid served us all our food. She walked around with the food on a platter and served the mom, then the dad, then me, and then all the children. If anybody wanted more food, she would have to come around again with the platter and serve it. It’s very different from what I’m used to, but I like being able to have diverse experiences. For dessert, we all got smaller plates and spoons, and the maid walked around with a platter of different yogurt mousses and fruit. Everyone got the yogurt mousse except the dad and then placed the yogurt container on their smaller plate. Again, it’s different, but I like being exposed to it. I thank God that I am living with Concha and Nacho in a home similar to mine in Oostburg, and that I have this experience too, but that it’s not my permanent home in Sevilla.

Teaching on Thursday was much better and less overwhelming than Tuesday. It was helpful that I knew what to prepare. I spent over two hours preparing before I went. I think part of what took so long is that I don’t know the different verb tenses in English. I know the present, preterite, imperfect, subjunctive, pluscuamperfecto, conditional, etc. in Spanish, but I don’t know them in English. I know what verb should be used in each situation, but I can’t tell you the tense. It will be good for me to learn again. I think I’ll probably learn more from them than they will from me. I’m beginning to realize more what a teaching job all entails and am looking forward to learning more as the weeks go on. Praise God for this opportunity to learn so much!

I had more words and little phrases prepared for Lucia, and Cristobal didn’t have a pencil to draw with. He was still distracting but left part way through because the dad asked if it was better without him, and Lucia answered yes. I prepared a lesson on the simple past tense for Manuel and Miguel that included irregular verb exercises. It was pretty challenging for them but not too hard. It felt really rewarding to have that work out for them. Praise God for giving me the knowledge and ability to plan according to their level. Also pray that God will continue to guide me in my plans. I am given a lot of time with those children during the week and have the potential to impact them. Pray that God would use me in this time I have with them.

For dinner, we had lasagna. My second favorite meal! It was sooo good. The cheese they used was incredible. We had strawberries for dessert. I felt so spoiled. All the children were going to run down the street after dinner. I thought it was just a joke until they all ran to their rooms to change. Carmen said I can bring my shoes next time if I want to join them. I am definitely going to at some point. Picturing the 6 of them running down the street in Sevilla after 10pm is quite comical, and I would love to be part of that experience. It makes me giggle thinking about it.
Encuentro is the program on Wednesday nights with the Trinity program here. Kate, Cole, and I went it after our class was done at 7:00. It was a more liturgical service than normal because of Ash Wednesday. It was good to be reminded of the time of year that we’re entering and what Christ did for us. It was also nice to have fellowship and see familiar faces from the intercambio fiesta. We went to church in Triana this week again, and I liked it a lot again. It was a different service today where they had a skit with people from different countries coming to Spain. Then, people from different countries sang or spoke. I didn’t catch some of the humor throughout the skit and other parts, but overall, it was really neat.

Kelsey moved in on Tuesday night around 10:30pm. It’s been nice getting to know her better throughout this week. She’s really nice and knows a lot about the culture here from last semester. Praise God that things are going well. Kristen hasn’t been feeling well this week. She’s been having sinus pain, aches, and is really tired. Pray for her health.

I went to Granada with my CEA group on Friday. We got dropped off by the buses around 12:00 in Granada. We followed Inma, a CEA staff, down to our hotel. She walked soo slow. Cole and I joked about how we could probably crab walk faster than she walked. It was rainy and cold so her pace just wasn’t cutting it. On the way, she led us to a place where we got a pretty good view of the Alhambra, which is an expansive castle which was constructed over many centuries consisting of gardens and luxurious palaces. According the the CEA handout, it receives 8,000 visitors/day and is now Spain's most visited monument. After checking into the hotel, we got some free time to grab lunch and walk around. Then, we had a tour with CEA of parts of the city. It wasn’t a very good tour but thankfully short. Kate, Cole, Heather, Leah, Kelly, and I walked around and shopped then. I really enjoy walking around a city and taking in all the sites and people. We went to Café Futbol for dessert. Cole and I shared this incredible ice cream sundae and a crepe with whipped cream and chocolate. I highly recommend Café Futbol if you ever travel to Granada. It was SO good! Praise God for new adventures and yummy treats : )

On Saturday, we had a lot of free time before the tour of the Alhambra. We did a lot more walking around and some shopping. I didn’t buy anything either day (Mom, aren’t you proud of me? haha) but enjoyed taking pictures and walking around. It was actually sunny and warmer, so Granada appeared much more beautiful. Cole and I joked about how our photo albums would be something like “Granada- a must miss” because it was so ugly, but it proved itself worthy of a visit on Saturday. The tour of the Alhambra was neat, but I didn’t like it that much. It was talked up a lot so I think my expectations were too high. I’m kind of sick of seeing buildings and want to see more of God’s beauty in nature. The gardens there weren’t that pretty either. Kelsey said they were a lot prettier last semester when the flowers were in bloom. After the tour, we took buses back to Sevilla. Praise God for warmer weather and the sun!

Saturday night, Nacho asked us if we wanted to watch a movie so Kelsey and I went to the movie rental and picked one out. Kristen wasn’t feeling well so she didn’t come. It took us awhile to get there, but we figured it out. We didn’t really understand their system because some DVDs needed another one behind it, but some of them didn’t. I tried to rent Public Enemies, but it needed a case behind it so we couldn’t get it. It worked when we tried for Billy Elliot though. I don’t like not knowing what I’m doing, but it doesn’t bother me that much. I can’t learn if I don’t try it, and now, I’ll know for next time. After dinner, Kelsey, Nacho, and I watched the movie. It didn’t have any Spanish or English subtitles, but the dialogue was basic enough that I understood most of it. I popped the bag of popcorn that my parents sent in my package. Nacho loved it! He said they don’t make popcorn with that much butter on it in Spain. I’m so glad he enjoyed it so much. It’s fun being able to share things like that. Praise God for a relaxing evening at home with the “fam.”

I’m still trying to decide whether or not I should stay longer in July and am in the process of making some travel plans. Pray that God will guide me in this process and give me wisdom and discernment to make decisions.

I’m also still working on boundaries and realize that it will be a long process. This week proved to be challenging. One week, I’m too responsible for another person, and the next week, I’m not responsible enough to the person. I’m really working on finding this balance. Honestly, at times, I just want to throw my hands in the air and give up. Pray that God will guide me in this process as well and help me to be loving and patient.

This past week, I was reminded of how blessed I am to have loving family and friends at home. I’ve received various emails and encouragement from home. Thank you so much! God has blessed me in incredible ways, and I’m so thankful. I’ve really been reminded of the blessing of friendship and want to thank all of you who are so dear to my heart. Thank you for loving me. I love you too!

Praise God!

Ahh! I am so extremely excited! I'm afraid to write this because my words can't convey my feelings in the way that I want, but it will have to do. I just met with Carmen, Nacho's friend who wants me to teach her kid's English. I was nervous on the way there and just praying that God would guide me through it. She lives very close in a very nice apartment building. The door guy had to ask me the name of the person I was there to see before he would let me in. Talk about intimidating! The maid answered the door and her little girl came too. She's probably about 3 years old. So cute! We sat at the table and talked about what she needed. I'll be helping her two older kids ages 13 and 14 with conversation, the two youngers ones ages 10 and 12 with reading and writing, and I'll be teaching her 7 year-old different phrases and words. She has 7 children in all. I'll be teaching from 7:45-9:15pm every Tuesday and Thursday, and then staying for dinner to talk with them. How exciting!!!! God is sooo good! WOW! He has seriously blown me away! This is so incredibly perfect! She asked me if I knew of anyone that would be here in the summer, and at the moment I don't. She said she wants somebody to live with them during July to speak English so the children have practice. They live in a different home near Cordoba for the summer. I told her I have 10 or so days in July without any plans. She said if I don't find anybody that can stay the whole time, then I might be able to live with them! WHAT?!?! I am so blown away with what God is providing! Is this for real?! That would be so unbelievably perfect! AHH! God is so good! Praise Him! After I left her house, I could not stop smiling. I am so excited about this! I wanted to call someone and tell them but couldn't, which was perfect because I realized that I should be praising God for it. I played some Chris Tomlin and danced around my room. I'm sure I looked silly if anyone saw me through the window, but I don't care. It was so great! My words are not enough to give God the praise that He deserves. This opportunity is so incredible! Praise God for this opportunity! I'm so excited!

On a bit more serious note, please pray that I use this opportunity to give glory to God. That I will be what the kids need to improve their English and do a good job. That I would be creative in incorporating God into my time with them. That I would be a light in their lives and show them God's love. That I would form loving relationships with the entire family. That I would not take this opportunity for granted. That I would give God all the glory for it! That God would guide me and lead me through this opportunity.

WOW! I am seriously blown away right now. I never ever imagined something like this. I love how God blows me away like this! Praise Him!

"How can I keep from singing Your praise

How can I ever say enough

How amazing is Your love

How can I keep from shouting Your name

I know I am loved by the King

And it makes my heart want to sing"

How Can I Keep From Singing by Chris Tomlin

Also, I got a package from my parents today! I am so blessed to have loving parents who care about me so much. Praise God!

Talk about a good Monday morning : )

classes, flamenco, and great opportunities!

Classes started this week at the Universidad de Sevilla. This week was a trial week where we got to pick 7 different classes and try them out. I ended up going to 8 different classes and a couple of them more than once. The more Spanish the merrier, right?! I went to a cinema class, 2 flamenco classes, 2 literature classes, grammar class, phonetics and conversation, and the historical influence of 3 cultures: Christianity, Judaism, and Muslim. I narrowed it down to the 5 that I want the night before I had to hand in my final registration. It was tough to pick with the different schedules, accents, and difficulty levels, but I'll be taking flamenco, literature, grammar, phonetics and conversation, and the historical influences class. Classes are offered only Monday-Thursday so the weekend begins Thursday after 3..yay!

I went to a flamenco show with CEA on Tuesday night. It was a lot different than I had expected, but it was a good experience. I liked the bright colored dresses and seeing the passion that the dancers had, well most of the dancers. One dancer looked like she did not want to be there and even yawned at one point! I'm thankful I got to have that experience and am looking forward to learning more about the music of flamenco in my class at the University.

Nacho is going to school to be a personal trainer, and for his job now he takes people on runs, works out with them, etc. One of his client's sisters wants me to teach her kids English. What an incredible opportunity that God had given me! It's so perfect. I never would have imagined something like this. I love when God blows me away with surprises like this! I'm meeting with her on Monday to talk about more details. Her 2 older children need help building conversation skills, and the 2 younger children need help reading. I will meet with them twice a week for 1.5 hours each time. She told Nacho that just because I'm an American doesn't mean I can teach. Oh boy! Pray that our meeting goes well on Monday and praise God for such a neat opportunity.

I asked Nacho where I could play basketball a while back, and he didn't really know then. He plays in a men's basketball league in Sevilla, and this week one of his friends told him I could play in the women's league. How exciting! She said that I couldn't play in tournaments with them but could practice. I will take what I can get. I miss basketball so much. Practice is on Tuesday and Thursday nights so hopefully that doesn't conflict with teaching. Praise God for another great opportunity in the making!

The weather this week has been really gross. It has rained almost every day, and it's pretty cold. I wish I had my gloves from home and some rain boots too! I have to do a shoe rotation because it takes about 3 days for my shoes to dry after walking out in the rain so by the time one pair is finally dry, I usually have to get it soaked again. It's supposed to rain every day this week too. ick. What happened to Sunny Sevilla?! Praise God for sun between the showers and please pray for warmer weather.

Friday night, Nadine, the missionary with Students for Christ, had an Intercambio Fiesta with a Valentine's Day theme. The outreaches are a good way to get into the lives of the Spanish students. We, the Americans, are supposed to bring our Spanish intercambios, which is a Spanish student that wants to speak English. The Spanish student and American student, who wants to speak Spanish, meet and talk for half the time in English and half the time in Spanish. Most of us don't have intercambios yet, so the fiesta ended up being all Americans. Kate and I were able to go early and help set up. It was fun to cut out paper hearts and do crafts again. It was a blessing to meet more people, most of whom are in the Trinity exchange program. We played games and had yummy treats. Praise God for fellowship and home-baked cookies and banana bread :)

Saturday night, Alli, Kate, and I went to get churros at a place that Concha recommended, but it was closed. We went to McDonald's instead. It was so packed! It made me sick. I've never seen a McDonald's so busy before. Kate got fries and Alli got a McFlurry. I ordered a McFlurry, but they were out of ice cream. Allie's was the last one. Maybe that was God's way of keeping me from supporting McDonald's..haha. I got an ice cream sandwich from Vips next door, and we came back to my house. We watched a movie and had popcorn. It was so relaxing and great! It was such a blessing to be able to have them over. Most people aren't allowed to have people over. I don't know if it was a one time deal because Nacho and Kristen were gone, but I'm so grateful Concha let me have them over. Words can't express how nice it was.

Praise God that I have such a wonderful mom in Sevilla! Concha is feeling better and went back to work this week. She doesn't have much time for herself now that she's working again. I gave her my massage that we won from CEA for winning the scavenger hunt. Pray that her time at the arab bath is relaxing and rejuvenating. I'm so blessed and thankful to have such a loving senora!

Kristen and I had some meals just the two of us this week. It was really great to get to know her better. She has such a kind heart and is a great listener too. We're going to exchange prayer requests this week. How cool that God has blessed me with a prayer partner as my roommate!
My other roommate, Kelsey, will arrive on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better. Concha said that we'll get along well :) It will take some adjusting to share the room after having it to myself for so long. Pray that Kelsey has safe travels, I'm extra considerate with our space, and that the dynamic in our home is enhanced with her presence.

I recently finished the book Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. On the cover it says, “When to say yes, how to say no, to take control of your life.” Now that I’ve finished reading it, I’ve realized some of the reasons that I have a hard time saying no to people and the importance of building solid boundaries in relationships with everyone. One of the ten “laws of boundaries” is the law of responsibility, which is one that I probably struggle with most. It says, “Many times when people hear talk on boundaries and taking responsibility for their own lives, they say, ‘That’s so self-centered. We should love one another and deny ourselves.’ … Or, they feel ‘guilty’ when they do someone a favor. These are unbiblical views of responsibility. The Law of Responsibility includes loving others. … Problems arise when boundaries of responsibility are confused. We are to love one another, not be one another” (88). This really hit home for me when I read it. God is teaching me a lot about boundaries, and it's been a challenge thus far to develop solid ones. Please pray that I would develop solid boundaries and have the help from people around me that I need.

I'm looking forward to having a regular schedule of classes this week. Hopefully the meeting tomorrow goes well, I find out more about basketball, and get an intercambio soon. This weekend we're going to Granada for two days. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store this week!

Prayer Praises & Requests
Praises

*A loving host family! *Great opportunities *Fellowship *Time with Kristen *Answers to prayer * This whole opportunity to study in Spain. I am very blessed. *Having encouragement from Kate and Cole in Sevilla *Loving family and friends back home

Requests

*Safe travels for Kelsey *Development with the opportunities *Warmer weather *Developing boundaries *Vision and guidance for time in Spain *I can form good relationships with my host family, roommates, natives, and others *I can show them God's love and be a light

Semana 2

Plaza de Espana
Breakfast of Champions!

First of all, I want to say thank you for all your prayers and support. I am so blessed to have such loving family and friends! You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Now, I'll give you on update on my week...

Sunday: January 31

Kate wasn't able to come to church with us today because her feet hurt so badly. Praise God that she received her boots from home and is comfortable now! Cole and I didn't get lost on our way to church today and were pretty early. We went to a cafe near church to kill some time. Church was a bit longer today and quite a few people gave testimonies. I had a hard time understanding the message because I wasn't feeling well and struggle with understanding to begin with, but Cole was able to explain to me some of the things I didn't catch. Cole finds understanding what people say easier, and I find speaking easier because I don't really care if it's 100% correct; I just say it, so we can do pretty well together..haha. We met 3 American students from a different study abroad program who were sitting behind us. They're interested in a Bible study. What an answer to prayer for fellowship! Hopefully, they'll be at church again tomorrow.

Concha's friend was over and helped make lunch. The fish was really good! Her friend talked quite a bit faster than Concha, but it was good to hear someone different.

Last post, I had said that I was struggling to see where God wanted me to be and what He wanted me to be doing in Spain. He made me realize that if I'm here only to encourage Kate and Cole, love my host family and roommates, and learn to rely on Him more, then that's enough. I was looking for something more and not being content with what He'd given me. I know it's so simple, and I feel silly that I hadn't realized that earlier. However, I'm so glad that God made me realize that!

Monday

We had different professors for our prep course with CEA. The first guy, Sergio, looked like he wanted to be there even less than we did. He just went straight through the workbook. It was way to simple! We were doing exercises with things like, Soy baja y simpatica. Tengo veinte anos. Way too easy! The second part we had a girl that didn't use the book. She was really great, and we learned about different superstitions in Spain.

Concha and I had lunch alone today. It's really helpful for my speaking because she corrects me when I say things wrong. I was able to tell her a little about the internship, limited by my lack of vocab, and she said "religion is really important to you isn't it." I was able to tell her that God is important to me and once again was kind of limited by lack of vocab.

Carmen invited me to stay with her for 2 weeks at the end of July at her house in the North. She said she thinks the North of Spain is the prettiest, and it's like paradise where she lives. I REALLY want to stay with her! Carmen and her brother will be taking surfing lessons for the two weeks. I wouldn't be able to stay for the full two weeks because of Josh and Ashley's wedding, but I could stay for a little over a week. This is something that has been on my mind a lot this week and in my prayers. It sounds like an incredible experience, and I would love to do it. I'm not sure that it's possible because of not knowing what to do between the internship and staying at her house and not working for another 3 weeks isn't ideal.

Today, I also talked to Antonio again in the cafe, and decided with Kristen that either there is an abusive relationship going on in the apartment above us or naughty children. There is always screaming and stomping at some point in the day. That's something that I just can't get used to yet.

Tuesday

The first part of class today was awful again. We finished an exercise we had worked on the previous day, and Jenny asked if we could do something more challenging because this was too easy for us. He said yes, but we didn't do anything more difficult. The 6 of us who were still going to class, out of maybe 35 students in the same program, decided that it wasn't worth our time to go anymore. We decided to study on our own and meet every day to talk in Spanish at a cafe.

After we left class, we went to a tourist office to get maps and bus information. They only gave us maps and weren't very helpful providing more information. Then, Kate and I went to the post office to buy stamps. We had to wait almost 25 minutes just to buy stamps! Being the American that I am and not wanting to have to wait that long again, I decided to buy enough stamps so I wouldn't have to come back again.

Later that day, a big group of us met to get churros and chocolate and stop at the bus station to get information. I didn't get churros because I still wasn't feeling great and couldn't really taste things anyway. I tried a bite of Kate's, and it was pretty good. At the bus station, they had a sign on the information desk that said "No tourist information." Isn't that helpful? Luckily, I didn't have to buy tickets for the weekend but will have to figure it out eventually. We went shopping after that, and later that night, I went to Cole's house and was able to meet his senora.

Wednesday

No class! Woot! We weren't meeting until 11:00 to go to a cafe to talk so I was planning on sleeping in, but that didn't happen. Instead, I got up and went for a run, which was good. We found a cute little cafe to talk, and I got hot chocolate remembering how Ashley said it was her favorite thing from Spain. Jenny taught us how to tie our scarves a different way, and while she was showing us, two women from the table over were watching. Kate went over and taught the one with a scarf how to do it. It was really neat. They came over and talked to us for awhile then, but it was kind of hard to understand them. What I got was that they think Americans have big cars and houses and live in suburbs, and we were nicer and prettier than most of the Americans they had met. We all decided that those kinds of experiences are better than sitting in a classroom :)

For lunch, I had chicken with mushrooms and fries. More fries! I've had more fries here in the past 2 weeks than I've had in the past year in the United States! Although, I am eating a lot more fruit too. I get kiwi and mandarin oranges almost every day. Now that I love!

In the afternoon, Kate and I tried to find this place that CEA said I could take salsa classes from. It was pretty far away, but we didn't have any other plans for the day. After awhile, we ended up not knowing where we were. We asked two guys who were freshman at the Universidad to help us. They were really sweet and took almost an hour of their time trying to help us find it. We never ended up finding up, but we made two new friends. They told us we should burn the map we had because it was really bad. Fuego, fuego!

Thursday

I couldn't sleep in again today and got up to run. I ran in el barrio, Triana, and got to explore a bit so that was fun. It was a pretty crummy out and rained for the majority of the morning. We went to CEA, asked some questions, walked around for a bit, and decided it just wasn't fun walking around in the rain and went home.

In the afternoon, I went back to Triana, walked around for a bit and stayed in a cafe until dinner. Nacho went out to a movie with his girlfriend, and Concha was having dinner with a friend. I ate dinner alone in front of the tv. It was actually kind of nice. I turned on a basketball game. Real Madrid was playing some team I didn't know. It was really sloppy and super American. It was weird to hear American songs at time outs, see their dancers, and hear the announcers speak English. After I finished dinner, I laid on the couch for a bit watching the game but had to turn it off because it got to sloppy to be worth watching.

Friday

We had orientation for the Universidad de Seville. All the study abroad students from all the programs were packed into one room, and the coordinators sat at the head table. I realized that part of my problem with understanding the language is that I'm not a very good listener. I think I'm a pretty good listener when I'm having a conversation with someone or something like that, but I don't listen well to things like orientation. I didn't listen to orientation at La Crosse and that was in English. After I realized this problem, I did better at trying to be attentive for language purposes. I'm praying that God helps me become a better listener. After orientation, they provided coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice, and pastries. It was really good! Then we figured out the rooms where all our classes would be held and went home.

In the afternoon, I went down to the river for quiet time. I was journaling, and this guy, Tofic, came up to me and asked what I was doing. I didn't know how to explain it in Spanish so I said I was writing, as if he couldn't see that.duh! He sat down and talked to me until I had to leave to get ready for Nadine's. He's originally from Morocco and knows Arabic, Spanish, and French. I was able to tell him about the internship with World Team and about my plans for the night that involved going to Nadine's to hear from the people who started Students for Christ. Looking back on it, I'm frustrated with myself that I didn't try harder to be more creative in telling him what I was really doing. I didn't have to seek him out. God put Tofic in my life at that specific moment when I was spending time with God. It could have been the perfect opportunity to share more with him, but I missed out on it because I thought my vocab was too limited. I know that for next time, I will be more creative and better use the opportunities that God gives me. I hope I get another chance to talk to Tofic, but if not, I can still be praying for him.

Last night, Kate, Cole, and I went to Nadine's house for dinner. She is staff in Sevilla for Students for Christ. Dinner was incredible, and she had brownies, cookies, and ice cream for dessert! It was like a little slice of home. After dinner, we heard from John and Anita Koeshall, who started Students for Christ over 30 years ago. It was so neat to hear where God has taken them and how He's used them. There were also 3 Spaniards from the church there, one of which spoke both English and Spanish. It was really good for my language skills to be able to hear the translation. It was so neat to hear one of them talk about how the church doesn't have enough community. He sees too much of it as "me and God" and not enough community. He said that God has given people gifts and so many of them need community to be used, and without community, they can't be. There was also a couple who's employed by Trinity Christian College here to work with their exchange program. They invited us to their Wednesday night worship service, and I'm looking forward to that. It was so neat to be able to talk about the spiritual needs in Spain and hear advice and a vision for it. There was so much wisdom in that one room. I'm still trying to process a lot of things from last night, but I do know that it was a really neat experience. I'm so thankful I was able to be there.

Praises

*A loving host family! *Answers to prayer *No more sore throat :) *Experience at Nadine's *Beautiful weather * This whole opportunity to study in Spain. I am very blessed. *Having encouragement from Kate and Cole in Sevilla

Requests

*Tofic *Community in the church *Becoming a better listener *Vision and guidance for time in Spain *I can form good relationships with my host family, roommates, natives, and others *I can show them God's love and be a light