finding rest in the desert (literally)

Sometimes I think about the way that God works things out and wonder why keep insisting on worrying and not trusting Him. But then I also remember that we’re human and that’s what we tend to do. We tend to get all nervous about things that God already told us would be just fine. Funny how that happens so often.

This is something that I’ve been thinking about the past week and a half or so, because I was definitely worrying about a lot of little things before I left to come to Spain. I was worried that I would forget to pack things. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to understand when people spoke to me in Spanish. I was worried that people wouldn’t understand when I tried to speak to them in Spanish. I was worried that I wouldn’t like or wouldn’t get along with my host family.  I was worried that this semester would be too hectic for me coming off of a period in life where I just burned myself out on school. I was worried that fall break would be stressful and difficult to plan. I was worried about this. I was worried about that. I was worried about a lot of things that I ended up not needing to worry about that much.

the fingerprints of God on a “secular” society

Tonight when I go to bed, we will have already spent 12 amazing days in the beautiful country of España, meaning that we’re already more than 10% done with our 105 total days on Spain Term (I know it’s not exactly 100 days like the hashtag, but hey)! Isn’t that crazy? It feels like there’s no way that we’ve been here this long, but at the same time, it feels like we’ve already been here for a month. And that makes absolutely no sense, but I’m sure everyone has experienced that sensation at one point in life or another.

Recap:

Anyway, for this update, I want to talk a little about finding Jesus in the little things around you and appreciating the fact everyone single one of the 7 billion people on this planet was made in the image of God. It’s just something that I’ve been thinking about for a day or two. But first! Update!

Kim Davis, Smoking, and Spoiled Children

I’m a few days behind on the times, it seems, since I don’t read a lot of American news in Spain, but I did just finish reading up a little on the Kim Davis situation and just wanted to give my take really quickly, because I do plan on keeping up with this blog (both fun Spain things and things like this) while I’m gone.

In case anyone reading isn’t super familiar with the situation, what’s happening is basically this: a county clerk (or something along the lines of that; she’s a government employee, which is the point) was taken into custody earlier this week for refusing to issue marriage licenses following the Supreme Court ruling earlier this summer. Her defense was that her religious convictions prevented her from participating in or facilitating sin, and she now faces greater charges and possibly prison time. Needless to say, people have gotten pretty riled up on both sides of this debate.

My take?

#100daysinSpain

Well, it’s definitely been quite some time since I’ve posted anything, so I figured that arriving safely in Spain was a good excuse to hammer out a post detailing some of the crazy things that I’ve been doing over the past few weeks since my last post J Also, this post is also gonna be pretty scattered, so sorry for that in advance.

Anyway, if you hadn’t heard or hadn’t gathered, I’m studying abroad in Spain (specifically in Segovia, which is further north and toward the center of the country) for the next few months (3.5 to be precise), which is also where the title of this post comes from! It’s the hashtag that my group will be using on all sorts of social media in order to inform others of what we’re doing, and it also serves as a fun way for us to look back on all the things we’ve decided to share with the world!

The main reason that we chose this hashtag is that it subtly reminds us that even though it feels like we’re going to be gone for a long time, we really don’t have an infinite amount of time here. On the way here, a lot of us were caught up in a lot of emotions related to leaving home, leaving family, leaving familiar surroundings, and leaving friends. While we were all really excited, it’s still hard to leave all of that behind. Thus, we came up with this hashtag because it points us back toward positivity and away from homesickness or anything else that might taint our experiences here, reminding us to soak up every moment that we get in this beautiful country, because after 100 days it’ll be over (well…more like 105 starting when we got here a couple days ago, but that’s beside the point, really). So, hop that on if you feel like it. I’m sure lots of interesting things will happen in the coming weeks and they will all be shared with you right here!

As for the first two days, I don’t really have that much to report about Spain yet, except for that fact that literally everything here is beautiful, the weather, the school we’ll be attending, the city, the aqueduct, the cathedral, the castle that we’re going to see later today called the Alcázar, everything. It’s been so much fun and it’s still feels surreal to all of us on this trip that we get to live here for the next few months. I can’t reiterate enough how picturesque everything is and how unreal it all seems.

Finally, while we don’t have the usual access to our phones and such like that, seeing as we don’t get proper service in Spain, I’m still available through WhatsApp, Facebook, here, and mail once I eventually figure out what my address is…

Pues anyway (the Spain Termers will think that’s funny), I’m so excited for everything that’s to come. So, stay updated right here (because blogging is incredibly fun & it’s in English which gives me a brain break) with everything we do! Hasta la próxima vez!