Travel
What a journey it has been to get to Granada. From interviewing to fundraising to applying for my visa to waiting on my visa to packing up and leaving everything I know behind me, it has been over a year since answering the call to come to Spain on mission. I am thankful to God for every moment of it! So much growth has happened in the past year; every trial and every blessing just another piece of how God is making me more like His son.
The total travel time from Denver to Granada was around 30 hours. One delayed and rescheduled flight, a sprint to the gate to catch the new one, all while carrying two guitars and limping the whole way from a recent injury sounds like a pretty bad start- and it was-, but more exciting trials were just ahead. I had a 7 hour lay-over in Madrid, which doesn’t sound bad considering it is plenty of time to visit the city for a few hours, grab some tapas, and head back for my final flight to Málaga. However, getting 4 or 5 hours of poor sleep and a bum foot made even the thought of leaving the terminal seem difficult.
After many failed attempts to get some sleep on chairs and concrete floors, I boarded my final flight to Málaga and got in at about 6:00pm. When I arrived at the baggage claim, to my surprise, only one of my bags arrived (thankfully it was the one with all of my medication for the next 3 months). After an hour of waiting and talking to the Iberia customer service (entirely in Spanish), they located my bags and my other guitar. The bags actually never left Madrid with me. Thankfully, my team leader, Kevin (an important name to know going forward), was very patient and most gracious. He waited and killed some time with me for the three hours until my bags arrived in Málaga and then drove me another hour and a half to my new home. Once we arrived at my new home, I discovered that a good portion of my possessions in my suitcases were wet, including my guitar.
Siesta
Now, before it sounds like all I have is complaints, I want to proclaim this victory: I’m in Spain! I was received by my host family with warm, open arms, cheese, and jamón serrano (smoked and sliced pig leg)! My guitar seems fine and I am all settled into my new room. Did I mention I have my own room?! I get my own room for the first time in over 5 years! I have a nice reading space the perfect amount of space for everything. Just perfect!
This morning, my host family (my pastor and his wife) had a group from their church over for breakfast and a bible study. On my very first morning, I got to have a traditional Spanish breakfast of tostadas (bread with olive oil, tomato, salt and whatever else you want on it- in this case the delicious smoked pig slices and cheese…mmmm). What’s more, I got to meet some of the women who actually go to my church and share a meal with them! It was so special. We laughed and ate and had a bible study. Even though I only understood about 60% of what was going on it was a great experience! They even asked for my prayer requests and we prayed together!
I even participated in my first siesta! Well, I tried to. Because I was still so tire from traveling and lacking sleep from the previous two nights, instead of sleeping for an hour or two, I slept uninterrupted for about five! Oops… I guess I needed it.
As I write this now, my host family just returned home for the day and are preparing another meal which I am sure will be just as amazing as the first two. They keep spoiling me!
Moving In
As I continue to settle in, there are a number of things to get in order like my residency car, phone plan, etc. Side note: I will no longer have my old phone number. Kevin has been a huge help in getting me all set up and will continue to show me around for a while and make sure all my documentation is correct so that I won’t be deported. More to follow on that.
Moving on
For now, my focus will be on learning Spanish and learning about missions in Europe in general through the training with our local partners and my program. We have conference coming up in early April for which my team and I will get to travel to Austria! More to follow on that too.
Thank you for following along with me! I look forward to sharing more as things progress and as I continue to experience the goodness and faithfulness of our God!
Until next time.
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 1: 3-6)
Pray With Me:
- For continued success in connectin with locals
- For this missionary to learn Spanish quickly
- For continued trust in our Lord and His plan to redeem the Lost and shepherd His flock in Granada
*To support this ministry through financial contribution please see the green link on this page: "Support This Ministry"
** For More information on my specific assignment, see the following link to Avance España: https://gocorps.org/tracks/placements/n/9087556?platform=hootsuite