In which God is bigger than us:

After we spent a few days in Belgium, we opted to blow paris off and head straight for Spain. We were eager to get started; find a flat, find a grocery store, find a church, find ministry, who knows...So we did. We got here on Wednesday 23 Sept. Immediately in for changed plans and missed rides and who knows what else. A few minutes deliberation and we decided upon a hotel that turned out to be a hostel with a broken lock on the terrace door.

It was a rough start on Thursday. We looked all around for neighborhoods and where we would and would not feel "safe" living. But neither of us had a clue how to go about finding a flat. But, God answered that prayer. We were picked up on Friday by an American couple that have been here as missionaries for 15 years.They showed us the ins and outs, educated us all kinds and fed us lunch.

we found a flat on Saturday, so we had sunday all free. We attended the church that the missionaries attend and afterward were invited to lunch, and to a baptism. This was the best 6 hours since we left home. The worshipping, the baptism of a new creation in Christ, the unity, goodness, kindness, and love that goes beyond all language and nationality boundaries; only God can do that. Amazing. Truly.

The food has been, surprisingly, not very exciting. A lot of potatoes, hams, breads, etc. Not much in the way of veggies or fruit. I can't wait until we move into our flat (God willing, tonight or tomorrow morning), so we can get down to the business of life.

Language is a tough thing. You can know the words to say, but negotiating a social contract of friendship or calling to arrange a meeting for a flat is fraught with social and cultural dances and agreements that we simply don't know. So, in addition to learning new vocabulary, pronounciation, verbs, tenses, articles, prepositions, etc, we are trying our best to learn the social aspects of each encounter. People have been patient, which is good, but please Lord, give us more than our own ability to learn.

I'm really excited to see what God does here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am moved to tears. Jason and Danielle, you are in our daily prayers. We pray for your safety and comfort, and that the Lord will make you strong and effective. I love this story already and I can't wait to see what more the Lord can do! - Sarah

Anonymous said...

i enjoyed this glimpse of life there. I miss you. we will continue to pray for you here at refuge -Peter

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