Little Gains
There are moments that happen here in Spain in which I know I need to stop and thank God for. This past week I had a couple of those moments.
To begin with, I have been so blessed by God that in the two months (Jan and Feb) of 2018 I have made two new Spanish friends. This has been such a blessing to me and I am so thankful to God for these relationships as they are helping me to grow not only in language but also culture and as a person. On top of that, they are both Christians so needless to say, it is filling a HUGE whole in my heart to share that part of myself with other Spaniards.
Last week, I was in Croatia for our Europe Women's Conference. It happens once every three years and all of the women who work in Europe try to gather together for 5 days to reconnect, recharge and spur each other on. The day before the event, one of my new friends invited me over for lunch after church. However, when I arrived at church I found out that there was a new group of men who had arrived from Africa and needed a translator. Guess who got nominated for that job?! That's right this girl right here. Although I know I missed a lot and that my translation wasn't perfect, I was so thankful to have made it through most of it.
After church, I got in my car and headed to my friend's house. I went knowing that it would probably be a most of the day thing, but not expecting what actually happened. We had lunch, went for a walk, watched a movie, chatted and then at midnight I had to beg to go. I knew that my house was an hour away and that once I got home I had to finish packing my suitcase. Add to that that my alarm was set for 5am! That night I slept for 3.5 hrs and thus began my week "off". However, I am so thankful to say that although I had been in Spanish for 10+ hrs that day, I returned home energized albeit physically exhausted.
Upon arrival in Croatia, I prepared myself for little sleep and lots of people, but what I didn't expect was that I would be translating to Spanish during most of the time. On our Spain field we have many units from other countries and a couple of these units are from Guatemala. One lady that was at the conference (who is Guatemalan) doesn't speak or understand much English and as I looked around for who was going to translate for her I didn't see any volunteers. Knowing exactly how it feels to be in a new situation, and not understand anything, I felt God tugging on my heart to offer to translate for her. I knew it wouldn't be very good, but I figured that even if I got 20% that would be more than she would get if I didn't do anything at all. I ended up translating most of the week and even found myself speaking in Spanish to the South Americans in our group during our breaks. This was real highlight for me. Although it was hard and exhausting, I definitely found that God used that time to teach me how to rely on Him even more.
Finally, as the week was going on, I found I really loved getting to spend time with the ladies and explore a new country and culture, but I missed Spain. I couldn't wait to get "home". This was a shock to me as I had just moved a week before and have had lots of ups and downs with my love for Spain recently. But I can see how God is moving.
So to sum up, my little gains are:
1. New Spanish friends.
2. Being able to spend 10+ hrs in Spanish and not wanting to run away and cry.
3. Pushing myself to translate not only from English to Spanish but also from Spanish to English (much harder of the two).
and finally
4. Once again having confirmation that Spain is where I need to be and that God has indeed given me a heart to be here.
Well that's all for now. Until next time....
To begin with, I have been so blessed by God that in the two months (Jan and Feb) of 2018 I have made two new Spanish friends. This has been such a blessing to me and I am so thankful to God for these relationships as they are helping me to grow not only in language but also culture and as a person. On top of that, they are both Christians so needless to say, it is filling a HUGE whole in my heart to share that part of myself with other Spaniards.
Last week, I was in Croatia for our Europe Women's Conference. It happens once every three years and all of the women who work in Europe try to gather together for 5 days to reconnect, recharge and spur each other on. The day before the event, one of my new friends invited me over for lunch after church. However, when I arrived at church I found out that there was a new group of men who had arrived from Africa and needed a translator. Guess who got nominated for that job?! That's right this girl right here. Although I know I missed a lot and that my translation wasn't perfect, I was so thankful to have made it through most of it.
After church, I got in my car and headed to my friend's house. I went knowing that it would probably be a most of the day thing, but not expecting what actually happened. We had lunch, went for a walk, watched a movie, chatted and then at midnight I had to beg to go. I knew that my house was an hour away and that once I got home I had to finish packing my suitcase. Add to that that my alarm was set for 5am! That night I slept for 3.5 hrs and thus began my week "off". However, I am so thankful to say that although I had been in Spanish for 10+ hrs that day, I returned home energized albeit physically exhausted.
Upon arrival in Croatia, I prepared myself for little sleep and lots of people, but what I didn't expect was that I would be translating to Spanish during most of the time. On our Spain field we have many units from other countries and a couple of these units are from Guatemala. One lady that was at the conference (who is Guatemalan) doesn't speak or understand much English and as I looked around for who was going to translate for her I didn't see any volunteers. Knowing exactly how it feels to be in a new situation, and not understand anything, I felt God tugging on my heart to offer to translate for her. I knew it wouldn't be very good, but I figured that even if I got 20% that would be more than she would get if I didn't do anything at all. I ended up translating most of the week and even found myself speaking in Spanish to the South Americans in our group during our breaks. This was real highlight for me. Although it was hard and exhausting, I definitely found that God used that time to teach me how to rely on Him even more.
Finally, as the week was going on, I found I really loved getting to spend time with the ladies and explore a new country and culture, but I missed Spain. I couldn't wait to get "home". This was a shock to me as I had just moved a week before and have had lots of ups and downs with my love for Spain recently. But I can see how God is moving.
So to sum up, my little gains are:
1. New Spanish friends.
2. Being able to spend 10+ hrs in Spanish and not wanting to run away and cry.
3. Pushing myself to translate not only from English to Spanish but also from Spanish to English (much harder of the two).
and finally
4. Once again having confirmation that Spain is where I need to be and that God has indeed given me a heart to be here.
Well that's all for now. Until next time....
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