Gracias a Dios // Thank you, God

I am just standing there looking out over the water. The sand underneath my feet, in between my toes, and the waves crashing over my feet. I feel the breeze surround me and sun beaming down on my face as I close my eyes and listen to the music playing in my headphones. You can just hear the sound of the crashing waves over the lyrics as it says...

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,

let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me.

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wonder,

and my faith would be made stronger in the presence of my savior.

I will call upon your name,

keep my eyes above the waves.

My soul will rest in your embrace

for I am Yours and You are mine."

All I can think of in that moment is: Thank you, God. Thank you for the blessings, the struggles, and everything else that I have in my life that I don't deserve. Also, thank you for your creation; it is infinitely beautiful.

These last two weeks have been full of interacting with the people here and I have loved every minute of it. Playing soccer with the kids, going to eat meals at people's houses for about 6 hours at a time, and even going to some fútbol (soccer) watching parties. All of it was a great opportunity to get to know my Catalan family here even better! Monday, we went to "La Costa Brava" and it was definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Beach at Parafurgell

So awesome!

Street with a cathedral bell tower

Another beach!

A hiking trail between the beaches

On top of some of the cliffs!

One of the many cool little towns!

This trip has been one of so many emotions for me, good and bad. From struggling through trying to communicate the things of God correctly in another language to all the amazing moments I have had with the people here, it definitely has been an experience I will, and could, never forget. God has taught me so much about myself and I am hoping that what I did here and the interactions I had with all the people that I met here had a large impact on them as well. 

Since today was my last full day, the church was gracious enough to pray over me and also give me a book of local architecture in which everyone had written notes to me. It was really amazing! Although, it is written in Catalan, so I guess I will have to learn another language. ;) I also took some photos with a lot of the people from the church! Here are just a few:

One of the pastor's kids, Stephen, and I!

Irina, Noemí, Gwladys, and I!

Vladí and I mean muggin'.

I am definitely going to miss all the people I built relationships with here. They are like a second family. But, like I said before, all I can do is give thanks to God for all the experiences I had here and the people I met. God exceeded my expectations by far.

As I was reflecting on this trip, a passage that I had just read from 2 Samuel kept coming back to me. King David is giving thanks to God for everything that He had given to a man who didn't deserve it. Seemed appropriate for me.

"Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears."

2 Samuel 7:18-22

Anyway, I had a lot of experiences that I didn't necessarily include on the blog, so maybe the next time we see each other, you can ask me all about them! ;) Thank you so much for reading. I cannot express enough gratitude to all the people who supported me both in prayer and financially along the way. It was definitely not in vain.

I guess it is back to the good ole USA tomorrow! See you soon!

Until next time...

Un abrazo,
Seth

Micah 6:8

Pasos, Puentes, Peratallada, and Pascua

¡Hola guapos!

Sorry for my two week absence, I know you were all dying to read the next post! ;)

As far as the week before this past week, which was Semana Santa (Holy Week), I spent the majority of it doing a lot of my work that I have been doing. I also, however, had the opportunity to help teach some english classes, as well as talk to a lot of young kids (high school age) about there faith and how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit fit into their lives. It was a great week with some amazing conversations. Although fairly intense at times, it was an awesome time to build relationships with some of the younger generations here and sort of talk through questions of faith that they had.

During this past week I was able to visit a couple of friends from home that are currently living in Sevilla! It had been 5 years since I was there last and it was a great vacation time. We had a lot of fun catching up on old times and seeing all the changes the city had gone through. It was also really interesting because Sevilla is infamous for its processions during Holy Week. Thousands and thousands of people crowd the streets to watch the "pasos". Basically, these processions are floats (sort of) that tell the story of Jesus in a timeline. Each day there are different ones and they are carried by as many as 40 people!

It was really interesting to see all the different intricacies of the processions, but I felt a little off about the whole thing. The main reason the floats are carried is to feel the weight that Jesus carried when He took up his cross and suffered the punishment of our sin, and many people give penance to these relics to be cleanse of their sins. But Jesus, who came to fulfill the law, took that burden for us so we wouldn't be condemned by God. God looks at his only Son and pardons us. Amazing huh?

Basically what I am trying to say is any ritual or tradition can never be the basis of our faith or salvation. Accepting Jesus and truly loving others, that's what it is all about.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
Romans 8:1-4

"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Romans 13:8-10

That is really the main thing I took away from this trip and was reminded of. It also didn't hurt that I was able to see some really cool sites along the way! :)

Plaza de España

Provincial nooks in Plaza de España

Procession with Jesus' mother,  Mary

Very intricate

Capriotes in the Procession

Chair for people to watch the processions

More chairs...

"Las Setas" in Plaza Mayor

View from the top!

It is made of wood with steel connections, pretty cool!

"Las Setas" at night!

Bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel

Interesting street Art

Alamillo Bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava

One of my favorites!

One night we went to see a flamenco show at a "hole-in-the-wall" type place. It was very cool to see the people get so into it! Sadly they didn't allow flash and the people were moving so fast that everything is blurry, but here is what I got! 

About to start!

Quick feet! haha

They were intense!

That was my trip! Like I said, I had a lot of fun, and it was good that God opened my eyes to a few things during it. 

On Friday after I got back, we went to an old village north of Barcelona called Peratallada. It is an 11th century village built entirely from stone that they used from the moat that surrounds the city! It was pretty spectacular. :)

Stone Castle 

Favorite street!

Outdoor restaurant and bar 

Another cool street..

And another haha

Bike hanging out outside a small shop

City walls by the moat!

The landscape in that area with the Pyrenees Mountains in the background

Yesterday was Easter and the church had an earlier service on the beach! It was very cool and something I had never done before. We sang songs with just one guitar and read the story of the Resurrection from Luke! Very low key, but also really powerful.

Early morning church service at the beach!

I realize my time here is starting to wind up. I can't believe it has gone so fast! I have two weeks left as of today and I am excited to see what else God puts me up to. I hope everyone is enjoying what I am writing, and I will be sure to keep y'all updated! :)

Thanks for reading!

Until next time...

Un abrazo,

Seth

Micah 6:8


P.S.- If you want to see more pictures, check out my Instagram by clicking this button:

Buen Camino

Day 2
18 miles. 
8 hours. 
7000 feet upward.
20 pounds on my back.

....And there I stand at mile 17. Almost to the top and done for the day. So close, but yet so far as the saying goes. I look ahead and all I see is the trail as it climbs upward on the mountain into the clouds. Rain is pouring down from the sky and I can barely move my legs. My quads are cramping and my feet are soaked. Steam rises from my jacket because of the cold rain as it hits the heat of my jacket. I wipe my bow on my jacket and traces of salt are left on my sleeve from my sweat.  We stop to take a break on the trail that has turned into a stream because of the downpour and I think to myself, "I can't finish. There is no way."

Now, how many times in our life are we left thinking something similar to that in all sort of situations? We go through difficult or impossible times, get to our breaking point, and think, "That's it, I might as well give up." Well, the honest truth is...YOU'RE RIGHT. There is no way you can do it...BY YOURSELF. That is definitely something I was reminded of while standing on that trail with rain hitting my face, my body aching, and my mind mentally exhausted. I need God. Not want, but need. Yeah sure, there are times where I 'want' God. But I ALWAYS have a need for Him and His love that was ultimately shown through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Never has this set of verses (that we hear all the time) been truer. Read it and take it to heart and apply it to your life circumstances. He will sustain you? How cool is that?

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the fain, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint."Isaiah 40:28-31

So, obviously I finished that day, but I didn't do it without a little (or a lot of) help from above.

Anyway, for those that are lost, last week I had the opportunity to go on a backpacking trip through northern Spain. We hiked for four days through the spanish wilderness on the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James). This "Camino" is a very famous pilgrimage route in Europe ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which houses the remains of the Apostle Saint James. We did a 100 kilometer section of the Camino from Ponferrada to Sarria. There are all types of people that go on this trek for various reasons, but we went to be able to enjoy God's creation while also sharing the Gospel with people who may be searching for something. First, some pictures, since I know I have already written a ton! haha

First day leaving Ponferrada

Walking through the Vineyards

Crossing a random river

Street in Villafranca

Street in Villafranca starting the Second day

Villafranca view from our first few kilometers on the second day

Hiking on top of the mountains!

A small town we hike through

Starting the trek up!

The 'path' as described in the story above

Me after surviving the story described above. Most probably a fake smile haha

But the view from the top made it worth it :)

The landscape was so beautiful!

Like I said, amazing...

Reminds me of Texas....sort of ha

The path was really different at a lot of points

That was the scenery from the Camino. So beautiful! But one of the main reasons we were on the trip was to talk to people and share our faith with them. I had a lot of good conversations, especially with one guy named Chris from Switzerland. He had just given up his well-paying job, car, and a lot of other forms of technology to go on the Camino. We spent an hour talking about our lives, the importance of God and Jesus in mine, and why I was on the Camino in the first place. While we didn't necessarily agree on things, I was encouraged because he is going to come visit us in Barcelona to continue our conversation on what exactly this whole Jesus thing is about!

We finished the trip by visiting the coast and driving to the Cathedral where the people who complete the entire Camino would finish!

Torre de Hercules in A Coruña

Spanish Coast at A Coruña (Bay of Biscay)

Torre de Hercules

View from the deck of A Coruña Aquarium

Reppin' A&M in Spain GIG 'EM

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

High altar during mass

Remains of St. James

Panorama of a beach at Valdoviño

Bay of Biscay at Valdoviño

Coast outside Ferrol

Castle near Ferrol

Bay of Biscay at Valdoviño

Part of the beginning of the bay at Ferrol

Anyway, that was the majority of the last two weeks and the main reason I haven't blogged in awhile! We returned on Monday and I have been resting and working on the translating materials that the church has had me working on. It has been good to wind down after seeing so much stuff in such a short amount of time! 

Also, today I had to give my testimony in front of the entire church in Spanish! I was fairly nervous, but I think it went pretty well. God definitely was guiding my words or it would have been interesting to watch. I think that is it from the past couple of weeks, and hopefully I will have more adventures to share in the coming weeks! I leave you with a verse that is on the projector every Sunday at church:

"Lámpara es a mis pies tu palabra y lumbrera a mi camino." Salmos 119:105

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalms 119:105

Until next time...

Un abrazo,

Seth

Micah 6:8