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

Vale la Pena!

¡Buenos dias!

After my first full week in Vilassar I think I am finally starting to get the hang of things (i.e. making my way around, speaking in Spanish all the time, etc.)!

During the past few days it was great to start working on projects that I will be doing during my time here! The small groups at the church are going through the genealogy of Christ, starting with Adam and Eve. I will be assisting by translating narrated versions of the stories of each person from English to Spanish. It has been really great to dive into stories that I have heard who knows how many times since I was a kid and see all the details I may have missed or see how it applies to my everyday life now. I also started work on the church's website translating it from Catalan and Spanish to English. This is also helping me to build a vocabulary to where I can actually talk to people about Christ in Spanish. I haven't ever really had the opportunity to share my faith in a different language and that has been one of my main prayers while I have been here: that God would give me the words in Spanish to communicate his love for His people.

I have a couple of other projects that I haven't started yet, but I am excited for the opportunities I will have when I begin them. I guess you will have to stick around and read my future blogs to see what they are... ;) TEASER. haha

This week I also had the opportunity to play tennis with one of the elder men at the church. For those of you who know me real well, you know how great this was for me. Playing tennis, in Spain, on a clay court, with a Spaniard. YES PLEASE. Needless to say, he ran me all over the court! I meant to take pictures, but was so tired after that I forgot. Let's just say that this was basically me:

"Me" playing tennis in Spain ;)

Don't worry, we are playing again soon and I will take some then. But in all seriousness, not only was it fun to just play some tennis and get some exercise, it was also another great way to start building relationships with people in the church besides small groups and service on Sunday!

On Saturday, a bunch of the young people from the church decided to go to a restaurant outside the city  in Montseny to eat Calçots (Pronouced Calsot). I realized in my last blog I mentioned this (a Calçotada) but didn't actually describe what it was. Basically what people do is roast onions (different than ours) on a grill, peel them, dip them in a sauce, and eat them. This was going to be my second one this week. Now I am not a huge fan of onions, probably the opposite in fact. But I decided I have to take the advice of my blog title, "When in Spain..."! (Do as the Spaniards do, if you didn't know the end). So I went and I ended up having a great time! I had a couple of Calçots and they weren't bad. The salsa is actually the best part and it is good to eat with the other stuff they serve like all types of meat and bread! On top of that, it didn't hurt that this was the scenery:

Mountains around Montseny

Some of the Town

Calçots pictured in the middle!

My friend Vladí demonstrating how to eat a Calçot

It was a really cool experience, not only because of the food and the scenery, but also because I was able to get to know other college-aged people at the church a lot better. There are people from all over, not just Spain, so it is great to hear their stories.

This next week, or two weeks actually, I have the opportunity to backpack in the Spanish wilderness! A few people from the church are going to backpack the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), which is a very famous pilgrimage route that goes all throughout Europe and ends in Spain at a cathedral that houses the remains of the Apostle James. For our group it is just a great time to escape the business of everyday life and just be with God in creation. It is also a great way to share Jesus with people who may be searching for clarity in their lives. Either way I am excited for the trip and hope God shows me a lot during it!

This also means I will be taking a break from a lot of social media! So that means there probably won't be another blog for awhile, womp womp. But it should be a good time to relax, be with God and others, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. :)

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified."
Isaiah 61:1-3

Until next time...

Un abrazo,

Seth

Micah 6:8