¡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.
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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! :)
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| Plaza de España |
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| Provincial nooks in Plaza de España |
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| Procession with Jesus' mother, Mary |
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| Very intricate |
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| Capriotes in the Procession |
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| Chair for people to watch the processions |
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| More chairs... |
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| "Las Setas" in Plaza Mayor |
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| View from the top! |
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| It is made of wood with steel connections, pretty cool! |
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| "Las Setas" at night! |
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| Bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel |
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| Interesting street Art |
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| Alamillo Bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava |
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| 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!
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| About to start! |
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| Quick feet! haha |
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| 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. :)
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| Stone Castle |
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| Favorite street! |
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| Outdoor restaurant and bar |
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| Another cool street.. |
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| And another haha |
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| Bike hanging out outside a small shop |
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| City walls by the moat! |
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| 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.
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| 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
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