Sunday morning we woke up early to attend church services at Parque Este. It had the same feel as last night so I already feel at home here. The message was actually a message that our Senior Pastor Andy Stanley did a few months or years ago called Life Apps. Pepe of course gave the sermon in Spanish but I was surprised at how much I was able to follow along. He speaks very clearly and eloquently, and I really enjoyed his message. He talked about conflict in relationships and the best way to resolve that conflict with love. After church, everybody stayed around for at least an hour socializing and catching up like it had been ages since they'd seen each other, even though most of them were here last night. That is definitely one thing I love and miss about European culture. Nothing is more important than relationships here. And that is coming from me, one of the least relational people I know! At Browns Bridge (and everywhere in the U.S.), everybody is always in a hurry to leave. Everybody always has a tight schedule to adhere to. I know that people like to beat the traffic but surely there are more important things one can accomplish on a Sunday morning than getting out of church as quickly as humanly possible.
During our social time, I met a woman named Susana who was pushing a double stroller with two sweet little babies. I learned that they were 3 months and 14 months. The older one is a little girl named Avril and she is the same age as Mary Elizabeth. Stephanie had told me that there would be so many babies to love on here that it would make it easier to be away from mine. I immediately befriended Susana and within minutes had little Avril in my arms. It is funny how although they are being raised in different cultures on different sides of the Atlantic, there are certain things that are just universe for 14 month olds. She is adorable, sassy, and into everything, just like my girl. Her little brother Ian was all smiles and neither of them seemed to mind at all that would snatch them up at every opportunity.
After we socialized for a little while, we loaded up the cars and headed to Pepe and Mari's house for lunch. It reminded me so much of my host family's house in Italy but was a little bigger to accommodate their 3 children. We moved furniture, squeezed in an extra table, and somehow fit 11 people around the table for a delicious lunch. I think we spent about 3 hours eating and chatting and sipping on delicious Spanish coffee. I love the way they've welcomed us into their family from day one.
This afternoon, we were able to go back to the hotel for a short siesta, or afternoon rest. I'm definitely not caught up yet on the full night of sleep I missed on the way over, followed by the poor night of sleep I had last night. The schedule here is Sevilla is something that I could easily get used to. They tend to sleep in late, typically not starting the day until 10 or 11am. They eat breakfast then, work or do whatever for a few hours, then take lunch around 2 or 3pm. After lunch, it gets to be hot as hades around here so they close up shop for anywhere from 1 to 3 hours in the middle of day. People take naps, coffee, or just rest until it is time to get up and get moving again. Dinner isn't usually until around 10pm or later, putting us back in bed around 12:30 or 1am. It feels like being in college again, minus all the binge drinking and poor decisions. :-)
For the evening activities, we went and walked around downtown Sevilla a little bit. It was really very beautiful. I think one of my favorite things about big European cities is the way that modern culture blends so easily with the history of the area. Cars and mopeds whiz around colosseums and cathedrals that are older than the United States. Hotels and schools make use of former market and factory space. It feels like a living timeline. After walking around a little, we had a delicious dinner of tapas and sangria. My aversion for pork is being quite the hinderance in finding something to eat but I'm making due. The beef and veggies options so far have been delicious. Not to mention the fact that we have not had one meal yet without a tasty loaf of bread and a side of fruity, bright extra virgin olive oil. I think I am learning that man may not be able to live on bread alone...but woman can if it come with good Spanish olive oil.
Tomorrow we start English camp, the main purpose of our trip! It has been great to be able to settle into the culture a little before diving right into our mission here. Looking forward to seeing what God will reveal to us this week.
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