Bittersweet Goodbyes

How are we already at the last day of this trip?? I knew it would go by fast but wow! If I hadn't been keeping up with this blog, I would forget everything. It has been an amazing week. We have seen God do some cool things. My heart has really softened to the people here and especially the families that are trying to grow the church. I realized just how much I am surrounded by my little "Christian bubble" at home. I certainly don't mean to be but when you work at a church and are so involved with the church, most of your friends come from that. I have a few non-Christian friends but here, if you're a Christ-follower, you are in the minority. I've learned the challenges that they face every single day and my heart breaks for them. I have also made friends that I know I will keep for life. The kind of friends that even if we didn't talk to years, I could show up on their doorstep and be greeted with a hug, a kiss, and a home-cooked meal.
This morning we started the day by going to church. In the past, the teams that come here haven't been able to go to Sunday church twice so it was a real treat. The people that were in the rows with us were not strangers like they were last week. They were dear, sweet friends that we'd spent the whole week getting to know, sharing stories, and having meals together. It was great. We walked in and were greeted by kisses all around. All week long we've been treated like family and now it was time to say goodbye. It was certainly bittersweet saying goodbye to the sweet families that hosted us for dinner, the ones that helped out with the camp and the concert, and for me, the ones that let me love on their babies to fill the hole in my heart from being so far from Mary Elizabeth. It was sad saying goodbye to the kids, knowing that if I ever saw them again they would be so much more grown! And of course, it was bittersweet listening to music I love sung in Spanish for the last time.
After church, Parker and I went to lunch with his student Ursula and her husband. As we were walking to the car, she said in Spanish, "I hope we can understand each other!" I said, "Me too!" I was glad to know that they were just as worried as we were, considering they didn't speak hardly any English and our Spanish wasn't much better. But somehow, it just worked out! In fact, we had the most amazing time. They served a delicious, traditional Sevilla-style lunch of salmorejo (a cold tomato soup), tomato salad, bread, and stewed snails. I know, the snails might sound kind of gross. Luckily, Parker and I had tried them before in Paris so we were afraid. And they were delicious...as long as you didn't think too hard about what you were eating. ;-) We ended up staying for four hours, talking in Spanish the entire time! God provided me with words and phrases that I didn't know that I knew in Spanish. That with the help of Parker's translator app on his phone made it much easier to communicate. We talked about everything from church to children to cultural differences between Spain and the U.S. Never was their an awkward lull in the conversation or language barrier that we couldn't cross. We didn't want to leave but eventually we gave in to the fact that we had to leave. I wondered if we would ever see our new friends Ursula and Alberto again. We made them promise to allow us to return the hospitality should they ever visit the U.S. and we parted ways. As we drove back to the hotel, we both agreed that it was a highlight of the trip. Delicious food, good conversation, and great new friends. What more could you ask for?
For the afternoon, we were supposed to have some free time to have a date together but we used up most of it as a double date. By the time we got back to the hotel, we had just enough time to pack and change clothes for dinner. As a team, we headed over to Pepe and Mari's house to watch the big game. Spain and Italy. I thought I would have a heart divided. In fact, my Facebook status today was: "Today is all about having a heart divided. Enjoying our last church service in Sevilla and sad to leave. Excited to see Mary Elizabeth tomorrow but not looking forward to saying goodbye to new friends. Excited about a date with Parker this afternoon but I want to spend every last minute with the people of Sevilla. Tonight, torn between cheering for Espana or Italia in the EuroCup. (Can't they both win??) My heart is very full." As it turns out, it was an easy choice to make. I was decked out in my Spain gear from head to toe! When in Rome, right? Like I said before, you can't help but get caught up in the excitement of it all when you're fully submersed in the culture. As a gift to them, me and Stephanie made a traditional southern meal for everyone. She made mac and cheese while I made fried chicken, potato salad, baked zucchini, and sweet tea. Everyone loved it and wee had so much fun. At the end of the night, we knew we had to leave early (which for Spain is like 11pm!) because we had an early flight the next day. We had such a hard time saying goodbye though. I had written thank you notes to everyone in the family and was doing fine handing them out and saying goodbye. Until I got to Mari. I still don't fully know what it is about her but I feel so connected to her that when I went to give her a hug, I just started crying. I respect her so much, the way that she's raised three amazing kids for Christ, the way she clearly loves and respects her husband after 20+ years of marriage, and the way she loves not just the people in the church, but also the people she invests in to invite to the church. Maybe its as simple as that. Its the way she loves. She loves the way that Christ calls us to love. She loves the Lord her God with all her mind and strength and soul. And she loves everyone else as herself. For me, this was the hardest goodbye.
I hoped and prayed that I would see these sweet people again. As much as I wanted to come back, I hoped even more that they would come visit us and let us repay their hospitality in kind. I made them all promise they would stay with us if they came to the U.S. As we drove back to the hotel, we could see the Spaniards partying in the street, celebrating the massive victory over Italy (4-0, poor Italia!). We had about 4.5 hours to sleep that night, of which I may have slept half. I kept thinking about the week, trying to process what I had learned and what I would take away. I kept thinking about seeing my daughter the next day, hoping that she would be half as excited to see me as I would be to see her.
I still don't know if I've fully processed the takeaways from this trip. I think if nothing else, it has opened my eyes to see that there are people all around the world that don't have the convenience of a great church where all their friends go. I learned that there are people everywhere that need the hope that Jesus brings...but most don't even know it. I learned that God is big everywhere. That when you seek Him, you will find Him, no matter where you are. And I guess I got a glimpse of what it means to be a church family that really is the hands and feet of Christ, filled with love for their neighbor. Amazing.