So this weekend an exchange student helping with En Vivo, Lauren, myself, and a full time staff member, Cody, all went to a family’s house connected with En Vivo in a neighboring town, Bejar. They were wonderful, hospitable, cooked incredible food, spoke English (as well as Spanish of course), and probably some of the nicest people I’ve met ever! They welcomed us into their home as if we were old friends.

We went to go hiking (pictures below) on Sunday afternoon/night. Let me tell you, after not spending much time working out post soccer high school, a steep climb up a mountain wasn’t a simple jog in the park. I brought along my water bottle to endure the venture. 25 steps up and I was already a little out of breath. So I took a tiny sip of water. Then as we got to the actually path, I needed to pause, take off my sweatshirt, and chug a bit more. Then as we hiked up and up I finally got a rhythm going. I didn’t need the water as much, the ground was sometimes more flat or even an uphill/downhill moment. About every quarter mile I’d need to take more sips of water. Just enough to quench my thirst. And then I realized my faith could be described just by that hike. When you start out, each thing you do takes a big leap of faith. You can’t climb far without need a sip of water (Jesus – eternal life/woman at the well- get it?) Each moment of faith in the beginning is so important. Then there comes a point where you get to take the sweatshirt off and run towards Jesus. You can grasp what faith looks like and how it fits with daily life; how to respond to people because of the love of Christ inside of you. There are still uphill moments. But most importantly, you always need Jesus. Every day, Jesus needs to be there. He replenished you and makes you new every day to continue on the journey. I would have never made it even half way if I hadn’t brought water. Our lives aren’t sustainable without Jesus. We’d fall, run out of breath, or turn around and go home. HE is the one who keeps us moving, content, and sustained.

Once we got to the top it was pretty dark (Sorry mom and dad – probably not the safest). So on the way home I used the flashlight on my phone as we walked down. We could see just enough in front to make the next few steps and the stars above us, but not much around us or behind us. This continues to remind me that as Christ followers, we will really never see the full picture of our lives. We don’t know the twists in the road or what’s coming next. But we do know that the flashlight is going to guide our path to safety and where we need to be. Isn’t it better to trust that the flashlight knows the way down the mountain than to try it ourselves in darkness as we stumble? God doesn’t lead us into paths that he isn’t in control of. Isn’t God’s plan for our life better than anything we could even imagine up ourselves?

So Jesus showed up in 2 ways this trip: A water bottle and flashlight.

Keep climbing and keep trust that God has a GOOD plan for your life!

So it’s officially been the first week! It feels like a combination of I just got here 10 minutes ago and I’ve lived here for months.

Some of the facts:

• People are SO friendly and welcoming at “En Vivo” the ministry I work for – students and my other team members
• There are a lot of American exchange students so Tuesday before “Big Group – Connection” time there is an English bible study
• Families are very valued and important. Especially eating meals together.
• Spain is more beautiful than I could have imagined.
• The windows all have their own cool bling/shutter things that remove ALL LIGHT from the room so I don’t even have to wear a sleep mask. It’s the BEST!!