Okay, most of you have no idea what I'm talking about. (But Uncle Jack does!). I'm pleased to finally tell you that I rented, drove, and safely returned a car this past weekend. My house church (Sendas, meaning "paths") and I headed off to the thriving metropolis of Alameda del Valle, population 244. Let's just say there are not too many public transportation options for traveling there. Hence, the car rental.
The weekend was absolutely wonderful. We sat next to the crackling fireplace, ate massive homemade meals around the table, and engaged in heated rounds of some of my favorite games (Bonanza, Bananagrams, Taboo, oh my!). Can it get any better than that?
Here are some snapshots of our weekend away from the city...
Preparing to eat our first meal around the table... some dang good nachos!
We all took turns cooking and cleaning... even Liz :) If this were a video clip you would be hearing, "Take a picture... it will last longer..."
We enjoyed an afternoon walking the paths in RascafrÃa, the pueblo about 3 km down the road.
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only
a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and
deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the
man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.”
- William Blake
“I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.”
- William Shakespeare
Boys being boys... SNOWBALL FIGHT!
"Working out" in the park...
And, then there was the Poohsticks game, which we played on our Sunday morning walk through Alameda del Valle. According to just-pooh.com (an extremely informative and official website), the game was invented as follows:
Pooh had just come to the bridge; and not looking where he was going,
he tripped over something, and the fir-cone jerked out of his paw into
the river. 'Bother,' said Pooh, as it floated slowly under the bridge,
and he went back to get another fir-cone which had a rhyme to it. But
then he thought that he would just look at the river instead, because it
was a peaceful sort of day, so he lay down and looked at it, and it
slipped slowly away beneath him, and suddenly, there was his fir-cone
slipping away too.
'That's funny,' said Pooh. 'I dropped it on the other side,' said Pooh, 'and it came out on this side! I wonder if it would do it again?' And he went back for some more fir-cones. It did. It kept on doing it. Then he dropped two in at once, and leant over the bridge to see which of them would come out first; and one of them did; but as they were both the same size, he didn't know if it was the one which he wanted to win, or the other one. So the next time he dropped one big one and one little one, and the big one came out first, which was what he had said it would do, and the little one came out last, which was what he had said it would do, so he had won twice ... and when he went home for tea, he had won thirty-six and lost twenty-eight, which meant that he was - that he had - well, you take twenty-eight from thirty-six, and that's what he was. Instead of the other way round.
And that was the beginning of the game called Poohsticks, which Pooh invented, and which he and his friends used to play on the edge of the Forest. But they played with sticks instead of fir-cones, because they were easier to mark.
'That's funny,' said Pooh. 'I dropped it on the other side,' said Pooh, 'and it came out on this side! I wonder if it would do it again?' And he went back for some more fir-cones. It did. It kept on doing it. Then he dropped two in at once, and leant over the bridge to see which of them would come out first; and one of them did; but as they were both the same size, he didn't know if it was the one which he wanted to win, or the other one. So the next time he dropped one big one and one little one, and the big one came out first, which was what he had said it would do, and the little one came out last, which was what he had said it would do, so he had won twice ... and when he went home for tea, he had won thirty-six and lost twenty-eight, which meant that he was - that he had - well, you take twenty-eight from thirty-six, and that's what he was. Instead of the other way round.
And that was the beginning of the game called Poohsticks, which Pooh invented, and which he and his friends used to play on the edge of the Forest. But they played with sticks instead of fir-cones, because they were easier to mark.
So Liz suggested we play!
Dropping the stick
And they're off!
Run, run, run...
BUT, to be honest, I don't know who won...
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
- Henry David Thoreau
“I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want.”
- Andy Warhol
All in all, the weekend was a great farewell to our massive house church that has now split into two groups. The time spent in community with people who challenge me reminded me of the creativity of God. He provides the unforeseeable, often in ways that we don't expect.
I didn't anticipate having such a great faith community in Madrid. My last experience in Spain exposed me to the overwhelming apathy towards Catholicism (and oblivion of Protestantism) gave me little hope for "spiritual" relationships this year. But in moving to a new country for a year (most likely two... sliding in that little life update), God knew I needed a family in Christ. Sendas has proven to me the truth of Romans 8:32: "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
He will give us all things. Friends. Food. Jobs. Challenges. A sense of home.
He can create all things. New relationships. A fresh start. The answer to our prayers.
Even when, especially when, we least expect it.
"But making light... I mean when you think about it, it's really something," Ozzie said. "Anyway, I asked Binder if He could make all that in six days, and He could pick the six days he wanted right out of nowhere, why couldn't He let a woman have a baby without having intercourse."... "I mean no kidding around," Ozzie said, "that'd really be nothing. After all that other stuff, that'd practically be nothing." (excerpt from "The Conversion of the Jews")
The faith of a child reminds us that everything that we doubt as a possibility would "really be nothing" for God.
Much love,
Amber
