The rain in Spain

I know I said that I doubted that anything could top Germany, but after my adventure on the way to Spain I wasn't looking for anything other than relaxation, and a much needed break from the stress of school and travel, that was exactly what Spain gave me. Before going to Spain, I never would have considered it one of my top locations, however after spending two weeks there I couldn't help but fall in love with the beautiful spanish country side,and the family I stayed with. There was in fact much rain in Spain during my stay there (which I'm told is very rare) but i didn't mind it much most days I stayed dry and warm sipping "fireside coffee" by the fire, and reading my systematic theology book (oh joy!). There were many hours spent with Mrs. Humes and Adrianna watching Larkrise, knitting, talking and knitting some more.
I spent both Christmas and New Years in Spain and absolutely loved it. The Humes family sort of adopted me for the time I was there, and I can't thank them enough for allowing me to be part of their family during the time I was there. Between Christmas and New Years I joined them on a little family vacation to the magnificent Sierra Nevada Mountains in the south of Spain. The scenery was breath taking, it was a trip i will never forget. I spent a lot of time walking, talking with Mrs. Humes and Adrianna, and just thinking. The Lord really knew what i needed over this vacation, and he didn't hesitate a moment giving it to me. Thank-you!

 This is the town I stayed in where the Humes live, just outside of Madrid. This particular picture was taken from the Iternational school that they work at. For those of you from Brasil, it is a ACSI school similar to AVA only bigger, and in many ways more similar to your typical US school.
This is Adrianna and I  on the way down to the Sierra Nevadas. the view from the road was incredible. I was supposed to be reading homework during this four hour journey, I didn't get very far- most of my time was spent staring out the window. I cannot help but marvel at God's creation. His workmanship is so evident in this little corner of the world...you'll see what I'm talking about the more pictures you see =)


sitting on the terrace of the house we stayed in in the quaint village of La Calahorra, which is surrounded by majestic mountains and the home of a 16th century castle (as you can see) the town looked like something out of a movie...I absolutely loved it!

One day we were supposed to go skiing but due to the cloud covering the mountain top and the 100 mph winds the slope were closed, but we had a good time hanging out at the top of the world at a little theme park type thing they had there and taking lots of crazy pictures!

Eventually the skies did clear somewhat but by that time we were ready to head back down to normal altitudes but it was pretty cool to be up above the clouds. Now I don't know what it feels like at the top of Mt. Everest but I imagine if it's anything like that felt, it must be astounding!

 

This was the ski town at the top of the mountain

You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains -Psalms

Back in La Calahora Mrs. Humes, Adrianna hiked up the hill to the castle gazing at all the breath taking scenery and talking. It was so good. I have to stop here and say something about these ladies. God has used them in awesome ways in my life, and the funny thing is i don't think they know it. the challenged me in my thinking, reminded me of the power of prayer, and the spiritual battle surrounding us everyday, that only intensifies when we drop our guard, get proud, and consequently render ourselves weak. It seems there is a particular attack on those of us who a just going off on our own, still unsure and often times facing our own questions and doubts and struggles for the first time- alone. Being reminded of that battle and being fully aware of the potential outcomes gave me my fire back in a way, made me want to fight it, and made me want to win. For those us here now at WOLBI Hungary I highly doubt that any of us could look back over the school year so far and not acknowledge that we are often times at war here. The good thing for those of us who hold tight to our savior-is we know that our battle has already been won. =) And in the process of that battle God has the habit of sharpening us for his use, or as mrs. Humes put it -wetting our clay pots down so that he can reshape and re mold them into what he wants us to be for his Honor and Glory. Of course no one likes to be squeezed and punched and all the tears in the process, but always keep in mind something beyond me is happening here- it's hard for a reason and the ending is going to be a miracle of God's design.

We even made it to the Mediterranean sea!!!

NEW YEARS!!!!!! HAPPY 2010

New years was an interesting celebration. we were together with several other missionary families. One of the traditions there is eating one grape at the strike of 12 on new years eve. then if you choke on any of the grapes you will have "bad luck" on the corresponding month of the new year. Lucky for me I don't really believe in luck, but it was fun to look around at everyone attempting to fit 12 grapes in the mouth at once =)

~Duetchland~

Waking up in the very early hours of December the 14th I had that irresistible sense of excitement, a little bit of nervousness, and perhaps a touch of wonder i get when ever I'm about to set out on a journey. This time was a little different though, not only because we woke up very very late and were in quite a rush to get out the door, but also because this journey was one that I had only ever dreamed I would be taking. I was the first person to arrive at the airport that morning, and I promptly set up camp on one of the vacant benches where I slept, read, and chatted for the next five hours of waiting.

As my plane approached Stuttgart I caught my first glimpses of the wintry wonderland that would be my home for the next week. Since Stuttgart was not my final destination however, I had to get on the metro and go to the train station where I could purchase tickets to Saabrucken. As most of you probably know I speak little to nothing in german, so the purchasing of a ticket was being a rather complicated procedure, until a very nice young man came over, promptly told me I looked rather confused, and offered his help. About a minute later I stood there with tickets in had, and looking up to thank my helper, found that he had disappeared. I've labeled him my angel in disguise. My first European train experience proved to be a very pleasant one as I rushed on to Saarbrucken where my friend Hanna picked me up when I arrived. What followed was one of the most memorable weeks of my life.

The next morning, a Tuesday, Hanna and I took of on a walk through her little village and the surrounding coutryside, where I took so many pictures Hanna made a point of laughing at me for it. But how could I help myself!? I was in Germany, where I had always wanted to go, trekking through light snow and hills unlike any other place I had been. Granted all the places I've lived have been rather flat, Between the Amazon and Kansas you don't get very many mountains or even hills for that matter. That evening we explored the town and visited the Christmas market, where we pointed and laughed as, with much fanfare, Santa Clause pulled by eight reindeer flew over the market from one roof top to the next. Europe's Christmas markets go all out!

(Middle: Saarbrucken, Bottom: Christmas market!)

Wednesday proved to be a relaxing day of relaxing by the fireside, reading, and movies topped of by an evening spent with Hanna's discipleship group at a traditional all you can eat "flammkuchen hause" Flammkuchen is something very similar to pizza, only it has a very thin crust and usually doesn't have tomatoe sause.
There are all kinds of different toppings including sweet ones. It was delicious! After having a gift exchange and the group leaders home (they even got something for me!) we headed home to Hanna's for a good nights rest to be followed the next morning by one of the most cherished moments of that leg of my journey.

Thursday morning I woke up to a light fluffy snow falling down out side my window, and so was thrilled when Hanna's mom drove us out to the stables to go horse back riding.  The Krumm's have a few horses since Hanna's mother works with disabled children and horse back riding as a kind of therapy. Hanna led the horse up and around through ever snowier fields, leaving my hands free to take even more pictures of all the white hills dotted with horses grazing.

 Friday was our day on the town. After spending the morning ice skating, and making complete fools of ourselves we headed home only to return that after noon for a very productive afternoon of shopping. One thing that I love about europe, and especially this little town is that very little of our shopping time was spent in malls, it was all set on two or three shop lines streets that we would walk down, peering in windows and getting a few breaths of fresh air in between stores. It was lovely. I suppose it's something similar to the "plazas" they are starting to build now in the States instead of malls. Or perhaps it's always like that in bigger cities. At any rate I was a very happy girl by the time we had enjoyed a little break at a cafe and headed home again.

Saturday was Hanna's birthday! So we made a delicious breakfast complete with home made coffee cake, all sorts of german breads, lunch meats, fruit, yogurt, coffee, juice, and more. The night before I suppose God had decided to give Hanna, or rather me a wonderful gift of heaps and heaps of snow, that coated all the world around tuning everything into a glittering wonderland. So after the guests had left Hanna and  I headed out on our snow walk from her village to the next one, and back. If Hanna thought I had taken too many pictures on our first walk, she was in for a surprise during this little excursion where I only returned the camera to my coat pocket when the lens got so cold it very nearly had a coat of frost over it. The evening was followed by a delicious meal out at a fancy resturant to celebrate Hanna's birthday.

Sunday was my last morning in Saarbrucken, and the beginning of a new adventure, as all who have read my blog are well aware of. My time in Germany was one of the best weeks of my life, I'm not sure I'll be able to top that excursion for a long time! I was able to spend time with one of my great friends, stand in awe of God's beautiful creation (in this case many times the snow-which I like to think was falling at times just because He knew how special it was to me) delicious food ( with veggies!!!!!!!=D ) and as I have said memories to last me a life time. It couldn't have been a better beginning to my vacation.