Making Friends...Some Spanish, Some American.

Jesse Bentley, my mentor here in Spain, put if very clearly about ministry here, he said, "100% of ministry in Spain could be wrapped up in one word...Relationships." This week for us has seen the ups and the downs of the reality of friends. They come into your life for a time and then they are gone, sometimes forever. During the course of our two weeks studying Spanish we fell in love with a wonderful couple from San Fransisco. Tom and Linda Hall were our companions to Avila, dinner guests last Tuesday and this past Friday we had to say good-bye. Margaret is going to write more about our class in another blog...but each day with Tom and Bird in class was like a trip to the beach, joy, joy, joy. On Friday night, Tom and Linda treated us to a wonderful dinner at Isidro Resturante (A Rick Steve's suggestion for all you travelers). We laughed, we ate, we thanked them for their kindness and then we had to say good-bye. I'm not sure why God puts people into our lives like Tom and Linda who enrich us for such a short moment and then they are gone. Maybe he knew how much we needed some encouragement (and they gave us plenty of that) or maybe he knew that we needed to talk to some people about what we are doing in Spain (and they asked us so many questions about our trip...they made us feel so special). God knows what he is doing and his timing is perfect...maybe Tom needed a laugh in our Spanish class and so he plopped me right down next to him. Whatever God's plan is we are nothing but thankful to him for his timing and his selection. Tom and Linda became instant friends and we miss them dearly. Why do you think God does that?

On the other side of the coin, God has given us two other friends who are from Spain who will feel the pinch when we go. Jarylen pronounced (Hary {soft a} Lynn) and Tommy are two of the most kind people we have met in the entire world. Jarylen has taken us to two Jazz concerts, cooked us dinner in her house with traditional food from her country, and on this night invited us to be her guests at a new Tapas Bar in which she knows the owners who gave us all the free octopus and drinks we could eat. That's right! Both Bird and I ate for the first time OCTOPUS. And I loved it! Bird...not so much! Jarylen is an interior designer and her mom owns a cyber cafe in Salamanca. Tommy is a student and hopes to do missionary work in Mexico in the next couple of years. Yesterday before church (at 7 PM) we played UNO and had simply a great time. Both of them have come to the Bible Study and are strong Christians. It is encouraging to us to see that God has been at work in the lives of young people in Spain.

Both Bird and I value our friends so much and we have been blessed here in Spain to make just a few more. They have fed us, loved us, encouraged us, laughed with us, and taught us so much about ourselves and Spain. We are thankful.