Cracked

Whew! Time certainly flies by, and I just realized that I have passed mid-May! I can't believe I've been here now for a month. I'm getting settled in and am enjoying life here in Madrid. I have 2 more weeks of language school, and Brook and I have begun our internet research on Latino immigrants in Europe. The plan is for us to sift through population data to determine where Latinos are. From this information we will strategically select, with our supervisor, the "gateway" cities with the most Latinos. After we decide this, we will create interviw formats for when we encounter Latinos in these selected cities or countries. Our interview formats will hopefully lead to spiritual conversations or just a better understanding of the level of evangelization of the immigrants and what they are doing outside of their home country. With this information that we collect, we hope that new personnel will be appointed to these gateway cities for follow up and for further evangelization and church planting. Brook and I truly are Trailblazers (the title of our job) because we are here to lay the foundation for those who come after us.

I have been excited to get to work! It has been a relief to feel as though I'm a part of a team that is doing an amazing work for God. How neat is it when we get to be part of something so much larger than our own personal plans? One thing about being a native English speaker is that many people want to speak English or practice English. I had an opportunity to meet up with a Chinese lady the other day because she so badly wanted to practice her English. Pray that I take opportunities like this to share God's love and the truth about Christ.

Something funny about transportation in Spain is that people really don't talk to each other in public unless they know one another. This makes for a comical situation on the metro. For instance there are performers on the metro that carry speakers with them so they can sing for money. Sometimes there are others who just ride the metro all day long begging for money. One particular day I was fortunate enough (haha) to get on the metro car with a lady who was singing her heart out. It wasn't that she was a bad singer as much as she sang with such passion, and NO ONE even cracked a smile. Everyone was so serious pretending as though she wasn't singing or that she even existed. The song was peppy and update and she expressed this through her voice. I got so tickled that I started giggling and couldn't stop! Usually I have better self control, but the irony of everyone acting as though nothing was happening got to me. A guy, about my age, sitting across from me kept making eye contact with me, probably initially because he realized I wasn't a Spaniard (they have no problem recognizing I'm American). The funny thing is when I started to laugh and kept laughing, he did too! Before I even knew it we both had a fit of the giggles while everyone remained straight-faced as if nothing was happening. I mean, seriously! A lady is walking up and down the car singing, and people remain expressionless. I felt a bond with this guy and I commented to him about how serious Spaniards were. He laughed again and agreed with me saying that Spain can be a serious country.

I felt such an accomplishment because I cracked a Spaniard! Despite their attempts to remain very formal and serious in the metro, someone my age could relate to the funny situation we were in, and he even cracked a smile and laughed with me. This moment reminded me of how easily we hide what's on the inside. On the outside we can appear confident, happy, and successful, but the truth is on the inside we may have none of these things. On the outside we can act as though there isn't a lady singing a passionate song, but on the inside we can be laughing at how ridiculous she is. I have to remind myself of this daily in my encounters with others. Just because everything seems calm on the outside doesn't mean there isn't emptiness on the inside that can only be filled by Christ. We are great at putting up facades when underneath there is so much more to be seen. Pray that in my encounters with people and especially Latinons that I have the opportunity to see beyond what's on the outside. Pray that I can talk with them about what's on the inside and that they'll "crack" open so that the Holy Spirit will begin a work in them.

Medical Update:
Well my legs have gone back to swelling again. They had almost gone down to normal! I have been especially frustrated because I've been needing more sleep lately and have been experiencing more pain. Some of this may be the nerves waking up, especially since parts of my legs are still without feeling. Pray that I won't feel defeated throughout the day. The battle usually begins for me each morning as soon as I walk out of my building onto the street to go to language class.. This is when the pain and stiffness hits me, and I feel discouraged. I struggle with creating boundaries for myself physically, so please also pray that I'll realize when I need to slow down and rest. In the moments when I complain to God about all that has occurred and the ongoing issues I encounter, I feel him continually asking me if He's worth everything. He asks me if He's worth pain and if the people here are worth my pain so they can hear His word. These thoughts humble me and help me keep things in perspective in the midst of everything.

Your prayers and encouragement mean everything to me. I always get to tell my team about the great support system I have in you all. Thank you for this.

In Him who's worth all suffering,
Taryn