Hello!
So, over the last few days we have been preparing for our
installation that opened on Friday night. Overall the event was a success! The
theme was repurposing, restoration and beauty from ashes, so we have been
taking items from the trash and turning them into treasure. We took
waterbottles and made them into lanterns with plant-esque designs on them, we
painted and sketched on envelopes, turning something ordinary into a
canvas. We also painted on the
cups and wine glasses that our guests would be using. Rebecca made some
luminaries and also decoupaged some old jars to turn into votive holders. In
addition to our own work, we hosted a local artist named Daniel and had him exhibit some of his work- he
does portraits in watercolor as well as some other types of paintings. He is
quite talented and it was an honor to have him as a focus of our party.
In hosting this party we want to draw the community in and
invite them to look at art, ask questions about it and ultimately have it lead
into a conversation about the ultimate Creator. At these first nights we are
focusing on building those relationships so that in the future we are able to
delve into deeper conversations. It has been quite difficult to share the
gospel with people that don’t feel as though they need it- in fact, many know
about God yet choose not to have him as part of their lives.
An interesting point that Rebecca brought up in a one on one
conversation with me is how do you share the gospel with a community that
desperately needs it, yet does not have any physical needs that we can come and
meet to show the love of Christ through our acts of service. This is one of the reasons that we are
focusing on relationship building rather than physically building. Spain is a first-world country and therefore
the need for water, clothes and shelter is not as imminent- but their need for
a savior is just as great as those in other third-world countries.
Some of the ways that I have seen God using me as a walking
testimony is through our interactions with the store owners. We have all been
intentional about talking with the store workers, restaurant owners, waitresses
and gelato workers and through these conversations we have been able to be a witness. Many of the
workers have told us how nice we were and that there are not many Americans
that come to visit. I had a very interesting encounter in one of the sotres
that showed me how the way I have been interacting with the store owners has
been visibly different than normal tourists.
There were a couple girls that were clearly from the states
because they were speaking English with an American accent. I had seen them
earlier in another store and so in this second store I was all too aware of
their presence. I was talking with the cashier and inviting him to our art
night and the girl behind me was getting frustrated because I was trying to
speak Spanish with the guy and he was obviously more interested in our
conversation than making sure she was taken care of. I hear her say, “Ugh I
just wanna buy these and get out of here”, She then proceeds to take a couple
more deep breaths and then moves in front of me, puts her purchase on the table
and then throws her money down. Then without saying “thanks” or anything, she
quickly grabs her purchase and leaves in a huff. Quite the experience. There
have been a couple more of those instances where people were trying to bargain
with the workers in one of the boutiques- and it comes across as serious
cultural insensitivity. We would never try and bargain with a boutique owner in
the states- yet here, many of the foreigners try and do just that.
So, my focus has been to try and get to know the owners and
in my actions show how I care about the whole person and not just about what
services they can offer me. Many
of these lessons I can see taking back to the states to be able to be the light
of Christ in every day life and not just on a mission trip.
Unfortunately I am still sick :( Diagnosis: ear infection. Remedy: antibiotics, sleep and prayer. So far the first two haven't made a huge difference, so lots of prayer is appreciated! But on the bright side here are some photos of the last couple weeks.
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These are some of the glasses that we painted for our guests to drink out of at the art exhibition |
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These are the luminaries Rebecca made |
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One of our guests writing her thoughts and prayers on the papers provided- lit by the decopauged votive holders |
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Anne and I are airing out our smoking pans from our attempt at having a
4th of July BBQ.. haha Nothing caught on fire- no worries! |
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For Jiska's birthday we all went out for tapas |
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and mojitos |
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these are the stairs we traverse every day |
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This is Rebecca playing her electric cello in the plaza to invite people to the gallery opening. | | |