Days 44 & 45.. not quite the end of the Summer! Couple of hours to go! #45daysofsummer

Well I'm not quite finished as there is still one more evening left of the summer! And I've not yet posted about yesterday either! So here goes..
Yesterday will be summed up in more photos than words (but a picture paints a thousand words though, right?!) and today's events as well as an overall (short!) summary of my entire summer follows at the bottom..

Laura gave me a brief but detailed tour of Bilbao in around 2 hours! I decided that if I would live anywhere in Spain (although of course I haven't been to every place in Spain) I would live in Bilbao. I loved it there! The atmosphere, the buildings, the river. Everything. We started our tour at what I think is the Old Square.

And walked round to the New Square (which didn't look that new to be fair, but was wonderful and was lined with cafés and bars and later on there was live music here!)

The library was rather modest and hidden, I felt. But had a grand door that was worth a snap.

A tiny little stage for the City Orchestra.

Live music in the street! This was on one of the main streets in the city, and had lots of shops and gorgeous little pastelerías (cake shops).

We reached the Guggenheim Museum! Selfie necessary.

A giant puppy made from flowers. Why not?

The Spider in the distance... Can you see the bride and groom in the distance having their wedding photos with said spider? Weird.

And the exterior of the museum was enough to look at without having to go in! 

The spider...! Crazy. Weird. Bride and groom finished and moved on to some other unusual spot for the rest of their shoot.

View down the river.

Arty bridge.

We went for a quick bite to eat in a gorgeous little Tapas bar in the New Square.

 

There was sooo much to choose from!

 Really, so much!! But the kind Spanish waiters helped us decide what to have and poured my mosto (grape juice) for me in a wine glass with ice, an orange slice and an olive on a stick. Wonderful.

Basketball World Cup fever - this year it is held in Bilbao!

There were loads of people milling around and taking part in all the activities in the streets.

We got free balloons :) yay!

And then, after a spot of lunch, and really all to quickly, I caught the bus to the airport.. Where my case was 26kg instead of 23kg and I had to get rid of some stuff and move some things around in a fluster as the queue for the Vueling desk was huge and out the door of the airport! After misunderstandings about hand luggage and being sad that my last proper Spanish conversation was a total muddle, all was well in the end and I reminded myself of my competent and lengthy conversation with Juanma the previous day, and my entire time with Laura which was almost totally in Spanish!! I landed back in London last night where mom and dad met me to take me home! Phew! (We did get lost in the countryside looking for a pub to eat dinner in, but alas gave up and ended up having pizza in Oxford services.) Home and bed. Yes.

Today, on my last official day of my Summer, I had a well-needed lie in, before heading to church at Zion. It didn't occur to me at the time, but thinking about it now, it was very nice to be sat in an English service, to be able to understand everything without my brain working on over time to try and translate. And how good to worship, and let God revive and refresh me. And don't get me wrong, I'm still tired and I'll be hitting the ground running as I start back at work tomorrow but I am so excited about what He is doing in my life at the moment and how clearly I can hear Him speaking to me, challenging me, encouraging and inspiring me. I hope and pray that in the busyness of this new season, I will still be able to hear Him and make time do so. 

This afternoon, we celebrated with some close family friends of ours. Two birthdays and three wedding anniversaries in these past couple of weeks! How exciting to be able to celebrate 55, 52 and 25 years of marriage with those couples, in a world when so often marriages have broken down. What a blessing to share with them in their celebrations today :)

And finally tonight, a brief but detailed and very exciting meeting about the future plans at church and about where God is leading us as a community in terms of our building plans!! 

Sadly no time for Grey's Anatomy tonight (soon I hope!) because the last 1.5 hours of this summer, I intend to be sleeping in order to be up for an early start tomorrow!

But what an incredible Summer it has been. Of adventure and challenge. Of learning and growing. Of new places, new people and new opportunities.

And what an incredible God I serve, who takes away, but who also gives in abundance. Who mends and restores what is broken and lost (and is continuing to do so). Who I don't always understand but who I am learning to trust more and more. Who makes my paths straight. Who sings over me and whispers words of love and truth to me at the times when I most need to hear them. Who is faithful to His promises. Who has said 'yes' to much more than He has said 'no'. Who has given me so much more than a great Summer. He has given me hope. He has given me Jesus. He is all I need.

#45daysofsummer #blessed

Now, what's next?!

Storm Chasers - Day 11 of #45daysofsummer

We felt like storm chasers yesterday. That's not what we were actually doing, it felt more like the storms were chasing us but we survived. Let me tell you about the day before we got to the storms.

We had a chilled morning at Corinna's, and then had a Spanish breakfast (tostadas con tomatoes) out in her little garden, which was just beautiful. We sat for a long while catching up and Corinna told us her story of the last 5 years (Jess and I told ours the previous night) before her flatmates came out and we made friends and just enjoyed the quiet morning.

I helped make the tomato sauce - tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, blitzed together.

Then after a small tour of Munster, with ice cream (the kind German man gave me extra ice cream and a cherry too.. Clearly my broken German is useful for something!) and time to wander around funny little shops, we met Pia, Ushi and Nora (Corinna's flatmates) at the Canal for a rather experiential afternoon:

Putting the slack line up.

Corinna showing us her skills.

Jumping in the canal.

Meeee!

Then, paddling up the canal came two beautiful strangers on stand up surfboards (slightly bigger than a normal surfboard, with more grip I think.. And they offered for us to have a go. So we did! Photos are on my actual camera though so can't upload those until I'm home but that was brilliant - I stood up and paddled my way round on the water for a few minutes! 

We picked raspberries on the walk back to the car, saving some for the pancakes that Pia had made when we arrived home. And by this point, it was time for us to say our goodbyes and get on the road.

That's when the storm hit.

No ordinary storm (although I appreciate all storms are pretty ordinary in that there's normally thunder, lightning, rain etc..) But this time, the rain came down heavily and quickly and within minutes the street was flooding and cars were backed up down the street and people were coming out in bathing suits to play in the giant puddles! It was quite a community to be honest, but it meant that we couldn't leave yet. So we waiting for it to calm down and then made our move heading for Marburg.

45 minutes of peace and then the next storm hit. It is, admittedly, the worst conditions I have driven in. We pulled over at first thinking we could sit and wait for it to pass, but quickly realised that it wasn't passing any time soon and there weren't lights on the road side so if it got dark and we had to drive in these conditions, it would be even worse! So we prayed and drove and stayed super alert. Eventually, the rain died down and we drove in peace for a fee more kilometers. Then the next storm hit, the same again... But God was so good, and we finally made it to Marburg safely and in one piece, despite hearing from friends of the many accidents and fallen trees that had affected others. God protected us on our 3 and a half hour journey and we made it to Ruth and Waldi's.

Talking late in to the night, eating freshly baked banana bread and watching the persistent lightning over the hill from the safety of their beautiful little flat... It was a wonderful evening, to end a crazy adventurous day.

Thank you Jesus for friends, for new experiences, for leading us safely through the storm and for all that is to come.

Make me brave

My three years at uni were a turbulent and testing time for me. I had some incredible experiences, built quality friendships and got a great education but I also found myself wading through some rough waters and facing unexpected challenges, personally and spiritually. I praise God that He held on to me through that time and saw me through, bringing me home to calmer waters and familiar territory.

Rend Collective's Lighthouse reminds me of this time. You will carry me safe to shore... God did carry me safely back to shore, back home for a season of rest and waiting.

Over the past 12 months, I have loved almost every minute of being home. I settled quickly back in to church life at Zion, serving in areas I love, getting plugged back in. By the end of last Summer, I found myself starting what can only be described as an incredible job as a Teaching Assistant at the High School I used to attend. Nearly every day I catch myself thinking 'gosh I love my job so much!' And I am so grateful for that! For the rest it's allowed me to have, as well as the enthusiasm and energy it has stirred up in me, for the opportunities to make a difference in the lives of so many young people, whilst also looking out for and after myself and my needs as I found my feet again after university.

There have been other significant things that have happened during the last year, some great and some not so great.. Some mountaintop experiences and some valleys to walk through. But all have played a part in bringing me to where I am now. I have learnt so much this year and I have grown in ways I wouldn't have imagined.

But now a different song comes to mind. One which has been an anthem playing in the background of the past four months:

You make me brave... You call me out beyond the shore in to the waves.
You make me brave... Nothing can hinder now the love that made a way.
You make me brave... No fear can hinder now the promises you make.

Things have changed and are changing. I am not waiting anymore. God is calling me out from the gentle tide into the waves of His promises, His adventure, the next stage of the plans He has for me. And I am responding, despite the fear, knowing that His love has already made a way for me and will continue to do so and that the One who calls me is totally faithful.
Where I will end up, quite literally, only God knows. But it is time to be brave. It is time to be made brave and to step out in to what He has for me. With His words, a whisper in my ears, see I am doing a new thing...

Change

Everything has changed. Again.

I'm in a new place, with different people, setting up home yet again, somewhere new.

Please don't get me wrong, this is all very exciting and adventurous.

But I had imagined that this type of thing would get easier the more I did it.

In fact, the opposite is true.

It's hard to believe that compared with this, moving across the Atlantic on my own to live and work with complete strangers for almost a year in a country I'd never been to before, seemed positively easy.

Each time I am uprooted, more heart strings are pulled, and feelings of being unsettled and anxious resurface once more.

Admittedly, having been here four days now, I have certainly settled in well and I honestly love my house mates and already the ridiculous amounts of fun and creativity that have ensued.

But knowing that this would happen, didn't seem to help the initial sting of change and all that comes with it.

The season has changed.

Autumn is here.

A new year has begun.

Still, I can and do rejoice for my God is with me; faithful and unchanging, He remains the same and by my side through all of this and I know I am in safe, capable and loving hands.

Praise be to God.