Whew!

Well, I know it has been basically two weeks since my last post...  Well, let's just say it's been a wild couple of weeks.  I actually had a blog post completely finished, one that I started in a train station in France and completed whilst in the train.  Unfortunately, I was writing it without a connection to the internet and I closed it down by accident and lost it.  And that would describe my last two weeks.   

When last I wrote, I was in Leon, enjoying a weekend with my American companions.  Leon was a wonderful trip, and we really had a fun time together.  The best part for me was being able to talk about all of our religious beliefs for a couple hours on the bus ride down.  It turned into a wonderful chance to share the gospel, not just in a basic form, but explain it and answer any questions.  Thank you Lord for softening hearts!  We some other crazy adventures, too, like going to a karoke bar that played only 80's American songs translated into spanish and going to a vineyard to taste wine.  Then we went to Salamanca, which probably has more impressive momuments per square mile in Spain.  Every building is made of the same time of stone, which can hurt the eyes a little bit, but still the city was amazing.  Both Salamanca and Leon have very impressive catedrals (Salamanca has two!).   Also, Salamaca is famous for its college students from all over Spain and the world.  I was cool being in that atmosphere.  

"La corazon de un hombre planea su proposito, pero Jehovah establace sus pisas."  Remember how in the last post I was talking about how comfortable I was getting over here?  Well, last week God decided to rock that confidence a little bit- because it was in the wrong place (myself, not Him).  Cosas contuaban ir bien (things were still going well)- I had a presentation in spanish for my business class, and that went well- I was beginning to feel very good about my spanish skills.  I was skipping one class on Thursday to leave Wednesday night for Wales (where the Sovereign Grace church is located).   Wednesday morning, I made a brief stop to exchange some euros for pounds and hopped back on my bike.  Unfortunately, as I pedalled, my wallet fell out of my pocket! (se me cayo de mi bolsillo).  I got all the way to school before I realized this.  The rest of the morning and the early afternoon was spent frantically retracing my steps.  I visited the national police and the local police to see if someone had turned it in.  Finally, I decided just to cancel my cards and cancel my trip to Wales as well.   

Needless to say I was dispairing.  Then my program director (director del programa- there's an easy one for ya) called me.  Someone- definitely a kind soul, maybe an angel, had picked it up off the street and somehow thought to call my program director.  This is why words cannot express just how good God is!  Truly my worst day is still better than I deserve!  The rest of the day was a flurry of bus to the University to get my wallet (everything was still there), 2 buses to airport, flight to London, and 2 trains, a subway and a taxi to Taige McMahon's house in Wales.  Cars are under-rated.  But I got to Wales, albeit with two cancelled cards and only the money I had in cash before the incident.

But I was in Wales.  For those of you who don't know (Para los de vosotros quienes no sabeis), Taige McMahon, Ivy Gillette and Katherine Dixon from Crossway have spent the last 6 months in Wales helping to establish the singles and youth ministries at Christchurch (Pete Greasley's church).  They are all doing great- and God is using each of them in different ways to serve His purposes in the church.  I am so glad I went- I had a fantastic time hanging, serving and meeting new people.  (Not to mention a couple crazy car rides with Taige learning how to drive a stick)... One of the highlights was Vintage Jesus (a combination of Youth Group and Festival on the Lawn), where dozens of youth, many of them unsaved, run around on inflatables , eat candy or play 2on2 soccer/football.  That was great fun.  Afterwards, we somehow got to McDonalds and then someone else's house despite nearly dying of fright because of Taige's house and played Monopoly until 4:00 in the morning.  On Saturday, Taige (now a much better driver) took me down to Cardiff, where we had a very good time exploring and catching up.  

On Sunday, I flew back.  It was certainly a weekend to remember.  I am going back briefly to Wales this weekend for Easter Sunday, so I will give a deeper report of what God is doing at Christchurch next post.  

This week, I was left with a grand total of 15 euros available to spend on anything.  I don't have either my credit card or my debit card, so withdrawing money is impossible.  Simply put, these last three days have been spent figuring out how I am going to travel across Europe with no money.  You see, this weekend and the week following is my Spring Break.  I have flights booked to Sevilla and several parts of England (including London), but I wasn't sure how was going to be able to go without money.  This is on top of my camera randomly breaking (yes, again).  

I have things somewhat worked out, but everything is very complicated.  There have many times in the last few days that I have doubted God's plan or my competence (or maybe a little of both).  But faith isn't for when everything is going smoothly.  It's for when I am at the end of my wits.  The key is remembering that there is no end to God's wits.  And this has been a very hard thing to remember sometimes.    But here I am, sitting in the airport on my way to Sevilla now.

Nobody celebrates Easter like the Spaniards, so I am really looking forward to this trip.  I will keep you posted on how things go. 

May each and everyone of you have a blessed weekend, worshipping our Savior WHO HAS RISEN!

- Charlie