Sunday, September 13, 2009

Breathe In and Breathe Out

We started our last day in Aracena with some nice relaxation. Well at least some of us did. We managed to set up appointments for the leaders of Parque Este to get some much needed TLC at the spa while the rest of us went about various activities. I personally took the time to relax, read, and blog but JuMaris and Ben went for “light exercise” that included running, push ups, and using the equipment in the hotel gym. I guess I failed to remember that these 3 were trying out for next season’s edition of American Gladiators.





We ate lunch together one last time at the hotel and then made our way to Sevilla. The drive from Aracena to Sevilla was not bad thanks once again to Ben’s excellent driving skills and maneuvering. We checked into our hotel, another winner btw, and then decided that we would meet at 8 to go eat at a restaurant by the river that Marcos had suggested. Once again, we piled into Jumper and found drove into town.





Ben, who was one of the leaders of the day, gave Amaris and I instructions to go scout out the restaurant and put our name on the waiting list if there was one. Amaris and I got to the restaurant, El Faro de Traina, and were delighted to find out that there was no wait. The rest of the team joined us and we got ready to eat our first dinner in Sevilla. We couldn’t really tell what the menu items were because there were a lot of colloquial and local words. Thus, Justin just suggested that we ask the waiter to bring us the 4 best dishes of the restaurant… so the rest of us went along with it. I guess it was kind of a “when in Rome/Sevilla…” moment. We were pleasantly surprised by our dishes. Our personal favorite one was the meat dish that had a flavored sauce. The meat was so juicy and tender and the sauce was amazing! It was wonderful to have fellowship with one another with beautiful scenery of Sevilla as the background. Speaking of background, I also enjoyed people watching while we were eating dinner. There were some people who were dressed to the 9’s. In fact, all of the Europeans were dressed very well. I guess we didn’t get the memo on how to dress for dinner. Well I shouldn’t say that, Justin actually was blending in with his European hairdo and polo (see picture below).




After dinner we kept walking to explore the downtown Sevilla area more. We wanted to try and find an ice cream store but most of the places were restaurants or clubs. Finally, we found a dessert café and enjoyed some yummy ice cream. We hopped back on Jumper, arrived back at the hotel and then got into bed after a good day of relaxation and arriving in Sevilla.






As I got into bed, I prayed that the leaders had enjoyed their time in Aracena and were able to restore and nourish their souls to continue on their path to carrying out God’s will in Sevilla. I prayed that our team had given them encouragement and helped facilitate rest. No matter how incredible the leaders of Parque Este are, I know that they are also human and thus must have days where they feel weary or down. But in the first Psalm it states

“Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinner take or sit in the company of mockers, but who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night. They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-whatever they do prospers.” ( Psalm 1:1-3 NLT)





As I closed my eyes, my final thoughts in my prayer were that the leaders remembered that the Lord would bless them for carrying out His will and that he would replenish their souls because true nourishment comes from God and His word.




Our last meal together at the hotel in Aracena







Ben and Marcos at check out





My photo-op with JuMaris @ our group dinner the first night in Sevilla.





JuMaris @ dinner on the river in Sevilla







Justin's "euro" hair style. He blends in so well!





Julie & Dave at dinner





Strategizing on where to go to get gelato in Sevilla







The papparazzi/Kevin becoming a subject... oh the irony





Night shots of downtown Sevilla









"The Dave" in action


Read more...

Saturday, September 12, 2009

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"

Our first official day in Spain was marked by multiple firsts. Today was the first time we all spent time together as a group with all members present on both teams- Buckhead Church and Parque Este. Today was the first day we got to walk around Aracena and explore the area.



Today was also the first day that many of us encountered “the Dave.” And no, it’s not the newest dance craze since the Macarena or Electric Slide. “The Dave” is a system or set positions that derive from getting the desired photograph. It’s similar to yoga because yoga is a system of set of breathing exercises and postures that one does to achieve spiritual unity. “The Dave” also does not just consist of one pose, although it does have a signature. (See pictures below) “The Dave” is any position that one must change into to take a high quality picture. “The Dave” includes squatting/laying on the ground, leaning over ledges of tall cathedrals, and most importantly, sticking your elbows out with a slight bend in your knees. If your elbows hit people, signs, trees, etc. it does not matter because getting the picture is the prerogative. Now I’m explaining this all to you because “The Dave” is present in many photos. In fact, it’s kind of impossible to miss or avoid. You all may think “The Dave” sounds strange or very odd, but believe me, if you’re around it enough, you’ll find yourself doing it too. It’s contagious.



Now on to the important stuff. Our team met in JuMaris’s (that’s Justin and Amaris combined, kinda like Brangelina is Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie) room for a group devotional and pep talk. Justin and I were the leaders of the day and we didn’t have any definitive plans except to accommodate and assist the leaders of Parque Este in relaxing and enjoyable activities in Aracena. We mentioned to our group that Pepe had told us the previous night that he had wanted to take a walk through town and go and explore the old cathedral that overlooked the area. Consequently, we all decided that we would go do that if the leader of Parque Este still wanted to do so. After our discussion, we all prayed for a successful and blessed day and set out to meet the Parque Este leaders downstairs.



We walked down the big steep hill that the hotel sat upon and made our way into town. Since Aracena is a mountain town, there were lots of hills and steep roads. It reminded me of San Francisco a little bit, minus the cable cars, tourists, Ghiradelli Square, piers… okay maybe Aracena isn’t like San Francisco after all… But in any case, the hills did make us to break a sweat and exercise. I personally don’t know how Kevin did it with al his heavy camera equipment, but I guess to professional paparazzi, this walk was nothing.



The walk to the old cathedral was very enjoyable because it gave us all a chance to talk to and get to know the various leaders of Parque Este. The walk also was the beginning of Ben and Marco becoming best friends (more on that later).



We didn’t exactly take the best or fastest route to the cathedral because none of us really had a map or idea of where we were going. We just figured we’d keep walking towards the church/cathedral. After all, it was huge and the main landmark. The only GPS we really had was Justin’s iphone and Pepe’s internal one that he jokingly said was implanted in his right foot. We were walking for a while when we ran into an elderly man who was sitting outside his house. Pepe asked him if we were walking in the right direction of the cathedral and he told us yes. Then Pepe asked the old man if he knew when the church was built. The man said, “I don’t know but it was there when I was born.” Consequently, this just reinforced the fact that the cathedral was very old…very very old.




We finally got to the cathedral and found out that it was actually a 13th century Medieval-style Christian castle built over an Arab castle. According to the sign and the (un)official tour guide (none of us could figure out if he was paid to be there or if he did this just because there’s not much else going on nearby), the French army destroyed it in 1812 and was rebuilt again over a former mosque that was constructed during the reign of the Moors. The cathedral was breath taking and it made me wish that the United States had more historical buildings. We stayed there for a while listening to the (un)official guide then decided to visit La Gruta de las maravillas or the Cave of Wonders.




As we made our way down to the cave, I looked backed and realized that half of our group was not with us. We stopped and waited for 15 minutes but we did not see them so we sent Dave to see what was taking them so long. He returned a few minutes later and informed us that they were gone and thought that they took an alternative route to the cave. We kept walking towards the cave when all of a sudden we ran into another local. She was an elderly…well I shouldn’t say that, she was a more mature woman and was very friendly. In fact Ben and Justin were so touched by her friendly spirit that they asked her to take a picture with them. Pepa’s friendly spirit clearly shows in the picture below by her warm smile and also by where her hands are…if you know what I mean…




We reunited with our group at the Cave of Wonders (I think that was the name of the cave in the Disney movie Aladdin… little trivia fact you all can use next time you play trivia or if you’re trying to impress a date or employer). We weren’t allowed to take pictures because of the effect the flash would have on rock and crystal formations, but some of us… ahem Dave…became mavericks and took contraband photos. The Cave of Wonders was amazing because there were breathtaking halls and passages of stalagmites and stalactites. Stalagmites are formations of mineralized calcium carbonate that rise from the floor and stalactites are formations that hang from the ceiling. In other words, they are pretty crystal thingies that come from the floor or ceiling. You can remember that stalagmites are from the ground because the letter “m” in stalagmites goes from the ground up and the letter “t” in stalactites hits the ceiling. Who says this mission trip isn’t educational?! And I’d like to thank Justin and Justin’s science teacher for that tip.



After we came back from our adventurous morning and afternoon, we all enjoyed a wonderful lunch together at the hotel and then most of our group decided to go horseback riding. Now since I was one of the ones that stayed behind I can only tell you the stuff I heard. I was told that the horses and horseback riding were great except for Amaris’s horse who had a little boo boo and slipped so she had to jump off the horse to save herself. Talk about High Ho Silver…sheesh.




We then all reconvened for dinner and enjoyed an amazing meal together. We’ve had so many wonderful meals I couldn’t exactly tell you which one was my favorite but I can tell you that there was probably ham or a ham product in it. My message to vegetarians, vegans and non-pork eating people, bring your own food or be prepared to eat meals of bread, cheese, and olives. Oh and water too.




The night ended with some great fellowship. We said our good nights and made our way to bed exhausted from all the fun activities.



There wasn’t a huge profound moment from this day but the thought I had throughout it was that I felt so blessed that we had this opportunity to form new relationships with the leaders of Parque Este because of our common vision to carry out God’s will in our own lives and in the lives of others. Although we had just met each other, it felt like we had known each other forever and our bonds were formed quickly and strongly because of the love we had for serving each other and serving Christ. In the book of John, Jesus talked to his disciples about how friendship and being a friend coincides with one of His greatest commandment which is to “love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) Jesus told his disciples “I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15).



As I stated, today was the day of many firsts. There were many first experiences and occurrences. However, most importantly, today was the first day that we all became friends and united in a journey together to carry out God’s love and will to each other and to the people of Sevilla.





Amaris and Hannah walking down from the top of the mountain.





The leaders of Parque Este
(L to R) Pepe & Mari, Maribel & Nono, Marcos & Toni





Justin sitting by the cathedral looking at the beautiful view of Aracena




Beautiful view of Aracena






Ben pointing where our hotel is from on top of the hill of the castillo/cathedral







Group walking to the cathedral/castillo





Front entrance & bell tower of the cathedral




Ben & Justin with Pepa




Ben, Marcos, and Justin pensively thinking on top of the mountain





Group shot on top of a mountain in Aracena
(L to R)
Back row: Pepe, Maribel, Dave, Ben, Marcos, Nono, Kevin, Toni
Front row: Mari, Julie, Justin, Amaris, Hannah









Julie, Amaris, and Pepe talking to the guide in the Cathedral









Toni, Amaris, and the rest of the group horseback riding






Julie horseback riding with the group into town





The Different Poses of "the Dave"

Read more...

Thursday, September 10, 2009

From Chaos Comes Order

Days 1 & 2


Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This applies, as we found out, to not just physics but all aspects of life.



Our journey to Sevilla started off very carefree. We all met at the airport with 3 hours till departure and were fortunate enough (thanks to Ben, Justin & Amaris) to enjoy some downtime at the Delta Airlines Sky Club Lounge in the International terminal. We enjoyed some tasty food and drinks while we waited to board our flight.



We boarded our plane around 5 PM and began our almost 10 hour flight to Barcelona. We were all mainly seated together and were fortunate enough to be on a plane that had individual screens for each passenger. I personally enjoyed watching the various sitcoms and films they had available although I wasn’t too thrilled with “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Sorry to all of you who like that movie. Anyways, we finally arrived in Barcelona around 8:30 AM local time and proceeded to find our way to our connection flight to Sevilla.



We weren’t sure about our checked luggage because we couldn’t remember if Patricia, the Delta representative that helped us in Atlanta, told us that the luggage would go directly to Sevilla or if we needed to pick them up in Barcelona. Consequently, Dave went to baggage claim and waited for them but did not see our luggage. We proceeded to go on a somewhat convoluted bus route to our terminal. We arrived just in time to board our flight to Sevilla.



It was a short 1.5 hour flight to Sevilla and we were delighted to see Pepe and Mari, the head pastor and his wife of our partner church Parque Este, waiting for us at the airport when we arrived around noon. Things were really going well for us. We only had minor complaints of lack of sleep and uncomfortable seats. Everything else had been smooth sailing.



Now this is the part where Newton’s Third Law of Motion comes into effect. As you can see, things were going a little too well. So inevitably, something had to happen to counter act this tranquility and ease.



We sent Julie, Amaris, Justin, and Ben to go meet Pepe y Mari and talk while Kevin, Dave & I picked up our luggage at baggage claim. We waited and waited and waited but did not see our luggage. Julie had tied bright orange ribbons on all of our luggage to easily identify them but as we watched various suitcases make the rounds one by one on the baggage claim belt, we didn’t spot a speck of orange ribbon on any of them.



We summoned Julie over and went to talk to the representatives at Spanair Airlines. After much talking, translating, and paper work, we found out that our luggage would probably be on a flight that would arrive from Barcelona at 7 PM. We had an hour and half drive to a town called Aracena up in the mountains and knew we couldn’t hold up the group and agenda so we sighed, said silent prayers to God, crossed our fingers and got into our vehicle that we lovingly call Jumper.



We stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant called Sloppy Joes and enjoyed great introductory fellowship with Pepe and Mari. After lunch, we hopped on Jumper and began our trek to Aracena.



The drive was very windy and sometimes bumpy because we were going up the mountains to our hotel. We arrived a little after about an hour and half drive and were very happy to see what our accommodations would be for the next few days.



The location of the hotel allowed us to see the town and the surrounding area. The scenery took my breath away! On top of the beautiful scenery, the hotel was ranked a 4-star hotel and thus had wonderful amenities. We checked in and decided to meet at 8 PM for dinner. We were all pretty tired and jet lagged and wanted some time to unwind, and relax. However this was a challenge for half of our group because half of us did not have our luggage and therefore could not change or use our own personal toiletries. We felt bad that fellow guests at the hotel would think we were the smelly Americans.




But we made the best of the situation and tried to work with what we had. After all, although we did not have our luggage or belongings, we were still blessed to be in Aracena with our brothers and sisters of Parque Este Church.



We eventually made contact with Spainair and found out that our luggage would be arriving at 7 PM. We asked if the airline could send somebody to deliver our luggage but they informed us that if we were to have somebody deliver them, we would have to wait till noon the next day. This presented a dilemma because we did not want having to wait for luggage cause any more disruptions to our trip. Thus, we decided that we needed to get our luggage tonight. However, Dave and Julie who were exhausted from lack of sleep and stressing/planning were not in the best condition to make the 3 hour round trip back to the airport to retrieve our luggage. Consequently, we needed other people to get the luggage and Ben and Justin valiantly stepped up to the plate and volunteered to carry out the task.



I felt bad that they were going to retrieve luggage that wasn’t theirs (they smartly put all their belongings on carry-ons) so I told them I would go with them. This also made Dave and Julie feel better because they knew that I was sufficient at Spanish and could communicate with people should a problem arise. So Ben, Justin and I got into Jumper and started our trek back to the airport.



We obviously weren’t familiar with the area being that this was all 3 of our first time in Sevilla or Aracena, but we had a map, motivation, and each other so we figured we’d get there in one way or another. Although we were carrying out a somewhat inconvenient task, for me, it was actually a great blessing in disguise because I got to spend some quality time with two of my team members in a more intimate setting. I mean I suppose 3 people all sitting in the front of Jumper really can’t help but get to know each other better but that’s besides the point. I actually had a great time talking to Ben and Justin and listening to them tell anecdotes about their lives and their friendship with one another.




We arrived at the airport with 3 minutes to spare to retrieve our luggage. We raced across the lines, got honked at by numerous buses and taxis, yelled at by airport officials, and finally made it upstairs to the Spainair kiosk. When we got there, Justin and I spotted the orange ribbon and made a leap for the luggage because we knew it was ours. I really don’t think I’ve ever been that happy to see orange ribbon in my life! We retrieved our luggage and started back on the hour and half drive to the hotel in Aracena.



When we walked through the doors of the hotel, we were met with hugs and gratitude from our team mates who looked so relieved and happy to see their luggage. Unfortunately, Ben, Justin and I, the luggage SEALS as I like to call us, got to the hotel 10 minutes after the main restaurant closed so we ate at the Irish pub in the hotel. While we ate our meals of mixed garden salad, jamon y queso (that’s ham and cheese sandwiches, a staple in Spain), and a yummy cheese cake, we chatted with Pepe and Mari as well as Nono and Maribel, other leaders from Parque Este who had arrived.



We enjoyed our late dinners and then debriefed with the group to plan for tomorrow. Afterwards, we all exhaustedly went to bed.



Whew! I felt so happy that we were able to take the entropy surrounding our lost luggage and turn it into something positive. The situation reinforced a couple lessons to me:




1) Luggage is just materials and losing them is not the end of the world. Although it was inconvenient to not have clean underwear and clothes, there was nothing in the luggage that none of us could not buy back or borrow. We all still had our health, each other, and this incredible opportunity to spread God’s love and will with our brothers and sisters in a beautiful setting. It seemed kind of silly to be so caught up in luggage and this thought helped keep things in perspective for me.



2) It is wonderful to have friends who are willing to go out of their way to help you. Both Ben and Justin did not have to drive 3 hours to help Dave, Julie, Kevin, and I get our luggage back. But they were both willing to lend a hand. Not only were they both willing, but they were both willing to do so with a loving and gracious heart. I felt very blessed and fortunate to have these great guys on my team.




3) Sometimes the best things can happen when you don’t plan for them. I honestly was not looking forward to driving all the way to the airport, but I can also honestly say that I enjoyed talking to Ben and Justin and spending some quality time with them in the car. As I mentioned before, perhaps this whole situation was meant to happen for the 3 of us to have this fellowship.




4) Challenges keep us from becoming too comfortable and satisfied with the status quo. They force us to depend on God and follow His lead. Without trust in God, it can be very frightening and arduous, but with God, it can be a great adventure. In 2 Samuel 22:30 (NLT) it states “in your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.” This whole luggage fiasco conveyed this message to me and reinforced the thought that our real strength and perseverance comes from God and from others who also rely on the Lord.



5) And last but not least, Ben is an EXCELLENT driver! Although we were going up and down mountains and Jumper did not exactly have the greatest clutch, the entire 3 hour ordeal was smooth. None of us suffered from any type of motion sickness. The only time I felt any pain in my stomach was when I was laughing at some funny quips or anecdotes from Justin and/or Ben.



So I suppose saying that our first two days of our trip was chaotic is pretty accurate. However, from chaos, God created order and allowed us to make the best of the situation and remedy our problems. Thus, to me, this trip is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for us!



Besos,


Hannah



P.S. Sorry this entry is SO long but it was for 2 days and as you can see, it was quite eventful!


Photo courtsey of Kevin Voth

Julie writing thank you notes to donors at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport



Photo courtesy of Kevin Voth

Justin & Amaris, JuMaris as we lovingly call them, sitting on the plane to Barcelona



Photo courtesy of Hannah Cho

View from our plane as we landed in Barcelona


Photo courtesy of Kevin Voth

Getting into the Jumper


Photo courtesy of Amaris Landis

Our famous photographer/papparazzi Kevin sitting in the Jumper



Photo courtsey of Amaris Landis

Mari showing Justin a map of Sevilla in the Jumper



Photo courtesy of Hannah Cho

Pool and outside view from our hotel in Aracena


Photo courtesy of Kevin Voth

One of our rooms in the Aracena Hotel


Photo courtesy of Kevin Voth

Amaris, Julie, and Hannah with a background of the beautiful night view of Aracena



Photo courtesy of Kevin Voth

Pepe and Dave acting goofy at dinner

Read more...

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

God answers prayers

Tomorrow, we will embark to our trip to Spain. The past few months of preparation for this trip have been truly remarkable for all of us. Not only have we all gotten the chance to become a close family, we have also been blessed in other facets.


One of our co-leaders Julie, works for a home developer/builder and was hit with many obstacles that almost prevented her from coming. Her superiors at work denied her request for the vacation days for this trip and gave her an ultimatum that she had to sell 2 houses by the end of the month of August. By the time our send off reception happened on August 30th, Julie had only sold one house. We all worried that she would not be able to go and feared the worst. However, the next day at our final group meeting before the trip, Julie informed us that her boss had a change of heart and decided to let her have her vacation days. We were all ecstatic! I personally took it as a sign that Julie was meant to go on this trip. When I heard the news, I couldn’t help but think of the group prayer we had at our send off reception with our team and our friends, family, and supporters. We all arduously prayed for Julie and lifted her situation up to Christ and as it turned out, we were blessed that God had heard our prayers and changed the heart of Julie’s boss.


We also were blessed with our finances as well. As I stated in a previous blog, as a group, we were struggling with raising enough money. However, at the 11th hour, many last minute donors came through and we were able to raise a great amount of money. This helped ease our minds about financing the trip and meeting our budget with some of our expenses.


Now with our big obstacles taken care of, it seems that this trip is providential and meant to be. Through our preparation process, we have all learned that when we face situations that are beyond our control, the only thing we can do is trust God and let Him bring order and peace to our lives and our hearts.


Please continue to pray for us as we begin our long journey to Spain tomorrow!


“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you and loves you.”~1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)



Besos,

Hannah





Dave, Ben & Justin talking to various people at our send-off reception




Justin & Amaris enjoy some gelato after a group meeting in Atlanta


Our co-leader Julie at a group dinner


Kevin, Dave, and Ben at a group outing to a Braves baseball game.


Amaris and Barkley at our Lake Lanier group retreat


The beautiful view from the back deck of Ben's lake house.









All photos courtesy of Kevin Voth


Read more...

  © Free Blogger Templates Spain by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP