It's been a lazy weekend, due to the changes in weather my poor husband started getting sick, so we took the weekend to recuperate. We watched Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, I made my own popcorn (using oil, kernels, and a pan... can we say going back to basics?!?), and we've each almost finished the Harry Potter books we're reading.
Unfortunately it's been a sad weekend too, a couple from Richmond is going back to the States on Tuesday. They've been in Gijon a year, and we're really sad to see them go! They've taken us to some of the BEST restaurants! We had a big dinner for them on Friday night with all of the ex-pats and a bunch of Spanish DuPonters. And today Brian, Jodie, Greg, and I went to lunch with them in a small fishing village called Tazones, about 40 minutes from us. We had a WONDERFUL lunch! And a gorgeous view over the coast and the hills (where there were lots of cows resting and grazing). And then went down into the town, there is a house there that is covered in sea shells (pictured below). And it smelled very strongly of fish... they have a fish factory right at the edge of town, and the waiters/cooks will head down there to collect more fish if their restaurants start to run out-so you're guaranteed some really fresh food. They also fish the old fashioned way, in tiny boats with nets and traps (for lobsters, etc). It was just another glimpse at the beautiful coast of northern Spain, we can't wait to discover all of these little towns! And we're going to miss Bill and Jean very much!
On a different note, church today was awesome. Lately the Americans have been outnumbering the others (we have attendees from The Netherlands, Germany, Korea, England, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Spain) so someone has translated from Spanish to English for those who don't understand, but today Greg and I were the only representatives from the U.S.A, and we opted out of any translating. Which we discovered-really allowed our Pastor to get into it. It was amazing, I left church feeling more rejuvenated than I have felt since we moved here! We were studying 1 John 4:7-21. And as a group looked at 3 different kinds of love John is talking about: God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for others. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because he first loved us." God didn't wait until we were totally messed up and decided to love him to love us.. He always takes the initiative, God loved us before we even had a clue, and not just any kind of love, but a sacrificial/demonstrative/never ending kind of love. And because of that we are able to love him back, to respond to his call with love. And I think it's a beautiful picture of how we ought to love others around us. We don't get to wait until they love us, I need to love others before they love me, in sacrificial ways/material ways/whatever it takes sometimes. And I know I've failed miserably at this, but there's a way-and God gives that to us through his love, and because of His love... there's gotta be a way, it can't be impossible, ya know?
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