Trip to Malaga, Day 1

I'm going to back up in time here and post my journal entries from the week I spent at Betel of Malaga.

Sunday, January 22, 2012
After church, I left in the van for Malaga with my small suitcase (amazing, considering I am capable of packing the whole trunk of my car full just to leave for the weekend, and I packed for a week in the carry-on suitcase!).

We saw a gorgeous sunset that lasted for far longer than I would have expected possible. We also passed through a spectacular mountain gorge, with layers of rock in vertical and diagonal bands jutting out of the earth.

As we got closer to Malaga, it was already dark, but my heart started beating faster with anticipation. Here I was in my city! "It's amazing how you can have love--for a city," I thought.

First we stopped at the church and unloaded our suitcases. Then we got into a different van and Juani (our house leader) drove us back to the house.

It was dark as we pulled in, but in the light of our headlights I could see that the driveway was lined with orange trees laden with bright fruit.

I walked into the house and was greeted by a warm welcome from each of the girls. It was amazing how much they made me feel at home right away. We ate a delicious dinner of homemade pizza. Yum!

After dinner, I got talking to V, who is from Ireland and has spent 10 months in Betel. She was phenomenal to talk to!

She came to Betel straight from the hospital 10 months ago in very bad health. She had wanted to die. In Betel, she came to know Christ, was baptized, and grew rapidly in the Lord. She talked about themes like surrender with such a light in her eyes and a passion for Christ, you would think she was a pastor's wife or a missionary or someone who had been saved all her life. It was so inspiring to talk to her.

I went to bed and slept soundly and comfortably. The mattress was very comfortable and the covers were very warm. Yay!

This is the first post in this series.
Next Post: Trip to Malaga, Day 2