Fin de semana....The weekend!

I'm now resting up from an amazingly fun, busy weekend. What a blessing! I will catch you all up a bit starting with last week.

I wanted to thank you all for your prayers. This last week the girls were so much better and the Lord is teaching me how to better care for them while not giving into their manipulations or anger. It's tough at times, but I'm learning. PTL!!! Anyway, I had the girls make valentine's cards for their Mom to tell her how much they appreciate and love her.. They enjoyed this and I guess it gave them the idea to make me one also.. On Valentine's Day they surprised me with a card they had made later the day before along with a Rocher's truffle and twizzlers that were taped inside my card in the shape of a heart. Bless their hearts.

Also this last week, I conquored the driving problem...grin. I was having trouble with taking off on a hill in Irene's manual toyota. I had learned to do so successfully in her husband's car, but for some reason almost always stalled her toyota nearly everytime I tried. She finally resorted to getting me a driving lesson to help me with this problem. She said that if she saw that I just couldn't drive at all, she'd forget this all together and we'd figure something else out for getting the girls to where they need to go, but since she saw that I could drive well and my only problem was taking off on hills, she wanted to help me learn. Well, PTL for her patience and insistance that I learn even when I was ready to give up. Smile... I finally discovered that I can drive better when she's not in the car making me feel nervous. grin...she's such a great person but can make a body feel a bit nervous... bless her heart.. anyway, finally was able to successfully take the girls to their swimming lessons alone. That may sound like no small feat, but you'd think otherwise if you'd felt the way I've felt about this whole ordeal. Grin.. PTL!!!
So, starting Friday, my weekend became very busy and lovely. A great way to follow up a great week. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous so that probably has something to do with why the week was so wonderful...I guess a little sunshine cheers me up quite a bit. This week was filled with running, sitting or walking in parks, and being out of doors.. Very restful!
So, back to Friday. I met with a friend of mine, Susana, in the morning enjoying the great outdoors and sunshine. Then later I met up with another friend, Isabel, for a chat...she helps me a bit with my Spanish. Then, because I had Friday night free this week, which is unusual because I normally have to work...so anyway, I took advantage of the time off and went to the evening meeting at the church. It's always fun to get together with the people of the church. I enjoy the Christian fellowship, worship, and more.. After the meeting, I ended up in Susana's house where she and I enjoyed a quiet evening. I don't always know where I'm going or what I'm doing until I get there...sometimes people forget that I don't understand everything they say to each other...grin...oh the joys of language barriers. They can actually be quite interesting if you don't let them be the barrier, but rather ride them out...grin! So, anyway, finally got to bed late on Friday night and up again the next morning for work. This Saturday morning was much more relaxed than others have been as the girls activities have moved to Saturday afternoons. PTL!!! I made oatmeal cookies this Saturday with the youngest as a helper. After lunch, I headed out to meet up with Susana and some other girls to go to an outdoor market in a nearby town, Berta Mirans. It was a lovely day to be out of doors, walking through a nearby park after browsing the market a bit. Good times..
Saturday evening, we girls hurried to the church for the youth meeting. This Saturday's meeting was a bit different than others have been, but no less interesting. We were split into groups to answer questions together using the Bible. I ended up in a group with the 3 people who speak the most English and still wasn't always sure what I was supposed to do. They did translate the questions for me mostly and then I was given a question and expected to answer it in Spanish...haha... To keep this short, just imagine me standing in front of about 20 pairs of eyes with a Bible verse, but not being really sure what I'm supposed to say...grin... oh well! Grin and bear it! After the meeting, we had some snacks at the church and then headed to the bowling alley... I wouldn't call myself a good bowler, but we had fun!! I got the impression that they got a kick out of watching me bowl. I didn't do too awful though, coming in second I think...
Saturday night, Elisa & I stayed with Susana in her comfortable, lovely two-bedroom apartment. Elisa is from a city further north, A Coruna (if you want to Google it). This arrangement was the best for us catching a ride the next morning to the concert/special church service that was being held just outside of town. Susana unfortunately had to work this Sunday morning, so I rode with her sister, Milli. This Sunday, the Noia & Santiago churches combined for a special singer/speaker named Luigi something.. We had a great time of worship that led right into a time of ministry.. I eventually got a bit lost with all the Spanish, but did my best to stay focused and enjoyed the music and God's presence. From there, I started out going one place, but then somehow ended up with a group of young people for lunch in a hamburger joint. Our group consisted of kids from Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, and me from the States. By 3pm I'd say it was deffinitely time for lunch. After lunch, we piled into cars and headed to a shopping complex (much like a mall) to the McD's for ice cream (or coffee if you're me and full) and then another game of bowling. After much fun, food, fellowship, and more...I made it home Sunday evening exhausted! Good times...
I'm so thankful for Christian fellowship. It seems like there is some meeting, prayer meeting, or Bible study scheduled for nearly everyday of the week. I normally can only make it to the ones on the weekends, but am blessed even though I don't always understand everything. My Spanish is getting better and I'm very thnkful for people's patience with me as I butcher their language in an attempt to communicate. Grin!!! PTL!!!

Asking the Lord to help me keep a good balance between my Christian friends and the other friends I have made... I want to be a channel for Christ to reach out to others who don't know Him yet. I can't be that very well if i don't also spend time with those people... So, please keep me in your prayers as I continue to learn. I'm still learning lots each week it seems and loving this time of growing more in the Lord... Thank you all for your prayers. Keep warm..I know for some it's been very cold this past week. Hoping you all are well!!