The
most meaningful part of the camp for me was one night when I had to share my
experience with the older kids. One of the sisters in charge, Sor Remé,
approached me and said that the activity for the night was for the kids to
listen to four special speakers, one of which was me! I told her I’d love to
and that I’d go prepare something immediately. I asked if I should be ready after
dinner and she replied, “No, we’ll begin in about 10 minutes”. I was nervous; I’m
not going to lie! This was my chance to speak to the kids about having a
relationship with God and I didn’t want to mess anything up! But I told Him to
please speak for me, because He could do a much better job than I could. That’s
for sure.
We
gathered in a big, empty, beautiful house on the property that was pretty much
completely empty. Each speaker waited in a different room and the four groups
of kids would rotate. I sat on the floor and anxiously waited for the first
group to enter. When the door opened, the kids ran in and sat on the floor with
me, forming a circle. It felt so friendly and comfortable, like I was about to
share my life story with a bunch of my closest friends! They were so patient
with my Spanish, helping me when I couldn’t find the right word, and they were
so interested in my story. I think this was a new experience for them to talk
to a girl somewhat close to their age who had a real relationship with God.
They asked so many questions when I had finished speaking (and sometimes when I
hadn’t finished speaking, which was funny). They seemed surprised that this
girl who they’d been hanging out with for the week had this whole other side to
her that they never knew about. It was so beautiful to speak openly with
teenagers about God! This is a critical, formative time in their lives when
they’re trying to fit in and define themselves. I hope that my words sink in
and inspire each of them to seek a closer relationship with God. I wanted them
to see that being passionate about the faith is an attractive quality in a
person. Judging by their wide eyes and excitement in learning more about this
way of life, I think this was a whole new idea for them. This night was an
incredible experience for me because I felt that for the first time in Las
Palmas—for the first time during my mission—I was actually spreading the word
of God WITH WORDS. I do believe that actions speak louder than words. But
having even one night of speaking with others about the faith was very special
and I will never forget it. I did my best and the rest is in God’s hands.
I had
to leave the camp for two days to travel to another island called Tenerife for
the graduation of my friend, Namibia. The night I left, all the kids were busy
with an activity, but just as I was getting in the car they seemed to swarm
from all directions! They were so upset that I was leaving (even though I told
them I was going to return) and they said, in English, “You’re the best English
person EVER!” Once they realized I was coming back, they calmed down, but this
was so touching to me that as we drove away I actually started tearing up even
though I was coming back in just two days! The people here are so incredibly loving.
It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Anyway, Tenerife was amazing. I didn’t
get to see very much of it but what I did see, I loved. It is very similar to
Gran Canaria, but greener. And it was so cool to see a Spanish graduation
ceremony! Namibia is a psychology major, just like me, and this ceremony was
only for psychology majors, which consisted of 78 students. The love and
endless generosity that Namibia and her family showed me was very humbling and
I feel blessed and honored to have had these people enter my life.
To top
it all off, one day after returning from Tenerife, I turned around and hopped
on a boat to Fuerteventura! This was really a vacation. I feel so spoiled!
There were seven of us exploring the endless beaches of this island for three
days. We were a jolly little group, packed in a big black van and getting darker
and darker (or in my case, redder and redder) each day. Fuerteventura is about
the same size as Gran Canaria but most of the time it felt like the island was
empty except for us! This is the island that all of the “giris” (foreigners)
travel to for vacation, so the only people we encountered were from Ireland,
England, or Germany. The people who worked in the snack shack next to our pool
didn’t even speak Spanish, which was weird. It was interesting to see super
white people again!
That’s
it for now! I have less than two weeks left and it’s time to start preparing my
goodbyes. I’m excited to go to England, mostly because I can speak naturally
with people there, but honestly I don’t want to leave Spain. I’ll just have to
come back! That’s all there is to it!
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