Not at all expecting this twist of events, we were at a loss as to how to spend our now free weekend. We finally decided to find the mall on foot. After about thirty minutes of walking, we discovered that the mall wasn’t to bad of a walk! After spending a few hours browsing the stores, we headed home and had a “movie night” with “los chicos” (the two guys from ISA who live on the same street as us). Saturday was almost a repeat of Friday: we walked to the mall… except we didn’t go in; we went next door to Pequeño Mundo instead. I LOVE PEQUEÑO MUNDO!!! It’s a huge warehouse full of “stuff”, house items, clothes, food, random trinkets etc. It’s basically like the dollar store except the quality is “slightly” better. And it’s the cheapest place to buy things here. For example, we bought peanut butter (very important) for $1.50 as opposed to $5.00. And thus, this is why I love it : ] Saturday night we had another movie night after figuring out how to rent movies from the grocery store.
Tonight was definitely the highlight of the weekend. For the first time in a month, I was able to go to church! It was like a glass of water in the desert. The church was very different from what I expected it to be. It was very large, with a beautiful building and even a school. I was surprised when I walked in and saw a normal stage equipped with instruments and two huge projector screens – just like you would find at most churches in the U.S.! The service started soon after we arrived and a plethora of ages were in attendance. The service started off with forty minutes of worship. I understood all of the songs! One of the songs was about how someday every tongue, tribe, and nation will proclaim that Christ is Lord. It was so sweet to sing this in an assembly of people who are not from my country and in a different tongue. It was a little glimpse of what that day will be like! The announcements were given by means of a very flashy and well-done video. I was
impressed. However, the best part of the service was the sermon. I understood 99% of what was said! This has never happened before! It was such a great feeling! I even caught the sermon jokes and laughed right along with everyone else! The preacher spoke very slowly and clearly which made him much easier to understand than any other Spanish speaking preacher that I have every heard. I followed along in my Spanish Bible and even took notes in Spanish… I can’t even express how satisfying and fun it was to go to church and actually be able to follow along, get something out of the service, while completely being immersed in Spanish! Definitely a gift from the Lord! The sermon was about family. One of the points that I really liked was that God created family long before He ever created the church. It is a model for how He loves us, and if He has placed such a priority on family, shouldn’t we? The pastor encouraged parents to actively love their family. It’s important to not only tell people that you love them but to also show them that through your actions. He spoke about the importance of being a Godly model for your children and how God is our model. He closed the sermon by acknowledging that many parents don’t know how to love or be a good parent because they never had this modeled for them when they were growing up. He then encouraged the congregation by telling them that they can’t be a good parent or a Godly model apart from Christ, but that the power of Christ inside of them can conquer all generational sins and empower them to live the way that God created them to live.
In conclusion, although the weekend got off on a rough start, it ended on a great note! I’m thankful that I was able to have a nice relaxing weekend to catch-up on homework, explore San José a little bit, spend time with Moriah and Amira, and go to church! Now time to start another week : ]
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