A Day in the Life: Church

One of the biggest blessings of my semester here... Mountainview International Church. I have never been in a more welcoming, excited, passionate community before. I will miss you, dear friends.


Madrid, Spain - Mountainview Church from Christian Associates on Vimeo.

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Today was a baptism Sunday. Four of my friends were baptized, either for the first time or as a renewal. A father baptized his son with contagious

joy. Despite having been raised in the whole church scene, I've somehow missed the sheer joy of what baptisms can be. Obviously, the symbolic weight of the moment is quite important, but how often do we, Americans, get to see the pastor slide down the ramp into the pool, not knowing how deep it gets, while another guy paddles out a ways on his back and splashes him playfully, all laughing at the utter absurdity of it all. And make no mistake, it is absurd, from any way you look at it... which is what the sermon (1 Cor 1) was about. Christianity doesn't make much sense from the front. But there was so much joy in the moment, celebrating together - the whole congregation trooping out the door over to the swimming pool, donning blue surgical shoes and crowding around to watch, laughing at the spectacle. I think this is probably what it looked like at the Jordan. You know, baptismals are convenient, but I think we miss a lot because the rest of us become passive observers clapping politely, and it becomes a ceremony rather than a celebration. We are a comfortable Church, but it's worth wondering how appropriate 'comfortable' is in the context of the Church. In any case, the Family grew a bit today : )

Richard, Tori, Daniel

Richard, Isaac, Larry

The Political Climate

Spanish required to appreciate the following; no Spanish required 

to infer that Spaniards are not very happy right now.

The Indignados have been camped out in La Puerta del Sol (the center of the city) for several weeks now and don't show any signs of leaving.

And did you know... both political parties in Spain are funded by..... duh duhh duhhhhn.... THE GOVERNMENT??

Ai, Mi Spaniards

It is possible to walk through several countries in the space of five minutes. Europe, as you know, is much more compacted than the U.S. Actually though, I was referring to the international flight phenomenon. I've noticed that you generally have two categories of travelers on these flights. Natives returning home, and tourists/businessmen. The natives are animated, excited to be on the home stretch and at last surrounded by their fellow countrymen. The tourists are generally more reserved, ready to get their show on the road, secretly double-checking to make sure they have their passport several times. In general, airports tend to be cold, disinterested places in which everyone has his own destination. But listen carefully, and you can catch an uncensored glimpse of the country you're about to spring upon.

I recently realized that, as wonderful as it is to be suspended 5 miles above the ground, soaring toward some unknown adventure, cram-packed with 100 fellow travelers in a tiny seat, I really dislike flying in general and airports in particular. Having been a tenacious traveler in my younger years, this was a surprising realization, and mulling it over, I was perhaps a little less excited than usual to fly into Washington Dulles to await a 7-hour international flight.

Enter Spaniards. Natives, going home. They are, by nature, animated people (imagine the Spanish mother stereotype and you're not far off), and the airport only made them more so. I collapsed in my chair, tired of traveling and prepackaged sandwich in hand, and just listened.

The lilt of the words caught me, and the lisp, for which my students continually laughed at me, enveloped me in a bilingual fog of ecstasy. The men were as expressive as the women, making much of little. Children ran freely. Parents doted on children. The area was relaxed and light hearted.

Ah, Spain, I thought. It's good to be back!