Weekend Away

Greetings from Portugal! I am currently sitting in the SWEET Traveler's Hostel in Lisbon, Portugal typing on a Mac computer... crazy! This weekend is Andalucia Day in Roquetas and La Mojonera so schools are closed Thursday-Monday. Sarah and I took an overnight bus from Almeria to Madrid last night and flew from Madrid to Lisbon this morning. I'm starting to crash from being tired but I got to catch the sunrise at the airport and it was a fun little moment :) The flight was great and we made it to the hostel by 10 am. We caught the end of breakfast so had scrambled eggs and toast - seriously this hostel rocks! Then we met up with Jeanne and met a nice guy from Cameroon named Rudy. We all headed out to see the Se Cathedral and Castelo Sao Jorge! It was a good first little bit of sightseeing and then we finally found our way to Bonjardim and dined on some great rotisserie chicken and fries!
Here is the really cool part. For the past week I have been praying for God to teach me to be more compassionate, to show me ways to reach out to strangers and show them compassion. This guy Rudy who arrived in Lisbon this morning at 5am and is flying out tomorrow morning is the answer to that prayer! All day long he stopped and chatted with people, took photos with people, made an effort to "brighten someone's day and get my day brightened by them." It was truly a beautiful thing to watch. And how simple it seemed! Once you get past the ridiculous awkwardness that only exists in yourself, you will find that people are yearning for contact with other people. Nothing is so special as randomly meeting someone and sharing a beautiful moment together. Not only did Rudy teach me that, but he also picked up our lunch tab which was incredibly sweet and unnecessary. He wanted to thank us for allowing him to tag along, but I assure you it is me who is grateful he did. Blessings from Portugal!