Spain, Portugal, and Greece

It had been over a year since I had seen my parents, when I met them in Madrid. We spent two weeks touring Spain and Portugal by bus with a group of people from around the world, a funny and knowledgeable tour guide, and a driver that got us through narrow streets that I probably couldn't drive my old Civic through.



I was immediately struck by all the intricate decorations on buildings and statues. Sudan is recovering from decades of civil war and new buildings are built strong so they will last, but with little artistic expression.



We saw many cities, but my favorites were Granada and Salamanca. I got to spend a perfect sunny afternoon walking through the gardens and buildings of the Alhambra. That evening I met up with a friend from Richmond who now lives in Granada. We had a great dinner and even better conversation.


From Madrid I flew to Athens and spent a day seeing the sights before heading to the WHM conference. After two weeks of traveling, never spending more than two nights in one city, I was ready to settle down in one place for seven days.

When I arrived at the WHM conference, I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people who were ready to talk. People knew who I was and had been reading my blog, but I had no idea who they were. After the initial wave of people subsided, I was incredibly blessed great conversations throughout the week.

In the places where I was feeling empty and weary, I was encouraged and blessed with words of hope and truth.

In the places where I had begun to serve more a development worker and the Gospel had become peripheral, I was challenged and convicted.

The best part of the WHM conference for me personally was worshiping with hundreds of people who love God. As our voices sang out lyrics of praise, hope and truth, I felt that we believed the lyrics and were claiming those truths for the nations. As the conference ended we sand the doxology and tears started streaming down my face. It was truly beautiful.

PRAYER REQUEST:

In Greece I met new friends, had great conversations, laughed, swam, and enjoyed lots of salad (with feta of course). For me personally though, the two weeks in Spain and Portugal followed by the WHM conference was a lot of people time. I am currently still in Uganda, but before I get on a plane to Sudan, I am taking a prayer day. Please pray for me over the next two days as I spend time in the word and in prayer. Pray for good times of processing the last four months in Sudan and processing all the things God showed me during the WHM conference.