It's never too late, right?

We aren't even sure who all is reading this, but if you have been attempting to keep up with our blog we have epically failed these past couple of weeks! Lo siento. I'm sorry. Yeah...I kind of speak Spanish. We have been so busy running around Spain AND Germany these past couple of weeks that blogging has been on the back burner.

Here are some highlights from what we have been up to recently though!

Day trip to Italica (Roman ruins outside Sevilla). This is the amphitheater where real gladiators would fight lions and tigers and bears...oh my! The open space in the middle of the arena was where the animals were kept in cages and then raised up. 

Catherine's version of a roman statue. We probably weren't supposed to stand on the ruins but hey...it made for a great picture!

Walking around the inside of the amphitheater. This wasn't posed? :)

So happy to be finished after a long 4 hours of class!

Our Spanish family! Anna our sister and Ada our mother. We all went out to dinner one night and got ice cream after. Of course. We definitely are going to miss these two!

Day trip to the beach at Cadiz. Texas doesn't make 'em like this.

No big deal.

Inside the Cathedral in Sevilla. Obviously this picture doesn't capture the massiveness of it but you might be able to get some of an idea!

Christopher Columbus' grave. We salute you. Thanks for America.

This is Chanelle and David Acton and our bible study that we have been meeting with once a week! Chanelle and her family are missionaries here in Sevilla and she has been so sweet to meet with a group of us weekly for bible study. We went to their church where David preaches and have been able to get involved in a few of their other ministries. One of the biggest blessings of this trip by far! We helped out at their church one day with a day camp to teach kids english and afterwards went to the Acton's house where Chanelle made us a full blown American meal. You would have thought we hadn't eaten in a week if you had seen our reaction.

We quickly realized that our spanish speaking skills were about the same as a 5 year old. Humble me oh little ones.

This is Blanca! She was at one point was trying to tell Catherine something and Catherine could not understand to save her life what she was trying to say when all of a sudden Chanelle began responding in German to her! Yes, this little girl speaks Spanish, German and is in the process of learning English...all before the age of 6. WOW. 

This was another Blanca! She was dressed up in all red, white and blue and ready to learn english! We were currently working on placing family members on the family tree.

Dear Blanca, may I borrow have your bow?

peas and blessings,

Sarah Beth and Catherine

Thankful

Well, hey there,

I have a restless mind filled with constant, random thoughts. So, tonight, I thought I might jot some down to fill y'all in. I know SB has been blogging about the amazing things God is doing in our time here, so I shall share some as well.

Read this quote in a book recently:

"For what we need to know, of course, is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-by-day lives who may not be writing messages about himself in the stars but in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around down here knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God's existence that we want but the experience of God's presence. That  is the miracle we are really after, and that is also, I think, the miracle that we really get."

                                                                                  -Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat

I love that. God is in our day-to-day life. I never fully grasp that or take advantage of the fact that God is always with us. It truly amazes me. Being here, I feel like I have been seeing God in the most random instances. Fields of sunflowers, good conversations with foreigners, beautiful architecture, languages, etc. The other night in Italy when we were dancing to that live band at that restaurant, I could not help but look around at the other people. There were all sorts of characters joining us on the dance floor. All different ethnicities, languages, lives, stories, beliefs, thoughts. All brought together to share a dance with some American music classics. To me, that is God in our day-to-day life. The beauty of that moment that night just shows how God brings us all together and we are all His. Unreal. So simple, yet hard to grasp at times. Although all so different, we belong to Him. He wants us all. Despite the ugliness of our hearts, He still loves us. That thought never ceases to put me in awe of His beauty and grace. So, I just encourage y'all to seek God in your everyday activities. It really can make an okay day much greater.

Also, tonight SB and I just finished dinner with our familia (Ada and Ana). We learned that Ana was adopted from Russia when she was 10 years old. I asked Ada why she wanted to adopt. She answered that she wanted to do something for other people and take the focus off herself. She said it was necessary to serve others. It was really cool to go a little bit deeper with them despite the huge language barrier. SB and I both came back to our room filled with happiness knowing that God can do anything. He can overcome language barriers. We can really see our relationships with them growing already. A few days ago, I read this verse and really soaked it up...

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well because you had become dear to us."

                                                                                       1 Thessalonians 2:8

It has just hit me lately that to share Christ with others is to share life with them as well. We can show God through our own lives by building relationships with others. God can do amazing things with us if we let Him. He wants us to be in community with others while He is at the center of it all. God is so good. I just feel so blessed to be here.

I know it's not much, but this is what has just been on my heart recently. 

Much love from Sevilla :)

peas and blessings

Catherine

Rome if you want to...well Florence that is.

This past weekend we went to Florence to visit some of our best friends Meredith and Marybeth who are studying abroad there right now. I think we are still pinching ourselves that we actually pulled it off because neither Catherine or I have ever booked our own flight before until now. Funny that the first time we do it's from Spain to Italy...not exactly your natural progression for travel independence! We woke up at 4:20 (AM!), took a cab to the airport, flew from Sevilla to Valencia, got on another plane and flew from Valencia to Rome where we were picked up and taken to the train station and then took a train from Rome to Florence. Phew. That exhausts me just writing that!

Everything went so smoothly each step of the way that we kept just looking at each other going "Are we sure we are doing this right?" God was completely opening and closing every door for us and leading us the entire way. In Matthew 6:26 God says "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in the barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Yet again, how cool is that!? God cares so much about the birds and everything else in creation so they will never have to worry about a thing and yet he cares and loves us THAT much more because we were after all created in His image as the final cherry on top of all creation. (And if you really think about it, woman was actually the final touch...but I'm just saying :) )

This trip was such a reminder of the Lord being our Father and loving us the way a protective parent does. Even though we looked like we were traveling alone and making our way through these foreign lands, God was evidently with us every step of the way walking in front of us and making sure that we got to each place safe and sound. God has been rocking my world in all of the different ways He is teaching me that took until now for me to begin to grasp these incredible lessons. I am the daughter of a King which makes me a princess! Regardless of whether or not I marry a prince someday...metaphorically or literally that is.

The weekend was so fun, we ate some incredible food, made a lot of new italian friends and some memories that I know will last a life time. I can already see my 40 year old self telling stories saying "When I went to Italy in college...." haha. The motto for the weekend quickly became "When in Rome!" Even though we were in Florence, it seemed to add a nice touch to anything we were doing. Catherine and I did the college thing too and both slept on Mere's couch which added to the fun of it all because we all got to be together the whole time! Surprisingly we slept extremely well and got almost 8 full hours both nights. Maybe I'll become a nomad and sleep on couches the rest of my life! Or maybe I won't. Only time will tell. Well I am going to stop typing and just let you look at the rest of the pictures now! 

Ryan Air- you were good to us! Now we know why you are the cheapest way to fly. You sell smokeless cigarettes during the flight.

First day in Florence and the beginning of our hike/walk

We stopped at this monastery along the way and explored for a little

 Michelangelo's Look Out. We took about an hour hike/walk around the city to this spot just for this view. Totally worth it!

"Would you mind taking a picture of us...but we aren't going to look"- Catherine

We also were all wearing blatantly American/Texas shirts. Oops!

We figured we might as well have one of our faces as well. :)

Frolicking in Florence. You're never too old.

Best. Night. Ever.

This random Italian man decided to jump in our picture. We had no idea at the time and wondered why Mary Beth was laughing so hard!

Happy camper.

We were in Italy...we had to get the full experience!

Cutest little girl ever. She was in a stroller and jumped out and started dancing all by herself putting on an incredible show for everyone at the restaurant. She came up to us in our seats and held out her hand and said something in italian which basically was like "Well aren't you going to join me?" So naturally we jumped right on up and joined her! (Even if we were the only ones dancing...)

She entertained every for probably about 40+ minutes. Dancing alone for 30 of them, precious!

Dancing is definitely universal. There were two other little kids she was dancing with for a little while too. Pure joy!

The Duomo. The red dome in the background is what we walked to the very top of our first morning to see the city.

Getting ready to climb the Duomo

Nothing like 475 steps for a little morning exercise

Good thing none of us were claustrophobic.

We made it to the top!

Who needs make up when you can have one of these?

I'll take three.

Found this gem in a vintage store we stumbled upon as we were exploring and got a little too excited. Gig em!

You know you're in Europe when...

Meredith's view everyday. Woooow.

peas and blessings,

Sarah Beth

fields of sunflowers

Hello friends! Hope you have enjoyed some pictures from our recent trips and SB's post about how amazing God is! Just thought I would expand on our adventures with a few stories that we thought y'all might enjoy :)

1. It is true. Spaniard men are much more outgoing than American. In this instance, not in a good way. The other night we were waiting in Plaza Nueva to meet up with some friends to hang out. SB was standing near the bike lane. A 12-year old boy rode by on his bike and smacked SB on the butt and just rode on by. It made a really loud noise. We all froze in shock. It was hilarious. Definitely a memorable moment of the trip for all of us.

2. This past weekend we went to Cordoba and Granada. Both beautiful places. If you ever venture to Spain, please visit both because you will love it! There, we saw lots of old, gorgeous buildings like you saw in the pictures below. There are also lots of gypsies in both these places. As we were walking through the streets, we were bombarded by women to by herbs or to plainly give them money. If we said no, they would follow us and grab our arms. They were quite difficult to pass by. Also, many had little babies with them when out and about doing their business. Therefore, the peas have come to one conclusion: we are either heartless or these gypsies are very smart at their job. Who knows? We sure don't!

3. On our way to and from Cordoba and Granada, we passed through a site that I will never forget. Fields upon fields of sunflowers. Absolutely incredible. Being from Texas, I have seen my share of sunflowers, but only here and there on the side of the road or highway. Nothing like this though. The sunflowers looked as if they stretched on for miles and miles. What a perfect image of God's beauty! We were in awe of His creation. It was so gorgeous and an amazing sight to see. We tried to capture some photos but none did it justice of its beauty, so you will just have to trust our judgement.

4. Flamenco: we LOVE it! It is pretty much a mix between salsa, step, and tap dancing. But it is SO cool. In the past few days, we have been to two flamenco show. The women are so sassy, and the singers so passionate about their song. It is very enjoyable to watch. We heard about this like underground flamenco club in Sevilla the other night. Since we were unsure of the location, we all were meandering throughout the streets to try and find it at 10:30 at night. Finally, after many lefts and rights in narrow streets, we see this red door opened and some men standing outside it. We ask each other if this is the place? The men responded to our question that was not directed towards them by saying "Oh, yes, this is it!". We all kind of looked at each other as a man offered to take us inside. For about two minutes, we all were thinking this was it. We are about to be abducted. Goodbye family and life as we know it. He takes us through this room and finally we see a crowd of people. Relief fell upon us. Close call. You could say we are a little too trusting. Sheltered much?

5. The other night, we participated in an "intercambios", which is pretty much where we meet locals and they show us the hotspots of Sevilla. Like where all the good restaurants and hang outs are. This was right after class for us, so we had to walk around all night with our backpacks on. We already look like we are 13, so the backpacks did not help much for our maturity. We went to restaurants and local spots where cool Spaniards were hanging out with our backpacks on. They tried to persuade us to go dancing, but that would just be plain awkward and a huge obstacle on the dance floor.

So, there's a few stories from our time here. Hope you enjoy! More to come, I'm sure!

peas and blessings,
catherine

Recent excursions and adventures

Instead of telling you what we have done, we will just show you!

Our new favorite park in Sevilla, Parque de Maria Luis. It's. BEAUTIFUL.

Parque de Maria Luis

Model Shot...for Gap Kids

Gap Kids summer catalogue shot

We were sitting on a bench directly across from these two women doing the exact same thing that we were. We thought it was funny

Cordoba

Famous street in Cordoba that everyone comes to to take this picture with the Cathedral in the background

Catholic Church built on top of a mosque in Cordoba. This was cool because I studied this in an architecture class last year! Pictures do not do it justice.

pretty patio in Cordoba

we WILL come back tan.

Gearing up for the tour at the Alhambra in Granada

Not as soft as it looks...

Granada!

Touring the Alhambra

Best. Desserts. Ever.

Creme filled cinnamon roll, covered in chocolate, cinnamon and whipped creme and a classic strawberry tart

We had to.

Flamenco dancing in Granada...might have to bring this one back to the States.

Our house dog, Dana! We are determined to teach her english.

peas and blessings,

Catherine and Sarah Beth