Wednesday- Today we woke up at 7am to get to breakfast at 8. The pastor's family feeds us in their giant house. The food is always so delicious! After breakfast we headed over to Castalla International, which is a really rich village about 10 minutes away. We did evangelism around the town, which was a new experience for me. I can't say that I enjoyed it- but it was a good experience. We headed over to another town, and instead of going door to door- we clapped for people in a tunnel like fashion on the street. It was a good experience, but I would rather spread the word of God a different way :) Lunch was at 3, and then we headed over to the local park here where we got to play with the kids and talk to the parents! I really liked this because I got a chance to make balloon animals for kids! There was also a performance by the WYAM crew who did dance and drama. It was really cool! I liked this better because we had a chance to know the people before telling them about God. It made it more personal.
It is really fun, because my new friend, Alex, is learning English, and I am learning Spanish. We help each other out, try to make the other say a super confusing word, while of course the whole time it is painstakingly awkward as most of the time we have no idea what the other is trying to say. I have made many other friends too, and I love practicing my Spanish with them! After dinner we played a really fun group game. (Our team won twice! Woo!) And then we prayed for young people in the church, and got to bed around 2am.
Thursday: Today we left Castalla and traveled 45 minutes to Alicante, which is right by the Mediterranean Sea. It is really hard because I have only been getting 6 hours of sleep the past two nights. The place we are staying in Alicante is really neat! I feel like I am in a seaside bungalow! Even though there isn't a view of the beach from here, but there are mountains! There are two houses that we are staying in all in their property. I am staying in the main house with two other girls. I share a bed with Megan, and then Jane is on a mattress on the floor. The funniest part of this stay, is that the only way to get into the bedroom is through the bathroom that we are sharing with 5 other girls. Hahaha!!! So it will be interesting to see how to get 8 girls through one bathroom. Now to mention that the shower doesn't have doors, so if someone is in the bathroom we are either locked in our room, or locked out of our room. AND we are literally right next to an hour, so evpery hour we get to hear 10 different planes fly over us! Haha ROFL.
At night we traveled to the center/ghetto of Alicante to do another show like we did in Castalla. At first the kids there were very rude, insulting us, throwing fire crackers type things at us (yes they were lit) and just being rude. After hearing some testimonies and seeing the awesome students at WYAM dance, you could see how they were being changed. After the show, I got to play games with them, and it was very fun! It was cool because at the end of the night they didn't want us to leave and you could see how God was changing their hearts. Many members of our team told stories of how they talked to people who didn't want God, but then in he end they wanted more of him. God does amazing things through these members of WYAM. Through this trip I am learning more too, I have been trying really hard to find God and I hope by the end of the trip I will have found him.
After returning to the church, there were snacks for us to eat. I was so excited because I saw peanut butter sandwiches!!! Nope, not peanut butter sandwiches. Turns out, it was something very common that they eat on bread here. Stuffed duck intestines. Yes, while the duck is still alive, they stuff the intestines with something, and then eat it...... I have never been more disgusted. Haha oh well! It is part of the experience to try new food, and I have tried lots of different food!
This trip has been amazing so far, and I am learning so much! Thank you all so much for your prayers.
Goodbye Castalla!
Mountain View the whole way to Alicante
Wow look, it's a plane! I haven't heard or seen one of those for at least 4 minutes. Haha 
Don't ask them to take a picture of the view. This is what you will get. Haha!
Friday: Today I got to sleep in until 10 o'clock! After breakfast we had a team meeting and people shared their experience about the night before. It was cool to hear how different people got to know God because of how he worked through us. For example, there was this one person who was going to kill herself, but she felt like she needed to go to the park for some reason. When she came to the park, she met someone from our team. She accepted Jesus into her heart that night and God was the one thing that was missing in her heart.
I also had a revelation today with God today. I had not been feeling close to God for months, so I talked to some of my friends here and they helped me clear up some questions I had. At the beginning of the week, the Monday I went to church, a lady came up to me. I had no idea who she was, but only that she was from the church. She told me that she could see that I had questions about God. That I doubted God was there for me. Honestly it creeped me out, like a lot. She told me that God would show himself to me this week and that my questions would be answered. :| WAT. I swear it felt like she was a mind reader, and I wanted to believe her! After talking with my some of my friends today, I had a lot of my questions answered, and they said that God will show himself to me in ways that I least expect it. Well after lunch that day, the whole team sat in a circle. Jumpy told everyone that they would have 5 minutes just to talk to God and he asked them to ask God what he wanted to say to me. Keep in mind that I only had two people I told about my problems with God. I was blown away with what I heard. I could feel that God was talking directly to me through them and it was eye opening. Everything they said was exactly what I needed to hear for a long time now.
After lunch we got to go to the Mediterranean Sea!! It was suppose to be a trip to connect with people and invite them to the church, but it ended up being just a fun day at the beach! :) The beach was amazing! Palm trees, mountains, and the water was CLEAR and the perfect temperature! First we swam in the ocean. Now let me tell you, being from Michigan, you learn that oceans have salt water, but you only experience fresh water. I forgot that the Mediterranean had salt water, well I knew, but yea. Anyway, when I went under my mouth happened to be open a little (because you don't need to worry about that in the lake!) and I accidentally opened my eyes just before I reached the surface (like I do in that lake!). NO! DON'T do that! Oh my gosh! I felt like my face had just been dipped in acid or something- the taste was awful and my eyes stung so bad I could barely open them. When I imagined going to the sea, I imagined frolicking in the sand and those commercials you see of people coming out of the clear blue water refreshed and happy. This was nothing like that at all. Imagine a dolphin trying to swim with no eyes and one fin. It was not pleasant and nothing like the commercial. HAHAHA! At least I get to say I swam in the Mediterranean!!!! After "swimming" we played volleyball. I stunk but it was so much fun!! Megan and I made a sand castle together and then collected seashells, it was a BEAUTIFUL day for the beach and I had a great time! Thanks for the prayers! Can't wait to see you all when I get back!
Meredith <3
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