May 22

A year ago today I embarked on the most exciting adventure of my life.
It was spontaneous and lovely. I had decided to go to Spain and live with a stranger for the summer.
Someone I met online,
someone so very foreign to me.
Goodness I a making it sound crazier then it was.
But yes, I met the person online.
So it is kind of crazy. Right?
I was going to care for this person’s infant daughter in exchange for room, board and a small compensation.
I did skype with her and had communication with her references before I up and left to Spain.
Thinking back it all sounds so strange.
It was so very last minute.
I had bought my ticket only a few days before I left. Which was probably a good thing since it didn’t give me much time to worry about my decision. I really think God gave me a great sense of peace and comfort about the whole thing.
In fact I know he did.
I mean I absolutely love traveling but wouldn’t normally spend a ton of money on a ticket and fly to Spain on a whim.
It was a God thing. He arranged it all. Everything about the trip seemed to fall in place perfectly.

I remember being a tad fearful the day I left. I said goodbye to my family in the early morning.
They prayed for me.
I softly cried.
Nerves overtook me as I thought about how much I’d miss them.

My dad drove me to the LAX and excitement filled me.
I was leaving.
I’d having something to do this summer.
I was going to Europe!

When we got to LAX I said a quick heartfelt goodbye and headed to customs.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget staring at my dad as I went up the escalator
The higher I went the smaller he got and I wondered who'd be at the airport for me when I got to Spain.

3 flights
4 airports
one day
Los Angeles - New York- Madrid- Valencia

Sitting at LAX I remember being overcome with anxiety.
What was I doing?
Who was this lady I’d be living with?
I don’t even speak Spanish?
What if something bad happens?

The worrying made the airport wait seem incredibly long.

But as soon as I got on the plane all my anxiety disappeared and I was overcome with excitement.

It wasn’t until I landed in Valencia that I became really nervous.
I got off the plane, gathered my belongings, and walked out of the airport.

“Okay,” I thought, “I’m here in Spain with out a cell phone and the Spanish vocabulary of a 2 year old, Oh gosh”

I waited and waited to be picked up.

My brain was so scattered. I didn’t know what to do. Where was this lady?

I thought to myself

What do I do if she doesn’t pick me up. Do I just call my parents and say “guess what? She never came…”

Do I get a hotel here.

How do you even say hotel in Spanish.

Oh gosh.

This is bad.

It felt like I waited forever and it was probably more like half an hour. But OH MY it seemed like so much longer.

My thought process was pretty dramatic then but it was most likely due to the lack of sleep and jet lag after 27 hours of traveling alone.

See when your alone you don’t have someone to say. “ Don’t worry I’m sure she’s coming”

It’s just you and your crazy mind.

Back to the story.

The woman came.
But she came alone.
Where was the baby?
She told me she would come to the airport with her baby….
I ignored these thoughts and was just delighted to be picked up!

That day I started nannying.
I quickly came to love the child.
She was a sweetheart with big brown eyes and a perfectly round face.

Well there is SO much more to this story.
Hopefully I will tell more of my tale later.
It is one of the most beautiful adventures of my life yet.
A gift from God and I thank him for it often.