“God loves it when we step out in faith….”

It’s quiet here. Palm trees line the islands in the middle of the one main road in the town while hotels and apartments rest on both sides of the street. Thump, thump, thump. My own stride and steps are the only sound I hear. There is a slight breeze that comes and goes. There are no buses. No taxis. Only the sounds of steps and cars and the occasional moto.

The sky is so blue – bluer than most, which is an odd statement to make since there is truly only one sky. Homes are built with stucco and are colored white or a lighter brown. Flowers are just as common as homes here – if Antilla had ordinances, I am pretty certain that one of them would be every home must have at least three plants with beautiful, brightly colored flowers growing along terraces.
And the ocean is different than any I have ever seen – the sand is not white, nor is it brown – it finds its shade somewhere in between. It is peaceful. There are no big waves, no roaring ocean. Yet this is different than the Caribbean or the Gulf Coast. The water is not the transparent blue; it is more of a blue. Not green really – just calm blue. When the wind blows, the white caps jump quickly to the shore. But it is so calm. The breeze carries a scent of salt and sun. Oh, and the sunsets. The sky explodes with splashes of orange, violet, pink, and a lemony yellow to the west while the east is painted in dark blue and purple with light blue puffs of cloud in between.


I must admit that I have had moments of loneliness during the past week. I anticipated moments of loneliness, and honestly, I feared experiencing those moments. But after a few more days in Antilla, I can now say that I don’t feel so lonely anymore. :) I love living so close to the beach – I love that when I go to walk home at night, I can choose to take the beach instead of the sidewalk. I much prefer sand to pavement. When I was walking home one night, I noticed that there were many fishermen on the shore. I went closer to the boats to take pictures, and some of the fishermen started talking to me – they thought I was German (thus far I have been mistaken for being Italian – two times – French one time and now German, but no one has guessed me as an American!). I ended up going to a café to have some “cervecitas” (beers with friends) with my new friends. One of the fishermen made me a little uncomfortable with his aggressive attitude – he kept asking me if I had a boyfriend, and he told me he wanted us to be a “pair.” Thankfully, Ismael, the other man I was with, was extremely kind and thoroughly amusing. I am fairly certain that Ismael only has romantic interests in other men which alleviates any awkward romantic tension and makes me feel much safer with him. He treated me to a few drinks (it is costume in Spain that if someone invites you out for drinks or food that they pay for you), and then he walked me back to my hotel, teaching me Spanish and singing Backstreet Boys and Celine Dion in Spanish. I think that if I spend more time with Ismael, my Spanish will truly improve!

I also met a few people who work at a local restaurant in Islantilla, a small town right beside Antilla (Antilla and Islantilla are basically one in the same). As I left the restaurant, my waiter started speaking to me in some bizarre language that I didn’t recognize. I prayed that it wasn’t Spanish, because if so, I didn’t understand a word of it. Thankfully it wasn’t Spanish, instead it was French! Pedro, the waiter, thought I sounded French. We ended up talking for a while, and the other people at the restaurant were also very gracious and kind to me. I told them I was here alone and that I needed to make friends, and Pedro kindly smiled and told me that “You have friends now! You have three right here!” The warmth, openness, and kindness of the people here truly amaze me.

My school is incredible! I am working at C.E.I.P. Las Gaviotas in La Antilla – it is a small primary school which houses classes for children between 3 and 12 years old. The first day I visited the school I was nervous and a little concerned because Javier, the principal did not seem to know who I was or what I was really doing there. Thankfully, Javier speaks some English, and Oti, the bilingual coordinator of the school, also speaks English. With their English and my Spanish, we were able to communicate easily. The kindness of Javier, Oti, and my co-workers at the school is AMAZING. When I told my co-workers that I was looking for a place to live in Antilla, they literally dropped everything they were doing and started making phone calls to people they knew and different apartment complexes. One of the women at my school, Nora, spoke to one of her friends who had a place very close to the school and very close to the beach. She arranged for me to go see the apartment in the afternoon – and this is the place that I will now call home. It is incredible! There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a huge kitchen that is fully equipped with dishes and appliances (and with a dishwasher!!) – There is even a terrace! I think the terrace is the part of the home that I am the most excited about. I can’t wait to put the patio furniture outside and start growing flowers and sit and drink café con leche and paint and write and read. :) The apartment is about a two minute walk from my school and about a 30 second walk from the beach (literally). I had been asking God to help provide me with a home here in Spain, and once again, he has blessed me an incredible amount. For God is teaching me again and again that he loves it “when we step out in faith…”

I had my first day of work today, and I officially move into my apartment tomorrow. Work went SO well, and I am so excited to be working with children again! I didn’t realize how much I have missed children until I saw the little ones today. :) Holding the three year olds' hands, playing games in English, and getting besos from some of my children were some of the highlights of today. One of the other teachers at my school, Manuela, also showed me where she lives in Antilla and then treated me to lunch after. Speaking mostly Spanish from the start of the day until about 4 pm was mentally exhausting, but I can tell that I am understanding so much more, and I am beginning to be able to speak more quickly and easily.

As usual there is so much more to share, especially about my school, but I will be sure to write more again soon. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, support, and kind thoughts – you mean the world to me!

But there is a main message that I have learned so far during my time here in Spain, and it is the message that God keeps repeating to me through his blessings and comfort and unending kindness. And the message is simple and true: “God loves it when we step out in faith….”

And I know that he blesses and blesses and blesses our lives when we are simply willing to take that step.

All of my love and gratitude,
Brittany :)