Incredible in Espanol means Increíble

I just got done speaking with three amazing people by the names of Veronica, Corra, and Jose. They are truly sincere in personality and a delight to be around. They remind me of a modern version of The Three Amigos or The Three Musketeers. I guess that would make me Dartanyan…the new musketeer who joins the team, saves the king, and so forth. Of course, you know that I like to play that guy. Anyway, I have spent the majority of the week with these three people and now new friends. I have had an incredible time with them. It is unbelievable how God works when introducing you to new people in other countries and cultures. Jose is always giving the girls a hard time in that brotherly love sort of manner. They all work together and seem to be very close. I am not close with people in the states in such a manner (meaning I do not have my regular group that I work, socialize, and/or go on vacation with), but I think this is the way relationships are meant to work. We are meant to experience life together. Perhaps this is the loner nature of my personality. For instance, I travel in most of these places in South America alone as a party of one. Maybe that is a realization I need to work on in Auburn…to find my three Amigos or Musketeers. Tonight I am going to grab dinner and hang out with them here in Bariloche because they are leaving tomorrow. This will be our last night to be together as a group of newfound amigos or musketeers. It is amazing how quickly they have come to feel like family.

On this trip I have felt a mixture of mixed feelings…happiness for being in South America (because I am so fortunate), sadness (for people I know that are starving here in South America), overwhelming thankfulness at the incredible hands of a God who loves me, bewilderment in the creation of this beautiful country (Argentina), comfort (from becoming familiar with traveling once again), discomfort (from confusion in new cultures and languages), etc. So from an emotional standpoint, it has been very up and down for me. This is not a bad thing; in fact, that is how I would prefer to experience such a trip in a real and genuine sort of way.

I am posting two clips on this entry. One of the entries is a general and random entry about my day yesterday here in Bariloche. The second is about a moment I had in a church here in town today. When traveling, you might think that you are going to have all this time to write, to read, to settle down, to sleep, or whatever the case may be. I have found that I need to take a day of rest like today (sleeping late, spending time with God, and leisurely walking around) about every fourth day to catch up on rest and just taking it all in. I think this blog is truly a good representation of my personality in its title. I often feel that I have short circuits due to the mental mountains I have climbed to overcome adversity in the past. The thoughts of these podcasts and blog entries are random, racing, and perhaps even ridiculous as its title suggests. Sometimes I feel that I think so much I wear my own mind out.

Today I had a personal moment with the Lord in a gigantic church that reminded me of a church I visited in Gerona, Spain. The stain glass windows were depictions comparable to that of Michelangelo’s David on the ceilings of the Vatican City within the borders of Rome, Italy in terms of the true take-my-breath-away feelings. The church was colossal with similar architecture of classic Catholic architecture of historical Europe. There were some moving pieces of art in the garden in front of the church, and it sat right next to the lake that Bariloche overlooks. Now when I say lake…I mean this is really like a large body of water. It is almost like a small ocean but in the middle of a beautiful mountain range. You have to climb about a hundred stairs to get to our hostel, but the climb is totally worth it once you see the view of this beautiful place. It just blows me away, and this trip blows me away with people I have met and the places I have visited. In this church, I took some time to read the Word and to just “be still.” Like my journal entries and podcasts, I am sometimes so random and racing with my prayers to God that I forget about what I was first praying for in the first place. Today I had a random thought to just be quiet, still, and silent. I needed to just chill, relax, and let God work (meaning to rest my soul and truly provide a moment of peace in a miraculous piece of architecture in the middle of miraculous Patagonia mountain ranges).

I have constantly had John Larson’s (head music minister of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL) song, “Have Your Way” in my head today while walking along the sidewalks of this small mountain town. I think it is an honorable presentation of how our lives should be in terms of God. If you are a believer, God WILL have you no matter where you are. I really think this is how our lives should be if you are a man or woman of God…to give God the chance He deserves to work in your life. As I may or may have not mentioned in a previous blog entry, I was speaking with my mom about coming to Argentina and South America about three years ago in a dream like sort of way. Here I am now keeping a blog and podcast of my adventures, thoughts, and dreams that has obviously come true thanks to the people who have supported me in donation, prayer, and good wishes. God will have His way! The question is: Are you willing to let Him?

You do not have to travel around the world to release from the pressures of society. Sometimes all you have to do is look up at the beautiful, blue sky on a day of nice weather or look at the stars on a clear night of glimmering Christmas lights (meaning a starlit sky on a dark clear night). I enjoy being unplugged and away….perhaps more than my family would like me to, but it is SO nice not to have something due the next day or some other responsibility pressing at your attention.

Again, I know these entries are random, but at the same time, I feel that an entry such as this is meaningful and worth a moment of time to perhaps note.

Please listen to the details of my wonderful visit in one of the most beautiful churches and cities I have ever been to thus far in my brief lifetime.

Click here to hear about one of my days in this incredible city of BARILOCHE!

Click here to hear about one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL churches I ever visited with a God size experience!