I'm writing a second blog for the day because I need to get some thoughts down on paper (technically, my iPhone). The reason for this blog is so I never forget this experience. When I first booked my flight, I immediately felt convicted for spending so much money on myself. There are so many other needs out there that my money could have gone to. I really struggled with this, but then settled on the thought that I was my charity this month. I needed to renew my soul. I needed time away. I needed to be free. While I'm still not 100% convinced shouldn't have taken my money and given it to someone in need, I'm at least ok with the fact that...it's ok to do something for yourself every once in awhile.
And more importantly, when we do things for ourselves, we shouldn't do them empty-ly. Ok, so that's not a real word, but it's the only thing I could come up with to describe what it feels like to do something totally fun and awesome and to not appreciate what you have. You live life empty-ly. That's not ok. So my goal is to enjoy this, to not feel guilty, and to learn from this.
Tonight was my first big lesson. I learned that God's love is an international language. We went to a Portuguese church tonight and even though I couldn't understand what they were saying, I could understand that we all loved the same God. It gave me goosebumps to watch people worship and to think about how crazy it is that so many people have been touched by God. I was asked to speak about my experience with God. Having to stop about every 5 words to let the translator translate to the was challenging, but I was able to say a little about how powerful God's love is. I hope it translated ok.
One of my favorite parts of tonight was worship. They sang songs I recognized, but it was in a different language. Again, two cultures, two languages, one love for a God who loves us.
I took a short video of the worship tonight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55F7e5gSk5E
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