A Good Day Indeed

By the Beard of Zeus. We. Are. HAPPY!!

A few weeks back, my friend Irene, who studied abroad in Barcelona last year, referred me to El Lokal. Excitedly, Sierra and I wrote down the directions from the website, and three Sundays ago, embarked on our first Spanish quest to attend church. Failure #1. We got off at the Clot metro stop, and basically trudged around in circles to no avail. We talked to nearly every person who passed us, were directed to about 23987098234 different Catholic services, and finally plopped on a bench in sweaty resignation before just heading back to the dorms. It was so depressing.

Last week, we tried again, this time thinking we were about to foil the system for good. Irene's Spanish friend Maria was to meet us at the metro station and personally escort us to the church. We confidently walked to the station, rode the metro to Clot, and prominently stood right outside the stop. And stood. And stood. And stood...We had set our hearts so firmly on the sure fact that this WAS the week, so failure #2 definitely tested us. We despondently attempted to search every corner and street of the city again, only to succeed in seriously irritating each other. We spent the rest of the afternoon separated by a cold wall of tension. Heh. ::insert a sheepish chuckle::

Yesterday morning rolled around, and though we still held the highest hopes of getting to church, our expectations were significantly lower. Repeat the process of breakfast, metro, Clot stop. We fought disappointment and discouragement as minutes continued to pass while we waited on the sidewalk of Clot Street. Then in a sudden excited flurry, we met the friendly Maria and were taken right to door of El Lokal.

Great Knights of Columbus. What a glorious moment that was. In fact, I'm pretty sure there was a chorus of angels operatically singing sweet melodies, heralding our arrival and entrance into the church. From the moment we stepped inside, Sierra and I couldn't stop smiling. It was so refreshing just to be in a church building. It was pretty small (the congregation was about 50 people) and the sermon was rather short, but, ah, after two months of depending solely on our once-a-week sessions of praying together and our own quiet times (which were nonetheless the best they have ever been), it was so good to be fed and to worship in such a setting. Mmmm. It was a beautiful day.

We were definitely in better moods this week. Taking advantage of such states, we busted out the Photo Booth and put our exemplary facial contorting talents to work. Simply put: we are amazing.

Thank you, Jesus.