Turning 50, the gift of friends, my dissertation and Arabic teacher
Escriba in Barcelona on May 5th-Enjoying Cava with Friends for my B-day, originally uploaded by papalars.
Last Saturday I went out with Carol and some friends from Norway to celebrate my 50th Birthday! The wife of this couple actually said she had recently turned 50 as well but didn't tell anybody. Maybe that is a female trait, not wanting the world to know they are 50. For the most part, I feel pretty good about turning this corner. It is a milestone, right. I don't feel physically that different from one day to the next, so why fret.
We started the afternoon at 4 Cats, an artsy restaurant where Picasso was known to hang out. After a wonderful time of visiting with our friends, they seemed to want to continue the celebration so we meandered over to this place called Escriba off of Las Ramblas. And I took a picture of course. It is a famous corner in Barcelona, a common destination for tourists. We had a delightful time outside under the sun, with a little bottle of cava to continue the celebration.
We made contact with our new friends through the American School where Erick attends. They are here for just one year, having wanted to experience another culture and language for their entire family. The dad returns to Norway for about 15 days each month to do hand surgeries in several hospitals, returning to sunny Barcelona to spend time with his family on the off weeks. Carol and I commented after a wonderful time together how God has been so good to us in each place we have lived overseas. We can count several significant friendships that have formed with very interesting people who have been like us, aliens in a strange land. The gift of friendship is important when you drop into a new place. It can be very lonely and often the ministry can be isolating. In our case, we are essentially alone, forging a new path for something we trust God will add people to down the road. But we are pioneering something here, so we don't have a ready set team to join. We knew that coming in, and were OK with that fact. It is just very good to have some friends. And God has richly blessed us in that aspect here in Barcelona. We still get lonely, but God has also provided for us along the way in spectacular fashion.
By the way, my dissertation is coming along well. I'm working on a deadline of June 1st and have about another 60 pages to go. The topic and areas on which I am writing my profound thoughts can be found under the heading "writing" across the top banner of this blog. My theological reader is Ray Anderson at Fuller Seminary, the professor of church history and one of the experts on the theology of the Emerging Church movement. His book, An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches, is on my coffee table and is the source of several of my footnotes for this dissertation. I'm writing a section currently on the spiritual disciplines. By the way, did you know that our American form of Christianity is syncretistic? That is a term we usually reserve for talk about missionary work, but I have concluded, along with some other thinkers, that we have that problem in American Christianity. It is the problem when a surrounding culture dilutes the Gospel message, losing its power to make changes in lives and the culture. If you care to know more, ask me by email. Hints can be found on my dissertation proposal under the banner I mentioned above.
This next week, I am planning on visiting my Arabic teacher again. We are building a significant relationship and God seems to keep calling me into his space. I feel like I am visiting Cornelius in his house each time we sit down together. By the way the story in Acts 10 parallels my journey. Many of the same issues are things we are dealing with as we think of how the Gospel becomes uncluttered with the western "Christian" package for our focus friends. Read it this week and pray for us in how we share the good news. My approach is to build bridges of trust that will bear the weight of the Gospel of Christ that I share with him. Well, here is to turning 50!! By the way, I turn that magical number on May 9th. Christ is the joy of my life.
