Last week marked one year since I secured the funds for my travel and confirmation of my trip to Spain this summer.  I remember it vividly because I wrote a post about it and Skyped (video call) with my Spanish family on that day too.

A perfect fit and a perfect exchange.

Last year at this time, my friend Linda graciously helped me by unexpectedly buying my mother’s wedding ring.  While I was planning on selling the ring to get money for my trip, I never expected it to go to someone I knew.  That was more confirmation of God’s hand on my trip.  It was a win-win situation for both of us as she wanted the ring to celebrate the receipt of her mental health license; and it fit her perfectly.

The night before I revealed all of this to my Spanish family over Skype, I went over to Linda’s home to do the exchange—my mother’s ring for my airfare to Spain.  It was a memorable evening as we sipped wine, talked about the journey ahead and the reality of my trip started to sink in.  Linda has been a big cheerleader for me along this journey and I know she will be there in spirit—along with my other prayer partners.

Revealing My Secret

I Skype with my Spanish family about once a month.  Rosa is learning English, but Pedro still does a lot of translating between us.  On this particular video call I asked Pedro to view my blog online and translate this newest post to his mother.  I eagerly watched and waited for their reactions.  He laughed when he translated the part about his music sales not being as much as I’d hoped (to cover my trip costs).  Later as he started to connect the dots in the story he said, “Oh, I know where you are going”.

I’m heading to Spain!

As he progressed through his translation of the story, I heard the excitement grow in his voice.  He met Linda the year before and was happy to hear how she was involved in this story.  As Pedro neared the end, Rosa broke her silence by speaking in English.  “Incredible, incredible,” she said with delight in her voice.

Pedro told me they would reserve the summer of 2013 for me.  Rosa, in her excitement, rattled off all the cities in Spain we would visit and said she would go to a travel agent and start planning.

We talked about the core reason for this trip and my desire to continue with my writing.  Rosa agreed to share with me her perspective of our story and wanted to get started on that too.

Still Hard to Believe

That was the start of my planning for this trip of a lifetime—6 weeks in Spain.  Last month, Pedro’s father sent me a calendar of my itinerary including most of those cities we first discussed.  I will share more about my itinerary, etc. over the next few months and hope to post regular updates on my blog from Spain.  My writing is a significant portion of this trip, but I also want to be in the moment.

8 weeks until I arrive in Spain.

I feel blessed beyond belief at times for this family’s generosity to take me in like this.  They are not only opening up their home to me, they are opening up their lives in a multitude of layers—Rosa for trusting me to write about her side of the story, knowing that it will bring up painful memories—and Pedro for letting me partner with him on his musical pursuits.  I pray I can do it all justice and that God would keep me focused on His will for it.

Unbeknownst to me or my family, the road to Spain started with our opening up our home to Pedro, for a short term exchange program in July 2010.  Now, three years later, it is my turn to be the exchange student.  The waiting is almost over.