Week 1 - Vacation Bible School in the Bronx, NYC
Week 2 - News Release Basketball Camp in Lorrach, GER
Week 3 - Black Forest Academy (southwestern Germany)
Week 4 - London, Oxford, Edinburgh, Scotland, Southern Europe
Week 5 - Southern Europe, Tokyo
Week 6 - Tokyo, Hong Kong
Week 7 - Los Angeles
Chapter 3.2
The breeze coming through the open bay doors dances gently through the wind chimes hanging from the balcony rafters. The trees whisper below in the valley and on the surrounding hillside. Clouds and sun march across the hills and mountains near and far. The faint scent of the ocean can be captured as the wind whispers by, causing ripples across the clear blue water in the pool below. This is indeed a place to retreat, a place to rest, a place to be restored. Welcome to the home of the Orozco family in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, just west of the city of Nice along the Mediterranean Sea.
Only a few weeks ago, the city of Nice was all over the news for the terrorist attack that occurred on the beach where every Tuesday, International Baptist Church attendees go to fellowship and play volleyball. Only one man from their church was there that night, but he was unharmed. One family had just left an hour prior to the attack and heard the violence taking place. The majority of the church family was exhausted after Day 4 of their Vacation Bible School and, while usually an annual event to attend the festivities down by the water, the group decided to stay back and head to bed early. Oh the mystery of how the Lord works. The tragedy rippled through the community as so many families either lost loved ones or had experienced the horror firsthand. Counseling was set up in the church, and a time of prayer and processing took place on that Friday of VBS. As kids and parents and church members alike, asked "Why??"
All of this, we can somewhat comprehend, but what is hard for me to understand in many ways is the necessity of comprehension in and through the diversity of the area. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Period. But there are some believers in Islam that adhere to the extremism put forth in their pillars of belief and that leads to violence. Period. That is the most concise summary I have ever heard. But to wrap my mind around it--I still do not know how. The daughter of this dear family attends a French high school that is majority Muslim. How do they process through the grief and pain of an attack of terror in their city? They mourn as well for, as so many of us tend to forget, there were Muslims injured and effected by the attack as well. They along with their countrymen were on the beach celebrating France...
The waves lap up and over the edges of the pebbles and stones used to fortify the beaches and prevent erosion. Rock after rock tumbles over itself and its companions as a different type of chorus is created by the rhythmic cadence of the waves. This is a place of peace, of holiday time, of rest, of carefree gaiety.
Not of terror. Not of screams.
Fear is an awful monster.
May we fight against it. With a steadiness and an unshakable faith that has long ago conquered our worst enemy and will one day reign over all. Regardless of race or ethnicity--the line will only be drawn once. Do you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
Or no?
-----
During this time of rest I read the book, "Cry, the Beloved Country" about apartheid in South Africa. May we learn from our mistakes in history that we must not allow fear to dominate action.
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"Aw come on Mom, play with me! Come on please! It will be fun! Watch! [giggles as straw is thrown on the back of the resting mother] Wahoo! It's snowing straw!"
"Child. You're testing my patience. Child. I mean it. Child, if you do not stop you will disturb your father who will then disturb the whole family. Can't you be like your brother and sit quietly? [shakes off straw and rolls around with the child with a smile, only to come back to the cautionary tone and taking the toddler by the arm] Outside you go little one, today is not your day to leave me alone I see..."
And off the toddler is dragged through the arched door into the...gorilla play area away from the father gorilla sleeping in the back of the inner enclosure. This is the imagined dialogue of the scene my teammate and I watched played out in the Barcelona Zoo at 11am on Thursday morning. It feels like a lifetime ago since I was there...it has been truly crazy how time has flown on this trip.
In response to the gorilla scene taking place in front of us, we skirted around the topic of evolution..."Isn't it so easy to see how these gorillas are our ancestors? They act just like humans! Look at that!" And my response, leaning toward non-confrontational and peaceful cohabitation as the day had only just begun, was, "Indeed it is an amazing thing to see...but I am unable to believe that those animals, us, or any of the world around us came out of nothing...just from magical appearing particles exploding..." And there, the train of thought was left to wander into the valleys and peaks of personal thought, not to be discussed or spelled out for evaluation, but a differing in thought and opinion that was acknowledged, noted, and passed by with a "not today" signal.
Let me tell you friends, this whole travel solo thing where I show up on the doorstop of friends, family, strangers, etc. leads to some of the most thought-provoking, emotion-packed, physically taxing, and spiritually challenging interactions I have ever had over the course of so many consistent days. That is not to say these conversations do not happen at home, of course they do, but when you move from one pocket of life to the next, touching on highlights or hard times of those you come across in each new spot, the variety of depth and intensity is rather bewildering and ultimately exhausting. Which is why this time of rest also has turned into a time of restoration.
But Barcelona! You want to know about Barcelona!
Mmm...the zoo takes an incredibly long time to see.
?
Yep. That's what I mean. We saw...the Zoo.
From the cafe bar, Marquisha, her mom and I walked the short distance back to the airport and chatted for a few hours, sharing memories and stories, and catching up on the last five years of life. By the time we went to bed, only a short nap occurred as the ride to the airport was coming at 7AM. Alarm clocks went off and away we went to send her mom back to the States bags in hand. While no tears were shed, it is always difficult for someone to leave family, not knowing for sure when the next time they will see each other in person will be--maybe Christmas? I asked. We hope so, Mar said with a mixture of sadness over the departure but also excitement over the realization this marked the beginning of her new adventure in Spain as a pro basketball player in one of the middle divisions. Her coach then drove us to the city center and set us off on our own to find a cafe for breakfast. The orange juice had been highly recommended by a friend, and it was indeed delicious! We then used our map to find the Zoo and spent the next FOUR HOURS from 10AM-2PM wandering around the zoo in a vain attempt not to get lost or back track. Impossible. But the animals were great! And if you want to walk 5+ miles and see a ton of variety in the animal kingdom, the Barcelona Zoo is great.
How about the aquarium next? As a constant sense of sweat covered us with a blanket in the warm sun. That sounds good to me. And food. We need food. How about Pasta? Sure why not? There looks to be a little pasta place up one of these side...streets? Definitely looks more like a sidewalk but sure it's a street. Into "Pasta Bar" we went. YUM. Fresh made-to-order pasta. I went with the spinach ravioli with shrimp and mushrooms. DELICIOUS. In delirium, half of joy and half of heat exhaustion, we enjoyed, slowly, our pasta in near silence. Finally we mustered up the energy to go see Columbus Circle with its amazing towering monument and then we walked around the docks to the aquarium...where the line was backed up. For days.
Plan B. We sat on the steps in the shade and took out our tourist map. A Studio Arts major and myself very appreciative of the arts, we both knew an art museum would be lovely...but that it would also include a great deal of walking and deserve more than the couple of hours we were willing to spend. How about the Olympic park where the 1992 Olympics were held? Mmm, more walking and possibly very hot. Well we have our swimsuits, how about the crowded and noisy beach down the road? No? Yeah, not for right now, maybe tomorrow. Oo what about the Barcelona soccer stadium? That would be so cool...maybe tomorrow? Yeah, maybe tomorrow. Hmm...
You want to just head back?
Yeah, kinda. Ok do you know what bus to take? Nope. Okayyyy...
Problem solving time. Subway and train system here we come. And two hours later, BEYOND exhausted we trudged our way from the train station to the apartment. Another 10 mile day. And we only saw the Zoo. My mind is blown. Barcelona 1 - Team Meems 0. I cannot conquer you, oh City, in only a day or two. I am overwhelmed and I am physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally knocked out. Get me home.
And that's how I found myself the next morning on a train up the coast of Spain and across the southern coast of France to a home in the hills off the Mediterranean Sea where I could
rest.
I think the pool may be calling my name...
I'll save the story for how I went from the great expectation of spending days on end exploring Italy...to flying to Naples Wednesday morning and flying out Wednesday night to...TOKYO.
Peace from Nice, France,
M
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