Presencia

One of the crosses at Parc Guell - Barcelona. 

I've always wanted to travel to Spain again. During my last 'spanish' experience, I spent 5 days reading 9 books by a swimming pool and eating delicious food in a sports complex. Needless to say, I didn't see much authentic spanish culture. Instead, I was chatted up by a portuguese cricketer (not a highlight) and topped up my tan before starting university.

My adventure this time round was completely different:

1. Did you know that Spanish people look like me? While waiting for a shuttle bus at Madrid airport, three people asked me for directions in Spanish. And arriving in Barcelona, two people did the same in Catalan. It would seem that my yellow skin tone and black eyebrows really made me fit in.

2. Even Spain adores dictionary definitions. After an evening's wandering I found myself in a tapas restaurant with beautiful paintings on the wall containing different definitions of some (probably beautiful) Catalan words. Unfortunately my knowledge of Catalan is horrific, so I didn't manage to translate anything. The tapas was excellent though.

3. Spanish people love baking. Churros aside, this was something I wasn't expecting. But the sheer number of bakeries with all kinds of patisserie and cakes proved me wrong. The best experience was walking into a tiny bakery and finding something I didn't recognise on offer. Only €1! However, the bakery lady spoke so fast in Spanish I still didn't understand what it was. I later found out, on Google, that I'd eaten an ensaïmada, which is a Spanish pastry made with lard. Eat one (or ten) when you travel there.

4. And another time, I found myself in a snazzy, modern restaurant near the Sagrada Familia. They served a "Menu del dia" as is the case with most eateries in Spain. This simply means 'menu of the day' and there's a set menu on offer which is good value for money, and usually consists of three courses. This particular Menu del dia happened to be in Catalan, which was understandable, but not ideal, so I tried to ask for a Spanish or English version. Unfortunately the (very friendly) owner didn't really speak English or Spanish. And there wasn't a Spanish or English version. So commenced a dining experience of totally unknown ordering and eating which was hilarious, but also surprisingly delicious. Not recommended for vegetarians or those with allergies.

5. Wandering around big cities means you stumble across some excellent sights and tastes. Such as a Catalan production of Shakespeare, beautiful markets with cheap tapas, Fairtrade shops (yes, I actually found the ethical area of Barcelona) and the most wonderful churros.

6. And everything is so cheap! Perhaps living in London has obscured my idea of value for money, but paying €4 for a large glass of Rioja was a highlight, and my three course meal with coffee was only £8.

7. Spain loves beautiful churches... and I do too. I stumbled across many by accident, but found myself gazing in wonder at La Catedral, and paying to enter the Sagrada Familia was the best thing I did all week. Two hours of wandering, praying and absorbing later and I was utterly in love.

But the main reason I travelled to Spain was for a prayer conference hosted by an organisation that I've supported for a long time. 24-7 Prayer came to my attention as a teenager when I found myself sleeping overnight in Belfast in one of the first 'prayer rooms' - a place where creativity meets prayer. If you think prayer is just closing your eyes, you need to experience one of these.

Years later, and 24-7 is still a top love. Being in a town outside Madrid with other 'passionate about prayer' people was amazing. And the things that occurred were amazing, too. But my favourite part was hearing stories from all over the world. I met the most radical people from South Africa, Lebanon, China, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland. People who aren't important or famous, but simply believe that God can transform their town, city, village if they pray. And they're seeing the most incredible things happen.

So "Presencia" - the spanish word for "presence" - was the perfect word to describe a conference where Jesus was central. Yet it didn't stop there. The challenge was to see God's presence beyond the conference. And so, the next evening in Madrid I found myself in a beautiful plaza (square) with some of the China mission team and a German girl, drinking wine, praying and seeing God's presence. It was great.

So yes, I went on holiday. But I also learned so much about communities of Christians all over the world and the incredible things that can happen when we - the Church - learn to let go of our priorities and trust that God's presence can transform places all over the globe.

Presence: "a person or thing that exists or is present in a place but is not seen."