I went to church today. It's sunday, so that's not abnormal, but today was different. You see I love church, I spend my whole week waiting for sunday to come and for my chance to go into the church building, see those faces I love, sing songs that lift my spirit, and be a part of that larger theoretical Body of Christ in its very real form. I love sundays. I love the sleeping in on Sundays. I love the slowness of Sundays. I love the whole idea of Sundays. The last few months have been different though. Traveling through Israel and India made my Sunday traditions dissapear (especially in Israel which starts it week on Sunday the way we start on Monday) and although I have visited a few churches, I have not felt that sunday feeling. Today I felt it. I visited a church today, a church plant of Redeemer in NY. And it was amazing. The liturgy was just right. Traditional yet personal. The music was beautiful, hymns with a jazz twist. And the sermon, oh the sermon was so good. Biblical, intellectually stimulating, and most importantly formed on the redemptive narrative of the Bible. Okay, before I gush any further, I'll leave you with this: My traveling and craziness is over. And I am already looking forward to worshiping next sunday.
I live near a long thin park called Parque Forestal. It's really quite a nice park and it has a long stretch of a lane for riding bikes or jogging. And since I have a fear of riding bikes in this city, I jog. It's really pleasent. I usually listen to radioDisney on my mp3 player and jog along to Jonas Brothers, Beyonce, or Julieta Venegas. Great stuff. Yesterday on my jog I noticed that the trees were beginning to change. Fall has finally arrived and I am glad for the change. But as I was jogging through the falling leaves, I began to think about how much I like fall. And I had this special moment when I realized that I want to be here in Santiago, jogging through this park for many falls to come. After the past few weeks of cultural adjustment being a little more painful than normal, this was a nice thought to have.
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