A taste of freedom! Spain

Right now I am lying down in a van with my sister surrounded by the Picos de Eroupa. These are the highest snowy peaks that enclose the Northern region. The sun just made it's entrance through the dense clouds and I feel as though I should see Frodo and Gandalf hiking the ridge of the mountain. It’s that breathtaking.

Stepping off the plane in Madrid Spain was like stepping onto a new planet. Not one with smog and skyscrapers, but one with clarity and rolling green hills.  I have done lots of amazing traveling in my life, but this trip seems all together different. It wasn’t the familiar excitement that comes with getting to be a tourist in some fun place, but instead, a joy that comes with be able visiting the land that my sister and her husband hold so dear to their hearts.

This trip was about spontaneity, visiting loved ones, and getting to experience God without the agenda of my typical earthy duties; and Duruxa (pernounced  Durusha) was the perfect setting for this desire.  This little community they live in is tucked so perfectly into the back hills of Northern Estrellas; that it takes a car ride on very windy, narrow, paved road through villages and sheep covered hills tops to get there.

The moment my foot stepped out of the van, and my eyes gazed upon the surrounding mountains of this little place, I understood just a bit of why they found such delight here. The best way to describe this place to you is, Eden.

Huge meadows made of lush ankle high grass lead up to tree covered mountains on all sides. The community they live in consists of a main house with a kitchen and a dining room, that we gathering in for every meal; and surrounding there are little horreo’s (oreos) they live in; which are wooden structures held high on stone beams that people used to store grain in hundreds of years ago.

A ten minute walk in any direction leads you into the deserted green mossed forest. Which is covered in wild fruit and nut trees, with springs of fresh water rushing through. If you walk long enough, you see other abandoned stones homes and ruins. Purely magical.

On the land they have 3 horses (two about to give birth to colts), a herd of sheep, chickens that give them 6 eggs a day, a puppy named Sella (Seya) who will one day be a sheep herder and is in a puppy phase of biting everything, two Mama goats that give milk, and two baby goats named Spring and Miri. These baby goats have changed my life! They are like little playful jumping puppies with hooves. Every evening we bring them from the barn into the kitchen while we make dinner, and they either huddle around the stove for warmth, or cuddle in your arms until they fall asleep. It almost feels like you have a cat in your arms until you stroke their heads and feel their little growing horns, that brings your mind back to remembering their goats! The little sounds they make are the cutest sound I’ve ever heard come from an animal's lips. 

Here the days are beautifully simple, because the life-style is completely different. You rise with the sun, meet in the kitchen for a simple breakfast of fresh fried eggs or musili with fresh cows milk, and go work on the land. From planting new seeds in the garden, to shoveling piles of mud out of the road, or putting up new fences. Here everything they do is creating something, bringing new life to the earth.

I am convinced God created men for hard work. Not only making their bodies strong, but giving them a sense of accomplishment and providing that is an ingrained desire in their hearts. While us women do different type of work, like take care of the animals and cook meals. I just seems to right and beautiful in my mind.  

I've experienced different joy from Duxura that comes from simple things 

like:  breathing in fresh mountain air

exploring the forest and picking wild flowers

the sweet smell of the baby goats when you kiss their noses

drinking fresh spring water right from the ground

dancing in the kitchen with Jillie while making dinner for the boys

getting to wear big rainboots every day enabling you to trudge through the mud

not caring about how you look, or what clothes your wear

the constant sound of the rushing river down in the valley

being able to walk 20 feet from the property and be in complete silent solitude making a salad from greens picked from the ground

having everyone gather near the kitchen stove at night because it’s the only source of heat

having the sun go down at 10 pm

having no concern of time or anywhere to be

hiking up mountains in the rain

I apologize because my words just don't do enough. It's a beauty that must be experienced. This trip has been simply a taste of freedom of how it used to be :) 

My best moment so far has been sitting in tall green grass overlooking the valleys and mountains, feeling my Creator's presence so near, as if His breath was the force pushing the clouds across my vision. 

His heart is for me, His heart is for you.