Tuesday May 29: The departure...

This morning came very quickly for most of us. The thought of getting up early and making sure we were all packed and ready for our departures this morning. Last night after ur debriefing session we said goodbye to Laura, Corey, Alisa, and Neal. They all are spending some extra time in Europe and had to leave for the airport earlier than our bus did. We loaded our bus at 6:45 a.m. With a planned departure of close to 7 a.m. Unfortunately Mindy and Courtney woke up at 6:50 a.m. When we realized that they weren't on the bus and that they were roommates. But within a few minutes we got them all packed and loaded. We arrived at the airport to the pleasant surprise of the cleaning crew striking, so strips of newspaper were all over and they were chanting and blowing noise makers the whole time. After that we started the process of checking in, which also included our first round of goodbyes. We then got everyone in the Atlanta group check in and went over to say our "final" goodbyes to those we had missed earlier. Which was ather difficult seeing that part of the group headed to New Ark was hallways through security. The awesome Atlnata crew got through security and then realized that the New Ark group was a few ates away from us. So our goodbyes actually came later, many hugs were given, a few tears shed, and many promises were made to see each other again. This is the update from Atlanta: Currently it is 6:13 p.m. Atlanta time, which translates to 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday Barcelona time. We are a little tired, not much sleep was had on the plane. Currently we have been to two different gates and are headed to our third momentarily. Our plane leaves at 8:30 p.m. Atlanta time for a arrival into Wichita at 9:30 p.m. Kansas time. More updates to come later! Kaedi LeFevre, Hesston, Ks

Monday May 26: The last full day

Today was our last day here in Europe. We awoke to a nice breakfast provided by the hotel, after which we loaded the bus at 9 and departed for Monserrat. This is a monastery that many people throughout Spain pilgrimage to. After about an hour and a half bus ride around many hairpin turns and drop of hundreds of feet we arrived. We had a wonderful view of several miles in each direction. The group then had three hours before meeting up to hear a choral give a brief concert. We could either explore the shopping area or take our pick of several hiking trails. At 12:30 p.m. we met for the concert which had two parts. The first group was alright and was followed by an all boys choir that was amazing. After this we then again took the long bus ride back. We arrive at the hotel around 3:00 p.m. and the rest of the afternoon was free. Many people took advantage of it to pack, go to the beach, or head over to Gaudi park. This evenings meal will be provided by our hotel restaurant, and will be delicious as always. After the meal we are planning to have one last set group time together. Here we will just debrief over the last three weeks, share stories, and share experiences we have encountered along this trip. Rumor has it that we will have an early morning tomorrow, so sleep will be greatly appreciated. -This afternoons portion written by Kenny Graber, Stryker, OH -This evenings portion written by Kaedi LeFevre, Hesston, KS

Sunday May 27: Meaningful morning worship

After another good breakfast we went to the bus in our concert dress at 9:30 am. W had an hour drive to Iglesia Amor Viviente. This was a church that is held underground where we worshiped, sang, and ate with the members of another church, Iglesia Mennonita Communidad Evangelica. After the meal we made our way back tot he surface and walked through Barcelona taking the metro still in our concert dress. We attempted a flash mob within one of the subways singing "O Sapo" but we discovered that singing in a loud subway car is not an easy feat, we still had plenty of fun doing it though! We eventually made it back to our hotel after plenty of awkward stares from many Spainards. W then had free time to go out to the city until supper. Some chose to go to the Picasso museum and others made their way to Gaudi park. We then had an 8 p.m. Dinner that included salad, chicken, potatoes, and flan for dessert. The. The evening was spent enjoying some typical children's shows, except they were in Catalan. -Broxton Busentiz, North Newton, KS

Saturday May 26: Taking it all in...

Today provided a welcomed opportunity to sleep a bit later than usual or head our for a morning jog: both popular activities among pockets of this group! We gathered at 10 a.m. To take the metro to La Rambla, a historic district loaded with Artisans selling their wares. La Rambla extends from the city center on south to the Mediterranean and includes a monument marking the cite of Christopher Columbus' departure in 1492. After 3 hours of scattering for sightseeing and lunch, we gathered again and took the metro to Basilica Sagrada Familia (Basilica of the holy family). Here we encountered the breathtaking architecture of Antoni Gaudi. Begun in 1882, the cathedral is scheduled for completion in 2026. It is an active construction site, but also is already a house of worship, not to mention one of Barcelona's premier tourist attractions. Many of our members lingered here, taking in the grandeur and intimacy of the place. Under the cathedral, a museum (spanning the footprint of the massive exterior) tells the story of its progressive design based on the anatomy of plants, leaves, and especially trees.  Tomorrow we have the privilege of gathering for worship with two Anabaptist congregations that have altered their individual routines in order to welcome us. We will have a time of worship together followed by our concert and then a "pica pica" (fellowship meal). One congregation is native to Barcelona, the other is a group of Honduran immigrants. With all it has to offer, Barcelona is proving to be an exciting culmination point for a wonderful tour.  -Bradley Kauffman, Newton, KS

Thursday May 24: Historical stops!

Today we traveled on the bus to visit Glanum, outside of St. Remy du Provence. Glanum contains ancient ruins that we got to walk through and explore. After that some of us got to walk through the small town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provedence and the hospital where Vincent Van Gogh spent the last years of his life. If was awesome to be able to walk around and see things like the olive trees that he actually painted. We also say the room where he stayed. Then we continued to walk into two to meet the rest of the group. There we caught a bite to eat and did just a little bit of shopping. The. We hopped back on the bus to head to Pont du Gard. This is the highest Roman bridge aqueduct in Europe! Walking on that and seeing how it worked was pretty awesome! Some of us also soaked our feet in the ice cold water! Many great photos were taken here at the bridge. Then we drove back to the hotel where we had free time until supper. A couple of people swam in the pool, which seemed to be kind of cold since the hot sun went behind the clouds. Oh, did I mention the whole day was extremely hot, probably around the mid 80's (degrees F). Much warmer than the rest of the trip! After supper, Kayla Kauffman, and I watched the movie 300, except it was in French! How exciting! Then after a long, warm, and tiring day we hit the hay! -Lauren Weaver, Hesston, KS

Friday May 25: Medieval cities, along with culture shock...

Today we left the city of Arles, France and began our trip to Barcelona. It was the last long leg of the journey, as well as the final destination of the trip. After two hours on the bus we arrived at the medieval castle city of Carcassonne. We were given three h to roam around, shop, pillage, eat, and explore. Upon entering the city, the feeling was like going into a castle, during medieval times. We were filled to the brim with knowledge from the excellent presentation from Kaedi LeFevre. Roaming down the maze of alleys and streets we found exciting shops and fine cuisine. The three hours flew by and the end of our time the group had accumulated a fin time and some interesting purchases. Including several swords, daggers, and ninja swords, all of which would kill dragons, pillage villages or cut meat depending on your preferences, we're bought. Our adventure in Carcassonne was cut short by our return to the bus. We drove for several hours through Soft southern French countryside until finally reaching our destination: Barcelona, Spain! We weaves our way through the city and found our hotel where Jean-Paul received a parking ticket due to bus parking drama from the police, and Ken Rodgers had one of his bags stolen in the lobby. "Welcome to Barcelona everyone!" but regardless of these setbacks, we enjoyed a lovely meal in the restaurant and explored the local area, preparing us for the day ahead. -Neal Brubaker, Goessel, KS

Wednesday May 25: On to Arles!

We left from Altkirch at 9 AM for a day loaded with traveling on our way to Arles, France. Our first stop was at 12 PM for a lunch break for about fourty-five minutes. The afternoon was filled with various activities like reading, sleeping and listening to music. The guys in the back of the bus even started to color some beautiful pictures of Disney princesses with their own twists. A highlight for those of us sitting in the back was watching Kaitlyn Miller in a rather deep sleep. We made one last stop around 4M for fourty-five minutes so that we could continue the last two hours without a stop. A lot of us got ice cream at the rest area where we stopped. We reached our hotel around 6:30 PM where we got our room assignments and then went to supper at 7:30 PM. When supper was over, we went on a walking tour of the town and then a lot of people went back to the hotel while some chose to continue to explore.  -Libby Waltner, Hurley, SD