Edge Program 2014
Amy Naramore, a 2014 Summer Edgie shares candidly about 2 areas that touched her while in Spain for the Edge Program.
Cultural/Spiritual Climate
While here, I went to a Catholic mass. The Catholic Church is not seen in a positive light here. They are blamed for so much religious and political persecution. As I sat in the pew, listening cluelessly to the quick paced, microphone muffled Spanish, I felt the overwhelming sense of devotion from the people; devotion to God, devotion to prayer; devotion to the church. Devotion is something that takes on a negative connotation in much of the United States, but while sitting in mass, it occurred to me that devotion means the most in the face of opposition. I cannot understand how deeply hurt and ostracized the Spanish Catholics must feel. Devotion in the face of that is incredible.
One Friend Who Transformed Me
I have grown very close to Fran while here. He has such an incredible heart. We connected quickly and our friendship has grown deeply. I have learned so much about trust with him. After weeks and weeks of friendship, he finally asked me why I never talked to him about God. He said that many people have talked to him about God with Edge and he was not sure why I didn’t. I asked him if he wanted to talk about God, and he told me that he didn’t. I said, “That’s why I haven’t.” I think that this surprised him. He told me that it meant so much to him that I cared about him regardless of if we talked about God or not. Awhile later, our conversation paused and he looked at me and said, “Okay, can we talk about God now?” I said yes and he lead the conversation. Fran trusts that he can tell me what he believes and feels and thinks without having to fear that I will try to change him. I trust that Fran will be honest with me and not judge my beliefs and thoughts either. I believe that it is through this trust that the Holy Spirit will work in both of our lives.
