From Rose and Rebecca -

We have been in Granada since Monday night, after an 11 hour bus ride. Our time here has passed amazingly quickly, but it also seems as if we have been here for months! We are here with a group of Spanish from Valladolid and Madrid and a group from France who are part of the organization Coexister. Our experience is taking place in the house of Las Hermanitas de los Pobres (Little Sisters of the Poor) and we have wonderful accomodations with beds and all! We would love to go into more detail, but we have limited time on the computer so here are some highlights from our time here:

*trying to find a bullet point on a Spanish keyboard

*greatly improving our skills with Spanish and French, as nothing is translated into English for us

*discussion and dialogue with Alseny, a French Muslim who is part of the interreligious group Coexister

*spending time with the elderly who are cared for by the sisters and live here as well, including helping with their dinners, feeding those who need more assistance, playing life-size board games, and taking them for a walk to the supermarket and to the park - where we learned Spanish children's songs and dances

*visiting "El Barrio de los Muselmanes" and speaking with Muslim shopowners and others we encountered about their experiences living their religion here in Granada and their Ramadan here in the hottest part of the year

*multilingual Masses

*trip to the Alhambra to see what beauty God can work through human hands, as well as the gorgeous gardens of the Generalife

*discussion and dialogue with Benjamin, a French Jew who is also a part of Coexister, and sharing a Shabbat dinner with him

*getting to know and love our fellow pilgrims both in our group and in the others

*mandatory siestas from 3 to 4

We are so grateful for the time we have been given here and the wonderful people that we have to share it with, despite the initial language barriers. But now, we should get back to our siesta! Love and prayers to you all.

Rose and Rebecca