Barcelona, Here I Come!

While I could have just left this as a short announcement, I realize there is so much more I have to say about everything that’s changing in my life. 

 

If you’re reading this, thank you; it means you probably care about me to some extent or have supported my past endeavors. Although, perhaps it’s simply that my unconventional life has piqued your curiosity and you’re wondering, what crazy adventure is Erica getting herself into next? 

 

So here it is:

 

I’M MOVING TO BARCELONA

 

Wow…that feels good to finally say. 

 

I’ve been accepted to the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (The Barcelona Institute of International Studies) to pursue a master’s degree in International Relations. (Read more about the institute at the end of this post.)

 

Anyone who has come within a few feet of me knows that this dream has been on my heart for nearly six years. It started after studying abroad in Oviedo, Spain during my junior year of college. Inspired by my close relationship with Mexican grandfather, I longed to connect to my heritage which traces back to Spain. It was my first time out of the country at 19 years old, which became the catalyst for my sequential travels to over 35 countries by the time I was 26. From the moment I boarded the plane to leave Spain, I told myself I’d be back one day to live. 

 

So, it’s been a long time coming. To be honest, this dream was dimly flickering. I was on the verge of putting it out. I was nearly convinced that it just wasn’t God’s plans for me. Twice already I’ve applied for my master’s in Spain—in a different city at a different university—and had been rejected both times (2017 and 2018). I decided to put this dream on hold as I pursued mission work for two years intermittently, around the world and the States. I’ve worked with countless ministries: from evangelism to construction to teaching English to orphanages to prostitutes to homelessness to prisoners, you name it. Of all these encounters, there was one I could never shake—working with refugees. Camp Moria, a frontline refugee camp tucked away six miles off the coast of Turkey, is where I was both touched and tormented by the brokenness of refugees fresh off the boat. My life was forever changed. Why do I mention all this? In my pursuit of this degree, I hope to understand more about the global refugee crisis, forced immigration, and issues in cultural assimilation. 

 

Although this news is one of celebration and excitement, it has also been hard for me to digest. You see, I have fallen in love with this place I’ve called home the past five months—Colorado. I can see so much of my future here. I desperately don’t want to leave and I’ve been grieving just the thought of leaving this place. I have an amazing community and new friends, an amazing house family, a home church, an incredible job, and breathtaking adventures around every corner in the mountains. I’ve cherished it all and that’s why it feels like such a huge sacrifice to uproot the life I’ve made here. So for that, I haven’t really been able to celebrate.  Because the truth is it’s been a continuous season of grieving. It feels like all I’ve been able to focus on is endings and losses for the past year and a half, instead of the good things that lie ahead. 

First I grieved traumatically getting pulled off the international field when COVID first hit. Then, it was the death of my grandfather; the end of my three-year journey with Adventures in Missions; moving away from my family in Florida; and the end of a relationship amidst transitioning to a new city halfway across the country. Now that I feel like I’ve dusted myself off from the never-ending losses, I’m grieving the end of my time in Colorado—where I desperately wish to call home. 

 

Sometimes it feels like I’m in a perpetual loop of transition. And while I’ve lived a truly abundant life, the truth is I’ve had to look deep within myself and sacrifice many things to choose this narrow path. 

 

The truth is that it’s a battle to surrender my life to the Lord daily. It’s a choice to sacrifice the roots I want to put down in Colorado. It’s a choice to sacrifice comfort, familiarity, family, a steady community, and a steady income. And it hasn’t come easy. 

 

There is a verse from a song called Come What May by We Are Messengers that says: 

“Sometimes sorrow is the door to peace

Sometimes heartache is the gift I need”

 

The Lord has given me so much peace through every act of obedience that has ushered in  some amount of grief. I’m here to remind you that the calling and passions the Lord has put on your heart are WORTH every amount of sacrifice. It’s worth every tear, every broken heart, every doubt, every fear and every ounce of confusion. We need to stop living with expectations of what our lives are “supposed” to look like. God is worth laying down every aspect of life you think is worth clinging to. 

 

So don’t give up.

Don’t be discouraged.

 

The Lord does have purpose over your life, and I can guarantee you it doesn’t look the way you envisioned. But remember in the hard times that He is good, He is faithful, and He WILL make good on His promises. 

 

Thank you so much for the unmatched support you’ve shown me throughout the years. I will continue to update you on all the wild things the Lord is doing in my life as I enter into this next chapter.

 

Barcelona, here I come. (Cue the song Barcelona by Ed Sheeran)

 

______________________________________________

 

In the meantime, if you’re interested, check out my blog trilogy “ Fleeing, Fighting, Freedom: the heart-wrenching stories of refugees” from my time at the refugee camp in 2017.

 

Here are some other blogs I wrote in regards to my work with refugees:

My First Day With The Refugees

Sex Traffic in the refugee camp is REAL

Welcome to Life Jacket Graveyard

 

[About IBEI: “The Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) is a prestigious inter-university institute, created in 2004 as a joint initiative between five public universities in the Barcelona metropolitan area to promote postgraduate training and research in international studies and politics. The institute has over 30 faculty members with doctorates from major North American and European universities, many of which have distinguished profiles in the fields of international relations, international political economy, comparative politics, international security and international development. IBEI has consolidated itself, both in Spain and abroad, as a leading graduate school and research institute.”]