day three. ;)

Hey everyone! I wish I could come up with more interesting post titles. Something like "Fire Ants and Spanish Dramas" isn't appealing however. :)

Today was mentally tiring, to say the least. ;) I woke up at 7 (probably had something to do with it) and laid around in bed for a bit. Again, breakfast was informal so we all grabbed something and ate outside. We had devotions at 9 led by the South Africa team and buddied up with our prayer partner. We each have a partner from the other team, and we will be praying for them as we go across the globe! So cool. 

Our team (Heather, Tori, Ben, and I) are explorers. We went and picked flowers and found trails and picked wild blackberries. We also blew on dandelions and looked over the mulch store near the headquarters. We like that kind of thing. "Meandering and frolicking" as Tori called it. ;) Fire ants can be a little bit of a problem so you have to be careful. Of course, they have been dealt with mostly, but the occasional ant can escape up your foot. Ouch. 

We had a two hour lecture this morning on children in crisis and at risk situations. This is all new stuff for me to hear, so it is a whole new world of emotions. God has been teaching me compassion through all of this, and love for His children young and old. 

We had lunch, and then watched the second part of the sermon we started yesterday. Henry Nouwan talked about the four characteristics of our lives. We are: chosen, blessed, broken, and given. We are chosen by God, precious and beloved. We are blessed by God, he sings a benediction over us. Our brokenness brings us to our knees but we remember to put it under the blessing and make it secondary to the fact that we are beloved. And finally, we are given. We give of ourselves to others. We show Christ's love to them. 

Coffee break (our favorite around here) and then some more teaching on WEC (the organization over Rainbows of Hope) and practical stuff for the mission field. We had dinner, a Guatemalan dish actually, which was quite delicious. Dinner time is one of my favorite times - we all sit outside at the picnic tables and talk and talk and talk. We grow closer over dinner. And dessert, of course. ;)

We had 1.5 hours of language study tonight. Because we all have at least a basic foundation in Spanish, we go over the more cultural facts of Guatemala so that we can be informed of different ways to speak. It's quite interesting. Patty, our language instructor, makes us do dramas to drive home her point. Those are always entertaining. 

I will say it again, I love the two teams and staff here at the ROH headquarters. We are becoming like family. The fun we share is amazing. Often, we can be laughing so hard that we take time to breathe and then try to talk again. If you all could pray for continued unity among us, that would be wonderful. We have been talking about how the devil loves to cause disunity on the field to make us discouraged or upset. 

Another specific prayer request (for me ;)) is in my Spanish speaking. I'm not very good at formulating sentences and then ACTUALLY SAYING THEM. I can write them though. ;) I need God's peace and strength to get through that barrier. 

I must be honest, I am a bit nervous about venturing to Guatemala. But I DO believe that it is the Lord's will for me. He has called me to go. I will not be discouraged. 

I was just thinking, if you have any questions about anything feel free to leave a comment or email me (sidebar for info). I'd love to try to answer it. :) Thanks for reading and praying! 

Dios te bendiga.

God bless you.