Rambling

February 27, 2007

It has been ages since I have written and even now as I sit down to write, I am thinking of many other things that I need to be doing. The past few weeks have been really busy with projects . Last week I presented information about Honduras and my future work there to my class. This week I led the class in a debate on TV and whether we can and maybe should live without it. I did not change anyone's mind but hopefully I reminded people that it is not essential to life and does not have to be accepted as an automatic member of a household. I also presented information to the camp facilitators to help them to understand the purpose of debriefing activities and how to do so. It went fairly well but was definitely a challenge to do in Spanish.

Yesterday I awoke at 4:45 to the house moving and a loud noise. It was an earthquake -- my second "big" one since I have been here. I pondered getting up but since there were no tremors I stayed put. Unfortunately once I was awake I could not get back to sleep but that is not unusual.

I am finally continuing and finishing this blog entry, though it is over a week later. I am feeling more inspirecd to write today. I awoke this morning to what reminded me of spring -- the sounds of birds chirping outside the window in the wee hours of the morning. The sounds revived yet again the desire I have been having of late to go out to the woods for several days with my backpack and tent. Unfortunately I do not think it will happen anytime soon but I keep remembering all of my fun trips back in the woods up north. At the same time I am very thankful for the hiking opportunities that I have had here and the new ecosystems that I am exploring.

Tomorrow morning I head to the beach -- not exactly the Northern woods. As many of you know the beach is not my favorite place in the world, but a trip there every once in a while is good for me. The Lord often has things to teach me as I sit beside the mighty waters. At the moment I am in the middle of trying to plan a trip out of the country because my Visa expires before I am due to leave Costa Rica the first of May. I think that I will head to a remote area of Panama where there is a volcano and a huge International Park. Perhaps there I will have the chance to camp and enjoy the fresh air of the woods. Well, I have to head to class in just a few minutes so those are all of my ramblings for the moment.

February 2, 2007

February 2, 2007
I can hardly believe that it is the second month of 2007 already. I just finished my third full week of classes. We are moving a lot slower this Trimester in grammar which can be frustrating at times but maybe is good for me. I have enjoyed the opportunities I have had over the past few weeks to converse in Spanish with both friends and strangers. On Wednesday I was taking a bus to meet friends at a bowling alley (yes, they have that here). I began talking with the woman beside me and we got to talking about faith and God. She was talking about how God is the same for everyone and I could not tell if she meant for any religion or just the Catholics and Christians. I tried to make it clear that Jesus is the only way to God and many people try to work their way to salvation. She seemed to agree with me but I hated the fact that I could not understand much of what she said, hence I did not know whether I could agree with her or not. It was another reminder that I have a lot to learn yet in Spanish.
The class I am taking on the Inductive Bible Study Method at a local seminary is proving to be a neat way to practice Spanish and gain more insight on studying the Bible. I have been blessed each class by having the Lord challenge me in some area. Well, I am not sure if I would always call it a blessing because I do not always want to know that I am falling short of where God wants me to be, yet I am glad that God is speaking to me as we study His Word in class. This past week I was challenged when reading Numbers 20 where God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water will come out and instead he strikes it. The Lord then tells Moses and Aaron that because they did not trust in Him enough to honor Him as holy in the sight of the Israelites, they will not enter the Promised Land. To me it seems like Moses resorted to the method that worked the last time he needed water – he struck the rock. It worked the last time and yes it worked this time, but it was not God’s best and did not give God the glory that He deserved. I realized that sometimes I do not trust in God enough to take a step of faith and act in a way that involves a risk. If it works God will be glorified, but if it does not, will I look like a fool? But it is not about me. I do not have any specific examples to share at the moment, but I have been challenged to let God have control and not try to fall back on the methods that worked the last time. He may have something new for me and I need to be willing to step out in faith.
That sums up most of my thoughts for the moment. I am headed to La Cumbre camp this weekend to help out and then will be back to San Jose in time for the Super Bowl which I love so much!! Just kidding! I am hoping to find others who would prefer playing games over watching the SuperBowl.