Hi everyone! After a busy week and a busy but fun weekend, I'm back to write another update! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying some cooler weather. I bet it's pretty back home with the leaves changing colors. It's starting to get a little cooler here but not like back home. I think it'll finally be winter in December as I'm leaving! lol
This week started out busy for me. I had a presentation on Monday, which was officially the last individual presentation in my Oral Communication class! Yay! The final group project will be a debate. I'm not particularly looking forward to it because I generally try to avoid conflict/confrontation, but I'm sure it will be nothing short of interesting. :-) On Tuesday, Mom and Teban both celebrated birthdays. Thankfully, their birthday cards arrived on time! Mom didn't wait for her birthday to open her card! She tore into it a couple of days before. She was so excited to get mail from me, so I'll let it slide! haha Teban, on the other hand, was patient and waited to open his card on his birthday. He opened it while we were both on Skype so I could be there with him. It was so sweet!
On Thursday I had the opportunity to speak to the young adult group at our prayer meeting. The week before the leader of the group (Rafa) asked me if I would give the word for the following week, and to be honest, it surprised me! I didn't know what to say! He told me I could think about it and let him know by Sunday if I was going to do it. Well, since I'm human, I first thought about all the reasons I couldn't do it- umm, my Spanish isn't as good as theirs, I get nervous when I speak in front of people, I'm not a pastor, bla bla bla. Thankfully, the Lord quickly erased those thought when he said, "You're going to do this because you're not going to use your words, you'll be using mine. You won't be relying on your strength, you only need mine. And you won't be using your abilities because you have everything you need in me!" After that, I felt such a peace and confidence and couldn't wait until Sunday to tell Rafa I would be glad to speak to the group. As I was talking to Iara (my roommate) about it, she also said something that really encouraged me. She said, "This is such a great opportunity for you because you want to work with Latinos in the church!" I thought, "Wow, I didn't think about that. God is good!" So, Thursday came around, and I was a little nervous but all was well. I found that my Spanish came so easily, and I was able to communicate the Word and the things in my heart. The Lord really knows what he's doing. I received such a blessing from speaking to the group, and many of them told me they were blessed as well... thanks God!
After a busy week, we were ready to have some fun and not think about homework or TEc! Friday night we went to an event called ExpoTEC. It was a cultural exhibition of music, food, and artesanry from each state of Mexico and many countries in Central and South America. The food was my favorite part! I ate pupusas from El Salvador and tortas from the state of Michoacan. Yum! The music was mainly cumbia and norteño- two traditional styles of music from the northern part of Mexico. I didn't care much for the music, but it was interesting to see the dances and pride that they showed for their heritage. On Saturday, we went to a birthday party for our friend Elisa at church. She had her party at a ranch about an hour and a half from Tec. I had a great time and was able to relax with friends. We played volleyball, which made it even better! Everyone was impressed with how well I played. After 10 years of playing, I should still have a little left in me! :-) The food was great as well. I ate cactus and didn't even realize it! It was diced in with the meat for fajitas, and I really liked it! Come to think of it, I didn't find one thing I didn't like! That's usually how it goes with me though...On our way home we stopped in Santiago to get some ice cream and walk around the plaza a little bit. Overall, it was a great day with good people. The Lord's blessed us with a great group of friends here; I'm so thankful for them! Well, I'm out of time for today. I hope you all have a wonderful Monday tomorrow! God bless!
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