March 20, 2011

Well, after being away from the city for a week for SAM field conference, 2 weeks in Argentina for a course I was teaching, 4 days for church camp during Carnaval, and 5 days in Quito, Ecuador to attend a teacher workshop...I'm GLAD to be home!!! Since getting back from Quito, I've now spent more nights consecutively sleeping in my own bed in the last week than I did during the month of February and first part of March! Incredible! I guess at this point it all feels a bit surreal to me! In an effort to not ramble on in this blog post, I decided it would be easiest to just point out a few highlights and things God has been teaching me during all of this traveling! At the end, you'll also find the link to a shutterfly album where you can find pictures of these various events!

* Am I putting my total trust/faith in God...allowing Him to work and move in my life according to His plans?

* Am I willing to sign a blank piece of paper and turn it over to Him, thereby leaving it up to Him to write out His plan for my life?

* Life does not revolve around me!

* I love talking about Language Acquisition tools and helping others in learning a new language.

* It's amazing how God cares for His children...providing just what we need, when we need it...even if it's simply for our enjoyment. Returning from Cordoba, my friends and I decided to bus to Buenos Aires and then fly back to Santa Cruz. This meant we would be in Buenos Aires for about 4 or 5 hours before needing to head to the airport. We didn't know what we would do with our suitcases, but we REALLY wanted to see a bit of the city! As it turned out, there were a couple of people from Buenos Aires at the English Village. One of them rode with us on the bus, his wife picked us up at the terminal, they took us out for breakfast, and drove us to another lady's house...she then became our tour guide for the morning.

* Church Camp: Bolivian countryside is BEAUTIFUL!!! It was fun to get out of the city and spend time with friends! Teaching the children every morning was a challenge...next time I'll look for additional help so that I can enjoy a few of the adult services as well! I was encouraged by several children who have accepted Christ. Time will tell if the seed has fallen on good ground.

* Quito has everything...TGIFridays, Dunkin Doughnuts, Cinnabon, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, etc.

* What a great experience...workshops for educators and administrators combined with eating every chance we got!!! Couldn't have asked for more!

* This was a little bit too much traveling...hard to be away for so long and hard to get back into the swing of things (or get caught up) now that I'm back.

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All in all, the trips were wonderful and I'm so thankful that God allowed me to be a part of such wonderful opportunities...learning and being stretched all along the way! However, I am glad to be back home...I love being back at school and getting to daily be a part of the lives God has placed there! Below you'll find just a couple more pictures taken just today as I dressed up like a Pirate in order to read the book "How I Became a Pirate" to the 1st and 2nd grade classes! Thank you so much for your prayers! Enjoy!