"Blogs" and "Personal Bits and Pieces"

"Blogs"

This is my friend Becca's blog. She was the other ACA girl who's flight was also delayed on our trip here. If you would like another perspective on life here, check it out.

Read: Becca's Blog

THIS beautiful link will take you to my amazing roommate's blog. She is spending the year in Tchad (country in Africa) as a student missionary and has already had some crazy stuff happen to her. The Bere Hospital in Tchad is an incredibly difficult mission field (as you may gather from her blogs) and prayers are always appreciated. Click on this link and please, take a moment to read about her adventures already! It's only been two weeks.

Read: Shannice's Blog about Tchad

"Personal Bits and Pieces"

After reading the stories on Shannice's blog about her incredible time in Tchad, I can't help but feel a little useless here in Argentina. I was originally planning to be a student missionary as well, and completed the process before I decided to study abroad here in Argentina instead. Tonight, while planning a weekend trip to a town to relax and appreciate the culture, I caught up on Shannice's blog posts. My entire day has been one frustration after another, planning wise, and honestly, I'm happy just to stay here at the school for the long weekend. But while all the frustrating nit-picking over finding the cheapest hostels and earliest buses has been occuring, Shannice and the other two SM's are struggling to stay positive and be lights to the people in their village.

I know that we are all to live our lives in ways that represent God wherever we are, not only making us good people, but also bringing love and acceptance to others. However, because my focus while I'm here is to learn Spanish, I've been finding it a little difficult to keep in sight what my ultimate life goal really is.

In spite of this confusion, my devotionals in the morning have become quite, well, good. It's been a while since I've taken time not only for myself, but also for God, and actually enjoyed it. The little notebook I've been carrying around has really helped me not only write a little more, but also think more about what I read.

With all this in mind, I remind myself that though I'm not battling cockroaches, goats, the military, and exploding car batteries, I still have my own battles that I fight everyday. Whether they are figuring out how to pronounce new words, choosing between one table to sit at or another, whether or not to exercise, or how to react to people who I don't always get along with.

This year I've been reading through the devotional book "Jesus Calling." Today's thought, in brief, was that the problems and challenges that are big to us seem small to others and vice versa. During class today, some students were struggling with understanding a concept that appeared obvious to me. Before I got impatient with them, I realized that there are aspects of Spanish that I really struggle in, and I know are a piece of cake from their point of view. It's been a while since what I've read in the morning has carried over into my life during the day, and actually helped me with my perspective. It was a good feeling to have.

So, I will go to sleep tonight, without knowing where I am going, but knowing that for today, I am here. This may seem like a large problem to others, but it is a small problem to me, and I am content with that. Though my water is so full of sodium that I feel like an elephant, I am content because I actually have water. Even though getting ready for bed takes twice as long and is twice as inconvenient, I am content. Because I am still alive, and still have a purpose. It's just a little more difficult to keep track of.