I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but life has been in the way. Not that I've been too busy to blog, but when I do have time, the motivation isn't there or ideas don't seem important enough. But I figured I should write something. So whatever comes to mind, I'll write. Who knows how long it'll be, so I apologize in advance if I wind up writing a book.
School has been pretty hectic so far this year, but goodness am I learning a lot! Last semester I took Contemporary Religious Movements (a course on cults), Intercultural Communication, Leadership in Ministry, Daniel, and Beginning Spanish I (probably overall my favorite). I really did enjoy all of my classes. They all had quite a bit of work which made this 16-credit semester feel like 18 credits. For the whole first quad I really thought I was taking 18 credits. I was shocked when I realized it was only 16. I learned SO much from my Daniel class, especially from the chapters on prophecy. I never realized that the different kings, empires, and battles I learned about in History of Western Civilization (a freshman level history class) tied into biblical history...but it does!! Daniel prophesied about it! Though I couldn't tell you much about those historical figures, I recognized names and it was neat to see how world history fits into biblical history. My leadership class definitely had the most work with papers, projects, readings, etc. It was a good class, but oh so time consuming. I definitely learned a lot from that course.
Spanish was a blast. It was my first time ever taking a Spanish class, and I LOVED learning it in a more efficient way than I had been learning over the past three years on my own (aka elementary level workbooks filled with little games and crosswords, picture dictionaries, and picking up random words here and there). Though it was my favorite class, it definitely wasn't the easiest! My professor assigned homework then taught us the material in class. Seems backwards? Yeah, I thought so, too. There was still a good deal of self-teaching, but I tend to learn best when I can figure things out on my own and then ask questions when I don't understand something. At the beginning of the semester, my professor warned us that one year of college level Spanish is equivalent to three years of high school Spanish. Can you say YIKES!! In three years of learning on my own, I barely knew the alphabet, learned my numbers up through 59, and could say sentences like, "Quiero ir al cine"(I want to go to the movie theater) or "Tengo que trabajar pero no quiero" (I have to work but I don't want to). It's amazing the things my professor taught us in sixteen weeks. When it came to the final, I was really concerned about how well I would do. When we got our results back at the beginning of this spring semester, I was shocked by my score...96% and the top score of the class. Say what?!?! Out of 115 possible points, I only missed 4.5? How is that possible?
But what I've realized is that I've learned really well how to fill in blanks in sentences with direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, conjugating verbs correctly, and knowing how to use the verb gustar (and other things, obviously). And I feel decently comfortable with these. What I need more help with is DIALOGUE and conversational Spanish. The reason I say this is because it takes several times of someone repeating their sentence in Spanish for me to fully understand, then I can't think about how to answer. My confidence to hear and speak Spanish is definitely lacking. I gotta sit down and have very S.L.O.W., easy conversations in Spanish where it's ok to stop and think for two minutes how to reply correctly. I'm finally starting to not get my Spanish and German mixed up, but my Spanish vocab doesn't come to me very fast in conversation. That'll be one of my goals over this next semester (and probably forever!!)
Well anyways, now it's already the Spring semester and I know it's going to just fly by! I actually am taking 18 credits this semester. Fortunately, this quad I only have four classes. I'll pick up two next quad. Right now I have History and Contemporary Issues in Missions, Urban Intercultural Studies, Biblical Theology of Mission, and Beginning Spanish...wait for it....II!!!! This semester is going to be jam packed with readings, papers, field experience, and prep for my internship trip next fall. One of the "classes" I pick up next quad is the lab hour as a workshop for my internship. We meet every Tuesday morning at SEVEN FLIPPIN' O'CLOCK!! For those who know me, I am not a morning person whatsoever. And this workshop gets even better. We are on rotation for who makes breakfast for the team each week. That means when it's my turn to make breakfast, I need to be awake early enough that breakfast is completely ready by 7:00. That means I can't wake up and walk into class at 6:59. Oh my goodness that means that next quad, every Monday night I'll be going to bed around 10:00 so I get enough sleep and so I don't sleep through my three alarms. Anyways, regardless of what time I need to wake up for that workshop, I am really looking forward to it because that means that I can finally start getting some logistics and checking things off a list that I have yet to be in my possession (I also LOVE and NEED lists!) And before we know it, it'll be the end of the semester and it's summer!! Holy buckets is time going to fly!!
Speaking of the internship trip, for those who don't know, I am going on an eight or nine week internship trip with at least twenty other people from my Intercultural Studies major during the second half of next fall semester. We'll be going to Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, France, and England. (Just a heads up, I will be needing to send out support letters to people to raise about $3000 for the trip) I am super excited, yet I have no idea what to expect. I am a pretty picky eater and not the biggest fan of Asian food. One girl who's going on the trip with me said before Christmas break, "Most people gain weight on this trip. You're going to lose weight!" That'll probably be true while we're in Asia, but once we get to France, I'm going to eat all the breads and cheeses I can find (which could be a lot!). Cheese is my favorite food, and that might be what helps me get through the food situation in Asia. But all food issues aside, I am going to love the adventure and all we'll do!! We'll be spending most of our time in Thailand, where we'll be teaching English at Santisuk English School in Bangkapi. We're debriefing at Bulstrode Manor in England (look it up on youtube!) at the end of the trip. Then, upon arriving back home in Minnesota, I'll graduate!!! How crazy is that??
And then after I graduate, the next step will be missions! Guess where??? PERU!!! Before I can do that, though, I'll obviously need to find an organization to work under, raise my support, and get A TON of planning done! I'm currently looking into a few different organizations, having contacted the IMB (International Missions Board, Southern Baptist) already, and hopefully contacting the EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) and LAM (Latin America Mission). Because the IMB is a Southern Baptist organization, it's unlikely I'll actually be able to serve with them, but I had a contact, so I went ahead and e-mailed them anyways. I'd rather know than be left wondering. Hopefully I'll hear back within the next few weeks. I've just recently created a binder where I can start collecting information and checklists (me and those checklists!) to help me feel at least a little productive in this slow process. It's hard for me to remember that there is so much out of my control right now, but I know that God has it all taken care of. If you think of it, please be praying for this whole process for me. I love knowing details and how things will turn out, and right now I have very little information and it is sort of driving me crazy with all of the unanswered questions and vague facts.
But once again, my family's life verse (and I've taken it as my own, too) rings true in my life: "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
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