The First Week

My room:The view from my room: The walk down hill to school (which means the walk home, of course, is uphill!)
I have already seen prayers answered. Saturday night after dinner Juan, Sandra, and I continued to converse for quite a while at the table. I thought of a few topics, and Juan was great at thinking of things to discuss. Juan asked me if I read anything in Spanish, so I shared with them that I am reading my bilingual Bible. (I read a section of verses in English, then read the same section in Spanish to help me comprehend.) Sandra said that they have a Spanish Bible and that it is a good book. She asked me if I am Catholic or Protestant. I said that I am protestant, then I commented that I follow the Bible. She told me that when my Spanish improves, she wants me to explain some things from the Bible to her. Friday she had shown me a picture of the Virgin Guadelupe and talked about how wonderful she is, so I was encouraged by this opening. I pray that God will give me opportunities and put the words in my mouth and give me the boldness to speak at the right time.

Sunday morning we visited a bilingual church in Antigua. It was interesting. Sunday night when Audra, David, and I rode the bus back from Antigua we realized that San Juan was in the dark—no power! It was very dark it seemed like everyone in town was out wandering the streets. It was a little eerie, so Audra and David decided to walk me home instead before heading back toward their houses.

Monday morning we were assigned tutors. My tutor is a woman named Rosario. She is the same age as me, and class went really well. The 4 hour morning flew by. We all went home for lunch and were to meet back at the school at 2 for the afternoon activity. (Most afternoons they offer activities either at this school or at their location in Antigua.) We were given a tour of San Juan. Then we watched a movie about the terrible war in Guatemala and people heading north to survive in the early 80’s. This is a picture of the school. We all sit at little tables around the building or in the garden with our own tutor. (Note the view of one of the volcanos in the background.)

Tuesday morning I became frustrated over all of my mistakes in language class, and that afternoon we toured the place in town that makes fireworks.

Wednesday morning class was better, and we hiked up to a place called Cerro de la Cruz that overlooks the city of Antigua. While we were there, it started pouring, and we were absolutely drenched by the time we made it back down to the APPE school building in Antigua.

Thursday morning from the school we could see that the other volcano had coughed up a little smoke.

That morning I was blessed by the opportunity to have an amazing conversation with my teacher about the Bible and about God. I was able to share a few Bible stories with her, and one of her questions led me to explain about free will. She really enjoyed the conversation. She said that we needed to spend some time on grammar for the rest of the morning, but she also said that she wanted to continue this conversation again in the future. It was so encouraging the way God helped me through the conversation! Please be praying for my teacher Rosario, for her husband and kids, and for me as I continue to develop this relationship.