This is the hike that almost killed me. at Volcan Poaz there is a lagoon that used to be a volcano but has ceased to be anything other than a lake for a long time. No wildlife in this water, though, it is way too acidic.
June 23, 2005
Life in General
Hey friends and neighbors! OK, so none of you can be called my physical neighbors right now, but you are all near and dear to my heart. I just thought I would send our an e-mail talking about my life for the past two weeks. I keep promising more info on how I am doing, and wouldn't you know it, life gets in the way. Right now it is 8:55 on Wednesday night, and really I just want to play a little on my computer, listen to some audio books and go to sleep. But, I want you to know how I am doing, and also what I am doing, so I must press on! :) Isn't it nice to know I am still your friendly dramatic Emily? :)
OK, the last few weeks have been busy, mostly with life, but also some schoolwork. I have loved getting mail (thank you to those who have sent letters!), and e-mails hearing how you have been. It helps to know (1) that I am still a part of your lives, and (2) that you are thinking of me as much as I am thinking of you! So, this past weekend we took a singles trip to visit the oldest Costa Rican coffee plantation, the Volcano Poaz, and also some waterfall gardens (which also had butterfly and hummingbird exhibits). Absolutely gorgeous, but I thought I would kill my heart in the process. I never realize how out of shape I am until I try and hike around volcanos and waterfalls in high altitudes, with people whose hearts are kept in much better condition. Seriously, I am surprised I didn't drop dead. But, God brought me through it, and more importantly, the sights of God's awesome creation "vale la pena" were worth it (literally the pain has worth, but the phrase is just a general modismo to mean something was worth it). I will be setting up some pictures as soon as possible, and I am still waiting on the San Carlos Mission trip pics from other people. I will send out a postcard announcement when I get another page up. Hopefully everyone will be able to see it.
I have been spending a lot of time lately with Nancy Johns, a new friend of mine. She lived with my Tico fam last tri, so we spend many afternoons laughing about similar experiences. Last night she showed me the spiders fellowship on the bottom floor of my closet shelves. Yech, they are everywhere. Consequently, I made her move my shoes to the next shelf up and we discovered a weird brown growth on my leather "clunker" shoes (the Skechers that I wear EVERYWHERE in the states). I cleaned off the growth, which was powdery once it came off and still have no idea what creature decided to do something to my shoes. I think I am happier not knowing, and just knowing that for now they are clean again. The weather has been too hot to wear them here, but I still have hopes of needing them in Bolivia two or three times a year. :)
I heard back from Annette Wood a few days ago. She had mailed me an info packet on SCCLC and what I might be teaching in Sept. Everything sounded fairly certain from her letters, so I e-mailed to ask what the WGM missionaries were thinking/planning. Right now we are fairly certain I will be needed in Bolivia for school starting in Aug. Thankfully everyone realizes I CANNOT be there until Sept, and they are being wonderful about it. I will have my own apartment in the compound (within walking distance to the school) and I will also have 3 grades of HS English (9,10 for sure, and then either 11 or 12), AND I will have a theatre elective 2 times a week!! WAHOOOOOOOO! The HS principal also sent a letter explaining the elective and asking that we only do some possible chapel skits and maybe travel to some churches for skits as well the first semester. That sounds fine with me, I am only praying that I will have suitable and challenging skits for my students to work with. PLEASE pray as I begin to set up my curriculum, with no theatre resources here and very little Language Arts resources. Pray that God will give me wisdom and knowledge. Also pray that my students (and myself) will be yearning for God's truth as it relates to our subject matter. There is a heavy emphasis on integrating the Scriptures into all of our subjects, and I am praying that God will give me ways of doing this and still making the classroom an academically challenging environment. I do not want to make the Bible another textbook, nor do I want all of our lessons to center on scriptural "stories." I would love for my students to get to the point where we are applying Biblical truth as we discuss difficult topics, but our reasoning is beyond simply because "the Bible says so." I want us to get to the place where we understand the truths God has given us and are able to discuss them in relation to what man views as wisdom and truth. So my students can leave SCCLC knowing what man expects them to know, but also understanding God's truth for our lives and the relationship between the two. I hope this makes sense, I am still praying about my own heart in the matter. :)
OK, on to other matters. I am in the midst of Spiritual Emphasis Week here at ILE (Instituto de Lengua Espanola) and simply loving it!!! Our speaker is Dr. Vern Steiner. He has been a professor of college and seminary, as well as a pastor. He specializes in OT literature and Hebrew. I am in the heights of academic heaven!! Now he is the founder and president of Miqra Institute, a training institution for pastors and church leaders that concentrates on learning to read, understand, and translate the meaning of Scripture to others. He has such a love for God's word, and such a complex understanding of it. We have focused on the book of Ruth this week and I have learned so much. The Bible has such depth that I, in my limited understanding, am unable to reach without someone else guiding me. How frustrating, but at the same time, how exciting when a leader does come with this knowledge!! As an added bonus, he has such a theatrical, descriptive way of presenting that I am scribbling like a madman trying to keep up with him the whole time he is speaking. I am praying about writing a short piece for my HS students on Ruth. I have no idea what it would look like, and I have never written a script before, but something beautiful has been planted in my heart. Pray that if God wills, it will take root and flourish. This book is fast becoming one of my favorites in the Bible. And to think, all of scripture has the breath of God throughout, if only we would learn to listen.
If any of you are interested in learning more about what I am learning, let me know and I will try to make enough sense of my notes to type and e-mail them. The basic point is this - Does God always work in the majestic, or can He not also work in the mundane, the practical, everyday humdrums of living, and work in such a way that would leave the angels praising His name? The answer is, of course, He can. But to see this theory fleshed out in the book of Ruth, and then to draw the implications into my own life of "dailiness" is a wonder to behold. Do you know, God's direct action is only mentioned twice in this book? The rest is simply godly people working to live their life in ways that would be pleasing to their God, invoking His blessing and protection for others, and then working in ways that are answers to their very prayers. It is an incredible parallel between God's part and man's part in living a faithful life. Incredible.
Well, that's it for now. It is 9:30 and I really must go to bed. I am having more and more trouble getting up in the mornings. The sign of it being midway through the tri. Everyone is feeling this emotionally. Please pray that our desires to learn Spanish and be a part of the life God has called us to would be new every morning, just like God's faithfulness.
I love you all - Write me!
Em
OK, the last few weeks have been busy, mostly with life, but also some schoolwork. I have loved getting mail (thank you to those who have sent letters!), and e-mails hearing how you have been. It helps to know (1) that I am still a part of your lives, and (2) that you are thinking of me as much as I am thinking of you! So, this past weekend we took a singles trip to visit the oldest Costa Rican coffee plantation, the Volcano Poaz, and also some waterfall gardens (which also had butterfly and hummingbird exhibits). Absolutely gorgeous, but I thought I would kill my heart in the process. I never realize how out of shape I am until I try and hike around volcanos and waterfalls in high altitudes, with people whose hearts are kept in much better condition. Seriously, I am surprised I didn't drop dead. But, God brought me through it, and more importantly, the sights of God's awesome creation "vale la pena" were worth it (literally the pain has worth, but the phrase is just a general modismo to mean something was worth it). I will be setting up some pictures as soon as possible, and I am still waiting on the San Carlos Mission trip pics from other people. I will send out a postcard announcement when I get another page up. Hopefully everyone will be able to see it.
I have been spending a lot of time lately with Nancy Johns, a new friend of mine. She lived with my Tico fam last tri, so we spend many afternoons laughing about similar experiences. Last night she showed me the spiders fellowship on the bottom floor of my closet shelves. Yech, they are everywhere. Consequently, I made her move my shoes to the next shelf up and we discovered a weird brown growth on my leather "clunker" shoes (the Skechers that I wear EVERYWHERE in the states). I cleaned off the growth, which was powdery once it came off and still have no idea what creature decided to do something to my shoes. I think I am happier not knowing, and just knowing that for now they are clean again. The weather has been too hot to wear them here, but I still have hopes of needing them in Bolivia two or three times a year. :)
I heard back from Annette Wood a few days ago. She had mailed me an info packet on SCCLC and what I might be teaching in Sept. Everything sounded fairly certain from her letters, so I e-mailed to ask what the WGM missionaries were thinking/planning. Right now we are fairly certain I will be needed in Bolivia for school starting in Aug. Thankfully everyone realizes I CANNOT be there until Sept, and they are being wonderful about it. I will have my own apartment in the compound (within walking distance to the school) and I will also have 3 grades of HS English (9,10 for sure, and then either 11 or 12), AND I will have a theatre elective 2 times a week!! WAHOOOOOOOO! The HS principal also sent a letter explaining the elective and asking that we only do some possible chapel skits and maybe travel to some churches for skits as well the first semester. That sounds fine with me, I am only praying that I will have suitable and challenging skits for my students to work with. PLEASE pray as I begin to set up my curriculum, with no theatre resources here and very little Language Arts resources. Pray that God will give me wisdom and knowledge. Also pray that my students (and myself) will be yearning for God's truth as it relates to our subject matter. There is a heavy emphasis on integrating the Scriptures into all of our subjects, and I am praying that God will give me ways of doing this and still making the classroom an academically challenging environment. I do not want to make the Bible another textbook, nor do I want all of our lessons to center on scriptural "stories." I would love for my students to get to the point where we are applying Biblical truth as we discuss difficult topics, but our reasoning is beyond simply because "the Bible says so." I want us to get to the place where we understand the truths God has given us and are able to discuss them in relation to what man views as wisdom and truth. So my students can leave SCCLC knowing what man expects them to know, but also understanding God's truth for our lives and the relationship between the two. I hope this makes sense, I am still praying about my own heart in the matter. :)
OK, on to other matters. I am in the midst of Spiritual Emphasis Week here at ILE (Instituto de Lengua Espanola) and simply loving it!!! Our speaker is Dr. Vern Steiner. He has been a professor of college and seminary, as well as a pastor. He specializes in OT literature and Hebrew. I am in the heights of academic heaven!! Now he is the founder and president of Miqra Institute, a training institution for pastors and church leaders that concentrates on learning to read, understand, and translate the meaning of Scripture to others. He has such a love for God's word, and such a complex understanding of it. We have focused on the book of Ruth this week and I have learned so much. The Bible has such depth that I, in my limited understanding, am unable to reach without someone else guiding me. How frustrating, but at the same time, how exciting when a leader does come with this knowledge!! As an added bonus, he has such a theatrical, descriptive way of presenting that I am scribbling like a madman trying to keep up with him the whole time he is speaking. I am praying about writing a short piece for my HS students on Ruth. I have no idea what it would look like, and I have never written a script before, but something beautiful has been planted in my heart. Pray that if God wills, it will take root and flourish. This book is fast becoming one of my favorites in the Bible. And to think, all of scripture has the breath of God throughout, if only we would learn to listen.
If any of you are interested in learning more about what I am learning, let me know and I will try to make enough sense of my notes to type and e-mail them. The basic point is this - Does God always work in the majestic, or can He not also work in the mundane, the practical, everyday humdrums of living, and work in such a way that would leave the angels praising His name? The answer is, of course, He can. But to see this theory fleshed out in the book of Ruth, and then to draw the implications into my own life of "dailiness" is a wonder to behold. Do you know, God's direct action is only mentioned twice in this book? The rest is simply godly people working to live their life in ways that would be pleasing to their God, invoking His blessing and protection for others, and then working in ways that are answers to their very prayers. It is an incredible parallel between God's part and man's part in living a faithful life. Incredible.
Well, that's it for now. It is 9:30 and I really must go to bed. I am having more and more trouble getting up in the mornings. The sign of it being midway through the tri. Everyone is feeling this emotionally. Please pray that our desires to learn Spanish and be a part of the life God has called us to would be new every morning, just like God's faithfulness.
I love you all - Write me!
Em
Thanks Melis!
I was so thankful that my sis-in-law created a blog for me. I already had this one started, but I couldn't figure out how to make changes in the template (like putting links on the side). Because Melis got a blog started, I could use that template to remake this one the way I wanted. Awesome! Thanks Melis, you are a blessing!
June 17, 2005
Blogger Bug
Well, I already had a semi-private blog with some girlfriends, but I figured I would use this one for general use. Then I can link it to my homepage and everyone can know what I am doing. Even though it may not be too exciting! I just finished my institute-wide testing, and I will know in a week how everything went! I pray it went well.
Write me!
Write me!
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