THEY'RE HERE!!!!

Yep our new NILI students arrived on Friday night! There are only two this semester but they are both very nice and hopefully ready to learn spanish! Their names are Kevin and Christyn. We had a full weekend of orientation, reading the handbook, security workshops, cultural workshops, going to church and having a party at Stan and Sherri Hall's house! It's been a great weekend of getting to know each other and I look forward to the next weeks and this semester! We are going to have a GREAT time! This afternoon we have a very important "Transportation Workshop" I'll fill you in on that after it happens...I can't give away the secrets :)

This blog thing isn't so easy...

yes I know I said I was going to try to update this blog everyday and here we are a week a a few days later and I'm just remembering I need to post a blog :0 So things here are great! I'm all settled into my little apartment which I LOVE! I have my beautiful view of the mountains, new furniture (a gift from another volunteer couple...which I"M SOOOOOO thankful for!!! Thank you Greg and Diane!!!) and my heater...so I'm set. I know you are probably thinking hello you are in south america why do you need a heater...well it gets chilly here especially at night! Remember I'm roughly 9000ft above sea level in the Andes mountains! Anyway I've been spending lots of time with Kim and Lucy my fellow NILI staff...we are known as the three musketeers, lets just say we have a REALLY good time together! Our Boss stan gets back tomorrow...so we will be spending more time in the office then out running "errands" haha! But things are good I have a meeting tomorrow with someone from the Christian school here where our missionary kids go to talk about ministry opportunities (and possible Substitute teaching opportunities) So I'm very excited about that! I just got my passport back today so my visa is all registered and I'm legal here in Ecuador :) I just need to go and get my censo...which is like my Ecuadorian ID card. Our students arrive on Friday so this week is going to be pretty crazy getting ready for them and having Stan back in town...lots to talk about! But it's good! Thanks for your prayers and thoughts and I'll talk to you soon!!!

9 Hours in an airport…



So here I am on hour 7 and I’m getting a little bored, now when I was growing up I could never say I was bored because there was always something I could do and If I said I was bored I was choosing to be that way and my parents didn’t want to hear about it. So to keep away the boredom I’m gonna write a blog…however I’m going to write it now and post it later, because I refuse to pay $8 for 24 hours of internet…I can wait. So I’ve ridden the little tram car a few times to check out the other terminals…they pretty much all have the same stores in them, and yes they ALL include a starbucks J However I have refrained from drinking any today. I need to tone down my coffee addiction. I have also watched a few episodes of Gilmore girls, always a good time passer…however I did fall asleep in the middle of them, don’t worry mom my bags were all securely placed around me so no one could steal anything J I’ve talked to friends and family so I’m now re-charging my cell phone. And I’ve been reading a book that I heard about a long time ago and I finally remembered to pick up before I left the country. It’s called “Captivating-Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul” By John and Stasi Eldredge and it is basically an exploration on being a woman starting with our hearts. And as I was reading there was a paragraph under the subtitle of An Irreplaceable Role in a Great Adventure the paragraph said this.



“Women love adventures of all sorts. Whether it be the adventure of horses or white-water rafting, going to a foreign country, performing onstage, having children, starting a business or diving ever more deeper in the heart of God, we were made to be a part of a great adventure. An adventure that is shared. We do not want the adventure merely for adventure’s sake but for what it requires of us for others. We don’t want to be alone in it; we want to be in it with others.”



So I’ve done a few of those things and they are all shared…white-water rafting lets just say I wouldn’t want to go down those rivers by myself in a raft I share that experience with a guide and other people in for an adventure. Performing onstage, yeah that seems like another lifetime ago…but I used to sing in front of people all the time, and being a music major there were many times I got on a stage to practice singing only to myself, it’s so totally different when there are people there sharing in that musical adventure. Going to a Foreign country, well I’ve grown quite accustomed to that over the past 3 years and I thought to myself, yep that pretty much sums up why I do what I do living abroad doing missions work and why I’m going to really try hard at keeping this blog up to date. Because it’s not about me and an adventure, it’s about what God requires of me to help others and I’m not doing it alone, everyone of you that reads this blog is with me, we are sharing this adventure. So I may be returning to Ecuador, there is a lot I am familiar with, however I know this is going to be a new adventure! And I’m very excited to see what God is going to do, I’m excited to see what he has up that incredibly creative sleeve of His. I know this, whatever it is it’s going to be life changing, for me, for the NILI students, for the Ecuadorians we work with and I hope for all of you! So I hope you are ready for an adventure!! I am!



So I have an hour and ½ left I think I just might go get that starbucks now…hey it will be 4 months till my next one J