So the past couple of months have been a little bit of the same: church and rest on Sunday, language class Monday through Thursday, and whatever shenanigans we get ourselves into on the weekends. And by "shenanigans," I mean "everyday things like buying food and paying bills, because nothing is easy here." Don't get me wrong-- it's not all bad. Just interesting.
Here's an example of how not straight forward things can be.
I typically prefer walking. It's a great way to interact with people, and its better for your health and the environment. But sometimes, you just have to get in the car and drive to get things done. And let me tell you, you learn a lot about a town and the people in it when you drive. Most of the time, driving here feels like a game of "how small of a space can I fit my car through," mixed with "dodge the people on bikes who had to have swerved in front of me on purpose." Because really, no one is that unaware of their surroundings. You also learn a lot about the roads and traffic laws when you drive. For instance, I learned that if you miss a traffic circle that's not marked very well, it's very possible you get sent to pay a ticket that doesn't actually exist. In fact, that's exactly what happened -- I was pulled over on a Friday night
for accidentally bypassing a traffic circle (in my defense, it looks more like the main road stays straight. Maybe I'm just making excuses, though.). The officer told me to go to the police station to pay the ticket on Monday. So, a friend and coworker who is more competent in the language went with me, and after two days and driving to 4 different offices, we were told that I must not have been given a ticket, and that I need to watch out for traffic circles. Lesson learned, I guess.
Of course, not everything that's happened during these couple of months has been this frustrating. While Kristen and I have been in language school, we've had the opportunities to practice the language with kids at a Catholic school and a school for the blind. We've had the chance to build relationships with people in town, such as young girl who begs outside of the market. We regularly buy rice for her, and gave her a children's Bible that she reads with her family at home. We were able to celebrate at the lake with a local congregation as new believers were baptized. We worshipped in the grass by the lake, we celebrated with the two men who were baptized, and we shared lunch with the church afterwards. The church members helped us find the right pages in our song books, spoke slowly as we tried to understand them, and shared their food because we didn't know to bring any with us. It was an example of true fellowship among the body of Christ, which extends beyond cultures and languages.
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| The church we attend, tucked away in the corner |
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| The new church building they are working on |
Basically, we have learned that every day can be quite the experience. Sometimes it's difficult. Sometimes it's frustrating. But every experience is a chance to learn. Please pray for us during these next couple of weeks as we finish up language school. Pray that we are not only learning the language, but learning how to live in this culture in a way that reflects the character of Christ. Hopefully we will be moving to our place of ministry soon, and I look forward to keeping you updated!
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| A new believer being baptized |
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| Singing at the lake before the baptism |
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| Kristen and some kids on our field trip to the countryside |
