Summer has Arrived in Villarica

Well it has been a while and to say the least quite a bit has changed since the last time I wrote! Sorry it has been so long, I have had a CRAZY month and a half. SO in the last month and a bit quite a few things have happened here are just some Highlights:
During the first three weeks of July it was winter Vacation at the school. It was only supposed to be two but due to the risk of swine flu the school was under quarantine and it lasted three weeks. I was fortunate to be able to travel during that time with Melissa! We went on a bus to Buenos Aires Argentina! The bus ride was 24 hours and extremely cramped but it was fun to stay in a hostel and spend time together outside of work. We saw so many cool things in the 3 days we were there including a giant catholic cemetery the size of 2 city blocks! They call the cemetery the city of the dead because all of the graves are above ground and extremely elaborate; it feels like you are walking through a city!!! We also got to take a train out from Buenos Aires to see the Tigre River which was extremely beautiful! I felt totally at home in Buenos Aires, it is described as the Europe of S. America and though I have never been to Europe I imagine it to look like that! Ha-ha. I also got to take a quick trip to Brazil where I got to see Iguaçu falls which I am convinced are the most beautiful falls in the world!
Also two other short termers have come and left. There names were Katie and Felicia. Katie was from New York and Felicia was originally from Germany but has lived in South Carolina since she was 10. It is amazing how quickly friends are made on the mission field! God placed just the right two girls here. I immediately felt like we had so much in common just because we were all from N. America. They were here for a little over 6 weeks and they were both able to speak Spanish before you came so they helped me and Melissa with our lower level kids, brining them up to speed. Also Felicia speaks German, so she was able to communicate with the Germans here in Villarrica. (There are quite a few German immigrants here.)The 4 of us including Melissa had such a great time working together and getting to know one another. Katie left two weeks ago now and Felicia left just the other day. I am really going to miss those two girls a lot.
As for regular life it is going well. I have gone back to school after vacation and classes continue to go well. I am building relationships with the kids and they continue to flourish… I have even been inviting the kids over to my house! What a blessing this house will be for my ministry with these kids. My 7th grade class is 15 girls and 3 boys so I had the girls over to bake cookies and they had a blast! I also invited my 8th grade class over for my birthday. We had cake and decorated balloons and watched a movie in English! It is great to see them comfortable speaking and understanding English all the time with me. We are also getting ready for exams that are coming up in the next couple of weeks… it is a little difficult because 6th and 7th grade are not catching on to some things as quick as I was expecting them to so we are falling a bit behind! For the most part, it is going super well and I thank God every day that things are running so smoothly.
Praise:
• Great Birthday with friends and Paraguayan family! (Melissa, Felicia, Katie, Bob, Carol, gr.8)
• School is back after swine flu!
• I am building a relationship with my language teacher
Prayer:
• Pray for the church here in Villarrica, that it continues to grow despite adversities it is faced with for being a growing evangelical church in a catholic society.
• English Night is coming up; I am in charge of a special number to perform with my classes such as a song, skit, poem etc. It is highly anticipated by the parents and I am struggling to come up with ideas! Date: Sept. 24,09
• Exams are coming up for my students; pray that they get adequate rest and review!
• My Spanish is a hit and miss these days… my mind is filling up and I need strength to continue the desire to learn.