Aqui en Atenas!

Bueno, I have been in Atenas for right at a week and a half, and once again it is just amazing how quickly time passes. This is especially true when you are constantly thinking throughout the day. You never realize how tiring thinking can be, until you have to conscously think every time you desire to communicate with the people around you. The simpliest sentence at time takes work, not simply because of what you say, but you have to prepare your mind to comprehend the Spanish that is the response. I am learning that Sundays are my hardest days and not really a day of rest, because it is the day that I must speak the most Spanish and "enfoca" (focus) the most.

Things to be praying for:

• Continued improvement on my Spanish, especially on my ear that yo puedo escuchar mejor (I can listen better). I can now pretty well get my point across, but I want to get to a point where a native speaker can speak at "normal" speed and comprehend what he or she is saying.
• For the glorification of the Lord as we go on our project trip to Haiti on September 19th. For those of you who don't know, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. It is similiar to many African nations.
• I am starting to get to know some of the "jovenes" of the church, and I pray that I can be an effective example of Christ to them. I have found that you are considered a "joven" until you get married. This means that mis amigos are 14 to 19 years old. This actually works out well, because I feel more comfortable talking with younger people, and they help me to understand what is "cool".
• That I can spend more devoted times in prayer to the Lord. I am having some sweet times in the Word, but it is difficult to set aside significant amounts of time to spend in prayer with the Lord. This simply means I stay up later and/or wake up earlier than I might otherwise be inclined to do.

Okay, now for a few stories from my first week! It has been a fun ride these past few days! =) I love the fact that my first night with my host family I had a little "amigo" in my room with me. Which, by the way, I still don't know where he is/went. My friend turned out to be a one foot long (mas o menos) snake that slighered under my bed. I had gone to brush my teeth and get ready for bed, and when I returned I saw a little, what looked like a garden snake, go under my bed. My bed has drawers underneath and a headboard with drawers as well, so when I tried to move my headboard and bed, I never found the snake. Since I couldn't find the snake, I figured the best thing to do was to fall asleep. =) So who knows, I might wake up some morning with a friend in my bed!

This past Sunday was a super fun/exhausting day for me. I went to a small baptist church with my host family and was asked by the pastor to go up and play guitar and sing a worship song for the congregation. I chose one of the few Spanish/English songs that I knew, "Open the Eyes of my Heart". It has been interesting how God has had me once again use my talents of singing and playing guitar to help facilite worship. I pray that He can use me effectively in my time here. After church we went to another church in a town about an hour and a half away to celebrate their 32nd anniversary, which was really cool! Then we ate ice cream for dinner and headed back to Atenas.

Sorry that I am giving you the truncated version of all my stories, but I need to go catch the bus home.

I will try to post pictures some time after I finish my time at language school, which I am at this week and next.

Thank you all for your continued support! I am so close to being fully supported financially! And I know that I am being fully supported in PRAYER! Let me know how I can pray for you all while I am here!