el primer mes

Lol. So it’s taken me an entire month to put up another blog… lol that should let you know just how busy it has been here. From the moment I arrived at Port to right about now every second has been filled with things to do, people to see and places to go. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. This semester there were also a lot of changes to the school schedule, which has definitely taken some getting used too… Worship is now on Monday mornings, this was a change I really thought was weird but I’m actually really enjoying it. With worship on Monday mornings ALL of the staff (literally ALL) have been able to attend. This is something I really appreciate. :) Also in the first month we now have two Bible classes in addition to leadership. This is also a change that I feel has been very good. In the first month last semester I felt it was hard to connect with the second semesters because we had such different schedules. Having two Bible classes together in the first month has really helped me to feel more connected with the new students and I also think it has helped make us feel like one big group instead of two separate ones. But I’m sure schedule changes are not exactly something that all of you are interested in (unless you are a former student… then you would actually understand.) ;)
In other news we had a very adventurous trip to Manuel Antonio the first weekend… We rented an extra bus, which was nice because then we were not all crammed into the microbus. (And no creepy bus driver this time!) However, we forgot to take into account that there was a surfing competition going on in Jaco…. This rather unfortunately turned what should have been a four-hour drive into a NINE-hour drive… We only spent about an hour or so on the beach Saturday, but came back Sunday morning for a while which was really nice. I am however, hoping to make another trip to Manuel Antonio at some point this semester. Maybe when Mike visits? :)
Last weekend the leadership class and some of the new students traveled to the mission trip site to meet with the pastor of the church and hear about some of the available projects. On the way there Emily and I had some trouble with our sinuses in the mountains and we arrived very, very sleepy to our destination. Lol. I know what the city is called but I can’t spell it… lol. So I will just let you know that it is very close to the border of Panama and is about six hours from Port… For the mission trip we will hopefully be helping repair a school in the area and also two houses. We will also be working on several different ministries to all the local schools. I think this includes two high schools and several elementary schools, but I’m not positive. For this trip we will be staying with different families who are members of the church we are working with. Emily and I stayed with a family for the weekend we were there and I really enjoyed. The family was very nice and welcoming and I’m hoping to stay with them again when we are there for the mission trip.

FUTBAL NEWS!!!!!
In the first week at school, I untalented and terribly uncoordinated Morgan Sutter scored my first real soccer goal!!!! It was of course after several (and I mean several) failed attempts… However, it was still very exciting for me! :) As I’m sure any of you who have seen me play soccer can imagine… In other futbal news Costa Rica lost very terribly to Honduras a few weeks back in a World Cup qualifying match… It was terribly depressing… Although I’m sure Marvin and Claudia (our Honduran students) enjoyed the match… lol. Costa Rica does have the opportunity to redeem themselves next week in their game against Mexico! (A game I will be watching at Port as the tickets are ridiculously costly) So cross your fingers and get excited! :)
Classes this semester have been going pretty well for me thus far. I have really enjoyed my spiritual discipline’s class with Marquito and I am really hoping to put in to practice what I have learned. The class was very interesting to me because prior to it I had never really heard of the spiritual disciplines. Through this class I learned not only about the spiritual disciplines but also the purpose of them. Practicing the disciplines puts you into a place, environment and/or mindset where God can work in your heart to mold you, shape you, and fill you with His Spirit and righteousness. The disciplines themselves don’t give you these things or add to these things, they simply bring your heart, body and mind into a place where God can work. I also learned about how the practicing of the different spiritual discipline’s can lead directly into bearing the fruits of the Spirit in your life. That’s really they end goal, the goal is not that you would be someone who consistently fasts and prays and serves. Then end goal is that your life would bear fruit and that you would grow.
So this about sums up some of the biggest things in the first month… I really hope to blog more often from now on… Of course, lol our schedule is about to change again as we move into the rest Bible classes. Lol. So… It might take sometime before I’m able to sit down and blog again… We’ll just have to wait