Would you like to see a dragon?

So much has happened since I last wrote to you all! I have visited three different beaches in one week... but that isn't even the whole story of my past week. I am just going to go through my journal and try to hit all of the highlights. Last Sunday, Rosa (my mom here), Leo (my big brother), Rocio (my sister), and Alison, Leo's baby, took me to the beach for the first time! We went to Playa Real, a local beach near La Garita. It was incredibly beautiful, complete with mini islands out in the water and rocks that started to peek through the water as the tide receded. It was so beautiful! On our way back, we were in the family car and one of the tires broke (yes, broke... I don't even know how), so we sat on the side of the road until someone came to help us. It certainly made for an interesting end to the trip! Alison (two years old) has grown on me and I on her, and she has become an adorable bundle of Spanish babbling that I simply do not understand. We just look at each other and make faces and laugh. :-) Fressi, my neighbor friend, came over and gave me a newspaper that she found that was in Spanish and English, so that was neat! Okay, wow, and let me just tell you about the bugs. I can't even count my bugbites, but my family refers to me as a "light" that attracts all of the bugs. 'Bichos", they are called, and they seem to love me. I have certainly been humbled by these little creatures -- I started to realize how much of a bad attitude they would put me in and then thought, what does that say about my opinion of my Lord? He is SO MUCH BIGGER than those petty little bugs! And he doesn't bite. Even better.

My school had exams week this week, aka stress week. And not the American kind. Talking with the others we have all kind of determined how incredibly unstructured the school system here is. I'm not being rude, simply saying how stressful it is walking into a classroom where half the kids are standing up, singing, talkig to others, walking in and out of the room when they please, while kids of other classes walk in and talk or peer through the barred open-air windows and chat. Not acceptable! It has been very difficult to work under this unorganizedness.. and it is so hard to communicate about the schedule for some reason, probably because I let it bother me so much. I am certainly learning how different teaching is here. I have also been reintroduced to my impatient side, which has had to be quelled by the only person who can make that go away, my amazing Father. I have had many freak-out moments and am learning slowly what it means that I am here. I am not here for the beaches... I am here to teach students English, to touch their hearts, and to overall discover and fulfill what it is the Lord has planned for me this summer. I was reading the book Mrs. Jenni gave me, "Experienceing the Depths of Christ" and it was talking about how to meditate on a single verse. so I searched for the keyword "patience" in my Bible and then stumbled upon the ever-popular I Corinthians 13. I read the first verse and stopped there. Not even on purpose, but the weight of the message hit me like a ton of bricks. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." I can't just get up in front of those kids and sing English and expect them to learn. I have to have a heart for them and that love can only come from Love itself. Wow. That was amazing.

We have had huge rain storms here as well -- they seem like monsoons, they pound so hard on the tin roofs. The air does cool when they begin, though, which is nice, although the electricity frequently goes out as well.

Fressi and I have bonded a lot lately, with she sharing more to me about herself. We even sang some praise songs together in Spanish one day. She is Evangelical and so she knows a lot of the songs we listened to for Mexico! Rocio and I have bonded as well in hilarious conversations of previous boyfriends and searching out new ones on the beaches. She is so much fun and I really look forward to getting to know her more and finding out what is in her heart. She and the rest of my family are Catholic and they attended mass this week, although I'm not sure it is every week, or even regular at all.

I have been able to talk to Evie and Krista on the phone this week, as well, which was nice to hear their voices. I am now at the hacienda with everyone, but I will have to tell you about that later. Someone is waiting to use the computer! Hopefully we get to go to the internet again tomorrow! Cross your fingers! Thank you all so much for praying for me. I need it! This is the most amazing, hardest experience of my life thusfar. I can't tell you how amazing it is to know that you are on the other end of this message, and that you care. It means so much to me. Thank you so much for your prayers! I love you all so much!

--Amanda