Living out Loud

Wow, I can't believe I last wrote only four days ago! Each day feels so long because I learn and do so much in one day, but then looking back it goes by really fast. (I am not sure if that makes sense :-)

Well, I left Granada and I am now in Madrid. Just when I thought I had seen it all God throws another experience my way. Madrid is completely different then Granada and Murcia, but I love it! I am working with children, 1st through 6th grade, everyday in an English camp and it is a lot of fun! I laugh now because I can't speak Spanish to the children and often catch myself getting ready to respond to their questions in Spanish. The children are not suppose to know that we can understand and speak some Spanish because the children are to be completely surrounded by English. The camp reminds me of a VBS but with a language learning twist. We sing songs, dance, eat snacks, and have a lesson. The lessons are very basic and involve learning how to greet, get dressed, and express emotions using the English language. The three boys in my group are all in 6th grade and are a blast to teach!

My host family is wonderful! My team and all the camp workers are divided among different host families so there are 50 students living in 50 different houses. My family I have told you about before are so nice and they are also very hospitable. It has been great to be able to live with them and talk about life and the cultural differences (between the USA, Spain, and Australia).

Although my housing situation is good, one of my team members is having a hard time being alone and has been put in a difficult housing arrangement so please pray for Jessica. Pray that God would give her strength and that God would open the hearts of her host family so that Jess may better communicate with them. Pray for Stephanie, my coach, she went to the doctor today to have a lump on her ankle looked at. Also please pray for Rebecca, my teammate, her mother has had a miscarriage (twins) recently and Becca is taking it pretty hard so please pray for her and her family to have peace. Thank you.