[Saturday, August 28, 2004]
Hello everyone! I'm writing to you in very good spirits from Puebla! God, as always, has been gracious to me. I've been in Puebla for about a week and a half and have been blessed since I got here. Of course it was hard to leave family and friends once again for such a long period of time, but I know this is all part of God's plan for me. He wants me here and is blessing me here tremendously.
Most of you probably remember from before that Puebla is in an area that sometimes has earthquakes. In fact, we don't have fire drills or tornado drills, we have earthquake drills at school. Well, anyways, the night before I arrived in Puebla, there was an earthquake in Oaxaca, which if you read my updates last year, you'll remember that was a place I visited with some friends, about 4 1/2 hours southwest of here. So, anyways, the earthquake was felt in Puebla. My roommates woke up to their beds shaking. To be honest, I kind of hope I get to experience one this year, just to see what it's like. Also, I wouldn't mind if Popo (the volcano) blew a little ash, also. :)
Well, I spent my first 6 days settling in and preparing for school to begin. I am so happy about my classroom. It looks so much better since the team painted it and we rearranged the furniture. Someone at the school made me new curtains, too, so it just added to the freshness of the room. The students like it as well. Getting ready for school is a fun task, but a lot of work. A lot of detail goes into planning, which one would only fully understand if she were a teacher. It is enjoyable work though. So, a week after I got here, I started school. I have 11 students in my class. We have the biggest class in the whole school. I like that. Here's the makeup of my class. There are 5 Americans, 2 Mexican-Americans, 1 Canadian-Peruvian, 1 Mexican, and 2 Israeli-Mexicans. 2 of my students were born in Morrocco, 2 in Israel and many in Mexico or the US. Talk about diversity!!!! I am so blessed to be in such a diverse classroom! I have really enjoyed the kids' personalities so far. To think that God has chosen me to teach them is humbling. I have such an awesome responsibility as their teacher. Please pray for me that I can set an example in my classroom of how to obey God, fear Him, and love Him! I am looking forward to what God is going to teach me this year through them and how He is going to bless me through them. The first week of school went well! I'm looking forward to a great year!
It was also nice to get back to my church here. It was definitely different not having the Hudsons there, but it is a great opportunity for the leadership of the church to grow in their faith and unity! I enjoyed hearing the Spanish again, speaking in Spanish and most of all, singing in Spanish. Thankfully, I don't feel like I've forgotten much. I am sure I'll be able to continue increasing my vocabulary, grammar and listening comprehension very soon. I thank God for the opportunity to learn another language so I can communicate with even more people around the world- both inside and outside of the US- about the gospel of Jesus Christ! What an amazing gift God is giving me! Pray for boldness to step out in faith and share whenever I have an opportunity! Thank you! I appreciate all of your prayer and support! Have a great week!
Angelina
Most of you probably remember from before that Puebla is in an area that sometimes has earthquakes. In fact, we don't have fire drills or tornado drills, we have earthquake drills at school. Well, anyways, the night before I arrived in Puebla, there was an earthquake in Oaxaca, which if you read my updates last year, you'll remember that was a place I visited with some friends, about 4 1/2 hours southwest of here. So, anyways, the earthquake was felt in Puebla. My roommates woke up to their beds shaking. To be honest, I kind of hope I get to experience one this year, just to see what it's like. Also, I wouldn't mind if Popo (the volcano) blew a little ash, also. :)
Well, I spent my first 6 days settling in and preparing for school to begin. I am so happy about my classroom. It looks so much better since the team painted it and we rearranged the furniture. Someone at the school made me new curtains, too, so it just added to the freshness of the room. The students like it as well. Getting ready for school is a fun task, but a lot of work. A lot of detail goes into planning, which one would only fully understand if she were a teacher. It is enjoyable work though. So, a week after I got here, I started school. I have 11 students in my class. We have the biggest class in the whole school. I like that. Here's the makeup of my class. There are 5 Americans, 2 Mexican-Americans, 1 Canadian-Peruvian, 1 Mexican, and 2 Israeli-Mexicans. 2 of my students were born in Morrocco, 2 in Israel and many in Mexico or the US. Talk about diversity!!!! I am so blessed to be in such a diverse classroom! I have really enjoyed the kids' personalities so far. To think that God has chosen me to teach them is humbling. I have such an awesome responsibility as their teacher. Please pray for me that I can set an example in my classroom of how to obey God, fear Him, and love Him! I am looking forward to what God is going to teach me this year through them and how He is going to bless me through them. The first week of school went well! I'm looking forward to a great year!
It was also nice to get back to my church here. It was definitely different not having the Hudsons there, but it is a great opportunity for the leadership of the church to grow in their faith and unity! I enjoyed hearing the Spanish again, speaking in Spanish and most of all, singing in Spanish. Thankfully, I don't feel like I've forgotten much. I am sure I'll be able to continue increasing my vocabulary, grammar and listening comprehension very soon. I thank God for the opportunity to learn another language so I can communicate with even more people around the world- both inside and outside of the US- about the gospel of Jesus Christ! What an amazing gift God is giving me! Pray for boldness to step out in faith and share whenever I have an opportunity! Thank you! I appreciate all of your prayer and support! Have a great week!
Angelina
[Monday, August 16, 2004]
Hello everyone!
I can't believe I haven't written since the end of June! Wow, the summer has passed me by. I will be returning to Puebla, Mexico in 2 days. Am I ready, you might ask. Well, yes and no. Packing has gotten me excited to return and see all my friends and students. I'm also excited about starting the new school year and looking forward to all the challenges and blessing that go along with it. I also can't wait to get back into Spanish and the Mexican culture. In those ways I am ready to get on the plane another time.
However, this summer has been filled with times of great spiritual renewal and challenges for me. God has moved in amazing ways in my life and in the lives of the people around me. I was blessed by the ministries going on in my church and specifically in my Sunday School class. I developed some strong bonds this summer with amazing Christian people. We have become such a united group of young adults. It will be hard to leave that atmosphere. The biggest impact the summer has had on me is that God has shown me the need to share my faith with others. Some friends and I have had the opportunity to go out into the Lima community and talk with people about their lives, share Christ with them and pray with them. We are learning how to show people the love of Christ and are challenged to do that whenever and wherever there is an opportunity. It has been such a blessed time. There is no better thing than sharing Jesus Christ to a world that has no hope.
As far as fun things I have done this summer.... I went to Cedar Point with my class from church, and yes I rode the Top-Thrill Dragster. Adam Redmond and I rode in the front seat. :) I It was a fun day. I went on vacation with my family to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Madison, Indiana. It is a small town on the Ohio River. It's a beautiful place with wonderful people. We got to make some pottery in my aunt's studio and we went canoeing.
Overall I have just really enjoyed spending time with my family and friends.
Thank you for your prayer support as I fly to Puebla and begin a new school year. I will now begin updating the blog weekly, so feel free to keep checking up on me and drop me an e-mail telling me how you are doing! Thanks. God Bless You!
Angelina
I can't believe I haven't written since the end of June! Wow, the summer has passed me by. I will be returning to Puebla, Mexico in 2 days. Am I ready, you might ask. Well, yes and no. Packing has gotten me excited to return and see all my friends and students. I'm also excited about starting the new school year and looking forward to all the challenges and blessing that go along with it. I also can't wait to get back into Spanish and the Mexican culture. In those ways I am ready to get on the plane another time.
However, this summer has been filled with times of great spiritual renewal and challenges for me. God has moved in amazing ways in my life and in the lives of the people around me. I was blessed by the ministries going on in my church and specifically in my Sunday School class. I developed some strong bonds this summer with amazing Christian people. We have become such a united group of young adults. It will be hard to leave that atmosphere. The biggest impact the summer has had on me is that God has shown me the need to share my faith with others. Some friends and I have had the opportunity to go out into the Lima community and talk with people about their lives, share Christ with them and pray with them. We are learning how to show people the love of Christ and are challenged to do that whenever and wherever there is an opportunity. It has been such a blessed time. There is no better thing than sharing Jesus Christ to a world that has no hope.
As far as fun things I have done this summer.... I went to Cedar Point with my class from church, and yes I rode the Top-Thrill Dragster. Adam Redmond and I rode in the front seat. :) I It was a fun day. I went on vacation with my family to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Madison, Indiana. It is a small town on the Ohio River. It's a beautiful place with wonderful people. We got to make some pottery in my aunt's studio and we went canoeing.
Overall I have just really enjoyed spending time with my family and friends.
Thank you for your prayer support as I fly to Puebla and begin a new school year. I will now begin updating the blog weekly, so feel free to keep checking up on me and drop me an e-mail telling me how you are doing! Thanks. God Bless You!
Angelina
