Wow, it's been quite a while since I have updated-almost a month! Much has happened in the last several weeks, and yet it's sort of just felt like normal life as we've settled into as much of a routine as you get into here, which really is no routine at all. The most probable reason for my delay is that for the last several weeks I have had full classroom responsibilities. That's right, folks, I have become a full-time teacher. It's been a lovely and terrifying ride and it's not over yet, but it is getting closer and closer.
The last weeks have held much joy and laughter, many tears, frustrations and breakdowns. Above all, I have experienced much growth. I have grown so much through this experience already and look forward to the ways in which I will continue to grow. Matt also has been growing a lot and it's been really cool for us to watch each other and ourselves grow, both separately and together. I think that before this experience a small part of us feared that through this experience we would change in ways that would cause us to grow apart, if we were being honest with ourselves. But the experiences we've had and the ways in which we have evolved have only served us and not harmed us. We've grown closer to being the people we want to be and we've still grown closer together. And through him I'm learning more and more about what it means to be like Christ.
Many other exciting (mostly good but some bad) things have happened the last few weeks. Let's start with the bad: Matt got a Dominican kind of poison ivy which enters into the blood stream and eventually spread over his entire body. We finally went to the clinic to get a steroid shot and he's almost fully recovered but it was extremely painful and uncomfortable for him. That was a difficult week and I can't really even imagine how difficult it was for him. But on a happier note, over the last several weeks I have been able to celebrate the wedding of a new good friend (at which the wedding party drove in on motocross bikes, glow-sticks came out, and we set off chinese lanterns), serve some of my students through doing Work Crew at a weekend Young Life camp (at which I threw water balloons and flour bombs at them, stepped on a nail, watched a chicken lay an egg in the middle of club, played a lot of volleyball, laughed a lot and deepened relationships) and make a spontaneous weekend trip to Santiago, where I got to revisit a lot of my old hangouts with Matt and spend the rest of the time relaxing and visiting with my old host family, who enjoyed meeting Matt very much.
Even on my rough days, I can't complain. I know that it's all worth it. I know that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. In my hardest times, at my lowest points, God has provided an abundance of encouragement to me through His Word and through other people surrounding me in the community, reminding me of where my worth comes from. I miss home very much but I'm so thankful for where I am right now. I have been blessed beyond belief here and experienced God's grace and mercy in ways that I certainly didn't deserve. I am humbled daily by all that I have learned and experienced here in these weeks thus far. I look forward to the weeks to come and especially look forward to when my family (minus Katelyn) comes to visit and experience a taste of my life here! It will be so wonderful to have them here and get a little time to show them around here and also to have some time to relax with them :) I miss all of you and hope that all is well wherever you are at!
Much love,
Kristen
