Friday, February 24, 2006

Spiritual Emphasis

This has been "Spiritual Emphasis Week" at our language school. That means that we have chapel everyday instead of just twice a week and we also have evening services. A pastor from Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands came to speak. He's done a great job of challenging and encouraging us. It has been a spiritually refreshing week. Teachers aren't allowed to give homework or tests which, of course, is always a bonus! It has not been a very restful week - we seem to never be home and all three of us are exhausted but it was well worth it. We realize that this is likely the last time we will have an entire week to attend services of this type in English. In a little over two months we'll enter a whole new world!

It's time to really get serious about the visa process for Ecuador. There are lots of little things to get done - passport-size photos, police reports, other paperwork, translating our shipping list, etc. You can really be in prayer for us as we get into the hard work of visa application. We remember the 30 page applications we both had to fill out in order to begin the process with MAF. This is much bigger and I wonder if maybe they just wanted to see how good we are at paperwork. A good missionary is an expert at paperwork...especially paperwork in another language with totally different "rules"!

Looks like we'll have a pretty slow weekend. We probably need that. I've got some shopping to do. I'll be buying lots of Ginger Ale and soda crackers. It has been hard to keep those in stock in this house these past couple of weeks. Ugh. I had forgotten this little aspect of pregnancy. I'm counting the weeks until this morning sickness (in my case it's morning, noon, and night sickness) is supposed to magically disappear. What are my cravings? I'm already craving fruit like crazy (this is a good place for that) and any kind of good, old-fashioned, American junk food (this isn't the best place for that). Pizza, hamburgers, french fries...well, you get the idea. Typical Costa Rican food is not hitting the spot for me at all. You know what I really want? REAL Mexican food...like Cavillo's back home. Ooohhh. Anybody want to wrap up a Santa Fe Burrito and send it on down? No, you're right, that probably wouldn't work.

2 comments:

carrie said...

I empathize so much! Remember how I felt when we were down there? Costa Rican food is not good pregnancy food. :) I'm praying for you, little sister. As Mom would say, "This, too, shall pass." :) I didn't believe her, but, as usual, she was right. Food does taste good again! Now, I'm starting the pregnant waddle...no comments about how I already did that!

Rebecca said...

Yeah. When you were down here in the throes of morning sickness and trying to eat Costa Rican food but always having that green, on-the-verge-of-puking look on your face I was pretty sure you were being a whimp. Oops. Sorry about that. I don't know what it is about the food here, it isn't horrible at all - maybe it's just that it isn't our kind of food. Whatever it is, it is encouraging knowing that it will pass. I just want to know WHEN?! Now I'm being the whimp.