Well, I'm thinking it's high time I start updating this blog. I'm afraid that I don't have the time to be writing stories and coming up with creative ways to put points across. Please do not weep with sadness (or leap for joy if you're not a fan) but rather enjoy the perspective that I hope to give on what life here is like.

October 30^th

I got up at 6:30 in the morning which is 45 minutes after I usually get up. My watch alarm failed to rouse me because my body decided to say "forget this! I'm sleeping because I'm a lethargic slacker!" It caused me to miss my morning prayer time on the roof. Stupid lazy body! I've a mind to beat it up.

I went down to the barn for breakfast and enjoyed my corn flakes and my bread with jam. I then had some time to work on my memorization of the book of Romans. I have Romans 8 down and am nearing the end of chapter 1.

Next was our in-depth group study of I Timothy. If I could use one word to describe parts of that book it would be "controversial". Read it for yourself if you want to know why.

I had a sandwich for lunch. Yummy.

In the afternoon I went to one of the ministry sites. Every day that I've been there I've found a young boy in the nursery who cries inconsolably if he's not being held. I've made it a daily thing to pick him up and calm him down before taking him out to play. I was hoping to gradually ease away and help him learn to be independent. It hasn't exactly worked. Now, rather than having to be held to stop crying, he needs to be held by ME to stop crying. It can get frustrating but it is a reminder of how we must look to God. We start out as sinners who whine about everything and look to many different things for comfort. When we get to know God, we bring all of our troubles to him. The more we know him, the less we bring troubles to other things and the more we bring them to him. If it wasn't for God's endless love, he would definitely pitch us out the window because of how much we whine and cry and complain. The only reason I still hold that kid is because I love the little guy. I think I'm going to bring him home.

I did end up putting him down eventually because I said I would go meet one of the guys I met who live in the town. His name is Sam and he's a super-cool dude. We visited with him briefly but he needed to go soon because he was busy. That was when we were pulled aside by a woman who lived on the property and she told us (via translator) that the first time we stepped on the property she really wanted us to share the Bible with her. Now that we had a translator with us, we could do so. She invited us into her house (which is smaller than my bedroom) and we had a Bible study with her. We looked at some of James 1 and we prayed with her before going. Lately I have been learning a lot of lessons about how useless my efforts are and how God has to be moving for anything useful to happen. Sure, I've known it for a long time but there's a difference between knowing from a book and learning from experience. In the time that I've been learning this, God has been bringing amazing ministry opportunities across my path that would never have happened if I had been planning things.

I then got a ride back to base where I watched one of the girls cut another girl's hair. I then started this blog which I am writing to pass the time before dinner. Mmmm… dinner…

God bless y'all!