Update!

Well, the second official week of classes here at language school has just come to a close, and I am happy to be able to report that I am having the time of my life! I guess you could say I have taken to campus life here at RGBI like a duck to water. :-)

The Bible Institute students began their classes on Monday, so the campus has been a beehive of activity all week compared to the quietness of last week. It's been fun to see my Hispanic companeros in the hallways between classes and to exchange information about our classes at the lunch table.

We all have classes from 8:15 a.m. until 12:00 noon. Right now, my classes include the following topics:

Grammar 1

Phonetics Lab

Conversation 1

Phonetics Instruction

Spiritual Life

Latin American Culture

I am enjoying each class tremendously, even though the material so far has all been review for me. I know things will get harder as we go, so I am enjoying the relatively light study load! The teachers we have are excellent and make each class come alive.

After lunch, my afternoons are filled with activities such as homework, tutor hour, piano practice, siestas, and cleaning my room. (We have room inspection twice a week and the standards for passing are extremely high!) The BI students all spread out to their respective work programs which could include grounds maintenance, cleaning various buildings, tutoring missionary language school students, working at the radio station here, working in the library, or serving as a secretary. Then, at dinner time, we all gather once again in the dining hall for fellowship and food! Finally, it's off to the library or the dorms for study hours. Sometimes, there are classes in the evenings too.

This past week, I was invited to a Monday evening class on the topic of Apologetics and thoroughly enjoyed sitting through the 2 1/2 hour class simply for the purpose of listening to constant Spanish! I was so excited to be able to understand between 80% and 90% of the class, thanks to the teacher speaking slowly and clearly! The class was quite large with more than 40 students present. It was really fun to watch them all interact with each other in a classroom environment and participate in lively discussions pertaining to why we believe what we believe as Christians. I am looking forward to hearing each of the various presentations they were assigned in the coming weeks!

Tuesday and Thursday mornings, we have an hour of chapel, which is another favorite experience of mine. On Tuesdays, the worship style is traditional American, so I participate in the orchestra with my violin and am also on the pianist rotation. On Thursdays, the worship style is Latino, with the primary musical instruments being guitars. Both services are completely in Spanish. I love gathering with the whole student body and staff to worship together and hear the preaching of God's Word!

Friday and Saturday nights are sports nights in the courts behind our dorm. Tonight a big soccer tournament will be taking place between all the many countries represented here! I am looking forward to going and cheering for South America!

Every day is a new adventure. My Spanish is progressing...slowly at times, more rapidly at others...but I keep reminding myself to be patient and take things one day at a time. :-) Some days, I feel like I am standing outside a door, listening in through the keyhole to the conversation inside the room, catching some of it, but not all, feeling a bit like an outsider. Then, there are days where I feel like I am inside that room able to hear and understand everything, feeling very much one of the group. Those moments are thrilling! Thankfully, every single person here on campus is a friendly, kind, and welcoming person, so even on the days when I feel outside the door, I'm never lonely. :-) God has provided me with wonderful friends, and for this, I am very grateful.

Thank you all for your faithful prayers! God is at work, and I thank Him everyday for the great privilege of being here!