Greetings, all. Sorry this is a little late this week, as I know so many of you sit and wait all weekend at your computers for these little updates. Sorry to disappoint but we’re back on track.
Did you hear? The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup! It was awesome! A few of us went to our usual American sports bar for some Hawks and some Cusquena. Both were of very high quality. There we so many Hawks fans and only a handful of Lightning fans. We were not alone among the “regulars”: Americans living in Lima who came out for pretty much every game of the series. Of course, all those people who weren’t from Chicago but cheered against Anaheim in Game 7 ended being Bolt’s fans and they became less and less cordial as the series went on. But we couldn’t see their frowns due to the shiny silver of Lord Stanley’s Cup. It was great to feel at home for such an awesome moment in Chicago sports history.
Lima is not, quite honestly, feeling like home but it does feel good to say that it’s not the big, confusing city it was a month ago. Tomorrow (6/24) is not only one month in Lima but also marks the halfway point of our Spanish classes. Hard to believe, but I’ll take it. We’ve finished 80 hours of Spanish in 4 weeks! In my Spanish class in college we only did about 50 hours over the course of 15 weeks. It’s fast, it’s intense, and it’s flying by.
I was pretty sick over the weekend, hence the late post. It was gross, it was uncomfortable, and most of all it was grace-filled. I literally cannot stand being sick. I like to think that I’m not like a typical sick man: whiny and needy (or moreso than usual), but I absolutely hate being sick and it puts me in the absolute worst mood. It’s so boring! So somewhere between the fevers, “gastrointestinal difficulty,” and bad attitude I was able to find what I really wanted and have been craving: love. The love of God, of course, through prayer and in the works of his people especially my host family. But also say a little prayer for my poor mother who has the hardest of it all when I’m sick and abroad.** Her concern and her constant texting and desire to be with me and helping me is not just proof of her love, but is itself her love for me from 3,779 miles away.
Not a very exciting week, but hey….that’s life sometimes, right? Sometimes it’s just the little things, you know?
Til next time!
In Christ,
RA
**If you don’t know about the time I got kidney stones in France, don’t ask.