Tuesday, August 08, 2006

constant

So, I'm back in the southern hemisphere again. And the sun definitely feels closer.
It is the perfect time of year to reajust to the Ecuadorian climat; not too hot during the day (only 25-30 degrees celcius), chilly enough for a sweatshirt in the evening, and cooler in the morning -making a hot cup of coffee that much more enjoyable. All the Ecuadorians think it's so cold. :)
Life here is great. The traffic is still crazy, the dogs keep barking, and there continues to be lots of people coming to our door to visit. It's been nice to be home with Beth. I feel like our little orange house is home, I really do...so it's nice to come back to something so familiar. I think I feel that way about everything really. I remember arriving back in Canada over two months ago and feeling a little uncomfortable, or just strange I guess, manouvering through the culture. "Fresh off the boat" was my sister´s oh-so-sensitive way of putting it. :) But I certainly didn't feel that way arriving back here. And that was, and is still, comforting.
I started teaching my English classes last week and "señorita, señorita!" has been music to my ears. I'm not sure how long that will last but I'm enjoying it these days. It´s been fun distributing the toothbrushes, stickers and worksheets I brought for the school from my dentist in Fall River. Lots of smiles. I laughed when telling one class that I had brought them something from my dentist and some of the kids shouted out "caramelos?!?!?" (candy) Oh gosh. At least they didn't say "cola?!?" :) I had my first grade 3 music class yesterday and all the kids wanted to do was sing the whole time...it was so fun! Again, their good behavior may only be a "honeymoon" phase for now, but it's great. :)
Things with youth are busy and I'm trying to jump back into things again. We were at the beach this past weekend, at the new camp...and I continue to be amazed at how God has made that dream a reality. It was a sweet weekend with the youth discipleship group from block 10, and just a reminder of God's faithfulness and consistency in their lives - and in my own life. He is so committed to us. Since coming back it has been such an encouragement to see change in some of the youth that have been continuing to grow and offer their lives to God. A awesome reminder that the LORD is the Author and the Perfector of the faith He has given to those that trust Him (Hebrews 12:1-2). Anyways, during the weekend at camp I found myself singing Dee´s song "Constant" the whole weekend (as I often come back to it), so I picked up a guitar and am trying to translate it for the youth here. (I need to ask you Dee, if you mind?!?)
So yeah. Here I am at the internet cafe...Tuesdays are my days off (no classes) so I'm going to try to post news every week on Tuesdays. We'll see how faithful I can be. My next post will be pics and a brief review of my two months in Canada, I hope. :)

3 comments:

The Essons said...

Hey Janna -

Good to hear your update -I'm looking forward to seeing those pictures! I just got mine all updated with pictures from Iowa today. We had a wonderful time!

Love you!
Steph

Anonymous said...

Hey Janna. I'm so glad that you feel back at home now, though it was great having you here for a while. I wish so much though that I could be down there with you, in the school, at camp, all the places that I love so much. I can't wait to see the pictures that you get up online! Give a special Hola con besos to Jessica for me. Love you.

Matt, Christine, Elijah, Joseph, Sarah, & Oliver said...

Glad to hear you're doing well back at "home".:) It was so special that you and Sarah came down for a visit while you were in Canada. Great to see you and hear how things are. Take care!

Can't wait to see pics! I'll be posting some from your visit soon.