Tuesday, December 7, 2010

One Chapter Ends, Another Begins

I'm sitting in Room #2 of Casa ACU. It's empty. No clothes in the closet, no mate or dulce de leche (two delicious Uruguayan foods) on my desk, and no alpaca teddy bear on the bed. Seeing it empty is surreal.

Today has been hard for all of us. Saying goodbye is never fun, and we've all been walking around teary eyed. It's a little pathetic, but understandable too. In fact, I think the sadness we're experiencing is a good sign! It means that we have made the most of our semester here. It means we have fallen in love with a new culture. It means we've formed relationships. It means we've grown a little (and realize that we have a whole lot farther to go).

One chapter ends, another begins. I'm not sure what this next chapter back in the States will look like. What I do know, however, is that I will be taking the memories, lessons, and friendships from this past semester and use it in the next. In an hour, I'll be headed to the airport. And in a day, I'll be back in America. Seeing friends and family at home and being home for Christmas adds the "sweet" to this bittersweet transition. I am so looking forward to that part!

Thank you all for following me on this journey the past four months! I hope blogging has been an enjoyable way for you all to hear a little about this time! I am so grateful for this opportunity and that God has allowed me to have it! Praise Him for that :)

Chao amigos!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Changing Tides...

Hello friends!

This week is bittersweet. Bitter because it's my last week here in South America. My last week of living with my new 9 sisters and 1 brother, meals by Raquel (our amazing cook), beaches in the afternoon, 85 degree weather, Spanish, and exciting travels. Sweet because it means I am a week away from a precious reunion with family and friends, Christmas time in Albuquerque, my cell phone, being spoken to in English, Dr. Pepper (no DP here... It's a sad story I try not to think about haha), and ultimately being back at ACU! They may have to drag me to the airport this week, but with that said I will be excited to be home and will come back with so many incredible memories and experiences! This semester has been the time of my life.

This past weekend was our last beach trip. We visited Cabo Palonio, Punta Ballena, and La Paloma, three beaches in Uruguay. The beach in December? I'll take it! Our time included swimming, tanning, riding horses on the beach (an item on my bucketlist... check!), eating at a cute hippy hostel, taking a boat tour of a forest area, and getting stranded on the canal when our boat's engine died lol.

While on the beach, I noticed something. The ocean is always changing. It's taken me 19 years to realize this, but my time on beaches this semester has revealed it. The same beach looks and feels different day to day. Some days the waves are calm and organized, gently and steadily rolling in. Some days the waves are angry, ready to slap beach-goers in the face. Some days the beach is full of slimy sea weed or shiny shells. Some days the sand is completely spotless, not a shell in sight. And, of course, depending on the time of day, the tide is always changing. Same ocean, same water, different qualities each day.

I think that, in a way, this observation of the ocean can be used for an analogy for God. Let me explain. God is never changing and always made up of the same qualities (perfect Love, Righteousness, Mercy, and Omniscience, for example). The ocean, too, is always made up of the same qualities, two particles of hydrogen and one of oxygen. It's the same ocean and the same water. However, God may show different qualities of himself at different times. There is a time where God must exhibit his wrath or judgment in our lives; times where he must discipline us. Similarly, there are times where God exhibits his grace and comfort; times where we need his loving embrace. God is unchanging but may exhibit more wrath in one situation and more grace in the other. Just as the ocean's waves may be violent one day and calm the next.

Perhaps I haven't explained this as clearly as I would like to, but the comparison has helped me to understand a little better the nature of an unchanging God.
Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not..."