Sunday, February 7, 2010

Sunday evening. Super Bowl Sunday evening. I'm watching the game in between commercials. The most fun is watching what people write on facebook about the game. Funny.

Last Sunday was awesome. The snowy roads kept a lot of people home, and many churches cancelled services. FBCR condensed from 3 services to 1. We decided to go ahead and have service at Cuerpo Vivo but didn't expect many people to get out in the weather. But God was glorified through a great crowd of the Cuerpo Vivo family. I remember seeing the big smile on Pastor Jaime's face when they just kept coming in the door.

School was out for a few more days. More snow make-up days to be added to the end of the school year. The kids love it now, but they won't like it in June!

I completed my first full week of workouts at the Adult Wellness Center. 3 days of cardio and 2 days of strength training on the machines. I was really tired by Friday evening. but it felt good. I'm enjoying the workouts. The clickers to count laps on the track are usually all being used when I'm there, so I found some cheap ones online. I got me one and a few for friends, too. Mine is a racey red one. :)

Last Monday night I did childcare for the Cuerpo Vivo Leadership class. We didn't know how many kids would be there and it ended up being 14 kids from 3 year old twins to middle schoolers. It was wild and the vacuum cleaner had to be engaged by evening's end, but it was worth it. The class for the parents was really great. I have volunteers to help on Monday nights going forward, so it will be fun.

I'm attending the ICVI Leadership class on Tuesday mornings. It's all in Spanish, so my brain is getting quite the workout. After class this week I enjoyed a great lunch with Jaime, Oliver & Erika and their kids at Chick-Fil-A. I love spending time with them.

Thursday evening I was the 'designated driver' for two friends who don't see really well at night (especially when it rains). They had a Bible Fellowship Class get-together for the women. Everyone brought their costume jewelry that they wanted to get rid of. And, of course, snack food!! I only went to drive and to eat (ha), but they insisted that I join in on picking jewelry. I got some cute earring sets and a bracelet for me and some pendants for my friend Nana Ruth. It was really fun. Now, every time the ladies that were at the party see each other at church, we check to see if we are wearing our 'new' gems. It was great fellowship and a good way to get new stuff without spending any money!

Saturday afternoon I went to a baby shower for some dear friends, Julio and Delmy. They received lots of cute stuff. I think they felt very loved. It was nice to get to visit with ladies who came to the shower. Later, Nana Ruth and I went out to eat. We hadn't had the chance to do that in quite a while. I also fit in a mid-morning nap and some work into the day. It was good.

Today was another special day at church. I went to 9:30 FBCR service and 11:30 Cuerpo Vivo service. FBCR voted to bring on a new Associate Pastor of Students. It will be great to start a new season of serving with him and his family. We had many new visitors to Cupero Vivo this morning. The church is growing and it's exciting to be involved with that. God is so good!!!

I've been staying busy working on our next outreach event, Project Love on March 6. And there's plenty to do for Cuerpo Vivo each week. On Friday, I hung out near the Food Pantry working on my laptop. A sweet friend from Cuerpo Vivo, who only speaks Spanish, is starting to come to help out. I will be there on Fridays and she is going to help quiz me on my weekly Spanish lessons and I'll help her learn some English. It will be great! She is a treasure to spend time with, too.

More coats were distributed to some kids in the school system this week. I was surprised by a visit from one of the school social workers this week. She brought me a little gift to thank me yet again for the way that FBCR blessed kids at Christmas who wouldn't have had much under the tree. It's humbling to work with these dedicated teachers, counselors and social workers. Our Tuesday morning Bible Study ladies will be blessing the teachers and staff of Northside school in March. This will be fun to help coordinate. I love helping to bless other people.

I'm immersing myself in as much Spanish as I can during the week. 2 hours of Spanish class on Monday mornings, 2 hours working with the kids on Monday nights, 2 hour Leadership class (taught in Spanish) on Tuesday mornings, I hope to start going to the 2 hour Bible Study in Spanish on Wednesday nights, I'll start spending 2 hours on Friday mornings with my friend at the Food Pantry and then there's more than 3 hours working with Cuerpo Vivo on Sunday mornings. Oliver is assigning me extra homework, so I'm really working hard. I also listen to Spanish radio and have some Spanish praise music on my iPod for when I'm walking and working out. As Oliver and I say, it's 'beating my brains out', but I can tell that it is making a big difference. I'm trying to soak it all in.

I get to go to Nicaragua over spring break in March and I want to see how much progress I can make in my language study and in my physical condition by then. I'm in training for missions!!!! :)

Well, the Saints won the Super Bowl. I found myself cheering for both teams and I'm okay with whoever won. It was an interesting game. Some of the commercials were pretty funny and others were just plain stupid. It makes me shake my head to think of how much money was spent on those commercials and how many people could have been fed with that money. Oh well...

Deanna is visiting her daughter and son-in-law, who are missionaries in Las Vegas. I'll be taking care of the house and Jet the dog and LucyAlice the cat. Lucy usually doesn't pay much attention to me, but she must know that I'm the only thing between her and starvation for a few days, because she is being very attentive to me. Of course, Jet is always loving. I'll miss Deanna while she is gone. Wheel of Fortune will not be the same without her. I always miss her when she's gone, but I'm glad that she can go visit Jake and Elaine. And I'm glad that God has made me feel comfortable whether I'm by myself or not. I know I'm always with Him, so whether it's Rogers AR or NYC or anywhere else, I'm okay with whatever conditions He puts me in.

It's almost time to put the critters and myself to bed. Spanish class first thing tomorrow. Then we have some bad weather coming through again for the next few days. It will an interesting week.

I'm thankful that God has given me this life. Pray for me to always be thankful and to always strive to glorify Him.