2017 is off to a good start with plenty of times with people I love and God. I got to start off the new year with my parents visiting me. I made sure to show them all the good sights and though it was a bit tiering to be a tour guide and translator it was a refreshing experience. My parents enjoyed getting to see where I live but said their highlight was getting to meet my community here (my community was also delighted to meet them). I'd have to say that it was my highlight as well to share my parents with my friends and vice versa. We had meals with the team and language tutors. My parents got to meet M and K as well as my expat friends but I also made sure to keep them some to myself.
After my parents left I jumped back into center activities and daily life. I started teaching spanish and although the class isn't more than five students we have a good time learning spanish, well at least talking about spanish, it's history and the diversity of the people who speak it. M joined the class to support me but I'm not sure if he's attended more than half the classes so far. Either way I committed to going to the gym with him for a month. It's nowhere near my favorite activity but it's nice to do something that M enjoys. It also makes the shwarma we get afterward taste marvelous and puts us on track to read each night before bed. We've been going through Acts and it's been a joy to read and pray together. Just last week M asked about b.pt.sm and while I deferred most explanation to my team leader he seemed excited and I'll keep you posted.
The times that I've spent reading with M have been so full of life that I can't help but want to do it all day, every day with everyone. I've been feeling the same joy when I get together with my peer group to read. We not only spend time reading but we honestly seek to apply what we read, we pray for God's guidance in the application and we share how God answers and works around us. As we meet each week we are mutually encouraged and blessed in seeing what God is doing and we give Him thanks and ask for more.
As I've had more times with poeple and God, of building relationships, the only thing that lasts, I ask for you to join me in praying for more opportunities to spend time with God and people. I ask specifically that you ask God to guide us as we seek to invite more people to read and as we look for a good community of locals that know Him here in my neighborhood.