How are you? Are you well? How's your health? How is work going? How's your family? This is how greetings go when talking to locals. It's usually a flurry of asking and surface-level answers that I have at times grown tired of. Pleasantries are not my thing; I'd rather know how people are really doing.
August has been full of new transitions for me! I'm finally done with full-time language and will start studying at the conservatory sometime in September. The process of getting all the paperwork figured out for the visa was kind of a mess. I had to get my transcript, diploma, passport, etc. all translated into the local language and then take it to this other place to get an Artesian diploma. They made a fuss because I didn't have my original diploma even though I told them by the time it was sent to my house I was already in country. Anyway, I also had to go back to the translation place two more times because they messed up the spelling of my name. I also thought I had to get an HIV test but actually didn't need to and ended up getting my finger pricked for nothing. School technically started September 1, but I showed up and none of the class schedules was ready. The American in me is appalled by the lack of efficiency, but it was a reminder for me to slow down and trust God.
I've been learning more about prayer this month. In the book of Acts, a devout believer named Cornelius was praying when he had a vision from the Lord. In the vision an angel tells him, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God" (Acts 10:4). I recently listened to a teaching on prayer that highlighted this encounter. In the teaching the pastor emphasized that God remembers every prayer. As silly as it sounds, that means God remembers the prayer I prayed in 3rd grade to do well on my math test. God hears our every prayer, even if it sometimes feels like heaven is silent. I often have to remind myself that it's not about whether or not I feel that He is listening—because He is. I pray that you will grow in awareness of His presence just as I'm trying to do.