Then Make my Joy Complete: With Hunger and Thirst

And so classes and "real life" begin. This week has been marked by a lot of "firsts" for the semester.

-1st Spanish class: We have Spanish every day for almost 3 hours. It's a beginner Spanish class taught in Spanish. Try to figure that one out. Needless to say, it's a LOT of Spanish and a LOT of work. But I'm learning a ton; my comprehension has increased a lot, but my production skills still need some work. Hopefully those will improve before my homestay starts next Sunday!
-1st Spiritual Formation Class: I'm so excited for this class. I think God's has some beautiful things in store for me and the other students in our class.
-1st Ecuador 250 class: This class is teaching us about culture, politics, history, and everything else we need to know about Ecuador.(I'm also taking a Worldview class -- but that's a week-long intensive later in the semester)
-1st chapel: Each Wednesday night everyone in our program gathers for dinner, worship and fellowship. This is going to be a solid, encouraging part of each week.
-1st week of making meals for ourselves: So...7 of the 9 girls in our apartment are really good (and really like) cooking. Abby and I...not so much. But we've been holding our own making sandwiches, pasta, vegetables, and quesadillas. We make a good team :)
-1st visit to my internship location: My internship for the semester is at an orphanage called "Para Sus Ninos" (which means "For His Children"). I got to go see the property and meet the kids on Saturday, and I'll start going consistently next week. There are several kids here who have special needs...I think you can imagine how I feel about that :) But as excited as I am to be spending part of this semester there, my heart is also broken for these beautiful children. I'm hoping to learn more closely what God means when He tells us to "look after the orphans..."
-1st weekend on our own: Included making coco-krispies, girls' movie night, ice-cream at Korfu, brownies at the boys' house, Spanish church, homeworking, ect.

This week has also been characterized by some quality Christian fellowship, with everything from walking to many classes together, conquering the trolley together, going grocery shopping together, having dance parties in our kitchen, listening to Spanish Hillsong and exchanging backrubs, laying on the floor and eating trail mix with Abby, and having late night convos and laughs with my roommates. Feeling blessed by a unique Christian community.

I've been working my way through the Beattitudes in Matthew 5. I've spent the last several days on Matthew 5:6: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." There's just so much in this single verse. What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? When I'm physically hungry or thirsty, I do something about it. My mind is consumed and I don't forget about it until my stomach is filled. What does it look like for my heart to desire righteousness in the same way my body needs food and drink. And what about that last part "...will be filled." Jesus doesn't tell us that we might be filled, or that if we do everything right then we will be filled, or that we'll at least be half full. He promises that we. will. be. filled. So I'm living in hunger and thirst of righteousness, and living with the expectation that God will fill me.

Here are some snapshots of the week!

This is the view of our roof. I love love love it. Notice the mountain to the left! We can only see that when the sky is clear.

Walking down Viallangua to the trolley to take it to Spanish class. We walk ALL OVER around here.
For those of you who care, my Chacos were a great investment -
I wear them all the time and like to pretend that they match everything.

There's a little park about two blocks down the hill that we pass whenever we go...pretty much anywhere.
Sometimes we stop and play for a few minutes...teeter totters were quite the hit on Wednesday :)