Blog #14 "Thanksgiving"

            Hey everybody, I’m so glad I get to write to you again. I was able to communicate back home a little bit more these past couple weeks and I just have to say that you guys are too nice. I received so many encouraging words and support that really blessed my heart, thank you. I want you to know I have discovered a newfound joy living here and I don’t feel like I have any problems. Now let me tell you what’s been going on the past couple weeks.

            Our time at the high school has come to an end. I am extremely sad to leave the students and teachers that I love so much. On the other hand it is nice not having to wake up at 6:30 in the morning. As our time has come to a close we have been able to take lots of pictures with the students and tell them goodbye. We have also been able to eat a few meals with the teachers and talk with them before leaving. I have very much enjoyed this time but I also know it was the right time for us to leave.

            Ironically we finished teaching school just before Thanksgiving, making it a truly thankful Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was a blast! There was lots and lots of food and it all tasted authentically American! I ate food all day while we played games. We played tons of games. I even got to hacky sack in the middle of a rose garden. The party lasted over nine hours. It was a day I was truly grateful for. And oh yes, there were lots of pies and I ate a piece of every one.

            Now that teaching and Thanksgiving are over I am intensely focused on writing papers. Brady and I have a week or so to build upon the relationships we have created with the locals and write our papers. Our ethnography paper over the local culture has allowed us to ask deeper questions to the friends we have made. This has actually caused us to grow deeper relationships with our friends at the high school. Writing these papers will be a difficult task for me as I typically get burnt out on writing after an hour or so.

            There is so much to get done and our time is winding down here. I have been so focused on what to do with the little bit of time I have left I have tried to plan out every day I have left. Not to mention in early December an American will be visiting our land and we will all go backpacking through rural villages for a couple of weeks. This means that our school work and relationships with the locals should be pretty much wrapped up by then. Needless to say there is a lot to get done and not a lot of time to get it done in.

These thoughts of wrapping up my time here and starting up my time back home have been filling my mind. If I ask anything from you guys during this time it is that you would ask Daddy that I would have perseverance. Finishing up papers and relationships will be difficult and backpacking through villages will be hard as well, I could use as much help as I can get. Even though it will be difficult I joyfully look forward to everything. Even though it will be hard it will also be a blast. Thank you guys for the support I love you all.

The Last Two Weeks, The Next Two Months

Hey guys, I’m happy I get to talk to you again through this blog. The first thing I want to mention is how grateful I am for all of your support. After my last blog my email and Facebook account were flooded with words of encouragement and support. So needless to say I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to respond to you all and tell you what has been happening the past couple weeks.

The first thing I would like to say is that things really have not been going as well as I would like for them to go. Even after my last blog I still underwent spiritual warfare. The relationship between my partner Brady and I got worse. There were some strange things that happened that I can’t really explain. Also Brady got sick so instead of going out to villages on our week off from school we stayed inside restricted to each of our rooms.

By the end of the week I was fuming as I thought about the challenges I’ve been facing. That’s when I got to Skype with my sister, brother in law, mom and dad. I feel like I might have inappropriately vented my circumstances to them but they lovingly listened and provided me with some advice. As soon as I started taking their advice everything changed.

Since then I have faced little if any spiritual warfare. My relationship with Brady is still not dandy but things have become considerably better. Also, my hands have been so busy getting involved in the local community this last week I’ve barely had time to sit down. Teaching has been going great. Talking to people on the streets has gotten better. Even schoolwork has been going well this last week. I don’t believe any of this would be happening if it wasn’t for your support, thank you.

Really quickly I would like to tell you about what’s planned for my last two months here. We will for sure have at least one more week teaching at the high school. This will be an important time during our stay considering that we will be wrapping up some deep friendships we have developed. Our supervisor has planned a big thanksgiving feast for all of us and even though I will miss my family during this time our supervisor’s wife makes some of the best pie on earth, maybe even better than my moms. Sometime after thanksgiving a man will be visiting our area and for the month of December. Brady and I will be accompanying him as we visit small villages and communities out in the mountains. There is also a giant 20 page ethnography paper that Brady and I have been working diligently on during our spare time, all to say that these last couple months are going to be busy.

Despite these opportunities to be engaged in the culture I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t miss home. I look forward to these next couple of months but I long to see my family and friends again. I have learned so much from my Daddy on this trip because of my solitude away from people back home. Please continue to support me during this time as probably our most important work will take place in the next two months. I love you all and look forward to seeing your faces again. Thank you always for your support.

P.S. My sister had her baby with no complications in the birthing process. Spencer Richardson was born in L.A. on 11/07/2012. Thank you Daddy for safely allowing one of your children to enter this world. I will continue to pray for you always Spencer, sincerely your uncl

Some Good and Bad News

Hey guys, whoa has a lot of stuff happened in the past couple weeks for me to tell. To be honest I’ve been having a difficult time trying to come up with the words to say about these past couple of weeks. Some crazy stuff has happened both good and bad, and I don’t know what to share with you. Let me start with the bad news first so we can end on a bright note.

I don’t know how to say this besides the fact that I have been going through spiritual warfare. Now I like to downplay the role of spiritual warfare in life but I can’t deny that I have been facing it. Things I can’t explain have been happening; having multiple nightmares, being bullied and physically hurt, fighting off sinful thoughts for hours on end, being constantly insulted, having people tell me the opposite thing I’ve heard from my Daddy, and problems with signing up for classes next semester. Even as I write this I feel a strange pressure to erase this paragraph and cry into my pillow.

There is no reason to name the specifics as long as you know that I’m experiencing spiritual warfare. I’ve never dealt with this before and I’m having a hard time facing it. It has been tuff but it has brought me closer in my relationship to my Daddy, and has grown me into a stronger man. So enough about the bad news let’s talk about the good news.

Just as things have been going miraculously bad things have also been going miraculously good. It just seems that out of nowhere these good things are popping up; teachers asking us for c.d.’s, being invited over to read, talking to Daddy with others, sharing stories with students, developing close friendships with locals, and discovering nice friendly villages. Over the past couple of weeks we have seen more progress than we probably have our entire stay. The door has not opened up yet but for the first time it appears we are seeing it start to crack.

I can’t express how ridiculous these things keep popping up, so I will give you an example of a good thing that happened. At the end of each class Brady asks the class if they have any questions while I erase the board. I was still erasing when I heard Brady say, “ooooohhh very nice.” I finished erasing and turned around to see a student showing Brady a book entitled “Daddy’s Stories” written in the local language. I stood back shocked and then realize that this is the same student I have been playing basketball with for the last month.

Needless to say every moment whether good or bad has been like this. Please pray for me as I face these next couple of weeks. I’ve never dealt with such emotional extremes as I have been recently. Thank you guys again for all your support, its times like this I need it. Love ya

Over the Hill

Hey guys I haven’t talked to you in a while and I am very excited to write to you. Things have been crazy the past couple of weeks but crazy in a good way. As of now I am back to teaching at the local high school. However, I have been all over the place since the last time I taught at school.

            On our first week off from school we celebrated a local holiday and then headed out to a nearby village. This village was beautiful. There where mountains everywhere and miles and miles of farmland in-between them. From this village we traveled down some paths and met some people in smaller villages. Some of these people even took us through a hidden mountain pass that lead to a lake in the middle of the mountains. There are some great stories that I will tell from this trip, stories that will stay with me forever.

            The second week off from school we made our midterm visa run to one of the largest cities in the world. While we were there I was sure to eat as much hamburger and pizza that I could get my hands on. After this day long trip a group of us visited a beautiful backpacker town nearby. While we were there we went bamboo rafting, bike riding, hiking, shopping, and hotel hoping for 4 days. Once again I ate as much hamburger and pizza as I could.

            After coming back to teaching I have to admit that I am ready to come home. Maybe it would be better if I say that I’m looking forward to coming home. Either way I admit that I want to be with my family and friends right now. Everything has seemed to slow down at this part of the journey. Brady and I are getting used to creating lesson plans and teaching students. My schoolwork has died down since the midterm but will gradually pick up towards the end. The students are so busy we end up with a lot of free time on our hands.

            Not only do we have a lot of free time but our apartment is very remote from the students as well as remote from the rest of the city. Also, without internet we are cut off from any outside communication. Not to say there hasn't been advantages to this. I have spent a lot of my free time talking with my Daddy and reading His words. I have also gone out into the city and tried to practice my language with people. However, even with these things I still have a lot free time on my hands.

            I miss my family and friends and am looking forward to coming back to them. Not to say that I don’t want to be here. I am called here and I have a job to complete here but I do look forward to seeing it completed. Two and a half months is quite a bit of time to get the job done yet, on the same hand that is not much time at all. I look forward to what the next couple of months hold in store and I long to see all of you reading this face to face again. Thank you always for your support, I love you all.

Wow

            Wow, a lot has taken place since my last blog. I’m officially in the 2^nd part of my three part trip, teaching at the high school. The day after posting my last blog I packed up everything I had with me and moved into a new apartment. This apartment is about two blocks away from the high school and is very nice. Ironically the place is too big for us; we only use about half the space that we have. Brady and I each have our own rooms. This has allowed me to spend a lot of time in reflection and talking to my Daddy.

            The catch to this nice apartment is that there is no internet. This has also been a good thing allowing me to eliminate the distractions that surround me. However, without internet, communication back home is scarce to none and the moral support I received through it has diminished. Still, this has made me find more support from my Daddy. Although I do want to admit that I still miss home, friends, and family.

            Teaching at the high school has been a blast for me so far. Brady and I teach all our classes together. Our first class every morning starts at 7:35 and we are done before noon every day. We then teach a much more open and free class called English corner at 5:10. Hanging out with the students is a blast. They love to talk English with us and take our pictures. I haven’t played any hacky sack because there hasn’t been a good spot to. However, I have been playing basketball with some students on a regular basis.

            Even though it has been a blast hanging out with the students, we don’t get to spend much time with them. High school is considered the hardest time in a person’s life in this country. I once went to the school at 1:00 during that huge break we have to play basketball with the students and no one was there. They have classes from 7am to 5pm and then they have study session from 7pm to 9pm. So the only time I get to hang out with them is from 6 to 7. This has caused an awkward amount of free time which I have spent doing school work, playing on my computer, and reading lots of books.

            Now that I have gotten in the mode of high school another curve ball has come. This next week is a national holiday and the students have school off and are asked to go back home. So Brady and I are going on another back packing trip during that week. Then when they get back we go on our midterm visa run. The visa run is only a couple days but we are going to spend our cultural (vacation) days afterwards. That means for the next two weeks we won’t be doing any teaching at the high school.

            However, I am very eager for the next couple of weeks and the rest of our stay at the high school. This has already been a very blessed time here and I believe it will only get better. I apologize if communication will be sketchy the next couple months but just know that I’m doing what I love to do. Thank you all again for your support; even reading a blog like this helps me know that I have people back home that love me and support what I do. You are all very wonderful and precious to me. Thank you.

Why So Soon . . .

. . . well it’s because there are some things I wanted to tell you and I didn’t know when I would get a good opportunity to share them again. You see Brady and I are moving this weekend into a new apartment that is closer to the high school and I don’t know if it has internet access. So here are a few things I wanted to mention before we leave.

            We got to talk to the head English teacher the other day and we will officially be teaching at the local high school starting this next Monday. We will have about three classes in the morning, some we will teach separately some we may teach together. After lunch we will have a break and then come back in the afternoon for an English corner were we get to discuss anything we want with the students. After dinner we are free to hang around the high school and hang out with students until they have a study hall at 7:00.

            I really hope to pour into these students lives over the next nine weeks or so. This is honestly the part of the trip I’ve been looking most forward to. However, due to our housing situation I have no idea how well I will be able to update you guys through email or Facebook. You guys really are the third man on our team and I’m sorry that you might have to play bench for a while but just know that things are still going great down here. Thank you guys again for the support I love ya.

Thumbs Up

            Hey guys haven’t talked to you in a while and I had a few things I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you. Things have certainly gotten familiar down here and there is not the same awesome culture shock that I had at the beginning of this trip. This blog may not be as enthusiastic as my others because the outrageous has become normal to me now, however, I will do my best to share what is going on. Our homestay / language study is coming to an end. Although I have enjoyed the time I’m excited for the next part of the journey.

            Talking about the next part of the journey what lays ahead for Brady and I is probably the most fun part of our semester abroad, high school. We are leaving next Friday to go live in an (air conditioned) apartment just outside of the local high school. Details are not official and are general but from what we can tell we will teach two classes a day and have an English corner each day where we will talk to the students. We also will be living close enough to the city to visit our favorite drink shop on a regular basses. On a personal note I’m going to start playing hacky sack again and hope to get some locals involved.

            As far as things are going right now is a time scheduling mess. Last weekend we went out on a trek and our schedule was packed prior and during that trip. With language nearing the end there are no new lessons and we are reviewing the material we’ve learned, so that is easier. Also with language nearing the end both Brady and I are trying to get school papers written before teaching so we can be freed up to talk with the students. Then stuff has happened were we have entire days off or we have a day that was supposed to be off and then it ends up being busy. Needless to say we are just enjoying the journey one step at a time.

            As for our trek last weekend it went really well. We were able to get to different locations and order hotel rooms by ourselves with the language we’ve learned. We walked down some paths until we reached a village and then watched a film with the people who lived there. Certainly some received us better than others but we left each village with no bad feelings. The trek gave me time to really grasp my current situation and it helped me understand Brady a little bit more.

            As for my last blog I would like to tell you that most of those things have been resolved. The weather has cooled down as we are entering fall season, and sleeping has been better as a result. My thoughts haven’t been getting to me and homesickness has decreased. Brady and I have become a more effective team as we have learned how each other works. I’m not putting on an act in front of you guys things are really getting better. Thank you so much for your prayers and support it has really made a difference.

I wish I could make this a more emotional blog and drag you guys through the struggles and joys of living here but honestly things are just going good as usual. In the end I guess that’s the best kind of report I can give you in this blog. Here’s a big thumbs up from the other side of the world. Thank you guys again for the support, I love ya.