Sunday Morning Thoughts from Karen

It’s early Sunday morning, Kenny’s still asleep and the sun is out after yet another incredible night of thunder, lightening and pouring rain. Lots of noise going on in the neighborhood – a string of firecrackers going off at 5:30am, chicken buses driving by constantly, very loud birds, lots of personas speaking Spanish! A big difference from the peace and quiet of our home in North Bend but yet I am filled with a sense of peace knowing we are here, learning a language that will enable us to serve God as He has called us.

I never knew it was possible for my heart to ache so deeply for our family and friends, our church family and even just a view of Mt. Si and yet at the exact same time for my heart to long to be in our home in the DR with our dear friends, settled in and serving our Lord. I feel as though we are in limbo – a place between two different worlds – just kind of hanging out there in space with our feet not really on the ground. Praise God for making clear to us He never leaves us nor forsakes us!

Sleep has been difficult. In my dreams, I find myself puzzling Spanish questions and then lying awake trying to figure out the best answer in Spanish. And my dreams are incredibly - a mixture of way, way in the past, the present, Spanish and of all things German! It’s almost as though my whole memory bank opens up when I fall asleep. My mom is German and I was born there but have no recollection of ever speaking the language although we visited a few times when I was young. The other morning Kenny asked me how I was doing and I said, “wunderbar” (wonderful in German). In school with my teacher I apparently am speaking Spanish with a bit of a German accent. Crazy times!

We are not sure how much longer we will be here. Please pray that God would give us clear guidance. We now have the opportunity to either learn Spanish here in Antigua or in the DR. While our time in Antigua has been fruitful, we have both been having some pretty regular intense headaches. We suspect the cause to be fumes from the cars and buses. We can smell them whenever we walk to town, in our classroom and even in our home.  Or could it be the intensity of trying to learn Spanish? Could you please pray that God would speak to us clearly in this and also that we would continue to soak up Spanish into our brains that are not so young?

We are praying for you all faithfully. Please be sure and let us know of any special needs so we can join you in bringing them before our Lord.

Love,

Karen

We found a new place to study!

View on the way to school every morning!

Working on homework!