My mom said on the phone this evening, “You sound like a different person. You sound like yourself. You weren’t yourself at that other place because you had so much stress. You sound relaxed and sane like normal.” It’s true. I feel like I just got here, to Mexico that is. Like I was somewhere completely different the first half of the semester. THIS is what I was expecting all along. I’m so comfortable here and my Spanish is already advancing so much. It’s amazing. Thank you Lord for meeting all my needs.

P.S. (I don't know why this font is different...) If you’ve never been to The Village Church or if you don’t live in the FlowerPlex and have never listened to one of Matt Chandler’s sermons on iTunes (free podcasts by the way), I strongly suggest trying it out. As faithful as I am to my Crossroads Bible Church, Matt Chandler is an amazing preacher. Kirena actually found the Village’s free podcast on iTunes about a week after I got here and I’ve downloaded all 150-something of them (one from every Sunday since May 15, 2005). Honestly, they’re really keeping me going lately. They’re amazing because they really are deep, meaty sermons on things that need to be preached about, they’re filled with scripture, and Matt Chandler is hilarious so they’re truly entertaining as well. I didn’t actually listen to one until last Sunday when I didn’t have a church to go to and so I had my own little “service” in my prison cell at the Apodacas. It was like…suddenly my eyes were opened. It felt like it was the first time I’d been to church in months. Cuz let’s face it, all the churches I’ve been to here, the pastors talk way to fast for me to understand everything so I usually end up just tuning out. And I was at camp the whole summer so I really haven’t been to church where I could learn and grow since May. But even then (sorry faithful New Heights and Crossroads lovers), the churches I go to in Arkansas and in Texas don’t give me HALF of what these free Village sermons online do. And they’re ALWAYS exactly what I need- even when I just close my eyes and randomly click on one (thank you Jesus for meeting my daily needs by speaking to me through those sermons…) They’re truly amazing—and about every topic you can think of. Seriously—check them out. I can’t wait til I can actually ATTEND the Village on December 16^th. Sorry Crossroads, I’ve officially switched over.