A week later...

I have been home for a week from Mexico and I've had some time to reflect on my trip. On the way down to Mexico, one song stayed in my mind:

"Well He put me smack dab in the middle of paradise
In the heart of the city where my dreams come alive
and everything I have and everything I see
Is just another reminder that God's been good to me."

-Keith Urban -"God's been good to me"

I feel like this trip was a blessing from God. I learned so much; much more than I planned to learn. I learned the language, of course, but I learned patience and humility, and that I have so much more to do with my life.

As I boarded the plane on January 7th, I read a card given to me by a friend. I was afraid to read the card because I didn't want to get emotional if the card was sappy. In part the card said, "Let yourself develop language attennae and steep like a teabag in the language and culture. Enjoy this time out of time above all."

This friend had told me a year ago "Go to Paris". She didn't mean it in the literal sense. But what I took it to mean was that I needed to do something for me. I needed to take some time for myself and leave the stress and problems behind if only for one moment in time. Going to another country is rare experience for me and I really wanted this time to have meaning and to serve a purpose. Of course, I wanted to learn spanish, but for what reason? I want to use it for something good. After all, if you have knowledge but don't apply it, you'd might as well not have it all.

So I decided that I would learn spanish for the ministry. I want to increase my share in the ministry, so why not take it a step further. Last year, at our district convention, we kept hearing about the need for people to learn another language in order to widen out in the ministry. So I decided that I would continue my spanish with that goal. It has been much harder than I thought, but that's ok. I have to be patient. I learned that in Mexico. I had to be patient with other people, but also myself. I went to the spanish speaking congregation and I really had to be patient with myself in trying to understand the things I was being taught. I couldn't communicate at the rate that I am accustommed to speaking. That took patience and humility. But I got through and now, I feel more prepared to obtain my goal. I don't think I'll move to the spanish congregation this year. But one day I will.