It's been a while...

...since I've written here. It's been a busy week. And things are just starting too. As a preview, Sunday and Tuesday are the first official English club meetings I will be attending. I'm not leading the whole group, just a small part of it. But we're diving in this week. We'll also extend an invitation to the Tuesday group for an English Bible study sometime during the week. Details on that to follow soon.
     This week was busy for a variety of reasons. Wednesday and Saturday were walking English. Monday and Thursday were language lessons. I also had some shopping to do on Thursday after getting done with the lesson. On top of all that was studying for the lessons. That's going OK. I wish I was making better progress. But I'm glad with the progress I am making. Already, only one month in, I can recognize more words than I could before I came.
     Wednesday, after lunch, I had a meeting with David Pervis to preview the English club meetings and to help prepare me for what I'll be involved with. We got to talk and pray about the meetings and the students.
     I've also had a request to include some spiritual lessons that I'm learning. I can't say for certain what lessons I'm learning right now. Perseverance, persistence, courage, reliance... definitely all of the above. A while ago I talked about small victories. They aren't mine but rather God's. He's the one giving me strength and perseverance and courage. I need to keep relying on Him.
     Actually, now that I've typed through that last part, I can tell something I have experienced and learned. In a macrocosm of my experience here, things start out easy, then progress to more difficult. The first month here has seemed to go smoothly and well. The first time I rode the marshrutka by myself it went well. Camp started out well. But then after a little experience, new challenges came my way. The marshrutkas were packed with people and didn't stop when and where I wanted. I had to interact and shop and travel and live without knowing all the words I needed. And at camp, I learned that preparation, even in simple exercises, is important.
     All that to say, God didn't dump me in the deep end and say "swim." I've gotten to test the waters and feel my way though things, with lots of guidance, before the tough parts happen. I was really surprised to notice that trend. But now that I've noticed it, I see it almost everywhere. Transportation, language, shopping. I guess that's all for now. I'll keep you updated on what I learn.
     Along those lines, I do have one prayer request. Courage. By nature, I'm not bold or confident. I'm heavily reliant on experience to boost my confidence. The pool of experience is growing. But I'm constantly running into new things that require me to step out of my comfort zone and be bold. So it'd be great to have a little more courage for when I'm scared.
     Thanks for reading and following along in this.