The last 3 weeks

It has been a while since I’ve written. We interns had to leave the country for three days to renew our visas. Visas only last for 2 months, so you have to renew them if you want to stay longer. We took this opportunity to visit Panama. We didn’t go to the Panama canal as it is on the opposite end of the country. Instead we went to a group of Caribbean islands off the coast of Panama. We got to go snorkeling, hiking, and kayaking, and I was amazed at the variety of God’s creation. Amidst the diverse lush foliage surrounded by blue ocean it was hard to imagine the brown and gold hills of eastern Washington. Yet God in His limitless creativity made those also, with a beauty all their own.

We would appreciate prayer for the completion of our project. We only have about six weeks left here in Costa Rica and some of the volunteers on our trip are about a month behind schedule on getting their work to us. Thus, it will be difficult to finish the project on time. Pray that our volunteers would spend the time it takes to get their portions of the project to us very quickly and that we could compile it and refine it before we leave so that the EMI office here doesn’t have to work on it next term in addition to their new projects.

Recently I have been dealing with some homesickness, as well as anticipation for starting grad school. I am excited to start studying math again, to be teaching, and to be living in a new town with new roommates. There is a lot to look forward to, however, I don’t want that anticipation ruin my appetite for right now: enjoying my host family, working with EMI, living in a different country, and learning what God is teaching me. So I would appreciate prayer for focus to finish well and savor my time here.