Not much better

The title once again refers to my ability to actually keep up with a blog. I have decided that I am simply not capable of doing so. Although, it would probably be much easier if I weren't in another country where I have a million other things I could be doing most of the time. Don't get me wrong, dear readers, I love each and every one of you very much. However, empanadas and ridiculously good ice cream are sometimes more enticing. I hope I have not offended you with this information.

We went to Brazil! It was such an amazing trip. We went to Iguazu Falls (now the spell-checker wants me to spell it Iguassu, but that is dumb...I like it the Spanish way so that's how it is) and I cannot even describe the impact they had on my life. I'm going to include a few pictures and I hope that they come close to capturing some of the beauty and power displayed by those falls. Our God is an amazing artist.




These pictures look better on my computer, but they are good enough to give a little taste. Anyway, the falls really made me stop and think about how truly awesome our God is. We had a devo the night after we saw the falls for the first time and we talked about the falls and what we felt about God in relation to them. As many of you know I am a fan of strange analogies, so of course I formed one about the falls. The falls are like the macaroni pictures that children make. The point was never the macaroni picture itself. The point was to show it to Mommy and Daddy so that they would give some sort of recognition in return. Now, I'm not saying that God is five years old or that we are his parents. What I am saying is that the falls were never meant to be about the falls. If I were a supreme being with the power of creation at my fingertips, I would definitely create waterfalls like those. The difference between the two is that I would create them simply to look on them and say I had done it. God creates such wonders so that WE can look on them and say, "My God alone is capable of such things and He is worthy of praise." The point of such awe inspiring creations is that we would see them and long even more for a relationship with the Creator.

While in Brazil I felt a discomfort that I hadn't felt in a very long time. We had been immersed in Spanish speaking culture for about two months and suddenly we were in a country that speaks Portuguese. I had forgotten what it was like to know that I could not communicate effectively with those around me if I needed to (of course, I realize that many know enough Spanish that we could have worked it out, but the anxiety was still present). By the end of the trip I was ready to get back to Montevideo to be surrounded by a language that I know. This was the first time this semester that I thought of Montevideo as home. I haven't been very homesick compared others in the group and I've never been a very homesick person to begin with. It was nice to be able to associate such comfort with the place that I am living. It also brought a new aspect to my learning of the Spanish language: it is a place of comfort. When I began to learn Spanish I loved the language and would jump at chances to speak it. The further I got in my studies, the more concerned I became with getting everything right and speaking became much harder because of this preoccupation with being correct. Now I feel that I can speak easier because it isn't someone else's language so much as it is now one of my languages. I still have a long way to go in learning Spanish, but I truly love and enjoy it as if it were my own language.

Anyway, this entry has been kind of strange and introspective, so I hope you have not been bored by it and I hope that I have not come across as self-cenetered or whatever. I'm still working on getting better at this blogging business. Thanks for bearing with me.

Until next time, may the Creator open your eyes to the wonder and majesty that surrounds you. May you embrace His wonders and praise Him for His mighty works. May you realize that, above all, we are the height of His creation and that God longs for an ever growing, ever intensifying relationship with you.

Blessings,
Matt