Blog #14 "Thanksgiving"

            Hey everybody, I’m so glad I get to write to you again. I was able to communicate back home a little bit more these past couple weeks and I just have to say that you guys are too nice. I received so many encouraging words and support that really blessed my heart, thank you. I want you to know I have discovered a newfound joy living here and I don’t feel like I have any problems. Now let me tell you what’s been going on the past couple weeks.

            Our time at the high school has come to an end. I am extremely sad to leave the students and teachers that I love so much. On the other hand it is nice not having to wake up at 6:30 in the morning. As our time has come to a close we have been able to take lots of pictures with the students and tell them goodbye. We have also been able to eat a few meals with the teachers and talk with them before leaving. I have very much enjoyed this time but I also know it was the right time for us to leave.

            Ironically we finished teaching school just before Thanksgiving, making it a truly thankful Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was a blast! There was lots and lots of food and it all tasted authentically American! I ate food all day while we played games. We played tons of games. I even got to hacky sack in the middle of a rose garden. The party lasted over nine hours. It was a day I was truly grateful for. And oh yes, there were lots of pies and I ate a piece of every one.

            Now that teaching and Thanksgiving are over I am intensely focused on writing papers. Brady and I have a week or so to build upon the relationships we have created with the locals and write our papers. Our ethnography paper over the local culture has allowed us to ask deeper questions to the friends we have made. This has actually caused us to grow deeper relationships with our friends at the high school. Writing these papers will be a difficult task for me as I typically get burnt out on writing after an hour or so.

            There is so much to get done and our time is winding down here. I have been so focused on what to do with the little bit of time I have left I have tried to plan out every day I have left. Not to mention in early December an American will be visiting our land and we will all go backpacking through rural villages for a couple of weeks. This means that our school work and relationships with the locals should be pretty much wrapped up by then. Needless to say there is a lot to get done and not a lot of time to get it done in.

These thoughts of wrapping up my time here and starting up my time back home have been filling my mind. If I ask anything from you guys during this time it is that you would ask Daddy that I would have perseverance. Finishing up papers and relationships will be difficult and backpacking through villages will be hard as well, I could use as much help as I can get. Even though it will be difficult I joyfully look forward to everything. Even though it will be hard it will also be a blast. Thank you guys for the support I love you all.

The Last Two Weeks, The Next Two Months

Hey guys, I’m happy I get to talk to you again through this blog. The first thing I want to mention is how grateful I am for all of your support. After my last blog my email and Facebook account were flooded with words of encouragement and support. So needless to say I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to respond to you all and tell you what has been happening the past couple weeks.

The first thing I would like to say is that things really have not been going as well as I would like for them to go. Even after my last blog I still underwent spiritual warfare. The relationship between my partner Brady and I got worse. There were some strange things that happened that I can’t really explain. Also Brady got sick so instead of going out to villages on our week off from school we stayed inside restricted to each of our rooms.

By the end of the week I was fuming as I thought about the challenges I’ve been facing. That’s when I got to Skype with my sister, brother in law, mom and dad. I feel like I might have inappropriately vented my circumstances to them but they lovingly listened and provided me with some advice. As soon as I started taking their advice everything changed.

Since then I have faced little if any spiritual warfare. My relationship with Brady is still not dandy but things have become considerably better. Also, my hands have been so busy getting involved in the local community this last week I’ve barely had time to sit down. Teaching has been going great. Talking to people on the streets has gotten better. Even schoolwork has been going well this last week. I don’t believe any of this would be happening if it wasn’t for your support, thank you.

Really quickly I would like to tell you about what’s planned for my last two months here. We will for sure have at least one more week teaching at the high school. This will be an important time during our stay considering that we will be wrapping up some deep friendships we have developed. Our supervisor has planned a big thanksgiving feast for all of us and even though I will miss my family during this time our supervisor’s wife makes some of the best pie on earth, maybe even better than my moms. Sometime after thanksgiving a man will be visiting our area and for the month of December. Brady and I will be accompanying him as we visit small villages and communities out in the mountains. There is also a giant 20 page ethnography paper that Brady and I have been working diligently on during our spare time, all to say that these last couple months are going to be busy.

Despite these opportunities to be engaged in the culture I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t miss home. I look forward to these next couple of months but I long to see my family and friends again. I have learned so much from my Daddy on this trip because of my solitude away from people back home. Please continue to support me during this time as probably our most important work will take place in the next two months. I love you all and look forward to seeing your faces again. Thank you always for your support.

P.S. My sister had her baby with no complications in the birthing process. Spencer Richardson was born in L.A. on 11/07/2012. Thank you Daddy for safely allowing one of your children to enter this world. I will continue to pray for you always Spencer, sincerely your uncl