It's been a few weeks since I've had an update to post. Not much has been going on, it's been sweaty hot down here since it's the thick of summer here in Peru. I've also marked the one year point of living here, and I'm still not used to living this close to the Equator. I've acquired a taste for Gatorade to help hydrate myself sufficiently, and despite constantly lathering up with sunscreen with SPF 30, I'm still bronzing up in this place. But I'd take that to being buried in all the snow I'm reading and hearing about from people in North America. I may be Canadian, but I was born for a warm climate. Don't let the extra 'natural sweater' fool you.
I spent two weeks back in intensive four hours per day language school at Hispana Idiomas. It had been nearly six months since I had been in language school, but I've gotten to practice it on the streets and with some Spanish-only speaking friends I've been making. The last class I had was the first week of three in the Intermediate 2 level. When I rejoined, they didn't remember where I had left off because most of their students are only in Peru temporarily or they are tourists and never come back, so they don't have a system in place to keep track of where students leave off. So suffice it to say, I found myself repeating some material I'd already paid to have, and at $220/week, on a missionary donation-based budget, you tend not to feel like re-taking classes you've already had--even if it's been six months. So the director understood this and I came back the next week to complete the last two weeks of Intermediate 2. All the while meeting with a few Peruvian friends with excellent English to help me practice the specific tenses that don't come natural to me since we don't have the equivalent in English.
But I'm loving it. I don't have the confidence to preach in Spanish yet, as I'm constantly needing people help correct or feed me words when I can't think of them but suffice it to say I can pretty much function in society here without an interpreter. Next time I go back, if/when the finances are there, I'll be beginning in Advanced level.
If you think of it, I'm working on a blog post for Fire On Your Head and possibly (probably) a follow up mp3 discussion for the FOHY podcast as well, about "crazy things people think Pentecostals believe". You can leave a comment here, write me, or leave feedback in any place I'll receive it. If it's a great idea, I'll included it or comment about it in a list of the top ones I'm receiving.
So far, I've gotten interesting feedback from the other site authors and my frequent podcast guests, and I'm thinking such an article is a great idea. It was sparked after wasting 20 minutes of my time watching some evangelical ministry implore his listeners to get the heck away from any charismatic who says you're not really saved unless you speak in tongues, and after listening to him go on to dismantle other straw man arguments, I began to wonder if he's even ever MET a pentecostal before or talked to one to find out what they ACTUALLY believe. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks how fun (or scary) it could be to reach out and see if any listeners or readers of the blog had feedback of their own they wanted to offer on it. So hit me up with any of your thoughts.
Other than those things, not much to update on and if you want to know know some more of what I'm doing in Peru, here's my latest newsletter in PDF form.
Blessings and fire on your head
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