Okay, I'm going to try this whole blog thing again. I keep forgetting about it!
I'm now at the end of week 3 of orientation. It's basically awesome so far. I'm learning so much, I'm just praying I'll retain half of this information.
This past weekend, the people going to West Africa went without electricity and cooked all our food from scratch. We wanted to get a little taste of life in West Africa. It's amazing how much of a reflex it is to just flip on the light. I found myself reaching out several times. You really have to change the way you do everything without electricity. No email, facebook, or itunes. No popping anything in the microwave. The cooking was intense. We met around 10 in the morning to cook lunch. Around 1 we cleaned up. At 2 we started dinner. By the time everything is cleaned up, you're out of daylight. It really taught me about using my time wisely. But I did get to enjoy getting to know my small group a little better. They're all great people. I'm hoping to see them sometime on the field.

God's been teaching me so much since I've been here. I think what sticks in my mind the most is just getting into His Word. It's beautiful. One of my goals while I'm here is to really make my time with God deeper. It's so easy to get caught up in life and business, that you just rush through a chapter in the Bible and say a quick prayer. In America, we tend to rely on the church to meet our spiritual needs. I can tell you that is just not enough. God has so much to say to you when you just take time to listen. If I didn't take time every morning to just be with God, I don't think I would make it through orientation. I am enjoying my time here, but it is hard. There is so much information to take in and so many people to meet. I'm just not strong enough on my own. Thankfully, I don't have to be. He gives me new strength every morning.

"Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!" Psalm 147:1