Latest Email Update:

Hello my friends :)

Fall is definitely here. Classes which are going at full speed. We've already completed two modules Phonemics (basically, it's step 2 out of 3 for making an alphabet for an unwritten language) and literacy (teaching people to read for the first time- we got to write little stories and teach letters and it was SO much fun!) 

And now we're in one of the longest classes we'll have during all our training- Culture Language Acquisition Practicum (we usually call  it Practicum for short)- basically its a chance to practice in a staged environment all the stuff we've been hearing.  Some of the teachers who've been overseas dress up and sit in little huts they've built just for this, and we go in and "make friends with them" and try to learn about their language, culture, and their village. It sounds cheesey- and it kind of is, but its good practice for everything from learning an unwritten language, to beginning relationships with people when you don't even know how you should say "hello", to realizing some things in your heart that are just not very Jesus-like. This class, as you might have guessed from all the stuff we learn during it, is a very long one- and will take until the 2nd-ish week of October. 

It's good to be back and see the girls in the longhouse, and the folks at church, and the kids at Celebrate Recovery. I even missed my little apartment over the summer. Susie and I are still roommates, and still having a blast together. She has definately settled on heading for West Africa, and begins support raising in January. 

I still have a lot of options on the table. Linguistics, no linguistics?  Africa? West or East Africa? Helping out with the short-staffing problem of child-care here or at another training center? Somewhere that speaks Spanish? Somewhere completely random I haven't even seriously considered yet? yeah... I really don't know. I've more or less narrowed it down to two primary options: West Africa, and helping with childcare/discipleship/the prayer ministry here. But God seems to like to surprise me late in the game, and I'm trying to keep an open mind in case He surprises me this time too :) Advice, opinions, questions, snide remarks and prayer are all welcome! (Especially prayer- more so than the snide remarks)

Please pray for me as I have lots of decisions coming up:

1- Pray that I would seek God, even more than His will. 

2- Pray that I would rest in the fact that God already knows where/what/when, and that I would be patient and confident in Him while I wait for Him to tell me. 

3-Pray that He tells me soon :)

4- Pray that I would be very purposeful and effective in sharing Him with the little ones at Celebrate Recovery. 

5- Pray for time management, also not a strong point of mine. Oh boy am I getting to improve this semester. 

Thank you all so much for your prayers! Without God, I am so toast. But then, so are we all. 

In Jesus, 

Anna

Is 42:6

Summer Happenings:

Look I'm still alive!

I fnished up the spring semester (still not sure what country God wants me in), went back to Philly for the summer. I got to see a lot of you, and spend time with the family. God even through the extra special blessing of getting to see my mom a bit this summer too! And Jess and I got to have a beach day (but Jessi has all the pictures, so you'll have to look at her facebook for those)

And I got to hang out with little kiddos all summer: I had the pre-school summer-camp classroom at my old job. I was reminded OFTEN how very much I need Jesus. But it was fun too, to be goofy and creative and not need an excuse. In fact some people think its super:

And it was good to reconnect with friends, and see what God has been up to in their lives over the last year (that's always more fun to hear in person, although email is great too, or blog comments- hint hint) And I have pictures of that too- but Jessi has those too. So you'll have to look on her facebook page - oh dear. Someday  I will remember to bring my own camera, and not just take other people's pictures. 

Mid August I headed back to school- and I'll let you pick up the next post from there :)