Bring It On!

If there's ever been a loaded semester for G42 students, it's been this one. Normally, the guest teachers that teach are scheduled to come throughout the term over the course of a few months, with G42 staff teaching during the weeks in between. This term, however, due to scheduling issues and prior engagements of our guests, all of the guest teachers ended up coming within a few weeks of each other, back to back and sometimes even overlapping. So instead of our nice, short, four-day weeks (Monday through Thursday), we had class on all sorts of days... Friday afternoons, Saturdays, and even a couple times on Sunday.

Although I didn't know if I would survive it at the time, fortunately I can now look back and say I successfully made it through three straight weeks of class with only one day off. In reality though, the hard part wasn't how much class we had, but how much information we were learning in those classes! We've covered a LOT of topics and deep and intense issues in the past month that have absolutely wracked my brain and made me think in ways I had never even considered before. Just to give you an idea of what we've been talking about, here are the topics we've discussed with different teachers that have come in so far this semester:

"What's God's Point?"- Our meaning and purpose for this life we're living
Eschatology - The study of what happens when everything comes to an end
The Tabernacle of David - New Covenant thinking in Old Covenant times
Creation - Looking back at how it all got started
Generational Inheritance - Learning how to pass on the things we're learning to our kids and grandkids
Servanthood and Followership - You can't successfully lead if you aren't a good follower first!
Prophesying - Learning to speak encouraging and edifying words to people
Covenant - The importance of commitment and being a person who keeps our word

And then of course on top of these very dense topics, we've had books discussions, coffee chats with visitors, and the chance to hear several different guests' testimonies and personal stories. Additionally, we've had church groups, families, friends, prospective G42ers, and former G42ers visiting almost every week of this term, so we've spent lots of time hanging out and talking with new and old friends. I'm currently in the middle of several books that have been incredibly thought-provoking and mind opening and have really instilled within me a new passion and excitement about life.

We're only one month into the semester - still pretty much at the beginning of it - but yet it's already halfway over and I feel like we're now nearing the end. At the change of terms in October, I moved rooms in the house (I can't even explain how much more I love my new room now!!), got a new roommate, and now share a room with a girl named Chandler who is from... you guessed it... Texas! It's so great to be able to be around someone from the same place as me and to have someone to relate with and make jokes with about good ol' Texas.  It also helps that she's tons of fun and we have tons of things in common, assuring that we were instant friends the moment we met :)

Our other new intern for this term (we only had two new interns come in) is Petr from the Czech Republic, the first intern since I've been here that isn't an American. We've all really enjoyed having someone with a different cultural background in the group and have learned a lot from looking at things with the fresh perspective that he brings. We especially enjoy all the amazing Czech dishes that he makes for our dinners on occasion!

When I'm not in class or studying the things I'm learning in class (we don't have tests but there is still plenty to process and dig into deeper!), I spend my time reading at the Lookout in Mijas (which has an incredible view of the ocean), hanging out with some local friends I have made, cooking dinner or doing dishes, hanging out at the G42 staff members' houses, baking, hanging out with whichever visitors happen to be here at the time, and going out into town on the weekends with my roommate to experience some Spanish nightlife. I've also developed a new hobby of playing guitar - or maybe I should say trying to play guitar - and like to spend some time every now and then trying to teach myself a new song or two. Additionally, I was offered a position this term to teach English to some Spanish children in Mijas, so I spend an hour a week with three eight-year-olds practicing my Spanish while they learn English! They're pretty wild and crazy, so it can get a bit challenging sometimes, but overall I really enjoy doing it!

In a couple weeks, my dad and sister are coming to visit, and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to show my family the atmosphere I have been living in for the past five months. Sometimes it's a little difficult to explain in words everything that I do and learn and experience here, so it will be great to be able to share everything in person and let them experience it for themselves.

As my time here with G42 is coming to a close, I am determined to make the most of it. Fortunately, with my mind full of incredible new insights that I've learned, I have lots of opportunities among my community here to pour them out and put them into practice and in a tangible and visible way. And the cool thing is, there's nothing more energizing and fulfilling as actually living out the life-changing truths that I've become aware of, because it's not until you learn to truly pour out to others that you truly learn to live! So now, looking forward to the next few weeks of my time here in Mijas, I'll be running full steam ahead with plenty of enthusiasm and strength to say, "Bring it on!"