Estudiantes

You know how I just said God is in Guayaquil? Well, that was definitely a true statement, in case you had any doubts. At UG this morning, I witnessed six students pray to receive Christ. SIX. In such a Catholic culture, most students here believe, at least roughly, in God. They do not doubt his existence nor his goodness, but many say that they do not have a personal relationship with him. In that sense, it is like most of the work is done for us, and all we have to do is to nudge people over the edge. As I contemplated the first part of the morning, I with Casting Crowns said, "How refreshing to know you don't need me! How amazing to find that you want me!" I have a God entirely capable of all things who chooses to use me in my weakness as an instrument of His strength!

Pray for students to realize that love of God is something personal. Pray for authenticity among students who make decisions to follow Christ and for real life change that stems from intimately knowing the heart of the Savior of the world.

Towards the end of my time on campus today, CJ and I walked over to the language department. Though we focus in the medical area of the school, I prefer the less busy, more laid back environment of the space around the language buildings. Though all students will listen to us, the language students seem much more willing to make new friends and to forgive language errors, which is great, as language errors happen to be my specialty. With the exchanging of Spanish and English knowledge, I feel like we are more on an equal plane.

I ran across my friends from yesterday, and was probably overly excited to see familiar, friendly faces. They seemed happy to see me as well, and CJ and I got the opportunity to explain to them a little bit about why we are here. I got to read through the Four Spiritual Laws booklet with a couple of the guys, me reading in Spanish, then them reading in English. This was a blast, because I was able to even go off-script a bit with Spanish explanations of what I was reading, something that I am very hesitant to do with people I haven't talked to before.

This group I've met over the last two days is so full of life, thirst for knowledge, acceptance, and friendship. I am praying that I get to interact with these students more. As a language student myself, and someone who is passionate about language, these students in particular grab my heart.

Tired and happy,

Jenna