Bible Study

Tonight I finally went to the Bible study that meets in my house. I know I've talked about the Bible study my host mom goes to on Thursday nights, but it stopped meeting here, so I haven't gone in a long time. But there's one made up of people my age that meets on Wednesday nights, and every week I've heard them come in, and I've even said hi to them a few times, but I've never participated. Sometimes I had homework, and sometimes I was just really tired, but I think the main reason was that I was scared. It's hard to meet new people sometimes, and it's hard to join into a formed group. But I only have 52 days left here (crazy, I know) and I feel like I haven't been... what's the word I'm looking for--investing? connecting? very well. I mean, I've made some good friends among the other American students, and I'm getting better at connecting with my host family, and I'll say hi to a couple people at school or at church, but I haven't really made any Tican friends. I haven't traveled a whole lot or seen much of this beautiful country, and sometimes I feel like all I ever do is go to class and do homework.

A friend told me before I left that really good things were going to come of my being here. But lately I've been really frustrated, and have been asking God where are these really good things? Why do I still miss home so much, and why hasn't this been all that I expected it to be? And then I realized something: just because God promises good things doesn't mean they're going to fall into my lap. Sometimes He wants us to get up and take them. It's like I learned in the Beth Moore Bible study this summer: God has granted us a glorious inheritance, but instead of simply giving it to us, he asks us to get up and take it. Because only then will we build up the muscle to keep it, since Satan is trying to steal our inheritance from us.

So earlier this week I realized that God practically has dropped something really good into my lap: a Bible study that meets in my own house (I don't even have to go anywhere!) where I can learn about God, have Christian fellowship, practice my Spanish, and make Tican friends. And all I have to do is walk down the hall. (I'm really glad God is patient, cause I can be really dense sometimes.)

All this to explain that I went to Bible study tonight. And it was really good! There was a guy who was new too, and a girl who I found out later had only been coming for a few weeks, so I wasn't the only new person. However, the leader asked me to open in prayer, the new girl who doesn't even speak Spanish fluently, to which my initial reaction was, what? But I prayed, and it was really short, but that's okay. :) Then we talked about David, and she wrote questions on a big sheet of paper on the wall, and we all had to go up and answer them, questions like, "What does it mean to be a Christian?" and "What are the desires of your heart?" It was a little intimidating to be answering some really deep questions with people I'd just met, but overall it was really good. Then afterward we had snacks, of course, and talked for a while more. My host mom came home from her meeting and she was excited to see me participating.

So basically, God is good, and I'm really glad He continually reminds me of this. Amen?