una nota de mi corazón

Sorry for the late update on my safety! I know many of you have been worrying/wondering if things are still holding together in Cordoba after the recent earthquake in Chile. I'm thankful that everything is well, we didn't even feel it. Or my family didn't. Maybe we're just hard sleepers ;)
On the other hand, my heart breaks for the people of Chile. I'm praying for an overwhelming sense of peace and comfort for the people in these hard days ahead.


I HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!!!!!! I'm officially a Clemson University Nursing student!!!!!! :) I received my acceptance letter on Friday. How excited and thankful I am. I cannot wait to begin my courses :) :) Thank you Lord for an answered prayer and dream come true!

This morning I was deeply encouraged by Jeremiah 29:11-14. I know you are all familiar, but I believe most people memorize/concentrate Jeremiah 29:11 but overlook the wonderful verses 12-14.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD"

What a mighty God we serve! I'm so thankful for His plans for me. Because of His plans, I have hope and a future. I'm also thankful today for God's love for His children. How amazing is it that our God desires to have an intimate relationship with His children. That He desires for us to know Him. He wants us to seek Him with all of our heart, to step out and to discover His majesty, His wonders, His love.


Yay! This week wraps up the intensive month of February, and marks our first month in Cordoba. That's so hard to believe! Our final exam is on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon the group of Clemson students will travel to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina for a long weekend. We will return on Sunday, and start our classes for the regular semester on Monday. I'm not sure what we're most excited about--our trip to B.A. or the end of this intensive month! haha

Thanks for your prayers.
Besos from Cordoba,
Hannah

Posted in: on Monday, March 1, 2010 at at 12:43 PM 0 comments  

Hola Todos! It's been a while since I've updated. I decided I would write some before bed tonight. I'm SO exhausted! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures of Cordoba! There will be many more to come. I'm not sure what mental pictures you had, but if they were anything similar to mine then you were surprised when you saw pictures! It reminds me of walking out of the airport and seeing Cordoba for the first time and seeing my house and my room for the first time. They are nothing like I had pictured!
So,things here are still amazing! Our schedules are jammed packed for the month of February. I hate to say it, but I'm glad this "intensive" month is almost over. Things will be much more relaxed after March 3! We've taken many tours and excursions around the city and country. We've spent the past 2 Saturdays in the country visiting ranches where the Jesuits once lived. These trips were both interesting, but hard for us to enjoy because we were all preoccupied with taking notes. After both trips, we had to write informative essays on the history of the specific topics.
Last Friday, we had our first exam which went very well.
Tango classes have started. This class is quite humorous. Only a select few students in our group know how to dance, and those are mostly girls. I always enjoy watching the guys dance. I'll have to give them credit because they are honestly trying, but I can't help but laugh when I watch them because of their intense concentration.
Horseback riding has continued. My class was canceled last week due to the rain, so I had riding 2 times this week. Tuesday was my first day, and only my 2nd time on a horse. Whew! What an experience! Horseback riding is much harder than most people think. We spent an hour galloping, trotting, and walking around the arena. I learned that when the horse is galloping or trotting, it's much better and more comfortable to put the weight of your body in your legs. Sadly, I didn't realize this until about 15 minutes before the class was over. Needless to say, I have a black and blue bottom and can barley sit and it hurts pretty bad to walk. All I can do is laugh :) So, despite this problem, I went back today. I couldn't resist, and I'm SO glad I went. We spent the hour in the forest, crossing rivers, roaming and galloping through fields. It was BEAUTIFUL! I LOVED IT! :)
My horses' name is Nacho. She's wonderful. Bless her heart, she wanted to trot/gallop so bad today, but I just couldn't allow it. I think she was frustrated with me.
We've come to the conclusion that our group of students doesn't have very good luck with horses. We have 1 student with major allergic reactions to horses, 1 student with a phobia of horses, and 2 students who've fallen off. I was told by an administrator at the university that our group is the worst of all the past groups when it comes to problems horseback riding. haha :)

Last Thursday, we had our first Bible study with Mr. Mark and Mrs. Karen Alexander. Praise God! What an encouragement! They met us at the school on Thursday after class. We had a prayer walk around the campus in Spanglish (Spanish & English haha). We had such a wonderful time together. We had 5 students attend last week, but we're praying this number will increase! We're planning to continue the study throughout the semester every Thursday afternoon. I'm so thankful unto God for Mr. Mark and Mrs. Karen for their availability and willingness to lead this study. When I first began to pray about having a Bible study, I was only thinking it would be among students at the University. Aren't you glad that the Lord works outside, above, and beyond what we think of or imagine? I never imagined that we would get to study alongside missionaries, but oh how thankful I am! Through interaction with them, we have the opportunity to learn more vocabulary and more about sharing our faith within this new culture. We're all looking forward to what the Lord has in store.

Sunday, the same group of students headed downtown for church (the same church Mr. Mark and Mrs. Karen attend) What a WONDERFUL experience. I LOVED it! Everyone was so welcoming and so happy to have us. I was touched by the time of worship through music and the sermon. There is something special about worshiping the Lord in a different language. I cannot wait for next Sunday. Thank you Lord for providing and blessing me with such an amazing church family.

Tonight during my quiet time, I was challenged with 2 Peter 1:5. I want to share with you some of my thoughts, and ultimately my prayer request.
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ"

My faith is more than my belief and trust in the Lord. The Lord doesn't desire for us to simply believe. He wants our beliefs to result in actions. All are a vital part of the Christian life.
I want to know God better. I want to develop perseverance. I want to pursue righteousness and godliness. I want my heart, my thoughts, my attitude, my actions, my words to reflect those of Christ. I want to be kind. And out of the overflow of Christs' love for me, I want to love those around me.
Lord, I want to learn and grow in my faith. Enable me. None of these are possible without your guidance and strength!
I don't want to be ineffective or unproductive. I want to be a light for my family, for this city.
The Lord has given me such a heart and passion for my Argentine family to come to Christ, and I am so grateful. I love this family like my own, and it is soooo hard for me to come to terms with the fact that they aren't believers. My heart literally aches for them. My prayer is that the Lord would use me in a mighty way to draw Jorge, Marcela, Coty, and Guille unto Him.


Love you guys!
Besos from Cordoba,
Hannah

Posted in: on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at at 11:22 PM 0 comments  

The Campus



The City


The Country

Posted in: on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at at 9:42 PM 0 comments  

Arrival in Cordoba


Flying over the Andes Mountains. Simply gorgeous. What an awesome reminder of God's presence.




My Cordobese Parents

The mountains surrounding Cordoba. Only 15 mins away. On my day trip with Mark and Susan Alexander.


more will come...my camera's dead!

Posted in: on Monday, February 15, 2010 at at 10:52 AM 0 comments  

Hola todos! I started this blog and in the midst of writing, God kindly and lovingly reminded me of Philippians 2:14. "Do everything without complaining or arguing". I have found myself complaining very frequently. Whining. Whining about the hot, humid weather, complaining about the amount of homework, whining about not being able to speak or understand, complaining about mosquito bites, etc.
But, I love how the Holy Spirit convicts, and then comforts. After being lead to Phil 2:14, I read Phil 2:13. And yes, I read them in this order. First conviction, then comfort and inspiration. Philippians 2:13 "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose". Wow!, how encouraging. The Lord has given me the desire to do His will and now, he will give me the power to complete it. Very often, I act as though the Lord said "Hannah, this is my plan for you. I'm sending you to Argentina for 5 months, and I want you to learn the language, the culture, the people, etc. I'll catch up with you and we'll talk about it when you get back in July. Chau!" no, no, no, no, NO! In reality, the Lord said "Hannah, this is my plan for you and I'm coming alongside of you. I want to help you. I'll even go before you to prepare, and when you get there, I'll hold your hand, or even carry you when you need it."

So, I've been convicted of complaining. Today, I am asking the Lord to help me notice the beautiful things that are happening all around me and within me and less of the things I commonly complain about.
I'm praying that the rest of my blog, or any of my blogs in the future for that matter, will not come across as complaining or whining. This is not the purpose of my blogspot. With my blogs, I hope to make it easier for you guys to comprehend what it's like to live in a new country and to learn a new language, new culture, new people. I want you to be able to experience this adventure along with me :)

I have to say this is been a hard week so far. It is so difficult to speak/think/write in spanish 24/7. All of the students at UBP signed a form saying that we wouldn't speak any english, even amongst our friends. I have to admit that we have cheated some, but only when it's been necessary. I'm so proud of us! :) One of the professors actually commented on that today. He said that most of the students from last semester spoke english the first couple of weeks, and he hasn't heard us speak english yet. He was very proud of us. This is very difficult, but I know that it will help in the long run.
For the month of February, I will be taking 2 academic classes and 2 extracurricular classes. On Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri we have Language/culture class. On Wednesdays we have a "Special class" which covers a different topic each week. This week we learned about parties and traditions in Argentina. All of our classes are 3.5 hours long. Whew!
We have a pretty large group of students, so we have to be separated into 2 different groups for the Language/culture class. Monday, we took a test to determine our level of spanish. Another answer to my prayers...I was placed in the same class with the students I wanted to be with and I have the teacher that I really wanted. :) We didn't score the highest of all the students, but we're all content with our placement.
For the extracurricular classes, for the month of February, all of the students will take Tango and Equitacion (horseback riding). Today, I went to a farm for horseback riding. For today's class and for the next class, we will have lessons on preparing for riding and riding. In our 3rd class, we will travel on horses through the country. How fun! :) We will start Tango classes next Monday (Feb 15). At the end of this month, I will get to decide which class I want to continue-either in horseback riding or tango. Right now, I'm leaning towards the horses ;)

This afternoon, I decided to walk home from school rather than taking the bus. It took me about 45 minutes total, but it felt wonderful to get some exercise. I don't think this will be an everyday thing!
I have to say that I'm having a hard time getting used to the eating schedule in Argentina. For breakfast, they only have matte, tea, coffee, and bread with "dulce de leche". I'm not big on any of these. One of my friends said "Hannah, not liking dule de leche is like being an American and not liking french fries" haha Sorry, but no me gusta. I normally grab fruit as I'm walking on the door. The fruit here is fabulous!! I've eaten lunch at the school everyday this week because of our busy schedule. I eat for about $2.50 everyday and it's wonderful! I normally have 2 empanadas (shell with beef,onions,tomatoes..very popular here) and a large cup of fresh fruit. hhhmmmmmmmm. :) We don't eat lunch until 1 or 1:30, and then supper doesn't come until around 10:30 pm. The food here is very tasty. I haven't had any food at meal that I didn't like, but I have NOT liked any of the sweet foods I've tasted(dulce de leche, flan, birthday cake, cookies, etc).

I think I've written all that you care to read in one setting. haha Sorry about the length...I have so much to say! I'm hoping supper is coming soon. I smell it cooking and yes, it's 10:26 pm :) Tomorrow I don't have anything to do until class at 2:30. I'm hoping to get some sweet rest. I love you guys. Thanks for all of your prayers and for following me through my blog.

Besos from Cordoba,
Hannah

Posted in: on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at at 8:49 PM 0 comments  

So, Saturday, February 6, all of the students met at the University for a tour and lunch. We had an asado (bbq) which is very popular in Argentina. I met my tutor, Nadia, and had my first breakdown. haha Nadia works at the university and she's a believer!! :) Our tutors are for showing us around the school, city, etc. Nadia is very, very sweet, but she speaks very, very quickly and she has a lisp :( At the gathering, the music was playing loud while Nadia and I were trying to talk. Needless to say, I couldn't hear her, got frustrated, and had my first breakdown! :) It felt GOOD! haha She just doesn't realize how fast she talks, so I have to continually ask her to speak slowly.
I went downtown for the first time yesterday with Nadia and one of my friends from Clemson, Cristi. El centro is about a 30 minute bus ride from where we live. On the way back, I asked a gentleman if he wanted to trade seats so that he could sit beside his friend and both him and his friend looked at me like I was some alien from outterspace. haha I think they were amazed that I could speak. Pretty funny.

Today, I met Mr. Mark and Mrs. Karen Alexander. Mark and Karen are missionaries in Cordoba from the US. They have lived here for about 22 years. They will be Michael and Amanda Hodge's teamleaders when they arrive in Cordoba. Mark and Karen work with college students in Cordoba. Mostly those who attend the National university. They picked me up at my house this morning and I went to the mountains with them to hang out with their University students. We had such a blast! I got to speak english most of the day today! yay! (You really don't know how good that feels haha) We spent the day hanging out, eating, and swimming. We also had a time for devotion. I couldn't understand much of what was said; however, I definitely felt the Lord's presence in a powerful way. I love the thought of ALL nations worshiping the same God...A God of ALL nations that speaks ALL languages. What an mighty God we serve! I had chills the entire service.

I cannot tell you how many of my prayers the Lord has answered.
I asked for safety here and a safe neighborhood, and the Lord placed me in a neighborhood with a night watchman. I asked for a family like mine in the US, and mi padre snores (haha) and my cordoba parents would give me the shirt off their back. I asked that my family have patience with me, and I couldn't ask for a family with more patience. I asked for internet in the home if the Lord saw fit, and I have wireless internet. I asked to live close to the school, and I live within a 10 min bus ride. (some students live 30). I asked for sweet friendships with all the students from Clemson, and we already feel like a big family. And finally, I've prayed about having a small group bible study for the Clemson students and others, and today...Mrs. Karen said to me "Last night, after I got off the phone with you, I was praying about getting a small group started for the group of students studying at UBP." WOW! WOW! WOW!
"For evyerone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened" Luke 11:10

School starts tomorrow. I will be leaving my house at 10:30 am for school at 11:30 am. Please pray for safety. I will be riding the bus for the first time by myself, but mi madre has drawn a map for me. Tomorrow I will take a test to determine the level of my speaking ability. I'm off to bed. It's 2 am!

Thanks for all of your prayers,
Hannah

Posted in: on Monday, February 8, 2010 at at 1:08 AM 0 comments  

The Lord is sovereign! I'm not sure how many times I recited these verses yesterday: "Cast all your cares upon the Lord and he will sustain you" and "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me". Adjusting to a new culture, new language, and new family is definitely hard. Several times last night, in overwhelming circumstances (which happen frequently...no one speaks english) I wanted to cry, but I recited these verses over and over and the Lord sustained me! :)

Yesterday was such a special day. After we found our luggage (everyone's arrived! :)) we walked up a long hallway, through double doors, and our families were waiting for us on the other side. They all started cheering and ran towards us when we walked through. I've never felt so special! Mi madre, Marcela came to pick me up. She is just beautiful-inside and out! I had soo much luggage, so she offered for me to stay at the door with the luggage while she went to get the car. How sweet! I told her I would just walk with her :) I think meeting her for the first time was one of the happiest moments in my life. It was so special :)
When we got home mi madre said "make yourself at home. My house is your house!" :)
I met my 2 sisters--Guille and Coty and my niece-Greta (4years). Greta is wonderful! We were both so happy to see each other. She gave me kisses after kisses after kisses!

So, I live in a beautiful home! It's a rather large home. There are 3 bedrooms (that I know of) 1.5 baths. We have a swimming pool (right outside my window)Here's my room:



My first meal was lunch yesterday. It was yummy! We had chicken, rice with eggs?, bread, salad, and yummy onion dipping sauce for the chicken!
Last night, we had a birthday party with the entire family! How fun! We sat in the breezeway outside and had snack-like foods for about 2 hours-just eating and talking...well for me, listening :) haha It was so fun to listen to them sing "happy birthday" and the cake was just beautiful!



After the party, around 10:30 pm, we had dinner. I had dinner with mi madre and mi padre. They are so wonderful, to say the least. Mi padre had to work late last night so I didn't meet him until dinner. It's awesome to see him and mi madre interact. Even within the few hours I spent with him last night, I couldn't help but notice his servant heart. Man, he looked for any and every way possible to serve his wife and I. To name a few...He cleaned up the mess outside from the party (after working a very, very long day), and he served our plates at the dinner table. No one in my family speaks english; however, all of them are patient with me. Mi madre and mi padre are VERY patient. They speak very clear and slow so that I can comprehend. It is sooooo wonderful. In Cordoba, people speak very, very fast (which is normal anywhere), but they also slur their words. So, words that I know, I don't understand because they are slurred.
I can totally see the Lord's hand at work in the selection of my family. Mi padre told me last night at dinner that my cell phone was very, very important. He asked that I use it to call them and let them know where I am, what time they can expect me home, and when I'll be late coming in. But, not in a overly protective way. You can just tell they are concerned for me and my safety. They love me as one of their own! :)
Good news:
*There is an on-duty police officer just outside the gate to my house from 10pm-7am every night. How wonderful!
*I am within walking distance to my school
*I live within 3 blocks of 3 other students from Clemson.

Well, I'm waiting on mi madre to come home from work and then we're going shopping. The house-cleaning lady is cooking lunch now. It's smelling pretty wonderful here.
Thank you ALL for all of the prayers you have lifted up for me the past couple of days. I have truly felt them!

Love in Christ,
Hannah

Posted in: on Friday, February 5, 2010 at at 11:59 AM 0 comments