Sunday, January 11, 2009

Meetings, quakes, and a bang

I want to thank everyone again for your prayers. Classes begin this week. I am looking forward to learning more Spanish through them. The next few weeks, I’ll be working on my student visa stuff. As for this past week, it has been quite an eventful and ended with a bang. Here are the highlights:

Meetings:
This past week was orientation for the Spanish Language Institute. We had plenty of informative meetings concerning the institute, the language learning process, placement exams to determine the level of each student, and concerning living in Costa Rica. There were comical skits interspersed between the meetings. I got to meet all the other new students and make new friends. On Thursday, a bunch of us got together for some pizza and had a great time.

Quakes:
On Thursday afternoon, at around 1:20, I was reading a book after lunch when all of a sudden the floor beneath me began to shake. I looked up and casually thought, "Hmm, an earthquake." Then, I kept on reading. The shaking lasted a little longer than I expected. Costa Rica averages about 200 earthquakes a month, but most of them are too small to be felt. This earthquake was a 6.1, the strongest one in Costa Rica in over 150 years. Minor tremors resumed throughout the rest of the day. It was the first earthquake I’ve ever felt. In San José, damage was minor. The epicenter for the quake was about 22 northwest of downtown where there was quite a bit of damage and loss of lives. You can find more information about it here.
 
And a bang:
Saturday evening at about 7:30 I was going to the store to get a few things. On the way, I tripped and fell on the sidewalk. I got up with a few scrapped knees, otherwise I was ok. As I continued to walk, I felt a little dizzy. So I stopped, took a few deep breaths; I felt fine so I continued on my way. While in the check out line, I fainted and banged the back of my head on the way to the floor. After I came to, the manager of the store called for an ambulance. They came and took me to the hospital where I received four stitches. They took head X-rays to make sure there were no skull fractures. Because I had fainted, they tested me with an EKG, looked at my eyes, tested blood pressure and blood sugar, and a few other tests. They didn’t find anything wrong (except for the gash in the noggin). It was after 1 AM when I finally left the hospital. I got plenty of rest on Sunday to recuperate. This afternoon, I spend some time with some friends. I feel fine right now. The stitches come out on January 20.

Please continue to pray:
• language learning
• cultural acquistion
• witnessing/ministry opportunities
• the stitches in my head
• God to be glorified
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For the saving grace of God was manifested to all men, teaching us, that denying the impiety and the worldly desires, soberly and righteously and piously we may live in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who did give himself for us, that he might ransom us from all lawlessness, and might purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. — Titus 2:11-14