The Adventure Begins

Well, the day is finally here.  Today I leave for my adventure in Mexico! I just finished three days of meetings with the Provincial Council and tried to do a bit of packing each day.  This morning is about cleaning and final preparations.  I arrive in Queretaro tonight and hope that one of the Brothers will be there to pick me up! I do have more things with me than I would have liked to carry on the plane, but that's another long drawn out story that some of you know already.  I do begin Language School tomorrow, Aug. 24th.  The Language School is called, Ole! I will be placed in a group with other students who are at the same level of proficiency in Spanish as I currently am.  My plan is to attend the school for 4 weeks for 3 hours a day and to also have a one-on-one tutoring session once a week.  After the four weeks I will evaluate if I will continue with group classes or just attend individual tutoring.  I have much to learn, but I will need to see what will be the best way for me to learn and perfect my language skills.

I embark on this adventure with great enthusiasm and trepidation! I feel like I can make a contribution to my Marianist community by accepting this assignment, but I do go to Mexico alone.  Everything will be new, so I will need to handle those stresses with great care.  I will certainly need your prayers and encouragement along the way!

My hope is to document my journey with weekly postings and share with all of you the trials and tribulations of learning a language and ministering in a different culture.  I am hoping to not only share the funny and humorous moments, but also, the poignant, challenging, and difficult moments that may arise during my time in Mexico.  In the end, I will need to be patient with myself and patient with the process of cultural immersion.  Since this is my first blog, it is simple in design, and as I become more familiar with the tools on this site, I will try to incorporate pictures and other things that will give life to the written word.

So, pray for me and I will try to keep in touch the best I can.  I will have a plan on my phone that will provide me access to so many minutes for talking and texting.  You can also email me as we do have WIFI in the community. 

THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD!

ESTE ES EL DIA EN QUE EL SENOR HABIA HECHO. REGOCIJEMONOS Y ALEGREMONOS!