Just an Update.

Jackie:

Well it's been 3 weeks since we've been here at the YWAM base in Montana. I feel like we're just now starting to settle in, really get to know people and become more comfortable (aside from the primarily cold showers).

Something that has been really neat for me is to get to be around so many different people from different countries. It's weird to think that there's an old air force base hidden at the bottom of Blacktail Mountain filled with people from all over the world, all congregated for the same purpose- to learn more about Jesus. On our Guatemala team of 8 students and 2 staff we have 2 people from Norway and one girl from Germany. It will be so fun to get to travel as a team even though we all come from such different places. Just now as i'm writing this blog I am listening to a father speak german to his 2 year old boy who is replying in english. The girl across the hall is from Thailand and two of our best friends here are from our neighbor country, Canada. Also, there is something very moving when you hear people pray in their native language. I wish so badly that God could just give me the gift to just translate but it doesn't happen.

Most people might be wondering what we're learning about in our classes. Each week we have a new topic and a new speaker. This past week we listened to a guy teach on grace and he flew all the way from South Africa to come speak at our school. He was very good at answering hard questions and helping us try to understand what grace is and why we need it. The week before him we learned about the characteristics of God, pulling from old and new testament scripture. This week we hear about relationships, spiritual warfare, prayer, the holy spirit, missions and evangelism. We will also be going to Seattle in a couple of weeks to work with our outreach teams (ours being Guatemala) and do anything from meeting people in the city to working in a soup kitchen. It will be an exciting challenge to see how we all work together and how we will all use our different strengths.

The fall is setting in and the scenery is beautiful. The air out here is crisp and pure and the leaves are golden. The lake is always stunning and I try to get down there as much as possible to take a walk. I pass by little mountain homes with apple trees in their yard and fireplaces burning. The water is turquoise and clear, seeing straight to the bottom. I think if I ever live out west and can't be by the ocean this is where i'd be.