Hi, hello!
Long time no see! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I sure did and I got some great sun! This weekend I enjoyed one of our two free travel weekends where we get Friday off and can choose to get out of the city.. so I did! It was fantastic. I got a group small group together, we booked a hostel, bought bus tickets and headed out early Saturday morning. Friday we decided to stay in town, enjoy a free cooked lunch from our cook and have a relaxing movie night. SO the next day five of us packed up and endured a 5 hour bus ride. We had a billion stops and I wasn’t convinced we were ever going to get to Punta del Diablo! But lo and behold, we arrived, stopped and asked for directions to our hostel, checked in and the weekend of sun and relaxing began. We really didn’t do much- just laid out on their clean, isolated beach in the hippie beach-town, and after a while we headed back to the hostel to clean up. This was my first true hostel experience in South America and I loved it! Everyone at this particular hostel were so friendly and helpful- most of them from the States or Europe themselves, and the place itself was humble and perfect for just a night. Kind of rugged and simple, our rooms had bunk-beds, a hanging light, and a floor fan.. that’s it! It was perfect. When we were getting ready to go find some dinner, we met our other roommates which were a young couple from New Zealand (who are called “Kiwis”), and an Australian guy who was in his early twenties who had been traveling the world alone since he was 18. All of them were so nice and interesting! We first though the Kiwis were Australian, mistaking their accents, but when we met the Australian, he quickly laughed at us and corrected our little error. They explained to us the difference in their accents and we all laughed, so fascinated by these travelers who had been all over the world. Oh! and irony of ironies, the Kiwis said, oh we've been to Texas.. Dallas actually. So Leigh and I, one of the girls I'm traveling with who is from Plano, excited asked oh where specifically? and they said Allen! What??? They stayed there with some friends for a while- the only place in Texas they have been. What a small world.. I love that kind of thing! I had to conceal how amazed I was as I asked if they liked it because I didn't want to overwhelm them, haha.
That night we wandered back into town to find some fish tacos! We didn’t find them, but I did enjoy these delicious chicken tacos that were so fresh, they reminded me of the States! It was great. The Australian guy, Andrew, actually came with us and we had the best time asking him all about his travels, hearing his interpretations of Americans and on and on. It was a great night! We really didn’t do anything, just enjoyed the quiet night life there and headed back to the hostel to sit on the porch at the hostel to visit some more. I slept so well that night after a long day of travel! The next morning we had a simple breakfast of bread and fruit (typical Uruguayans) and headed back to the beach for a few hours. We got some great sun, cleaned up and before we knew it, it was time to check out and catch our bus to the city. I had the most peaceful bus ride back, so proud of myself for planning this little trip and when we arrived back at Casa, the girls and I had a wonderful reunion! We had only been apart a little over 24 hours but we giggled and screamed as if it had been days. I loved it! I also came back to my room to find the most wonderful surprise; my parents had sent a care package with some parents of one of the girls here who came to visit for the week AND my long-awaited package from the Rachui/Bridges family! It was fantastic! Thrilled, I opened them up and beamed over all the love that overflowed from the packages. It was like Christmas! I felt so spoiled and immediately began enjoying and sharing the different treats I had received. It was just the best weekend.
As we approach the half way mark here I feel the time already passing quickly. The girls and I have already had to cut each other off when one of us starts talking about how sad it will be when we have to go our separate ways at the airport, but also excitedly await the fall where we will get to continue in our new found friendships as JUNIORS! It really was a wonderful weekend and was so great especially to get out of the city for some fresh air and sun. Something I reflected on a lot this weekend is a part of Psalm 139 that I read one day at the end of last week. This is one of my favorite passages and on this particular day I had remembered that right before I had come home from Christmas break I had been basically obsessed with it for a good two or three weeks because of the great promises it holds on God knowing you intimately, loving you deeply, and his profound faithfulness. I picked up my bible to read through it last week again and something new struck me this time. The end of the passage reads, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139:23-24) What caught my attention this time was that I had meditated over this passage so much, asking God to do these things, and I didn’t fully realize all that I was asking for. But nevertheless, that is what God is doing here, now months later. He is slowly, but surely, showing me this semester the things in me that offend him and leading me away from those things and instead towards the better path- the path of everlasting life. I’m just continually amazed by His faithfulness! What I picture is, God doing in me what happens He does to a muscle when you lift weights, not that I do, haha, but! when you work that muscle, you break it down and then it builds back up even stronger. Right? Isn’t that how it works? I then came home to find an email from my sister with a passage from Hebrews (Hebrews 12:5-11 NLT) and my thoughts were confirmed even more! I’ve been really humbled lately as I really unfold how, here I am, this blooming 19 year old, so naïve, constantly analyzing, questioning and worrying, who is always, always wrestling with God trying to piece things together and make sense of His promises and He just smiles down and says, good job, Hailey and loves me more than I could ever grasp. I’m such a mess, and yet He beams over my slightest baby step! It’s like when a four year old figures out something new, that to you is so normal and so obvious and you just smile at them, thinking how cute they are and say, yeah, great job sweetheart. You got it! How funny is that. I feel honored though, that God has allowed me to separate from what I use as crutches back home, especially since I lean so heavily on people that I love, has shoved me in a place and a house where I had to start fresh and form relationships, and is allowing me to “endure this divine discipline” as I discover so much about the world, myself, and most of all Him. It’s not all fun, and it’s definitely not all easy, but I know and can even feel that changes He is making in me that will last me the rest of my life- just like everyone said would happen in coming here. So as I continue my time here, I earnestly continue to try and live a life worthy of the calling I have received and am running full force ahead towards the ultimate Giver of Good for all that He is and all that He promises.
I’m sorry if I repeat myself a lot in these blogs, but I do love that I can be transparent to you all and appreciate you reading through the great things God is allowing me to experience here. I hope you enjoy hearing about it all as much as I enjoy sharing it with you! I’m just so delighted that God had given me such a wonderful support group back there, and I appreciate it now more than ever. Know that I am praying for you all each morning and love you for all that you are and all that you do in my life.
Chau Chau,
Hailey
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