class day 2

I have a very serious prayer request for my trip.  I know for certain that there will be people who pray for our safety and for blessings over our trip, but if someone could PLEASE pray for my camera, I would appreciate it more than you know.  Please make sure that someone prays that my camera will work flawlessly so that I can use the talents that God has given me and be able to share what I see in Armenia and Georgia when I come back to the states.  I know that He has given me a talent for photography, and that I need to use that talent to bring glory to Him, so please pray for that, in addition, of course, to the safety of the members on our trip as well as blessings over our interactions with the people of Armenia and Georgia.

On to other things.  Today in class we made a list of who was going to get engaged, and in what order.  I have photos, but I'm not sure if I should post them.  We'll just have to see what happens.
But what we really did in class today was talk about a book we read called A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch.  We also watched a really long movie on Stalin, who sacrificed his people to create a world power.  He industrialized Russia, certainly, but he lost many citizens in the process.  Russians love powerful leaders, though.  What do we as Americans value in a leader?  I'll think on that one, but I'm pretty sure I would rather have someone concerned with the desires of the people as opposed to satisfying their desires of power and ambition.

Watching the Stalin documentary.

We also had two group presentations.  One presentation was about minorities in Armenia and Georgia, and my group's presentation was about education in the two countries.  It was really helpful to be able to hear all of the information that my peers had gathered about each country.  It was also great that I didn't have to research each topic myself!  I did end up with a topic that I feel really strongly about, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Armenian and Georgian citizens have to say about their educational system.

Tomorrow we should have a pretty short class, and then I will be able to go home for an evening before heading to the airport early Thursday morning!  I continue to get more and more excited as the flight approaches, but I'm also still very nervous.  I haven't fully wrapped my head around what it will be like to be out of the country with limited contact with my family and friends for three weeks.  But the truth is, many students have done a trip like this before me, and many will continue to do it after me, and if they can do it, so can I.  This will be a very intense learning experience for me, and I'm hoping to use it to my full advantage.  I just pray that I can keep a positive outlook for the duration of the trip and trust that God will give me the strength to get through the rough spots.  You are invited to pray for these things as well! :)

Also, have I mentioned that I'm really glad that you're reading this blog?  Thank you!  I appreciate your support as I embark on this journey!

phone problems

Today I was having issues with my cell phone and it's charger, and it led me to think about what 3 weeks with limited access to my phone will be like.  Now, before I go any further, I would like to say that I have also been thinking about tons of other, more important aspects of this trip, mostly the people, but I'm choosing to write about something as materialistic as my cell phone at this point in time.  I don't think I'm fully ready to start writing about my emotions yet!

So, the cell phone...when I actually get out of the country, I will no longer log on to Facebook or the internet using my cell phone.  The closer the trip gets, the more I actually realize how much time I spend on my phone using all of these applications.  That being said, I think that being in Armenia/Georgia for three weeks without instant access will be somewhat liberating.  I've thought several times of deleting my Facebook just because of the time that it takes away from other aspects of my life, but I always end up keeping it for some reason, the main one being that it is a prime mode of communication between myself and most of my friends, family, and even professors.  So, since I never can quite make myself delete my sites, a vacation from them is usually the closest I can get to getting away from them for a while.

While it will be a nice break, it will also be very strange.  Limited access to Facebook and the use of text messaging will mean limited communication with my friends and family while I am gone.  It also means that the way I communicate will have to change some.  That's one of the reasons that I am writing this blog--this way, I can still let everyone know what's going on with me, even if I don't know exactly how things are going back here at home.

I'm sure that there will be so many things going on in Armenia and Georgia that I will have less time to even think about being on my cell phone.  I can't even begin to imagine all of the people I will meet and learn about.  All of the thoughts swimming around in my head are so overwhelming at times that I can hardly put it into words, hence the random, lengthy post about a cell phone.
I'm sure I'll get to writing about all my thoughts about the people I'll meet, the work I'll be doing, and the work that God will be doing soon enough; just bear with me until I get to that point!  As always, prayers and comments are greatly encouraged and appreciated!