Man, it has been forever, huh? I'm sorry. I could give you a lot of excuses, but I won't, because they'll just take up space. Let's use that space, instead, to fill you in on what's happened since you last heard from me.
Well, I made my top field list (refer to last post). I got put on a team of seven (four girls, three guys) going to Port Elizabeth, South Africa (we have a website - check it out! www.teampesa.org). I came home for Christmas Break. I went back to Lubbock and proceeded to move into my new apartment with my new teammate (the girls shared two apartments so that we wouldn't have to cram four girls into one apartment).
We started Mission Term - the third and final term of our time in Lubbock, where we have strict limitations on the "luxuries" of our everyday life. These limitations are in place to make us think about what it will be like on the field, when we might not have them. We couldn't eat out, watch TV or movies, drive our cars, play any video or computer game. We couldn't be on the computer unless it was to get information for school, or to email. We could, however, make phone calls anytime we wanted - which was nice. :)
We had all-new classes, geared more towards team building and growing closer together than gaining individual knowledge. We did team papers and team projects, and got team grades for them. It was a great - and extremely challenging - time for our team, as individuals and as a group. I learned a whole heap about myself and about the people I'll be spending two years in South Africa with. I grew close to them, I learned to trust them, and I love them. They are my family.
Also, we took a trip as an AIM class to Mexico City, Mexico. It, without a doubt, was the trip that has most impacted my life up to this point. It was a crazy-long bus ride (and hot on the way down - the air conditioner didn't work!), but it was more than worth it. I stayed in the Pink House, a house started by Sunset Church of Christ for missionary families working in Mexico City. It was amazing. We did a lot of community service, and we saw a lot of the city. I learned so much that week - about different cultures, about different people, about the real world outside of AIM, about what it means to listen and to love and to work hard. I took a whole mess of pictures - let me know if you want to see some, and I'll figure out how to get them on here!
Then we had March Madness - the craziest month an AIMer can experience. We went on a trip to Childress, TX, we held a week-long camp for over 90 high-school-age kids who were interested in the AIM program, we took a two-week-long trip to Arlington, TX and Tulsa, OK. It was exhausting! But a lot of really wonderful things happened during March. I met some people who are now my financial sponsors, I got to give a devotional for over 120 girls during Camp Adventure, and I got to go on a massive road trip with my classmates. It was awesome.
April also held some good times. My team went to The Woodlands, TX (a suburb just north of Houston) for our AIM Challenge Week, our last project as AIMers in Mission Term. Our team went to The Woodlands for a week all by ourselves - no staff, none of our fellow AIMers, just us. It was great! We learned even more about each other than we knew before, and we did a lot of good work with the church there. I met some great people who would later financially sponsor me.
Coming back to Lubbock was difficult, because we knew we were coming back to saying goodbye to our classmates and the staff. Our time in Lubbock was finally coming to an end. I'm still not sure how that happened - it flew by so fast! But that last week was a killer. We said goodbye to the staff, and to each other, and then we all came home.
So that's the big update. I'm home now, and I've been working on raising more support, getting my visa, and taking a breath and relaxing. It's been awesome to just hang out and take it easy, but I'm ready to reunite with my team. I'm ready to see them again.
I'm ready to be on the field.
Until next time (which will be much sooner, I promise!),
Tara
