A gift in this year: Lots Of Spanish.

Hearing, speaking, and interacting in Spanish brings me so much joy. And this year was unexpectedly FULL of Spanish.

A sad thing for me about leaving Bolivia was that I felt like I was leaving right at the point where I started to feel really comfortable in Spanish (please note I didn't say good). I had worked so hard for all those months to get to that point and then- I was leaving! I didn't know if I'd ever have the chance to use it intensively again.

And then my job fell in my lap. A series of random connections and a quick interview, and to my surprise, I found myself hired as a home visitor for immigrant families- 9/10 Spanish-speaking.

Then, I got plugged in at Iglesia. I've gotten to attend a weekly church service all in Spanish, teach and mentor kids who speak Spanish at home, get to know and love Mexican families.

I'm so thankful that instead of losing my Spanish skills, this year I had the unexpected opportunity to improve them.

I'm so thankful that I got to use something from Bolivia for good this year. Speaking Spanish helped me feel more connected to my community there. And using a skill I'd gained from HNGR to help people was incredibly healing.

I get so much joy from spending time in Mexican-majority neighborhoods, chatting with Spanish-speaking families in stores or at the library, and being able to form close relationships with people who I would never be able to know without Spanish.

Thanking God for giving me the opportunity to use Spanish this year.

.25.