Turning the page...

The whole group at Ekklesia!

The whole group of Clemson students and our professors at the cabin

The Clemson sign we made from the part of a tree tunk to leave in the cabin, with all the others made by other groups who have stayed there. Look at how perfect the holes were for the tiger paw!

Holly, Meghan, and I with our favorite prof--Cande (love her)

In the cabin--I'm so glad Holly goes to Clemson :)

I can't believe I'm really writing my very last blog! When I look back at my first post, it seems like I started this whole journey ages ago! But at the same time, I can't believe it's over because it's flown by so quickly! I'm so excited to see all of you again and catch up soon! I'm gonna miss everyone here SO much though.

So, as of Thursday night, I am completely done with classes and I got all As! Yay! Praise Jesus! Now, I just have to write a 10-page paper in Spanish about my experience here for a 3-hr class credit in Clemson :P

Let's see, what's been going on lately: This past Friday, all the Clemson students and our professors spent the night in a cabin in a nearby town and, there, the students presented their expositions, which is combined with the 10-page paper to make up the grade for the 3-hr class credit. It was SO much fun! We talked, laughed, and cried as we said goodbye. Our teachers have meant so much to our lives here--I'm gonna miss them so much. It was so cool, because in the expositions, our group touched on every type of art: I acted, Kevan wrote and sang a song (hilarious!), Holly wrote and read a story, Anna made a piece of art (out of the bottom half of an old door...incredible), and Jack drew cartoons of the things here he's gonna miss. Plus, Jess and Chip did things with technology: Jess made a website promoting this study abroad program (it's amazing, check it out: http://www.tyiko.com/) and Chip made a video to promote the program as well--he's really good with that kind of stuff. Everyone did such a good job!

For my exposition, I acted like I was waiting for a colectivo (the public bus transportation here) and talking to a person at the bus stop about my experience here. As I searched in my bag for a bus coin, I pulled out things that reminded me of different parts of the trip, talked about them, and what I learned through the experience--all in Spanish! Everyone laughed at my jokes (whew!) and I had a great time with it! Doing forensics (speech and debate) in high school finally paid off! :) We had a delicious asado and stayed up until 4:30AM (all the professors too!) singing Argentine folklore songs we learned in our culture class and playing bongos and guitars!

Saturday I went to the Paseo de las Artes (the local art fair--incredible stuff) for the last time and picked up the last of my gifts, then headed over to my last Ekklesia--the Bible study I go to with Commission International, a missions organization here. After the Bible study we ordered empanadas (like always) then headed over to an awesome place called "Un Lugar", which means "A Place"--pretty vague, huh? There's absolutely NO sign or anything on the front to show that inside is a bar, so you have to already know it's there--so piola! (aka, cool) We stayed there until 4:30AM (very normal haha), talking, laughing, and making jokes, like we always do! The group is having a goodbye party for Kevan and I Friday, so I'll get to see all of them one last time--man, I'm gonna miss them so much.

Yesterday was sort of a bummer because two nights ago I stayed up ALL night making 50 CDs of a slideshow (with music, pics, and videos) that my friend Meghan and I made (it's 30 minutes long!) to give to everyone in our group, and when I gave them out and people tried them, none of them worked. The two of us spent $30 USD each on everything, so it wasn't a huge loss in money, but it was still so disappointing. We fixed the problem now, and I'm gonna try to get the slideshow to as many people as I can tonight at a birthday party! :) I don't want our time and hard work to go to waste! It's tough though because a lot of the students left last night, so that's why yesterday we all got together and watched it...at least we were able to show it to the group, because we hooked up my laptop for the presentation. Pray we figure out how to get it on facebook, youtube, or a blog so everyone can see it and share it with their families around the world! It's really great! If you want to see it after I get back, let me know!

Well, I guess the only thing left to say is keep praying for me as I wrap up this week with my friends and family and that I'll be a shining light for Christ as we say our goodbyes. This morning I was able to talk about marriage with my sister here who's pregnant and is planning on living with her boyfriend in the apartment that I live in now (it's off to the side of the family's house). I got to give her a pamplet from my US mom that's in Spanish about how living together is not a good idea and why marriage is more than just "a piece of paper". Pray she'll read it and want to talk to me about it later this week. Also, tomorrow night, my church Bible study is having a goodbye party for me and all 3 of my sisters are coming too! We're gonna watch Fireproof (if you haven't seen it, you need to!), which gives a clear presentation of the Gospel. Pray the hearts of my sisters will be open to the truth of the message. I love all of you so much and I really appreciate all of you who have kept up with my blog and have prayed me through this journey in my life. I'll be flying home alone (pray about that!) this Sunday and my flight from Córdoba leaves at 4:30am! Again, I love you all and I'll see you soon! Hasta pronto!