Spainish Inquisition, Nail Biting and God

Hey guys,
I now am on my final stretch, I have eclipsed the 8 week mark and I am now working on my 9th week which leaves only 3 weeks left. I am excited but also nervous, and I wish I had more time to be at home before I had to leave to go back to Covenant to finish my last year at college. Anyway, enjoy this update, you only get three more.

Living and Such:
I am going a little bit crazy! I am finished with my research work and now have analysis and assignments to do. Which means my field time is over, which means I really don't go out much now. I have been making sure I get out and about because if I didn't I would punch myself in the face. So I have been trying to see friends and do things that don't consist of me sitting in front of my computer in the apartment. The next few weeks concerning living situation will be interesting, this week and next week Alvin will be around getting things set and finished for his wedding. However, he leaves on the 24th so from the 24th to Aug 1 I have the apartment all to myself...UGH. Stir crazy here I come. After that I will be living with the Rhodes until the 8th and then I get outta here. Until then, I will be doing a lot of reading at a book store I can walk too from the apartment. So, there really isn't much different in this arena of life. Just homework and hanging around.

Community Development and Such:
I have mentioned this before but I am done with all my interviews and research for my internship. I currently am working on the analysis portion of my internship. I have put all the answers in an excel spread sheet and I am going through each question and making a summary of the percentages and implications. I have finished summarizing the Kawangware data and I am halfway through the Kibera data. I am going to putting together a whole package of data for the CFUM (center for urban mission) consisting of a 10 page impact analysis, short stories of some of the members I have interviewed, a CD of all the raw data, a comparison of the two groups, and a semi-evaluation of the CEEP program. I am excited to see how it all turns out. Its a lot of work but I am going to be really happy when I have all of that printed and in a folder. It will make me feel like I have accomplished something! I am making the presentation to Alvin on the 19th, which is next Monday. I am thinking of doing some extra random stuff with some of the groups just to keep busy but I am not sure. So thats whats going on in the world of Com Dev, I should be finished with all of that by the end of this week so if any of those things interest you guys let me know and I can post them.

God and Such:
The other day I again was having a semi-freak out about many things and I was really struggling in my satisfaction and my trust with God. I was walking back from an interview and I was praying honestly with. You know how we complain a lot and then think the Israelite's were stupid to complain about receiving manna? Yeah if the roles were reversed it would be the same deal. At that moment I said to God, "alright, I know I need to trust you. I'm sorry for being stupid but if you just tell me that you have everything worked out and all I need to do is trust you I will be fine" I was walking back and I ran into Nancy's brother(who I think is mentally disabled), and started talking to him. Surprisingly, he asked me if I was OK. This is the first time anyone has genuinely asked me since I have been here. I looked at him and was like "i'm a little frustrated, so just pray for me" he replied "its OK, God is for us" and he kept saying that over and over. I smiled and realized that God was replying to my freakout's and telling me to shut up and don't worry. Which I did. I was really impacted by that and I feel like I have more strength to finish this internship because of it which makes me very thankful.

Other Stuff and Such:
-Spain won the final, that makes me happy but it also makes me sad that Netherlands had to cry. Oh well! I was the only one in a room of six people going for Spain which also made me feel proud.
-I read a really depressing novel the other day, it was good but it sucked the happiness out of you which I didn't find enjoyable
-I have a new favorite candy called "mintchoc" BEST EVER, its made by Cadbury and is a mint cream covered in chocolate. I am planning on stocking up on them before I go back.
-Paul the Octopus is too famous, I agree with Alvin "he belongs on sushi"


Alright everyone, thanks for reading. Continue to pray for me! this has been an amazing experience and I want to try my hardest to keep it that way. So, please pray for my heart and my strength that I can keep trucking on and know that God has control.

Until Next Week,
Dave