Update Wed Dec 6

Only 8 more days here in Costa Rica!

Four of the major things I had to accomplish are now over! All of the hardest milestones of this week.

Monday I had my oral exam for ABWE and it went very well, even if it did last 1 hour and 20 minutes!
Monday I also had part 1 of my translation final. It was TOUGH....it was downright cruelly hard but we all survived.
Tuesday was part 2 of that final which wasn't quite as hard, as it was the written part, not the oral part.
Also Tuesday was the empleada's Christmas fiesta. Thanks to so much help from Evelyn and Laura and Grettel, it went super well. We had a lot of fun sharing stories, laughing, crying, playing games, and eating. I had a chance to share a short devotional on Jesus Christ: the true Christmas gift. It went well and I was so relieved to return home with that weight off my back!
Today I had my big, dreaded oral ECO exam for the institute. It went exactly 30 minutes and went super well. I should receive results soon. That was perhaps the biggest stress of all, and now its all over.

Tomorrow I have a 3-4 hour grammer exam so be praying for that. It doesn't matter for whether or not I graduate, its just to see my improvement.

Please remember to pray this Sunday as Juan and Marjorie step forward in faith be baptized.

Also I will spend Sunday in farewell "fiestas" and saying goodbyes.

Next week is just tying up loose ends in class and then graduation and my flight to leave on the 15th.

I praise God for how he has provided and gotten me through this week so far. I've been fighting off a flu virus that's gone around to most everyone these past weeks. Monday night I went to bed at 7:30 pm with a pounding headache, congestion, and body aches and chills. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on all that Tuesday held. Today I have felt off and on sick all day, but got through everything just fine and now have the chance to take the rest of the week to rest and relax. I am thankful God gave me all the strength and wellness I needed this week.

Thank you for your prayers this whole year.

Bethany