ok so i guess this is the continuation of yesterdays entry. (im getting so good at keeping this updated!...well, i guess im getting good at finding my way to internet cafes!).
so today was our day off, so pastor michael took us and the denver team (a wonderfully english-speaking team of five doing a media-focused outreach) rafting down the river! the very brown, clody river. i still swam in it. it was a pretty long trip, and mostly fun. we got in our rafts and headed out at around 9 this morning. we each had guides to steer the raft, but we also took turns paddling. we quickly discovered a strange (disgusting, gross, scary!!) new phenomenon. they are spiders the size of daddy long legs, but thicker and bigger-bodied, that just love to jump!!! oh Lord, thats right, every time (ok not every time, but at least seventy-five percent of the time) we went under trees or brushed against them, spiders would drop into our boat! matt became my personal savior, and every time he would see one on me he would swat it off. i did a very good job not screaming, and remaining extremely calm about the whole situation, but i did not appreciate spiders jumping up my legs, under my sundress. not at all. not even a little. after the rafting, we ate a lunch of fried rice, sticky rice, and chicken. well. then we went down a zip line! we climbed up a bamboo hut, strapped in, and launched out over water! let me clarify when i say water: it was a large pond, of sorts, still water, green (like mold, algae green) and sometimes brown, with who knows what swimming about underneath. i went twice, the second time losing my 2 dollar sunglasses as i let go and zipped down a bit upside-down. oh well. its not like there are markets with cheap sunnies on every street corner or anything.
so to expand on an earlier statement about contentment:
i realized a few days ago that God was really speaking to me about being content, and living in the moment. i cant figure out anything that has changed, but suddenly i find myself wandering around the markets, with not a lick of english to be found anywhere, absolutely content. every day, i feel so energized that i am in exactly the place i am supposed to be, and it makes me so happy to be so content here. not that its gotten super easy here, or things have changed drastically, but im just so content! i wish i could fling my contented-ness on everyone around me, so we can all live so joyfully, and relaxed! its such a good thing, its deeper than some flitting emotion, and in stressful moments i can look back on this truth, and continue to live in it. God has been amazing at speaking volumes about His love for me, He just so knows everything we need! what an amazingly worthy God i serve!

hey, check this out: www.outreach08.blogspot.com
click on outreach pictures for an overview of what weve been up to.