January so far has been the traditional month of planning and preparation. For people like me, it ends up being long! I usually acknowledge its value in hindsight, but can’t seem to remind myself of that in the process! So, now that the Spring planning has recently ended, I’m finding myself with a new breath of fresh air.

Last Thursday was our first sanctioned event of the semester… Finals Breakfast. We sent out our usual student email newsletter that informs our students of the activities around here and did little more than unlock the front door and have the pancakes ready at 11pm when everybody showed up. And even though the students had much reason to be exhausted from all their studying for finals…the energy in the room was significant. In contrast to the beginning of the fall semester, there was a general enthusiasm on the part of the Spaniards to be back from the break and back in En Vivo to be with their friends. The exchange students did really well at getting out of their comfort zone and approaching students to begin friendships with them. We were all really proud of them. The event over all was perfect for dragging us as a team out of the theoretical and intangible planning mode we were in and dropping us right back into the reality of loving on students and providing for them a refuge where they can feel right at home.

In other recent news we just had the pleasure of hosting Judy Chastian from Southwest Christian Church in Atlanta. Judy came to lead the team in some team building activities where we took a closer look at our individual personalities and discovered areas in which our personalities can be both of great service and compliment to one another as well as create conflict if we’re not careful. So we’re thankful for her investing in us and look to lean on her wisdom as we work together this semester.

We’re looking forward to our first bible study coming up on Feb 14th. I’m excited about the soccer tournament that will start the following weekend. And also I have an amazing opportunity to help lead worship at the Gatlinburg CCF retreat in Tennessee the weekend of the 15th-17th of February. I’m excited to get to play with some of my good friends and plan on learning a lot from them.

The semester is starting strong. Pray with us that it continues this way and we can make a real difference in the lives of these students in Salamanca, Spain! Thanks for being a part of this amazing ride!

~Chris Beirne, 01.28.08