Yesterday, my church and another church in town had a joint service at a park with a BBQ afterwards. It was a beautiful day and I have the sunburns to prove it! It was filled with worship, eating lots of food, talking, getting to know new people, trying to bridge language gaps, holding babies, laughing, looking at pictures, playing baseball.

Later in the afternoon a bunch of people came to my apartment and Heidi's. It was a fun international mix of people: Japanese, American, Chinese, Australian, and Turkish. English was the common language between all of us. For some English was their first language, for others their second, and still for others their third or fourth. It was fun hearing people helping each other communicate and cross-referencing in various languages to make sure they understood. We talked about a variety of things--from coconut crackers to what is heaven & hell. It was a good time of sharing, questioning, disagreeing, and respecting. It was also a much needed push for me to get more serious about language study.