Prayer requests

So it's been about a week now since the last update and almost 2 weeks that I've been in Guatemala. Not a whole lot has been going on except getting settled and figuring out what life is gonna be like for the next couple of months. But I do have some prayer requests yall can be praying for.

1. My professor is a man named Vinicio. My language study consists of conversing with him one-on-one for 4 hours each day. We talk about a lot of things such as history, econimics, and politics...however since I am a missionary we also spend a lot of time on religious topics. We've talked about differences between the evangelical and Catholic churches (Mariology, purgatory, catechisms, etc) and a lot of other important Biblical issues. He has been Catholic his entire life but he has a son and brother who are evangelical, so he has a clear understanding of both sides. The problem is that he has spent a lot of time listening to others talk about the Bible but very little reading it for himself. He seems to intellecutally understand salvation and grace by faith and the other things that separate us from Catholicism...however it's all intellectual. Pray that in our conversations he would start reading the Truth for himself and that God would speak to him.
2. My host family are basically non-religious. They would claim Catholicism but they haven't been to mass once since I've been here and I haven't seen a Bible anywhere. When they see me reading my Bible at breakfast or during siesta or after dinner, they often ask if I'm studying for language class. They don't seem to have any understanding of reading the Bible to grow closer to the Lord and hence no sense of a relationship. We're going to try to start some sort of Bible study with and invite our host families so hopefully they will get involved. Pray that while I'm here I would have ample opportunities to share with them.
3. Studying Spanish has actually been a little frustrating. I haven't studied Spanish in this kind of way for many years. I've spent a lot of time speaking it and hearing it and so I know how it is supposed to sound...but I usually have no idea why. No I have to go back and remember the rules of grammar and syntax and reapply them. So, while I entered class at a pretty good level I feel like I've dropped down. I find myself stumbling over words and phrases because I'm thinking so much. I know I'll get past this, but since the goal is to move into the fluency of a native speaker it'll take a lot of work and a lot more than studying.
4. One of the other Journeyman here had the idea to start a Wednesday night Bible study with us and some of our host families. The goal is to also get their friends and family coming so that this can continue after we leave. Tonight was our first meeting and it went well. We took prayer requests and prayed, read a bit from the Bible (in Spanish of course), and ended with some Spanish praise songs. It wasn't much...but after seeing what God has done with our little homeless ministry in downtown Greenville...I am praying that He'll bless our efforts here similarly.