Where in the World is Brittany Michelle Arthur?

Did you ever watch Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Man, I did and I loved it! We have the same amount of syllables in our names but her name definitely rolls off the tongue a little bit better, ya?

So, the real reason for the blog: I have flight info for you!

April 19th We fly to the Dominican Republic
April 26th We fly to Columbia
May 9th We fly to Costa Rica
May 10th We fly to Florida
May 24th I fly to Ohio (I'm coming home for a little bit! :)
June 9th I fly back to Florida

*Whew* That is a lot of flying! Please be praying for me and my team that we will be safe while traveling, that we will be happy travelers no matter what situations we encounter. Please be praying that detail things get worked out like housing and transportation and that kind of stuff! Food! Food is always important :)

Update on me: My back is so much better! Thank you for all of your prayers! School is going well. We are learning a lot very fast so lately I have been really tired and taking like a 2 hour nap every afternoon! Yes, my friends, I am a 24 year old with a nap time :) I have 3 weeks left of school so please be praying that I finish out strong and come home speaking some Spanish :) Below are some silly pictures we took in my phonetics class yesterday, enjoy!


Sometimes phonetics is very difficult and this is what it does to us. The lady on the left is Autumn and she is with me from Book of Hope and the other lady is Debbie. She and her husband are fully appointed missionaries. With our forces combined class is not as boring as it could have been :)


Here is Roberto, our phonetics teacher. Behind him is what we are working on in class now and honestly he looks a little confused by it.....hmmm *shrugs shoulder*


This was Roberto's idea :) I am not sure if you can tell but the board says "help" :)


We are always being told by the nationals to open our mouths. "Abre su boca" they say because speaking English is different than speaking Spanish so Roberto has this folder with Sponge Bob on it and when our mouths start getting lazy he holds it up and says "Abre su boca!" This is Autumn imitating Sponge Bob :)

God Bless! And have a happy weekend!

Funny story coming your way!

What is the last thing you expect to happen while walking out of a chiropractor appointment? Maybe getting hit by a car? Sounds crazy but it happened to me! It's all good though--I am fine!! I walked away with my arm swelling a little bit and a thumb print size bruise. I am proud to say that I did not cry and have laughed about it with everyone that I tell :) Seriously, it is not a big deal. He was sitting waiting to pull out into traffic and decided to back up a little bit and bumped into me. My back was feeling really good that day and then the car happened. It did knock my back out of whack and left me in pain, again.

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 'He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." Hebrews 10:36-39

I read that the day after I got hit. That is a call to arms if I've ever heard one! William Wallace, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill: they are all great men and can amazingly corral a group of fighters but they have nothing on the Lord God Almighty. Persevere Friends!!! Sometimes things get bad and then they just get worse but believe that He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23) and whatever you do, don't shrink back!!!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!! It is comforting to know that there is a group of people back home fighting for and with me :)

Have you ever waited to start living?

Have you ever waited to start living? I sure have! I did it here in Costa Rica, in fact. I had a negative thought about everything in my life: the people that were around me, my schooling, my living arrangments, the ministry, everything! I started convincing myself that once I left Costa Rica everything would be better. But that would mean my life would be on hold for at least 2 months! I became selfish, I became secluded, I became lonely. Then there came the day that I couldn't do it any more...my back had gotten bad enough that I couldn't sit through class anymore and I was stuck laying on my bed icing it for a couple of hours. While sitting there I finally talked to Jesus about my "living" situation. I told Him all the things I wasn't happy with and after a long bout of ranting and raving He left me with a peace that with His help I could change things around.

After recieving His grace and love I had more than enough to cover the people around me so my relationships improved--I really loved them finally! I missed being involved with a bible study/community of ladies/iron sharpening iron type of thing so I started my own bible study and invited a few of the ladies from school who have also expressed their pain and lonliness of being at school. Now we all have a community to belong to! I missed the accountablity of having someone to disciple me so I scoped one out and now a lovely lady from Texas is meeting and having coffee with me every week :) I feel more like me now because I am being more like Jesus and less like the selfish brat I was being. Instead of waiting for my life to begin I started living life in these circumstances. That's what it's all about right--not waiting for things to get better but learning how to live through every circumstance.

I am doing really well right now and my back is doing much better! I was able to stand up today after sitting for awhile and for the 1st time in 2 1/2 weeks it didn't hurt and I wasn't huntched over! I walk with little to no pain and can sleep throughtout the night now. Thank you for all of your prayers and to all the people who have expressed concern over the past couple of weeks...your love has meant a lot!

A couple of pictures to enjoy:



This is where I live. This is my part of Costa Rica. Off the picture to the left is my apartment.



This nice little out-house looking like thing is the place where the guards sit as they watch over the neighborhoods. There is one almost on every corner. If they aren't sitting in here then they are maning their post by sitting on a chair :)(Tilt you head to the left, it makes more sense)



This is where the security guard sits outside my apartment and in front of my school. Behind the building is my school, CINCEL. To the left like 100 feet is the gate to my apartment. I wanted to show those who have expressed concern over my safety that I am pretty taken care of here...that doesn't not mean you stop praying though!

Thank you for all of your love and support! May I encourage you if you are waiting for life to "begin" to not wait!! Grab onto Jesus and start living today. It is totally worth it :)

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9