"One of the questions I get asked most is; what is my favorite part about Central America? It's a valid question, but I don't really like it. How am I supposed to pick one thing from all the cultural experiences, all the memories, all the friends made, foods tried, songs learned, Spanish phrases, beautiful landscapes, and abundant blessings in every shape? It's an impossible question, so I've found a way to answer that might be cheating: the people. The people are my favorite. God has been good to provide many good friends that I hope I will be friends with for years to come. God always knows just who we need in our lives, and works it out wonderfully. It's crazy to realize I only have a few weeks left, and hard to think of leaving the people I've shared so much of life with...
Spanish lessons have been going excellently, and I just finished the biggest challenge yet- translating my salvation testimony into Spanish. This Saturday evening, I will be sharing my testimony with the youth group at church. I would very much appreciate prayer that I would be able to speak clearly and with confidence about God's grace and faithfulness. Thanks to my teacher, I shouldn't have too many grammatical errors, but when I am nervous my accent tends to get stronger and I am much slower at speaking in Spanish. The main thing I want though is that God would be glorified through it, and my stumbling and mistakes in Spanish won't hinder the clear gospel message I hope to convey.
I got a chance to hike up Cerro Blanco this past week, and this was the view awaiting me at the top. Honduras, I found out, is the Spanish word for "depths" and is a fitting name because the country is so full of mountains and valleys. It's impossible not to worship the Creator when I can look out and see layers of mountain ranges in the distance and little children playing soccer far down below; it makes me realize afresh how big our God is, yet how kind He is to us all on an individual level. He knows every little detail about every child, every coffee plant, and every ripple in the mountains as He holds it all in His hands...
One of the biggest highlights recently has been a small group from my home church that came down! The team is here for a week, and they are working on patching up and painting the walls of the dormitories here on campus. They are getting lots of work done, and it is so encouraging to see some people from home and get to share a bit of life with them. Many people down here have told me that they are an encouragement to them as well, as they are an example of members of the global body of Christ loving each other and working towards the same common goal- the advancement of the gospel. You can pray that the rest of their time here would go well, and would continue to be an encouragement to both the team and the resident missionaries and students here at the campus...
In Christ,
Clara"
Analysis
The purpose of my email was to update my friends, family, and others who had supported me financially and with prayers as I went as a missionary to Central America for several months.
The audience was primarily people who knew me fairly well and were familiar with my interest in missions and the purpose of being in Central America. The audience had received a couple of emails prior to this one, and so had more context for the specifics of this letter (I have removed most of the specific names and such for the sake of this assignment).
The stakeholders were primarily me and other people I was serving with, as I would ask for prayer for us.
The context was, as already stated, my trip to Central America and keeping people updated on what I was doing and how they could pray. The audience would read the emails to feel a part of what I was doing, even though they were in a different country.
User-centered? I believe it was user-centered. I purposely put five or six pictures with every email, along with a small paragraph describing it- which many people told me made my emails much easier and enjoyable to read. I tried to keep them pretty short since I know they are busy and are less likely to read it if it's long and looks intimidating. Although, some of them maybe got a little long.
Comments