Ecuador Blog

Hola amigos,

We just wanted to let everyone know that we have started a blog dedicated to our Ecuador experience. The new link is http://sethandbrian.blogspot.com . Check it out!

Dios Te Bendiga,

Seth and Brian

Hola Ecuador

Bienvenido!!

This is what we read as we walked through the customs at Guayaquil airport tonight. It has been quite the adventure already for Brian and I. We´ve already hit some stumbling blocks. Emphasis on stumbling because it is something that will not hinder us by any means, just rather irritating and bothersome.

First off, some of you may not know this, but we have been eagerly praying and waiting for news on Brian´s acceptance into medical school. It just goes to show you that God´s plans are so perfect, Brian just found out today that he will be attending medical school at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I am so proud of him, as are so many others!

So, we found this out during our 5 hourísh lay over in Miami. We both drained our phones´battery life by talking so much to people, but we knew it was worth, especially since we didn´t know when we would be able to utilize our cell phones again. Eventually we arrive at our gate and boarded our plane for Guayaquil. We figured we would get to our seats smoothly and enjoy the flight. Not so much. Turned out that some really old people who didn´t speak English had taken some other lady´s seats (this lady had two babies with her). Then, that lady took Brian and I´s seats. So, we had quite the conundrum. That was a delay in itself. Eventually Brian and I just had to sit in different sections. He ended up by some old lady and I ended up between a mother and her daughter who were awesome! The daughter was 7 and was the so cute and entertaining. The mother was super sweet and decided that she would take this opportunity to tell me about Ecuador and her life story really haha. I became so well acquainted with them that the mom asked for my phone number and email address because she wants to visit Cuenca, along with her daughter, and go get some dinner with Brian and I. How fun is that?

Our flight ended up being delayed by 2 hours. We arrived at Guayaquil to find no one there waiting for us. So, we didn´t really know what to do. Thank God that Brian has a cell phone that still works in foreign lands. He called George and he called someone to pick us up. The lady is super nice but doesn´t like to exercise her English. She drove like a mad woman possessed on these streets, which have no lines or really any organization, i guess it makes every trip an adventure haha. Anyway, once we got to Guayaquil, we drudged through the passport section to find that our bags had been completely soaked by the rain in Miami. This made no sense whatsoever. Now we both have suitcases full of completely soaked ropa (clothes). Not good. Not to mention, a stinky situation. The nice crazy driver lady kept asking us why our bags were so heavy... I kept repeating, ¨porque estan mojado!¨ because they are wet haha.

Well, we prolly need to go to bed. We need to be out of the hotel in the morning by 7:30 a.m. and at the airport by 8 a.m.

Continue to pray for our protection and safe travels to Cuenca tomorrow. Love you all! And remember that through everything, God is always good.

Seth & Brian

I feel like I'm getting old...

Hello,

My name is Seth Turner. I am a terrible blogger and wish to share a little bit of my life with you :)

For those who do not know already, I have been accepted to attend Auburn University for graduate school! It's so great. As a matter of fact, when I found out, I could feel the stress and worries roll right off of my shoulders. I want to give a shot out to those of you who were almost just as happy as me, I appreciate all of your support and thanks praying for me! Tori was great, she went out and bought me an Auburn shirt (that had nothing to do with football on it) and a sticker to put on the windshield of my car. Gotta admit, it made me even more excited.

I have been both patient and impatient at times, but God has remained faithful and His plan is unfolding an tiny bit at a time. I will be studying foreign language education in Spanish. The program is probably going to take me 2 years. I will begin in the fall and, boy, am I going to be busy.

I've looked up my classes online and it looks like, as of right now, I will have class every night except for on the weekends. So, that means that after work everyday I will head to class. This doesn't sound very convenient when it comes to time management, but I know that being in graduate school will help me get to where I want to be in the future, career-wise.

I also found out that it will be required of me to study abroad, since I have not yet done so during my Spanish career. This is exciting, but I sort of hoped to get certified quicker. It will be very beneficial for me to go abroad though. It will help get me closer to achieving my goal of complete fluency.

I'm so excited about grad school, I wish I could get started right away...

Right now I'm chillin' with Tori and her family in Alpharetta for the Easter weekend. It has been very relaxing.

I've been a lill home sick lately. Mostly because I've been so excited and anxious to see my family when the visit in June. I have no idea what we are going to do when they get here, but it will be so great to introduce them to everybody down here and show them my new stomping grounds :)

Just a quick update on Ecuador:

I've raised almost all the needed funds for Ecuador this summer. I'm not quite sure where I am currently, but a couple of weeks ago I was a lil over $2,000. Our goal is to have $2,500 each. So, I should almost be there! Thank you so much for your support everybody! It has been so cool to see God work and provide.

Other than that, I'm still working at the middle school. Not gonna lie, this school year has drained me big time. Now I understand how all the teachers feel, it's not easy being surrounded by kids all day, almost everyday of the year...

I am also coaching a u-16 co-ed rec soccer team. It's not the most fun thing ever, but the kids are all pretty nice for the most part... and I'm getting paid for it. Can't complain about that. I'm also still involved with the youth group at church (now that I think about it, I really am around kids way too much haha) and that is going ok, most of the time I honestly am so tired that I don't feel like making any attempt whatsoever to socialize but I do it anyway.

How is everyone else doing? I would love to hear from you. (Sorry for not getting in touch with you this past weekend Bethany).

God bless,

Seth

It's almost thanksgiving!

The past few weeks have been pretty darn great. Can't complain

My boys played in the state tournament last weekend in Decatur, AL. We won 1 and lost 1. Here's the thing, why did we have to drive 4 hours to play just two games? It's a tournament! Shouldn't we be guaranteed at least 3 games? Oh Alabama... why do you not know how to organize a statewide tournament!? ugh. I was proud of my boys though. It was the best they have played all season.

Brent and I, once again, have a glorious road trip. We stayed at his parents' place in Birmingham on the Friday night before the tournament so that we could be absolutely and utterly spoiled by incredible hospitality. We went to a venue in downtown Birmingham called Work Play. Parachute was playing! They were great live. They have some awesome new stuff that is hopefully coming out soon. Hurry up Parachute! Please do not delay :)

This past weekend was great. I spent my whole Saturday hanging out with people at tailgates before the Auburn v. Georgia game. The best part of it was that I was given the amazing opportunity to see my buddy Logan. He and I were kanakuk counselors together in the same cabin for nearly 2 months. He went to UGA, so naturally he felt the inclination to come to Auburn to watch his dogs play the tigers. He is such a great guy. One of those peeps who you wish you could see everyday. We had a great conversation and got to catch up. The rest of the day was spent watching the game at my place with some friends and then hanging out with Tori. We ordered some pizza from Marco's (which is delicioso) and watched "How to Tame a Dragon". It was good, not as funny as i thought, but still a great movie.

Sunday was a beautiful day. We went to church with friends and then went out to eat afterwards. To my delight, we formed a little soccer pick-up game out at the fields. Then had Bible study after.

This week has been overcome by rain and wind. For the first couple of days this week I seriously felt mislead. I began to wonder if I really was in the south, because naturally when I think of rain and windy weather, I think of Kansas. Oh Kansas, I will see you soon...

So, I took full advantage and embraced the climate by sitting in my place and reading books and playing video games. Aaaah, I am convinced that there is nothing better.

I am currently reading two books: Radical by David Platte, and the 4th Harry Potter book The Goblet of Fire. I just finished reading 3 books of the Eragon series and am waiting with eager anticipation for the 4th book to come out. Get a move on Mr. Paolini!!

This weekend I will be accompanying some of my friends to Birmingham to stay at Brent's parents place. Apparently his parents came up with 4 free tickets to the Needtobreathe show! Yes. That will do. I don't know what else is in store for this weekend, but I will have you know that I in no way, shape, or form plan on doing any exercise whatsoever! Oh! and a bonus, Buns is bringing his puppy Rylee (a.k.a cutest puppy you'll ever see) with us. Maybe I'll get to do some cuddling (Tori is that ok? Just this once?).

I'm going to the Harry Potter midnight showing tonight with a bunch of folks. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, however; not so excited for having to work the next morning after only receiving an abated amount of sleep :(. Tori has come up with an astounding idea of going to Starbucks to get some coffee before hand. I gladly excepted this invitation for 2 reasons: 1. Because my girlfriend is beautiful and I love her 2. Because usually by 9 p.m. I am ready to go to bed so obviously I will be needing some sort of caffeinated beverage to get through to movie without dozing off ha.

Well! Hope you all are doing well. Maybe I'll get to blog a little bit this weekend. If not then, most likely next week when I'm in Manhappenin' kickin' it by the fire in the 66503.

Flyin' in on the 24th!

With His Grace and Love,

Mocha

Mellow Mushroom

pizza is ok. Yes, I said it. OK. It isn't worth $30, that's for sure.

It was really nice of Mrs. Scaife to get me some pizza though. I interpreted for her and some other teachers earlier this week for a parent/teacher conference. Man, my Spanish was rusty. I forgot a couple of words, but I think that I did well overall. I'm just glad I got to help out. Anyway, she said that she owed me lunch and bought some pizza from Mellow Mushroom today. It was quite funny to see the look on all the kids' faces when they saw my delicious looking pizza. They all were so jealous. haha suckers.

Last weekend was fun. I went tailgating with some friends before the Auburn/Arkansas game (sorry Pastor Pat). I didn't really feel like going to the game so I didn't waste my time looking for a ticket. Instead, I just stayed at a tailgate with Buns and some other friends and watched the game. It was perfect. Flat screen tv, eating food every 30 min, and beautiful weather. Plus, I didn't have to stand up the whole time!

It was good to go to church finally. It had been 2 weeks since I'd been. My boys had a game on Sunday. We lost 4-1 but the score doesn't reflect how we played. We played the hardest team we will ever play this year, so I was proud of my boys. Bible study has been awesome. I am really getting interested in Bible history and researching things. Right now my bible study is going through Luke. We have such great conversations about things. I love my friends, they are so encouraging and supportive. I know that I could confide in any of them.

Tori and I and some friends went to a Ben Rector concert last Friday. Ben always gives a good show, however it was sad to only hear like 5 songs out of him. You're better than that Ben!! The venue was cool though. It was out at some house/farm out in the middle of nowhere (which was hard to find btw). It was nice and cool. Had to sit on a blanket and keep warm. Hot chocolate. Clear sky with beautiful stars in the sky. As a matter of fact, there was a giant shooting star during the concert, during which everyone cheered. The poor band didn't notice it at the time, so they thought everyone was cheering for them haha.

The guy from Ecuador emailed back last week. He said that he would love to have me and my friends down there for a summer. Supposedly they just built a new soccer field and want to start some summer soccer camps and a league, but they would need people to help out and coach. So, that's where we would come in. I want to do this soooo bad!! For two whole months in Ecuador? Are you kidding me? That would be amazing!

I'm excited to go back home for Thanksgiving. I might have already mentioned this, but it's just that I'm so ready to see Manhattan again. It's been too long!!

Had the opportunity to play against the Auburn men's club soccer team. It was pretty fun. We lost like 3-0 but it was 11 old guys who have never played with each other against a team of guys who have been training for 2 months straight. You can imagine how out of shape I was, having not trained or run for the past 3 weeks haha. It was funny to get the ball (I played center mid) and turn to find all of my forwards to be standing huffing and puffing. We were all spent after the first 10 min of the game!

My favorite song right now is "Background" by Lecrae. It's sooo sick!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHnZRZiCYHE

Hope you all are doing well! Give me a call sometime so we can catch up!

Mocha :)

Man... this week flew by!

I can't believe it's already Friday!

I've had a normal week.

Monday was a normal day. Nobody wants to be back at school. Extra dose of coffee. Worked out after school with my buddy Buns and then went grocery shopping. I spent way too much!! I needed the food though... man my cabinets resembled a barren wasteland.

Same routine on Tuesday, as usual. I picked Tori up from work after I got off, then went home to take a quick nap. Then awoken and got ready for practice, which always consists of watching an episode of King Of Queens and Seinfeld ha. Then went to practice.

Wednesdays are the always the same as Mondays. Work, work out, hang out with peeps.

Thursdays are the same as Tuesdays except for a couple of little twists. I decided to make my week crazy by having my boys scrimmage the u-17 girls team for practice!! I know... I like to live on the edge. And those stinkin' girls are good!! I wanted my boys to lose so we could work on our mistakes, because apparently there are a lot of mistakes to be corrected considering we've tied 3 of our last 4 matches!! ugh...

Oh... and I got a flu shot. I didn't cry.

Then... the dreaded K-state vs. Nebraska game. I've never felt so embarrassed while watching a K-State game. I mean, giving up 48 points?? I'm surprised Bill didn't have a heart attack... I almost grabbed the remains of my whopper junior and aggravatingly threw it at my buddy's tv I was so disgusted. But, instead i controlled my anger and held it in so that it would take me 30 minutes to fall asleep later in the evening (which option would you choose?). Poor Manhappenin, probably wasn't so happenin last night (or happy, for Manhattan is also known as Manhappyness). I bet the bars in Aggieville had nothing to complain about, they've probably never "harvested" such great business from Cornhusker fans. Oh well, it's just a game right?? Besides, at least Barcelona won't disappoint me any time soon. Viva la Azulgrana!!

Today (Friday) has been great. FCA at the crack of dawn. Eating donuts after singing some worship songs? I'm not complaining. Paul and Mikiela have been great today. Gotta love those kids. Gonna work out here at the school afterwards. Then Brent and I are traveling to Birmingham to stay with his parents tonight so we don't have to drive 4 hours in the morning to get to our game in Huntsville tomorrow. My boys play at 1 p.m. After that Brent and I will make yet another pit stop at his parents place on the return journey to Auburn, where the next day we will play another game at 9:30 a.m. Following the game, we may go to the Auburn women's soccer game for "kick's" and giggles. Then, as always, we will proceed to Bible study :).

There you have it!

Big shout out to the MNU boys for tying Baker, good job with Culver, and good luck on Tuesday.

Peace and Love

Mocha

Is that cool weather that i feel???

Fall has finally come to Auburn! Yay! I definitely would rather be warm than cold, but I have to admit, I'm ready for some change in weather. It is beautiful! 70's... you kiddin' me? you can't get much better than that. At least I'm not sweating in the mornings anymore ha.

I went to Huntsville, AL this weekend to coach my boys. It is supposedly a 4 1/2 hour drive to Huntsville from Auburn, but my buddy Brent did a wonderful job of driving at a comfortable speed of 90 mph so we could get there in a whopping 3 1/2 hours. The game went alright. We ended up tying 1-1 though. I'd rather tie than lose, considering it was an away game. It would have been terrible to drive all the way there to lose. I was proud of my boys though. It was a God awful field so obviously our possession style of play would not do as well. But, they fought through it and came up with a decent result.

The rest of the weekend was the shiznit. My friend Brent and I stayed in Birmingham at his parents' place and just chillaxed hardcore. We ate pizza and lisaugna (spell check) and drank about 8 cans of Dr. Pepper a piece while we watched football. Finally, a relaxing weekend!! We spent some time walking on the campus of Samford University. It was a beautiful campus. We also went to a really nice church, Brook Hill's. It was great.