The Last Days

This past week has really been a blur! I can't believe how fast the time has gone; I leave tomorrow. This week has been a week of goodbyes. I said goodbye to my Spanish teacher, Blanca. I also had to say goodbye to the Casa which was more difficult than I expected. They made me a picture frame with pictures of my class so I would remember. I truly hope I will be able to come back someday to visit the Casa again. Finally, last night I said goodbye to Ivan. He's gone to Santa Cruz today and will most likely not make it back in time to see me off at the airport. I think the hardest thing is knowing that I still have goodbyes in front of me...
There have been positives this week though. The elections went peacefully and Evo is once again in power. Also, we now have four little kittens! And other than a short trip to the vet and an experience of cutting umbilical cords (which I would rather not ever experience again!) everything went well!
I am so looking forward to coming home and seeing you all again and telling you all of my stories! Until then, keep me in your prayers; I still have to brave the airports!

Winding Down

I realized that I didn't write a blog for last week. Apologies! Sometimes I look back at a week and have no idea where the time went. So here are two weeks at a glance! I've been keeping up going to the Casa even though the kindergartners are done for the summer (it's summer here if I didn't mention that before). Being there without the kids has actually presented me with some really good opportunities. I've been helping Tia Cinda (the head teacher of the kindergarten class) prepair for next year. This means doing lots of drawings and posters for the walls and thoroughly cleaning the room. With the kids around, I never had much chance to really talk to her; trying to take care of a class of 5 years olds is hard enough so trying to have a conversation with such a language barrier was pretty much out of the question. But with the kids gone, I've been able to have some really good talks with her. I've been able to practice my Spanish and have been very excited as to how much I am able to understand. Cinda has been working at the Casa for 13 years and was able to give me a better idea of what the lives of the kids are like outside of the Casa. I have been very blessed to see the love she has for the kids and the passion and dedication she has to her job.
These past few weeks have also been filled with trips to the ear specialist and you will be happy to hear that the infection is gone and my ear is 95% better! Hopefully everything will be cleared up by the time I get home!
Yesterday, I moved out of my apartment and into Rebecca's house. There are a few reason for this. 1) her cat is having kittens...I'm moral support :) 2) Elections are tomorrow. When elections happen here, the entire city shuts down; no public transportation, no public gatherings, etc. Also, elections here spark lots of protests and unrest. Depending on the direction the election takes, no one really knows what might happen afterwards. Please be praying for the election and the future of this country as well as for safety. and 3) my time here in Bolivia is coming to an end, only 12 more days until I'm back in Canada! This means it's time for me to start de-briefing and thinking about what it will be like to come home. Until then, I'm going to enjoy this plus 30 degree weather :)

graduations and birthdays

Have you ever been to an event that made you so happy and yet so sad at the same time? This week was all leading up to such an event for me: the graduation of my kindergarten class at the Casa. I was blessed with such a wonderful week with the kids! Much of it was spent in preparation for the big event on Friday. The kids had learned some songs and some dances, some of them had speeches to read, and everyone needed to practice for the ceremony. When the day finally arrived, I don't think I knew what hit me! I wasn't expecting such a big celebration, but it really was! In the morning, all of the kids changed into costumes for the dance; the girls all wore skirts with flowers in their hair and the boys wore straw hats! For the next dance, the chicken dance, i made them all little beaks to wear! Then we all went back up to the room where it had been transformed into a fair complete with a bank full of fake money, a supermarket, a movie theater, and a restaurant! After lunch we helped the kids get ready for the ceremony ( They had the whole deal; grad gowns, sashes, graduation hats..) Any parents who weren't in jail came to participate. The ceremony was great and, in true Bolivian fashion, was followed by food! The whole thing, however was very bitter sweet because now the kids have gone on summer vacation and I will not see them again. I don't think I've quite been able to process this yet. I'm going to miss them all very much.
This weekend I was able to spend with the Whittles, a family who has come for a year to volunteer at the Casa. I had a wonderful time celebrating my 20th birthday with them and the rest of the missionaries!
This week and the rest of my time here is a bit of a question mark. With the kids at the Casa gone, I have the option of helping the teachers there prepare for the next year or to hook up with a different mission work for my last three weeks here. I will keep you updated on what happens!
Prayer requests:
wisdom for what I should be spending my last few weeks doing
homesickness
Praise reports:
Being able to spend as much time as I did building relationships with the kids at Casa
God providing me a family with all the missionaries to celebrate my birthday!
Here are some pictures!

The art of being still

This week has been another that has been filled with difficulties. In fact, there were many times this week I just wanted to come home. Don't worry, things have gotten better! Here is my story. Tuesday was looking up! I was starting to feel better and was sure I'd be over my cold by Monday and ready to get back to life as usual. My body had other plans. Wednesday morning I woke up with an terrible headache. When I tried to get up, I instantly felt nausious. I managed to get over to the couch and called Ivan to tell him I wasn't going to be able to go anywhere that day. I layed there unable to get up to get anything to eat until 3:00 when Ivan called me to see if I was feeling any better. When I told him my headache had only gotten worse, he said he'd be over in ten minutes. Ivan came a few minute later with a doctor who concluded I had a bad ear infection and precribed me some antibiotics. He wanted to take a better lok at my burn and get it cleaned up so he told me to come to the hospital that night. I went over to Rebecca's so I wouldn't have to be alone and spent the rest of the day puking and trying to lay as still as possible. This is the point at which I just wanted to go home! That night I went to the hospital, got my burn cleaned, picked up some more antibitotics, and got a shot of pain killer so I would be able to fall asleep.
I've been getting progressively better. I still have fluid in my ear which makes it hard to here, but there is no more pain. I am able to eat normally and function on a pretty normal level now! I am very thankful for how God took care of me over the whole sickness and can see His hand inmy recovery as well.
There are positives to this whole experience though; these past two weeks have forced me to stop and be still. When thrown into a new environment, it is easy to be overwhelmed by everything that is going on around you. I was pretty much focusing on surviving; learning the language, getting to know the people and the basics of the organisations I was working with, etc. I was failing to take time to slow down and contemplate what it was I was actually doing and how I fit into the big picture of what God is doing in Bolivia and even in my life. It has been good to be forced to slow down and get perspective. I am only here for a month more; then I go home to Canada. But there are people who will not leave, there are people who have dedicated thier lives to caring for the people of Bolivia. The kids at the Casa will still be here when I leave. They will stay here trying to survive in their devistating social situations; their only safe haven, the Casa, suffering budget cuts because of lack of funding. Life and ministry in Bolivia will continue once I leave. My burden to pray for and support the work going on here in Bolivia is growing heavier, I pray yours is as well.

The week I knew would come...

This week has been intereting to say the least; a few really good things, a lot of really bad things! The week started out with a Holiday! Last Monday was the day of the dead. Everything shuts down and everyone filters through the street fairs to the cemetary to put flowers on the graves of their loved ones. I went with the McBeths and the Guthries to Tiquipaya, a small town a few minutes out of Coch to witness the festivities. After checking out the cemetary, we succeeded in driving to the top of one of the surrounding mountains ( a terrifying expedition for a prairie girl such as myself!) The day was a hit, but getting home at the end of it, I could feel sickness coming on. The next day I woke up with a nasty cold. Pushing through, I went about my day as usual. After Spanish lessons, Ivan picked me up to get my Visa renewed (yay for not being illegal!) However, in the process of scooting around on his motorcycle, I gave myself an impressive 2nd degree burn on my leg from the exhaust. The next two days I spent in bed trying to recover from my cold.
Friday I felt well enough to go back to the casa for a communal birthday party! The kids dressed up in Halloween costumes, the was a clown and cake...so much fun! After casa, I headed over to Rebecca's for the weekend. This Sunday, I went to church in Sacaba which was a great experience!
I came out of the weekend on a high note, feeling much better. Today, however, I woke up at 2 in the morning after breaking the blister on my burn in my sleep. I found that I have no hot water in my shower and no drinking water in my kitchen. Not to mention the internet keeps cutting in and out. I am not too proud to admit that today, I am feeling quite defeated. With my time in Bolivia half over, I am finding myself missing home, missing the comforts of Canada and missing Tim. Please pray that tomorrow I might wake up feeling strong enough to tackle the challenges that will meet me!

"Because I Live in Bolivia"

The missionaries here often hold up their hand and put up all five fingers one at a time; this is a recognized symbol signifying five words "Because I live in Bolivia". When things are taking a long time or aren't working out as they are supposed to, simply raise your five fingers and everyone is able to sympathize. I had a "because I live in Bolivia" experience this week! I was supposed to move into the apartment at the Seminary on Sunday, but when we arrived, we didn't have a key to get in the gate. After driving back to the Baptist center to get the key, we made it through the gate, but the lock to the main building had been changed. We decided to come back the next day. In the meantime, I moved into the apartment at the Baptist center. On returning the next day, we realized they still hadn’t managed to get the water working in my seminary apartment. At this point, we realized maybe it wasn’t the best choice to move into the seminary. So after all this, I am now staying in the apartment at the Baptist center. Although it was frustrating to get the run-around, I think it is best I’m staying here. I still get my own space and my own kitchen, but it is much safer and much more central.
Other than my apartment fiasco, my week has been really good! Casa and Spanish lessons every day. On Friday, the teachers were having a meeting and I was left to take care of 22 kids between the ages of 3-6 with only one other teacher. I discovered I really need to learn how to say “sit down”, “stop hitting”, “don’t climb that”, “what’s wrong?”, and “don’t climb out the window” in Spanish!
I’ve also been getting a chance to know the other missionaries with CBM here and am starting to grasp the bigger vision for Bolivia. There is so much need here but so much potential! When on a short term mission trip, it’s easy to only see the positive aspects of a different culture and become frustrated at how church back home doesn’t function in the same way. After being here for a month now, I’m starting to see that every church in every culture has it’s short comings and that the church in Bolivia can take positive models of how we do things in Canada just as much as the church in Canada can learn a lesson from the churches down here. We are all imperfect humans trying to be transformed into the image of a perfect God. Thankfully, grace and love seem to wash over all of our mistakes.
Highlights:
Moving into my own place
Getting to know the missionaries
Prayer requests:
That I will be useful to the Bolivian Church and it’s missions in the short time that I am here.
Continued health

This week was rather different in regards to my routine. Instead of going to the casa and to spanish lessons everyday, I joined the team from Kitimat on their adventures! On tuesday morning, we went to visit the family of a previous pastor. He was pastoring one of the most active churches in Cochabamba when his wife gave birth to triplets, two of which were blind. She went to Spain to work and send home money and he needed to quit as a pastor to take care of his family. It was a short but very impacting and emotional visit.
Wednesday morning, we went back to Chipare, the jungle area. We met again with the pastor who coordinated the churches of the area together with his Protogé, Jaun. Jaun is from a tribe located deep in the jungle, he makes the 8 hour walk to the city every month to be trained.
The Kitimat team went back to Canada this past friday and now things will start to change a bit! for starters, I should be moving into my new apartment today! ( although you never know in Bolivia, the move may be postponed again!) I also got the chance to stay with Rebecca Alward at her house the weekend- a much needed and apreciated rest!
This is the beggining of my fourth week in Bolivia and there is some definite culture shock that it setting in. I am learning that things move at a slower pace here, which is something that has been difficult to adjust too! The heat, the food, the trafic... all things that are very different here than in Canada! I still have a lot to learn!
highlights:
Being able to build relationships with the Kitimat team
getting to spend some time relaxing at Rebecca's house
Prayer requests:
adjustment to culture shock
moving out on my own
internet connections!!
Continued good comunication with Tim