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

Altitude

Another week gone by! Time seems to be going so fast! This week I teamed up a little more with the group from Kitimat BC. They have been wonderful to tag along with! Paul and Linda, the pastors who are leading he group were missionaries here in Bolivia inthe 80's and again in the 90's so they have been such a great source of information and advice. They joined me working at the Casa this week and we helped paint their back courtyard/dining room/ playground as well as work with the kids.
Working with the kids has been so wonderful! I taught one little girl named Jhessel how to do simple math on here fingers and she was so excited she went around showing all the other teachers. Then she went and got her work book and took me through every page teaching me the spanish words for everything! I can't help feeling they are leaving a bigger impact on me than I could ever hope to leave on them! They are truely amazing kids who have come out of such a cruel environment.
This weekend I had the chance to go up and visit La Paz. The ride there was an adventure in it's own; swirving through the Andes Mountains! La Paz is about 12 000 feet about sea level and the altitude makes you feel like you can never ctach your breath-this made for an interesting few days! The city of La Paz sits in a bowl in the mountain; it seems as if there are no flat surfaces at all: everything is either up or down hill! On Sunday, we drove about an hour out of town to a Baptist church on lake Titicaca who were celebrating their 82nd aniversary! After this, we went to a completely different environment about two hours away to visit the pre-incan ruins. The ruins are of ancient temples and places of worship. The place was filled with Idols, alters and places for sacrifices (human sacrifices). It gave an erie look into the lives of people who tried so desprately to communicate to lifeless gods; it made me thankful that I know the God who is alive and who provides.
Highlights:
taking the kids from the casa to play inthe park
gettin the chance to see the pre-incan ruins
being able to breath again when I got back to Cochabamba!
Prayer requests:
That my spanish will continue to improve
That I will be able to connect more with the kids at the casa
That I will be able to ge the academic aspect of my internship finished ( I have a paper due on friday!
God Bless!

no snow and lots of sunshine!

Well I've been here for just over a week now but in many ways it feels like much longer; I have exprienced so many things! The day after I arrived I went with Ivan (the CBM contact here), Saloni (my CBM contact in Canada who was here for a visit) and Carolanne (a psychotherapist who is here for two weeks teaching counselling at the seminary) to a region called Chiparte. Chiparte is the jungle area of Bolivia. It was amazing to see the country side change from dry mountains to green rainforest in a matter of minutes! While we were there, we visited a pastors conference and saw the building they were trying to repair to use as a satelite for the seminary. I learnt alot that day about Bolivian culture (and their crazy driving!)
Back in Cochabama, I've started working at Casa de la Amistad which is a place that brings children who have gone to prison with their mothers out of jail during the days. I've been working the the kindergarten class! I think they are teaching me as much spanish I am teaching them english! The kids are great and have been wonderful to get to know! It is hard to picture them leaving the casa and walking back into the prison. It is easy to try to think of them as kids who go home to a loving family every night where all their needs are provided for, but this is not the case; these kids come from the epidome of a broken home. I am contantly humbled by their joy and love for each other.
Other than Spanish lessons (I'm getting better!), I have been spending most of my time at the Casa. A few days ago, a group from Kinemat, BC came so I've been tagging along with them, going to visit some churches.
Some highights from the past week:
-Getting accustomed to the altitude and avoiding sickness
-riding on Ivan's motorcycle
-30 degree weather!!
I'll post another update soon!

Here are a few pictures of my first few days!

Here at last

Hello Everyone! It has been quite a long few days! Over 48 hours of flying and layovers, but I'm finally here! I'm staying at the centro baptisto for a few days before moving into my appartment at the seminary. On arriving I got to meet Rebecca, Ivan, Emigdo and Saloni! Today has sort of been a wirl wind ever since I arrived; lots of orientation and trying to retain it despite the lack of sleep and altitude adjustments! But I'm here and I'm safe! I'm sure I'll have lots more to report this next while what with the cultural adjustments, learning curve and figuring out what life will look like day to day. Thank you for all your prayers, I was relatively adventure-free at the airports! Dios te bendigas!

Here we go...again!

Well I was blessed with another week in Canada! At first, I must admit, I was pretty frustrated that things didn't work out to go on the 26th. But after some time to recover from the shock, I had a really good week. I was pretty rushed before, leaving the day after my module ended, but now I've had time to take a breath, finish off some assignments and steady myself. Not to mention it was a bonus to spend some more time with Tim! I feel as if I'm more ready this time round! I leave tomorrow morning (Oct 2nd) and after a few days of flying from Saskatoon to Toronto to Miami to Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, I will arrive on the 4th. Please keep me in your prayers as i travel (hopefully the most dramatic of my airport adventures are over!) I'll be updating you all soon! Shalom!