All Creation Waits...

"For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from it's bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”

It has been almost seven months since my return from Bolivia.

And as I write this, I hardly know how the time went so fast. Truly, it seems such a short time ago that I was tearfully saying farewell to the people and places that I came to know and love.

These months have indeed held their own share of joys and heartache, and the time and perspective to reflect on my time in South America.

Let me first say that it has forever changed me. The ways in which God and the Church were awakened in my heart has made an imprint on my soul in such a way that even now I am living a life shaped by those experiences and relationships.

It is easy, however, to remember Bolivia in a way similar to nostalgia, and let the memories create in me only a bittersweet yearning for what was. My prayer is that—as I remember the glimpses of Truth and Beauty and Simplicity and Community—I let it become a lived reality that gives contour and context for now, and into the future.

And mirrored in this remembrance I have discovered a deeper and Truer remembrance. As a citizen in the Kingdom of God, with the Spirit testifying to my own spirit, and my heart thirsting for things that cannot be satisfied, I am realizing in life-altering ways the reality that I am not made to live a natural life. And here again I am torn. “Life will never be what it should be!” I could cry in despair; or, hopefully, I can let the echoes of the Kingdom shape my life lived now—knowing that God brings “glory and freedom” from “bondage and decay”.

What more can I say? When words really cannot express what I mean to convey?

So it is here that I find myself in life (I promise that all this somewhat ethereal thought DOES have a root in practical living!)

Now for the physical details: I am working as a full-time teachers aid at a charter school on the north side of Milwaukee—and loving it!! Then, after months of praying and searching; talking, asking, and visiting different parts of the city, God provided a roommate and opened up a beautiful little unit in the inner-city of Milwaukee.

If you are the praying type, please pray that I would be discerning of the opportunities to minister as they arise, and that I can boldly serve humbly, always learning what it truly means to love my neighbor. Just last night, I had the beautiful opportunity of offering hospitality and a Word from the Lord to a man, out-of work, living in a shelter. He shoveled my sidewalk, I paid him a bit and offered him some soup (ah! so simple), I listened to his story and answered his question: what is so different about you? and he looked into my own soul and encouraged me in such a profound way.

To my young friends I say this: be purposeful about where you choose to live. Our cities are hurting and needy, and too many Christians, who can offer the hope and healing and hospitality that is desperately needed, have defaulted into the comfortable and private lifestyles that we see around us, instead of putting themselves into the places where we can actually BE the hands and feet of Jesus, that He calls us to.

A few photos of recent months:

:: moving sister to college: we are READY! (for something...)









:: sara (roommate) and i visiting Chicago.











:: my Student Council kids :)












:: me visiting the Great Wall of China! (just kidding-photoshop)













:: winter in Milwaukee (mom, me, Andrea)

amigos, la paz, y el fin

10 June - Flight 721 from Cochabamba, Bolivia (depart 4:20pm) to LaPaz, Bolivia (arrive 4:55pm)

The capital city of Bolivia, La Paz, seems to fall off the edge of the Altiplano (high plains) into a ragged gorge. Houses cascade down too-steep cliffs and streets ascend and descend at crazy angles. And here I am.

It’s been three days since I said goodbye to Cochabamba and its beautiful weather, delicious food, and incredible friends.

Meanwhile I have had some adventures here in LaPaz:

Eating – I know I shouldn’t count the chicks before they hatch, but with less than 24 hours left in Bolivia I hope I can say that I haven’t been sick at all this year! I did eat at the most unsafe place I have yet…and then yesterday, to cut the onions, the boys sharpened our knife on a shovel laying in the yard. But… what can I say?

Shoeshining – My main purpose for visiting LaPaz was to visit a ministry to shoeshiners. The city of LaPaz has over a thousand young shoeshiners working on the streets for about 15 cents a shine. So I dressed up as a shoeshiner, had a lesson, and went out on the streets to try my skills and take a peek into the lives of shoeshiners in LaPaz. It was an incredible experience, and I came away with a respect and gratitude for those working among these boys to bring hope and true life into their midst. Check out this site: www.kayuparu.org

Working – I had a tour of LaPaz from the back of a cargo truck full of cement blocks that we took up to repair the wall of a young man’s house. This young man, a former shoeshiner, had been beaten by a gang and left partly paralyzed. Without their older brother’s work and leadership, his younger brothers began to fall into drinking and bad behavior. Several members of the church have generously loaned time, money, and materials to help this young man and his brothers.

This picture is me giving my testimony to the guys

Thinking – Having some down time in LaPaz has given me time to think about this past year, and all that it has held. Uppermost in my mind has been the relationships formed between myself and my students, missionaries, co-workers, neighbors, and church-members.

I read this recently: “Even [our] most original thoughts or imaginative creations are indelibly shaped by a lifetime of encounters with artists, theologians, family, and community. We do not interpret the world alone nor do we live without influencing one another profoundly.”

How true. And again, how thankful I am for the people that God placed in my life this year to encourage, challenge, and teach me about Himself or myself or the world around me. From my 7-year-old students who taught me compassion and patience and to love more deeply; to Bolivian young people committed to reach their world for Christ; to deep friendships that caused me to laugh and pray and think, and challenged me to serve and not to be so stubborn J, and gave encouragement and insight and perseverance.

What a privilege and what a duty we have as people in relationship.

14 June – Flight 922 from LaPaz, Bolivia (depart 6:30am) to Charlotte, NC (via Miami, arrive 9:20pm)

Debrief – I spend two nights in Charlotte, NC at the SIM offices for debrief and a short reunion with two friends from Bolivia; and then…

16 June – Flight 3730 from Charlotte, NC (depart 12:55pm) to Milwaukee, WI (arrive 1:57pm)

Home.

And yet not completely. Part of my heart will always be with the friends and country of Bolivia.

Packing It In

Friends,

I am so over-flowingly (I know, not a real word) thankful for so many "back home" who have been constant in prayer and encouragement and generosity. I cannot, and know that I could never, realize how much you have blessed me.
It is unbelievable that an entire year has passed since I first began this journey to (and through) Bolivia. So much has changed, so many lives touched, and so much done that our meeting of paths again in a few weeks as I return will be a difficult task.
Please pray with me for this transition.
On other fronts, however, besides this huge horizon of LEAVING, many things to tell....

I have pierced my ears.












I managed to teach the 5 senses in only 9 days (bad planning on my part).

It's getting cold again here; smells like fall.



Flat Stanley came to visit our class.

I'll be visiting a ministry to young shoe-shiners in LaPaz before I return home.

Still looking for a place to live upon my arrival in Milwaukee.

I am just finishing Watership Down; classic read.

















Alice in Wonderland drama at school.

Favorite quote of the week, after a particularly trying student had to be removed from class by the principal, Camila says: "Miss, you have a great smile!"

Almost missed two days of school last week to possible road blockades.


Bottlecaps! I'm using these for an art project with grade 2.

President of Bolivia, Evo, says that drinking Coca-Cola will make you bald. Be careful!













We decided to go the fair instead of Prom. This was our sign if someone got lost.

My refrigerator is broken.

It will be a strange shock to speak to the cashier in English; I may make a few mistakes at first.

Some neighbor is burning a llama fetus; smells nasty.

Australian word I learned: dink (noun, I'd say) meaning a couple with a double-income-no-kids.

The sermon on Sunday was on Psalm 19:7-11. Wonderful!
















Social Studies presentations!

I played soccer last night.

This is the last week of school.

I am currently listening to Brooke Fraser; this morning, Alister Begg.














We biked down the Death Road in March.

We always pack tons of people into one taxi.
Who wants to share the front seat with me? Who gets the trunk? Four...or five in the middle seat?

Bolivian Mother's Day this Thursday.

I have 63 books checked out from the school library.

"You will be secure, because there is hope; you
will look about you and take your rest in safety."

Amidst it all God is faithful and offers us the Word of Life.


Blessings, Kelly

See you all very soon...