Nine

Time has really been flying by here. Hard to imagine that I have already passed my 24th birthday, I have only three months left of teaching, and am already thinking about what next year holds for me. Yikes! But before I jump too far ahead.... here are 9 (in no particular order) memorable February events:

1. Valentines Treasure Hunt

For Valentines Day, Christine and I planned a treasure hunt for all the other short term missionaries. It was quite impressive (and even better to watch!) as it involved blindfolds, crazy props, and some unexpected water balloons.
Enjoy the pictures :)

The Planners (Christine and I)


























2. Comfy couch
Bolivian couches are thin cushions on a wooden frame. And although they are tollerable, there is much to be wanting. As a memorable February event: I sat on the most comfortable piece of furniture ALL YEAR when a missionary family invited me over for dinner. They had a REAL couch! Ahhhhhh--what luxury. Thank you Lindquist family!!

3. Carnaval
It is quite a relief now that Carnaval is over, I can walk without fear of getting hit by a water balloon!
However, it was also a sad time to see so many people swept along in the mass of incense burning, fleshly indulgences, and actions done with no thought for others. Pray with me that the Bolivian church would stand strong in face of the increasing return to ancient idolatry.





This would be a DEVASTATING corner to walk by during carnaval. All those boys are armed with water balloons!





The Sunday over Carnaval we had our own breakfast and church service at our apartments with the other teachers living there...

...and a little nap afterwards.


4. Piper & Keller
My favorite preachers to listen to on the half-hour transit to school each morning: John Piper and Timothy Keller (and sometimes James MacDonald, Alister Begg, or Mark Driscoll).
A great way to start each day.

5. Valerie leaves :(
My roommate left to go back to Canada this month. It was such a blessing to have her as a roommate for these past few months. I will miss her quite a lot.


6. Drinkable Coca
A new form a Coca-Cola will debut in Bolivia soon. Named Coca-Colla, it promises to be made with REAL coca leaves. Check out an article here

When I taught my plants unit, we were talking about certain plants that we eat. I asked: What sorts of leaves do we eat? (expecting lettuce) The reply: we can eat coca leaves!

Only in Bolivia...

7. Palooza
The Carachi Palooza--school talent show--was this past Friday. It was great fun to see the talents of the student body. I judged the elementary writing entries and the cooking competition (Yum!)
All around, it was a fun time to see the school come out to participate and cheer each other on.

Judging the cooking:


8. Shhh...no shoes
Come 3:10pm, I have taken to taking off my shoes while I prep for the next day. I admit, I do get some funny looks sometimes, but how can I resist after wearing nice (and hot) shoes all day? After all, it is summer here. 79 degrees at the moment.

9. Happy Birthday
I celebrated my 24th birthday here in Bolivia surrounded by some excellent friends.
Having a birthday really makes one reflect on her life in the past year, and the year that lies ahead.
Psalm 90:12 reminds us "..to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Numbering my days aright is a wake up call when I let God truly open my eyes to the people around me, and the need of the world.
I know that that awakening can either push me to seek my own comfort--to apathy--as I am confronted with both the responsibility and weight of the call, against my own smallness and incapability; or, amidst the realization of my insignificance, I can rest more completely in His sufficiency and rejoice more fully in the small things each moment.

"Action springs not from thought, but from a
readiness for responsibility" -D. Bonheoffer

To find in the small acts of service, moments of grace, and small glimpses of joy the knowledge that I don't have to live under the pressure of unfulfilled or imagined greatness, but can live each moment in the present (where it matters) being changed myself and changing things around me in meaningful and personal ways. Remember that Jesus says, "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones." Luke 16:10

The gospel is about the glorious redemption of human life, in small but powerful ways.
"Then Jesus asked, 'What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.'" Luke 13:18,19

Prayer and Praise - February 28

Praise for...

• Health!! (...it continues...)
  
• A wonderful birthday celebration here in Bolivia. I'm so blessed to have fabulous friends here. THAT is a continual praise from my heart.
  
• A great team-teaching partner each morning.
  
• God's faithfulness each day.
  

Prayer for...

• Timing and confirmation as I make my final decisions for next year.
• Two boys in my class that are having a VERY hard time being friends. This is impacting the entire class; pray for wisdom and grace on my part, and softening hearts to forgive on theirs.
• Chapel this Thursday: grade 2 is teaching the school (and parents who come) about God as our Good Shepherd. Please pray for prepared hearts.
  

New Things

It has begun. The dodging.
The peering around corners. The avoidance of certain streets.
The carrying of ammunition.
The paranoia.

With Carnaval only weeks away the water balloons have begun to fly....
The Target: any female walking the streets.
Needless to say, this has made the typically easy walk to the store quite the feat if you want to get there dry!

But that's not the end of the excitement around here.

New Weather: rain, rain, rain, rain.....after months and months of hot sunny weather we have entered the rainy season! Chilly mornings and umbrellas.

New People: Six! Yes, six new teachers arrived the beginning if January to help out at the school. I get one of them each morning to help out with reading groups; Yay! Mr. Donald has been a great addition to our class - giving me ideas, being a much-needed male role-model to some of the kids, and an indispensable extra set of eyes and ears and hands. What a blessing!
( the picture is of some of the teachers)



New Semester: Speaking of school, I can't believe that we are already over three weeks into the second semester!
After a marvelous trip to Peru / Machu Picchu / La Paz (which is an entire story in itself) we are back into the swing of school.
In science, we've been studying different animal groups. We've been busy doing experiments with ants and worms (they haven't all worked, but that's how science goes sometimes!), and amidst the little shrieks while holding insects, and gasps of discovery (who would have thought that worms move in a straight line and not a wiggly line?!?) I trust that their hearts and lives are being changed into kids who live to love and forgive - that has been one of my biggest prayers for them this year.
Amidst the struggles of teaching this class, those little glimpses of change that I see in each life is the most encouraging to me, and keeps me hopeful.











<-- A little hiking trip up the mountain


New Thoughts: Well, maybe not new, but refined.
Hope, Joy, Compassion. These are not characteristics that I implant in my own heart. And yet, there they are, often when I least expect my reaction to be joyful, or compassionate.
How can I not marvel at the goodness and faithfulness of God through it all.
He is the master orchestrator, the changer of hearts, the giver of joy....and what am I but a broken tool in his hand?
I remember I feared failure at first--failure in the eyes of man, of God--and still do at times. Quite the pressure to live under! I don't recommend it. But what a grace-filled God to remind me: I am not served by human hands, as if I needed anything, because I myself give all men life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25).

We life for One who we may, with unspeakable joy, receive from.