I just made this short video of photos/videos for you to enjoy.  I hope you do!

 

 

The trunk is not off limits when it comes to taxi seating

If you buy a beverage in a glass bottle, be prepared to kiss your bottle goodbye and enjoy your liquid out of a bag.

 

Eating antiqucho (grilled cow heart) is a delicacy

Movies are rarely in English

 

Brownie batter can be scrambled

 

Birthday parties are awesome

 

There is no such thing as too big of a pizza, only two few people

 

Smiles are contagious

 

Family is a relative term

      Last weekend our group decided to close out our last two weeks by really consecrating our little time here to the Lord. In order to really focus and dedicate ourselves Anna suggested that we all pray about something to fast. As I was praying about it I knew the Lord was calling me to fast something... but I just could not put my finger on what!       

   I had been feeling God calling me to get more into the Word so I decided to combine the Lord´s call and my fast... So I decided to fast an hour of sleep every morning! For those of you who know me you know I HATE getting up early. I avoid it at all costs and treasure every moment of sleep I can get. I am definently a ¨night owl¨, NOT an ¨early bird¨ even though I know they get the worm or whatever!

   At first I was excited and then I was nervous for if I was going to be able to do it and keep my fast. The first morning when I woke up at 6 I was super tired and honestly in a BAD mode. I woke up dragged myself and my blanket to the kitchen and began to read. I decided to start in Acts because I knew the people there were excited and on fire and I was feeling less than enthusiastic.

   Aftrer about 5 minutes of reading my mode and attitude totally changed. I was suddenly like that scene from Cinderella... singing and chirping with the birds. I probably freaked the other girls out as they came rolling into the kitchen about an hour later with my chirpy, happy mode! I was totally inspired by the fire and passion that Peter, Paul and all of the other early leaders of the church demonstrated!

   Every morning this past week I have dedicated my first hour of the day to getting in the Word. Every morning I get a little less sleep, but my days have been filled with an attitude and heart more focused and on fire for God!

¨Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.¨

      - Colossians 3:2

Father God,

I praise you for sisters --

for adventure.

the kind that is like laffy taffy

salt water, cherry flavor

you know --

the best kind.

the kind that puckers the senses

and streches into

strings and strings of long, flexible

delicious candy.

laffy taffy

salt water, cherry flavor

our siserhood --

warmed and streched,

sweet and sticky between our molars.

hand in hand

with Jesus´ arms reaching over this

city --

Cochabamba, our home

the home of our sisterhood.

we are home,

sisters in Christ.

 

 

For those of you who don´t know me well, let me share just a glimpse of my heart and passion.  Since I can remember, I have always known that God was calling me to work with children.  At what capacitiy, I was unsure, but I knew that one day I would be able to do what I love. 

 

I wanted to do something that would impact children in such a way that they could change tomorrow and make it a better place.  For the longest time, I believed that a teacher was the only thing I could ever be if I wanted to impact the life of a child.  And for a little over 5 years, I had the opportunity to work with children at an outdoor school and summer camps.  It was great!

 

Recently, I have found that teaching is not the only way and I also found out exactly what God is calling me to; my Kingdom dream!  While at AIM in January, I had the opportunity to be part of Project SearchLight; a program put together to help Racer Alumi find their Kingdom dream and then the steps to take to accomplish that dream.  I knew God was calling me to mentor the broken children.  Children who only have one parent present in their life.

 

While here in Bolivia, we have had the opportunity to work with many children.  One of the places that I have fallen in love with is a place called Casa De La Amistad.  Casa De La Amistad is a school for children who´s parents are imprisoned and their (parents) spouse´s and children may be living in the prison with them.

 

One week, the kids had the opportunity to come to a camp that Palabra De Vida (who we are working with) put together for them.  It was at the camp that my eyes were opened to just how much these kids need someone to mentor them too.  These kids do not have the greatest examples for parents or anywhere around them (especially if they are living within the prison walls themselves).

 

One girl that I fell in love with was a girl name Nyreli.  Nyreli is 10 years old and every time we see each other, we go running to give each other a hug and we keep close until we have to say our goodbyes.  Thursday was our last day at Casa De La Amistad and I had to tell Nyreli that I would be leaving for the US soon.  She didn´t want me to go and held onto me as long as she could.  She asked me why I had to leave and when would I be coming back.  It hurt to not have an answer for her.  I was left broken leaving that place.

 

I am still a bit broken.  I don´t know if I will ever see her or the other children who stole my heart here in Cochabamba but I know that they are in the hands of the Loving Father.

All of our ministries are wrapping up here in Cochabamba, we said our final goodbyes to Casa de Amistad, Casa de Amor, and I taught my last day of classes for the missionary kids yesterday.  Today is our last day of baby washing and the last youth service in Kara Kara.  Tomorrow is our last day of church in Kara Kara.  Next week we´ll have one last ministry opportunity to do door to door evangelism in Kara Kara and then we´ll have debrief monday through wednesday, cleaning up and packing thursday/friday and hanging out with the CED students and missionaries we´ve grown to love and then Friday night we´ll leave Cochabamba...

It doesn´t feel like we´ve spent two months here, and I don´t even see these two months as a ¨trip¨, but I lived life here for two months.  God abundantly blessed us here in Cochabamba with a kitchen to cook and (sometimes) warm water for showers and bunk beds etc etc etc....God has used these two months to reveal things to me that I probably would have missed in my comfortable home in Raleigh or at school in Greenville.  God has developed in me a heart for the nations and the desire to live abroad and be in community with people- after college.  He has stirred up a new passion in me for art and how its theraputic and spiritual and how it can change someone´s circumstances.  He has used these two months to reveal to me His spirit in new ways I´ve never encountered, which has given me a healthy fear of the Lord- because He is the creator of the universe and is all powerful.  He has used these two months and this community to reveal to me things about my identity and that I am a child of God and that is where my value comes.  He has used these two months to stir a passion in me for women in the sex trade and has really given me a desire to go to Asia next summer and work with women getting out of prostitution.  God has used these two months to bless me with spiritual gifts that edify the community but also a time of devotion to get in His word and really desire to know His heart through the bible. 

These are just some of the things God has completely wrecked in my life in an amazing way...so although I´m so sad to leave Cochabamba and the thought of not living with my 7 sisters here is heart breaking...I´m just getting started.  So my time in cochabamba is winding down, God is starting up passions in me and putting burdens on my heart that I am so excited to pursue when I return home.

Some one asked me here if I was homesick and I said no- I miss my parents and my friends....but God is evolving my heart to that my only home is with Him.  He has given me a heart for the nations a heart for other cultures and a deeper heart and love and reverance for Him.

Praise the Lord!

 I just wanted to share a recent email from the organization Treasures.  Here it is below:

 

There is a well-told story of a man, lying on a mat, who had been disabled for 38 years. In it, Jesus asks him a question: 'Do you want to get well?' (John 5)

W.A.W.  (i.e. what a week)

 

words run through my fingers as i try to cup meaning

an ever escaping relationship of life experiences and reflection

the nature of growth is a painful thing

a humbling thing

a necessary thing, to grow

to live and to reflect

and then live on

 

so listen to the artist Elisa

and her song Dancing and cover of Hallelujah

and ya

golden pools of warmth

smooth as honey

                                                           
  On Tuesday we had the opportunity to go to ¨the Cristo, ¨ which for those of you who do not know is the largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is 33.5 meters high (one meter for every year of his life.) This statue is situated on a high hill looking out over the city and has become our landmark for where we are in the city when we are out, as it is able to be seen from almost anywhere within Cochabamba. This statue has been an encouragement to me when I am feeling tired or grumpy to look up and see the beautiful white Jesus with his arms outstretched over this place.

      While I was praising, contemplating, being excited and sad and all the other things I was feeling/thinking while up on the hill with the Cristo I remembered the scripture in Matthew 5:13-16 which talks about Salt and Light. Although Cochabamba is not a city ¨on¨ a hill it is a city surrounded by many hills. My prayer for this place is that it would be like the verse says ¨a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.¨ I pray this place would be a light and that would not be able to be hidden from the world and that my life would be salt, enriching this place and any other place the Lord may lead me!  

       This past week has been a hard week for me. As we approached the two weeks left here mark it really hit me like a ton of bricks that in two weeks I am not going to wake up every morning and see the beautiful mountains and be greeted by the wonderful people. I am not going to be crammed into a small car with the other seven girls and I am not going to buy my fruits and vegetables on the streets of ¨La Cancha.¨ As I was beginning to be saddened by the thought of leaving the life I have established here I realized that I am not losing things or relationships or memories. I have gained more than I could have ever asked for. I have gained a whole new spiritual family here, seven more sisters, a new heart of love for God and His people, excitement for the plans God has for my life, a new understanding of what it means to be a daughter of the King and how you live that out. I have gained so much here and I still have two weeks left!

 

 

   This is my friend Ruth and I. She is a student at the Center for Evangelism and Discipleship school here at Palabra de Vida. We have gotten to know a lot of the students here and I have really enjoyed talking, playing volleyball and sharing our testimonies with these fellow brothers and sisters in Christ! Ruth is definently on of the people who have made my experience in Bolivia as wonderful as it has been! It has been one of my favorite things just to talk to Ruth, who is from a different culture and different country, but who has the same heart as we are united in Christ!

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