Three life changing letters

HIV

Ana Maria turned two years old on Saturday. The orphanage that she lives in here in Bolivia, Casa de Amor, threw her a grand birthday party.

Ana Maria is incredibly sweet and very loving.

Although we are all dieing, she may not make it to three. She has HIV. Which is what made this 2nd birthday a little extra special.


One of Ana Maria's friends stealing some food :)
Ana Maria in her birthday dress. Princess for the day.


Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. Yet, has the lowest rate of HIV in South America. Less than one percent of Bolivian adults have HIV (However, this number is a bit off with the understanding that much of the population is unreachable and untestable). These numbers are wonderfully low. Sadly, 3.5 percent of the street youth are HIV positive. The number is on the increase. With more and more youth contracting HIV the number of adults will likely also increase.

Bolivia is blessed to not have yet experienced the devastation that HIV/AIDS can take on a country. Ana Maria is so sweet.

Spend a few minutes in prayer about HIV/AIDS. Bolivia. US. Africa. Australia. An international prayer.

Off to Camp!

This week at Carchipampa Christian School is CAMPS WEEK! Since the first day of school we, the teachers, have been planning camps for each of the grade levels. Something that is challenging in many ways, but also a wonderfully fun time. It has been a TON of work, but the week is here and I couldn't be more excited!

High School - The high school is split into two camps. One is going on a week long hiking trip. They are very excited. Pray for the 40 teens and 8 adults. We ask for prayer in safety and that everyone would seek and find growth along this trip. The second camp offered to high schoolers is Habitat for Humanity. Our high schoolers are building two homes in five days for local needy families. Again, we pray for safety in using equipment and for relational building. We pray for all of our high schoolers that they would build relationships with themselves, teachers, classmates, and of course our Father.

Elementary- We are broken up into three camps. Kinder and pre-kinder are having a bbq/swimming day on Friday. We pray for safety and a good time. It is very important for this age group to begin to build relationships together. The second camp is grades -1-3. Thursday night the students will camp out in tents here at the school. They will play games and have activities on Thursday and on Friday. They are all very excited about the campfire on Thursday night. We pray that these grades will adjust well to a night away from home and truly embrace the opportunity to spend time with friends. The final CCS camp is the one I'll be attending. Grades 4-6 will be going to a local campground. We leave Wednesday morning and will arrive back on Friday afternoon. While we are away we will be staying in cabins, listening to a speaker, playing games, team building, and enjoying some worship around the campfire. My prayer for camp is that things will go smoothly. Maybe not as planned, but a good time none the less.

For each of the camps, we pray for safety as the children greatly out number the staff. We pray for relational building and growth in many ways.
I'll be back on Friday with some fabulous photos I bet!

It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.
-Jimmy Carter

Bolivian Documentary

The other night I watched an incredible movie. I don't want to give away too much what it is about, but it was fantastic and I highly recommend viewing it. THE DEVILS MINER is about children miners who live in Potosi and work in one of the most dangerous mines in the world. Potosi is not far at all from where I live, thus making the film an interesting look for others into the world I live in.

The movie is in Spanish, but also has English subtitles. Try to get it, it will be well worth your time. If it can't be found in the states, please let me know and I'll mail a few copies home.

Servant to the Servants

I've come across this concept before here in Bolivia. But not until recently did I really decide that this was my place in Bolivia.

No longer being a part of Iteams meant that I spend a lot less time at our Orphanages. Although this is sad on many fronts, I needed to find new ministries. God was calling me somewhere and I needed to find where. This story ends with me and God finding Carchipampa and being the Art and PE teacher. I couldn't be happier.

But those around me are less convinced. Recently, I have decided that the opinion of those around me matters much less than before. Esspecially here. I'm here away from my life not necessarily to have fun (Although I have found that to be an added bonus), I am here to be a servant. However, humanly, it is hard to ignore many of the things that are said. Along the lines of being "less of a missionary." No longer do I live in community, just one roomate. And we have Bolivian cable. How much of a missionary could I be? I teach in an English speaking school (Although for most of my students, English is their second or third language). How much of a missionary could I be?

However, I teach missionary children. Missionaries who are able to serve knowing that their children are being cared for and educated. Those missionaries would literally not be able to be here if their children were not able to be educated. It is as simple as that.

Normally, I do not use my blog to vent, but there are politics here -even on the mission field. Very interesting to me. Very unexpected. Good thing I'm just a servant & don't get caught up in that. :)

Vivo Bolivia!

My room. Mid-day was a bit dark. You get the idea
Living room
Kitchen
View out our front door.

As I settle into my new apartment with Rehanna, I thought you would enjoy some photos. Our new apartment is right now in the heart of Cochabamba. Very close to many friends, church, grocery store, and one of the main roads which makes catching public transportation very convienent. Thank you for the continued support.

New Address:

Mision Andina Evaugelica
Tiffany Du Mez
Cassilla 736
Cochabamba BOLIVIA

Sud America

Prayers for a dear friend

My friend Eryn-May found out recently that she has a severe intestinal infection. She is in an incredible amount of pain, nauseated, headaches, feverish, and a number of other quite unpleasant symptoms. We have been taking good care of her, but it is very difficult to be away from home and sick. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Eryn-May is the 3rd grade teacher and Carchipampa and hoping to go back to school on Monday. After four days of bed rest she is feeling much better, but still quite sick. She also has not been eating very much, for obvious reasons, and is lacking in energy. Not the best combination for her very energetic 3rd graders.

Keep her health, and each of our well-beings, in your thoughts and prayers.

PICTURES of new apartment: tomorrow!

My Schedule

Sunday: 8a Help set-up at church
10.15 Church
Relax J

Monday: 7.40a Morning staff devotionals
8.40 Planning Period
9.25 Help with 2nd Grade ESL reading
10.30 Help with Kinder and Pre-Kinder classes
11.15 Help with 3rd Grade reading and literacy groups
12.00 LUNCH
12.45 3rd Grade PE
1.30 4th Grade PE
2.15 3rd Grade ART
3.00 School is out! Usually home by 5p. I-Teams Bible study is in the evenings

Tuesday: 7.40a Devo’s
8.40 3rd Grade RLG
9.25 PreKinder and Kinder
10.30 Planning Period
11.15 6th Grade ART
12.00 Lunch
12.45 6th Grade PE
1.30 5th Grade PE
2.15 1st Grade PE
3.15 Staff Meeting

Wednesday: 7.40a Devo’s
8.40 High School Chapel
9.25 2nd Grade Reading
10.30 3rd Grade RLG
11.15 5th Grade PE
12.00 Lunch
12.45 Planning Period
1.30 6th Grade PE
2.15 2nd Grade PE

Usually I meet Katie at a local bakery and catch up. It’s a wonderful time that Katie and I chat and hardly find time to breathe. Then we head to Bible study together at the Johnsons’s.

Thursday: 7.40a Devo’s
8.40 Elementary Chapel (Each week one of the elementary classes prepares a skit for the rest of the elementary classes to share a message. Its adorable!)
9.25 3rd Grade RLG
10.30 PreK and Kinder
11.15 Planning period
12.00 Lunch
12.45 4th Grade PE
1.30 1st Grade PE
2.15 2nd Grade ART

Friday: 7.40a Devo’s
8.40 Planning period
9.25 PreKinder and Kinder
10.30 2nd Grade PE
11.15 3rd Grade PE
12.00 Lunch
12.45 4th Grade ART
1.30 5th Grade ART
2.15 1st Grade ART

4.30 Centro de Amistad (Friendship Center) A drop-in Center for street kids
7.00p Dinner with friends

Saturday:
Market
Grocery shopping
Laundry
Planning for week
Babywashing

Soy Profesora

Teaching at Carchipampa Christian School (CCS) has been a wonderful blessing. I have learned so much about myself and the community around me. Although my schedule looks different everyday, there is always something beautiful occuring around me.


Caleb
Nicholas
2nd grade ART. Each student created a watercolor impression and chalk impression of Van Gogh's Starry Night.
Fabiana and Isabella enjoying some free time in GYM

10/12/08

We've been together, Bolivia and I, for five months. Well, sort of. There was that trip to the states and back. Crazy really.

So here I am, five months later.
-To the states and back
-Moved AGAIN
-'Survived' my first real bout with political turmoil
-Began to understand my calling and what that looks like
-Further building my relationships at Carchipampa


So many things in the past five months. When I say it like that, 5 months, it seems short. But when I retrospectively look -life in the States seems so long ago. A lifetime. That is what I have created here: a whole life. Not, by any means, leaving mine behind, but with the understanding that this was not going to work unlessI dug in. Gave it everything I had. And I have.

The other afternoon, Katie, Rehanna, and I were out in La Concha trying to get some shopping done. We got to talking about how long we had been here. We were talking about the drastic changes we had seen in such a short period of time here in Bolivia. I began expressing how different my life looks than a year ago. A year ago this time, I was being accepted by International Teams to head to Bolivia. I was preparing to graduate college. I was living with a whole lot of amazing people. I was in love with Chicago. I couldnt imagine leaving my family for 8 months, let alone 13.

So much looks different. I am working in a school now and less with the orphanges. I continue to work with street children, but in such a different fashion. No longer do I live in the Hacienda, of which I dreamed about for months. So much change in so little time.

I said to Katie and Rehanna, If God would have told me.... All of this. That I would be an independent missionary, change ministries, extend my trip, leave in Sept. for 14 days, experience heartbreak in the truest sense of the word. If he had told me any of this, I would not have believed him. Sadly, a year ago, had I heard this, I may have turned around. And that is when Katie, without skipping a beat said "That is why he didn't." Simple answer. Obvious answer. But oh so true. That is the joy in this, I am so grateful for the strength I see in this now. I am eternally grateful to be here and more grateful that God has given me this passion to be here. However, most grateful that God did not tell me just how difficult some days would be.

Its been a wonderful five months. Although I still don't know when I am leaving, I pray that I am not yet half-way. I pray that this is just the beginning. Because it has been an incredible journey.

Praise: Katie's Mom's surgery was wonderful & could not have gone better. Students are really beginning to understand my methods of teaching & what I am teaching. Grasping if you will.
Prayer: Guidance on when to leave & the finances with that.

Photos of some things we have been working on tomorrow. Come back and check!

Pure Joy.

Embracing my Aunt in the Fort Meyers Airport
Seeing the Christo again after 25 hours of travel

I have been feeling homesick for a bit now. Not overwhelming or enough to send me home, but I do still have a ticket in Dec. Yet I am not even considering using it. That is not up to me right now. Callings.

I'm here because I am called. At least that is what I am told. For me I am here because all of the other doors were closed. That is how God works. Not everyone enjoys their 'calling.' Nor does everyone listen to their calling of God's will. When I was preparing to come down to Bolivia there were moments that I wanted to turn around. There were points in the prepartion when I felt weak and unable, but God closed doors and open others. And, blessed am I, I enjoy my calling. I am grateful. Which is what made my trip home to Miami was so difficult. I thought I was losing Bolivia. I loved my calling and why would I lose that? Sometimes the lesson is worth learning.

Recently a dear friend and I were chatting about these ideas and about ministry in general. The number one reason people leave the mission field is other missionaries. Any missionary could testify to this. Fact. This strikes me as terribly sadening. So many leaders and so many styles, yet unable to focus on the important. Unable to submit for the need of others. Churches here and all over are filled with issues of this sort. Finally I said to her "Remember, awhile back, when we came to Bolivia to be servants of the Lord?" That's it. That's what it's all about.

So we've taken to fighting the good fight. For others. As much as December looks wonderful and as much as I miss the cool fall weather, I'm called to be here. I'm called to work here, with others, as me. Compassionate. Emotional. Hardworking. Impatient. Serious. Goofy. Smiling and crying. Just me. Through and through.

I was walking today. Sundress on. Feet in the grass and sand. Spanish music on my Ipod. Sun on my skin. Street food in my hand. This is what I love about Bolivia moments like this. I was only minutes away from missing home -deep in my heart. When I realized how lucky I was. I will be home just in time for Rach's wedding. I have many friends missing a number of their good friends weddings. Friends missing graduations. Births. Deaths. Any number of things. For me? I just miss the day to day. The moments like today, when you just appreciate life. When I would walk into UMin just to say hello to my support system. Or church on Sunday mornings with Grandma and Grandpa. Turkey dinners with friends. Tea on a chilly afternoon. But God knows. He knows that I would not have the strength to miss too much. He knows my heart to be here, but my longing to watch The Office with friends or Grey's with my Aunt. He knows. I am loved in such a way I can't understand. So as I continue to walk through my beautiful city, thinking way to many things for my day off, a good song comes on my Ipod.

It's all good music really. But some how a dance song got mixed into my Spanish playlist. And right there, passing the park with the sun glowing all around me, I couldn't help, but bust a move. I was laughing and dancing and simply enjoying life.

Life is tricky here. I am not always happy. Sometimes I miss home. And sometimes things are just plain crappy. But I have joy. Pure joy in this life.
And a calling.

What more could I ask for?

Back to Bolivia

Warm Welcome Back!

Putting into words my arrival back back to Bolivia, will be quite difficult -Yet, I'll give it a go.

There are moments that I feel as if I never left for two weeks, other moments I wonder where I have been. Although, I was in the states and I was with family it has been much longer than that. Since arriving I have focued on my presence here in Bolivia, however very recently I don't know where I have been.

Arriving back feels good. When I called Aunt and Uncle to tell them I arrived safely I called Bolivia home. In that moment, I realize for now, Bolivia is home. And that is wonderful.

Being back at Carchipampa was/is wonderful. The students decorated my classroom to welcome me back. Everyone, teachers and students, were so incredibly warm upon my return. There has been a lot of work to do to catch back up on work and on the lives of families and friends as I have been away, but it was been wonderful.

Rehanna and I are still unsure of our future housing situation, but continue to pray that God will open doors to us. Clear answers. Rehanna and I have had wonderful time together to talk through different things occuring both in Bolivia and in our home lives. She is an wonderful person and incredible inspiration to me and my ministry. Continue to pray that our Lord will guide both Rehanna and I in our ministries.

It feels good to be back.