SB 10!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am spending my spring break in the jungles of Bolivia with about 15 high school students and about 5 other teachers!
We will be led by a "Bolivian" at heart....Papa Phil. He is a U.S. citizen who grew up in the jungles of Bolivia, spent some time as the mayor of somewhere, and now does a variety of things including leading various medical mission trips all over Bolivia.
Here are 2 pictures I found from one of his past trips.....



Are you excited...or nervous for me?!

Be excited! It should be a neat time filled with many stories.
Below is what my life is going to be come Sunday....or so I predict:

Sunday....leave La Paz bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready for an adventure and drive about 5 hours to Caranavi.

Monday....get back in the cars anxious to laugh about our puppet-show mishaps and drive to our 2nd stop, Guanay, about 6 hours away.

Tuesday....still in awe with the breath-taking scenery we find ourselves surrounded by, we are back in the cars heading approximately 6 hours into the jungle to stay in Mapiri for the day.

Wednesday.....itching our somewhat raw bug-bites, we are back in the cars heading approximately 6 hours into the jungle to stay in Consata.

Thursday....weary from lack of sleep and somwhat reluctant to get back in the cars that we've spent so much time in, we head ANOTHER 6 HOURS to Aucupata.

Friday....realizing the end is near, we fully enjoy our "eventful" drive to Charazani and play ultimate frisbee with the kids of the pueblito until dark.

Saturday.....with lots of laughter as stories are recounted from the week, we roll into La Paz with a stench of dirt and grime following us!

**Please be praying for safe travels and an impactful time for both our students and the Bolivians we'll be minstering to. My hope is that the students will not only give others an opportunity to tangibly experience God's love, but that they themselves will also be able to experience His unconditional love in a unique way this week!

I will let you know WHEN I safely return and how accurate my predictions were:)!

A Window

This post is designed to give you a window into my daily life and explain the reason(s) why I have not posted for a while...sorry!

Here are a few highlights from this past week....
Sunday: After church I had lunch at a local cafe with a new friend, Lisa Miser and her adorable little girl, Natty.
Here is a picture I found of them...but if you're interested in seeing more pictuers and knowing about THIER missionary life here in La Paz, check out my link below to Scotty and Lisa's Big Fat Blog!
Monday: After school, Steph, Jill and I reluctantly lugged our bookbags and selves to our 1 1/2 hour spanish class. This usually happens twice a week....and even though it's NOT my favorite part of the day, it's what I NEED and, slowly but surely, it's helping me!
Later that evening I went to choir practice where we reviewed all of our "old" songs from the start of our choir, about 6 months ago, and then learned some new ones in spanish..yay:)!

Tuesday: Staff meeting after school found us talking all about the BIG accreditation visit happening next Friday (pray) and all of the class observations that were going to happen...CMS deja vu!
Life group this week was actually dinner/tea at a cute cafe with all of our girls.
It has been great continuing to build relationships with each of them, and I am really excited that they along with other high schoolers (including the boys in the picture below) will be joining Steph and I on the HIGH SCHOOL SPRING BREAK MISSION TRIP TO THE JUNGLE (more info on that on Wednesday)!
Wednesday: After school I learned more about the jungle bugs and rural pueblos we'll be visiting on the Spring Break Mission Trip (March 28th - April 3rd) and then ran back to my room to tutor one of my middle schoolers.
I ended my busy day with some of the female teachers at a Bible study in the book of Romans with Amy Kolar...a wonderful mom/volunteer/board member of HIS. Below is a random pic of her daughter, Abby Kolar, on Dr. Seuss day...isn't she adorable??!!
Thursday: Steph and I (who will hopefully be joined by some of our small group girls next time) volunteered at an orphange in La Paz, Gota de Leche (Drop of Milk), and found ourselves flying the kids around the play room and then stuffing them full of corn gruel (I enjoyed the former more than the latter!).
Right afterward we headed to a nearby Mexican restaurant to catch up with a Bolivian friend who we've been trying to get together with since last year...better late than never is my motto lately!

Friday: Community Service Friday was a nice treat after all of the observations. My group went to the children's hospital where we drew mariposas (butterflies) and played with Emperor's New Groove action figures brought in by an 8th grader:)!
Steph and I ended the long week by having dinner at some of our students' house. They are a Bolivian/Ecuadorian missionary family that lived in Guatemala for a while before moving here. We enjoyed an awesome meal and funny stories...but were glad to go to head home, even if it was at 11:30!

Saturday: The final day of this week found me rearranging my kitchen to make room for our NEW CABINET!!!!
Steph and I are soo excited for the addition of this new peice of furniture that is sure to make our little casita a cleaner, more organized place!!
In the evening I went to a Jovenes Group (young adults from my church) and braced myself for a good yet challenging book study in spanish!

Thanks for making it through my week...I know I was glad to!