My second to last week in Cochabamba

Tuesday and Wednesday the kids didn’t really have homework. Wednesday I spent my time working on a puzzle with “mas de mil” pieces. (more than 1,000) That lasted about an hour before the kids got bored. Each day this week I helped prepare snack by counting the numbers of kids in each class, counting them out, and delivering them. Then I helped wash the cups. Thursday and Friday they finally had some homework, though it wasn’t much I could help with. Well, they didn’t really need a lot of help. I did what I could!

Starting the puzzle

Homework

Thursday morning I finally went to the Christo that overlooks Cochabamba. The Christo is probably one of my favorite things about Cochabamba. I live fairly close to the Christo. Wherever I go in the city or someone's house, I love seeing where I am in relation to the Christo. It was kind of strange looking out over Cochabamba without seeing the Christo! The view from each direction was beautiful. We went with little Arturo, who lives in our house and his mother.

Like I said, Friday night after Center, we went to a hotel in another part of Cochabamba about an hour away. It was a short trip, but it was worth it. Our host mom really wanted to take us there because there’s a pool with really hot water and it’s one of her favorite places. Friday was a hard day for me and I still quite can’t exactly pinpoint why. I was super tired after construction that morning and just never bounced back. It was hard to catch transportation to the hotel in the evening. Most of the buses and vans were fun, so we had to literally squeeze on a bus. Once we finally got to the hotel, I just wanted to sleep. “Y ahora, Scrabble!” My host mom said when we got there. I think another reason why Friday was hard was because I was so tired of trying to speak Spanish well and got really frustrated when I couldn’t understand. Then I got to play Scrabble in Spanish! It was good, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to play. I also started to feel sick that day, which made it hard.

My host mom's little friend, Abigail

Super cute sisters!

Saturday was a very unique day. We were at the hotel for half the day. I helped a 5-year-old girl (Abigail) swim and then sat in the sun and in the Jacuzzi. It was really nice. We ate lunch at the hotel and then headed back to Cochabamba. Then I attended a Bolivian wedding! The nephew of our host mom was the groom, who I’ve said maybe 5 words to. I’ve actually spoken more to his wife. It was a really cute small wedding in a hotel. It was interesting because there wasn’t a mean afterwards, or a dance, just some appetizers (most of which my little host grandma made). She also made the cake! After the wedding, we hosted a little movie night for the 2 little girls and Arturo. We watched “Mi Villano Favorito”: Despicable Me!

Arturo, the ring-bearer

Watching Despicable Me

Host mom (Judith), Betsy, host grandma (Nazmi, "Mamita") and me

Sunday was my last Sunday at church. The leaders of the ministry here have started this church plant actually at the Center and the church is growing “poco a poco” (little by little). I walked into the chairs in a circle, which I thought was a little strange. The guy who usually leads songs was sick, so we literally sang right out of the Bible. Once I got there, the only people there were the family in charge of the ministry, The Quiroga’s: mom, dad, daughter, and 2 sons and then us 4 interns and one other man. I was bummed because there weren’t any kids there. By the end of the morning, there was another couple, another missionary at the Center and her friend, the other Quiroga daughter and her husband, about 10 kids and 2 families of the kids at the Center. It was really beautiful.

Kids presenting a song during church

Prayer requests...

I got sick with a cough and sore throat the other day. A lot of the people on my team are sick and I hang out with kids that cough in my face every day. Haha. Pray that it doesn’t get really bad! I got sick in between my transition from camp to school last year and it was not fun. Also pray for my teammates and the kids who are sick

Pray for my transition back to the States. I’ll only have a little over a week and then I begin RA training at NW

Pray for the church here, that it will continue to grow and that God will be so present Sunday mornings and every day in the hearts of those that attend

Pray for the kids – many are sick and aren’t always able to get medical care or the TLC that they need. Also that they may experience the joy of Christ

Pray for the recovery of Joel Stadem. Pray that his fever may go down and that he may continue to improve!

Praise God for keeping me safe. Praise him for his beloved children, both big and small, and the relationships I’ve made. Praise him for the more than kind hospitality I’ve experienced in my host home. Praise him for his love that’s not limited to certain people or places!

Silence

It’s crazy how you can form relationships with people that don’t speak your language. I mean, I speak some of their language, but still that’s really cool how God does that. We can be “WE,” not just “them” who speak Spanish and “us” who speak English.

Believe it or not, I feel like this time for me here in Bolivia has been a time of silence. If you know me pretty well, this would maybe surprise you and you’d expect this to be hard for me. I like being in charge, encouraging others, praying for others, teaching others, and just talking. All of these things are really hard when I can’t fully express myself in Spanish. But you know, I also like to listen. Listen and observe. I’ve been forced to do a lot of listening, which is much harder when I’m trying to figure out what is being said in Spanish. This is also very humbling. Now it even hurts to talk because I’m sick with a sore throat.

For example, on Saturday I went to a hotel with Betsy, my host mom, her friend from La Paz and her 2 little girls. I sat by the older one, who is 8-years-old, on the hour trip back home.  I asked her some questions and we chatted a bit. Once I ran out of things to say, she just kept talking. And talking and talking. “Ahh, sí. Wow!” I said over and over. I was so tired, hot, and slightly sick. It’s hard work to really listen and comprehend. I understood some of what she told me, but a lot of it was just listening.

 But somehow, even in the silence, God has opened doors to form relationships with the people I’ve met here in Bolivia, including the kids. He’s given me wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen and learn, to know when to ask questions and when to talk about myself. And what is so beautiful is often times I don’t even need words. A hug, a kiss on the forehead, holding a small hand, a pat on the back, a smile, says enough. 

I love it when the kids don't have homework!

Today was the first day back at the Center for the kids. 2 weeks ago we had Vacation Bible School. Yesterday was their first day of school and today was the first day back at the Center. Looks like no homework for the 4th graders on the first days back!

Erika, Ruth (the 4th grade teacher), Josie

The first graders didn't have homework either - singing a song!

Green eggs and ham! In Spanish of course

In other news, I had my last Spanish lesson this morning because my teacher is leaving to visit her family in the States. We had a really great chat and I learned a lot. I've learned a lot in just 12 classes with her! God really spoke truth through her today and I'm so thankful for that. 

An unexpected friend... little blessings

So I have mentioned my family situation here in Bolivia. We live with a host mom, Judith, as well as her mother, Nazmi. Though I’m not sure I have mentioned that our host mom’s two nephews live here as well. They are both in their 20’s. The house is shaped like a “U,” so you have to go outside to get to their room, which I’ve never been in. We see them every so often. Anyway, what I’m getting at is that this week has been a little different. We found out that one of the guys has a girlfriend and 4-year-old son that live in La Paz! They have been here visiting this week. The other nephew also has a girlfriend, and a hijito (little son) and is getting married this weekend! It’s strange because I’m used to this house being quite empty, at least the main part of the house. Nazmi is usually the only one that is around most of the day and she spends most of her days cooking. The past couple days I have woken up to a babbling toddler in the room next to ours! It's so strange. But whenever I talk to this little toddler, he never says anything! He's the son of another nephew who visited this weekend with his wife and 2 kids.
Anyway, this little 4-year-old has been a blessing this week. He’s so sweet! Also, I thought my Spanish would maybe be at a 4-year-old level, but he still speaks better than I do. Haha. It’s been fun spending time with Arturo and his mother. Arturo shows me his toys and games. The other day we came home to him learning how to ride a little bike. He’s been a great little friend, especially since the kids weren’t at the Center this week. He left on Thursday, but is coming back tomorrow!

Isn't he cute with his Toy Story pajamas and little pantuflas! (slippers)

Thursday morning we had a meeting with all of the ITeams missionaries in Cochabamba. We had the meeting at this Australian couple's house. They have 4 little kids, ages 2, 3, 4, and the oldest just turned 6 on Friday. These little kids were so adorable. The youngest is a little boy and all the rest are girls. It was so good for my heart to spend time with them! Again, God was providing these little ones as big blessings in my life. 

This week was just a lot different. The kids didn't come to the Center, but the 4 interns still went to do some deep cleaning in the afternoons. We also went Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings for construction. I had Spanish lessons Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. We had a despedida (going away party) for one of the other interns on Thursday night, which included some Bolivian dancing! It was so fun. The kids will be at the Center this week, which I'm really looking forward to. Since this week was pretty quite, it really hit me that I'm already leaving in 2 weeks.

Pray...
- for unity between our team and that we work well together
- for the children and their families: safety, health, other needs. That God will touch their hearts!
- for my transition back home. Can't believe I'm leaving in 2 weeks!
- for continued health and safety. 

Profe Balor

Yep. That’s what they call me. Profe “bah-lor.” Bolivians pronounce their “V’s” with the same sound as a “B.” It’s funny because a couple weeks ago I saw a workbook page on “B’s vs. V’s” in my student’s workbook. It really can be hard since I’m still learning the language. I wonder, now does that word start with a B or V? It’s either “B de vaca” or “B de bota.” That's who I am here!

Anyway, this past week the students did not have school, but we still had Center and did a Vacation Bible School. I thought it went surprisingly well and smooth! Everybody on our team did what we asked them to do and they worked hard and did it well. We all started together with some music and then did rotations: Bible, craft, games, and snack. My role was leading games, which I really enjoyed. My friend on our team, Kathryn, translated for me, so I would say I co-led the game station. The first day we played musical chairs with sticky notes of parts of John 3:16 on the back of each chair. Then we put the verse in order as we went. I didn't realize that most of the 1^st graders couldn’t read, but they were still able to do it with help and it was good to get them at least recognizing words. I played a Spanish kid songs CD. Number 7 was my favorite and ended up playing it over and over because the beat was cool and there was this part that said, “salta, salta, salta!” Salta means jump, so I made them jump around the circle like little conejos (rabbits). It was so funny! If you know me, you know I really like to make kids do crazy things and laugh at them. Always in a good way though! The second day we did some relay races and the third day we did a tag game, which was so funny to watch, especially the really little ones. The last day was a little different and I helped with crafts, which was a little crazy, but the kids had fun.

The kids seemed to really have fun and we had the opportunity to share the gospel with them. Our theme for the week was John 3:16 and “God is love.” It’s kind of strange not really knowing what the kids thought of it or how much they took away from it, but my team was faithful in giving them Jesus in a fun way that hopefully they could understand. It was awesome to see them have a break from just doing homework all afternoon. Doing their homework is so necessary, but how very boring for them sometimes. I wrote this in my journal Friday night: “I think the whole week I just have to trust that Christ worked in their hearts and God spoke through us.” 

During the tag game

Cute little guys coloring after snack

Simón playing with Brownie

The littlest ones during Bible station

Worship time

Most of the kids I usually work with. Prayer before snack

What a Trip

So this weekend I went on a trip to the Salar de Uyuni. It was pretty stressful last week trying to plan a trip through a country I hardly know anything about to a place I’ve never been. It was also hard because we don’t have internet at the house and even then, it’s hard to find bus times, tours, and hotels. Luckily, my host mom helped us out a ton. Praise the Lord! She has a nephew in Uyuni who was so kind to find the four of us a hotel, meet us at the bus terminal at 3:30 in the morning, bring us to our hotel, and help us find a tour. We had to take 2 buses. We took the first one to Oruro, Bolivia. It’s smaller than Cochabamba and was not very pretty at all. It was very dry and there was garbage everywhere. However, the ride there was comfortable and very pretty. Once we got out of Cochabamba, we drove through the mountains. It was also very interesting to see because there were little villages in literally what seemed like the middle of nowhere! Most looked pretty poor with brick houses with tin and rocks holding down the tin as roofs or mud houses with mud or straw roofs. What would life be like there? Wow. At one point, Rebekah and I saw a lady leading a cow in the middle of a field by a mountain with absolutely nothing around. We had to laugh because it was just so random to see! But really, where is she coming from? Where is she going? What is she doing? So interesting.

We had to wait a while for our bus to Uyuni while we were in Oruro. We went to some hot springs about an hour away, which was very relaxing. The bus ride to Uyuni was probably one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. It was a 7 hour bus ride through the night on a pretty old, sketchy bus. The trip was almost entirely on an unpaved road. My body was jostled more than it ever had been! I was convinced that these were not roads; we were just off-roading. I thought that the ride better be worth the trip there. We were in the very back on seats that didn’t recline. We were going up in altitude and the bus was filled with dust from the dirt road, so it was hard to breathe. I was suddenly thankful for bathrooms on coach buses and paved roads. The last 2 hours were hard because I got a stomach ache, though it wasn’t too bad. We finally made it and got to our hotel, which was very comfortable.

So the people here had been warning us about how COLD it is there. Plus it’s winter right now. I was expecting this place to be like a tundra, so I brought with lots of clothes and a couple blankets. It wasn’t bad at all! The night we arrived was pretty bitter cold, but after that it was probably 50 degrees F. They must have just meant it was cold for Bolivia! We toured all day Sunday, left that night, were on 2 buses (MUCH better than the way there), and arrived back in Cochabamba on Monday morning. Vale la pena! (It is worth it!)

Rebekah and I

With an crystal! You can even see it dripping

I tasted it!

Bolivia lovin'

There was this cactus island with a couple llamas!  I was creepin on this cute little girl. Since the "ll" makes the  "y" sound, she said "llamas, llamas!" It was so cute

That's a lot of salt!

Highlights

Again, it was another different week. I thought I would be in a routine by now, which I somewhat am, but still things at The Center are different every day.

Highlights from the past week:

The Ballet – Saturday night I attended a ballet downtown with Betsy, Kathryn, Joana, and Toty. I really like dance, but I thought there was a pretty good chance I would not like it, though I wanted to experience it anyway. I loved it! It was just a bunch of traditional Bolivian dances and the dancers were mostly little kids and teenagers. It was really good, but got a bit long. I no longer want to be a teacher; instead, I want to be a Bolivian dancer! Yeah I understand that won’t happen. It’s still a dream!

Toty and I at the ballet

Rainbow – On Tuesday it rained a lot and got very cold up at The Center. I wasn’t having the absolute best day, but towards the end of The Center, there was a beautiful rainbow over Cochabamba. Beautiful!

Banana bread – So our host grandma is a really great cook. She literally makes food ALL day long! She is up early and stays up really late, sometimes even later than us! She let us help her make banana bread the other night! It was great to be included in what Nazmi loves to do.

1^st grade – On Wednesday I got to hang out with the first graders in Toty’s class. It felt like everything was “fun sized” or just shrunken in there. They are so small! They sit in these little plastic chairs and tables. It was cool to see how a different classroom at the Center works. They’re such cute little kids. I helped a little boy named Freddy with some addition, which was somewhat hard to explain in Spanish, but so much easier than what the 4^th graders do! I also cut out a lot of little squares in capital and lowercase “ba, be, bi, bo, bu,” over and over again. Also, how convenient it is that their vowels make the same sound always!? That’s so cool. None of that short and long vowel business! The sweetest part of the day was a couple of the 4^th graders came in the 1^st grade room because they wanted to help out and give me a hug. The little ones didn’t need much help that day, but their intentions were good! :) One of these little first graders is Ruth. (pronounced “root”) I’ve seen a lot of beauty in these two this week. Little Ruth absolutely LOVES Kathryn. She calls her “Tia Katarin!” which means “Aunt Kathryn.”

Kathryn and Ruth

On Monday I made a list of things different in Bolivia or just things I don’t want to forget. “No te olvides.” They’re basically highlights and observations thus far. Here’s a few…

-          There are dogs EVERYWHERE, wild muts

-           Construction is also everywhere and it goes very slowly

-          Watch your step on the sidewalks. There could be a big hole or incline in front of you

-           Hot dogs are squishy and RED

-          Toty loves watching little kids dance (TV and real life)

-          The Coca-Cola Company takes over the world

-          Traffic doesn’t stop for pedestrians

-          Ballet for 20B’s with Toty, Joana, Betsy and Kathryn: so great! Toty dancing next to me: even better.

-          Dulce de leche

-          Wearing shorts in the winter (even when it gets up to 80 degrees) is not okay

-          Human tug-of-war that the students at The Center play

-          The Quechuan moms playing games

-          Hymns from radio 24/7. Nazmi loves them

-          Beautiful prayers in Spanish (which I only understand half of)

-          Getting stuck in traffic in the middle of the road

-          Playing UNO

-          Water must be boiled to be cleaned and safe

-          Watching movies with Betsy

-          When the girls at The Center play with my hair

Journal entry from 6/27/13 (Thursday)
“How are you going to tutor them if you don’t speak their language?” These words have been ringing in my head today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not mad at whoever asked this to me. I think it might have been a couple people who said it to me. I pretty much laughed in uncertainty. It’s a pretty honest and bold question and I think I needed to think about it. My response to this question after being here for 3 weeks is still I DON’T KNOW. It’s hard, it really is. Just when I thought I was a pretty decent and confident teacher, God knocks me off my feet and brings me lower. Humility. Or maybe God just sweeps me off my feet and into his harms. My Beloved is a God of discipline. Really. It says in Hebrews 12 that God disciplines those he loves. He is a God of LOVE.

I’m really liking this visual. How I long to be held in the arms of Christ. Here on earth, it’s so possible to feel that love. Praise the Lord! It’s like how Jesus, The Good Shepherd, would carry his lambs CLOSE to his heart, literally. Jesus even goes after the lost sheep. What a lost sheep I am sometimes. While staring at the workbook of one of my 4^th graders and have absolutely no idea what’s going on, I often feel defeated. Today was one of those days. I tried to help with abbreviations of words, but really had no idea because it’s something you just memorize. Por ejemplo, una de las palabras fue página, (For example, one of the words was page) which clearly in English is pg. However, en español, it’s pag. Who knew!? Not me, that’s for sure. Lost and confused I stared at their many pages hoping to stumble across something I could help with. I desire to help them academically, but sometimes am not equipped. Then I wonder, Jesus, why am I here? I’m not fluent in this language. Though still I can LOVE. And that is what I love in this life. People. Getting to know them. Especially children, loving them.

It’s really strange because sometimes I almost get excited about doing the dishes. Weird, right? But you know why? Because it’s something tangible that I KNOW I can do. I’m helpful. Though when I was at SNP(Stay N Play Child Care), I was so sick of doing the dishes and felt more utilized in the classroom with the students.

Ready to RELY on Christ fully?

Final thoughts…

-        --- So yesterday I just had to laugh because Erika told me that she didn’t understand my name. “Profe, no entiendes tu nombre!” Now that I’m writing this it doesn’t sound funny at all. My name is a word in English, but it’s not used that much. But I’m pretty sure the word “valor” is used much more often in Spanish. It basically means the same thing in both languages. The definition in Spanish is “value, worth, courage.” I don’t really blame her for being so confused at my name.

-       --- I really underestimated winter here. I was convinced that I would wear shorts every day since it gets up to 70 or 80 most days. But it’s only warm from like 10am-3pm. Then it drops quickly! Especially in the mountains of Taquiña. It’s also pretty cold in our house. It’s even colder when it rains or storms. I learned that snow exists in Bolivia! Only on the tips of the mountain, but it’s still pretty cool to see. I didn’t expect that! I’m not complaining though. Winter in MN/IA is SO much worse, like 800 times worse!

-       --- Shout out to the lovely Taylor Studer! It’s her birthday on Monday. Happy early birthday! I’m so glad to have you in my life. I love you and miss you and am excited to spend time with you in August!

Taylor and I

Prayer requests…

-          --- Continue to pray for Joel Stadem. If you are interested in more specific ways you can pray, check this out - http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/joelstadem/journal

-          --- For continued health and safety. I didn’t get sick this week! Woo!

-          --- That VBS goes smoothly this week and God leads our team and speaks to the hearts of the children

-          --- For me to be joyful and rely on Christ always