LOVE like that

So last Saturday night I went to a Bolivian youth group! It was really awesome and definitely a highlight thus far. I spent most of the evening with Shelby, so we went to it together. She has been going there for a while. There were about 15 people total, mostly Bolivians. Also, youth group here is like after high school until age 30 or so. It was all in Spanish, though quite a few people there were bilingual. I understood most of it, but Shelby translated for me. They were talking about relationships and playing spin the bottle, but if the bottle landed on you all you had to do is answer a question about relationships. I learned 2 interesting things about relationships in Bolivia…
1. Bolivians wear their wedding rings on their right hand
2. “Novio/novia” means boyfriend or girlfriend. But here, if you have a novio, it means you are really serious and basically engaged.

On Monday my friend Shelby’s Bolivian friend, Coco, brought us to some Hot Springs near a part of Cochabamba called Quillacollo, which was about an hour away. It was cool to go out and do something different! The last like 15 minutes of the trip was on a narrow road in the mountains with a few small houses and a few people around. It was so random; it felt like we were going nowhere. Then all of the sudden we got to this somewhat shabby camping area with a piscina! (pool). We hiked for awhile and ate a little bit and then swam for a while! The pools were pretty hot, but the air and wind was pretty cold. I was pretty pumped to be able to swim. Since it’s invierno (winter) here, I didn’t think I would be able to swim. The view from every direction was beautiful.

Later that day we met up with Joana. I forgot to mention something… so last week when we met with Joana, she asked us to plan a Vacation Bible School for the students. What we do normally is help them with their homework. Well the first two weeks of July the students have a break from school. The first week of that is when we are going to do this VBS. Praise the Lord I have some experience with day camp (thanks, Riverside!) and have lesson planned and such before, so between Betsy and I, it wasn’t too hard to come up with things to do. I just pray it’ll come together and the students will have fun. Again, it was a blessing to meet with Joana. She’s so kind and encouraging. Here was just a quick thought at the end of that day. What it means to serve goes much deeper. I am called to serve no matter where I go…

Journal entry 6/17/13 Monday: “So the point of a Summer of Service is to serve, right? Well, that’s a good goal, but I want something more. My focus is to live, give and LOVE well. I should serve every day. I’m here to be. And love in as many ways I can.”

Lord, teach me to LOVE.

Then I worked at The Center Tuesday-Friday. So far every day is different, folks. Check out some of my thoughts…

Journal entry 6/18/13 Tuesday: “Interesting day with the kids. It was tough. Though there were a few successes with homework. Remember that first day what they were doing for math? I was so confused. Well, it was back again! Today! Luckily, I understand it more now. The boys actually asked me questions. That was new. I still don’t feel I did real great at explaining it… She [the teacher who speaks only Spanish] had me work with Aracely, which was so hard. She didn’t want to do a thing.”

(same day) “Favorite moment of today: I was talking to Joana in English and Erika heard us and said ‘no entiendes!’ (I don’t understand!) and Joana said to Erika (in Spanish) ‘Well, she doesn’t know what we we’re saying. She’s learning!’ Erika hugged Joana and Joana held her while she said that and Erika smiled and giggled. It was so cute. Definitely a highlight. Love that one. Thanks, Jesus!”

6/19/13 Wednesday “Today was unique at The Center. Rut was late and the kids literally had 1 page of math homework. Joana and I tried to figure it out and we finally did. Then I worked with Aracely. I TRIED to help her with her times tables. It kind of really failed. I made her cry! She did not want to work at all. I finally let her go. Then I made snack and washed the dishes.”

6/20/13 Thursday “I so enjoy being with them. I quizzed Alejandro and Patrick on their tablas (multiplication facts). They’re so cute and they did great. Now that’s something I can do! I also quizzed Erika and Wilma. The Wilma that they call another name but I still don’t know it yet. The other Wilma is constantly smiling. She is so cute and tries to hide her smile. Yesica always looks sad or sick and today she was crying. Her mom was there for a bit. I feel bad for her because I don’t know what’s wrong. All I can do is hug her. Josie is such a sweetheart. She works so hard and is way nice to the other kids. Simon is also so cute. Such a little gentleman.”

Friday was a special event. It was some holiday here but I never really figured out what it was, some sort of solstice or celebration of a saint. But anyway, some businesses were closed as well as school. But at The Center we had “la feria” (the fair). The students earned fake money and then got to go around and get games, food, clothes, and toys. I helped at the door giving the students a card and their bags for this festivity. After that, I was supposed to go around and help the little kids with their money and where to go. I ended up in the toy room because it was crazy chaos. The line was SO long and the kids pushed and wanted to just go in right away. I’m not sure how many times I said “espera!” (wait) or “en la fila, por favor!” (in the line, please). I literally had to hold kids back. It was crazy, but fun to see the kids have fun and get things they want and need.

Yesica, me, Erika

Josie

Patrick and Alejandro

Wilma in the ball cap. Hiding her smile!

Josie, another boy who I can't tell who it is, and little Simon!

Falling in love with these kids, especially the ones in my 4^th grade class. They’re getting closer and closer to my heart. They’re seriously such cool kids. They LOVE Uno! How cool is that? They are motivated and they work hard and they help each other. Son inteligentes. (They are intelligent.) The more I get to know them, the more awesome they get. So what they wear the same, ripped, too small clothes most days. So what they are a little dirty. Christ holds them so close to his heart and I am called to LOVE like that as well.

I’m really thankful to be here. I really can’t imagine being in another country or culture. I’m so thankful I have a background of the language. Thankful that the time difference is only an hour different from home. Thankful for the food. Thankful for the people I’ve met so far. Thankful for the kids. Thankful to see God working in a completely different world (to me) called Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Prayer requests…
- for the preparation of VBS and that God will prepare the hearts of the kids and the volunteers
- for continued safety and that I don’t get sick again
- one of my teammate’s mother is sick, with cancer potentially. Also, she is sick with stomach problems herself here in Bolivia
- that God will provide for the kids at The Center, spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc. Pray that they feel the love of God
- that God continues to give me patience while working with the students, and that they give me grace because of the language barrier J
- that Betsy and I continue to learn the language well
- Also, PLEASE pray for my friend Joel Stadem. We are family friends with the Stadems; we go to church with them and my parents work with their family. Late Wednesday night he dove in a pool and hit his head really hard and fractured a vertebrae. If you want more info, here’s a post on Facebook on Thursday morning from his mother Kari. (or please scroll to the end)….

“Please pray for our son Joel (age 20). He dove in to a swimming pool last night, hit his head on the bottom and couldn't move underwater for some period of time. When his friend Cole realized it had been too long, he pulled him up and he wasn't breathing. Twin Daniel administered CPR and after 30-60 seconds, he coughed up some water and started breathing. He was barely conscious and moaning at that point - about 11:30 pm. After the First Responders, paramedics, and helicopter team arrived and did their thing, the helicopter took off about 12:30 am. I (Kari), Daniel & Cole got our stuff and took off about 1:30 am, just after receiving the call that Joel was safely at Hennepin County Medical Center and had tolerated the flight well. We three drove there and by about 5 am they had Joel in a halo to immobilize his cervical vertebrae as much as possible. His 5th cervical vertebra was fractured, and part of it tipped into the spinal column. Whether his lack of mobility (he can move his arms but not his legs) is caused by the swelling and trauma, or more severe damage, won't be known for a while.

I (Kari) just talked to the head surgeon and she said that Joel's vertebrae are lined up quite well and they will be waiting to see if they align perfectly. If they don't, surgery will be needed to line them up. They will probably do an MRI at some point to determine whether the ligaments suffered damage. Just as a cast would immobilize a limb to allow the bone to heal, this halo will immobilize Joel's neck to allow the vertebra to heal - and that is a long process. She stressed that the return of full function can take months, so we should not be discouraged if we don't see a lot of progress early. On the other hand, she shared the story of a patient who couldn't move his legs at all and could barely move his arms, who walked into her office today after just weeks.

We are trusting God with and for Joel - he belongs to Him! We so appreciate everyone's prayers and love. Your warm concern and faith bring hope to our hearts.

The chaplain on call last night anointed Joel with oil and prayed for him. Our dear friend flipped her Bible open this morning to JOEL 2:21-24, paraphrased "Be not afraid, but be glad and rejoice in the Lord our God, who by many acts shows His faithfulness." God is good - all the time!”

-Anyway, I am very concerned for Joel, but this hits even more home because it all happened at my grandma and grandpa Gorans’ house, which is just 2 miles from my house. And seriously, my grandma’s biggest nightmare happened. Even though my sister and I swam for years growing up, she was and is ALWAYS concerned and telling us to be careful. Also, my sister was there that night. Kari has had more recent posts, so you can check that out on Facebook. But please, pray for Joel and the whole Stadem family, as well as my grandparents and sister, Liz, and friend, Cole, who was also there that night. This has been heavy on my heart here in Bolivia.

Daniel, Liz, and Joel

- PRAISE God because he is a God of healing, comfort, grace, and love. All of which he gives freely and I take advantage of all the time.