JOY. Joyjoyjoy.

Oh, my dear, dear friends. HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD! Before I get into update details, rejoice with me for a moment! Jesus RESTORES! He heals, and forgives, and overwhelms us in extravagant love! Sometimes I think I might explode with the sheer realization that this is real!! He is real! And we will be with Him. What have we done to deserve a reality in which such impossible joy is ours?? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. My heart might explode. 

Look to Him, "as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19) The morning star will rise in our hearts!! How gloriously, wonderfully, incredibly sure is this promise of hope that we have.

I just finished listening to the sermon that Pastor Begg preached last Sunday - Peter Denies Jesus. I finished reading 1 and 2 Peter the other day, and for some reason I always forget Peter's story when I read his letters. And then when I'm reminded, I am blown away once again by the incredible testimony of God's faithfulness in his life, and in ours. He is so good to us!!

Ok. I suppose I should provide some details of my life, as well as how awesome Jesus is. =) It's been a week and a day since I arrived here in Potosi! The Lord's protection and strength has been the theme of this week, even when I've felt weak and lonely. It is definitely hard to live alone. Double that when living in a foreign culture with new people. But like I said in my last post, this is also a time of sweet communion with Jesus and being content in His presence - something that is definitely a learning process, since I have spent so much time training my heart to depend on things other than Him, who is all I need. But there are times, like today, when He guides me to a place where I can focus on Him, and He floods my heart with joy unspeakable. It is a mystery to me why I ever choose other things, but He is so patient with my fickle heart.

To simplify things, here's a breakdown of my week into two categories:

Wonderful Things

Eysel, the woman who I'm renting my room from, is so incredibly sweet and welcoming and helpful. Twice this week she's held the ladder for me to climb into my kitchen when I locked myself out. She cooks lunch for me every day at the clinic, and is constantly giving. And her beautiful, smiley, precious baby girl Genesis is a plus too =)

Lots and lots of conversation time with Esther, the physical therapist at the clinic, when there are no patients. She is so sweet and patient with my Spanish (although I mostly listen), and has basically adopted me into her family's routine. I went swimming today with her and Ramina, her 1 year-old (what did I do to get to be around all these adorable children?); tomorrow I'm going to her church and lunch afterwards with her family, and next week we're going to Sucre together for a PT conference thingy. 

Divine protection of my stomach as I've eaten everything on the Do-Not-Eat-In-Foreign-Countries list in the past week. Fresh unwashed fruits and veggies, tap water, icecream, etc, all for the sake of this wonderful culture and its people. When the people feeding you are barely scraping by, you eat the veggies. "Jesus, protect my stomach," has been a common prayer, and one that He has answered again and again.

Kind people who give me directions on the street and don't laugh at my pronunciation of street names...

Mountains at sunrise. And sunset. And always.

Hard Things

Not being able to express myself fully or understand subtle conversations about how someone is feeling or doing. I get the basic stuff, but I so badly want to be able to understand the hearts of the people I'm around.

Being afraid of talking about Jesus in Spanish because I feel like I can't say much. Of course, this is an excellent exercise in trusting the gospel in all its simplicity, but I keep chickening out.

Confusion regarding cultural norms in how to get to know people...I just finished an excellent book called Foreign To Familiar about hot and cold cultures, and the author tells a story about living in South America and expecting to be invited into people's homes, when in fact they were waiting for her to come to them. This is very helpful information, but very difficult to put into practice when the American culture is one centered around privacy in many ways. It sounds really rude to me to just walk into one of the other homes in the complex I'm staying in without being invited, so courage to step outside my cultural comfort zone is much needed!

Still feeling extremely tired by the time the afternoon roles around. It's hard to stay engaged with patients and with Esther when I feel like just laying down on the floor.

Lack of routine Christian community - the kind where people are always asking about you and Jesus (like Wheaton).

Prayer Requests

• Continued deepening of relationships with those at the clinic; unity in Jesus despite cultural differences
• Opportunities to get to know the rest of the family living here (none of whom are Christians)
• The Church here in Potosi. Health and Wealth gospel is very common in the churches, and in the city in general, outright idol worship is routine. On the way to the hot springs today we passed a door in the mountain labeled "La Puerta del Diablo" or, the Door of the Devil. Pray for the power of the gospel to overcome the fear of the Enemy!
• Continued health and strength 
• Courage to have Jesus at the center of everything I say

Once again, I love you all with the love of the Lord. Que Dios te bendiga.

 The kitchen at the clinic =) Some of the best food I've ever had has come from that little stove!

 View from the roof of the clinic at sunset. 

Potosi <3