Here's a taste of what the past two days have held:
Tuesday:
Arrived at the James' house at around 7 am after getting through the airport with no hassle whatsoever (seriously, God is so good to me). After a delicious breakfast of Bolivian cereal and Debbie's phenomenal coffee cake, I took a 3 hour nap =) Yep, you know me. For lunch, the James' had a family over from their church who is leaving shortly for Peru as the church's first missionaries! It was a beautiful time of encouragement and prayer for them, and my first prolonged exposure to purely Spanish conversation. It sure was a mental workout, but I understood enough to be impacted by the loving support that the James family was providing to these new missionaries.
After lunch, there were probably 20 people who circulated through the house for the rest of the afternoon. Some came to help with things in the house that were broken, others just to chat, and a group from the church came by to do some planning for the women's ministry at the church this year.
- Side note: The James' just got here a week ago; 4 days before I did. They have more things to do than you can count and are still opening their home daily to those in their community - feeding them, ministering to them, praying for them. Biblical hospitality at its best.
At about 5 pm, Debbie took me on a drive to the best vantage points to see the entire valley. It was absolutely stunning. Pictures below.
Wednesday:
Went with the James' to the weekly meeting of the whole La Paz SIM missionary team at 9:30 am and got to meet everyone! They are all so, so sweet and it was wonderful to see another glimpse of the community of believers here in La Paz. We ate (there is always, always food at Bolivian gatherings of any kind), sang, prayed, and were led in a Bible study of Luke 12:22-34.
Later on in the afternoon I went to a birthday party for Debbie that the ladies from the church were putting on for her. They sure know how to party! They played games, laughed a ton, ate a ton of AMAZING food, and my favorite part: went around and shared some of the ways that Debbie had impacted their lives. This should be a part of every birthday party! The party overall was a little difficult at times because it's hard for me to communicate in Spanish in short, fast bursts, but I got to have a couple conversations that went rather well! The Bolivians are so nice about helping with the language and being patient with me.
After the party Debbie, another woman from the church and I went to visit the family of a young man (25) who has lung cancer. I can't explain what was going on in that living room, but the Holy Spirit was there. Debbie read scripture to the parents and they shared about how through the prayers of the whole church, their son is doing better than the doctors think should be possible. The power of prayer is incredible, and it's so tangible here. Along with prayer, the other thing that has struck me in these past few days has been the frequency with which the believers here preach the gospel to each other. There are no barriers against "stating the obvious;" there is a constant vocal presence of the truth that we are sinners and Jesus died for us.
Sorry, that was pretty long. The details may decrease as life gets crazier =) Here's a quick run-down of my schedule for the rest of my time here and when I'll be where:
February 9th-12th: Drive to Camp El Puente for the annual church retreat, where our team from Parkside hauled bricks for 3 days during summer '11!
February 14th: Take an overnight bus from La Paz to Potosi (10-12 hrs...)
February 15th-March 15th: Work at the clinic in Potosi with Esther, the physical therapist there
March 15th: Bus back to La Paz
March 16th-May 6th: Work at the hospital in La Paz with Erica, another physical therapist who goes to the James' church plant
May 7th: Fly home!
Praises:
After the party Debbie, another woman from the church and I went to visit the family of a young man (25) who has lung cancer. I can't explain what was going on in that living room, but the Holy Spirit was there. Debbie read scripture to the parents and they shared about how through the prayers of the whole church, their son is doing better than the doctors think should be possible. The power of prayer is incredible, and it's so tangible here. Along with prayer, the other thing that has struck me in these past few days has been the frequency with which the believers here preach the gospel to each other. There are no barriers against "stating the obvious;" there is a constant vocal presence of the truth that we are sinners and Jesus died for us.
Sorry, that was pretty long. The details may decrease as life gets crazier =) Here's a quick run-down of my schedule for the rest of my time here and when I'll be where:
February 9th-12th: Drive to Camp El Puente for the annual church retreat, where our team from Parkside hauled bricks for 3 days during summer '11!
February 14th: Take an overnight bus from La Paz to Potosi (10-12 hrs...)
February 15th-March 15th: Work at the clinic in Potosi with Esther, the physical therapist there
March 15th: Bus back to La Paz
March 16th-May 6th: Work at the hospital in La Paz with Erica, another physical therapist who goes to the James' church plant
May 7th: Fly home!
Praises:
- Good health!
- Time to rest
- A thriving church here in Bolivia
Prayer:
- Patience with myself as I work on Spanish
- A servant's heart during these last few days in La Paz and while at camp
- Discipline in being a student of the Word and seeking God in personal devotional times
Love to you all, and grace and peace in Jesus.
Catherine
La Paz: The view from Valle de la Luna
The road to get to El Puente =) Don't worry, it's not dangerous
unless there's two buses trying to get by each other...
WOW! That's pretty much it! Just WOW!! What an amazing time for you. I'm so happy that the Lord is blessing you with such an awesome experience!! Holding you in my prayers, sweet Catherine!! Love you much!
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