The Beginning

Hello beautiful people! I cannot believe it's only been 2 days since I arrived here in La Paz. It feels like forever. First things first: ANSWERED PRAYER. God has been so good in caring for all my needs, most immediately physical ones. The altitude has affected me so little it's ridiculous. I keep expecting to keel over and faint, but the extent of my symptoms has been a minor headache now and then, and nothing that some good ole' ibuprofen doesn't fix. It's been such a blessing to have these few days at the James' house without a schedule, before I jump into the craziness of the rest of the trip. I've been able to sleep lots but also see the city in small, manageable portions. Praise God for his constant provision!

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:

• 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...

GO!!

Well, here I am, sitting in the Miami National Airport! I cannot believe the day is finally here…the past week has been such a whirlwind. From Carolyn’s stunning senior solo to broken suitcase zippers 6 hours before departure, it’s been quite the eventful couple of days. And now, after months of preparation, I’m off! I think my emotions have been on overload for so long that they've now decided to go on strike, because I don’t feel much of anything at the moment. However, the Lord is blessing me with a deep sense of peace that stills each fear that tries to rear its head.

I finished Till We Have Faces by Lewis a couple days ago, and it’s hard to describe the chords that it struck in my heart. I wrote in my journal a couple excerpts from the last few pages that I want to share with you all.

“Suddenly, I knew that all this had been only a preparation. Some far greater matter was upon us.

“He is coming.”

The air was growing brighter and brighter about us. I was pierced through and through with the arrows of it. I was being unmade. I was no one. The earth and stars and sun, all that was or will be, existed for His sake. And He was coming. The most dreadful, the most beautiful, the only dread and beauty there is, was coming. The pillars on the far side of the pool flushed at His approach. I cast down my eyes.”

“I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the Answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”

I must admit, since I finished that book, 2 Corinthians 5:8 has become very real to me. “We are confident, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” And that’s where verse 9 comes in: “So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” I am so excited for this adventure, and I have a feeling that God is going to be showing me some of the freedom in “pleasing Him” that comes when we long to be home. In a few minutes I'll get on a plane and wake up in La Paz! Supposedly. We'll see how well Tylenol PM lives up to its reputation. 

Praises:

• Suitcases with zippers that close!
• A wonderful prayer support system at home
• Peace that passes understanding

Prayer:

• A quick mind to hear and understand the Spanish around me
• Flexibility when schedules change
• A gracious attitude while I feel really gross for the next week or so =)

Get set...

I have an entry in my journal from a week or so ago that's all nicely set up, dated, titled Preparing to Go, and contains all of 6 words: "God, I'm not ready for this." That was as far as I got that night, and I must admit that's a pretty accurate description of how I'm feeling about these next 3 months. However, looking at the journal entry and thinking back over the past week, I am in awe of how God has continued to show His faithfulness even in those few days. This entire process has been a continuous stream of endless examples of the Lord's provision. In the first stages of thinking about going, I had a list of all the reasons why I couldn't do it. Couldn't leave Wheaton, couldn't make the credits work, couldn't back out of various campus commitments, and God literally went down the list and checked off every single one. As the months have gone by, he's continued to do so with all my fears and anxieties, and this past week has been just another example. A week ago I was freaking out because I didn't have plane tickets yet, was worried about budget details, unsure about whether my host family even knew when I was coming, and just generally stressed. This morning, I have a flight itinerary, a packing list, a list of things to bring to the missionaries in Bolivia, and a set of training information to look over. God is so patient with my detail-oriented heart...and He is SO GOOD!

For housing, I'll be staying in the home of one of the nurses at the clinic (with kitties!), which will force me to speak Spanish =) The Hawthorne's are also purchasing a Spanish textbook that I'll be studying out of, so I won't be completely on my own on the language side of things! All these details have made the trip so much more tangible, along with the fact that I'm leaving in 8 DAYS. Wowzers, how time has flown. It's time to actually start packing! I still don't feel "ready to go" in the sense that I feel in-control, but I think that's where God wants me. I love the words of the old hymn:

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

Just to take him at his word!

Just to rest upon his promise

Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.

Jesus, Jesus how I trust him!

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus

O for grace to trust him more!

I'm practicing the daily routine of giving this trip to Him and trusting him to take care of the next details, and in the process I'm learning to do the same with everything else as well. It feels a bit like jumping off a cliff, and a bit like coming home. But that's life with Jesus, isn't it?

On your mark...

Hello wonderful people! I've never done a blog before, so this is a bit of an adventure! As the title suggests, the point of this blog is to give you all a window into this adventure that God's leading me into for these next couple months. For all of you who aren't entirely updated, here's a little description of how I got myself into this grand adventure and what I'll be up to until May.

In July of 2011 I had the opportunity to travel to Bolivia with a group from my high school youth group, and had an incredible experience of working alongside the missionaries from Parkside Church there and getting to know some of the Bolivian youth and church leaders. Now, 2 years later, God has opened doors for me to travel to Bolivia once again - this time officially with SIM, and with more of a medical focus. For the first half of the trip I will be living and working with Steve and Mary Hawthorne in the city of Potosí where Steve started a clinic last year.I'll be shadowing the physical therapist at the clinic, since that's what I'm looking into pursuing after Wheaton, and helping out in whatever ways I can. During the second half of the trip I'll be back in the capital city of La Paz working alongside the SIM missionaries there and exploring more of the medical missions world. My tentative travel dates are February 5th-May 7th, and I'll be back just in time to jump back into academia up at HoneyRock for the WIN program (Wheaton in the Northwoods). Whew!

These next 3-or-so weeks before departure will be filled with doctors appointments, logistics, heart-preparation, and studying Spanish medical terminology. Prayers are much appreciated as I wrap up loose ends and get ready to go, as it is easy to get caught up in the details and miss the big-picture lessons that God is teaching me. I love you all and I appreciate your amazing love and support throughout this whole process.

In Him,
Catherine


Praises:

• Budget is done, and funds are all in!
• Precious time with grandparents: a rare treat that doesn't usually happen during normal breaks
• Quiet hours at home spent with Jesus

Prayer:

• Discipline to study medical Spanish efficiently without the motivation of a teacher and grades
• A servant's heart while at home running errands, doing laundry, and helping mom out =)
• Ears to hear the Lord's voice over my own demands