Dear friends and family,
Tomorrow is the last day of April and with it comes the start of the LAST MONTH of school and an unexpected day off. You may have heard that here in La Paz we often get what some people term the "Bolivian Snow Day." No, it's not weather related; Bolvian Snow Days have everything to do with the political climate of the nation. We have missed several days of school this year due to blockades in and outside of the city which stop up transportation and generally slow down the function of the capitol. However, tomorrow is not one of those days...On Friday, the government of Bolivia issued a "Supreme Decree," naming tomorrow an official national holiday. Tuesday was already a holiday, so our 2 day weekend suddenly became a 4 day weekend with a few words from the president.
In other news, the past two months have been some of my busiest in La Paz.
Here's the brief overview...
March started with planning for the Talent Show and packing up our house to move.
It was so much fun to see our kids singing, dancing, and doing gymnastics. One of my favorite aspects of the talent show is that we got a glimpse into the things our students pour themselves into for fun. It gave me a taste of what they love to do outside of school. And they are talented!
The morning after the show, Jess and I finished packing up our little casita and with the help of a few good friends, we moved across town to our new apartment. We love it! It is so comfortable here, and we feel very blessed to have beautiful views of the mountains, our own internet, and some fun neighbors.
4 days later, we jetted off to Quito, Ecuador for a conference. We had a great time visiting with our friends Teri and Keith, and on our down time, we got to visit the center of the world - the Equator!
When we got back from Ecuador, we jumped into the last week of the 3rd quarter. It was a week packed with grading and wrapping things up and trying to plan ahead for the 4th quarter, not to mention Spring Break!
After the 3rd quarter ended, we were a week and a few parent-teacher conferences away from Spring Break. Woohoo! We finished out the week and Lindsay, Julie, Jess, and I jumped on another plane bound for Buenos Aires! It was such a relaxing week after a busy and occasionally stressful/frustrating month of school. Buenos Aires is beautiful, and the slightly warmer weather and American comforts (Hello, McDonalds! Yes, we did have to buy ourselves some fries...) were just what we needed.
Then we were back to Bolivia and back into another busy few weeks. Highschool headed out of town for their annual missions trip while the rest of the school continued as normal with some additional preparations for the upcoming Bolivia Day! When all of our teachers were back in town, we practiced our traditional Bolivian dances like madmen and women so that we could perform in style last Saturday. It was such a wonderful day! Each grade learns a different traditional dance and then performs for the parents (and each other) on Bolivia Day. It was fun to again see our students talent and learn a little bit more about the history and culture of the nation.
And that's that for now!
Thank you for your love and support and for your faithful prayers from the homefront. I am looking forward to seeing many of you this summer! Please pray that we will finish the year with energy and that God will work powerfully in the hearts of our students in this last month of school. We have seen many students in elementary school and a few high school students profess faith in Christ this year, and there are many other students who are asking some tough questions. Please also pray for our new staff who have already been hired as they prepare for the move to La Paz, and pray that God will call people to fill the remaining positions that have not yet been filled. We are still in need of a high school Math/Physics teacher, a high school Social Studies teacher, and a special ed teacher. Know anyone who's interested? :)
Love you all!
Joy
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
There and Back Again Part 2
It is a rainy Sunday morning back in La Paz. I am sitting in my bed, listening to the sound of raindrops splattering gently on our roof and on the concrete walkway outside my window.
I have been back in La Paz for 18 days, just under 3 weeks - 2 of those weeks back in the classroom. But before I get to that...Let's jump back to December...
After our Thanksgiving adventure, there were only a few weeks until Christmas break!
We spent a lot of time in my classes doing Christmas math activities including calculating discounts and percents for Christmas shopping, graphing pictures of snowmen on the coordinate plane, and finding the modern day total cost of the gifts in the 12 days of Christmas.
Highlands had its annual Christmas program, and on the last day of school we had a middle school Christmas party.
I have been back in La Paz for 18 days, just under 3 weeks - 2 of those weeks back in the classroom. But before I get to that...Let's jump back to December...
After our Thanksgiving adventure, there were only a few weeks until Christmas break!
We spent a lot of time in my classes doing Christmas math activities including calculating discounts and percents for Christmas shopping, graphing pictures of snowmen on the coordinate plane, and finding the modern day total cost of the gifts in the 12 days of Christmas.
Highlands had its annual Christmas program, and on the last day of school we had a middle school Christmas party.
Elf + Playing Soccer + Karaoke + Spur of the Moment Dance Party + Food = Priceless
(Middle School was definitely the cool place to be that Friday!)
After the party, we all headed home and finished packing things up for our flight to the U.S. the next day! I was so excited to go home.
It was wonderful to walk off of the plane into 70 degree Florida Christmas weather, to feel the beach breeze, to see a beautiful sunset, and to hug Mom and Dad for the first time in 5 months!
All of the boys were home for break, and it was fun to see them and to exchange stories over dinner. And that was just the beginning.
My break was full of time spent with fabulous family and friends, a visit from Ben and a trip to Illinois , lunch at LaSpada's, a few good books, and more. It was incredibly refreshing, and after a busy first semester, it was a nice break from managing 45 middle schoolers.
Seeing Ben was definitely a major highlight of the vacation - it was so much fun to spend time together in person after not seeing each other for so many months. We met each others families, played some tennis, watched some quality movies, made pancakes, ate Moose Tracks, saw "A Christmas Story" (the musical), toured around Chicago, ate deep dish pizza!, played lots of games, and rang in the New Year with midnight hockey. :) I couldn't have asked for a better break.
As January 10 approached, for a few days, I kept saying to myself, "I'm not ready to go back!" But by that Monday, as Caleb and Jeff headed back to school, I realized...I was ready to pack and fly back to La Paz. Back in July, I was filled with fear before I left. In January, I was filled with readiness and excitement. I picked up some last minute things at Target, packed my suitcases while watching "How I Met Your Mother," and spent my last day visiting with some great friends. And then...I was off.
We flew into La Paz at dawn and were greeted by the beautiful sight of fresh morning sunlight illuminating snow-capped mountains which were peeking through a blanket of low-hanging clouds. We landed, got our luggage, and Jess and I found a taxi to drive us home to Obrajes, Calle 16. As we descended into the city from the airport, I was surprised to realize La Paz felt like "home". I was once again awed by the orange and green mountains surrounding the city, and my heart was filled with the sense that I knew this place. It no longer held the fear of the unknown for me.
We opened the heavy green door into our courtyard, and were greeted by a very friendly, very excited Diana (our landlord's beautiful, blue-eyed husky). We lugged heavy suitcases down the steps to our casita and opened the door...ah...perfection...
Haha ok, so not really perfection. We did discover soon after arriving that...1) our internet router had blown out and 2) our washing machine was on the fritz again, but hey, it could have been worse! We were pleasantly surprised to see that our friendly ant colony was nowhere to be seen...for about 5 minutes. They were SO excited to have us home, they rushed all over the counters to greet us. There's no place like home. :)
And that's that.
Well, not quite. We're back to school these days. 2 weeks into the 3rd quarter, and things have been busy and great. I love seeing my students again, and it has been so much fun to spend time with Jess and the rest of our AWESOME friends on staff again. My parents gave me a projector for Christmas, which has been my fun new teaching toy this quarter. Carnaval is approaching in February (we'll have a 4 day weekend!), and all of us have to watch out for rogue water balloon throwers these days. In the spirit of the holiday, the city makes mischief - one of the primary methods is lobbing water balloons at unsuspecting pedestrians.
On the flip side, after a busy 2 weeks in the classroom, I am tired. Getting the ball rolling again takes a lot of time, and I haven't been sleeping as well or as long as I need to. Please pray for energy and for efficiency as I plan and prepare my lessons. Please pray that I will depend on God for my strength as we continue our busy lives here in the city. I have been praying about what it looks like to make planning for my classes an act of worship, although I am not sure what that really means, and I am considering the best ways to invest my time this quarter. I would really like to spend more time practicing Spanish, get involved with a small group at church, and continue developing friendships with my fellow teachers and with people I have met at church. Please pray that I will have wisdom to know where to invest time and balance in my daily life.
Additionally, our middle school girls' discipleship group has begun meeting regularly on Thursdays! It has been so much fun spending a little extra and more informal time with our girls, and I am excited to see what God does through our time together. Bekah and I are leading the group, and so far, we have just been getting to know each other better. Please pray for us as we prepare for the discipleship group that God would teach us how to lead well and show us what we should do with the girls. We are considering spending time in Psalm 1 this week, and we will be working through some "how to study your Bible" ideas throughout the quarter. I am also continually praying that our students who don't know Christ would see his reality, that they would become aware of their sin and their need for a savior, and that all of our students would recognize that he is WORTHY. Because he is. It is amazing to see how God has already worked in the hearts of some of our students. We know that God's word does not return empty, and I pray that God will make our students' hearts like the good soil that bears much fruit. I pray that they would not just be saved, but that they would become faithful servants of our Lord and king, that they would be dependent on him alone, and that they would see themselves and the world through his eyes, not their own. And that is something I too need to keep always before me "Let us fix our eyes on what is unseen..."
And that's that! Really this time.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers. I am so blessed to have such a supportive group of family and friends at home and, although I am not as consistent in my updates as I wish to be, it means the world to me to have you all share in my adventures.
As I close, it is still drizzling outside my window, and I am looking forward to a restful Sunday in the Southern Hemisphere. I can say with confidence, the Lord has led me here, and he has blessed me beyond measure. Though I am weak, he is strong. What a privilege it is to walk with the Lord!
"Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him..."
Psalm 32:1-2
There and Back Again Part 1: Thanksgiving Break
Over the past few months, life has been very full.
This post is to retell the story of my first true adventure in Bolivia - an adventure which did not go exactly as planned. Over Thanksgiving break, (my first Thanksgiving away from home) a few of us teachers decided to take a trip to the Salar de Uyuni, which is an enormous salt desert in Southwestern Bolivia. (Wikipedia can tell you more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni) We had quite the adventure. Maybe more than we had originally bargained for...
So here is the long version of the story (adapted from an email written after the trip)...which is actually still shorter than it could be.
Before I jump into some stories, here are some general pros and cons of the trip:
Cons (I'll do them first to get them out of the way):
-I got sick on the first full day of our trip. :( Our 12-hour bus trip to Uyuni turned into a 16 hour trip because of some blockades. By the end I was getting cabin fever. That itself wouldn't have been so bad, but I couldn't get comfortable to sleep. I ended up sitting on the floor resting my head on the chair at about 3 in the morning which brought me a few minutes of sleep in the long long night. Anyway, that morning my throat was sore which I attributed to a long, sleepy bus ride without much water. By mid-afternoon, I had chills, which I initially brushed off as the "sun going down." But, by dinner, I knew I was probably feverish. I wasn't hungry and I couldn't warm up, so I went to bed really early. After that I had a terrible sore throat, congestion, and headaches, and was just generally tired, which put a damper on the trip for me personally. However, I still enjoyed myself.
-One downside to the tour we took was the amount of driving between each sight" we saw. We spent the majority of each day driving through the middle of nowhere Bolivia (which is beautiful, incredibly diverse, and somewhat alien so we definitely had some good scenery to keep us occupied in addition to getting-to-know-you convos and reading.). The downside was that it took us a very long time to get to each place and we only spent 15-30 minutes at each one. I guess purely "sight-seeing" vacations aren't my favorite way to spend a break (especially considering the long to-and-back bus rides).
Pros: -We saw some AMAZING things! The Salar is really neat. It's just this huge, sprawling desert of salt that seems to go on forever (although it obviously does have an end!). But, one of my favorite thing was the Isla del Pescado which is an island made of coral, covered with huge cacti that pops up right in the middle of the Salar. The theory is that there was once a huge salt lake that dried up leaving the Salar behind? When you climb the coral and look out over the Salar, it looks like you are on an island in the middle of a huge ocean made of ice, covered with sparkling snow. Another really cool sight was the geysers. I've never seen anything like them before! We also saw flamingos in all of the "lagunas" we stopped at along the drive. I would never have thought you would find flamingos in the middle of the desert, but there are hundreds of them everywhere! Along the drive itself, I loved how the landscape changed from absolutely barren desert with mountains in the distance (no life at all - it kind of made me think of "Holes") to beautiful sapphire blue, absolutely still lakes dotted with pink flamingos to green shrubby mountains with little streams running through algae-covered rocks with the occasional llama thrown in. Honestly, that's just the tip of the iceberg! We also stayed in a hotel made out of salt bricks... God's creation is incredible.
-We had several fun moments during the trip including a few impromptu stops in the desert. For example during one of our breakdowns...First of all, we go over a bump and hear this "Bang!" and see a black piece of metal hanging in front of the window. Our driver coincidentally decides that this would be a good time to "get out and take some pictures" (anytime we had car trouble we were told we should "get out and take some pictures"). So we did. Rob had brought along a chicken suit for the Salar, which reappeared during our photo session in the desert.
-It was fun getting to know our Bolivian driver a little bit. At first he seemed a little annoyed by our group, but he warmed up by the end of the trip. I found out he does two 3-day tours every week (and has been for 14 years!) split up by one day in between. He doesn't get any days off. :( I did get to know a little bit about his family though, and I asked him what people believe about God in Uyuni. He told me generally but also added he didn't really know because he doesn't get to talk about it much with people.
-Meeting people from around the world who were traveling through Bolivia (A lot of Israelis and Europeans, some Japanese in the groups we met)
"Adventures" along the way:
-At one of our lunch stops, there were several other tour groups eating, taking pictures, and enjoying the Bolivian countryside. In the middle of our meal, we suddenly witnessed one of the other tour drivers violently throwing his passengers' bags from the roof of their Toyota. After he had thrown the bags down, he shouted a few things at them, reasoned with one passenger, and then sped off, swerving slightly back and forth. It turns out he was "slightly" drunk and when the group asked him about it, he blew up on them. The stranded group decided to split up (one person in several different groups) fror the day, and so we acquired a Japanese tourist named Yuji. Conveniently Yuji spoke good English, and Rob happened to speak Japanese, so we had fun getting to know our extra passenger. Before the group had packed everything up, the drunk driver raced back through the picnic area at break-neck speed, terrifying all of us around, to shout a few last words and get rid of some of their things.
-Tour Toyota Breakdowns: On the final day of our tour we almost lost a wheel! We sat on the side of the road for about an hour while our driver fixed the part that had broken. Later that day, we popped a tire. (A relatively quick fix along the way!) We all agreed, if you have to be stranded with a flat tire, the Bolivian countryside is a beautiful place to kill some time. :)
*BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE...Our BIGGEST Bolivian travel adventure was the bus ride home.
We had hoped the blockades would be done before last night, but we found out that they were in fact still taking place AND spreading. We settled in our minds that we would again be sitting for a 16 hour bus ride. But that was just the beginning...
Chapter #1: Getting to the bus. After arriving back at our tour agency, the women there told us the bus would leave at 8 bound for La Paz. We cleaned up (as in changed out of our dust covered clothes, put on deodorant, and rearranged our bags), and then we set off for dinner at a pizza place down the street. (On the way, I stopped to pick up what I think is the equivalent of Nyquil from the local pharmacy). Dinner was delicious. We relaxed, took our time, and headed back to the tour agency a few minutes after 7. During this walk, the wind was blowing dust everywhere, when suddenly...we met our tour director and her sister in the street racing toward us frantically telling us that the bus was, in fact leaving at 7, and was currently waiting for us! We grabbed our bags and speed-walked 4 blocks through the mini dust storm to the bus station. There we were told we each owed 20 more Bs because of the blockades and the extra gas required. We dug through bags, paid the moola, and took our tickets to find our seats on the bus...which was nearly full. Our seats were spread out throughout the bus, and we got on as quickly as possible surrounded by irritated Bolivians and backpackers who were ready to hit the road. I felt bad for the man sitting next to me, because as I hustled into my seat, I was wheezing (asthma), coughing (asthma + cold), and generally looking like I was infected with the plague. (I should mention, he had the outside seat and had to stand up to let me in and other times when I needed the bathroom during the trip). After the mad rush, we got settled in and hit the road. I took some medicine, listened to a few Podcasts and closed my eyes to get some sleep. (The seats on bus #2 were significantly more comfortable than bus #1, and I was actually able to fall asleep pretty quickly).
Chapter #2:What You Never Want to Hear Your Bus Driver Say
About an hour or so into the trip, I woke up as one of the bus drivers opened the door to the cabin and asked us passengers, "Alguien conoce el Salar muy bien?" (Meaning he was hoping a passenger knew their way through the great salt desert better than the drivers...) After a few minutes, he questioned, "Nadie conoce el Salar muy bien?" And headed back to the driver's seat. I laughed as I looked out the bus window and realized we were taking a very different route than the one we had come on. We were driving STRAIGHT THROUGH the Salar to avoid the moving blockades. Unfortunately, our driver did not know the way. We drove in some direction for a while, found a truck that seemed to know where it was going, followed it for a while, stopped following it, turned around in front of someone's house, and were generally lost in the desert for about 3 hours. I prayed that God would direct our driver and help him to find whatever road he was looking for, and at some point when I was asleep, he must have because...
Chapter #3: Bumpy Buses and How to Push a Bus Uphill
The next thing I knew, we were bouncing along a narrow, dirt and rock-covered road. It felt like the bus was a giant jackhammer based on the bounciness. Suddenly, we stopped. The bus had died...or was stuck...or...something. After about 10 minutes, the drivers asked everyone to get off the bus to help push (This was about midnight). We piled off the bus, everyone who could fit behind the bus struggled to push it uphill (I did not fit behind the bus). Next thing we knew, the bus was ROLLING back toward all of the people who had just pushed it! Thankfully, everyone got out of the way and the driver stopped the bus. I later found out that the bus battery has a problem that only allows it to start if the bus is rolling backwards. This became a pattern in the trip. The bus rolled back down the road, started the engine, and sped up the hill. We walked to meet it at the top. On the road again.
Chapter #4: Bumpy Bus Bathrooms
At this point, I decided I should go to the bathroom before I went back to sleep again. Now, no bus bathroom is particularly desirable. However, a bathroom on a bus, bumping at 40 mph along a dark road is...almost dangerous! I started my journey to the bathroom by running into two people who had stretched their legs across the bus aisle. They did not wake up and I stepped over them as delicately as I could while being thrown side to side by the rocking bus. I ran into Jess who was sitting next to the bathroom in the back of the bus. I spent the next several minutes yanking on the bathroom door, which is a VERY tight fit. It finally banged open, and I stepped in as gracefully as possible. I grabbed onto what I thought was a hold bar, only to fall against the door as the window opened. But that wasn't all...When I tried to open the bathroom door to get out...I was stuck. The door would not open. I body slammed it, turned the lock backwards and forward, pushed on it, hit it. But it wouldn't budge. The whole time, I was still being tossed backwards and forwards by the rocking of the bus. I decided to knock on the door, and as I knocked the door suddenly flew open and I fell out. I didn't see anyone awake so I didn't know if anyone had opened it (turns out Jess was my savior...she said this was a common part of her evening, as was being awakened by the door slamming into her as people tried to open it or didn't close it completely). On the way back to my seat, I stepped over the people who were blocking the aisle, and moved quietly to my seat, until the bus lurched backwards throwing me three feet forward where I grabbed onto what was conveniently my aisle, and climbed back into my seat. Back to sleep...for now...
Chapter #5: What You Never Want to Hear Your Bus Driver Say Part 2
Bump bump bump. I don't know how any of us were even pretending to sleep, but we continued bumping up the middle of nowhere backroads until...BAM! We hit something and stopped. Several minutes later, one of the drivers walked into the bus cabin asking..."Does anyone have a flashlight we can use?" I was still waking up and heard him say..."no electricity" somewhere in his request. Julie, a few other passengers, and I handed over our flashlights, and I laughed/prayed as I realized...our drivers were using our travel flashlights as headlights for the bus! Oh dear. Safety until daylight.
Interlude: Off-roadingI don't know when this was, somewhere between or after the lost/bumpy roads stage, but at one point I looked out of the bus window and realized...we were not driving on a road. We were not driving in the desert. We were driving through someone's field in their backyard!
Chapter #5: Another delay
6 a.m. rolled around surprisingly quickly, as we were once again hustled off the bus just as the sun was coming up (pretty sight!) to push the bus. It took a while, but we eventually were back on the road. Tired, cold, humored? (some of us) by the adventure, and back on the road. AND supposedly we were only about 4 hours from La Paz! (false)
Chapter #6: 4 hours...
This part of the trip was the longest to me. I just kept hoping to see something that looked like La Paz in the distance or...something...We crept along the road...sooo sooo slowly. After 4 hours...and more...we were getting closer. I could tell. But that's when...The bus died for good. The drivers tried to restart it by rolling down the hill into the traffic that was coming up. Didn't work. They messed with the engine. Tried again. Didn't work. Several passengers who were tired of the long wait decided to walk the rest of the way to La Paz (about 10 km) and so, about half of the passengers bailed at that point. The drivers eventually told us they were calling another bus. At this point, we decided to hitchhike back to La Paz. We piled off the bus and immediately were picked up by a mini-bus who took us and 2 other tourists to the highest part of the city (At the same time, we saw most of the remaining passengers climb onto another mini-bus that was passing by). We got to El Alto, but we still had a long way to go. Another mini-bus offered to take us to the central bus station. We gratefully accepted the offer, climbed onto the second mini-bus and made our way to the station. From there, Jess and I caught a cab and FINALLY arrived back in our lovely house, thankful to be home and off of all moving vehicles. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to take a shower and sleep in my own bed before.
In spite of the unexpected delays and "challenges" of the trip, I am thankful we were able to go on the trip. It is fun to look back on pictures, laugh about the crazy experiences, and thank God that we survived our journey through the desert and the mountains (even with some technical difficulties). Things don't always go as we plan. :)
This post is to retell the story of my first true adventure in Bolivia - an adventure which did not go exactly as planned. Over Thanksgiving break, (my first Thanksgiving away from home) a few of us teachers decided to take a trip to the Salar de Uyuni, which is an enormous salt desert in Southwestern Bolivia. (Wikipedia can tell you more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salar_de_Uyuni) We had quite the adventure. Maybe more than we had originally bargained for...
So here is the long version of the story (adapted from an email written after the trip)...which is actually still shorter than it could be.
Before I jump into some stories, here are some general pros and cons of the trip:
Cons (I'll do them first to get them out of the way):
-I got sick on the first full day of our trip. :( Our 12-hour bus trip to Uyuni turned into a 16 hour trip because of some blockades. By the end I was getting cabin fever. That itself wouldn't have been so bad, but I couldn't get comfortable to sleep. I ended up sitting on the floor resting my head on the chair at about 3 in the morning which brought me a few minutes of sleep in the long long night. Anyway, that morning my throat was sore which I attributed to a long, sleepy bus ride without much water. By mid-afternoon, I had chills, which I initially brushed off as the "sun going down." But, by dinner, I knew I was probably feverish. I wasn't hungry and I couldn't warm up, so I went to bed really early. After that I had a terrible sore throat, congestion, and headaches, and was just generally tired, which put a damper on the trip for me personally. However, I still enjoyed myself.
-One downside to the tour we took was the amount of driving between each sight" we saw. We spent the majority of each day driving through the middle of nowhere Bolivia (which is beautiful, incredibly diverse, and somewhat alien so we definitely had some good scenery to keep us occupied in addition to getting-to-know-you convos and reading.). The downside was that it took us a very long time to get to each place and we only spent 15-30 minutes at each one. I guess purely "sight-seeing" vacations aren't my favorite way to spend a break (especially considering the long to-and-back bus rides).
Pros: -We saw some AMAZING things! The Salar is really neat. It's just this huge, sprawling desert of salt that seems to go on forever (although it obviously does have an end!). But, one of my favorite thing was the Isla del Pescado which is an island made of coral, covered with huge cacti that pops up right in the middle of the Salar. The theory is that there was once a huge salt lake that dried up leaving the Salar behind? When you climb the coral and look out over the Salar, it looks like you are on an island in the middle of a huge ocean made of ice, covered with sparkling snow. Another really cool sight was the geysers. I've never seen anything like them before! We also saw flamingos in all of the "lagunas" we stopped at along the drive. I would never have thought you would find flamingos in the middle of the desert, but there are hundreds of them everywhere! Along the drive itself, I loved how the landscape changed from absolutely barren desert with mountains in the distance (no life at all - it kind of made me think of "Holes") to beautiful sapphire blue, absolutely still lakes dotted with pink flamingos to green shrubby mountains with little streams running through algae-covered rocks with the occasional llama thrown in. Honestly, that's just the tip of the iceberg! We also stayed in a hotel made out of salt bricks... God's creation is incredible.
-We had several fun moments during the trip including a few impromptu stops in the desert. For example during one of our breakdowns...First of all, we go over a bump and hear this "Bang!" and see a black piece of metal hanging in front of the window. Our driver coincidentally decides that this would be a good time to "get out and take some pictures" (anytime we had car trouble we were told we should "get out and take some pictures"). So we did. Rob had brought along a chicken suit for the Salar, which reappeared during our photo session in the desert.
-It was fun getting to know our Bolivian driver a little bit. At first he seemed a little annoyed by our group, but he warmed up by the end of the trip. I found out he does two 3-day tours every week (and has been for 14 years!) split up by one day in between. He doesn't get any days off. :( I did get to know a little bit about his family though, and I asked him what people believe about God in Uyuni. He told me generally but also added he didn't really know because he doesn't get to talk about it much with people.
-Meeting people from around the world who were traveling through Bolivia (A lot of Israelis and Europeans, some Japanese in the groups we met)
"Adventures" along the way:
-At one of our lunch stops, there were several other tour groups eating, taking pictures, and enjoying the Bolivian countryside. In the middle of our meal, we suddenly witnessed one of the other tour drivers violently throwing his passengers' bags from the roof of their Toyota. After he had thrown the bags down, he shouted a few things at them, reasoned with one passenger, and then sped off, swerving slightly back and forth. It turns out he was "slightly" drunk and when the group asked him about it, he blew up on them. The stranded group decided to split up (one person in several different groups) fror the day, and so we acquired a Japanese tourist named Yuji. Conveniently Yuji spoke good English, and Rob happened to speak Japanese, so we had fun getting to know our extra passenger. Before the group had packed everything up, the drunk driver raced back through the picnic area at break-neck speed, terrifying all of us around, to shout a few last words and get rid of some of their things.
-Tour Toyota Breakdowns: On the final day of our tour we almost lost a wheel! We sat on the side of the road for about an hour while our driver fixed the part that had broken. Later that day, we popped a tire. (A relatively quick fix along the way!) We all agreed, if you have to be stranded with a flat tire, the Bolivian countryside is a beautiful place to kill some time. :)
*BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE...Our BIGGEST Bolivian travel adventure was the bus ride home.
We had hoped the blockades would be done before last night, but we found out that they were in fact still taking place AND spreading. We settled in our minds that we would again be sitting for a 16 hour bus ride. But that was just the beginning...
Chapter #1: Getting to the bus. After arriving back at our tour agency, the women there told us the bus would leave at 8 bound for La Paz. We cleaned up (as in changed out of our dust covered clothes, put on deodorant, and rearranged our bags), and then we set off for dinner at a pizza place down the street. (On the way, I stopped to pick up what I think is the equivalent of Nyquil from the local pharmacy). Dinner was delicious. We relaxed, took our time, and headed back to the tour agency a few minutes after 7. During this walk, the wind was blowing dust everywhere, when suddenly...we met our tour director and her sister in the street racing toward us frantically telling us that the bus was, in fact leaving at 7, and was currently waiting for us! We grabbed our bags and speed-walked 4 blocks through the mini dust storm to the bus station. There we were told we each owed 20 more Bs because of the blockades and the extra gas required. We dug through bags, paid the moola, and took our tickets to find our seats on the bus...which was nearly full. Our seats were spread out throughout the bus, and we got on as quickly as possible surrounded by irritated Bolivians and backpackers who were ready to hit the road. I felt bad for the man sitting next to me, because as I hustled into my seat, I was wheezing (asthma), coughing (asthma + cold), and generally looking like I was infected with the plague. (I should mention, he had the outside seat and had to stand up to let me in and other times when I needed the bathroom during the trip). After the mad rush, we got settled in and hit the road. I took some medicine, listened to a few Podcasts and closed my eyes to get some sleep. (The seats on bus #2 were significantly more comfortable than bus #1, and I was actually able to fall asleep pretty quickly).
Chapter #2:What You Never Want to Hear Your Bus Driver Say
About an hour or so into the trip, I woke up as one of the bus drivers opened the door to the cabin and asked us passengers, "Alguien conoce el Salar muy bien?" (Meaning he was hoping a passenger knew their way through the great salt desert better than the drivers...) After a few minutes, he questioned, "Nadie conoce el Salar muy bien?" And headed back to the driver's seat. I laughed as I looked out the bus window and realized we were taking a very different route than the one we had come on. We were driving STRAIGHT THROUGH the Salar to avoid the moving blockades. Unfortunately, our driver did not know the way. We drove in some direction for a while, found a truck that seemed to know where it was going, followed it for a while, stopped following it, turned around in front of someone's house, and were generally lost in the desert for about 3 hours. I prayed that God would direct our driver and help him to find whatever road he was looking for, and at some point when I was asleep, he must have because...
Chapter #3: Bumpy Buses and How to Push a Bus Uphill
The next thing I knew, we were bouncing along a narrow, dirt and rock-covered road. It felt like the bus was a giant jackhammer based on the bounciness. Suddenly, we stopped. The bus had died...or was stuck...or...something. After about 10 minutes, the drivers asked everyone to get off the bus to help push (This was about midnight). We piled off the bus, everyone who could fit behind the bus struggled to push it uphill (I did not fit behind the bus). Next thing we knew, the bus was ROLLING back toward all of the people who had just pushed it! Thankfully, everyone got out of the way and the driver stopped the bus. I later found out that the bus battery has a problem that only allows it to start if the bus is rolling backwards. This became a pattern in the trip. The bus rolled back down the road, started the engine, and sped up the hill. We walked to meet it at the top. On the road again.
Chapter #4: Bumpy Bus Bathrooms
At this point, I decided I should go to the bathroom before I went back to sleep again. Now, no bus bathroom is particularly desirable. However, a bathroom on a bus, bumping at 40 mph along a dark road is...almost dangerous! I started my journey to the bathroom by running into two people who had stretched their legs across the bus aisle. They did not wake up and I stepped over them as delicately as I could while being thrown side to side by the rocking bus. I ran into Jess who was sitting next to the bathroom in the back of the bus. I spent the next several minutes yanking on the bathroom door, which is a VERY tight fit. It finally banged open, and I stepped in as gracefully as possible. I grabbed onto what I thought was a hold bar, only to fall against the door as the window opened. But that wasn't all...When I tried to open the bathroom door to get out...I was stuck. The door would not open. I body slammed it, turned the lock backwards and forward, pushed on it, hit it. But it wouldn't budge. The whole time, I was still being tossed backwards and forwards by the rocking of the bus. I decided to knock on the door, and as I knocked the door suddenly flew open and I fell out. I didn't see anyone awake so I didn't know if anyone had opened it (turns out Jess was my savior...she said this was a common part of her evening, as was being awakened by the door slamming into her as people tried to open it or didn't close it completely). On the way back to my seat, I stepped over the people who were blocking the aisle, and moved quietly to my seat, until the bus lurched backwards throwing me three feet forward where I grabbed onto what was conveniently my aisle, and climbed back into my seat. Back to sleep...for now...
Chapter #5: What You Never Want to Hear Your Bus Driver Say Part 2
Bump bump bump. I don't know how any of us were even pretending to sleep, but we continued bumping up the middle of nowhere backroads until...BAM! We hit something and stopped. Several minutes later, one of the drivers walked into the bus cabin asking..."Does anyone have a flashlight we can use?" I was still waking up and heard him say..."no electricity" somewhere in his request. Julie, a few other passengers, and I handed over our flashlights, and I laughed/prayed as I realized...our drivers were using our travel flashlights as headlights for the bus! Oh dear. Safety until daylight.
Interlude: Off-roadingI don't know when this was, somewhere between or after the lost/bumpy roads stage, but at one point I looked out of the bus window and realized...we were not driving on a road. We were not driving in the desert. We were driving through someone's field in their backyard!
Chapter #5: Another delay
6 a.m. rolled around surprisingly quickly, as we were once again hustled off the bus just as the sun was coming up (pretty sight!) to push the bus. It took a while, but we eventually were back on the road. Tired, cold, humored? (some of us) by the adventure, and back on the road. AND supposedly we were only about 4 hours from La Paz! (false)
Chapter #6: 4 hours...
This part of the trip was the longest to me. I just kept hoping to see something that looked like La Paz in the distance or...something...We crept along the road...sooo sooo slowly. After 4 hours...and more...we were getting closer. I could tell. But that's when...The bus died for good. The drivers tried to restart it by rolling down the hill into the traffic that was coming up. Didn't work. They messed with the engine. Tried again. Didn't work. Several passengers who were tired of the long wait decided to walk the rest of the way to La Paz (about 10 km) and so, about half of the passengers bailed at that point. The drivers eventually told us they were calling another bus. At this point, we decided to hitchhike back to La Paz. We piled off the bus and immediately were picked up by a mini-bus who took us and 2 other tourists to the highest part of the city (At the same time, we saw most of the remaining passengers climb onto another mini-bus that was passing by). We got to El Alto, but we still had a long way to go. Another mini-bus offered to take us to the central bus station. We gratefully accepted the offer, climbed onto the second mini-bus and made our way to the station. From there, Jess and I caught a cab and FINALLY arrived back in our lovely house, thankful to be home and off of all moving vehicles. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to take a shower and sleep in my own bed before.
In spite of the unexpected delays and "challenges" of the trip, I am thankful we were able to go on the trip. It is fun to look back on pictures, laugh about the crazy experiences, and thank God that we survived our journey through the desert and the mountains (even with some technical difficulties). Things don't always go as we plan. :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Latest in La Paz
As promised, a new blog update is FINALLY here! Here is a random collection of some of the many adventures I am having in Bolivia.
Ant Invasions:
In past blog posts, I believe I have mentioned our pet spiders (Iggy, Fred, Aunt Jemima, Louise, Ted...We have several.). However, I have not mentioned that in addition to our spider friends, we also have adopted a colony of ants into the family. More accurately, they have invaded our home! Jess and I often see ants crawling along our walls, and occasionally we find them crawling out of our computers. However, for a while, it was one or two or ten here and there. UNTIL...one morning I walked into the kitchen to throw away a napkin and discovered an inch and a half thick, black line of ants crawling into our trashcan! Yuck! The song "The Ants Go Marching One By One" popped into my head at this point, except the verse I was singing went more like, "The ants go marching 12 by 12, Hurrah! Hurrah!" Since then, we have invested in some killer ant spray and we are hoping to get an exterminator out to the house in the near future. As much as we love our pets...We're ready to see a few fewer!
A Bolivian Birthday (or "How I got Frosting on my Face")
My first birthday abroad! October 1st happened to be the day of our Spring Festival here at Highlands. I wasn't sure what to expect from the day, but I did not expect my birthday to be a major focus of the festivities. We got to school early on Saturday morning, and spent the first hour finishing last minute set-up before we started our soccer, dodgeball, and ultimate frisbee tournaments! Our lady teachers soccer team lost a game to our 8th grade boys, but we won our next game against the middle school girls! After all of the tournaments, we had several carnival style games and a yummy lunch. There was a dunk tank, bounce house (slightly unconventional...), wet jail, sports toss, fish pond, bake sale, and face painting (my station!). Sometime in the midst of the festivities, Nicole (one of my awesome 8th graders!) came to get me, "Miss! Come here!" She dragged me away from what I was doing, and I thought, "Oh great, here comes the Wet Jail!" BUT instead, I was greeted by the 8th grade class holding a chocolate cake and singing "Happy Birthday" to me! It was so special. After they sang, I blew out a candle and they told me to "take a bite!" of my cake. I was somewhat suspicious, but...I leaned in to take a bite and...SUDDENLY had a face full of chocolate frosting! Yum. :) I was happy to share the mess by giving my students besos on the cheeks. They then rushed me off to be sprayed down in the Wet Jail, "so I could clean up." On the way, I got several stares and double-takes from parents and students alike! My students are wonderful. They made me feel so loved and appreciated on my birthday, and I am so thankful I was able to celebrate with them. In the evening, we went out for pizza with several of the teachers from the school, which was a great end to my first Bolivian Birthday.
Mural Madness
Another thing I have not mentioned in previous blogs is that I am one of 3 advisors for the Highlands Student Council. We recently painted a BEAUTIFUL mural on the main wall of the high school building. It is so colorful and fun! I'll try to post some pictures...
Waiting in Line (or "How I got my Visa")
So, you know how the DMV is known for its long waits and inefficiencies? Well, the DMV has nothing on the Bolivian immigration office! First of all, the immigration office is essentially a single large room with about 8 different lines to stand in, all for different parts of the process. There is seemingly no set order to which of these lines you may have to stand in at any given time. Here is the general process:
#1: Wait in line #4 for 30 minutes to sign one paper.
#2: Wait in a different line to pay for signing the paper in line #4.
#3: Wait in line #4 for ANOTHER 30 minutes to write your name in an "official" spiral bound notebook.
#4: Wait in line #3 for 30 minutes to give a folder of paperwork to the woman behind the counter.
#5: Wait in line #2 to sign a different paper...
Also, the word "line" is relative. Not always, but sometimes, the "line" is in actuality a group of people standing in front of a certain window. Whoever is able to reach the window first will be the "first" in line.
BUT in spite of the long lines, I now have an official Visa! God is good. Apparently, it is getting more and more difficult for Americans to get Visas to stay in Bolivia, but ours went through without a problem. Please pray for the remaining 3 staff members who are still waiting for their Visas to be processed. We are praying that the government officials will have favor on our staff members and pass their paperwork along smoothly and quickly.
Middle School Mania (or "Ice Cream, Detention, and Classes")
Middle School is wonderful. We have our share of downs (e.g. Detention), but we have many "ups" (e.g. Ice Cream party to celebrate our 6th and 7th grade classes awesome behavior for the month of October). My classes have been studying many different things recently. 6th and 7th grade are busy adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions these days in math. 6th grade has been studying light, and I have covered my windows to turn my classroom into a "cave" suitable for studyng light. We made "Pinhole Cameras" out of old Pringles cans last week, which was a fun way to see how light travels. The kids got such a kick out of making the cameras AND the fact that we had a "Pringles Party" to gather enough cans for the whole class to make their own cameras. In 7th grade, we have been learning about the weather - tracking hurricanes, watching tornadoes on YouTube, and studying different types of clouds. We are almost done with both of these units, which is bittersweet because they really are fun subjects to teach! But, we're moving on to equally fun topics! Next on the agenda...Outer Space and Forces, Motion, and Simple Machines. 8th grade Algebra is finishing word problem equations and will be moving on to inequalities this week. Of all of my classes, Algebra is the one where I feel most "out of my league" as a teacher. Please pray for me to have wisdom as I plan units and lessons. I don't always know what should come first. I also have a wide range of ability levels (and motivation levels!) in my 8th grade class, which makes it difficult to keep the whole class on the same page. Nevertheless, I really enjoy exploring these abstract concepts with my students and trying to help them think outside of the box.
Additionally, I was able to share my testimony in Chapel in the past few weeks, which was a really neat way to give my students an idea where God has brought me. My prayer for my students is that they will see God as he truly is and that they will see the world through his lens. I know that, more than anything we can say or do, is what will change their hearts and their lives.
Happy Halloween! (or "The Great Wall of China Visits Bolivia")
Who knew that Halloween was such a big holiday in Bolivia?!
The grocery stores have been flying plastic pumpkins and ghosts since September!
Our staff Halloween party this year consisted of junk food and games...and COSTUMES, of course! Jess and I dressed up as 2 of the Wonders of the World (You can make anything with cardboard...). I was the Great Wall of China. Jess was the Pyramids. Although manuevering our costumes in the taxi was difficult, we made it to the party in style and spent the evening eating and laughing with "Dr. Pepper", 3 funny fish, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, cat-woman, a ladybug, and Salt, Pepper, and Cumin.
More Staff Adventures
Last weekend, we had our first staff retreat of the year. We spent time listening to sermons, worshipping God and praying together, and for fun, playing PAINTBALL! We literally crawled up the side of a mountain to take on the team waiting at the top of the hill. There's nothing like shooting your fellow staff members with paint to bring you together as a team... :) It honestly was a ton of fun! Additionally, our time worshipping, praying, and listening to message was a great time of refocusing and remembering. At the end of the retreat, I found myself thinking about the excitement of celebrating in heaven with my students, particularly those who don't know Christ. It reminded me of the great importance and the great joy of having them know him.
Another fun adventure of the week...On Wednesday this week, we did not have school because it was "All Saints Day/The Day of the Dead" which is a national holiday here in Bolivia. Several of us lady teachers took a hike up to the "Muela de Diablo" (the Devil's tooth), which is a high point that juts out from the top of one of the mountains near our homes. We planned to eat lunch at the point, but due to some rain and thunder, we decided being at the highest point around was not the best place to be in case of lightning. A few of us "climbed" down the steep, somewhat slippery slopes of the Muela by basically crawling from one solid rock to the next. We probably would have been fine standing up, but it somehow felt safer to stay as close to the ground as possible.
In other news, this week, Middle School has community service on Wednesday and will be going to a group home for the elderly here in La Paz. They requested Jello, so we are bringing several colorful, jiggly cups of the popular fruit flavored dessert to share. It is fun to have the opportunity to serve with our kiddos.
Also, I am getting SO excited for Christmas break! We're 6 weeks away from a flight back to South Florida. Ironically, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" just started playing on my iTunes...Is it too early for Christmas music? For the record, I have already started Christmas shopping! There was a craft fair at the American school yesterday, and Jess, Julie, Bekah, Becca, and I spent a few hours browsing the stands buying gifts for friends and family (and a few for ourselves!).
Thanking God
There is so much to thank him for. Praise him for the great things he has done! He is our protector, our helper, our teacher. I know I need him to guide me and teach me how to be a good teacher. I am thankful for his grace. Even on days when I feel like I am not faithful or have failed, I know that his grace is sufficient for me. He is still faithful, and he is the one who makes all things grow. I can find great peace in knowing him and understanding what is truly important in this life and the next. When we fail, we can seek his grace with joy, knowing that he is the faithful one. We have a treasure in jars of clay. Though we are weak, he is strong, and he often works in situations that look chaotic to us.
When I feel out of control, I often think back to last summer. At the camp I worked at, the first week, I can honestly say, was absolute chaos. We had a really rough group of campers. A few of them were pretty restless, rebellious, and generally mean to each other. On the night where we were sharing the gospel with our campers, a few of them were "out of control" - clearly not paying attention and distracting the rest of the group. AND YET, in the midst of the chaos, one of our campers asked me directly, "How can I know God? I want to know him." What a shocking and beautiful reminder of the way that God works. So on that crazy night, we gained a sister in Christ. This story reminds me time and again that God is the one who works in my students hearts and that he can work in the most hardened hearts, even in the most distracting situations, to draw people to himself.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and encouragement. I feel so supported knowing that I have family and friends at home who are thinking of me and are partnering with us in prayer.
Please pray for our staff. We have several staff members who have been sick. One of our middle school teachers is having wisdom teeth surgery this week. Please pray for a quick recovery. We also have several staff members making big decisions about where to be next year. They have to give the school an "Intent to Return" form by the end of November, so we will know within the next few weeks which teachers will be staying at Highlands next year and which teachers God is calling to the next big thing.
I love you all!
Ant Invasions:
In past blog posts, I believe I have mentioned our pet spiders (Iggy, Fred, Aunt Jemima, Louise, Ted...We have several.). However, I have not mentioned that in addition to our spider friends, we also have adopted a colony of ants into the family. More accurately, they have invaded our home! Jess and I often see ants crawling along our walls, and occasionally we find them crawling out of our computers. However, for a while, it was one or two or ten here and there. UNTIL...one morning I walked into the kitchen to throw away a napkin and discovered an inch and a half thick, black line of ants crawling into our trashcan! Yuck! The song "The Ants Go Marching One By One" popped into my head at this point, except the verse I was singing went more like, "The ants go marching 12 by 12, Hurrah! Hurrah!" Since then, we have invested in some killer ant spray and we are hoping to get an exterminator out to the house in the near future. As much as we love our pets...We're ready to see a few fewer!
A Bolivian Birthday (or "How I got Frosting on my Face")
My first birthday abroad! October 1st happened to be the day of our Spring Festival here at Highlands. I wasn't sure what to expect from the day, but I did not expect my birthday to be a major focus of the festivities. We got to school early on Saturday morning, and spent the first hour finishing last minute set-up before we started our soccer, dodgeball, and ultimate frisbee tournaments! Our lady teachers soccer team lost a game to our 8th grade boys, but we won our next game against the middle school girls! After all of the tournaments, we had several carnival style games and a yummy lunch. There was a dunk tank, bounce house (slightly unconventional...), wet jail, sports toss, fish pond, bake sale, and face painting (my station!). Sometime in the midst of the festivities, Nicole (one of my awesome 8th graders!) came to get me, "Miss! Come here!" She dragged me away from what I was doing, and I thought, "Oh great, here comes the Wet Jail!" BUT instead, I was greeted by the 8th grade class holding a chocolate cake and singing "Happy Birthday" to me! It was so special. After they sang, I blew out a candle and they told me to "take a bite!" of my cake. I was somewhat suspicious, but...I leaned in to take a bite and...SUDDENLY had a face full of chocolate frosting! Yum. :) I was happy to share the mess by giving my students besos on the cheeks. They then rushed me off to be sprayed down in the Wet Jail, "so I could clean up." On the way, I got several stares and double-takes from parents and students alike! My students are wonderful. They made me feel so loved and appreciated on my birthday, and I am so thankful I was able to celebrate with them. In the evening, we went out for pizza with several of the teachers from the school, which was a great end to my first Bolivian Birthday.
Mural Madness
Another thing I have not mentioned in previous blogs is that I am one of 3 advisors for the Highlands Student Council. We recently painted a BEAUTIFUL mural on the main wall of the high school building. It is so colorful and fun! I'll try to post some pictures...
Waiting in Line (or "How I got my Visa")
So, you know how the DMV is known for its long waits and inefficiencies? Well, the DMV has nothing on the Bolivian immigration office! First of all, the immigration office is essentially a single large room with about 8 different lines to stand in, all for different parts of the process. There is seemingly no set order to which of these lines you may have to stand in at any given time. Here is the general process:
#1: Wait in line #4 for 30 minutes to sign one paper.
#2: Wait in a different line to pay for signing the paper in line #4.
#3: Wait in line #4 for ANOTHER 30 minutes to write your name in an "official" spiral bound notebook.
#4: Wait in line #3 for 30 minutes to give a folder of paperwork to the woman behind the counter.
#5: Wait in line #2 to sign a different paper...
Also, the word "line" is relative. Not always, but sometimes, the "line" is in actuality a group of people standing in front of a certain window. Whoever is able to reach the window first will be the "first" in line.
BUT in spite of the long lines, I now have an official Visa! God is good. Apparently, it is getting more and more difficult for Americans to get Visas to stay in Bolivia, but ours went through without a problem. Please pray for the remaining 3 staff members who are still waiting for their Visas to be processed. We are praying that the government officials will have favor on our staff members and pass their paperwork along smoothly and quickly.
Middle School Mania (or "Ice Cream, Detention, and Classes")
Middle School is wonderful. We have our share of downs (e.g. Detention), but we have many "ups" (e.g. Ice Cream party to celebrate our 6th and 7th grade classes awesome behavior for the month of October). My classes have been studying many different things recently. 6th and 7th grade are busy adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions these days in math. 6th grade has been studying light, and I have covered my windows to turn my classroom into a "cave" suitable for studyng light. We made "Pinhole Cameras" out of old Pringles cans last week, which was a fun way to see how light travels. The kids got such a kick out of making the cameras AND the fact that we had a "Pringles Party" to gather enough cans for the whole class to make their own cameras. In 7th grade, we have been learning about the weather - tracking hurricanes, watching tornadoes on YouTube, and studying different types of clouds. We are almost done with both of these units, which is bittersweet because they really are fun subjects to teach! But, we're moving on to equally fun topics! Next on the agenda...Outer Space and Forces, Motion, and Simple Machines. 8th grade Algebra is finishing word problem equations and will be moving on to inequalities this week. Of all of my classes, Algebra is the one where I feel most "out of my league" as a teacher. Please pray for me to have wisdom as I plan units and lessons. I don't always know what should come first. I also have a wide range of ability levels (and motivation levels!) in my 8th grade class, which makes it difficult to keep the whole class on the same page. Nevertheless, I really enjoy exploring these abstract concepts with my students and trying to help them think outside of the box.
Additionally, I was able to share my testimony in Chapel in the past few weeks, which was a really neat way to give my students an idea where God has brought me. My prayer for my students is that they will see God as he truly is and that they will see the world through his lens. I know that, more than anything we can say or do, is what will change their hearts and their lives.
Happy Halloween! (or "The Great Wall of China Visits Bolivia")
Who knew that Halloween was such a big holiday in Bolivia?!
The grocery stores have been flying plastic pumpkins and ghosts since September!
Our staff Halloween party this year consisted of junk food and games...and COSTUMES, of course! Jess and I dressed up as 2 of the Wonders of the World (You can make anything with cardboard...). I was the Great Wall of China. Jess was the Pyramids. Although manuevering our costumes in the taxi was difficult, we made it to the party in style and spent the evening eating and laughing with "Dr. Pepper", 3 funny fish, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, cat-woman, a ladybug, and Salt, Pepper, and Cumin.
More Staff Adventures
Last weekend, we had our first staff retreat of the year. We spent time listening to sermons, worshipping God and praying together, and for fun, playing PAINTBALL! We literally crawled up the side of a mountain to take on the team waiting at the top of the hill. There's nothing like shooting your fellow staff members with paint to bring you together as a team... :) It honestly was a ton of fun! Additionally, our time worshipping, praying, and listening to message was a great time of refocusing and remembering. At the end of the retreat, I found myself thinking about the excitement of celebrating in heaven with my students, particularly those who don't know Christ. It reminded me of the great importance and the great joy of having them know him.
Another fun adventure of the week...On Wednesday this week, we did not have school because it was "All Saints Day/The Day of the Dead" which is a national holiday here in Bolivia. Several of us lady teachers took a hike up to the "Muela de Diablo" (the Devil's tooth), which is a high point that juts out from the top of one of the mountains near our homes. We planned to eat lunch at the point, but due to some rain and thunder, we decided being at the highest point around was not the best place to be in case of lightning. A few of us "climbed" down the steep, somewhat slippery slopes of the Muela by basically crawling from one solid rock to the next. We probably would have been fine standing up, but it somehow felt safer to stay as close to the ground as possible.
In other news, this week, Middle School has community service on Wednesday and will be going to a group home for the elderly here in La Paz. They requested Jello, so we are bringing several colorful, jiggly cups of the popular fruit flavored dessert to share. It is fun to have the opportunity to serve with our kiddos.
Also, I am getting SO excited for Christmas break! We're 6 weeks away from a flight back to South Florida. Ironically, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" just started playing on my iTunes...Is it too early for Christmas music? For the record, I have already started Christmas shopping! There was a craft fair at the American school yesterday, and Jess, Julie, Bekah, Becca, and I spent a few hours browsing the stands buying gifts for friends and family (and a few for ourselves!).
Thanking God
There is so much to thank him for. Praise him for the great things he has done! He is our protector, our helper, our teacher. I know I need him to guide me and teach me how to be a good teacher. I am thankful for his grace. Even on days when I feel like I am not faithful or have failed, I know that his grace is sufficient for me. He is still faithful, and he is the one who makes all things grow. I can find great peace in knowing him and understanding what is truly important in this life and the next. When we fail, we can seek his grace with joy, knowing that he is the faithful one. We have a treasure in jars of clay. Though we are weak, he is strong, and he often works in situations that look chaotic to us.
When I feel out of control, I often think back to last summer. At the camp I worked at, the first week, I can honestly say, was absolute chaos. We had a really rough group of campers. A few of them were pretty restless, rebellious, and generally mean to each other. On the night where we were sharing the gospel with our campers, a few of them were "out of control" - clearly not paying attention and distracting the rest of the group. AND YET, in the midst of the chaos, one of our campers asked me directly, "How can I know God? I want to know him." What a shocking and beautiful reminder of the way that God works. So on that crazy night, we gained a sister in Christ. This story reminds me time and again that God is the one who works in my students hearts and that he can work in the most hardened hearts, even in the most distracting situations, to draw people to himself.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and encouragement. I feel so supported knowing that I have family and friends at home who are thinking of me and are partnering with us in prayer.
Please pray for our staff. We have several staff members who have been sick. One of our middle school teachers is having wisdom teeth surgery this week. Please pray for a quick recovery. We also have several staff members making big decisions about where to be next year. They have to give the school an "Intent to Return" form by the end of November, so we will know within the next few weeks which teachers will be staying at Highlands next year and which teachers God is calling to the next big thing.
I love you all!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Coming Soon!
A new blog update is just around the corner!
Adventures include...
-Ant Invasions
-A Bolivian Birthday (or "How I got Frosting on my Face")
-Spring Festival
-Mural Madness
-Waiting in Line (or "How I got my Visa")
-Middle School Mania (or "Ice Cream, Detention, and Classes")
-Happy Halloween! (or "The Great Wall of China Visits Bolivia")
-Thanking God
The days are packed. :) There have been some very special moments over the past several weeks, and there have been some moments of discouragement and frustration. God is teaching me and convicting me all the time, and I can see God's hand at work in our school. Our students are asking questions. I am praying that God will give them clarity. For those who know Christ, I am praying for confidence in their salvation, the conviction that God is worthy, that they will have faith that leads them to obedience, and that they will know God for who he truly is. For those who do not know Christ, I am praying that God will answer their questions, that they also will see God for who he truly is, and that as a result they will be drawn to worship and trust the Majesty in heaven. I know it is God who gives the growth, and that even though we are broken people, he works through our weaknesses. In our weakness, he is strong. When we sin, when we fail, his grace is shown in our lives as we turn to trust in him.
Please pray for me that I will have quality time to spend with God, that I will continue to depend on him and have an eternal vision in full view, that God will maximize my time, and that I will be able to juggle the many tasks on my to-do list. Also, please continue to pray for my students. Pray that their eyes will be opened and that they will see who God is and that they will run to him. Pray for our 8th grade class that they will not feel the need to rebel, and that they will learn self-control. Pray that they will find joy in doing good and not trying to be bad. Please pray for our staff to be healthy, unified, and energized.
We're more than halfway to Christmas!
Adventures include...
-Ant Invasions
-A Bolivian Birthday (or "How I got Frosting on my Face")
-Spring Festival
-Mural Madness
-Waiting in Line (or "How I got my Visa")
-Middle School Mania (or "Ice Cream, Detention, and Classes")
-Happy Halloween! (or "The Great Wall of China Visits Bolivia")
-Thanking God
The days are packed. :) There have been some very special moments over the past several weeks, and there have been some moments of discouragement and frustration. God is teaching me and convicting me all the time, and I can see God's hand at work in our school. Our students are asking questions. I am praying that God will give them clarity. For those who know Christ, I am praying for confidence in their salvation, the conviction that God is worthy, that they will have faith that leads them to obedience, and that they will know God for who he truly is. For those who do not know Christ, I am praying that God will answer their questions, that they also will see God for who he truly is, and that as a result they will be drawn to worship and trust the Majesty in heaven. I know it is God who gives the growth, and that even though we are broken people, he works through our weaknesses. In our weakness, he is strong. When we sin, when we fail, his grace is shown in our lives as we turn to trust in him.
Please pray for me that I will have quality time to spend with God, that I will continue to depend on him and have an eternal vision in full view, that God will maximize my time, and that I will be able to juggle the many tasks on my to-do list. Also, please continue to pray for my students. Pray that their eyes will be opened and that they will see who God is and that they will run to him. Pray for our 8th grade class that they will not feel the need to rebel, and that they will learn self-control. Pray that they will find joy in doing good and not trying to be bad. Please pray for our staff to be healthy, unified, and energized.
We're more than halfway to Christmas!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Spring is in the Air...
I know it's a strange concept for those of you who are just experiencing the beginnings of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, but for us the days are getting warmer, the birds are chirping louder, and the trees are growing fresh green leaves and beginning to blossom. It is still chilly (as it will be all year), but even a few degrees makes a big difference to this Florida girl! The other day, I was excited to comfortably wear a t-shirt and jeans into the evening. As it is now, the days are beautiful. Sunshine dominates the sky here. The cool air and the warm sunshine create a perfect combination. In the words of Goldilocks, it's "not too hot, not too cold...it's just right!" I have been enjoying some (short) afternoon runs through my neighborhood and the surrounding areas. It's not as pretty as running in Tallahassee, and I am constantly watching for taxis, trufis, and stray dogs when I jog across uneven cobblestone roads. The other day, I was slightly embarrassed when I tripped (twice!) while running along the main road. Thankfully I did not fall flat on my face, but I was close to it. I typically try not to draw extra attention to myself here...I'm sure my clumsiness did not help me to blend into the crowds.
I cannot believe another week has already passed since my last entry here. The week passed quickly and smoothly. It seemed that my science classes were more "bored" with the lessons this week, possibly because we were taking true notes for part of the week leading up to an experiment (our first official lab!) on Friday. I can't remember if I mentioned the first lab incident we had the previous week, but in case I didn't, during our first "lab" activity, one of my students was so closely observing a lit candle that his hair nearly caught on fire! Thankfully, it was only singed and even his parents found the story amusing. Nevertheless, I chose a lab that I deemed to be pretty risk free following that incident. So...on Friday, my 7th grade scientists examined the mystery of solubility using colored sugar mixed with oil, water, and rubbing alcohol. It went really well, and I think the class really enjoyed it. (They've asked me LITERALLY every day, "Miss, are we doing a lab today?!" It was fun to finally say, "Yes!")
On the math side of things, my 8th graders have been learning about exponents and scientific notation this week, and my 6th and 7th graders have both been working with integer operations For 6th grade this is new, but for 7th grade this should be a review. Unfortunately, my classes are really struggling with the concept of adding and subtracting integers, and I am running out of ways to reinforce and re-explain it. We've spent longer here than I intended, but I am hopeful that the extra practice and extra time will help my students to understand this more clearly in the long run.
Outside of school, we had some fun eating and chatting at our girl's Bible study on Wednesday night and on Friday, we celebrated a birthday with desserts and games. I found a store in the Megacenter that reminds me of a Pottery Barn meets Pier One, and I couldn't resist buying a few new towels for our kitchen and a cute change purse to carry around all of the coins I use to travel around town (I've been using a plastic bag up to this point, so the change purse is a major improvement.).
My weekend has been incredibly relaxing, due largely to the fact that today I did not leave my house and tomorrow...there is no school! Today was an official "Pedestrian's Day" in La Paz, which meant that all vehicles were supposed to be off the roads. We heard rumors that some taxis and trufis were going to head to the streets anyway...Anyway, the lack of public transportation meant that Jess and I had the option of 1) walking several miles up a mountain to church which may or may not have been held this morning, or 2) staying home in our pajamas and listening to sermons. #2 won out this time. :) Yesterday, we had a fun afternoon of dinner and grocery shopping, which also included "groceries" such as picture frames and a mirror for Jess. It was fun to buy a few things to decorate our little casita and when we got home, I put pictures into frames, dug out some of the few decorations I brought along, and made my room feel a little more like home.
Afterwards, I spent the evening drawing, which is something I haven't done since I've been here (unless it was school related.). The combination of these simple joys has been really refreshing, and I am so thankful we have had just a little extra time this weekend.
I've also been really refreshed in my time with God this weekend. I've spent a lot of time with him, and have been remembering and experiencing the peace and happiness intimacy with him brings. I have a lot of reasons to praise him, and I've been enjoying learning from him this weekend. Although I don't know what it will always look like, I know that God has brought me here to refine me and to serve him. I hope to be faithful to his calling for me here each day.
Which reminds me of a verse I am memorizing with a good friend: "Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10) God has also been reminding me of the importance, the challenge, and the beauty of surrendering all of our lives to him. Please pray that I will listen and obey as God teaches me and that I will continually trust God without fear as I hold out my life before him. God is a good and faithful Father who provides us with all we need and more. Now...if only I could remember that every day. :)
Please pray for wisdom as I plan lessons this week and for my students to understand the concepts we are working on in class. More importantly though, please pray that my students are convinced of God's love for them and that those who have a relationship with Jesus have confidence in their salvation. Pray that our middle schoolers see the worthiness of a life surrendered to our Lord and Savior, and that they are not caught up in chasing after temporary things that the world has to offer.
I cannot believe another week has already passed since my last entry here. The week passed quickly and smoothly. It seemed that my science classes were more "bored" with the lessons this week, possibly because we were taking true notes for part of the week leading up to an experiment (our first official lab!) on Friday. I can't remember if I mentioned the first lab incident we had the previous week, but in case I didn't, during our first "lab" activity, one of my students was so closely observing a lit candle that his hair nearly caught on fire! Thankfully, it was only singed and even his parents found the story amusing. Nevertheless, I chose a lab that I deemed to be pretty risk free following that incident. So...on Friday, my 7th grade scientists examined the mystery of solubility using colored sugar mixed with oil, water, and rubbing alcohol. It went really well, and I think the class really enjoyed it. (They've asked me LITERALLY every day, "Miss, are we doing a lab today?!" It was fun to finally say, "Yes!")
On the math side of things, my 8th graders have been learning about exponents and scientific notation this week, and my 6th and 7th graders have both been working with integer operations For 6th grade this is new, but for 7th grade this should be a review. Unfortunately, my classes are really struggling with the concept of adding and subtracting integers, and I am running out of ways to reinforce and re-explain it. We've spent longer here than I intended, but I am hopeful that the extra practice and extra time will help my students to understand this more clearly in the long run.
Outside of school, we had some fun eating and chatting at our girl's Bible study on Wednesday night and on Friday, we celebrated a birthday with desserts and games. I found a store in the Megacenter that reminds me of a Pottery Barn meets Pier One, and I couldn't resist buying a few new towels for our kitchen and a cute change purse to carry around all of the coins I use to travel around town (I've been using a plastic bag up to this point, so the change purse is a major improvement.).
My weekend has been incredibly relaxing, due largely to the fact that today I did not leave my house and tomorrow...there is no school! Today was an official "Pedestrian's Day" in La Paz, which meant that all vehicles were supposed to be off the roads. We heard rumors that some taxis and trufis were going to head to the streets anyway...Anyway, the lack of public transportation meant that Jess and I had the option of 1) walking several miles up a mountain to church which may or may not have been held this morning, or 2) staying home in our pajamas and listening to sermons. #2 won out this time. :) Yesterday, we had a fun afternoon of dinner and grocery shopping, which also included "groceries" such as picture frames and a mirror for Jess. It was fun to buy a few things to decorate our little casita and when we got home, I put pictures into frames, dug out some of the few decorations I brought along, and made my room feel a little more like home.
Afterwards, I spent the evening drawing, which is something I haven't done since I've been here (unless it was school related.). The combination of these simple joys has been really refreshing, and I am so thankful we have had just a little extra time this weekend.
I've also been really refreshed in my time with God this weekend. I've spent a lot of time with him, and have been remembering and experiencing the peace and happiness intimacy with him brings. I have a lot of reasons to praise him, and I've been enjoying learning from him this weekend. Although I don't know what it will always look like, I know that God has brought me here to refine me and to serve him. I hope to be faithful to his calling for me here each day.
Which reminds me of a verse I am memorizing with a good friend: "Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10) God has also been reminding me of the importance, the challenge, and the beauty of surrendering all of our lives to him. Please pray that I will listen and obey as God teaches me and that I will continually trust God without fear as I hold out my life before him. God is a good and faithful Father who provides us with all we need and more. Now...if only I could remember that every day. :)
Please pray for wisdom as I plan lessons this week and for my students to understand the concepts we are working on in class. More importantly though, please pray that my students are convinced of God's love for them and that those who have a relationship with Jesus have confidence in their salvation. Pray that our middle schoolers see the worthiness of a life surrendered to our Lord and Savior, and that they are not caught up in chasing after temporary things that the world has to offer.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his Glory and Grace.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Life in La Paz - Day 33
As I sit in our kitchen eating a burger and quinoa for lunch this Sunday afternoon, it is hard for me to believe it has only and already been 33 days since I left sunny summer in South Florida to move to the sunny, but much chillier, mountains of Bolivia. Since week 1, my days have been packed with the responsibilities of teaching. Lesson planning and grading have taken a lot of my time, but I've also had several chances to relax and have fun with other teachers from school. Game nights, watching Mr. Popper's Penguins in Spanish at the Megacenter (our local equivalent of the mall), Bible study, ultimate frisbee, and several meals in and out have filled some of the small windows of free time I have here. Each week, we get to know our way around a little bit better, and last weekend I had fun exploring the shops of San Miguel and getting "lost" on a minibus that was not heading to its specified destination...(After 5 minutes of me riding the bus as the only remaining passenger, the driver asked me where I was going. I told him my destination. He proceeded to tell me that the bus was not, in fact, heading to Obrajes, and he subsequently took the "Obrajes" sign out of the window. I apologized for my mistake...) :)
School itself has been very busy and very fun. I am teaching 5 classes altogether right now. I have my 6th and 7th graders for both math and science each day, and I see 8th grade once a day for Algebra. Each of the classes has a "unique" personality, and it has been fun to get to know the students in each group. There are days when I feel overwhelmed or confused about how and what I should do in the classroom, but God has been calling me to depend on him to teach me how to teach all of my students. Along those lines, I have been thinking a lot on these verses from Isaiah over the past few weeks: "In repentence and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength...Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him...Whether you turn to the right or the left you will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it.'"
Thank you all for your many prayers on my behalf. God has been so faithful to me here. My roommate and I have been healthy and, even with some minor inconveniences, life has been settling into a steady routine. A typical day for me is...
5:40 a.m. - Wake up and get ready for school
6:45 a.m. - Brush my teeth with bottled water
7:00 a.m. - Meet our taxi on the street in front of our house (Mario takes us to school every morning)
7:15 a.m. - Get to school, drop things off in my classroom, print worksheets or make copies in the teacher's lounge as necessary, review the schedule for the day
7:45 a.m. - Morning staff Bible study - This is a pretty cool way to start the school day. :)
8:00 a.m. - Back to the classroom for last minute prep
8:15 a.m. - A "warning bell" is supposed to remind the kids it's time for class...The warning bell is usually me or Ms. Youtzy calling all of the students to head to class
8:20 a.m. - Time for class! I start the day with 15 super 6th graders!
3:00 p.m. - Whew...the kids head home after a busy day of class.
3:45 or 4:00 p.m. - I head home with my roommate Jess and our neighbor, Jill.
After 4:00 p.m. - My afternoons are usually composed of getting things ready for school, making dinner, and catching up with friends or family. We have Bible study on Wednesday nights, and sometimes we have a movie night or dinner with friends. Other afternoons are filled with visa and immigration business, and next week, I am planning to start Spanish lessons with 2 other teachers from school one day a week.
9:30 p.m. - Get ready for bed...The day starts and ends early for us teachers!
My roommate and I have been going to a Bolivian church that meets at the school each Sunday, and it has been fun to worship God in Spanish and I have really enjoyed the messages each week. The pastor is preaching through the book of Genesis right now, and today's message was about Jacob and Esau.
So...one month in, I still am awed by the mountains that rise all around us as I step outside each morning, I still can't remember how much it costs for a trufi, and I still smile everytime our landlord's dog, Diana, greets us at the front door (and when she sneaks into our house!). There are still so many lessons still to be learned and so many places to be explored.
As you pray for me, please pray for continued health and energy. Please ask God to give me wisdom and discernment as I plan lessons and deal with the different personalities and needs of my students. Many of our middle schoolers do not know Jesus and have a lot of questions. Please pray that they will see Christ genuinely at work in the lives of their teachers and that they would have a desire to know God. We also have a few new teachers who will be arriving to the school in the next few weeks. Please pray for them as they finalize their plans for the move and begin the transition to Bolivia.
And, finally, please keep me posted on life in the states! Shoot me a message to tell me what's new with you. :)
With love from La Paz,
Joy
33 days and counting!
School itself has been very busy and very fun. I am teaching 5 classes altogether right now. I have my 6th and 7th graders for both math and science each day, and I see 8th grade once a day for Algebra. Each of the classes has a "unique" personality, and it has been fun to get to know the students in each group. There are days when I feel overwhelmed or confused about how and what I should do in the classroom, but God has been calling me to depend on him to teach me how to teach all of my students. Along those lines, I have been thinking a lot on these verses from Isaiah over the past few weeks: "In repentence and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength...Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him...Whether you turn to the right or the left you will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it.'"
Thank you all for your many prayers on my behalf. God has been so faithful to me here. My roommate and I have been healthy and, even with some minor inconveniences, life has been settling into a steady routine. A typical day for me is...
5:40 a.m. - Wake up and get ready for school
6:45 a.m. - Brush my teeth with bottled water
7:00 a.m. - Meet our taxi on the street in front of our house (Mario takes us to school every morning)
7:15 a.m. - Get to school, drop things off in my classroom, print worksheets or make copies in the teacher's lounge as necessary, review the schedule for the day
7:45 a.m. - Morning staff Bible study - This is a pretty cool way to start the school day. :)
8:00 a.m. - Back to the classroom for last minute prep
8:15 a.m. - A "warning bell" is supposed to remind the kids it's time for class...The warning bell is usually me or Ms. Youtzy calling all of the students to head to class
8:20 a.m. - Time for class! I start the day with 15 super 6th graders!
3:00 p.m. - Whew...the kids head home after a busy day of class.
3:45 or 4:00 p.m. - I head home with my roommate Jess and our neighbor, Jill.
After 4:00 p.m. - My afternoons are usually composed of getting things ready for school, making dinner, and catching up with friends or family. We have Bible study on Wednesday nights, and sometimes we have a movie night or dinner with friends. Other afternoons are filled with visa and immigration business, and next week, I am planning to start Spanish lessons with 2 other teachers from school one day a week.
9:30 p.m. - Get ready for bed...The day starts and ends early for us teachers!
My roommate and I have been going to a Bolivian church that meets at the school each Sunday, and it has been fun to worship God in Spanish and I have really enjoyed the messages each week. The pastor is preaching through the book of Genesis right now, and today's message was about Jacob and Esau.
So...one month in, I still am awed by the mountains that rise all around us as I step outside each morning, I still can't remember how much it costs for a trufi, and I still smile everytime our landlord's dog, Diana, greets us at the front door (and when she sneaks into our house!). There are still so many lessons still to be learned and so many places to be explored.
As you pray for me, please pray for continued health and energy. Please ask God to give me wisdom and discernment as I plan lessons and deal with the different personalities and needs of my students. Many of our middle schoolers do not know Jesus and have a lot of questions. Please pray that they will see Christ genuinely at work in the lives of their teachers and that they would have a desire to know God. We also have a few new teachers who will be arriving to the school in the next few weeks. Please pray for them as they finalize their plans for the move and begin the transition to Bolivia.
And, finally, please keep me posted on life in the states! Shoot me a message to tell me what's new with you. :)
With love from La Paz,
Joy
33 days and counting!
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