El Día De La Amistad

In the spirit of rejoicing always, as I was reading in Philippians this morning, Bolivia does not miss an opportunity to celebrate. Yesterday was Friend Day, a day for which we really have no counterpart in the States, but maybe we should rethink that. Similar to Valentine's Day, kids buy little cards to pass out to all their classmates and the stores are full of last minute shoppers. But in contrast to our own Hallmark holiday, this one's less about romance and more about appreciating all the people who add a little something to your life, so even the singles are happy.

To make sure no one's left out, without having to invest in presents for every friend, secret gift exchanges are popular. Small groups of amigos through work, school, or in our case our church small group, draw names, buy a little present, and then try to guess who had their name.

On Wednesday, I hosted my new small group in my house, and two nights later, in honor of the occasion, they returned for pizza, games, gifts, and prayer; a pretty much perfect combination in my opinion.

The timing of Friend Day was also impeccable. Since leaving Cochabamba where friends flowed in and out of the language school like water during Carnaval, I've been thinking a lot more about what makes good friendships, and how to make good friendships. I'd never really thought much about it before, but for me a good friend is someone you'd rather be with than be alone, someone who's presence is relaxing, easy, even re-energizing. These past five months in Santa Cruz, trying to immerse myself more in Spanish speaking relationships has meant chatting, going out for tea, talking on the phone, even praying together has taken a lot more effort than my image of the way these things should be; effortless.

But yesterday made me realize, between my co-workers, my vet school Bible studies, my church, and a few other random chicas, at long last I'm enjoying my time with Spanish speaking friends as much as English. Which is good, because I've also realized just how vital good friends are to my sanity. Thank you all for your love, support, encouragement, inspiration, friendship, and this awesome sombrero!

"...a sweet friendship refreshes the soul."

-Proverb 27:9 (The Message)

Baby Shower (that's Spanish for Baby Shower)

Some things are so different here, like using graph paper as notebook paper, always taking turns in a counter-clockwise direction, buying fresh strawberries, flan, or large lizards from people walking through the lanes while you wait at the stoplight. And then some things are exactly the same, like Baby Showers. So much the same, that they haven't even bothered to translate the name.

Whoever brought the title and tradition down from the North also transported the games. Whether with toilet paper or ribbon, it is of course necessary that everyone at the party guesstimate the mother-to-be's waist size. One slight difference being in the States I've never seen anyone nicely fold the toilet paper squares for later use.

This week we threw a shower for our pastor and his wife, Paul and Kristin Hoffman, who are about to meet their fifth little one while simultaneously on the verge of opening an orphanage for sick babies, which I'm sure to be sharing much more about in the near future... It's so nice to be involved in the close inner community of a church after a year of being only a casual attender of so many. Already, I'm at home enough to invite others into our little fellowship.

Orfa (pictured with me here) is one of my new co-workers who lives in the far South of Bolivia, but is commuting up to work in the Santa Cruz office. She enjoyed the church service when she was in town one Sunday, so I invited her to the baby shower, and now I think she'll be joining me for wallyball this afternoon with the group. Orfa lives near the guaraní community that we're starting to work in called the Chaco, with some of the poorest of the poor in Bolivia. You might remember this post where I shared photos of the little "houses" made of sticks. Now, as I sip my hot chocolate under the covers in my house trying to stay warm in what may be our coldest winter/week in ten years, they huddle together in their insulation-less homes in flip-flops and t-shirts because that's all they have. For this reason, Orfa and another co-worker Feli are collecting warm clothes and shoes and blankets to take down on their trip next week, to spread a little warmth and a little love, in Christ's name. I love God's economic system of sharing.

Have I mentioned that I'm really tall here?

Last week, World Concern had their 11th annual planning retreat where I learned, among other things, that I'm a giant.

Which one of these is not like the others?

For three days, we departed from the distractions of the city, other than a couple necessary World Cup games, to a quiet little town called Samaipata. Between the five wonderful meals/snacks we were fed daily, the FIFA semi-finals, and our own volleyball championship, we tried to get some work done. The goal of the retreat was to spend time together as a team planning our objectives and activities for the next year. But even more fruitful for me were the times of devotionals centered on prayer. Through moments of reflection in Samaipata, and the church I've decided on in Santa Cruz, I've finally been recognizing the Lord's unfathomable love as clearly in Spanish as I was a year ago at home in English.

One story that resonated with me was that of Hannah, in 1 Samuel 1. I often focus on the sides of prayer where we adore God, share our thoughts with Him, listen for His reply, receive His peace, and surrender our agendas to His will. At the same time, I think I saw pleading with God as doubting His sovereignty, a bit selfish, or at least a sure sign of discontent with the lot He has given you. But somehow the story of Hannah begging God for a child, probably for years, flies in the face of all those notions. From the provision of Hannah's son, who turns out to be one of the Bible's most famous servants, God seems to be approving this type of appeal. Maybe one doesn't have to be self-centered or dissatisfied to seek God for the same thing over and over. Maybe it's okay to ask for more worldly things than just more of Him. Maybe I'll start dreaming big...

"I was pouring out my soul to the Lord." -1 Samuel 1:15

She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the Lord for him." -1 Samuel 1:20

A Really Beautiful Day

Talita Cumi Children's Home wanted to create one of those memories from childhood that you cherish forever. I think they probably succeeded. During the short winter break from school, they put together a World Cup Championship of miniature yet magnificent proportions. Six countries were represented, each thoroughly researched by its players as to its location, local music, traditional food, and other relevant details. Other than pure fun, the intent of the occasion was to teach the kids about other countries and train them in teamwork and sportsmanship. In preparation for the big day teams were formed, flags were created, jerseys selected, and pom-poms fashioned.

As the sound system blared -- the never to be erased from anyone's mental soundtrack -- Waka-Waka and Wavin' Flag, thirty little painted faces took the field for a parade-style opening ceremonies, no less memorable than the more well known event held in South Africa just weeks ago. A tiny dragon mascot made an appearance, puppies disrupted every part of the day, a lot of soccer was played, and a fabulous time was had by all. At the end of the very fairly played double elimination tournament Holland walked away with the Cup, which strangely enough may foreshadow the "real" finale next weekend...

Taking advantage of the same winter break we took our university Bible study students out to a poor rural Guaraní community, Pueblo Nuevo. It was a perfect afternoon to get to know the people of the area. The students got to practice their veterinary skills on the local dogs, some of our team practiced their fledgling Guaraní, and I, of course, practiced my balloon animals, even attempting upon request to make an airplane, fail. But the hats and swords, which each child insisted they needed at least two

of, were a huge success. I'm now very adept at saying, "you only have two hands you don't need more than two swords," in Spanish, maybe on our next trip I'll learn to say it in Guaraní. Our hope is to return regularly, our next visit may be as early as two weeks from now, to build our friendship, treat some more dogs, give a workshop on chickens, teach them why they should spay and neuter their pets, and continue to share the most important message; Christ's love.