Playing with the Kiddos

In Bolivia a foster care system doesn't really exist, adoption is a long and increasingly difficult process, and many parents have more children than they can care for. For these reasons there are many many orphanages or children's homes, full, sometimes overflowing, with kids who's stories could break your heart and who's smiles and hugs will mend it right back together.

A lot of my friends, both in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, work full-time at these homes, and until recently I envied their closeness to these precious kiddos. But now that I'm starting to get settled into a more regular schedule I have plenty of opportunities to have a little one crawling into my lap, climbing on me for a hug, begging to brush my hair, or teach me these hand-clapping games which might be impossible for people over the age of twenty to learn, or at least improbable when they teach me 700 different patterns, instead of letting me repeat any of them. But I digress...

Here are just a few of the recent experiences I've been blessed with. Casa de Amor is a set of three children's homes in Cochabamba. My friend Savannah volunteers in the baby home, so I got to see the kids regularly at church and sometimes help get them there and back or get them fed afterwards, I don't know how she does it. Especially now that they have premature triplets in the house that require constant attention! When I visited Coch last week for Mateo's super-surprise birthday fiesta we got to have a slumber party with the triplets, meaning Savannah stayed up all night feeding them and I mostly slept through it all, but I had lots of fun with them when I was awake.

Cristo Viene is a girl's home in Santa Cruz that my friend Adreana helps run. The home is low on funds, but not at all short on love. These girls love getting their pictures taken and love visitors of whom they will be having plenty over the next few months as they're building a new dormitory with help from many short term teams, such as the one from Mosaic Christian Church in August!

Talita Cumi (in the third picture, and yes that's their parrot on my head) is near and dear to my heart and very near my house so I get to see those kids with increasing frequency. Last night, about a dozen of them and their tias (meaning aunts literally, but is the word for staff at many homes) piled into my car to support one of their long-time leaders, Graciela, at her gorgeous wedding. They were some beautiful and energetic (as in dancing till 3am) teenagers.

Yesterday, over fifty girls ranging from 8-12 years old from many different organizations and families around Santa Cruz were transformed into princesses. I had the privilege of baking some decadent cupcakes and being a table counselor. My princesas were adorably timid, but really excited (much more than they let on in this picture) to have their photo taken professionally and get to create and decorate a little frame for it, while learning all about being heiresses to the King of Kings.

Each of these homes, and so many more, accept interns and volunteers for a variety of lengths, so if you've got some time or need some hugs, pray about how you could be involved or give to these little people with so much potential. I'll continue to play the part of community jungle gym until you come down to fill in for me, and probably even when you do, I just can't get enough.

I put a few more pictures of these photogenic niños on Facebook as well, in case you want to see more of their smiling (or in some cases smiling-on-the-inside) faces.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -- Matthew 19:14

Resonating

Here are a few thoughts that have resounded with me recently:

I don't really care what your faith does for you after you die, I care a lot more about what your faith does for others while you're here. --Shane Hipps, Mars Hill Bible Church, on what unbelievers thought of his evangelism.

Love God and do as you please. --St. Augustine

She was ready every day and every moment, asking God, “Who do You want me to love for You today?" --Francis Chan, Forgotten God

Faith means you want God and want to want nothing else. -- Brennan Manning,

The Ragamuffin Gospel

I had rather exercise faith than know the definition thereof. --Thomas a Kempis

He develops toward himself a kindly sense of humor and learns to say, “Oh, so you have been overlooked? They have placed someone else before you? They have whispered that you are pretty small stuff after all?” And now you feel hurt because the world is saying about you the very things you have been saying about yourself? Only yesterday you were telling God that you were nothing, a mere worm of the dust. Where is your consistency? Come on, humble yourself, and cease to care what men think. --A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

He had everything, but he possessed nothing. There is the spiritual secret. --A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

No es bueno dejarse arrastrar por los sueños y olvidarse de vivir. --Dumbledore, Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal

Despues de todo para una mente bien organizada, la muerte no es más que la siguiente gran aventura.

--Dumbledore, Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal

In Him we live and move and have our being. -Acts 17:28. All of us are swimming in God though we may not realize it. Every moment of your life God is pressing against your skin. Every time you inhale God is exhaling and putting life inside of you. --Erwin McManus, Mosaic

If a Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Then here's the story of our two-day trip to see the communities where our new World Concern project is working.

The Road/Riverbed to get there

The Transportation/Our Hero

The reason no other N.G.O.'s work in this area, it's kind of hard to get to.

Being stuck provided a good opportunity for learning to use the winch for future fun with my Land Cruiser.

Homes

The family cow, pigs, dogs, chickens

The Oven

Sadly, Not a Clubhouse

The Church

The Team

(the Land Rover really was the most irreplaceable member, so it couldn't be left out of the photo)

The reason for it all; loving on the people in Christ's name.

Recruiting

"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

-John 10:10

"Everything I have learned about foreign missions, I have learned from your pictures. It looks as though being a foreign missionary means that you get to dress up like a fairy princess and go around to a new city every other week and they throw a party for you, let you pet their dogs and swim in their pools."

I know the friend who said these words was just teasing, as most of you are when you give me a hard time for having more adventures and excitement and peace than someone who's supposed to be suffering for Jesus should be allowed to have. But whether there's a hint of truth underneath your quips or not, I thought it was about time I addressed the excessive amount of fun I often appear to be having in my photos.

Two things:

First, I don't want to document in pictures or blog posts the struggles of being far too far from snow, Wal-Mart, English, family, churches that I love, and almost any of you reading this. I'd much rather share the blessings that I'm surrounded by, and in so doing choose to focus on those things. (Philippians 4:8)

Second, being a missionary's awesome! If you were holding back from committing your life and work totally to serving Christ in some way because of the sacrifices you'd have to make, let me be the first tell you, and show you, how "abundant" the life He has for you can be. Even if there weren't Doble Quince birthday parties, salt flats, sand dunes, and fern forests, there would still be a plethora of neglected kids that soak up love like a sponge, students that want to hear more about Jesus, and opportunities to help some of the poorest of the poor.

So, come join us on the field, where ministry and fun are not mutually exclusive.

Still perfecting my recruiting slogan. But for now, gotta run, there's a baby lizard crawling up my wall, I need to let him out...

Treintañera es la Nueva Quinceañera.

Well, if you have to turn 30, this is the way to do it! Move to a new place, find a friend with a birthday the same week as yours (my dear amiga Heather pictured below showing off some of our treats), invite everyone you know, and let them invite still more guests you've never met, bring in other friends from your last city, all to break in your new house, your new decade and try to break the piñata (we got a dud this time.)

I think I'm supposed to be upset about this milestone birthday but with all these festivities and the great cloud of witnesses surrounding me it's pretty much impossible to be anything but completely content.

The thing I've been abusing about 30 is that it sounds so old to those young 20-something whippersnappers I'm friends with. For instance, I was never interested in a lot of the normal things everybody else my age was even when I was 20, like dancing at clubs, listening to "The Thong Song" or "Who Let the Dogs Out", or watching The Real World. But now at 30 I have a legitimate believable defense for not knowing Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift songs, not wanting to go see any of the Twilight series, and abstaining from such fun as foam parties, karaoke and ridiculous practical jokes. Thanks 30, I've been needing an excuse!

Even beyond the festivities, this week has been fruitful. Classes are going well, our Bible studies growing, and six students from our vet school Bible study and six people from our professional veterinarians group came to the birthday party. I'm really enjoying investing in these relationships! This weekend with four guests in town from Cochabamba we're running a little bed and breakfast and doing a little missionary care. Life is so good...

"Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry..." Luke 3:23

Felix Felicis

One of my Spanish professoras used to give me a hard time because I rarely agreed with her literary tastes, due to her affinity for tragedies. Is it really so bad to prefer happy endings? Growing up I watched The Walton's on TV because nothing ever really went wrong, and it always had a happy ending, "Night John Boy..." Probably because of the same fondness for smooth sailing, the chapter in Harry Potter about Felix Felicis Potion was one of my favorites in the series.

I, for one, am convinced that J.K. Rowling's writing was profoundly influenced by her Christianity. I find it hard to understand how anyone who has finished the seventh book could deny such an influence, with the Gospel so plainly allegorized. And I sometimes wonder if Rowling's meant Felix Felicis Potion to represent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is definitely not luck and it does not guarantee smooth sailing by any means, but the Bible says it will give us power beyond ourselves, Acts 1:8.

More recently, I've been reading Forgotten God, by Francis Chan, where he asks, "When is the last time you experienced the Holy Spirit?"

All this to say, my English for Veterinarians classes have been going far better than is humanly possible. Since Monday I've had four classes, with the number of students in one class growing between the first and second days to nearly fifty. More remarkable than overcoming my fear/hatred for public speaking, than learning on the job how to teach, than working confidently with professors nearly twice my age, has been my ability to not only lecture in Spanish, but even harder to switch back and forth between Spanish and English rapidly and coherently. Outside of class sometimes I feel like my Spanish is so inadequate that I can barely convey simple thoughts in an understandable manner. This discrepancy leaves me with four options for how I can speak intelligibly in Spanish and English in class, either: 1) someone's sneaking me Felix Felicis Potion before class, 2) I'm really speaking terribly I just don't have anyone correcting me so I don't know it, 3) my adrenaline causes my subconscious to take over with its far superior linguistic skills, or the option I choose to believe, 4) the Holy Spirit is helping me. "...for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit." ~Luke 12:12

Thank you everyone for your prayers, they're nearly palpable!

What a Difference a Week Makes

Once the professors concluded their strike at the vet school we were able to set a date for our kick-off lunch/introduction to Vetred. With seven "Interminable" (translation - had to open two doors to get them into the room) pizzas in hand, we headed to the vet school last Wednesday afternoon. And, as is quickly found with interminables, they never really meet up to their name. But they gave a good enough effort to satisfy almost 100 students. Between their first and second slices David, my faithful co-worker with Vetred, and I presented our opportunities for them throughout the semester including our weekly Bible study, trips to the countryside to teach animal healthcare workshops to farmers, monthly spay and neuter clinics in poor areas of town, and bi-weekly English for Veterinarians classes.

This was the first time I'd ever spoken in front of a crowd in Spanish, and I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't hurl rotten tomatoes at me. Either I explained everything clearly enough that they were intrigued by the English course, or I accidentally offered them free pizza every week, because 75 of them signed up for my class! We begin class Monday the 15th, so you can start praying any time, I know I am.

On the same adrenaline soaked day, I also finalized my driver's license, picked up my new business cards, and found a car! Owned by a nun from Spain for the past thirteen years, my new-to-me Toyota Land Cruiser took a bit of getting used to at first. I can honestly say it is the most utilitarian thing I've ever owned, but we're warming up to each other. Over the past twenty-four hours the sterility of the cup-holder-less, radio-less, console-less interior has been overshadowed, not so much by her personality but by her functionality. With seats for ten passengers, a diesel engine and a roof rack, I've already toted a few people around town, and plan to make full use of her people-hauling capabilities tomorrow for our Christian Veterinarians retreat.

I want to say a huge thank you to each of you that support me regularly or irregularly. It has been amazing to be able to complete language school, set-up a house, buy a car, get new tires, etc. all through your generosity. If you've been thinking/praying about giving, I would encourage you that I could use some more regular donors, and some irregular donors to become more regular. But God has provided for me so graciously through so many of you. When I was taking questions after my talk on Wednesday, one of the students asked how much the English course will cost? As I answered that it is free, I smiled a little as I was immediately filled with gratitude for all your selflessness that allows me to be here, to volunteer my time, and to offer these people a gift that is undeserved and unpaid for, just like the grace of God that we have ultimately come to share.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you." Philippians 1:3