He regresado a los ee. uu.!/ I'm back!

My last day at the Center.
Dana and Joana presented me with a card and gift from my Kinder class.
This was probably one of the hardest days in Bolivia, leaving my ninitos!

A mis amigos en Bolivia, los extrano mucho...desde he regresado a los ee. uu. Es la verdad! He compartido las historias con mi familia y mis amigos y es dificil todas las veces para hablar de las experiencias y personas alla. Estoy orando por todos y espero que esten buenos y que nuestro Dios este bendiciendoles. Yo se que Dios me has dado pasiones por los ninitos en Bolivia y espero que volver pronto. Quiero reuinernos juntos pronto pronto pronto :) Los quiero y Dios les bendiga!

To my family and friends here in the States. Thank you so much for your prayers and support over the past year as I prepared, left, lived, and have recently returned from Bolivia. It's difficult to express how much I love Bolivians and the children who live there. I am so grateful for my experiences and how God used me, blessed me, and affirmed so many of my passions. Again, the Lord showed me how wherever I am is His missionfield. Whether there's a ministry label attached or not, my job is to glorify Him in my actions and words (not that I get that right all the time!). No matter if I was at the orphanages tutoring, playing soccer with Bolivian men (yep, it was great!), or cooking with my roommates, God simply blessed me with opportunities to share His love. I have so many stories, from crazy micro drivers to "Aha!" moments doing homework, I just can't wait to share them with you. I miss everyone in Bolivia so much and I truly desire to return again. If you want to get together and see pictures or just hang out or pray, give me a call or shoot me an email! I'd love to see you!

El Dia del Mar

Today is March 23, and it is el Dia del Mar, the day the Chileans took the sea from Bolivia. The kids at Frutillar were making art projects for school in honor of this day. However, I haven't posted in a while, so here's an update:

Kinder class, clase ‘A’, continues to go well at the center. Joana and I are having a blast with the little ones. They really enjoyed making macaroni flowers and are getting the hang of our brushing teeth routine. Joana has been a wonderful blessing to me. Not only is she a great teacher and role model, she simply exudes sincere kindness and the joy of the Lord in her life. I’m so thankful for her friendship and constant encouragement to me as I try to teach in my second language.

I can’t say enough good things about Frutillar. The kids at this orphanage have blessed me more than I could ever have imagined. Last week, we were all doing homework in the kitchen when a sudden case of laughter exploded! It was so fun to just be silly and laugh and make jokes during the normal day-to-day routine. Even as we were leaving, Elian still could not contain himself and was uncontrollably giggling and out of breath.

It’s been a while, but as in any situation or ministry, there are set-backs and disappointments and heartache. In our case, Villa Israel house has been in the process of dispersing the kids. The house parents had been under enormous stress from the misbehavior of the kids and our mom was even experiencing pregnancy troubles due to stress as well. For the health and well-being of everyone in Villa Israel, it was decided to send Miguel and Roberto back to their mom, Franz and Elian to Frutillar, and the four brothers (Jhoel, Brandon, Samuel, and Erlan) to an all boys’ home. Unfortunately, there has yet to be a place for Neydi and we pray that she is placed in a home where she can be loved and cared for in the special manner she needs and deserves. So far, we have seen and heard good reports from the moves and pray that each one will be able to grow, learn, and mature as a child of God.

Jeff, Craig, Jen, and I are really enjoying our time together living at the hacienda. Jeff starts great conversations and asks the best random questions. Craig cooks the meat (I mean, grills and eats as well) and is always willing to do any maintenance around the house. Jen serves so joyfully and has awesome timing with jokes and movie quotes! The Lord has provided such amazing people for me to live and serve with. I continue to learn from each one of my roommates every day.

Soaking Cochabamba

We have survived Carnival...a crazy, few-month long holiday celebrated throughout the entire city by throwing water balloons, using squirt guns, and hosing down strangers. I've been nailed several times in the back, head, chest, and legs by 11-year-olds to grown men. During the last day or 2, the streets are overrun with people carrying supersoakers, bags of water balloons, and gangs of soaking sensations! Since it's based in pagan tradition (for cleansing and fertility, etc.), the center hosted an overnight camp during the last 2 days of Carnival. We did Bible study, played volleyball, did relay races, ate meals, and had a huge water fight!

Here's Nicol with her loaded watergun and pack ready for action! Joana, the girl I work with in Kinder Kids, is soaked...along with the rest of us!

On Sunday, my friends Katie and Craig went hiking with me up a rocky gorge/river bed. It was so fun to climb and swim under waterfalls.

And, of course, playing soccer at the cancha with the Frutillar kids is always fun. Papi gets excited and comes with to watch, play, and cheer too.

Here is Papi with Ariel, Frankie, Johnnie, and Vivi.

The Center

Yesterday I went to the center for after school program. I work with the kinder kids, 2 to 5 year olds. I help teach with Joana, a girl my age who´s attending college for her degree in early childhood education. I love teaching with her because she´s a native Bolivian, so her Spanish is perfect and she´s amazing with the kids. She has really creative ideas for teaching and preparing them for life.
Because most of these kids come from less than supportive homes, our lessons include basic living standards along with educational and Biblical teachings. We´re going through the colors, numbers 1-10, songs, and prayer. These first few weeks, we are focusing on dental hygiene. We taught them how to brush using a giant toothbrush and a picture of Garfield cheesing: ¡arriba, abajo, izquierda, derecha! Up, down, left, right! Now, when they arrive at the center each day, we take them to the sink and brush each of their teeth. It´s so fun to see their reaction to our command, ¡muestreme tus dientes! Show me your teeth! Smile! They love to show off their work.
Also, I made name plates and pictures of animals for each student to put on the wall. It is to help them recognize their names and for collecting themed stickers for when they master a task. Yesterday, Esther went absolutely nuts when she realized she had the little dog, un perrito. She was showing everyone and was so proud of her perrito. ¡Es mio! Then, after we learned the color yellow, we blew up balloons (globos) and played with those for about 20 minutes. Miguel was doing headers with me :) We have snack, refrijerio, each day at the end of our session. We have to encourage them to finish their drink and snack, especially since some of the kids don´t eat every day.
The center is a very difficult place to work because of the inconsistency of home life and attendance to the center, but it is so encouraging to see the kids answer questions correctly, share, find the right puzzle piece, volunteer to pray, and actually finish their refrijerio. As we lead the kinder kids every day before prayer, ¨¡Manitos, manitos! Juntos. Oremos.¨ We show and wave our hands, put them together, and pray.
If you´d like to pray for my class, here they are: Samuel, Dennis, Miguel, Esther, Dana, Katie, Cristian, Angel, Nicol, Yuri, Sheila, and Carlos.

Activities and Projects

Erland, me, and Miguel
Playing after homework
Villa Israel

Roberto reading with mom
Miguel coloring
Activities after homework

Planter with 3 kinds of flowers
We built, painted, and planted
I used a skill saw, hand drill, and hammer/nails

A Few Pics for You

Coffee Roaster at Juan's
He roasts the same coffee beans as you've had from Bolivia's Best for sale in Bolivia
Your beans are sent in bulk to the States for roasting
He uses direct fire heat and the whole process looks insanely complicated
He has to stay diligent and pay attention the whole time
I know I'm grateful for my cup of java each morning!

Roberto's 2 sticker projects
He has the best handwriting I've ever seen
And he's pretty good at Uno too!

Me, Jen, and Craig
IOU interns with the orphanages and center
Jen and Craig are hilarious, kind, amazing friends

Living and Loving in Coch

Roberto, Erlan, Samuel, and Elian
Making sticker Projects at Villa Israel

Hola todos mis amigos! I’m here in Coch and already absolutely love it. This first week was a whirlwind of travel. There was a team here from NH and we did so many things including:

1. Sipi Sipi – outskirt village of Coch for a bread run to the kids, see Incan ruins
2. Coffee Roaster – Juan, a friend of the Timmers, has a coffee roaster for local sales, similar to that for the States
3. Chapari – jungle site of a few orphanages in progress, visit and bring mattresses, visit monkey park

I’ve been getting into the intern routine with Jen and Craig. Each week, we visit two orphanages, Frutillar and Villa Israel. We do homework, go to the playground, get afternoon snack, read Bible stories, play games, and color. We also go to the center to help tutor and play with neighborhood kids. God’s work is amazing and I’m blessed to be chosen in this setting, with these people. I absolutely love the kids and have been trying my hardest to savor every moment with each of them. I’m also enjoying simply living here—shopping in the market, going for runs, riding the buses, and cooking with roommates are just a few of the day to day events. I look forward to playing and attending soccer games, hiking a few mountains, and trying out new restaurants. I have a few firsts as well:

1. Riding atop the trufi up the mountain to the Incan ruins
2. Riding a moto (motorcycle) with Patto and Craig