FRESH FRUIT!

If you know me well, you know I’m a cheapskate. I nicer word might be frugal, but regardless of how you word it – I don’t like to spend money. 

In college (and lets be honest, after as well), my goal when going to the grocery store was always to see how little I could spend on groceries. That usually meant buying Great Value brand at Wal-Mart. Fruits and vegetables (unless they were in a Great Value can) were too expensive, so I didn’t buy them.

In Bolivia, the tables have turned. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the cheapest things you can buy!

Now, as summer comes to an end in Bolivia, I have made an exciting discovery. The girls house has a grape vine, an orange tree, and two fig trees! I knew about the orange tree, but almost every day for 7 months I have walked past these trees without really looking at them. (And to be honest, even if I had looked at them I don’t know anything about trees.)

Oranges, but right now they are greens....

Grapes!

The girls have spent hours climbing up into the trees to find the ripest fruit. Every time they find a good fig, or a bunch of grapes they gather around excitedly and calmly discuss [fight over] who will get to eat it. I don’t know if I had ever eaten a fig in my life before this week, but I have grown to like them as well!

The inside of a fig - just in case you haven't eaten one either

Yesterday afternoon as I picked fruit with the girls and learned to tell the difference between good figs and bad figs, I was reminded of the verse in Matthew 7:16 that says, “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” And the verses in John 15:5 that says, “ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

As I saw the rotting grapes and figs that had fallen on the ground I was reminded of my own helplessness apart from Jesus. There is great need, but apart from Him I can do nothing. Please pray with me that the Lord would bear fruit in the lives of the girls at Casa de Amor just as He has grown the fruit in their front yard!

A.M enjoying her fig!

I love this picture of J looking for good fruit! 

There's a first time for everything!

When I first came to Bolivia, everything was new.  Every food I ate was new. Every place I went was new. Every cultural experience was new. Everything was new.

Over time, the newness of Bolivia has worn off. It is still exciting, and there is still a TON to learn and experience, but everything is not new anymore. In some ways this is comforting. While I enjoy the adventure of new things, I also enjoy the feeling of being “at home”.

That being said, this week has been full of “firsts”. I held my first baby in an Aguayo ( a tablecloth type fabric that Bolivian women use to carry their babies. )

I thought people stared at me before. With a Bolivian Baby in an aguayo I was like a walking freak show. 

I took a baby on his first escalator ride. And then, several weeks ago I realized I haven’t had my hair cut since I left the U.S. Since that was almost six months ago, I decided I should probably at least get a trim. It took 3 weeks, but finally yesterday afternoon I went with two friends to find a hair dresser.

In Bolivia, most shops are located together. On one street there might be 15 eye doctors, on the next 25 mattress store (and coffin stores. I find it a little ironic that the mattress stores and coffin stores have grouped themselves together.) And so on. So we went to the beauty salon street and looked for one that looked reliable. When we found one named Q’ Look, with pictures of Selena Gomez all over the walls, we knew we were in the right place. When we asked how much it would cost, and the lady told me 15 BS ($2), I was even more excited.

I watched the young girls sweep the floor, and realized how out of place my blonde hair was going to look on this floor. When it was my turn, I sat in the chair, and the lady cutting my hair exclaimed, “Wow, you have so little hair.” When there are no tips, there is no flattery.  As she cut my hair,I felt like I was dreaming. Here I was in Quillacollo, Bolivia, making small talk with my hair dresser in Spanish.

Although this was a “first” to have my hair cut in Bolivia, it also made me feel at home. Tourists don’t get their hair cut in foreign countries, but I really LIVE here now.

Then, as I was finishing, another young girl came up behind me and asked, “Is that you’re real hair color??” I assured her that it was, and she stood there watching and commenting every now and then about the color of my hair and eyes. As I sat trapped in the chair, it occurred to me (The Lord convicted me), and I started to ask her questions. As I asked about her work, she told me that she is here in Cochabamba from La Paz to study at the university. Then she asked if I was a Christian! I told her that I was, and asked if she already has a church here. She didn’t, so I got her number and gave her mine.

By the time I left, I had a new haircut, and a new friend. Next time maybe I won’t wait 6 months to get  my hair cut. Please pray for my new friend L as she settles into life in Cochabamba!

New Year, New Job!

On New Year’s Eve, I normally try to take some time, and look over the last year. I try to keep a prayer journal, and so it is always encouraging to see how God has answered prayers…. Usually in a very different way than I expected.

As I looked back over this year, I was so encouraged to see God’s faithfulness. And sense of humor.

When I was looking back over a prayer from January, I found this, “So one of the options was  to just send Bolivia my application/ resume, and let them say what they would like me to do. And on one hand, that sounds great. It takes the decision making off of me, and allows them to say where they think I would fit, and also allows me to fill the need they have. BUT, it also terrifies me, in that they can say what they want me to do. If they give me a job and I cant do it, then what?”

I was so afraid I would be given a job I wasn’t qualified for/ able to do. So I sent my application in for the Librarian position, and God worked how he wanted anyway. :)

Last semester I got the opportunity to teach 1st grade. There were things about it that I loved, but at the same time, I often felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I was so thankful for the ways God provided, but when I found out there was a 1st grade teacher who would be starting in January, I was very relieved.

Then, a few days before the semester began, the PE teacher had a stroke. I read the email with the prayer request, and prayed. Did I think about the implications for me? Not at all. Then we get to in-service, and my supervisor asked me how I felt about teaching PE. I laughed. And then I quit laughing when I realized she was serious. And then I started laughing again.
If you know me at all, you know how ridiculous that idea is. I avoided PE like the plague in middles school. One of my best friends and I met in PE because we both hated it.  And know, here I am. 

I am amazed at how God heard my prayer last January. He let me “decide” which job I would like in Bolivia. But at the same time, He knew I was relying on my own strength – not His. And so, once again, I am back to trusting Him. I am back to relying on who God is, rather than who I am. And it is so much better this way! Please pray for creativity and energy as I begin to teach PE. But more importantly, please pray for a dependence on the Lord, and not myself.
Love you guys!

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 1:9

Christmas with the Graves

When I was in middle school, my family watched the movie “Christmas with the Kranks”. If you haven’t seen it, the family decides to not have Christmas, and instead go on a cruise. For the last ten years, my dad has joked about doing “Christmas with the Graves”, and just not celebrating Christmas.

This year was as close as he is going to get. J My family was in Bolivia for almost two weeks, and it was so neat to be able to show them this place that has become my home. They were able to spend time at the orphanage with the kids, meet the kids in my class at Carachipampa, meet friends from church, and explore the city.

As I thought about Christmas this year, I began to realize how crazy it is that Jesus came to earth. My parents came to Bolivia, and it was a big deal. They traveled over 4,000 miles. They sacrificed their comfort and their health. They basically became like children in a new country… not knowing how to do basic tasks. (My mom said that she had heard roles reversed from parents to children, but she hadn’t thought it would be so soon.) :)

My family probably wouldn’t SAY that they suffered to come to Bolivia, but it was definitely a sacrifice on their part to come to me. As I thought about the sacrifice they made to come to Bolivia, I was overwhelmed thinking about the way Jesus sacrificed in coming to earth. He left his comfort, He became a child, and he lived on earth WITH us. He understands, because He entered into life as a human.

Thank you all for making it possible for my parents to come! There are tons of pictures here on Facebook! If you would like to come visit for a week, a month, or a year, let me know! There are tons of volunteer opportunities, and I would love to introduce you to my home away from home. J

Christmas in Kara Kara

Several weeks ago I wrote about the opportunity I had to go visit a neighborhood close to the city dump in order to give out Christmas gifts, as well as share the Gospel.

Thank you so much to those of you who prayed and gave generously!!

My parents arrived on a Wednesday, and I almost immediately put them to work. We went over to the chapel were Horita Feliz (The Bible Club) is held every Saturday, and started to prepare the gift bags to take with us. Thanks to your donations, we were also able to purchase sugar to give to the mothers!!

On Saturday morning around 8:00, we met at the chapel to pray, load up the cars, and head to Kara Kara. Of course, we were running on Bolivian time, so we arrived about an hour after the scheduled time. As we pulled into the neighborhood, I could see that they had set up a tent, and made little wooden benches . There were already close to 100 children ready and waiting for us! I found Noelia and Lucero, some of the girls I had already met, and was thankful for some familiar faces in the crowd.

To start, we sang some of the songs that we normally sing on Saturdays, and the kids learned very quickly! Here is a link! In the middle of one of the songs, a dog fight broke out in the back of the tent, but we just kept going while the men broke it up. :)

The children and mothers learning new songs!

Before the dog fight broke out.....

After singing, we broke off into groups depending on age. My friend Anita and I had the smallest kids, from 0-3 years old. The kids were very shy, but it was a great opportunity to share with their mothers as well. Please continue to pray that the Lord would soften their hearts, and that they would come to know him!

When we had finished, everyone went back outside to line up to receive gifts. I was helping to hand out shoes, but every time I looked up, the line got longer and longer. I was unsure that we would have enough, but God provided, and everyone received a gift, shoes, and a little basket for the mothers.

The ever-growing line up the hill

Handing out gifts

Twin girls receiving gifts

My mom and Autumn hard at work!

Some of the boys with their new toys

The generous women gave us traditional Bolivian hats to wear

Everyone was so thankful, and so hospitable. After handing out gifts, some of the people that had invited us to come prepared a delicious lunch. It was very humbling to see how God had orchestrated every little detail, and opened doors to share about His coming to earth because of His great love and grace! I am excited to see how God continues to work in the neighborhood of Kara Kara!!

Overlooking Cochabamba

More Than We Ask Or Imagine

When I think of missionaries, the first things that come to mind are normally huts in the jungle, dirt roads, strange animals, poverty, and white people in outdated clothes. While these are not all untrue, most of them are stereotypes. MOST missionaries I know live in relatively modern cities, have access to internet, and wear fairly normal clothes.  (Fairly)

This year, working at Carachipampa, an international school in Cochabamba, I have often had to remind myself that I was not in the U.S, North America, or even the Northern Hemisphere.  As much as I love Bolivia, my life here is not extraordinary. I have good days and bad days. I have weeks that I am reminded of my need for the Lord, and weeks when I try to do things on my own. There are days when I see God’s hand working, and days when I try my best to trust that He is.

But, God HAS been so faithful to work and answer prayers, even when I can’t see it in the moment.
Several weeks ago, the seniors at Caracipampa decided to do a toy drive to provide Christmas presents for children living in poverty. The original plan was to take the gifts to the jail, where many children live with their mothers.

The kids in my class were so excited to be able to give, and were very generous in giving of their own toys, as well as buying new ones. (Or their parents were very generous. ;) ) Almost 120 gifts in all were donated!! Then, because of logistics, it was decided that taking the gifts to the jail was not the best option. However, there was not a backup plan for the donated gifts.

Then, one of the teachers at the school, that also happens to host the Bible club/ Happy Hour I am involved in got a visit from a man he barely knew.  He told Richard that he lived in a very poverty stricken area outside of the city, right outside of the garbage dump. They wanted to know if there was any way Richard could help with Christmas gifts for the children of his neighborhood. Richard asked the man about how many gifts they would need, and he said about 120! The exact amount of gifts the school had collected. Is God not faithful to provide?!?

The man was not a Christian, but he also asked Richard if we could put on a Christmas program of some kind to teach the kids about Christmas. What an amazing invitation to share the good news of  Jesus’ birth, and the gospel. Saturday afternoon after the Happy Hour/ Bible Club’s Christmas program, Richard and his wife Gladys asked the group of teachers if we would be willing to do the same Christmas program again for the neighborhood of Kara Kara on the outskirts of the city dump.

Kids from Casa de Amor at Happy Hour!

Saturday I learned how to make buñuelos, and then helped make 300 of them!

Around 300 kids and mothers came to the Happy Hour last Saturday for the Christmas program!

Sunday afternoon I got the chance to go with Richard and Gladys to the neighborhood to meet with some of the leadership of the neighborhood, and plan for the event. As opposed to my everyday life here, I felt like a stereotyped missionary. We traveled on rough dirt roads, avoided the sheep on the side of the road, passed by makeshift houses, and I won’t  even bother trying to defend my wardrobe. When we arrived, everyone came out of their “houses” to greet us, and the kids looked like it was Christmas morning. (Which it almost was.) The man that invited us took us through the neighborhood, and called all of the women to come out of their houses to meet on the “soccer field”.

The field was littered with broken bricks and rocks, and marked off by old tires. One little girl hid behind her mother’s skirt and looked at me like I was an alien. I smiled at her as our host spoke to the mothers in Quechua, and her face lit up. After the introductions were made, the little girl came up and told me her name was Noelia. I asked her what she liked to do, and she told me she had a doll that looked like me… which I assume just means she is blonde.:) As I talked with Noelia and several of the other girls, I was reminded of what a great God we serve. Here in this forgotten neighborhood outside of Cochabamba, the Lord is at work. He loves these kids, and has not only provided toys for Christmas, but He is the reason for giving toys at all. He came to earth, and gave us the gift of His son. He made a way through Jesus to be forgiven and loved, and made right before God. And now, He has opened the doors so that the entire neighborhood of Kara Kara might come to know Him.

Please praise God for the crazy ways He has worked everything out to be able to go to Kara Kara this Saturday. Please pray for good weather, and more importantly, that God would begin to soften the hearts of the kids and mothers, and even fathers that will be there. Please pray for relationships to be built, and for people to come to know the goodness, love, and mercy of the Lord.

*** Although God has provided for gifts for the children, we would love to be able to buy sugar and possibly other household staples for the mothers that come as well. If you feel led to donate to help meet this need, I would love to talk with you more! **

Fin de Semana! Weekends in Bolivia!

For the last few weeks I have planned on sharing about what a normal weekend in Cochabamba looks like. However, the last three weeks have been so busy…. that hasn't happened. This weekend was equally packed, but oddly refreshing as well.

Friday afternoon one of the girls in my 1st grade class had a birthday party. The theme was unicorns, and we had possibly the most beautiful jello the world has ever seen.  In Bolivia, as far as I can tell, the prettier the food is – the better!

After the birthday party, I went with my friend Anita to look for a wedding gift for a couple from church. I am SO thankful for her friendship, and her sweet serving spirit. After finding a wedding gift, we made our way to the church to help get everything ready for the wedding.

We were not able to stay for very long though, because I had to get to the orphanage to stay with the girls overnight. At the girls house, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The Christmas tree went up last week, and there is a general sense of excitement in the air. Because school is out, the atmosphere is much more relaxed at the girls house. We had a bracelet making party, and a beauty salon for the girls.  I thought they would be thrilled to get pedicures and put their feet in bowls of warm water, but they looked at me like I was crazy. Lesson learned.

In the morning, the girls slept until almost 7:00. It was a miracle! We made pancakes, the girls were excited to have something besides bread for breakfast. :) As we were getting the girls ready for the day, we found that one of the girls, Raquel, had had an accident the night before. That meant she needed to have a bath, so she proceeded to walk around the house sreaming and crying. One of the other little girls Jhosi took this opportunity to remind us all of some biblical truth from a song that the girls sing at a Bible Club every Saturday.
“Allá en cielo, no habrá más llanto, ni más tristeza, ni más dolor.” Or in English, “In heaven there will be no more crying, no more sadness, no more pain.”
To see both of them together was ironic and made me laugh about a crazy morning.

Why would you ride a tricycle WITHOUT high heels??

After breakfast I headed to the wedding at the church. This is only my second wedding to attend in Bolivia, but it was much different from the first. It started about 40 minutes late, and almost no one was there.  By the end of the service there were almost twice as many people. It was a beautiful ceremony with lots of music and surprises for both the bride and groom!

After the wedding it was time for Horita Feliz (the Bible club). Next week will be the last week before we take “summer vacation”. We will have almost 300 kids and their mothers. We will be giving out Christmas gifts, but more importantly , we will have the opportunity to share the gospel, and the good news of Christmas.   Please pray for the Lord to prepare and soften the hearts of everyone who will be there on Saturday!

The 2-5 year old class at Happy Hour!

Learning the Christmas story

 After Horita Feliz, some friends that used to work with Casa de Amor and are now in the process of adopting children in Bolivia had asked if I could babysit for a little while at their house. They have a beautiful house up in the country, and were also planning on having some friends for church over for pedestrian day the next day. On Pedestrian day there are no automobiles of any kinds allowed on the road. The plan was for me to take the kids back to the house, Rudi and Carla got to go on a date without their 6 kids, and then they would pick everyone up from the church to come back to the house.

Getting all of the kids back to the house was an adventure in itself. There were 7 of us, and we had to take two different trufi’s to get back. At one point a kind Quechua woman stopped me, and wanted to tell me something.. surely about the fact that I had 6 white children with me…. but she couldn’t speak Spanish, and I couldn’t speak Quechua, so I am not sure what she said.

As we were heading back to the house, I mentioned to the kids that we should play a prank on the people that were coming from church. They loved this idea, but their ideas were a little over the top. Think acid in their cookies. I quickly nixed that idea, and suggested we short- sheet the beds instead. They had fun (and so did I), although I’m not completely sure how well it worked since no one really complained in the morning!

In the morning we had cinnamon rolls…. a huge treat! Since there was no church, several of the guys from church played guitar, and several of the people in the Booher family played violin, and ukulele.  We sang songs mostly from the hymn book, and it was so nice to be able to worship together. After “church”, it was time to eat and play! We had a barbeque, and I got to spend some time playing with the girls. We played hide and seek outside in the fields of flowers, and attempted to play leap frog. (It’s not as fun as I remember it being.)

View from the house!

After lunch I let one of the girls "fix" my hair. She was happy with it....  

When lunch was ready, I ate WAY more than I should have. But it was all just so good! It was so peaceful looking out over the city, and with no cars on the roads, the smog of the city was almost gone. It was a much needed day of rest, and remembering why I am here in Bolivia. I am so thankful for the hospitality of the Booher family, and the example they are for so many of what it looks like to love Jesus and love others. Please pray for favor in their adoption process, as well as peace for them as they wait!