Finally, Quiet

I thought I would be alone a lot here. I was looking forward to it quite a lot :) With rather mixed feelings I'm finding that not at all the case; so that's why this Fri night I am relishing being home alone--this is the first time since I arrived that I have a whole night of nothing! Ah, bliss.

And so, I'm reading Out Stealing Horses which I found lying around here, EXCELLENT, a perfect quiet night read in the vein of Potok or Coetzee if you're a fan... listening to Juan Luis Guerra, boiling water for pasta, eating yet more fruit, and stirring every time one of the half dozen clocks in this house goes off.

Work has been much better. I have a lot to do finally (and NOT translating! WOOT). Still I am constantly humbled by how stupid I feel here. It's a really good thing for me. I don't feel like I'm serving anyone or being useful in any way... but God's reminded me in the last couple days that I DO NOT MATTER anyways--it is not about ME--what matters is the fulfillment of his plan-->to bring himself glory. Yet amazingly, I do matter to him, in spite of my stupidity and faithlessness to love him, he LOVES ME... read this today, "The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was NOT because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD LOVES YOU." deut7:6-8. Crazy. Be encouraged guys. Thankfully he loves us not for ourselves but for the NEW selves he's created within us...

Street Life.

Every day I walk 4 blocks to work and it's always a highlight. I used to think I always wanted to live in the country. False. Maybe some day when I have numerous grandchildren and only want to garden and knit but for the moment, I love living in the city! I love the excited pulse of the morning commute, no WAY should you try to cross the street then or it would be death (so I take the bridge over the street). Buses, minibuses, and all sorts of taxis are speeding through the streetlight-less roads, yelling out where they're going and trying to recruit passengers. Cholas (indigenous Bolivian women) in their long brightly colored skirts and shawls (and sometimes babies on their back) are setting up little fruit stands and shops along the road. The sound of high heels clacking on uneven cobblestones. Saltena shops opening their doors. In the afternoon when I walk home for lunch it's more sedated--the whole world is on siesta. People are lounging in the park and even on the sidewalks, sleeping and sunning. Stores close. Everyone is home for lunch with the family and a brief nap before returning to work. Ahh the city... when I'm around so much chaos I think less and take in more. Maybe it's a good thing for me to not think so much. Anyways, Thomas Jefferson said you should never think while you walk but simply WALK. These daily commutes in Obrajes have been excellent times to observe Bolivian life, just soaking in the colors and language and architecture and SUN, without letting any other thoughts get in the way!

No llama sightings, sore as all get out, pero canta y no llores!

Oh, Las Yungas. How incredible can it get. This was my most jungleish experience to date, and I'm definitely ready to return. We drove about 10,000 feet down the mountains late at night to get to the youth retreat here in the lowlands where we stayed Fri-Sun. Hilarious company, incredible teaching and worship, unbelievable flora and fauna, and some fabulous futbol. I could've hiked around this place all day. Glorious butterflies and colorful birds, banana and orange trees EVERYWHERE. Discovered it was illegal to pick the oranges a bit too late, alas. :) Great 3hr game of soccer on Sunday. HOT. Mosquitos. Amazing. Not sure what was goin on in this pic but I must've been feeling it! These boys play in jeans and street shoes and are better than any I've seen. SO fun. On the way home on Sunday we stopped in Coroico--a small mountaintop town with breathtaking views--for pancakes and ice cream. DELI. Sorry that all my pics are of mountains. Seriously can't get over them!!

The Lord was kind this weekend and answered many prayers. I went into the retreat praying as I have been for a while that I would FEEL and not simply know his love, that I would be able to love him back with my whole heart and soul and not just my mind. Every session and song kept bringing back this theme! He reminded me that when I am

faithless, he is FAITHFUL--when I lack passion for him, he never lacks

passionate love for me. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you" (Jer 31.3). Crazy. And any love I can give back to him is there because he's given it to me--"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Ro5.5)--it HAS been poured! The beauty of the tense of this verb. It's there and it's from him and it's for him. I can't love on my own and I can't feel love on my own. This is a work of the Lord. Not something that simply is promised, but something that has already happened--and he will continue to be faithful. Anyways. God didn't just teach me that, but he also gave me an overwhelming sense of love for him! Very encouraged that I am a loved daughter of God. Atrae en mi corazon, Jesus!

It's Always Sunny in La Paz

This is my view on the way to work as I cross this bridge over the street. GAH. Seriously every day it looks like this--perfectly blue and gorgeous. There are very few street lights in the city, so either there are policeman that direct traffic, or there is chaos. Actually there is just chaos all the time. I love it. I think I would love to drive in this city.

I will never get over the beauty of these mountains. In the distance in this pic is La Muela del Diablo--the tooth of the devil. Going to climb it soon.

Work has been great! And a doozy. Whew. So far, I've learned how to use Excel in Spanish, and I've translated several financial presentations into Spanish. My vocab has increased by about 100%, haha, but solely financial terms! Not super helpful in life. Work is a challenge for sure but I am loving finally having a schedule and contributing something to the world.

The fruit here is one of my favorite facets of Bolivian life. Like that alliteration? Mhmm. Every day I drink at least 5 cups of freshly squeezed fruit juice. Amazing. And, I've picked up some useful fruit info, por ejemplo, there are mangOS and mangAS. Who knew.

In other news. Lately... let's see, I watched Toy Story 3 on Sunday, WATCH IT, hilarious, hearing Buzz Lightyear speak in Spanish was kind of a highlight. Tonight was caregroup, love hanging out with these people. This weekend is a youth retreat for the church, down in Las Yungas, which is the jungle-ish area a bit to the north. Apparently one can see llamas on the drive down. I'll keep you posted.

Observations from Bolivian Church.

- We left at 10:30 for church at 10am. Turns out we were early.

- Worship lasted for nearly an hour. BLISS. We sang Eres Todopoderoso--ah mi favorita!

- First time I've ever heard Song of Solomon quoted during worship. Interesting.

- I love, love small churches. This one is a church plant off of the main church in the city center. Everyone, even the 10-yr old kids, was serving! Made me even more excited about church planting in the future!

- It was a stupid idea to think I could read my Greek NT and absorb Spanish preaching at the same time. I'll work on that.

QUE TRUCHA

That's a favorite Bolivian phrase for LAME. Which is what today was since the US lost to Ghana. Que triste! :( (Thomas don't hate, you deserved the win I guess...). I watched the game with a group of Bolivians and Americans--they didn't sympathize too much with us because everyone here is supporting Germany or Spain. ?? But the World Cup is great here--everyone knows every stat and every rule and watches every game. And every Sunday there's futbol after church!

Yesterday Moises gave me a tour of Obrajes (he's a son in the family here) for a couple hours--whew, everything is up and down! There is no walking in straight lines. I LOVE the city though. Everything is nestled inside the folds of the mountains and the architecture is unique since nothing is flat. Afterwards we hung out at the apartment of some American interns working for IJM and World Vision here in La Paz. Hilarious evening of cookies, crepes, and travel planning. Things are already in the works for a bike ride down Yungas Road, more affectionately known as El Camino del Muerte. I won't translate that for you so you don't freak out, but no worries, many have succeeded!

Today I ate my first saltena!!--a delicious spicy meat/potato pastry that Bolivians eat between breakfast and lunch (Dad--I will try to bring one home for you!). Sara (oldest daughter in the family) gave me saltena-consumption class as it's a work of art to not squirt spicy juice all over oneself. Of course I was so full after the saltena that I couldn't eat much lunch (dinner to us! HUGE meal at 2 pm) and I could barely manage dinner, although that was the best giro I've had! We drove up to the skirts of the city tonight and oh man what a view (for some reason the moon is 1000x brighter here), and afterwards some beautiful Spanish songs around a bonfire. Good day. The people here are making this very easy for me--they are wonderful! Can't wait for church tomorrow!!

Five cups of coca tea later, and no altitude sickness yet!

Well as you know I am no blogger, if you tried to follow my Scotland blog (ahem)... :) But being alone in a non-English speaking country, this will be my English respite as well as a motivation to record what God is showing me here. Because frankly I don't really know what I'm doing and I know I will be veeeery stretched and very in need of his daily provision. So dear friends, here's to my hopefully consistent and definitely short and sweet blog! Hurrah.

And this is La Paz!! Golllyyyy, my jaw was dropped the whole ride back from the airport. And the entire trip from Lima to La Paz. Here's a snapshot out the window of the plane: the Andes are GLORIOUS. Sure puts Sugarloaf into perspective.

I begin work on Monday at World Vision. I really do NOT know what to expect. But I do know God opened many doors for me to come here, and even though I've been a stupid gringa for the past two days and I can't foresee myself being a service to anyone anywhere here, God has some reason... even if it's just to show me the work he is doing among the nations and to increase my dependence on him and my open-handedness to his plan. I finally finished Isaiah this week and was encouraged as I set off with this--"But now, O LORD, YOU are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." -Is 64:8. I'm prayin that he uses this time to mold my character, skills and vision for my future career and life. Please pray for that!! My goal for these two months, though my present skills and Spanish render me seemingly useless, is that the Lord creates a humble tool out of this clay for his purpose. "I long to be kept by God in an attitude of willing surrender so that he can go on to perfect that which concerns me; so that he can go on stripping and whittling and sandpapering until he is content with the new arrow he is creating." - Helen Roseveare

More on Bolivian life and culture later. May I just say their diet is stellar. Good thing this is the highest capital in the world and I will hopefully get some intense exercise. Oh and Peru!! I got to spend a surprise 30-hr-all-expenses-paid visit to Lima. A cancelled flight turned into a gift. Yes.