Blessings

God is good.... He has a plan for us... We just want to faithfully follow him.... That is what we keep reminding ourselves as we continue our walk in life together with Nuestro Senor (OUR GOD).

I have been back in Minnesota since October now, and am just starting to feel adjusted.  I would like to open my heart to you and share with you a little of what my life has felt like since returning from Bolivia.

-I am so grateful to be back with my husband, for some reason God designed a time for us to be apart, and it was beautiful, because I was able to learn things about myself to make my marriage and walk with God together stronger.

(I have to tell you right now thinking about what I have already written and what I will be writing has brought me tears- I write this with a heavy heart).

-There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about Santa Cruz, Bolivia; the land itself, the kids that I taught, the kids at the homes I worked with, and the missionaries that so quickly became as close to me as my own family.

-I went through many stages of grief when I returned. Knowing that there are so many people in Bolivia that need God's love and not being there to help share it is hard. I was sad a lot.  It was (and still is) hard for me to be alone.  I have been very grateful for the blessings of my friends and family that are willing to drop everything to talk on the phone or open their house to let me just be around them.  I have spent many nights with Kelly with neither of us not able to understand the weird emotions and reactions to them I was having.  Realizing that all I could do was turn to GOD, the one who put me where I am today.  

-I have had Jesus appear to me in a dream, and comfort me.  I didn't even realize what had come over me until I was sitting in church with Kelly the next morning.  HE has blessed me with the comfort of knowing that I am going to make it through this time, and that he DOES have a purpose for us in South America.

-I have dug deep into our church.  We have a wonderful, biblical based church, that is all about taking Jesus to the streets.  It is called The Alley and is in Cottage Grove, MN.  Our pastor lets God speak through him.  He challenges us in very uncomfortable, but needed, ways.  ANYWAY, we have been studying the book of Daniel.  God blessed me with this.  In the beginning of the book it talks about the empire of Babylon.  It was a country much like ours that is very materialistic, and void of God in many ways.  Daniel is able to live in this Babylon anyway, following God completely, not falling into the very glamorous ways of Babylon.

The reason why I say this study came and blessed me at just the right time is because leaving a country like Bolivia that has nothing and coming back to a country that seemingly has EVERYTHING, was HARD.  I am still struggling with it.  Maybe not it the way Daniel was, but in my own way.  I look around and am saddened by what we have here that we are not grateful for, everyone here has SO MUCH they don't even realize, whether you have a job or not, whether you have a roof over your head or not.  Even just the fact that you can walk around carrying your purse with out looking over your shoulder wondering if the person behind you is going to take it.

So I went on a tangent- getting more involved with my church is a blessing, I have become involved with a bible study with a great group of women, and gotten into a small group of couples at church that challenge each other.

One of the biggest blessing was my job that God handed to me a day after I returned.  I teach 21 little kindergartners in South St. Paul, MN.  They distract me from my desire to be in Bolivia.  They make me realize that for the time being I have a ministry right here with them.  Although I cannot specifically talk to them about GOD and his love they need so much, I can show it to them.  We talk quite often about my friend that I talk to every morning, asking him that we have a good day together.  I think they think my friend is pretty nifty, if only I could tell them who he is.

Right before Thanksgiving I was blessed with the ability to see my friend Martha.  She is also a missionary in Santa Cruz that I was VERY close to.  She was home for a family emergency in Iowa, and I was able to take the time to go visit her.  This was an incredible time of healing for me.  I praise God for this time.  I was able to talk with her about how I was really doing, and she really understood.  I do not think she even realizes how much that less than 24 hours I spent with her meant to me.  

One of the other things I was able to do was send back some things for my family in Bolivia with Martha.  They each requested some simple things that they really wanted and I went crazy shopping for them.  Thankfully Martha was willing to bring it all back.  One of my favorite requests was "can you please send me some body spray, I am sick of smelling like dirt all of the time".  It was such a blessing to be able to send all of those things for them.

So that is where I have been and some of where I still am at.

Looking forward to the future, you may be wondering what it holds for the Skadberg family.  Well we would like to believe that we will both be in Bolivia in the Fall.  We are unsure at this point of the how and the timing.  We would like to commit to long term service, which will need a lot of support raising, but we know we (Kelly, God and I) can do it.  We are still slowly waiting on some good communication from our organization SAM (South America Mission) as to what this will look like, if they are going to accept us as a couple, and have a lot of unanswered questions.  We bring these uncertainties to God everyday hoping that they will be answered soon.

We consider anyone reading this page one of our supporters in what may turn into a lifelong ministry for us.  We feel completely blessed to know you.  Here are some things that you can do for us now:

-Keep us in your prayers

-Pray for the people of Santa Cruz, Bolivia

-Pray about how you may be able to support us from even the biggest or smallest gift.  We know we will need many people and churches to come alongside us and commit to monthly support.

-If you desire, contact us, we would love to hear from you!  (check out our contact page)

-I know it would make the day of my missionary friends if you wrote them cards, or sent them little care packages.  If that is something that interests you I can get you more information on that.

Much Needed Update

Dear friends and family,

                I want to make you aware of an exciting change in plans in the ministry I have started in Bolivia.  Due to a small minor medical matter, out of Kelly’s control, Kelly is not in the Army and will not be leaving for training.  Kelly being gone while I was gone was part of the plans for me being in Bolivia without him.  SAM, Kelly, and I feel that God is opening a door to lead Kelly into ministry with me.  SAM (South America Mission) felt it was important for me to reunite with Kelly in the United States.  They made this decision very recently and I have been back in the United States since Wednesday 9/21/11.

                I hope that through this you will be able to see the bigger picture.  This is a small adjustment in our plans.  Kelly and I are now free to do ministry for God together.  We are trusting God with our plans for the next year.  We are praying and seeking the Lord as to what exactly we should do in ministry.  We both feel that God is calling us back to Bolivia as long term missionaries for HIS glory.  We plan to spend this next year in preparation for a life in ministry abroad.

                When I first heard that I was returning home, I was very sad because I have such a heart for the people of Bolivia and serving the people there.  I felt discouraged because I felt like I had made a mistake by coming down to Bolivia for the time I was there.  In this time before I left and while returning home, I was forced to draw closer to God and realize that he did have a reason for everything that he has given me the past few months.

                I was taught once again that God has a plan for me when he provided a job for me immediately upon my return.  The day after I returned, I was offered and accepted a full time Kindergarten teaching job with South St. Paul Public Schools.  I have now been teaching for a week in a newly formed classroom.  I rejoice daily in God’s provisions and his goodness!  Throughout everything that I have been through the past few months, the best thing about it is that I have drawn closer to GOD.  That is such a gift.

                I am sure many of you have questions about my early return.  Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have!  I am sure you will be hearing more from Kelly and I throughout the next year, and we plan to update this blog on a regular basis!  Thank you for your continuing prayers and support.

Lydia-Stateside.

Day 5- Church

After visiting a few churches with some other missionaries, I decided to be bold and visit a church in my barrio (neighborhood) on my own... and then my roomies decided to tag along.  I really really like the church.  It is walking distance from home, they were very welcoming, are very excited to have me there, and I can understand a lot if not most of what is going on.

The first week I went the message was about tithing and the offering.  It was such a bold message that pastors are not normally as eager to talk about in the states, but at this church it was a wonderful message and was very well received.  It is also exciting to see week after week the eagerness of the church goers to give to the church- it almost seems contagious

The worship in Spanish is just beautiful!  I love singing praises to my God in Spanish!

Church is very much an all morning thing here in this culture.  There is a bible study that the pastor does before the worship, then the worship, and then another message.  Then socializing afterwards :)

I was able to attend the youth service on last Saturday night after I got back from our staff retreat :)  Here you are considered a young person until you get married, and since I am "single" here I was invited to come.  It was a very akward experience for me but we all warmed up to each other and it ended up being a nice time and I was able to fit in well :)

Day 4- Home life!

Okay, here I go finally getting around to this again.  It has been quite the week.... to say the least...

HOME LIFE-

I live with 3 other lovely ladies who all teach at the learning center as well.

We live in a house of a missionary family who is on furlough right now in the States.  It is a complete blessing to have a real furnished house to stay in.

We have our own washer and dryer... which is AMAZING!

Every house here (including ours) is gated in so we enter and exit through a gate.

We have a gorgeous space and have really enjoyed hosting missionaries here for bible studies and a potluck brunch one morning (Dad I made our secret french toast :)

I have really made this house my home and enjoy being here with my roommates!  God has blessed me with so much.

MATTHEW WEST - "STRONG ENOUGH" LYRICS

You must, You must think I’m strong
To give me what I’m going through
Well forgive me, forgive me if I’m wrong
But this looks like more than I can do
On my own

I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
For the both of us

Well maybe, maybe that’s the point
To reach the point of giving up
‘Cause when I’m finally, finally at rock bottom
Well that’s when I start looking up
And reaching out

I know I’m not strong enough to be
Everything that I’m supposed to be
I give up, I’m not strong enough
Hands of mercy won’t You cover me?
Lord, right now I’m asking You to be
Strong enough, strong enough
For the both of us

‘Cause I’m broken
Down to nothing
But I’m still holding on to the one thing
You are God
And You are strong when I am weak
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be strong enough
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
And I don’t have to be
Strong enough, strong enough
Oh yeah

DAY 3- Culture Shocks - Misc Culture...

Wow here is day 3!  I hope you have enjoyed reading so far!


Here are some interesting cultural issues - 


-You cannot flush your toilet paper here- whew that took a long time to get used to.
-We have random power outages, you can't plan for them and you never know how long they are going to be for, and sometimes they are daily.
-When you greet someone you hug and kiss on the cheek.  
-You never should be on time here, it is not rude to be late.  For example: the first Sunday I went to church on my own, I arrived just a little after 9, the sign said the service starts at 9..... Well church didn't start until after 10... now I just show up an hour late.
-It is very rare for me to see an American/white person here.  When I ride on a bus or walk down the street I get stared at.... this is a big difference from any other country I have lived in.  Unless I am at school, it would be a rare occurance for me to see another Gringo like at the market.
-The exchange rate here is 1 dollar to 7 bolivianos.... I really am brushing up on my 7's division and multiplication tables :)
-Everyone has a tall gate around their house here.... you don't really see anyone's front yard.... 


Here are some sad realities of Bolivian culture and every time I remember these things it completely breaks my heart and I remember why I am here.
- Bolivian culture overuses the idea of Machismo.  If you think that women are objectified in the U.S.... you haven't seen anything.  Besides the common cat calling I get walking down the street, almost naked women are all over billboards, advertisements, and even the front page of the daily paper. :(  
- Domestic abuse is a very common here whether it is physical, sexual or emotional.  Neighbors, police, and even fellow church members look the other way.  There is such a thing as a social worker, but they can't do much.  About 40% of Bolivian children are sexually abused, a drastically higher number of these children are girls.  About 60% of Bolivian children are physically abused.
-God is not a priority in this country.  There are animal (and maybe human) sacrifices happening in the capital buildings.  There is a huge tension here between the highlanders and the lowlanders.  




I am crying right now and my heart is breaking putting these facts to paper.  I know there is SOOO much work that needs to happen here through Christ's love.  


Writing all of these things make me realize how much this God has laid this country on my heart.  I know that there is a purpose for me being here ministering to these people.  It is changing my life to the point that I am not sure if I could ever go back to living a life in the USA.....


Peace-------


Prayer today:


Praise:  I rested again today and am finally feeling better to the point that I can go back and teach tomorrow (Friday).


Prayer request:  1) This weekend (Friday and Saturday) I am going on our SCCLC staff retreat.  Pray for safety and unity between teachers especially between the North American and Bolivian teachers.
2) Kelly and I are deep in prayer asking God what he wants us to do next with our live's.  He already changed it by taking Kelly out of the military, and now we are waiting on the LORD to hear what we should be doing next.  Please pray that our ears will be open to what God has to tell us and that we will be obedient... sometimes I feel a little like Jonah...


God has been teaching me so much just today... as I laid in bed most of the day recuperating... but also on my knees literally crying out to God.... I am not even sure how to put it to words... but I am learning to have even more real meaningful communion with him.

Day 2- School!

Thank you to all of you who read my first blog of my 7 day challenge!  I had some questions about how to comment on the page.  I believe you have to have an account (just a gmail account) and click that you want to follow the blog on the side of the page.  You can also enter your email address and I have been informed that you will get an email with the blog right in it every time I post a new blog- but really mom... you should come visit my page every once in a while :)


Alright, topic of the day SCHOOL.  The main reason why I came here to Santa Cruz is to teach at SCCLC (Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center).  I am teaching Kindergarten in the morning and 12th grade computers in the afternoon.  It is quite the spread.  I am co-teaching with a Bolivian, Martha Garcia, in the kindergarten classroom.  She is a really sweet lady.  We sometimes struggle to agree on how we should run the classroom, but we have started to work together quite well.  She will completely take over the classroom if/when I leave in the end of December.  I am modeling to her a more "American" teaching style, which is what the school wants from her and also working on some translation issues (like when she says who hasn't passed,  instead of had a turn).  We only have the kids from 8am-12pm everyday.  I struggle a lot with how much I want to teach them in SO LITTLE TIME in the day.  We are really only teaching them for 3 of those for hours because they have a half hour specialist class and 1/2 hour snack/recess.  


FYI - I would encourage you to go back a few blogs to see the names and pictures of my little kinders so that you can put a face with the names I talk about.

I teach mostly the phonics/language aspect and science.  During the language time Martha Thomas the ESL teacher (English as a Second Language) comes in to sit alongside the kids and work with them on their English learning.  The curriculum I have does not account for the fact that when I teach kids how to read/spell a word, they might not know that that thing even is- for example using a nut as in a nut and bolt for the word that represents the letter N.  Needless to say it is a real blessing to the kids and me to have her in the classroom during that time!


I have been SOOOO impressed with my kids in the past few days with how much they are just catching onto and using it.  I have parents saying to me "My child is trying to read everything".  There are a few kids that I am still very concerned about, Obed, Dana, and Julian are all really struggling with their language acquisition.  They are all very intelligent, but don't always have the language skills to show it.


Behavior has been a very interesting aspect of the classroom.  I have to deal with things in the classroom that I would not have to deal with so heavily in a stateside classroom.  Here lying is socially acceptable and especially placing blame on others.  Whenever I say something like, I hear too much talking, without a doubt I get a chiming in from little voices saying "me no" (we are working on the grammar on that one).  We have had many conversations about how lying is not ok and it is not what Jesus would do.  It is amazing to see how much effect conversations like that have on the children.  

With only 4 girls in the class, they can go from best friends to enemies very easily.  That happened last Friday with a marker war in library class :(  I was praying the whole way back to the classroom trying to figure out exactly how we would handle it.  Thankfully God gave me the right words to say to these girls, they understood that what they did was wrong and they hugged and apologized.  In the end the girls who has had the most discipline problems, Andrea, came up and hugged and kissed me on the cheek (culturally acceptable)  I was so touched that she obviously saw the love in my discipline.  I think I finally got through to here at that moment and she has had very good behavior in class since then!

I absolutely love all of my students, but if I had to choose an absolute favorite in the class, it would have to be Ryan.  He is just a cutie, he is still 4 years old and I think is very sheltered.  He played soccer for the first time the other day and loves just playing around with the "bigger kids" in the class (Sebastian is more than a year older than him).  He is new to the school and at first I was worried about him fitting in, but evidently his personality is contagious and he seems to almost be the most popular boy in the class- this week at least :)


 One other thing that makes discipline SO HARD, is that I know some of these kids have such little love at home, whether they are abused or just left home with a nanny, it doesn't surprise me that these kids are still learning how to act appropriately with other kids and with us teachers.  Kids here hit, push, and say some awful things to each other.  It is a daily struggle, but I know that God is softening their hearts to be better people.


These kids are Bolivia's future and I feel so honored to be teaching them.  I hope that I have even a little influence on their life!


Alright I feel that I have blogged too much already, I will have to talk about computer class later.


Here is how you can be praying for me:
Praise: God has been providing for me emotionally here helping me rely on him for my support knowing that there is a reason why I am here without Kelly.


Prayer request: I know I said this yesterday, but I actually stayed home today (by the insistence of my principals and director) and am probably going to tomorrow because I am just not feeling good.  I have lots of symptoms of the flu, but fortunately have been able to keep everything down so far.  Please pray that God will heal me and I can get back to my work here ASAP.


Here is a quote from the devotion book I read from today.  "Enjoy the warmth of MY presence shining upon you.  Feel your face tingle as you bask in My Love-Light.  I delight in you more than you can imagine."  I found such comfort in those words today!  It was a wonderful to hear especially since I didn't actually get out and see the sun today!




PS... I am listening to an online christian radio and I heard an AMAZING song from my past that I know some of you will appreciate.... Breakfast by Newsboys.... Wow and all of the sudden Gone by Switchfoot came on.... bringing back teenage memories :)

Day 1- NACER home for boys

I was invited to go with a friend to the NACER home for boys by a friend and it has completely changed my life here in Bolivia.  NACER means "to be born", and these homes give kids new life.  These homes are for kids on the street, some orphans, some not, all of them do not have a better place to go than to the NACER homes.  There is a girls home in the city of Santa Cruz, but the boys home is about a 1.5 hour bus ride outside of the town.


When I first went, I thought it was going to have to be just a one time thing, but the LORD captured my heart for these kids and has made a way for me to go back every week.  I have now been 3 Fridays in a row.


I leave on a Friday around 11 with Martha Thomas a fellow teacher.  We ride a bus straight out of town towards the mountains.  We see so much culture and scenery of the outskirts of Santa Cruz.  Sometimes when we get on these mini busses, there are not any free seats and we have to stand for a while.  At one point we stop in a small town quick to pick up people while street kids sell little bags of homemade juice or snacks through the small bus windows. This time has proven to be a great time of fellowship with Martha.

This last week was by far my favorite week with the kids to this point.  As we were getting off the bus some of the kids from NACER were walking home from school and as soon as they saw us, they starting racing towards us calling our names and nearly tackling us!  We walked down the long road to get to the home together, laughing, joking, and catching up on their week.  It is amazing how far my Spanish skills can go with these kids, it surprises me every time I open my mouth.  It must be God speaking through me.


Sometimes if we arrive on time we eat with the boys.  Lunch is there biggest meal of the day and they always have some good food.  During this time I spent remembering names and answering all of their eager questions wondering of a translation of one word or another into English.  This week I was joking around with them that there was going to be a quiz.


After lunch the kids have chores.  Sometimes we are able to help with things like dishes or washing their laundry by hand, but sometimes we are more of a distraction than help.  We use this time normally to pick fresh mandarins from trees, help with their crafts that they sell, or other random things we can find to do.


At about 4 the kids have homework time.  Two weeks ago they did a really good job of sitting down and doing it, but this last Friday Martha and I distracted them, in a good way.


We brought some children's books in Spanish from the school library with us, like Clifford and some multiplication flashcards.  We could not believe the boy's overwhelming reaction to these things.  They acted like they had never seen books before.  Boys young and old (from 5-20) were taking turns reading these 3 books out loud to each other.  It was so touching seeing them enjoy such a small thing.  They also really liked the flashcards that Martha made.  They especially liked quizzing me on them, because I had to think in Spanish for my numbers.


It is always so sad to leave, but it is something so amazing to look forward to for the next week.


I am so thankful that I am able to start this ministry alongside teaching!  I feel so blessed to be used as one of God's instruments to build relationships with these boys.


Praise: I Praise God today for my wonderful roommates and friends that I have made down here.  They are a new family for me and are such a blessing.


Prayer: Please pray for my health today as I feel like I am coming down with the flu :(


Something GOD has been showing me:  I am learning to do EVERYTHING in dependence of GOD! John 15:5- I am the vine you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.


Thank you for reading day 1 of my 7 day challenge!  I would love to hear from you as well!


On a side note:  I am currently not fully funded to stay down here!  Also adding this new ministry of working with the kids at NACER is adding an extra cost to my budget.  Every Boliviano (Bolivia's currency) I use down here is budgeted.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE prayerfully consider giving to my ministry!  Even a small gift and/or a small monthly gift could go a long way and would mean the world to me.  It is not too late to help me out!  If you have any questions please ask!  If you would like to know how to give please click on the above link that says SUPPORT LYDIA!


Thank you for all of your support!  Both financial and prayerful support is VERY appreciated.

7 Day Challenge!

Alright my blog readers, I am going to present a challenge for myself and for you.  I am going to give us a 7 day challenge.  Starting today I will post a blog a day for 7 days (at least we will see what I do after).  I feel as though I should be giving you most consistent updates, maybe not everyday, but for the next week I will be writing everyday.


I am going to have a topic for the day.  Here are some topics that I am thinking about already church, school, home life, weekend life, shopping, going to NACER- the boys home, and culture shocks.  I am hoping by covering all of those topics I will be able to get y'all faithful readers up to speed on my life here.


In each blog I will also share a prayer request for the day, a praise, and slice of something God is teaching me that day.


I am putting some effort into this hoping you will join me!  I hope to hear from you this week as I take my 7 day challenge!


Also, If you have any other topics that you would like to hear about other than the ones mentioned above, please let me know!

Life

Oh, where to begin... I do not know.  Life wearing on me right now.  Through it all though GOD has been so good.  He is pruning me.

Right after I arrived here in Bolivia, God started talking to Kelly and I telling us that he wants him in the mission field as well.  WE KNOW that he was not telling him that before I left and I would like to make that clear to my blog readers.  GOD gave us this time apart serving him for many reasons, he is growing us as husband and wife together (but in two physically different places).  He is also growing our faith in him like CRAZY.

Anyway, Kelly and I have been praying for God to show us his will in our lives.  One night (almost out of frustration) we prayed a very bold prayer telling him that he can have whatever he wants/do whatever he wants with our lives- we just needed an answer.  The next morning HE gave us a crystal clear answer that Kelly is not supposed to be in the military anymore and instead is preparing his heart for the mission field!

It is seriously insane the way God works sometimes.  Since this clear answer we have felt such intense excitement, confusion, frustration, and energy--- Sometimes all at the same time!

Like I said God has made is so clear that we are to prepare ourselves for the opportunity for him to use us in long term mission together.  We are not yet sure when that is or exactly how. 

On last Tuesday, my principal, two field directors here, a field director on furlough (over skype), Kelly (over Skype), and I all gathered together to pray and discuss options for the immediate future here.  Dan, the director over Skype, is going to contact the home office to start to get a process going talking about Kelly joining me here in a few months for a few months after he and I raise more support together.  In the time being, Kelly and I are just praying and waiting for answers from God through SAM's home office.

With all that being said there is the frustration and hardship of not only having Kelly so far away from me (I was prepared for that), but also having him at home living his normal life, but without me (I was NOT prepared for that).  We talk daily over skype and I get to see him through the wonders of video chat, but it does not make up for the fact that things are not going as planned- I am just trusting and leaning on God for his next step.

Another burden I have right now is the joy and frustration that comes with having a new family.  Right now I am living in a house with three other lovely ladies.  I love them so much and feel like I have bonded with them like sisters!  Their names are Rachel, Melissa, and Emily.  We have been getting along with each other surprisingly well, except for there are times- like with sisters where we have our quarrels.  I have learned over the years - and God has been teaching me to let some of the little things go!  There is one girl in the house though that has been snaping at me randomly for no aparent reason- which makes me break and hurt so bad.  Last night we tried to talk some of this out, with a little solution, and leaving the rest to GOD.  The hardest part is that I admire and LOVE this girl like crazy- so when she hurts me sometimes like she does, it leaves me very hurt.

Needless to say I could use some extra prayer on the weekends.  Pray that God protects my heart and fills my time with things to do to keep my mind off of my troubles.  Even if I completely fill my weekend I still feel like I have way to much down time!


God has given me a heart for this country!  When I first came down here, I was literally not impressed with the country.  For a while I thought this place was not for me.  But then I started learning about, living with, and talking to the beautiful Bolivian people!  I have such a place for them in my heart.  Some of the things I learn about the culture my students grow up in is almost too much to bear.  Knowing the statistic of how many kids are sexually abused at home and the government looks the other way just breaks my heart!  I have such a heart for the children of Bolivia.

Here is a little update on my week last week:
Wednesday night I had our regular SAM prayer meeting except for four of us new teachers shared our testimony!  I was not looking forward to it because my words in English right now are SOOO jumbled because of all of the Spanish zooming through my head!  It turned out to be a very nice time to talk so that everyone could have a chance to know my story and what led me to the mission field.  I also had really nice fellowship with the other SAM missionaries at our meal afterwards

Friday- I am so blessed to have become friends with another missionary named Martha Thomas.  She teaches English language learning (ELL) in the mornings here at SCCLC (which includes an hour everyday in my class helping my kindergarteners!).  In the afternoon she volunteers at the NACER girls and boys homes in and outside of Santa Cruz.  These homes are for girls and boys young and old who may or may not be orphans but know nothing else but the street. Two Fridays now I have had my schedule align in a way that I could go with Martha to the NACER boys homes which are about an 1.5 hour bus ride out of town.  Being there interacting with these boys and spending time with Martha has been one of the most exciting things I have done here!

On Friday we went right from the bus back to my house where we were having a ladies fellowship night.  We ate dinner, socialized and had a worship/prayer/sharing time.  It was very nice to have this time with these ladies, but was already very distracted by something my roomate had said to me earlier in the night - I JUST HATE HOW SATAN TRIES TO GRAB HOLD OF ME :(

God was about to give me great comfort though in Ephesians 4:1-6 which I am now trying to commit to memory
 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Saturday- I was able to go to a new market that is in walking distance with my roomie Rachel and Marth (who spent the night)- I bought a cucumber and beats!  I was very excited about this because I can't have the garden fresh ones that I miss and crave from home.  I also bought a 6x6 hand mirror for only 5 Bolivianos (less than a dollar)

I spent some time at school on Saturday working on my classroom and unpacking the NEW MATERIALS that were finally released from Bolivian customs on Friday!  I walked to school with my roomie Melissa who is an amazing woman and we had a great talk.

Saturday night we decided to pretend like we were Americans... we went to the Cine Center (a mall with a few stores huge foodcourt and a movie theatre)  We saw the only movie in English- The Green Lantern- it was a horrible movie..... But it was very fun spending time with all of the young ladies and the one single guy on the field.

Sunday- I walked to my new church, Renacer, all by myself.  It was a very nice service and was able to take good notes, but am still having a hard time finding the books that the pastor is saying.  I spent the longest time trying to figure out what book "Santiago" is and then once I remembered it was James, I had already forgotten the reference.... :) I am learning.

I had a good hour or so before the rest of my roomies got home from their various services alone at home which was nice.  I got some laundry done, did some dishes, and then set to work cooking my lunch.  I boiled some new baby potatoes I have never seen before (they are like bright yellow and red and the potatoe inside is yellow) anyone know what they are?  I also made a cucumber, tomato and cream cheese sandwich which was absolutely delicious- except it was missing my MOM who I love to eat those with :(

For dinner as well I made tomato soup with the noodles in it just like my dad makes for me (I must have been missing home) and gormet grilled cheese with my roomie Emily. 

I am sorry I have to go!  That was basically my weekend in a nutshell.  I appreciate your prayers!  Thank you!  God Bless. Peace.

Broken

I am so completely BROKEN right now!  God I am trusting you to put me back together!

GOD Give Me Words To Speak!

Aaron Shust - Give Me Words To Speak Calloused and bruised/ dazed and confused My Spirit is left wanting something more Than my selfish hopes/ and my selfish dreams I'm lying with my face down on the floor Cryin out for more Cryin out for more So Give me Words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep Cause I can't think of anything worth saying But I know that I owe You my life So give me Words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep Every night, every day/ I find that I have nothing I can say So I stand here in silence, awaiting Your guidance I'm wanting only Your voice to be heard Let em be Your Words Let em be your words Give me words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep Cause I can't think of anything worth saying But I know that I owe You my life So give me Words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep So Give me words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep Cause I can't think of anything worth saying But I know that I owe You my life So give me Words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep Give me words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep Cause I can't think of anything worth saying But I know that I owe You my life So give me Words to speak Don't let my Spirit sleep I know I know I owe you my life ohh my life, ohh my life I know that I owe you my life ohh my life, My L I I I F E

Freedom = Love Bolivia

Tuesday night we decided to finally figure out Santa Cruz public transportation.  This would be a microbus.  We wanted to figure out how to take them on our own.  There are literally 100's of different lines throughout the city.  There is no organized map or anything either.  These buses run their routes and just stop to pick up people who flag them down by waving their hand to the side.  It only costs 1.80 Bs (which is about .25 c).  We took the 20 from school which runs right by SCCLC and up the Double Via which is our main road to almost everything.  It runs through all of the rings (there are 7 rings that run around the city from the center out).  ANYWAY  We took the 20 to the Hipermaxi (local grocery chain), bought groceries and caught the 50 home which to our surprise went not only close to our house, but less than a half block from our house!  What a blessing!  We finally have freedom to go places we never would have known how to without taking a taxi!


The ride home was pretty humorous!  It was jammed packed with people and we only had standing room with our groceries.  The best part was these buses aren't made for tall Americans... So we had to kind of crouch down while standing.. :(  It was an adventure.

I finally have the feeling of Love for this city, it is no longer this dirty big city that really doesn't make sense.  I feel like this town is just a little neighborhood that I can get around in and go shopping, see my friends and minister to the community!

Maybe this is going to be our next home?  God has been opening our eyes to that possibility!

Pictures of my 13 Ninos

Alright!  To my faithful blog readers, here are the 13 children for you to pray about! Top to Bottom: Jonah, Sebastian, Renato, Andrew, Haziel, Ryan, Dana, Julian, Cassie, Jean Pierre, Andrea, Obed, Sara!  Please pray for these little darlings.  They are the future of Bolivia.  God is already working on their hearts and minds in such wonderful ways!  They make me smile, laugh, melt my heart and sometimes frown :)  I am so proud of all of the progress they have all already made with their English in just the first 8 days of school!

First week of School!

I just finished my first 3 days of school at SCCLC!  I would love to tell you all about it!  


I want to make sure you all know what my class and school is like after being here now and finding out more about everything.  


The school used to be a school co-operated by many different mission organizations, mainly created to serve the missionary kids (MK) in the area.  They had a rule that there had to be at least 50% MK's in the schools population, thus limiting the amount of Bolivian Nationals that could enroll in the school.  Unfortunately in recent years, many of these mission organizations have pulled out of the country and SAM- my organization- has become the primary owner of the school.  Because of this there have become some changes to the 50% rule in the school and now the STRONG majority of students coming into the school are Bolivian Nationals.  


Some of these kids are Christians and some not!  While still in the US at the SAM office I was feeling a little unsure as to what my role as a missionary was besides just teaching missionary kids.  I was wondering- If all of the kids are missionary kids (and probably Christians), then what would be my purpose for being a missionary other than providing a service for the other missionary families.  When Kirk at the home office explained the unique situation the school is currently in, and that most kids coming may or may not be Christians and also that a purpose of mine was to show them Jesus AND develop them into the Godly leaders of the future of Bolivia, I felt a huge purpose in my ministry!


On Tuesday I met most of my students when they came with their parents for an open house!  The kids were mostly very excited to be there and it was great to meet them and their parents!  I have mostly Bolivian Nationals in my class with parents that don't really speak English.  Because of this I was very thankful that I speak Spanish.  I can't imagine how some of the other teachers felt who don't speak Spanish having these parents try to talk to them!  


Wednesday-Friday was so amazing and CRAZY!  My students are ADORABLE (I will hopefully be able to post pictures in this blog).  I have 13 students and love them all!  They all are so unique and have varying levels of ability, which will bring such joy to teaching them!  I know not one of them is fluent in English and so talking to them as a group they don't all understand me.  I have learned very quickly how to create some classroom management techniques for myself using hand motions and pictures to communicate along with my words.  


I would love to tell you a little about each of my students so that you may be able to pray for them!


Andrea- She is VERY energetic!  I am hoping that we will be able to channel this energy into her intelligence I see in her so that she has a productive year!


Andrew-  VERY SMART, and very boy- he told me he was captain America at recess yesterday!


Cassie- She is a twin of Jonah in the class.  This is her first year here at SCCLC, and with only 4 girls in the class she has made friends quickly.  


Dana-  She is very low language wise, I think pretty smart intelligence wise, at least I am hoping because otherwise we are going to have to work on classroom discipline with her!


Jean Pierre- He already can count to 100- He already got a huge cut on his neck from a kid hitting him with a stick at recess!


Julian- Very low language ability and he relies on other students for understanding of English all of the time- but knows his alphabet well!


Haziel- Very funny but a little bit of a trouble maker!


Renato- A kid who is very confident, and all boy- but I am worried about his language skills


Ryan- He already has a crush on me.... VERY CUTE... he is not yet 5 (soon)... and is new to the school as well.


Jonah- He has problems with cassie picking on him- VERY SMART and polite.


Sara- She seems very knowledgeable about God!  She volunteered to pray yesterday!


Sebastian- The trouble maker of the class, but when challenged to improve he has risen to the task! 




OKAY GOING TO HAVE ROOMIE MOVIE/BONDING TIME!


Thank you to all of my readers!  I love your comments!  Also I love it when people follow my blog ... to the right (hint hint)

Sentidos

My apologies to my blog readers.  Recently everything has been few and far between and a little bit too factual!  I have never really been one to write in a journal.... TANGENT---- In Peru, my one and only journal entry read like this "So the alarm I set....." END TANGENT.


Here are some FEELINGS


Let me be honest right now I AM LONELY!---- But GOD is helping bring people into my life (including HIM) to make me less lonely.


I LOVE Kelly and my almost daily and sometimes twice daily chats with him!


I am having a BLAST.... Look at my last weekend.... I am having so much fun...


I love to smile and laugh .... That has been a lifesaver here


I have not lived with ladies on my own for a LONG TIME.... EEK


I live with an AMAZING bunch of beautiful and GODLY women


My school is SWEET..... I am so excited to teach these Bolivians and some MK's


I have amazing colleagues!  I co teach with a Bolivian teacher Martha!  She is such a wonderful woman!  She and I have a lot to learn about teaching together, but we are working well so far.... I love that we can pray together.


I also have an amazing principal!!! Her name is Laura, she makes me feel very needed and a vital part of the school!  We are currently trying to push together to get Kindergarten changed to full day!  That is something that can be prayed about!


While I am talking about prayer requests... one of the biggest things that I need prayer for right now is that my support comes in swiftly, as I start my time here, it would be essential that I don't have that worry on my plate and that I can start to feel certain that I will be here until December... and possibly beyond if more support comes in that is needed!

Iglesia

Here is an update from my weekend!

Friday

I was still very tired, but I went into school, met Martha, the teacher I am working with in Kindergarten.  It was very nice to meet her!

Rachel and I also went to a Sam missionary house (Dana) to spend time together, it was a very nice time of fellowship with fellow missionary ladies.

Saturday

I slept in Saturday and finally got caught up on sleep!  Right after I woke up my new roommate Melissa arrived!  I already have gotten to know her quite well from the 3 days we spent together at the home SAM office in South Carolina.

Melissa and I went off to school for the rest of the day to work on our classrooms!

It was independence day on Saturday and that night Laura, my principal, invited us to her church for an independence day celebration!  It was amazing to see the pride that this church has in their country!  We sang some worship songs in Spanish and then watched people young and old dance and sing out of pride to their country.  One of the highlights was when 9 different ladies danced down the isle representing one of the 9 territories of Bolivia in each territories authentic dress!  Afterwards we had a great meal!  I can't remember the name of what I had but it was rice with shredded beef mixed in and a egg on top with fried pantains on the side.  It was delicious but a HUGE meal.

Sunday

We went to Dana's church!  It was AMAZING! We sang familiar worship songs in Spanish, listened to the pastor speak a wonderful message, and the pride in the country of Bolivia continued as we sang the national anthem, watched all of the territory flags come down the isle, and hearing the people pray for their country!  Another very touching part of the service was the offering.  Instead of "passing the basket"  they had people get out of their seats and give, almost like communion.  As soon as the baskets were up front the congregation quickly streamed up front to give!

After church we went to a Brazilian restaurant!  It was great food!

Afterwards we walked around seeing the town square!  I bought a new ring for probably only $3 to replace my wedding ring for while I am down here.  It is really cool, it has a cross on it and says the Lords Prayer in Spanish!

I also got some AMAZING pictures, which I will upload ASAP (internet connection is a bit slow).

Visa Fiesta

Today a group of us are being taken to get our permanent visas- we will have to go all over the place- getting our blood drawn, fingerprinted, background checks, etc.  It will be a longish day....

Tomorrow is Bolivian Independence Day- I am hoping I get to see some festivities!

Llegue

Llegue (I arrived) this morning!

I was taken to my new house which is amazing!  I have had my first saltena (google it) and it was delicious.  I have now unpacked and am relaxing for a bit before heading to school!  I am very excited to see my new classroom!

God is so good and has been blessing me in countless ways this week.  Please pray that he continues to show me his way as I serve him here.

Thank you to all of my supporters that have made it possible for me to be here!  I still am in need of much more support to keep me here!  Please consider how even the smallest one time/monthly gift will make a huge difference in my ministry here!

Matthew 19:29

²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife [husband] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.


This verse has just made my life!

Time at the SAM headquarters/office!

First off sorry for the lack of blogging the past few days while I was still in the states, I was busy with a big project!

I do not know where to begin talking about my amazing time in South Carolina! Here are some highlights:

-Was able to meet and spend a lot of quality time with my new sisters, and fellow teachers at SCCLC- Kate and Melissa.  Kate and I flew down to Bolivia together and Melissa is flying down Friday- but she will be living with me YAY!  They are both such a blessing to me and we have been such support to each other I know this is going to be a great year!  You can keep them in your prayers as well!  Kate will be teaching 5th grade and Melissa - English!

-I met so many great people including most of the SAM home office staff-  the best was meeting Sue who had been in contact a lot with all of us girls.

-I learned SO much- about the school, Bolivia, what it will really mean for me to be a missionary, and so much more about my relationship about God!

-I have an updated funding total- So far I have raised $3,950 and have about $2,000 left to go to keep me down here!  I am praying that God leads many of you to give from your heart and choose to support my ministry from home and see what God can do with your gifts!

-When I was picked up from the airport in Monday Sue had just picked up my VISA from the airport! YAY!

-Monday and Tuesday it was just the three of us as visitors in the office, but on Wednesday there were around 25 people there either returning or gearing up for the mission field in Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru.  It was such a blessing to see all these people, hear their stories, pray for them, and be prayed for by them!

I guess that is all pretty factual stuff- I will try to keep better on time updates in the future.

Just video skyped with Dad!